September 2013 Binghamton Review

TRUTH AND TWO STAPLES

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

So you could only afford to go to public school...

Welcome to Binghamton!

The government has shut down, Breaking Bad is over, Obama’s visit to our school was pointless, it’s about to get a whole lot colder, your tests will only get harder, the downtown weekend scene isn’t going to get any better, people are going to keep dying in Syria, if you live on campus you’ll still have awful water pressure in your shower at 9 am....but at least your tuition is cheap! And the Binghamton Review has come out with its first Fall 2013 issue, so everything will be okay!

Binghamton Review

P.O. BOX 6000 BINGHAMTON, NY 13902-6000

EDITOR@BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM

FOUNDED 1987 • VOLUME XXVII NUMBER 7• SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Daniel Milyavsky Managing Editor Samuel P. Bondy Layout Editor William Schneider Treasurer Sean Glendon Copy Desk Chief Amanda Harbour Editor Emeritus Jacob Hayutin Associate Editor Lawrence Gerchikov Contributors Jack Russo, Ron Pesahovitz, Sydney Fusto, Christina Jones, Tom Casey Patriarchs of the Review Louis W. Leonini Adam Shamah Friends of the Review Dr. Aldo S. Bernardo The Leonini Family Mr. Bob Soltis WA2VCS The Shamah Family The Grynheim Family The Menje Family The Leeds Family The Lombardi Family Binghamton Review is printed by Our Press in Chenango Bridge, NY. We provide the truth; they provide the staples.

From the Editor...

Hi! My name is Dan Milyavsky, and I’m the new Editor-in-Chief of this sublime magazine. I’m very excited about this!

Having joined the Review in the Spring of 2012 as a contributor, moving on up has been a very rewarding experience! In fact, I’m so happy, I decided to be a prick and put up a picture of myself pointing to my favorite Review issue that I’ve worked on!

That said, it’s also a great deal of responsibility. I’ve come to realize that if I just dropped dead and stopped doing stuff for this magazine, it would pretty much cease to exist! That’s a pretty scary thought, seeing as how it’s the only hilarious and insightful publication Binghamton has to offer!

I have to admit, I used to be a lot more gung-ho and passionate about politics a year or two ago than I am now. I’ve since mellowed out a bit. I’ve always basically been a libertarian, but before I used to think: The Republican Party really wants to make the government smaller! I want them to win elections! I care about them winning elections! Now I’m in a much more of a, “they both suck, even if the GOP sucks marginally less, they still don’t want to get rid of farm subsidies, end the War on Drugs, or stop trying to bomb everyone” phase. But people like Rand Paul do give me hope! What a guy! He was giving free eye surgery over the Congressional recess!

I hope you enjoy this issue. My staff and I worked hard so that you could

like it. I was Managing Editor last year, so I had quite a bit of say over how the final product came out, but this is the first time I’ve had full executive control, so it’s a proud moment for me.

I’m not sure why I’m telling you all this - you probably don’t really care, especially if this is your first time reading this! But hey, I deserve to get to express myself at least once on this thing, right?

This magazine really has a tremendous history. Go to our website, www. binghamtonreview.com, and check out our past work. We’ve been involved with protecting the free speech rights of students, fighting for students living on the West Side of Binghamton from getting evicted because of stupid zoning laws, and stopping NYPIRG from embezzling the student body by using their funding to pay their staffers in Albany.

I’d like to thank Aaron Ricks for leading the Review during my first semester here and for being a great source of support after he was no longer an editor. I’d also like to thank Jake Hayutin for being a great editor last year, and for being very open to new ideas and contributions. I hope I live up to your legacies, guys. B

Our Mission Binghamton Review is a non-partisan, student-run periodical of libertarian and conservative thought at Binghamton University. A true liberal arts education expands a student’s horizons and opens one’s mind to a vast array of divergent perspectives.

In that spirit, we seek to promote the free exchange of ideas and offer an alternative viewpoint not normally found on our predominately liberal campus. It is our duty to expose the warped ideology of political correctness that dominates this university. We stand against tyranny in all its forms, both on campus and beyond. We believe in the principles set forth in this country’s Declaration of Independence and seek to preserve the fundamental tenets of Western civilization. Finally, we understand that a moral order is a necessary component of any civilized society. We strive to inform, engage, and perhaps even amuse our readers in carrying out this mission.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED? EMAIL EDITOR@BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM

Contents

It may very well be a life changing decision. In a good way. Or, if you have any comments, send them over! If they’re good, maybe we’ll publish them!

ABC’s of Binghamton........................................4

By The Editors Press Watch......................................................6

By Dan Milyavsky What You Missed.............................................7

By Dan Milyavsky Stop Sensationalizing Shooters!........................8

By Sean Glendon Cartoons........................................................11 Tesla: Elon’s Musk..........................................12

By Jake Hayutin A Bleak Dawn for Greece...............................14

By The Wolf But I’m not doing anything wrong!................15

By Jack Russo Breaking Bad: Walt vs. Jesse...........................16

By Jack Russo and Dan Milyavsky What Moves the Market................................19

By Sam Bondy Why Most 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Suck.....21

By Jack Russo The U.S. Government is Shut Down!.............23

By William Schneider www.binghamtonreview.com

3

ABC’s

The ABC’s of Binghamton

A B

sbestos- It’s everywhere!

reaking Bad- Sometimes, being a student at Binghamton can drive you so crazy that you almost want to drive out into the desert and start cooking meth. Judging by the way a lot of the townies look, you may very well have a pretty avid customer base here!

C

4 - Aside from being named after a PLASTIC EXPLOSIVE, last year it couldn’t handle the crowds from both Old Dickinson and Newing; now with the amount of people in New Dickinson, it’s even more of a circus.

D

ickinson Community- They’re not suites; they’re “flats.” They’re not hallways, or common rooms; they’re “vestibules.” Someone had a little too much fun with the thesaurus...

E

instein’s Bagels - Have fun waiting in line for two decades.

The administration thought this two register bagel shop would be sufficient to replace the union.

E

ngineering Building- Why build a nice looking, useful building, when instead you can build a very confusing ugly piece of crap with no cell phone service inside?

F G

ront Street - It’s in “front” of a piece of shit. irls- Whether it’s 80 degrees or 20 degrees, they’ll still be wearing

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the same exact outfit. It’s funny seeing them try to walk in heels that are about five yards high when they’re drunk out of their minds. Please keep in mind that part of this section was written by a girl; (albeit a year ago, in last year’s issue - leave me alone, how many of you actually remember??) the last thing we need is crazy feminists picketing outside the Binghamton Review office.

H

azing- Now that the University has cracked down on it, it obviously never happens.

I

ntelligence- You’ll soon find that its something you DON’T need to 1) get into Binghamton 2) be a Teaching Assistant 3) become active in Student Government 4) be an RA or, 5) be a Professor. You will need it if you would like to be on staff at The Review ;)

J

ewish Holidays- You will learn to love them. Unless you’re one of Pipe Dream’s idiotic opinion columnists, and you decide to write an article about how we should have more school days.

MARCH/APRIL 2013

ABC’s

(YES, this actually was a Pipe Dream article).

K L

ennedy’s Fried Chicken- Just turn around before you get there.

ecture Hall- The best location to pick up a copy of the only intellectual publication on campus.

That’s the only good part of the Lecture Hall. It’s round, an eye sore, and full of asbestos. Oh and by the way the new paint didn’t help...

M

ountainview- Enjoy the walk, and try not to smash your face on rocks as you scramble up the hill and over the fence.

N

YPIRG- I used your voter registration drive to register as a Republican! Take that, you god damn commies!

O

CCT Buses- The number one location for angry and belligerent drunk assholes to congregate. You literally have to fight people to get on the bus at 3:00 in morning to get back home.

R

asa- I haven’t seen her out in a while, heard she went under the knife for another “upgrade”

S

tudent Association- Sorry, nobody actually cares about you guys.

Don’t cut our funding, though!

T U

alent- Something most of our sports teams evidently lack.

niversity Plaza- The hallways are all vomit yellow and there is one door on every building that doesn’t lock. Unless you plan on walking to Chabad on Friday nights there’s no reason to live there.

V

estal- A small town 30 minutes from the Pennsylvania border, also the location of Binghamton University.

W

eather - It’s going to be cloudy, cold, and depressing. So appreciate it while it’s sunny and warm!

X

enophobia- It’s so difficult to find words that begin with ‘x’ that actually make sense on this list. So we’ll repeat ourselves from last year: As a freshmen you expect to be an openminded individual who will not allow any of your prejudices take over and force you to preemptively form an opinion about anyone or anything. But after that first semester of being taught by the non-English speaking TA, you are going to be throwing around some pretty fucked up things about foreigners. Seriously...you’ll deny it, but we all know at some point you are say something horrible about your TA while pointing out what country they are from. Shame on you.

Y

ear Book- Thanks to these guys, we are forever known as ‘Binghamton Univeristy’.

Z

ombies vs. Humans- Perhaps it should be renamed “Humans vs.

Sexual Maturity.”B

P

arade Day- A day in which students and townies coexist peacefully to get wasted and pretend to be Irish.

Q

uestions- “Why did I come here?” “Must it rain all the time?” “Am I going anywhere in life?”

“Is Sodexo secretly poisoning me?”

“Why doesn’t my Professor/ TA speak English?” “Will it ever stop snowing?”

“Does the sun still exist?” These are all questions you will ask yourself within the first month of school.

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Press Watch

Pwatch ress To those of you who’ve never read us before, Press Watch is the section where we shit on all the other campus publications.

Quotes from the article will be in Italics, my comments will be in Bold.

Miley episode reveals double standards over sex

By Rachel Wasserman “The world can’t stand to see someone like Miley grow up and try and detach herself from her former child star ways, so they attack her and many girls just like her.”

Rachel, the disturbing aspect of Miley’s twerking wasn’t the fact that she was “detaching herself from her former child star ways.” I’m not even sure what that means; she’s not a child anymore, so how can she remain undetached?

The disturbing part of it was...well, to be honest, I don’t want to spell it out lest I face charges of being a sexist pig, but I think anybody who watches the video knows.

Sex isn’t always that sexy

By Jake Lewis “Just because you want to make sure your sex is outstanding doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel, either. There shouldn’t be a necessity for double back handsprings off of sex swings; there’s nothing wrong with missionary position. If you want variety, go for it. But I find people put too much pressure on being different. Desperately trying to be unique in the bedroom could end up making the experience worse in the long run.”

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By the Editor-In-Chief Okay, so maybe I’m just a rightwing lunatic, but I’ve always had this weird notion that I don’t want to get instructions on how to spend my most intimate moments from a college newspaper.

Hook-up culture is ruining our marriage prospects

By Julianne Cuba “To what do we owe this phenomenon? I would firmly say the media.

In the 1950s, a married couple in bed together was still considered scandalous for television. In 1947, the television show “Mary Kay and Johnny” was the first to feature a couple — husband Johnny and wife Mary Kay — in bed together. We now regularly see explicit sex performed by people who are supposed to be in committed relationships with other people. American television has certainly come a long way in the bedroom.”

Hmmm, instead of blaming everything on “the media,” why don’t you maybe talk to your Pipe Dream editors and tell them to stop publishing sex advice columns? Just saying, if you want to reform the way the media talks about sex, you might as well start close to home.

Gun violence demands legislation

By Julianne Cuba It is clear that something needs to change and that stricter gun control is the change we need so that that day never comes.

We share Julianne’s sadness for the victims of gun violence, but there is absolutely no evidence that gun control would reduce it. The vast majority of gun crimes are committed with simple handguns, not so-called

“assault weapons.” As Milton Friedman said about poverty programs, “The people who go around talking about their soft heart, I admire them for the softness of their heart, but unfortunately, it very often extends to their head as well, because the fact is that the programs that are labeled as being for the poor, for the needy, almost always have effects exactly the opposite of those which their wellintentioned sponsors intend them to have.” The same is true of gun control.

Look at the streets of Chicago and the worse-off parts of Washington D.C. you’ll see what a spectacular failure gun control has been in these places.

Government shutdown: Our generation is to blame

By David Forrest “The American public does not know any better — in a way, we created our current state of political affairs because we, as a generation, are too uninterested to change it.”

Woah, you can stop right there. I always talk to people who say, “I feel really guilty about not being more interested in politcs...” and I say: “Don’t feel guilty! You shouldn’t have to be interested in politics! We shouldn’t have such an oppressive government that it affects everyone individually to the point where they have to take action!”

At this point, over half of America is in favor of legalizing marijuana. So why have only two states done so? Because politicians don’t want to anger the millions of government employees (DEA agents, etc.) who profit from the War on Drugs.

So don’t blame my generation, which has its own problems to deal with for Christ’s sake, for the problems created by the power-obsessed egomaniacs in DC.

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What You Missed

What You Missed

By the Editor-In-Chief

*There aren’t any more napkin dispensers? What the hell happened to them? Now in addition to eating terribly tasting overpriced food, I have to do it with greasy fingers! *Obama came to Binghamton, conveniently enough on move-in day! All the main roads had to be closed for a good three hours after and before his visit. Furthermore, only a handful of students even got to attend, who were picked from an online lottery. At least Obama tried to stick to issues that affect college students, like rising tuition costs. He also mentioned an interesting idea about having law school take two years instead of three. *Apparently UPD officers have taken to publicly shaming students caught stealing from the dining halls by making them announce their misdeed in public. Besides the fact that this obviously affects students who are more shy far more than it does those that are more extroverted, I don’t like the sense of entitlement that it gives UPD officers. “I am an officer of the law! I have the moral authority to humiliate you for your crime!” Are you kidding me? At the least UPD chief has stated that this isn’t acceptable and is launching an investigation into this practice. * The food court is slated to open www.binghamtonreview.com

next semester. For those of us who have been here long enough to remember it, this cannot happen a moment too soon. *I have heard from multiple people that What You Missed is their favorite section of the Review. I’m flattered!

I’ve been writing it since October of last year, and I’m glad that I’m able to amuse and entertain! *Oh, right, that whole Syria thing. I have one question that nobody is able to answer: Why are chemical weapons so much worse than conventional ones? Over 100,000 people have died in the Syrian Civil War as a result of bombs and bullets. Several hundred, according to most estimates, have died as a result of chemical weapons.

Why are their deaths so much more significant? Yes, it’s an international norm that chemical warfare is bad, but is it an international norm that actually makes sense? *Oh, speaking of Syria, on a Syrian news station, a debate about chemical weapons degenerated pretty quickly: Mr AL-MIQDAD: That criminal Bashar al-Assad would even hand over his wife to remain in power…

Dr MAKKANA: You would hand over your mother and sister, you filthy pimp… You are scum with no honor. You were born of Israeli semen.

EMBARRASSED HOST: Please.

Some expressions you can’t use…

I’m sure Dr. Makkana was just being anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic. *Organic chemistry is really hard :( *Oh, right, the government shutdown thing. Unfortunately for them, my family happened to be sight seeing in Utah in the midst of this whole clusterfuck. It actually costs more money to close down the national parks and memorials than to keep them open, but since Obama wanted to make this shutdown as painful as possible, he decided to shut them down anyway. To be fair, the initial fault for the shutdown does belong to the Republicans for giving the Democrats a condition for keeping the government open that they couldn’t possibly accept, but Obama has done all he can to make the shut down as painful as possible, just like he tried to do with the sequester. *BREAKING BAD IS OVER! WHAT THE HELL WILL I CARE ABOUT NOW? THE HORROR! THE HORROR! THE BEST SERIES IN TELEVISION HISTORY IS NO MORE! Here is my favorite exchange from the show: Walt: You are not responsible for this.

Not in any way, shape, or form.

Jesse: You either run from things, or you face them, Mr. White.

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Stop Sensationalizing Shooters!

Stop Sensationalizing Shooters!

By Sean Glendon Sophomore Student of Accounting

Does the name Steve Curnrow ring a bell? How about Erin Peterson? Maybe Noah Pozner sounds familiar?

Veronica Moser-Sullivan? No? Kenneth Bernard Proctor?

Here’s a second list of names: Eric Harris. Dylan Kleboid.

Seung-Hui Cho. Adam Lanza.

James Holmes. Aaron Alexis.

I’m sure you’ve recognized that second list as the list as the perpetrators in the mass shootings of Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Aurora, and the Washington Navy Yard respectively. At this point, you might be wondering how the first list of names is connected, and it’s quite simple; the first list is made up of the youngest victims of these shootings.

Media coverage ensures that you won’t forget the killers’ names, but also fails to truly humanize the victims in the atrocious events. Rest in Peace to all of the victims from the horrible acts of domestic terrorism, and may the perpetrators rot in hell/jail.

“Rest in Peace to all of the victims from the horrible acts of domestic terrorism,and may the perpetrators rot in hell/jail.”

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FROM HERE ON OUT, I WILL NOT BE REFERRING TO THE KILLERS BY NAME. They will be referred to, based on the location of their crime.

Collectively, the 6 men named in the latter list were responsible for 96 deaths and 118 injuries (NOTE: I’m not including the gunmen who died even though they responsible for their own deaths). Out of the 209 victims that have not been mentioned, how many can you even name?

My guess is a handful, if that.

There is a much better chance that you’ve heard that the perpetrator in the Aurora attacks was camera shy, and didn’t appear in his 10th grade yearbook, or that the Aurora offender ran cross country in high school.

It’s common knowledge that the Columbine criminals loved violent video games and referred to themselves as the “Trenchcoat Mafia”. The media mention miniscule details about these men, speculate on motives, and plaster pictures of them all over the place.

For a week after the Navy Yard Shooting, I couldn’t pass through the dining hall without seeing a report on the killer.

Why is this the case? It’s an easy way for them to get viewers for a few days: there’s a narrative to work with, comparisons to make and a story to tell. In reality, the media have absolutely no

problem talking about a victim, as long as that victim comes with a storyline that can lead to higher ratings. Examples of well known victims in these mass shootings include Victoria Soto, a teacher that sacrificed her own life to save her first grade Sandy Hook Elementary School students, as well as Jon Blunk, Matt McQuinn, and Alex Teves, who all died shielding their girlfriends from the bullets of the Aurora assailant. Even including coverage of these victims, and the occasional other victim with a sidestory, there is a huge focus, borderlining on obsession, with the killers.

Alex Teves’ father is an outspoken member of train of thought, that is increasing in popularity across the nation. He thinks that the media is handling coverage horrifically, and that as a result, these killers are being glorified. In an interview with CNN he said “so somebody took a gun and went in and shot a 6-year-old girl? Why are we talking about that person?”

He then elaborated, saying that he wishes that CNN and other media networks would “come out with a policy that said, ‘Moving forward, we’re not going to talk about the gunman. What we’re going to say is: A coward walked into a movie theater and started shooting people. He’s

Stop Sensationalizing Shooters! apprehended. The coward is in jail. He will never see the light of day again.’”

Dave Cullen, author of the New York Times Bestseller “Columbine,” has spent 10 years researching Columbine and is considered by many to be an expert in the field of mass shootings. He offers a rare professional perspective, and also believes that the media needs to reevaluate its role. He feels that through sensationalized coverage, “we put them on stage-- you can call him hero, anti-hero, something -- we give them a starring role in this.” Similar to Mr. Teves, he offers a simple adjustment as a solution: “You just call him the killer, the perpetrator, the gunman, the suspect, all sorts of different things. It’s very easy to do.

We disappear him.” When a popular film critic, Roger Ebert, was asked if violent movies play a roles in these types of crimes, he responded by directing blame towards the media. “The message is clear to other disturbed kids around the country: If I shoot up my school, I can be famous. The TV will talk about nothing else but me. Experts will try to figure out what I was thinking. I’ll go out in a blaze of glory.” Finally, Dr. Park Dietz, a forensics psychiatrist who has been involved in high profile cases, including the cases of the Unabomber and Jeffrey Dahmer, said

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“We’ve had 20 years of mass murders throughout which I have repeatedly told CNN and our other media, if you don’t want to propagate more mass murders, don’t start the story with sirens blaring. Don’t have photographs of the killer.

Don’t make this 24/7 coverage.

Do everything you can not to make the body count the lead story, not to make the killer some kind of anti-hero. Do localize the story to the affected community and make it as boring as possible in every other market. Because every time we have intense saturation coverage of a mass murder, we expect to see one or two more within a week.” Coming from different walks of life, these people who probably have never even heard of each other offer commentary that sound eerily similar to each other. And they all bring up a really good point.

What if the media is affecting the number of mass shootings? What if giving these killers the spotlight is inspiring others to follow in their footsteps? From an ethical standpoint, the media should reassess their role, and refocus their coverage. Let us learn more about the victims, whose lives were cut short tragically. Let us take some suggestions from these people and avoid showing the killer. Avoid naming him.

Avoid making him an icon. In the words of freelance writer Lilly O’Donnell, “Picking apart the life of a disturbed kid will

not bring back the dead ones.”

A main argument against the idea of limited coverage of killers is that this would involve withholding information from the public, but that isn’t the case at all. Facts can be presented without glorifying those responsible for these acts.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with talking about a crime as it is developing. The public has a right to know, and the freedom of the press is explicitly stated in the First Amendment of the Constitution, so their choice to report on a case holds some ground. However, weeks later there is no need for a discussion over the killers hobbies, internet history, breakfast habits (mandatory Walt Jr. reference), and report cards. Civilization won’t come to a halt if we aren’t told that the Navy Yard shooter considered himself a Buddhist.

This isn’t a call to censor the news, it’s a recommendation to change the way these events are reported.

Continued...

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Stop Sensationalizing Shooters!

On December 15th, 2012, The Observer released an article titled “Adam Lanza: The Quiet Friendless Boy Whom No One Knew.” The wording of this title suggests that the killer was a victim in this situation, that we should somehow sympathize with him. It also refers to him as THE Quiet Friendless Boy. Hours earlier, he was just “A quiet friendless boy.”

It’s not implausible that somebody that was in a similar situation, living a life lacking friends, realized that it’s very possible to go from “A” to “THE” overnight.

When sporting events were plagued with streaking, networks recognized the problem and realized a potential solution. The nude antics were so individuals could get their 15 minutes of fame on television, and networks responded by cutting to commercial breaks to ensure that their 15 minutes never came to fruition. As a result, streaking

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“[The Observer] suggests that the killer was a victim in this situation, that we should somehow sympathize with him. It also refers to him as: THE Quiet Friendless Boy.” steadily declined. Obviously, these extremely different circumstances cannot be used as definitive proof, but they do show the impact that broadcasting networks can have on seemingly unrelated events.

Unfortunately, the media has no reason to stop this type of coverage, as long as their ratings are steady.

To get this to change, people need to turn off their television when the sensationalized coverage begins, instead of tuning in. With a drop in

ratings, they would have no choice but to make a change, because let’s be honest, the media don’t really have take the moral high road in most cases. When it comes to headlines, the media follow a policy of “If it bleeds, it leads.” I say “if it leads, others will follow,” and as long as the media continue to report in this manner, this problem will not go away.

B

MARCH/APRIL 2013

Cartoons

Cartoons!

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11

Elon’s Musk: The Story of Tesla Motors

Elon’s Musk:

The Story of Tesla Motors Jake Hayutin Senior Student of Philosophy, Politics and Law and History Editor-in-Chief of Binghamton Review, 2012 Tesla, the California-based company that manufactures electric cars, has out-performed expectations and speculators remain bullish. A luxury electric car has come to market with premium ascetics and a practical range of over 200 miles. TSLA had an initial public offering (IPO) under $20 per share three years ago and is now trading above $180.

CEO and founder Elon Musk’s success can be explained by his devotion to his company, as evidenced by his skin-in-the-game from the very beginning. The story of Tesla is really one of humble origins, with financial backing by tiny banks like Goldman Sachs. Musk made the brave and courageous decision to court legislators for huge subsidies at a critical juncture in early development, rather than actually see if customers wanted to buy Tesla products.

Bold risk taking and a willingness to fail in the process of success is his ethos. In 2004, before the IPO, Musk acquired $278 million dollars in private financing of which a grand total of $74 came from his own pocket, showing Musk’s great personal sacrifice in starting Tesla. As such, he is reluctant to acknowledge the 12

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government’s crucial role in funding his enterprise that began in 2010 in the early stages of development of the Model S. Like in sport, arrogance is a favorable characteristic of hotshots in D.C. and Wall Street.

Before the release of the Model S and its IPO, Musk received $465 million loan from the Department of Energy, which in an interview

“The story of Tesla is really one of humble origins, with financial backing by tiny banks like Goldman Sachs.” with Popular Mechanics, he described merely “as helpful as an accelerant.”

Additionally, TSLA is propped up by more obscure subsides, including those to Japanese based Panasonic that develops the lithium-ion batteries that power each car, the $7,500 federal tax break to owners of electric cars and $51 millions in Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) credits. Suffice it to say, the $70,000 sticker price would be upward of $100,000 if not for both state and federal subsidies. There is no wonder the stock took off.

Going green is a good thing and Tesla’s success certainly proves an admirable social nudge -- for the elite. Although, investing in Tesla may be marginally ecofriendly is it people friendly?

Considering that by 2010 major market indices including the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indicated that the U.S. was still only about half way recovered to pre recession levels, unemployment was still above 9% and some 42 million American were on food stamps I’m not so sure it is justifiable for the Department of Energy to spend $465 million subsidizing a product only accessible to the 1%.

The marginal effect Tesla’s success may (or may not) have in preventing a global ecological catastrophe isn’t particularly compelling compared to the suffering of millions of American as a result of the Great Recession.

Toyota Camry defines a normal car for the middle class. It is a midsized sedan that starts at $22,235.

An inferior transportation good could be the bus or a bicycle for the most socioeconomically marginalized. On the other hand what is considered a luxury car-- something German -- starts at around $30,000.

MARCH/APRIL 2013

Elon’s Musk: The Story of Tesla Motors

I venture to say the Model S is more than a luxury good, it is a decadent good. In the climate of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, where states around the world and cities within our boarders (namely Detroit) have defaulted on their debt, and millions of retirees’ will no longer collect their promised pensions, the state’ ssupport of Tesla reeks of pungent Nietzschean decadence.

Tesla’s success only benefits the super wealthy. The average Model S owner makes over $150,000/yr. Its purchase likely includes an heir of narcissism that accompanied the early Prius owners in South Park’s “Smug Alert” episode. So while celebrities, politicians and other bon vivants bask in the fresh leather musk of their new Model S, the majority of Americans are still struggling to pay their bills on time.

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‘ The marginal effect Tesla’s success may

(or may not) have in preventing a global ecological catastrophe isn’t particularly compelling compared to the suffering of millions of American as a result of the Great Recession.’

13

A Bleak Dawn for Greece

A Bleak Dawn for Greece

By The Wolf In the midst of a declining economy and an overwhelming influx of illegal immigration, many Greeks are beginning to feel their government is failing them. Hospitals are crowded, safety-nets are being cut and most unskilled labor is being monopolized by immigrants (both legal and illegal), as well as refugees. In the traditional Greek spirit of skepticism, many citizens have decided to support fringe movements rather than established political parties. One such party is the NeoNazi group “Xpusy Avgi,” or Golden Dawn.

Despite Greece’s terrible past with Nazi’s and Germany, many Greeks are beginning to embrace fascist ideals taken almost exclusively from “Mein Kampf.” The platform of the Golden Dawn party is a simple one.

Basically, the party’s mission is to restore Greek pride, and in the words of the party’s general secretary, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, “chase the immigrants to the cliffs and throw them into the sea.” The atrocities of “Xprusy Avgi” have ranged from beating immigrants in the streets, to smacking socialist party parliament members in the face on national television. Golden Dawn even prevented immigrants who had green cards from receiving medical care in publicly run hospitals. The worst part about these criminal acts is that the police force in Greece is not only ignoring the actions of Golden Dawn, but assisting them.

Unlike past fascist regimes in Greece, Golden Dawn has received support from nationalist and communists alike. It appears that both political extremists hatred of immigrants, bankers, and austerity has strangely brought these two groups together. Although the Golden Dawn party is extremely violent and is being denounced by all major political parties in Greece, their popularity is only increasing.

Since the formation of the party a short time the ago, the party has increased its number of seats in parliament from 0.2% to 7.6% in the last election cycle. In some areas of Greece with high immigrant populations the percentage of 14

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voters affiliated with the party is as high as 30%.

With the decrease of government assistance programs, an increase in crime, and an influx of illegal immigrants, many communities are turning to Golden Dawn for help. The Golden Dawn party acts as a sort of quasi-local government in some areas. The party hands out bread to hungry Greeks, and even distributes bottles of ouzo to taverns. Golden Dawn also offers “protection services” against gangs in the area. Although for the most part these “protective services” are just an excuse to attack anarchists, homo-sexuals, peaceful immigrants, or anybody else they feel is a threat to their radical ideology.

On September 18th Golden Dawn Party’s violence spiked. The parties façade of legitimacy was destroyed, when a group of Golden Dawn affiliated Nazis murdered a 34 year old rapper due to his anti-racist sentiment. As a result of the killing, eighteen members of the Golden Dawn Party are being charged with murder, as well as several other violent crimes.

The government is currently investigating Golden Dawn headquarters and has

uncovered several connections between Golden Dawn and the police department.

The Greek government has cut all of the state’s funding from Golden Dawn and is hoping to eradicate the party completely within the coming months. It also appears that several high-ranking members of the party will almost definitely be jailed.

Luckily for Greece, it appears their government will return to normalcy and become the corrupt socialist dystopia we all know and love.

MARCH/APRIL 2013

But I’m Not Doing Anything Wrong...

But I’m Not Doing Anything Wrong!

By Jack Russo Senior Student of Italian & Economics

Our surveillance state might be harming our economy more than protecting national security.

The debate between national security vs. individual privacy is as American as the fourth amendment. Yet it could not be more two-dimensional.

Conservatives will stress the importance of fighting terrorism and protecting lives, even if that means ignoring the fourth.

Liberals and Libertarians will decry the loss of privacy, liberty or death they say. Besides you wouldn’t want those sexts you sent to your co-worker to fall into the wrong hands would you? Ok so you’re not sending nude pics to your secretary (those seem to go public anyway), but it’s still kinda creepy with someone always watching you. Just when you get the overwhelming sensation of living east of Berlin, Conservatives reassure us with us with the classic soothing catchphrase “you have nothing to worry about if your not doing anything wrong.” But what if you’re not doing anything wrong? What if you’re doing everything right? What if your competition is not amused?

According to Bloomberg News: “Thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies are working closely with U.S. national security agencies, providing sensitive information and in return receiving benefits that include www.binghamtonreview.com

access to classified intelligence, four people familiar with the process said…Makers of hardware and software, banks, Internet security providers, satellite telecommunications companies and many other companies also participate in the government programs. In some cases, the information gathered may be used not just to defend the nation but to help infiltrate computers of its adversaries.”

“the debate about privacy is about more than your trivial Facebook messages”

At this point, it should be clear that the debate about privacy is about more than your trivial Facebook messages. The NSA/ CIA/FBI sanctioned transfer of business secrets to competitors is not national security, it’s theft plain and simple. Whether it’s research into the next iThing or information about tomorrows stock price, the security state has given a select group of insiders a definitive leg up. Like trying to beat the computer at chess, monitored business will face competition that always knows the best next move. While it is difficult quantify the full economic impact of the security state, supporters of free markets can see the writing on the wall.

What happens to innovation when rigged markets are the norm (if

there’re not already)?

If you’re going to cry economic wolf, then you need a cost benefit analysis. What in life is without it’s ups and downs?

According to USA Today: “National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander told a House committee Tuesday that more than 50 terror threats throughout the world have been disrupted with the assistance of two secret surveillance programs…

More than 10 of the plots targeted the U.S. homeland, Alexander told the House Intelligence Committee, including a plot to attack the New York Stock Exchange. “ Unfortunately the secretive nature of intelligence exchange and the non-event of these prevented attacks make it almost impossible to compare their costs.

Without greater discloser on these exchanges, we must make a choice blindfolded. In the dark liberty seems like death and serfdom seems like safety.

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Breaking Bad: Walt vs. Jesse

Breaking Bad: Walt vs. Jesse

The Road to Hell is Paved With Crystal Why Breaking Bad is a Libertarian Parable on unintended consequences

By Jack Russo Senior Student of Italian & Economics

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!

After screaming in a fit of rage at the editor of this publication during the waning episodes of Breaking Bad (don’t worry he was yelling back), I thought it might be more productive to articulate my thoughts rather than foaming at the mouth. The point of contention was wether a murdering manipulative psychopath could still be considered the “Hero” of the show. For those who have watched the drama over the past five seasons we’ve seen the protagonist Walter White evolved from timid cancer stricken high school chemistry teacher to drug lord strongman. Along the way he’s killed the competition, deceived and manipulated his family; and perhaps his worst crime, poisoning an innocent child to further his ends (albeit it was below the lethal dosage).

Breaking Bad: Walt vs. Jesse

Along side these heinous acts, Walter’s apprentice/ sidekick Jesse Pinkman has shared in the blame for most but not all these crimes, with the notable exception of poisoning the child. Because you see, Jesse’s got a soft spot for the children. Even though he’s a meth dealer who’s pushed his dope on recovering addicts, every time he sees a child in distress he cries out “But what about the children!?!” in an old ladies voice.

Nevermind you the pain and suffering of these kids is often the direct result of Jesse and Walt’s drug game, Jesse anoints himself the savior of the innocent and races to save them. Never once does he stop to consider the unintended consequences of his self appointed messiahship.

The iconic instance of these consequences is Jesse’s attempt to discreetly assassinate two thugs using a kid a dealer.

Never mind you the two thugs are employees of Jesse and Walt’s boss, Gustavo.

What could possibly go wrong? Nor would killing the thugs mean an end to the gang life of the conscripted child. Walt, cold and calculating as he is, insists against the plot, arguing that such a plan could endanger themselves and potentially others.

Ultimately, Jesse ignores this advice causing not only the child to be killed in retaliation, but causing a chain reaction of violence and unnecessary bloodshed that continues to this point in the drama.

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Whether the writers had this it in mind or not, Jesse’s choice to intervene is eerily similar to the consequences of the drug war waged by Washington.

The drug war may have been at one point been a sincere attempt to protect misguided or vulnerable youth from narcotics. Even today when questions of legalization are brought up the choir of old ladies shrieks “But what about the children!?!“ However, tens of thousands of drug violence related casualties and billions of dollars latter, the American government is still waging it’s war on drugs. Likewise Jesse Pinkman has continued to intervene on behalf of the children, causing yet more unnecessary bloodshed.

At Least Jesse Expresses Regret for His Mistakes...

Like Our Politicians, Walt Never Does

By Dan Milyavsky Current Editor-in-Chief

As for Walt and the other characters like Mike and Gustavo who’ve advocated on behalf restraint and knowing ones place (two things the federal government could learn), I would go so far as to call them heroic. Given their murderous and psychopathic behavior, they’ve done their best to keep the peace. In spite of Pinkman always rocking the boat, they’ve given him opportunity after opportunity to realize the world ain’t perfect. They’ve given him opportunity after opportunity leave the past in the past and live a respectable life. But Pinkman keeps rocking, and people keep dying. It’s time we stopped praising the Pinkmen of the world for their good intensions, because the road to hell is paved crystal.

Although we have a proud tradition here at the Review of humiliating people in highly personal terms, Jack Russo is one of my best friends at Binghamton, so I will refrain from doing this.

Jack’s framing of our dispute was more or less accurate, but it also contained an element of the Walt vs. Jesse question.

I’ve been in the tank for Jesse at least ever since he punched Todd in the face after Todd shot an innocent boy and then said “shit happens.” Walt continued working with Todd, figuring the kid was already dead, but this was too much for Jesse to take.

So while Jesse may not anticipate unintended consequences as a result of his behavior, he at least accepts blame for them. Walt, however, is remorseless. Like the Federal Government or like Barack Obama, nothing is ever his fault. (continued on next page) 17

Breaking Bad: Walt vs. Jesse I watched Jane die? Not my fault, she was inconveniencing me.

I had Gale killed? Not my fault, it was either me or him. My brotherin-law was shot nearly to death as a result of my actions? Not my fault, it was the drug cartel. Setting off a bomb at a nursing home? Not my fault, Gus had to die. Shot Mike for no reason? He was pissing me off by not giving me the list of names!

And so forth. Rather than Jesse Pinkman being a habitual boat rocker, he is a moral hero, one of the few characters in this series who takes responsibility for his own actions. While Walt can justify anything and everything since he’s doing it for his family, or so he tells himself, Jesse is more honest with himself, and admits guilt. When the Alcoholics Anonymous-ish guy tells him to accept himself, Jesse calls out the bullshit. He had just shot Gale Boetticher (under orders from Walt). He had just killed an innocent person. You don’t just accept something like that.

If politicians actually emulated Jesse and took responsibility for their actions - if they admitted the millions of lives devastated by wrong headed policies like the War on Drugs, the millions of families broken down by the welfare state, the thousands of lives lost in unnecessary wars, the millions of people who don’t have jobs because of an absurd tax code and an even more absurd regulatory structure - if they admitted all these things, maybe we’d have a chance at real reform.

But politicians are just like

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Jack: “Jesse anoints himself the savior of the innocent and races to save them. Never once does he stop to consider the unintended consequences of his self appointed messiahship.”

Walter White. Nothing is Walt’s fault, since he was doing it for his family. Nothing is Obama’s fault, since he was doing it for America.

EDITORS NOTE: This exchange took place on September 16, before the final two episodes of Breaking Bad. Walt is obviously a very good guy in the finale, but he doesn’t really reverse the damage he’s done. He rid othe world of Jack, Todd, and Lydia, which is obviously good, but Hank is still dead, as are Jane and Andrea and Mike. His family hates him.

Jesse has suffered through both physical and emotional torture.

So, even though he does expire at the end of the series, I think in a way Walt got let off pretty easy.

Oh, and speaking of Hank, Ross Douthat wrote an article saying how Hank was the only moral character on Breaking Bad. Nonsense. Although he regrets it, Hank never actually apologizes to

Jesse for beating the shit out of him, and he couldn't care less if Walt kills Jesse in Season 5. Not only that, he's a DEA agent. I'm not really going to get into it, but if it wasn't for the War on Drugs, all the violence that you see on Breaking Bad wouldn't have happened. Also, this reminds me of a stupid liberal meme, how if we had universal health care, Walt wouldn't need to cook meth. Nonsense. Walt had health insurance, he just wanted the very best doctor. And Elliot and Gretchen offered to pay, but he rejected them out of pride.

He ended up cooking meth for himself, not for his family, as he admits in the finale. Don't fling your stupid liberal politics on the best show in television history.

Farewell, Breaking Bad. You will be dearly missed. Thank you to Jack for this excellent exchange.B

Dan: “While Walt can justify anything and everything since he’s doing it for his family, or so he tells himself, Jesse is more honest with himself, and admits guilt.”

MARCH/APRIL 2013

What Moves the Market

What Moves the Market

‘The Reasons Underlying the Volatility of [the Market] ’

By Sam Bondy Junior Student of Economics The actions of the stock market during the past few months have been mostly unprecedented. The reasons underlying the volatility of major indices ranging from the Dow Jones Industrial Average to the S&P 500, were not so much due to financial analyses, but were sparked by comments made by people such as Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The “go-to” benchmark in determining how interest rates are being affected by market conditions and vice versa, is the 10-year treasury-note, it is often referred to as the “risk-free rate” (because of how unlikely the U.S. government is to default).

Yields have consistently been between 1.6 and 2.1 percent over the past year. But, during June, the “taper-tantrum” began. Bernanke said some hawkish (less supportive of QE) things and the markets went wild. During early September, the 10-year broke 3%, the highest it has been in over two years, but nowhere near the pre-recession yields of around 5%. But after the last fed meeting, yields went back down to around 2.6%.

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How is this yield determined?

The Federal Reserve uses a tool called open market operations. This is where the Fed purchases treasuries from, not-so-ironically, the U.S. Treasury Department, and is what is known as QE or quantitative easing. Trillions of dollars have been pumped into the economy under the name, QE. In its current state, the Fed buys $40 billion in agency mortgage backed securities and $45 billion of Treasuries each month.

These treasuries are bonds, which have a price, a face value

and a yield. T-notes have a fixed face value, but their price and yields are determined by the forces of supply and demand.

A bond’s yield runs inverse to its price so, when the demand for these bonds go up, namely the Fed buys them, so do their prices and subsequently, yields go down.

By the Fed driving these yields down, they hope to encourage investment as the t-note yield is tied to various loan interest rates. When these rates are low, people are believed to borrow more and theoretically, spending/consumption would increase. The Fed’s guidelines for deciding whether or not 19

What Moves the Market

to make these purchases is, in part, according to their “dual mandate”; to reach a target unemployment rate as well as maintain low to stable inflation.

“risky” stock market, driving it down. The opposite happens when the Fed has a dovish stance, pro QE.

So why does this affect the stock market?

Since people want to earn interest on their savings and treasuries provide such a low return, people are reaching for yield. Equity markets have become much more attractive to potential investors. As a result, when the Fed hints that it is going to lay-off the bond purchases, people think safe, treasury-yields are going to go up. People want to take their money out of the

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When the Fed decides to reduce its bond purchases, it will have a profound impact on financial markets. Almost all interest rate products are tied to the tnx (10-year) in some way and its movement affects all corners of the economy.

The last Fed meeting was

on September 17th and was considered by many, one of the most important meetings the decade. The FOMC’s stance on tapering, which was dovish, bolstered the stock market and lowered the tnx by over 25 basis points. Albeit this true, many people believe that equities are already, at least partially, discounted for any effects from a reduction in QE. We speculate that when Ben Bernanke’s term is up, which is very soon, the future of the Fed will most likely be in the hands of Janet Yellen, a notoriously dovish economist. If she becomes the next Chairwoman, expect the stock market to rise and yields on the tnx to decrease.

MARCH/APRIL 2013

The Saudi Connection

The Saudi Connection

‘Why Most 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Suck, & The Truth About 9/11] ’

By Jack Russo Senior Student of Italian & Economics

When it comes to 9/11 there’s little room for compromise in a debate that make’s most Americans uncomfortable. On one side there’s 9/11 Truthers, who will claim anything and everything from explosives planted inside the World Trade Center, to remote controlled planes to no planes at all (seriously?). Why the Bush administration would take enormous risks to construct such an elaborate hoax is beyond me, especially considering that military action against the Taliban (and possibly Iraq) was already planned irrespective of any terrorist attack.

On the other side there are the self described “Skeptics” who accept the 9/11 commission as gospel truth without omission or error.

Despite this fishy application of the word “skeptic”, Lee Hamilton the vice-chairman of the 9/11 commission would suggest otherwise when he said, “I don’t believe for a minute that we got everything right. We wrote a first draft of history.”

Make no mistake; AlQaeda was quite capable of the destruction and tragedy they caused twelve years ago.

However, they were capable www.binghamtonreview.com

for reasons might not think.

Reasons that if made clear to the American public would cause a backlash against our intelligence agencies and our so-called “allies” in the Middle East. Perhaps the question at the center of this debate should be not who was behind 9/11, but who was behind al-Qaeda?

“Who was behind al-Qaeda?”

It sounds like a trivial question until you examine the origins of al-Qaeda. It is well known that the CIA, GID (the Saudi intelligence agency) and the ISI (the Pakistani intelligence service) covertly supported the Mujahideen, providing cash, weapons and training to fight the Soviet occupation.

What is lesser known is the CIA’s relationship Islamic preacher Abdulla Azzam.

Azzam was a mentor to Osama Bin Laden and one of the main founders of the M.A.K, an Islamic charity front that recruited Mujahideen from around the world to fight the soviets. The funds M.A.K raised and the fighters it recruited would form the organization we know today as al-Qaeda.

According to a “Senior State Department advisor on Pakistan and Afghanistan, the CIA “enlisted” Azzam.” In other words Azzam was a CIA asset.

Without context this seems like a dubious connection.

However “Michael Springman, former head of the NonImmigrant Visa Section at the U.S consulate in Jeddah, said that the CIA forced him against his will to issue visas to people who would otherwise be ineligible. “What I was protesting was, in reality an effort to bring recruits rounded up by Osama bin Laden, to the U.S for terrorist training by the CIA.” ” Bin Laden himself would seem to corroborate this statement in a 1995 interview stating, when “I created my first camps…volunteers 21

The Saudi Connection underwent training instructed by Pakistani and American Officers.”

A year later he would retract this statement, but why mention the support in the first place?

In November of 1989 Abdulla Azzam was assassinated (by who it is still unknown) and Bin Laden took the reigns of M.A.K/ al-Qaeda. From this point in history it is difficult to assess what influence the C.I.A had over alQaeda. What is clear is continuing relationship between the GID and Bin Laden after the fact. In effect Azzam’s assassination transferred control of al-Qaeda from the Americans to the Saudis.

According to Prince Turki (long time head of the GID) Bin Laden “had a strong relation with Saudi intelligence and our embassy in Pakistan… He was our man… We were happy with him.”

Even after his supposed exile in 1996, NSA “intercepts had demonstrated to analysts that by 1996 Saudi money was supporting Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda.”

This is in sharp contrast with the 9/11 commission’s conclusion that the funding for the attack was “of little practical significance.”

Again without context, these connections might seem like little more than circumstantial attempts at “protection money”. That is until you reach page 396, part four of the joint Congressional Inquiry into the attacks. All 28 pages redacted in their entirety.

“The Democratic and Republican chairmen of the Joint Inquiry, Senators Graham and Richard

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Shelby, felt strongly that the bulk of the material could and should have been made Public… Shelby said “ My judgment is that 95% of that information could be declassified… so the American people would know.” “ What would we know?

Senator Graham told the authors of The Eleventh Day: The Full story of 9/11 “that the Saudis were facilitating, assisting, some of the hijackers. And my suspicion is that they were providing some assistance to most if not all of the hijackers . . . It’s my opinion that 9/11 could not have occurred but for the existence of an infrastructure of support within the United States. By ‘the Saudis,’ I mean the Saudi government and individual Saudis who are for some purposes dependent on the government—which includes all of the elite in the country.” “ It is difficult to say with any certainty unless these documents are, in

fact declassified. Conservatives, Liberals, and Libertarians alike should demand the disclosure of this material, if for no other reason than to clear the air and settle suspicion.

Mind you this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is far more evidence detailing the connections between the GID, CIA and alQaeda that I cannot discuss fully and objectively in one article.

After the intervention in Libya, the disaster in Benghazi, and the ongoing intervention in Syria on the side of al-Qaeda linked rebels, the American public deserves to know where our “allies” stand and whether the CIA is once again playing with fire at our expense.

“Mind you this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

MARCH/APRIL 2013

The US Government is Officially Shut Down! ...Wait What?

The US Government is Officially Shut Down!

‘Wait, WHAT??? ’

By William Schneider Sophomore Student of Finance Many would say that today is a proud day to be living in a country which is finally adopting a universal health care program. Are you for it? Against it? Regardless of your stance, I’m sure you are all quite familiar with “that guy” who can hear the words “hospital” and “Obama” two lecture halls over and immediately springs into action, making sure everyone knows his life-changing opinion on the matter. Well congratulations “that guy.” You broke the government.

That’s right, everyone. On Tuesday October 1st, for the first time in seventeen years, the United States Government has officially shut down. Thankfully for the people we love, social security checks will still be mailed and hospitals will still be open.

Thankfully, for all those who didn’t work as hard as us in high school, we are not about to stop paying for welfare checks. Unfortunately, for government workers, you are officially being grouped into the category of “excepted”, or “non-excepted”, (changed from “essential” or “non-essential” in 1995, because according to the

Washington Post, “non-essential seemed a bit hurtful”) and things are about to get interesting.

If you are placed into the “non-essential” group, then congratulations! You have an immediate unpaid vacation! If you are lucky enough not to be voted off the island, you get to come back to work without pay. Don’t flip out, your pay is just delayed, and it will hit your bank account as soon as we have a government again. Probably.

If you are like me, then you’re sitting there asking yourself, “What could possibly have caused the government to shut down? Since the last such crisis, we made it through September 11th, the Iraq War and even Hillary Clinton with a government that was still breathing.” Well, gold stars for everyone who said that Healthcare would destroy the United States Government, because it literally did.

The Government’s fiscal year runs from October 1st to September 30th and before this it is up to Congress to pass spending allocations so that the government can, you know, pay for everything it

does. Well, thanks to a Republican House, a Democratic Senate, and a very confusing, very controversial bill that I think I might start calling ‘The Gaza Slip,’ nothing was passed.

Shockingly, House Republicans seemed to think the budget should act against Obamacare. Against all odds, Senate Democrats disagreed. Now normally in this kind of situation, we fall back on what we learned in Kindergarten and compromise, but in today’s society it seems more common for politicians to put naked pictures of themselves on the internet than to even think about the C-word (compromise). Naturally, there was only one possible solution. Shut down the federal government.

As I said before, the “essential” people are still working, so don’t run outside to light up that joint in the street. As it stands however, the US government was and is still currently (as of October 3rd) officially shut down. Hopefully they can find some kind of common ground (or something to mutually hate enough) up there on Capitol Hill that we can have a government again… until then: ‘Murica!

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MARCH/APRIL 2013