Donald Trump: good idea

Bernardo Vigil, A&E Editor
April 27, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

As soon as Donald Trump officially announces his presidential candidacy, I’m going to campaign for him.  Stuffing envelopes, making phone calls, knocking on doors, I’ll even tell them I’m fluent in Spanish so they can send me down Lake Street––I am going to do everything in my power to get... Read more »

Jesus on a bluff: good idea

April 8, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

I want to preface this whole thing by saying that I have no emotional attachment to any sort of Jesus statue, anywhere. That being said, Tuan Pham––the man who St. Paul’s city council is forcing to take down his 17 foot Jesus statue––clearly does and, while the city is certainly within their... Read more »

Paying for test scores: bad idea

Bernardo Vigil, A&E Editor
April 7, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

I haven’t been paid for grades since 3rd grade. Part of this may be because I haven’t had grades worth paying for since the 3rd grade, but the point still stands: it’s a bad idea. It takes away the joy of learning and replaces it with an arbitrary goal that really has nothing to do with education. When... Read more »

Pentagon cover-ups: bad idea

Bernardo Vigil, A&E Editor
April 5, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

For anyone who doesn’t know, The Rolling Stone recently pulled a Wikileaks.  They obtained photos of American soldiers mutilating and playing with the corpses of Afghans they had killed––some of which, by the platoon’s own admittance, were killed for sport––and released them.  Photos included... Read more »

Turning Libya into Iraq: bad idea

Bernardo Vigil, A&E Editor
March 24, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

United States military involvement in the Middle East has never really been a bad idea. In theory, taking out Al Qaida in Afghanistan and deposing a brutal dictator in Iraq is all well and good, but––much like Soviet communism and trickle down economics––it fell apart in practice. Why we occupied... Read more »

English-only bill: bad idea

Bernardo Vigil, A&E Editor
March 7, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

In case you weren’t aware, this is our state motto: “L’Etoile du Nord.” Roughly translated from French, it means “The Northern Star.” Just keep that in mind, our state motto––the one that adorns our flag and state seal––is French. One of the first pieces of legislation proposed... Read more »

Libyan solidarity: good idea

Bernardo Vigil, A&E Editor
February 28, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

When it comes to struggles for democracy and human rights, solidarity is key, especially in today’s global culture. One of our current administration’s biggest failures in regards to the Egypt protests was a lack of verbal support. The Obama administration was slow and reserved when it came to... Read more »

Downtown casino: bad idea

Bernardo Vigil, A&E Editor
February 28, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

I’m not opposed to gambling. I’m opposed to old people monopolizing downtown, I’m opposed to taking away revenue from Native Americans (as if we haven’t already taken enough from them), and I’m opposed developers changing the state constitution so they an make some money; but, in principal,... Read more »

Dayton’s tax-hike: good idea

Bernardo Vigil, A&E Editor
February 16, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

The Super Bowl is awesome. It’s as American as white picket fences and apple pie. It’s competition at its finest and the NFL works well at making sure the same team doesn’t win every year. This is done by giving the Super Bowl winner last pick in the following year’s draft; also, every team... Read more »

Teachers pay freezes: bad idea

Bernardo Vigil, A&E Editor
February 15, 2011
Filed under Opinions, The Soapbox

If Republican legislatures stand up for states’ rights on the national level, logic would dictate that our state level Republicans would stand up for the autonomy of things like counties and school districts. It’s all about deregulation right? Well, while deregulation may be a bad idea when it... Read more »