The Retriever Weekly

Oversight of Blackwater in Iraq is a necessary step

By Doug Manzelmann

Over the past year, the federal government has refused oversight from Congress citing executive privilege as an excuse. Dick Cheney has gone so far as to claim that he's not part of the executive branch in order to avoid congressional oversight. As funny as this may seem, the Bush administration has allowed for private security contractors to run amok in Iraq without supervision. The end result being the allegation, from the Iraqi gover USA, a private contractor with a large presence in Iraq, has initiated a premeditated attack resulting in 17 Iraqi deaths and an additional 27 wounded.Blackwater ... Read More

Illegal wiretapping: The internal war in America

By Doug Manzelmann

A war that was intended to create a safer America has only resulted in continual attacks on Americans. Lying, spying, and irresponsible spending is pervasive throughout the Executive Branch, and every week a new story emerges which makes it increasingly clear that 9/11 has only been used to further attack U.S. citizens. George Bush's guise has become transparent. His claimed motives, supposedly altruistic, are only a farce. With intentions of violating federal privacy law, the NSA approached the big telecoms asking for telephone records after the events of 9/11. The dubious legal nature of the deals were ignored with the ... Read More

Obama is America's last best hope

By Doug Manzelmann

Only months ago, the presidential primaries had numerous candidates hoping to win their parties' nomination. Now, however, we are left with but a few choices on either side of the aisle. John McCain has all but won the republican nomination, even though Mike Huckabee is still in the race. The democratic nominee, however, has yet to be determined. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are competing in one of the closest primary races in quite some time. Obama has recently gained momentum and is slightly favored to win the nomination; this is the most advantageous outcome for the American populace.Hillary Clinton ... Read More

Investing in green industry, energy and economy

By Doug Manzelmann

Recently Al Gore announced an ambitious goal: ending the use of carbon-emitting energy sources. Gore cites wind, solar, nuclear and other alternative sources as the answer to the oil and coal problem. He compared this endeavor to landing a man on the moon. While many critics have called into question the feasibility of the proposal, the United States is in a position in which it would be foolish not to aggressively invest in new technologies. Despite a stagnant economy, technology companies have had no problem raking in quarterly gains. And as Gore stated, an embrace ... Read More

No matter how you spin it, candidates' tax plans leave much to be desired

By Doug Manzelmann

As is always the case in an election, both the Democratic and Republican candidates are making promises of tax cuts. Each candidate's promise is certain to garner the attention of voters with the United States' economy barely remaining afloat.With the economy in mind, and the fact that two-thirds of it is based on consumer spending, both candidates are stating that they plan to help the average citizen by cutting taxes. John McCain is accusing Barack Obama of raising taxes, and Obama is accusing McCain of favoring the wealthy. A simple look at a detailed study conducted by the Tax Policy ... Read More

A failure to provide real alternative energy solutions for America

By Doug Manzelmann

With government planning on the future of energy in stasis for the past eight years, Barack Obama and John McCain have put an emphasis on securing energy resources for the United States. The approach taken by each candidate, however, is dramatically different. Both Obama and McCain have made concessions in their plans for one reason or another; the most notable change has been Senator McCain's decision to embrace offshore drilling despite his acknowledgment in May that offshore drilling wouldn't relieve oil prices for decades to come.Senator McCain, much like Senator Obama, plans to make use of the entire spectrum of ... Read More

McCain campaign ignores real problems and distorts the truth

By Doug Manzelmann

Despite a slight convention boost in the polls, John McCain's campaign has taken a dive during the past few months.His persistent rhetoric calling for a long-term presence in Iraq backfired after the Bush administration and the Iraqi government agreed for a complete U.S. withdrawal by 2011. Since the Republican National Convention, the campaign has been silent in regard to McCain's experience in Washington. The campaign is now boasting of Senator McCain and Sarah Palin's ability to change Washington, echoing the theme of Obama's campaign which he harshly criticized prior to the Convention. After conceding on two important ideas for his ... Read More

Troop surge in Afghanistan would belittle diplomacy

By Doug Manzelmann

In 2002, supporters of the war in Iraq insisted that any conflict would be brief; some even suggested that it would be a "cakewalk." We, of course, know otherwise right now, but one would hope that the lessons learned won't be taken for granted. Unfortunately, the American political system does not work like that. Pragmatism isn't intrinsic. The surge in Iraq has been cited as the key to counterinsurgency in Iraq. While no one will deny the fact that the presence of more troops helped, individuals like Senator John McCain rarely mention a key component of peace in ... Read More

GI Bill necessaray for returning veterans

By Doug Manzelmann

Regardless of one's opinion of the war and politics, it is certain that our troops, who risk their lives on a daily basis and have their tours extended by three months after already being deployed, deserve a reward for their service. Though this seems obvious, the Bush Administration does not think that their service should merit government paying for a college education. Even more perplexing is that some of these objectors are the staunchest defenders of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. John McCain wasn't the only one to criticize the new GI Bill, but it seems absurd for a ... Read More

Scrutinizing Sarah Palin one trooper at a time

By Doug Manzelmann

The McCain campaign repeatedly mentions that it will change Washington but not in the same radical style that Senator Barack Obama has promised. Sarah Palin is already demonstrating that she is capable of keeping in line with Dick Cheney's policies. Ever since Senator John McCain announced Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate, word has been afloat regarding Palin and her husband Todd Palin's involvement in the unjust firing of Walt Monegan, Public Safety Commissioner. Before Palin became governor, her family made verified allegations of misconduct against Trooper Michael Wooten, who was going through a bitter ... Read More

Green movement has the potential to bolster economy

By Doug Manzelmann

Though we're in the middle of two wars, an economic crisis, and an historic election, the current ideology of going green is still important. While some consider it a waste of time, resources and energy, it is clear that they have yet to acknowledge the facts.Contributing to the green movement isn't even the most difficult task. The first step to helping the environment is to recycle. Recycling is neither time consuming nor expensive (it's actually free). Curb-side recycling is becoming more pervasive throughout the United States, and it's fairly clear why. Studies find that in the majority ... Read More

McCain's impulsive campaign indicative of an impulsive Presidency

By Doug Manzelmann

In the final days before the 2008 election, the McCain campaign has enlisted the aid of Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, more commonly known by the moniker "Joe the Plumber," who became famous at the third and final presidential debate. It seems odd that only months ago McCain aired a commercial criticizing Obama for his celebrity status while he is now introducing Joe at campaign rallies.Unfortunately, this has been the state of the McCain campaign since he became the Republican nominee in March. His campaign has been erratic at times, saying something one day and the opposite another. Often he has relied ... Read More

University counseling services could do more for students suffering from depression at UMBC

By Doug Manzelmann

As the semester winds down, exams approach and the deadline for papers nears, many students undergo severe stress and depression. In fact, doctors like John Greden, executive director of the University of Michigan Depression Center, note that college students are among the most susceptible to depression."The age of onset for depressive illnesses tends to peak during the ages of 15 to 19. That's when it starts to appear, and the estimates are that probably 15 percent of the college student population may be struggling with depressive illnesses."One would hope, then, that universities such as UMBC would provide mental health care ... Read More

How the U.S Federal Reserve can learn from the Brits

By Doug Manzelmann

It seems like ages ago that Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke were pleading to Congress to quickly pass a bailout bill, which would restore liquidity (the flow of cash) in the financial markets. Paulson continually repeated that Congress must act with haste, or risk further damage to the world economy. The bill passed after resistance from the House, and the Federal Reserve had the tools and money in order to save the economy.Since then, waves of change have reverberated throughout the country with the historic election. What hasn't changed, though, is the current economic climate in the United States. ... Read More

Counterpoint: Green movement has the potential to bolster economy

By Doug Manzelmann

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