As I'm sure none of you know, because you're all a bunch of drooling idiots, University of New Hampshire hockey fans will not be listening to the regular sound selection they normally are used to. A tradition for 10 years, UNH officials have decided that the fan favorite "Black Betty" is racist and will no longer be played during hockey games.

"Gee Dalton, do you have nothing better to talk about?"

Fuck you and listen up. The scene may look less than sterling, but this is actually a great example how stupid people think something is racist, and therefore, makes everyone pay for it.

The reason for taking the song out? Says one UNH student, "Blacks were considered inferior in the United States when the song was written, and the song has no connection to athletics or hockey." The song was written in 1977, a full decade from the civil rights movement. Now that may not seem like too much time to cool down, but if you really look at it, the 70's were one of the most racially tolerant decades to this date. Music had become Afro-Centric with the boom of disco and jazz. Implementation of affirmative action, and hip hop had sprung its roots. To say that blacks were considered inferior is just plain ignorant of the time period.

As for the song's relevance to the game of hockey, I'm just going to teabag these idiots until they suffocate. Well in that case current trendy music from Green Day, Ludacris, Usher, The Killers, Queen and what-not can't be played at sporting events either...they have nothing to do with sports. That really can't be the reason to ban it right?

Well, let's give them time to rephrase what their real qualms are, "If you look at it, basically the whole audience at these games is Caucasian, For them to be singing a song like Black Betty, it doesn't make sense. It is kind of derogatory," A-HAH!

You're saying it would be a-OK if blacks were listening to the song? In essence, they're saying that the only reason it's racist, is because someone of a different race is listening to it. No, UNH student, you're the one who "doesn't make any sense."

It's as if they're assuming that black people will listen to the song without drawing the same conclusions or race related ideas as a white person. Now tell me who's being "derogatory"...fucking douche.

Excuse me for being white. If I knew it was a crime to listen to a song about someone of another ethnicity I would have turned up the volume and inserted my sub-woofer into your urethra. Fuck you, it's a white person singing about an attractive black woman. Heaven forbid we whites even mention the word black.

This is retarded, the more we try to limit ourselves, the less tolerant we will become of each other. If we truly want each other to learn to live harmoniously we have to start thinking realistically. People don't make friends by stating that they "respect their race and diversity." We make friends by being ourselves; by telling people what's on our minds, not what we "should say." The reason why the officials from UNH want to respect the differences in cultures is because they see blacks as different. If we acknowledge that diversity comes from deep down, then we wouldn't have to acknowledge someone's diversity by their skin color.

No where in the song does the singer say, "Blacks are inferior to whites." Nor "All black women are sluts." Not even "Black people like to rap about 'fucking bitches.'" The fact that the singer is talking about a black woman that he likes to have sex with makes this song racist in some people's minds. Sorry folks, that's not racism, and the fact that you might even think that it is makes you more of a racist than the song-writer...because you're the one catching all the nuances when there aren't any to catch.

My name's Dalton Dorr, and I'm a racist because I don't make assumptions about lyrics involving minorities.

Due to popular demand, I've decided to post about the cartoon depicting Mohammad which has the Middle East in an uproar. Hopefully this can be used as a guide to more than what has unfolded in the past months, and used to help our understanding of how we deal with the Middle East in general.

For those who haven't heard, it's against Islamic law to show the face of their prophet, Mohammad, in any form. A Danish newspaper published a cartoon that shows Mohammad weilding two scimitars, standing in front of two veiled women. Muslims around the world have stated their disapproval of the message, however the most concentrated area of Muslims, the Middle East, has been the site of embassy burnings, riots, and several deaths.

I found this news problematic to talk about because of the extremely difficult nature of religious law. I am here to say that what is happening in the Middle East is not how these types of situations should be handled; and easy stance to take, I know. The tricky part of the problem lies in the idea that we as Americans take free speech to a fundamental right, one that cannot be taken away. And with this belief that speech and language is free we devalue speech. I can type Fuck, shit, cock, balls, and cunt, just to name a few; people may be offended, but as a whole no one cares. By the same case, we can show pictures of pornography, religion, and politics.

Speech is not so free in a nation governed by religious law. And the fact that it isn't free inflates the severity of the act when a delinquent message is published. This isn't as simple as saying the Muslims in the Middle East are taking this too seriously, it's a clash of two worlds which have different values. The Danish newspapers had every right to publish those pictures under Danish law. By the same token, the rioters are as justifyed by their laws to vandalize and burn the embassies.

Now you say, "even if I buy that argument, innocent people who had nothing to do with the cartoons are being hurt by the rioting." I agree, it's a shame by our standards that innocents are harmed. We place a far higher value to protecting innocence than punishment; our judicial system proved this when they admitted that they prefer to see a criminal go free than an innocent go to jail. This is not the case for Islamic law. Redemption is a much higher priority in Islamic nations, and it matters not who does the payment. I'm not judging, nor am I declaring which system is more efficient (shit their violent cime rates are half ours: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_mur_percap).

It's just a difficult subject to discuss because it's so hard to convince anyone of anything. How can I try to convince a citizen of the Western World, that punishment, no matter who actually did it, is more important than getting the actual criminal beyond a "reasonable doubt"? How do I convince a person living by the Quran, that free speech is more important than moral and religious practices? I can't and I'm not going to try.

In a recent speech, Hillary Clinton accused Republicans of "playing the fear card" to win elections. Well, not to point out the obvious or anything Hillary, but you could have made that statement during the 2004 presidential election, when that kinda statement would have actually mattered...as opposed to saying it during the 2006 senatorial election. Nothing you said is innaccurate, I actually agree; the Republicans are using the "fear card" in order to win. However, you'll excuse me if I can't help but notice you're playing the "talk shit on the other party card" to win elections. Hey, since we're talking about bad timing, how about your statement on MLK Jr. Day: "...and the House is being run like a plantation." Anything for votes, right? Well then I just can't see why you're so pissed at Republicans for playing the "fear card". Anything for votes, right?

Something that really pisses me off about people here in Santa Cruz: the debate over Military Recruitment. Now I can see why people would be against the Military, an organization that openly discriminates against gays, trying to recruit on a public university. I'm against protestors who march and scream at the military recruiters to get off campus. First of all, the people on our campus aren't the ones making the decisions, don't yell at them they're just doing their jobs. Secondly, these SAME people are the ones protesting Bush's student loan cuts....is it just me or is the band-wagon effect here at Santa Cruz an excuse to be retarded? Your student loans are getting cut whether you like it or not, military recruiters PAY THE SCHOOL TO BE HERE! You don't have to sign up, hell you don't even have to like it, but you better damn well treat people who lower the cost of schooling with some fucking respect. New Rule: Protestors of the military recruiters have to pay the difference in tuition for all the students when the recruiters decide to not come anymore. It's going to be a cold day in hell when I'm paying more for college because a bunch of middle class, wanna-be activists tell the government to stop paying for their own education. SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I RAPE YOU WITH A CAR EXHAUST MUFFLER!