Spring Cleaning

So many important issues are on everyone's minds during this time of year, but I have only so few words allotted to this column. Here are a variety of things to ponder before exams and papers start stressing you out too much--a sort of spring cleaning for your brain:

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I used to be one of these people who would feel great angst over the lack of interest in national news displayed by many Americans. However, poor little Elian Gonzalez radically changed my mind on this subject. Is this issue important? Yes. But the other day I arrived at the crux of the issue. A friend of mine, for whom I have the utmost respect in terms of keeping up with current events, flipped off Tom Brokaw's special afternoon update in favor of the highly intellectual Fox show "Real TV." Seeing a 300-pound Marlin pull a man out of his fishing boat definitely felt more important to watch at that point than anything Janet Reno could have done or said with the family. This settled the issue for me; the media has drastically over-covered this event.

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With the new baseball season underway, residents of Boston and members of Red Sox nation have begun another clamor for the construction of a new stadium. Allegedly, it will happen this time--they even have blueprints. But unless Boston Mayor Tom Menino and the Beacon Hill gang actually mobilize in the next few months, the situation will look awfully similar to the football stadium debacle last year that almost led to the Hartford Patriots. The Red Sox are a Boston institution. They ought to get the infrastructure that they want for this project. Everybody wins with a new stadium.

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If the powers that be at Harvard are serious about making efforts to improve undergraduate education, then the decision to deny Louise Richardson tenure still baffles me. As one of the students lucky enough to know Professor Richardson, I will be very sad to see her go. The commitment that she made to her students throughout her Government 1748 course and in her role as head tutor can only be described as remarkable. Granting her tenure would have added even more strength to the already strong government department as well as been a positive step in gaining gender equality among tenured professors.

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God bless the Independent Counsel law. Call this office any name you want, but maybe it will actually serve its purpose and give President Clinton what he deserves for his disgusting bastardization of the truth throughout the entire Monica S. Lewinsky scandal--that is, unless Al Gore '69 has anything to say about it. Right now, Clinton says he doesn't want a pardon if he faces criminal charges. And Al Gore has responded to the issue of pardoning his boss if elected president, a la Gerald Ford, by suggesting Clinton's response makes this a moot point. But the Slick One and the Inventor of the Internet have, at times, been a bit disingenuous. If Gore's tireless fundraising efforts ultimately land him the good office on Pennsylvania Ave, look for waffle number one to be the Clinton pardon.

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In light of the latest local catastrophe, the mismanagement of the Central Artery Tunnel project (a.k.a. "The Big Dig"), it's nice to see that private citizens are taking it upon themselves to help serve the community at large. In this era of expanding government programs to levels that would make Thomas Jefferson cry, some prominent locals are doing great things without government involvement. Former 8th district congressman Joe Kennedy founded a non-profit organization called "Citizen's Energy." The non-profit corporation uses entrepreneurial revenue to provide heating and oil to low-income families at up to 40 percent below market value. Thanks to Kennedy's effort as a private citizen, many Massachusetts families can live more comfortably.

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Texas Gov. George W. Bush put himself in a tough position this past February when he sold his political soul to the devil--er, Pat Robertson--in exchange for a comeback victory in South Carolina. It seems to me that the easiest way for him to show people the compassionate part of his "compassionate conservatism" exists, is to choose the right running mate. Insisting on a pro-life running mate just won't work. One name no one seems to raise anymore because of her recent tough re-election battle is New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman. She is everything the Republican party ought to be highlighting--an intelligent social moderate with a proven record. A Bush-Whitman ticket might give the Texas neophyte a better chance at November victory.

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Last, with the 2000 NFL draft happening over the weekend, as many as three members of the 1999 Harvard Crimson squad may have found themselves on pro rosters. For linebackers Isaiah J. Kacyvenski '00 and Michael E. Sands '00, as well as tight end Christopher J. Eitzmann '00, this is a terrific way to cap off their college careers. Congratulations and best wishes to them--and now it's time buckle down for the last few weeks of school.

Brad R. Sohn '02 is a government concentrator in Kirkland House. His column appears on alternate Mondays.