Political leaders need to hear our gripes

This letter is in response to two of your columns that I think are very much related. The first one ran Sept. 26 and the second one was in yesterday's Collegian.

First, I want to comment on the column written by Scott Paterno. I must say Scott, I could not have said it better. I am a registered Democrat, but I agree with you on this subject. There have been so many bodies dropping around Bill Clinton that it just is not a coincidence anymore. And this is going back to the days when he was governor of Arkansas.

When people have virtually unlimited amounts of power, there is no telling what they will do. And this characteristic of human nature transcends all political boundaries. This does not mean that we should do away with government as we know it. I believe that our constitution was well written and in it, lies the key to freedom. The problem is that its power has been attacked and eroded over the years. From the very moment it was put into legislation, the powers that be were looking for ways to disarm it!

This brings me to the second article of interest. This article addressed the almighty identification number - our social security number. And it also had a picture of a bar code number instead of a picture of Tim La Rose. Now, you tell me, why in the hell did the powers that be load the bar code numbers with 6s? They were definitely made that way intentionally. Only a stupid coincidence? I think not. These people want to demonstrate to us in a passive way their dominance over us. And why not the number of the beast?

As an aside, I want every one of you who reads this article to go and look at a road map of Pennsylvania. Up north and to the west of Centre County is the route 666. And if you look at other state road maps, there are other route 666s also. And if you're really into it, try and pick out the overall shape of the road around the route number. It twists and bends like a snake. But I digress.

The point to make is that our social security numbers should not be used as the all encompassing identification number. This number came from a desire to herd the people of this country into a collective mass of disguised as a safety net for the poor and sick and citizens of senior age.

Believe me when I tell you that I do have a deep seeded faith in this country of ours and that I believe that we can make it work better. But first, we need to let our political leaders know that we are serious and that there are some changes that need to take effect soon.

Jonathan M. Rybacki
sophomore-geoscience

Word 'opinion' doesn't give defamation rights

The Collegian has done it again. Not long back, I read Scott Perry's "Media distortions of truth hide Democratic lies" column. It was, in my opinion, one of the sloppiest, half-witted columns I have ever read. Then I read Scott Paterno's columns Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday. I can't believe he had three chances to rant about this crap.

Give us a break. How many times are we going to be subjected to the paranoid ravings of these ditto-head right wingers?

Paterno said the words "my opinion" give him license to look at things beyond what he can prove. Then he goes on to state certain things as "facts," without attributing the sources of his information. Now, you can't really do that, can you? Once you've gone on to state something as a fact (as Paterno does) it must be taken that you mean it is the truth.

The Collegian should be ashamed to print this drivel. As a member of the Penn State community, I am ashamed for you, and for Penn State. Do you really want peopl nn Staters are a bunch of ranting paranoids, who are crazy enough to believe the president and first lady are murderers? I hope not. And I have a hard time believing any of the people who are writing this crap actually believe it. But, it doesn't matter. As long as it achieves their goal - to shock and confuse the gullible masses, and keep Clinton from being re-elected - they don't care. Let's hope the public is smart enough to figure that out.

Sean Cook
State College resident

Penn State vs. Ohio State: you be the judge

Boy, this sure is a big game this weekend, huh? Yeah, for you guys, maybe. See, we have got quite into the habit of smacking around top five teams. While you guys were getting lucky and slipping by Wisconsin (Wisconsin?), we were kicking the crap out of Notre Dame. So you'll have to excuse us if we can't get nearly as worked up as you guys this week as we condescend to let you come here and play us. And as for your safety, I wouldn't worry a whole hell of a lot about it - it's not like you actually stand a chance of winning.

Of course, that's probably the least of your concerns, isn't it? Yeah, we are averaging 57 points a game, but we respect our elders. So we'll try to keep from running up the score on Joe "Grand" Pa. God forbid we should force the relic into retirement, or even worse, kill the best darn coach who remembers the Wilson administration. Besides, what are you guys scared of? Don't you guys ever have parties there in Happy Valley? See, here at "The Birthplace of the Riot," we know how to let down our hair down and have a good time.

How did you guys celebrate your "big" win over Temple? A rousing game of Dungeons and Dragons at one of your coffee shops? A nice game of chess at one of your chamber music festivals? A big Saturday night of algebra problems and history homework? You Nittany Lions sure are proud of your big Enis aren't you? Well, here at Ohio State, we know it isn't the size of the Enis, but how you use it. Is there any doubt that Enis will soon be sitting on the bench somewhere in the NFL, much like the great Ki-Jana Carter? When we decide to take a tailback from your state, (i.e. Eddie George), we first make sure he can read and write, and that he will produce for us. Come on guys, we all know that when you guys fill Beaver Stadium it is just overcompensation.

So yeah, you go ahead and bring your geriatric coach and your big Enis and let us kick them around for a little while.

Go ahead and bring Wally, and we'll send him home crying to Ward and June just like Eddie Haskell used to. Sure, it'll make you mad, it'll make your players mad, it'll make the person reading this to you mad, but you'll get over it. As for us? We'll just kick back and bask in the glory of another win over another overrated top five team.

It'll be a riot.

With warm regards,

The Lantern sports staff
GO BUCKS!