America, our shining city on a hill, is afflicted. The sickness is a malignant cancer spreading through the nation at an alarming pace and its immune system has crumbled. It has targeted liberty and exploited civic lethargy.

Supposed benevolent elected tyrants have failed us, shirking their responsibilities to American ideals. The ailment is a shift in a delicately constructed  balance between despotism and popular sovereignty during the Bush administration.

It’s not my intention, however, to write about the malevolence of recent administrations. Others have condemned corruption and power exceedingly well, albeit after the fact.

No, my concern is with the failure of the press. It function, as an implied check on our three branch system — the fourth estate.

Journalists walk a blurry tightrope, constantly subject to interpretation. We serve our country by opposing it, and unbridled cynicism is a requirement. The fourth estate’s failure is conducive to our current situation: an economy combusted, civil liberties a memory and American elitism the benchmark of foreign policy. How well will this republic function without the fourth estate? How well has it functioned since the press forgot its mission?

Daily newspapers are dying all over the country. It should make me reconsider my goal of becoming a professional soldier in the ranks, defending The Bill of Rights. It doesn’t though, because the old guard failed. They intentionally neglected, or forgot, their cause. They bought blindly and sold faithlessly an illegal war, failed to defend natural principles like habeas corpus, and chose false job security over their duty to inform.

Manipulating the commerce of the news, media corporations and the government with which they are irrevocably intertwined transformed our previously functioning noble check into a cheerleader for war mongers, murderers and thieves.
A four year hiatus in serious questioning of the tyrants, from post Sept. 11 to Hurricane Katrina, left the American people blind and sickened by the sweet fawning laxity of the news.

So I shed no tears for dying dailies. Their disintegration is fair punishment for dereliction of duty. Let the rotten house burn to the ground. On its foundation we can rebuild a system independent of the Scripps and Hearst stock prices and the press can again serve its readers — the American public — and not investors in media conglomerates whose only concern is profit margin.

Dave Krieger wrote in the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, “I still don’t get how a newspaper with 200,000 paying subscribers and hundreds of thousands more readers on the Web cannot make a go of it… ‘Not our fault,’ the suits say. ‘[It's the] business model’s fault’ So who came up with the business model?”

A combination of stockholder greed and society’s frivolity finds the fourth estate in shambles. Society was more attracted to screaming, red-faced propaganda than to factual reporting, and the republic suffers. Consumers, as much as investors, define the business model of the news.

If we are to revive our republic, then we, as citizens, must realize again our responsibility to vigilance against those who would trample liberty. Or, as Thomas Paine wrote in The American Crisis, “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”

Paine’s eloquence applies both to the press and to American citizenry as a whole. True patriots of a republic realize that constant cynicism and opposition to power fuels the machinery of freedom. I hope to do this professionally but I realize my work is only as effective as those who might take the time to read it. Let us never again forget our responsibilities and hope we’re not too late.

By Clark Milan
STAFF WRITER

When I think of spray tans and dress fittings, the thought of a model preparing for a fashion show or a celebrity getting ready for an event comes to mind.

“Toddlers and Tiaras,” new to the TLC network, proves it’s not just adult women who are getting beautified to command their presence.

The one-hour show follows the journey of mothers and daughters through the world of child beauty pageantry. “Toddlers and Tiaras” portrays young girls working with stylists, training with stage coaches and getting manicures and pedicures. The participants of this yearly affair even don fake teeth, hair extensions and bathing suits.

The Tuesday night program also features a mom admitting to financial strains, yet paying a $900 pageant registration fee and an additional $2,000 for a custom-made dress to make her daughter look like a real-life doll, a look favored by the billion dollar industry.

Being immersed in an environment infatuated with appearance, young girls will soak up impressions and grow into self-centered, materialistic human beings. Watching a preschooler demand for her make-up to be touched up while telling an adult to “shut up” is a disgrace and an embarrassment.

Constant criticism from judges, parents and peers makes it more likely for the participants to develop image and self-esteem issues in the future.

Child beauty pageants are also for the satisfaction of the competitors’ mothers. Many of them express their regrets for not being in pageants as children, and for their daughters to experience it means to finally fulfill their own dreams.

Dress-up and dramatic play is part of a child’s natural development. Thousands of dollars shouldn’t be forked over just to wear a sash and the hope to be crowned at the end of the day. These things are available at the store - a mother can give her daughter a positive experience every day of the week and reward her with a sash or a crown to make her feel like a queen for the day.

By Alex Luthi
ONLINE EDITOR

In March 2009 many news organizations began carrying a story about a South Pasadena, Calif. teenager who, bothered by the vulgar language of his peers, started a No Cussing Club at his junior high school in 2007.

The club’s Web site claimed to have started with 100 members at the teenager’s school but has quickly grown into a world phenomena with members from all 50 U.S. states and more than 20,000 members worldwide.

In addition to the media attention, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have declared the county will observe a “No Cussing Week” to encourage citizens to clean up their language.

Despite interviews and television appearances claiming his club’s goals are benign, 14-year-old McKay Hatch, the student who conceived the No Cussing Club has been bullied, threatened and has even had prostitutes sent to his family’s home in what Hatch says are attempts to intimidate him to quit promoting his club.

Right around the same time as the No Cussing Club was making the rounds in the media, another story in a similar vein cropped up but this time centered in China.

As reported by the New York Times, Youtube videos and Internet postings of an online mythical beast called a grass-mud horse, said to be created exclusively to evade China’s Internet censors. These censors, who many times operate primarily on private Web sites attempt to clean up the Internet of any content deemed unseemly for it’s citizens by the country’s ruling party.

What makes the grass-mud horse interesting is the words “grass-mud horse” and a common but unprintable Chinese insult are homonyms, sounding very similar. Both “grass-mud horse” and “F*** your mother” are spelled differently but are pronounced “Cao ni ma,” with only differing tones helping to separate the meaning of the two phrases.

Grass-mud horses are said to be sworn enemies of the river crab, another play on words sounding similar to “harmony,” synonymous with censorship in Chinese Internet culture. Chinese bloggers and posters who have been censored online refer to being “harmonized,” alluding to President Hu Jintao’s calls for his country to create a harmonious society.

Although both the Chinese government and Hatch’s club say they want to clean up and improve society, each tries to reach that goal in very different ways. The No Cussing Club promotes what its members feel is a more proper and polite way to converse, while many Chinese Internet sites self-censor content they feel might be deemed “indecent” by their government.

Thanks to the United State’s first amendment, detractors to the No Cussing Club never have to worry about the club’s ideologies becoming law and can continue to swear and cuss to their hearts content.

By Nick Palm
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Dr.” Jon Basso cannot help you with your migraines or arthritis. He has never gone to medical school. His employees, or “nurses,” have never checked a patient’s pulse or taken his temperature. Basso can help you with one thing: He can cook one of the unhealthiest meals you will ever eat.

Located outside of Phoenix in Chandler, Ariz., the aptly named Heart Attack Grill serves a menu that would make Jenny Craig tremble with repugnance. The menu includes the “Single,” “Double,” “Triple,” and “Quadruple Bypass Burger,” each ranging from one-half to two pounds of beef per burger. Finish that off with an order of “Flatliner Fries,” and you’re looking at an 8,000 calorie lunch. Of course, everything on the menu is cooked in pure lard. The restaurant even sells hard liquor, unfiltered cigarettes, and regular Coke — don’t even think of asking for Diet Coke.

The health care industry has taken notice and filed a legal complaint about the restaurant but, surprisingly, not about the food. In 2006 the Arizona State Board of Nursing complained to the state’s attorney general about the restaurant’s Hooters-esque scantily clad waitresses. The board complained the waitresses negatively represented the nursing community. Basso added a disclaimer to his Web site, heartattackgrill.com, after learning Arizona forbids false portrayal of nurses.

Why would a man in his right mind open this restaurant when, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 33.3 percent of Americans over age 20 are overweight, and a health craze is sweeping the nation?

“Americans are sick and tired of being told ‘Hey, this is bad for you. Don’t do it!,’ and they think for one golden moment, ‘I’m gonna get what I want!’” Basso said. “And [what I want] is a big, full, sugary, rich Coca Cola and a Quadruple Bypass Burger, dripping with fat.”

More power to you, Basso. By putting aside regards for public health, objectification of women, and improvement of your community, you have “made it” in the business world.

Basso realized that by selling things that are extremely bad for your health, his establishment could become a media magnet. His gimmick works. We all know there’s no such thing as bad publicity and so far, this business is thriving because of its negative public image.

Next time you’re in the Phoenix area and need a fix of extreme artery-clogging lard-fried perfection, head to the Heart Attack Grill. Oh, and good news — anyone weighing over 350 pounds eats for free. Think of it as an incentive.

The UC will be raising tuition nearly 10 percent in July. How will this affect your plans for the future?

By Marcus Rodriquez
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Mack Lafaele, Sports Medicine major “Well, as for me, I have an athletic scholarship to a four-year school. But as far as my brothers and sisters are concerned out here, that would definitely have an impact since a lot of us probably can’t afford tuition to begin with.”

Phil Malik, Undeclared “I think it’s asinine for them to raise tuition in the middle of a recession when people will already have to scale back. As for me, who knows. We’ll see when the time comes.”

Rasul Grayson, Music major With the recession and all, times are already hard enough. For me, this probably won’t change the end result though, it’ll just make the path to getting there that much harder.”

Latisha Taylor, Radiology major “At this point, since I’m just starting here, it’s not something that I’ve really had to think about, but I’m sure I’ll have to deal with it eventually.”

Teandra Johnson, Undeclared “I’m not sure what I’ll be doing. But I’m still shocked and angry. Ten percent is still 10 percent.”

Ian Park, Broadcasting major “Well, I’m not going to a UC. But I still feel that these will be ongoing budget problems that affect all of us, even at state schools. You have to expect it. With the stimulus package being released though, there might be some hope.”

Ayaka Matsunaga, Engineering major “Since I’m an international student, tuition is already very expensive as it is, and in some cases for us, UC’s can cost up to $20,000 per semester. So, in my case I really have no choice but to attend a CSU.”

I pose a simple question to President Barack Obama, how many innocent lives are you willing to waste in Pakistan?

During his 2008 Presidential campaign, Obama responded to inquiries about expanding the war in Afghanistan to include attacks across the Pakistani border. He stated, if Osama bin Laden was discovered in Pakistan, American forces wouldn’t hesitate to attack.

CIA drone — unmanned aircraft — attacks have continued since Obama took office, but bin Laden hasn’t been seen. The CIA claims these attacks are killing high-level al-Qaida members, who use Pakistan’s  Federally Administered Tribal Areas as a staging point for launching insurgent attacks into Afghanistan.

While this may be true, the unsanctioned expansion of America’s war in the Middle East to include yet another sovereign country carries a gruesome cost.

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many Pakistani civilians have been killed in CIA drone strikes since Obama took office. If the US military’s estimates are accurate, nearly half of those killed are not al-Qaida insurgents. Al-Qaida fighters in the FATA hide amongst the poor, nomadic Pashtun who populate the region.

The Pakistani government voices two legitimate complaints. The first: Pakistan is a sovereign nation that doesn’t need United State’s help to kill its civilians. Secondly, Pakistani officials argue these actions strengthen al-Qaida’s numbers — dead children are a powerful recruiting tool in areas like the FATA, where the population is historically sympathetic to the Taliban.

I’d like to believe my generation has a more global perspective than generations past. This means, I’m less likely to see any difference between a dead American child and a dead Pakistani one. Both are abhorrent; both unacceptable.

It was largely my generation who elected Barack Obama, partially because we hoped he shared our point of view when it came to foreign policy.

It’s an old and tired idea that the president of the United States must be willing to inflict such unjust collateral damage.

Does the office make the man or does the man make the office? My hope for Obama’s presidency was that he could change some of these outdated notions, such as the necessity of civilian deaths overseas to protect my sheltered existence. So far, if the wars in the Middle East are the measurement, we were duped.

NATALIE COREAS / THE GUARDSMAN

By Clark Milan
STAFF WRITER

Alcohol and floats prohibited from the 2009 Bay to Breakers is like a huge piece missing from a puzzle.

Organizers will no longer allow alcohol, floats or nudity in the May 17 Bay to Breakers race and are working with police to ensure enforcement of the new regulations, SFGate.com reported Feb. 11.

Banning booze and naked people from the annual 12K run will take away the fun of the event. Those unique attributes are also much of why the race has thousands of participants each year and is watched by even more tourists and locals.

Bay to Breakers is an opportunity for participants to express themselves in their own way. The festivity, a San Francisco tradition, is like a big party and unlike any other race. If participants can’t drink and have a good time with their peers, the race loses its originality.

“Nudity and floats are part of the overall eccentric nature of the race and what makes it so great,” San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said on SFGate.com Feb. 18.

The event sponsors want the runners’ experience to be positive, but with all the new rules, the race just won’t be the same.

It is understandable why the restrictions are being imposed. Intoxicated people will mean there will be trash all over the streets and homes utilized as impromptu public restrooms. The belligerent behavioral disrupts the community.

The race organizers do prepare for clean-up with the money raised by participants purchasing race numbers, but it’s only enough money to provide toilets and clean-up for registered racers. It’s the attendees who do not purchase race numbers who create a mess far bigger than the registration fees paid by everyone else can cover.

Such a large number of people protested against the new policies, Bay to Breakers’ planners were forced to listened. After hearing both positive and negative remarks from the pubic, planners determined floats would be welcome in the race, SFGate.com posted on Feb. 27. Birthday suits are discouraged but no citations or arrests will be issued.

Officials are not backing down on the no-alcohol policy.

My advice to the sponsors of Bay to Breakers: Join in the excitement of the long stroll, run the course, ride on a float, have a beer and show what your mama gave you!

By Liska Koenig
CHIEF COPY EDITOR

Humans need water to live — yet the way we consume the life-giving fluid is killing us and our planet.

During the past two decades American consumers have stepped away from drinking tap water and instead opt for bottled water, sold at a much higher price than water from the faucet. Every day more than three million water bottles are thrown away and end up in land fill.

In 2007, bottled water sales reached 8.82 billion gallons, worth $11.7 billion according to beveragemarketing.com, a Web site that tracks beverage industry data.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission sells water for about $0.003 per gallon, but — depending on your beverage of choice — bottled water costs more than $1 per 12 oz, which amounts up to $12.00 or more per gallon, according to a fact sheet created by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

Bottled water manufacturers want us to believe their product is better and healthier. Promotional campaigns are saturated with images of clear mountain lakes, beautiful glaciers and pristine springs and companies often assert a cause that exceeds their greed for profit while justifying selling water at a price that’s hundreds, sometimes thousands the price of tap water.

Fiji Water claims to be carbon-negative by reducing the amount of packaging, optimizing their bottling process, etc. The distance between San Francisco and Suva in Fiji is 5,447 miles - it’s hard to believe that transporting water all this way benefits the planet.   Also, any corporation can simply purchase carbon credits to officially change its impact on the environment and global warming.

The bottled water industry has brainwashed us into believing that it’s healthier to drink water from a plastic bottle. Recent studies by the Sprecher Institute of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. have shown, that exposure to sunlight and scratches to water bottles, even hard plastic sports bottles, can release environmental estrogen, like the chemical bisphenol-A, into the water. These chemicals mimic the body’s natural estrogen, and even small amounts can significantly increase the risk of breast cancer.

Tap water quality is monitored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which requires extensive water testing every year. The quality of bottled water, however, is monitored by the Food and Drug Administration, which doesn’t have testing standards, according to a statement given to Congress by Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch. Companies manufacturing water don’t provide detailed  information about water quality and source on the bottle label.

Take Aquafina for example: in 2007 Pepsi-Cola, the owner of Aquafina, publicly announced it would change the labeling on Aquafina bottles. Previous labels said “bottled at P.W.S.,” short for public water source, which translates to tap water. The new labels only advertise the company’s “state-of-the-art purification system,” but don’t say anything about where the water is coming from.

Anybody can learn about the quality of local drinking water by looking up data provided by the EPA on epa.gov/safewater.

The active refusal to buy bottled water saves money, reduces the manufacturing of plastic bottles and avoids huge amounts of waste and landfill waste. Research conducted by the State of California Department of Conservation, found at least 1 billion water bottles were not recycled in 2003. That translates into nearly three million empty water bottles ending up in the trash every day! Consumption of bottled water has increased significantly since then, it’s estimated that annually 38 billion empty bottles go into landfills nationwide.

It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture a year’s supply of plastic water bottles, which is enough to fuel 100,000 cars, according to Earth911.com. A good and safe alternative to plastic bottles are glass or stainless steel bottles, widely available at health food, hardware and outdoor stores.

San Francisco tap water comes from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park and is generally known to be of good quality. If you are still concerned about possible toxins, you can buy a water filter to purify the tap water at your home. The initial cost of a filter system attached to the faucet might be more expensive, but will pay off in the long run because filter cartridges last longer. Also, pitcher filters like the popular Brita filter are less efficient, they leave more toxins in the water. Comparative information about water filter systems, their effectiveness and pricing can be found on www.waterfiltercomparisons.com.

Dear Editor —

After reading the Feb. 11 letters to the editor on GAZA, I had to send a reply. The two letters misrepresent the facts.

Israel was, and still is, the aggressor in GAZA, against Palestinians. Hamas can’t be blamed when Israel is holding 1.5 million Palestinians in concentration camps in GAZA, without basic necessities such as shelter, water, food or electricity. Food goes bad with non-working refrigerators because electricity is cut off.

Israel even bombed the UN building where kids were taking shelter and bombed out hospitals.  Israel broke the truce to win an election.
Don’t believe me; DO SOME RESEARCH! Google it! Even the Israeli news admit it. But they won’t tell you that on the U.S. mainstream news, because Israel is using weapons which include military jets from the United States.

After reading the Feb. 11 letters to the editor on GAZA, I had to send a reply. The two letters misrepresent the facts.

Israel was, and still is, the aggressor in GAZA, against Palestinians. Hamas can’t be blamed when Israel is holding 1.5 million Palestinians in concentration camps in GAZA, without basic necessities such as shelter, water, food, or electricity. (Food goes bad with non-working refrigerators because electricity is cut off.)

Israel even bombed the UN building where kids were taking shelter and bombed out hospitals.  Israel broke the truce to win an election.
Don’t believe me; DO SOME RESEARCH! Google it! Even the Israeli news admit it. But they won’t tell you that on the U.S. mainstream news, because Israel is using weapons which include military jets from United States.

— Charlie El-Qare

On The Record: Do you think campus police should be armed? Why or why not?

By Ryan Flores
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Muhammed Choudhery, 16 Undeclared “Why do they need to be armed? People don’t come here for violence. They can be armed outside, not inside. This is supposed to be a safe zone.”

David Weld, 44 Substance Abuse Counseling Major “No. I don’t know that they have the training and I don’t think that their jobs warrant that kind of security. It can also potentially cause more problems. We’re gonna start having students bringing guns to school.”

Janay Wallace, 28 Nursing Major “It depends whether or not they have experience defending themselves without guns. Also, what happened with the Oakland Bart Police was unnecessary.”

Victorianna Dunn, 34 Undeclared “I don’t think so. I’m not entirely sure about the training for the campus police.”

Almareli Salmeron, 19 Undeclared “No, I don’t think it’s ok. We don’t see any dangerous things happening here. Plus, the police department is very quick.”

Elcer Rivas, 20 Education Major “I don’t think so, as long as there is enforcement nearby. Bringing arms to this environment isn’t good for the students. Instead, maybe cameras or other means, or an increase of security.”

John Espejo, 21 Business Major “They definitely should because criminals got them, so if they don’t, then how are they gonna protect us? What’s the point of having them here then? Then they’re just like us”