OpinI read thelonWEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2007RANT OF THE DAY| love wearing big sunglasses andcarrying coffee to my 8 a.m. class...| feel like a celebrity with a hangover.pace A3{ 100 percent pure }Pirate RantsfirstFor all of those who think:weTre idiotsMARGOT ROGERSONOPINION WRITERI read the Pirate Rants first because I enjoya good laugh, not because I am an idiot. Thereis absolutely nothing wrong with flipping thepages of the paper over and reading the ludicrousand often absurd Rants before glancing over therest of the paper. Bottom line"they are funny. bsTo the nice guy who always finishes last: You won'talways finish last. ItTs just that your niceness goesunappreciated right now. That is not your fault; itTs justbecause we girls donTt truly know what we want yet.To the people who cannot ever make it to class:ItTs not really that hard to get out of bed. Not thatI donTt suffer from the same oITd rather stay in mybed than walk across campus and sit down for 50-75 minutes? syndrome as well, but you can do it.To all those suffering from oI have the worstroommate in the world,? ITm sorry. Learning tobe patient and cooperative with others is trulyone of the hardest things in the world to adaptto. Try to remember their point of view also.It might not be easy to live with you either.For those who start and end a Rant with thequestion, oIs this/that bad?? The answer is yes.To those who leave crazy and nonsensicalrants about absolutely nothing at all, thank you. Iread them, and I laugh, and I think, oWho in theworld could have written something like that??Then I realize that there are people out there thatI donTt understand, and never will, and thatTs OK.To all those mocking what others find fashion-able, if you're not wearing it, why does it matter? Andno, I donTt own a pair of Uggs or large sunglasses.For all of those in love who wish to share thatwith us through Pirate Rants, good for you. It is niceto have that with someone. However, please makesure it is love, and not lust or stupid infatuation.Finally, to those who Rant about the idiots that onlypick up the paper to read the Pirate Rants, get over it.Soplease, everyone, keep Ranting so I can keep smiling.This is a response to the article oWZMB backon air? which appeared inthe Feb. 6 edition of theEast Carolinian.College radio stations are the last bastions of thetrue art form of radio. Across the nation the onlyplace you can find an actual on-air disc jockey thatwill actually bring you new music, the way new music "was once transmitted, is a college radio station. Col-lege radio stations are where you can discover entirenew worlds of music that you never knew of before.And what is the point of college other than to learn?WZMB, in its new state, can no longer servethe ECU community and I believe it should be shutdown. If I wished to have my music provided for meby a robot I would listen to 99x or any number ofother massively automated corporate atrocities tothe music community (notice I did not say oindus-try?). Whenever I tuned in to WMZB it wouldbe to hear something I had never heard before,discover a new band that I might like, or at thevery least have an on-air DJ say, oIf you like such-and-such, then you may like such-and-such.? Sincethe station is switching to automation, I cannothave those things, so therefore I will not listen.How can WZMB fix this? First of all they canreturn to their former format, which they haveslowly abandoned the last couple of years and nowthey have dropped completely. The FCC has claimedthat because of on-air violations that WZMB musteither switch to complete automation or shut down,but the powers-that-be wonTt say what those vio-lations are? ITm not convinced. This sounds likeevery other commercial radio station that is simplylooking for an avenue to cut costs, and what betterway to do that then eliminate an entire job classand replace them with a fancy version of iTunes?Why not publish these alleged FCC violations rightin the East Carolinian? Then perhaps I'll swallowthe pill youTre trying to force down my throat. Istill won't listen, and I will still advocate for yourradio station to go off the air until you can operatelike a real radio station and not some Clear Chan-nel wannabe, but at least you won't look like liars.And why not just tell your staff not to curse onthe air? Why not just fire them if they do? Put aclause in their contract that they have to pay what-ever fine the FCC levies on the station for theirmisdeed. Or just go off the air and run everythingbehind the scenes like Channel 23, the ECU TVstation. ThereTs never anything on there but thestudents are constantly working and filming things.I understand that the world of radio is chang-ing. I understand that radio has to compete withiPods and all sorts of other entertainment media.But why not show a.little forethought unlike yourcorporate contemporaries? What can radio offer anaudience that mp3s cannot? The same thing thatradio has always provided that any musical mediacannot"something new. Put the on-air disc jockeysback on the air, give them their own shows, and letthem spin the music they want. Hire disc jockeysthat are a little off-kilter, who won't spin ad nauseaand whatever spoon-fed corporate crap that has justcome off the assembly line. If we wanted to listen tothose bands and acts that were listed in the articlein question we would just turn to Mix 101.5, 99x,or any other number of.commercial radio stations.Give us something different WZMB, or donTtgive us anything at all.Jae ThomasGraduate StudentHistoryThe East Carolinian does not endorse statements made in Pirate Rants. Questions regardingRants can be directed to Rachel King, Opinion Page Editor, at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com. Log onto theeastcarolinian.com to submit a Rant of your own.Stop making out with your boyfriend onour couch... | canTt even turn down. mymusic, because if | do all | can hear issmacking lips. All | want to do is comeout and make a sandwich!Who the hell cares if you lovepancakes?Maybe by having that Vera Bradleybag-haters Facebook group, morepeople will realize how hideous they_ feally are!Did they just say erection on theradio?ITm going sh Put my baby on layawayat Wal-martThis is a shout out to all my peeps inthe Whichard Building. Holla.In arecent rant someone asked, oWhatis an ECU squirrel?? ECU squirrels liveon campus and they do not act likeaverage squirrels. They are certainlynot shy. They get very close to youat times and they look like they mightattack.Tuition for one semester at ECU:$2001.50... A parking ticket at ECU:$20... Graduating from ECU andnever coming back to this place again:Priceless.ITm in love with a one-night stand.Hey, Carolina: Please don't lose toDuke. You are-a lot better than them.Am|single if my boyfriend barely talksto me, we only hang out maybe oncea week and no one even knows we'redating?To my roommate who loves to sayhow fat she is so that | can say sheTsnot"please stop. ITm bigger thanyou and you shouldnTt be fishingfor compliments. P.S. You haveabnormally large eyeballs. Meryabout those instead. "| don't think the Rants for ValentineTsDay should be anonymous becausethat way we may be able to find ourtrue loves.You think you are cool, smacking yourgum and laughing during class... keepsmacking and I'll make you swallow thegum. Keep talking and I'll embarrassyou in front of the class.North Carolina has prissy girls.New Jersey girls hate everyone.| am a Virginia girl, do we have astereotype?To the nice guy, who thinks he will besingle forever, | am the nice girl and |feel the same way. Guys just come tome when they want something. | guessbeing nice isnTt always so nice.| think | am addicted to smoking blunts.Dancing around like an idiot toold school music with your friendscompletes my life.| wish my brother was the dumbassof the family.| think itTs about time that | win thelottery.Is itjust me or do people agree with methat a Nintendo Wii beer pong gamewould be amazing?To the girl who stole my iPod, | knowwhere you live. More importantly, mybest friend just happens to be yourroommate and she hates you. So if youdonTt want your stuff messed up you'dbetter give me back my d*** iPod.Why is the Speight computer lab alwaysso unbearably hot?! Honestly, pleaselearn how to operate a thermostat!To the person whose roommate needsAA: | yelled at my roommate for thatand went to the meeting anyway.| donTt think my computer sends in myRants. TheyTre always so good, yetthey never get published.Does anyone remember coloredpopcorn? | really wish they would sellit at the grocery store because it doesbring back some memories.I'm glad ITm not the only one who thinksthe Minges bus is against me.| love my boyfriend so much! ThatTsfor you people who hate ValentineTsDay because you're. single and actpathetic about it!| heart you back.A true Rant, from the heart: ECUHigher One is probably one of theworst ideas that ECU has made. Ever.Subcontracting tasks that the schoolcannot handle is not the way to solveproblems, it only made things worse.Those Chuck Norris jokes are so funnybecause theyTre so easy to believe.If |.take the time to pick you up fromclass, please donTt sit there and talk onyour cell phone the whole time.To the person that wrote the Rantabout the homeless people being inMendenhall... have some compassion,that could be you.éPee Dee makes me melt like a Popsicleon the 4th of July.Why do kids in high school write Pirate -Rants?We live in an expanding universe. Allof it is trying to get away from Chuck -Norris.?You know your friendTs a slut when youare at the club for five minutes and shehas already pointed out six people shehas slept with...| would marry Hugh Jackman.To the guy searching for a redhead...here | am! To the guy who likes a girlwith a big buitt, | have that too!The Wii is so dangerous to itsparticipants! | love it.Lying pathologically is not ocute.? Youneed therapy.| donTt really mind being viewed asan object if itTs by six giggling nursingstudents.One day it would be cool to have everyPirate Rant be yours, but no one wouldeven know it.Anyone else feeling a little lonely otherthan me?To the smoker that said they wouldblow smoke in my face, go ahead andtry then you can tell me how much youlike your black eye.What do you get boys for aeDay?| finally figured out the point of physics...itTs to make us feel stupid.Why is it that | connect so well with theguy that everyone thinks has no brain?Does that mean | donTt have a brain?Is anyone else sick of all the Marinesthat party in Greenville?| donTt care what anyone says. TheNew England Patriots are still the bestfootball team ever! -You know, ITm not gay, but if | were gay,man, the things | would do to OrlandoBloom. If you were there, | hope youTdjust look the other way.The woman who works in Chick-fil-athanking me for my beautiful smileevery time | walk through her linemakes my day.Destination 360 is biased. My group offriends and | came in to get some foodaround ten last night from the grill andthey told us itwas closed. Five minuteslater, they cooked dinner for six otherpeople! What the heck?I'm terrified my roommate is going to.join a sorority and leave me.Has anyone else formulated a plan toescape a zombie invasion, or is that "just me being overly paranoid?In a perfect world, ITd have a boy whowore Chucks.To the guy who wouldn't stop movinghis big head in Geology this morning:Seriously, sit in the back next time. |hope you heard my under-the-breath .death wishes.You have the most beautiful face.It really burns when you squeeze chilijuice into your eyes.It's so nice to be able to eat solid food .| hope it snows three feet!In support of the troop surgeFinishing what we have startedJASON PATTYOPINION WRITERPresident Bush has proposed a plan for Iraq thathas left liberals, pacifists and a host of other gutlessAmericans in a conniption. How quickly do we forget .the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein? Howmany of these same Americans screamed and yelledand blamed the President for not acting offensivelybefore we were attacked on 9/11? We should abso-lutely stay the course in Iraq. We should be thereuntil we have established a stable government that iscapable of protecting its citizens and the country thatso many of our soldiers bled to create and protect.Many say that we should not be in Iraq protect-ing our own interests. They say that we are therefor the oil. If that were the case, we would turn the ~country into a glass parking lot and drill throughit for the oil. We are there protecting our nationalsecurity. You wouldn't walk outside every day andwatch your neighbor build a cannon aimed at yourgarage without walking across the street, kickingdown his ono trespassing? sign, destroying hiscannon and kicking his butt. You are protectingyour interests.The United States is not in Iraq being a bully. Wetook power away from one of the most atrocious massmurderers and human rights violators that this worldhas ever seen. We are trying to bring peace and sta-bility to a part of the world that desperately needs it.The only proposal the democrats have put forthis to opull our troops out.? What possible good willthat do? Our troops will come home and Iraq willfall to pieces. There is no telling who will take con-.trol and there is a solid chance that we will be backover there in five to 10 years taking care of anotherproblem that we should have handled now. Speak-ing of.which, Kim Jung-il in North Korea is. goingto see us leave and not give any credibility to theUnited States opolitely asking? him to stop testingand creating nuclear weapons.President Theodore Roosevelt said that, in mat-ters of foreign policy, the United States should ospeaksoftly and carry a big stick.? This applies perfectlyto the Iraq situation.Yes, we lost 25 U.S. soldiers on Jan. 20. We arein a war. A surge in troops will relieve some of thetremendous amount of pressure that we have put onour soldiers by sending them into a war zone withoutthe necessary manpower. We need to provide ourmilitary leaders with as many resources they need tocomplete the task. With all the time and blood thatwe have invested in Iraq already, we cannot affordto pull out now with the job half finished. We havetoppled a dictator of the worst kind. Now we needto finish stabilizing a country in order to protectAmerican citizens and help bring peace toa Pan:that has not seen it in generations.Do youknowwhat youreeating?What factory farmers donTt want youto knowLISA URAMOPINION WRITERWe've all noticed the changes in children today.They seem to be growing faster and taller with every,year. By the time most children reach their thirteenthbirthday, they look like they are ready to go offto college. Ironically, the transformation in thefood industry within the past decade or moremight be to blame for more than just changes inadolescent growth.There once was a time when farm animals wereraised on land owned by an independent farmer andhis family. They were free to roam the land as theypleased, finding their own food in nature and often-times lived a decent life, until they were of age to beslaughtered. Even going to the slaughterhouse wasbearable, with the use of anesthetics.Unfortunately, the number of small, independentlivestock farming continues to decline in the U.S. andlarge-scale, corporate-owned livestock factories aretaking their place.Arguments for furthering the industrializationof livestock production are based on increased profitand the claim that consumers demand it. If consumerdemand is the reasoning behind this atrocious changein livestock farming, then we should considerablyrethink what we eat on a day to day basis.More than nine billion chickens raised on factoryfarms each year are bred and filled with growth hor-mones that cause them to grow so quickly that theirlegs and organs canTt keep up.This often causes them to experience heartattacks, organ failure and crippling leg deformities.Chickens in the U.S. today are taken to the slaugh-terhouse at six to seven weeks old.The 340 million hens that lay the eggs that we eaton any given morning are burned at the beak withoutpainkillers and shoved into tiny cages surrounded byup to 11 hens at a time. The light in the sheds aremanipulated and hens are often starved for two weeksat a time to produce more egg-laying cycles.After two years of this, they are shipped to theslaughterhouse where, while they are still alive, theirlegs are snapped in two and their throats are cut.Their bodies are so withered that their flesh can onlybe used for animal food or canned diced meat. Someof this meat is actually used in the National SchoolLunch Program in public schools.The cattle industry is no different. Cattle are stillbranded with hot irons and male calvesT testicles areripped from their scrotums, all without anesthetics.Most cattle travel hundreds of miles to reach themassive corporate-owned feedlots, where they arecrammed together in their own excrement.The manure saturates the air with ammonia,methane and other noxious chemicals that can givethe cows chronic respiratory problems. The cattleare fed growth hormones to keep them alive inharsh conditions and of course, make them reach theslaughterhouse sooner.Unfortunately, chickens and cattle aren't the onlyanimals that are pumped with growth hormones, _antibiotics and unnatural diets filled with corn silage(corn with chopped up corn plants).Cows that are used for milking, mother pigs, tur-keys and fish are all subject to this horrible lifestyle.Therefore, the public is subject to uncertainty everytime we open our mouths to eat.What can we do to change what we consumein our diets? Today more than ever, it is extremelyimportant to read labels and know where the foodthat you consume comes from.Although organicfood is more expensive, you arepaying for the innate right to know how and withwhat means your food is being produced. It is timethat we take responsibility for what we put into ourbodies and demand a change. You decide.Sarah BellEditor in ChiefJenelle ConnerNews EditorGreg Katski Ronnie Woodward "Sports Editor Asst. Sports EditorSarah Campbell Elise PhillipsPulse Editor Asst. Pulse EditorSarah Hackney Zach SirkinHead Copy Editor Photo EditorRachael LotterMultimedia Web EditorRachel KingOpinion EditorNewsroom 252.328.9238Fax 252.328.9143Advertising 252.328.9245Serving ECU since 1925, the East Carolinian prints9,000 copies every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdayduring the regular academic year and 5,000 on Wednes-days during the summer. oOur View? is the opinion ofthe editorial board and is written by editorial boardmembers. The East Carolinian welcomes letters to theeditor which are limited to 250 words (which may beedited for decency or brevity). We reserve the right toedit or reject letters and all letters must be signed andinclude a telephone number. Letters may be sent viae-mail to editor@theeastcarolinian.com or to the EastCarolinian, SelfHelp Building, Greenville, N.C. 27858-4353. Call 252-328-9238 for more information. One copyof the East Carolinian is free, each additional copy is $1.