Thursday, June22,2(K# vp>S. id will realize the mistali and return to their o! it is too late, im starts out happywil ck, "Free City Rhymes' s catchy, but is an excej est of the album. There gs -are reminiscent rsing inside a dark,dij i. rdon. Sonic Youth's stes her vocal talents t ler than singing, ack starts with a cot ind, but they all endt vhiny or too annoying Thursday, June 22, 2000 THE BATTALION Page 5 New York’s whiniest New York police protest of Springsteen song unfounded, infringes on singer’s free speech B ruce Springsteen sparked protest from the New York Police Department (NYPD) with his musical tribute to Amadou Diallo, who was killed by New York police. Officers fired 41 bullets at Di allo as he reached for his wallet to provide identification. Springsteen rants about the Dial- ■monti q .mg sounds alike, andii ?re are only eight trackst TD makes the albumli ind not worth the last CD, A Thousands 1998, is a better buy ariety of hard and enjc ic sounds. d is going in a different sically and is not afraid s response. They shot >e afraid of Ghost & FI sales. (Grade: C-) Dewey Bat Kid Rock American Badass urtesy of Atlantic^® lock is an American bite country is in a sad stall ffairs. This new album of songs from Kid albums remixed for a us one extra new song lo tragedy in his song "American Skin." Springsteen's bittersweet song speaks on behalf of its victim and is quick to blame the NYPD, forcing it to face the error of its ways. In defense of its reputation, the New York !ity Policeman Benevolent Association and its presi- ent, Pat Lynch, have Music must be valued as a great form of express ionistic art, not shunned and disgraced. called for a boycott of Springsteen's current concerts at Madison Square Garden. Lynch said, "I consider it an outrage that he would be trying to fatten his wallet by reopening the wounds of this tragic case." Lynch should cast his arrogance aside for moment — Spring-, steen enjoys making music, and his success is im mense. Springsteen's motive is not to make a profit, but to criticize recent police actions. The NYPD deserves all the negative media atten tion it has received. Referring to Springsteen as a "dirt- Bob Lucente, president of the New York chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, defines what it means to be shallow. Lucente should take a long, hard look in the mirror and take the dirt out of his own eye before pointing out Springsteen's faults. Boycotting Springsteen's concert is an immature way for the police force to refuse to deal with the con sequences of its actions. Such a protest is insensible and selfish, and it demonstrates a refusal to honor Diallo's untimely fate. Face the music boys — severe misconduct results in severe consequence. Ridicule is the price paid for such outlandish wrongdoing. The New York police argue that Springsteen's testi-' mony serves no common good. However, such a con victing song should be prompted and learned from,. The song brings to surface some unpleasant memories; the memory of such a tragedy should not die with Di allo. America is quick to forgive when remorse is shown. Had the NYPD given an apology rather than belittle a musician for stating his opinion, n6 conflict would be at hand. The NYPD's reaction to Spring steen's song is childish and an embarrassment to the department. Boycotting this musical virtuoso sends another neg ative message to the American public. The police seem to be saying that singing about Diallo's death is off- limits. Bruce Springsteen should not be punished for utilizing his constitutional right to freedom of speech, but rather be applauded for the audacity and ge nius behind his song. Free speech does not please everyone; someone or some thing often suffers. Limiting Springsteen's freedom of ex pression makes a mockery of democracy and liberty. Springsteen's popularity stems from his repertoire of songs about the highs and lows, glories and tragedies of the Amer ican dream. His music pleads for justice and harmony and acts as an instrument for change. Springsteen's talent and heart address is sues and make pro found political state ments that need to be heard by the NYPD. Music must be valued and upheld as a great form of expression- istic art, not shunned and dis graced. Throughout history, peo ple have used music to protest certain institutions and injustices. Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" and Bob Dylan's ballads defined a generation seeking peace, not war. As Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's recent tour came to a close, America remembered four Kent State University students who were killed by the Ohio National Guard as they protested the Vietnam War. As the group sings "Ohio," people remember and mourn for the fallen victims of authoritative abuse and injustice. Music represents people. To boycott a great American artist is to ignore both his constitutional rights and the voices of the American people. Music has glued the nation to gether in times of brokenness and has implemented change as musicians like Springsteen speak for citizens. Therefore, music's voice should not be hushed. It should be recognized as the american pulse. Amber Rasco is a junior journalism major. JEFF SMITH/The Battalion does this say about jys he is trying to pawn ; on a new audience itly jumped can theKidF® an. Ibum isn't as good as t a total disgrace, sgrace is the ego Kid 1) he not learned from dr bands? Hehasabot nore of popularity bet ular on VHl's "Where v?" bum's theme is hacklier t of the songs concentrat ag and trailer trash, just! bum, and since thesonp n previous Kid Rockrele s like he doesn't have® ience to write about. >f Kid Rock who don't o’ ous albums will definb s one, but everyone :ip this release and his of mmer tour. (Grade: C+) -Kyle mm Splitting Microsoft helps users, other companies ' lI ^ /' SLNNYE OWENS Special: First Matinee is only $3,50 MonJ* Matinee: ‘4.50 for all shows before 5 p® ejjseeeseeeebes )ULE FOR FRI. & SAT. 6/23 ■ 6/21 & IRENE (R)’ 20 4:00 5:10 7:05 7:50 9:55 10:35 U 1 4 consumers will realize that Jackson was right. We should be grateful for the breakup; it will only be beneficial. Consumers will save money and other software companies will be able to prosper. Sunnye Oivens is a junior journalism major. Texas GOP full of misguided ideas G eorge W. Bush, Texas' favorite son, was apparently too busy raising money to attend the Texas convention of the GOR That's too bad, because it would have been inter esting to hear Bush explain how he had no intention of paying any attention to the state party platform. Let's start with the "official" view to ward foreign relations as outlined in the Houston Chronicle: "End all forms of U.S. participation in the United Nations. Re peal the North American Free Trade Agreement and General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and withdraw from the World Trade Organization." It's nice to see that the isolationist Taft Republi cans still have enough clout to influence the party. The UN is a classic kicking dog — but NAFTA? Does anyone think that Bush is going to disagree with his dad dy on this one? Pull out of GATT and the WTO? Republican leadership will not even discuss such nonsense. The distance between the stated desires of the party faithful and the actions of the people they seem to love are so great that only a cosmologist could measure the distance. What about economic issues? "Abol ish the income tax and the IRS." It's been a long time since elected Republicans have even joked about that. "Repeal minimum wage laws" is always a popu lar chant. Here is a real howler that all econom ics students can ask their professors about: "Return the federal monetary sys tem to the gold standard." What would happen if a Republican presidential can- Have not these hayseeds noticed their own politicians do not even act on these platform planks? didate announced that he would actual ly push to do such a thing if elected? Business leaders would probably have him shot. Of course, the Republican convention came up with some other old standards, like "Prayer in school should be encour aged" and "Corporal punishment in Texas public schools is effective." These, combined with "The U.S. Department of Education should be abolished" are ap parently all the Republicans' solutions to our educational problems. Interestingly, the party platform also says "Gov. George W. Bush's 1994 pledge to abolish the authority of the Texas Education Agency should be ful filled." It's now 2000, and it is probably not very high on his agenda. Of course the God-fearing and all knowing Republican convention of fered its wisdom on religion as well. In addition to prayer in schools, the party platform states that "homosexu al behavior is contrary to the funda mental unchanging truths that have been ordained by God." I always love it when a political party tries to tell people what God has ordained. It reaffirms my faith in atheism. Have not these hayseeds noticed their own politicians do not even act on these platform planks? Phil Gramm and Kay Bailey Hutchison would not be caught dead actually trying to enact rpost of this populist garbage. But that does not stop them from cheering the crowds and collecting the votes. Steve Forsberg is a columnist for The Daily Cougar at the U. of Houston. Mail Call If University wants alcohol-free housing, RAs need pay raise In response to Jessica Crutcher's June 21 column. One would hope that, along with blanketing the campus with a substance-free title, the University plans to sub stantially increase the pay of the resident advisers (RAs) and graduate hall directors (GHDs). Already the pay is too low for the amount of work being done. If A&M chooses not to increase their pay, it is ridicu lous to think that these over-worked, under-paid students will actually enforce this no-alcohol rule. In my opinion, there’s really no need for on-campus res idents to get up in arms about this matter. We all know they will never give the RAs and GHDs a raise in pay, so its highly doubtful that the hall staff will give the rule even a passing glance. Tara Gray Class of '99 The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 013 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com