>Campaign problems

The more money McCain (or Obama) has to spend, the more the media stand to earn by selling commercials. On-air media in particular will profit not only from the two major campaigns, but also from PACs and 527s. The problem is that traditional, commercial-driven media clearly have a vested interest in not just ratings, but in the demand for selling ads. The closer the race - and the more money the candidates (or parties, 527s, etc.) raise - the more money media outlets make.

Why report on the Republican National Committee's success skirting the intent of McCain-Feingold with McCain's knowledge and blessing? It's much better business to take advantage of all that cash and not cut off the former campaign reformer now laying golden eggs. It's their bottom line at stake, same as it ever was.

Talk about a conflict of interest. Was big oil money pouring into the "McCain Victory '08 Fund" as the sudden change in McCain's stand on drilling in environmentally sensitive areas suggests? How will we ever know? Will newspapers do independent reporting? Maybe, but they're in the same trap: relying on advertising revenues. There's no benefit to a commercial news outlet in uncovering the source of the money - they're just trying to get their piece of it.

Serving the public interest has become a thing of the past. Bottom lines dominate the decision making even when it comes to reporting "the news."

Thomas Hayes

Reader

Sen. McCain and drilling

I'm writing to express a lack of confidence in Sen. John McCain to put the U.S. on a path to energy independence and address environmental issues such as global warming.

Voters should know that offshore drilling won't reduce gas prices. There is no scenario in which gas prices will go back down. Remember, Europeans have been paying more than this for a long time. Why should we trust the party that has such close ties to oil companies? At the end of Bill Clinton's presidency gas was $1.59. Since then, prices have tripled and the Republicans have stuck it to the working class and widened the divide between rich and poor.

Isn't it time to find new ideas that free us from our addiction to oil? Isn't time to elect a president that will push our science and research forward so that we can be a leader in the world again?

Rich Blake

Reader

Police issues

On Monday, June 20, I attended my 9:00 AM class as normal. During break at 10:30, I walked from Blegen Hall to 4th Street and 20th Avenue to buy a paper. As I walked back towards campus, a University patrol car pulled up to me on my right and a motorcycle cop on my left. There were two bicycle cops in front of me as well. They started asking me questions. Then they started accusing me of trying to steal bikes. They told me I was seen tugging at a bicycle that was locked on a rack. I told them I was a student and that I had been in class until five minutes before, which they corroborated over their radios. Then they told me I'd have to wait for a fifth cop to show up who had taken the description of the alleged bike lurker (who hadn't actually committed any crime, apparently).

I waited for 15 minutes, at which time this fifth cop showed up and said that my red baseball cap, blue pants and scruffy appearance matched the description of the thief. He was 99 percent sure that it was me. I repeated my story, shaking from the frustration, fear and anger that I felt. The motorcycle cop said he might escort me back to class to make sure I wasn't lying and he made jokes with the construction workers outside of the Carlson School of Management about dragging people behind his motorcycle with chains as a form of public humiliation.

The police conferred with each other for another 5-10 minutes before they let me go back to class. I had to walk in and disrupt my class 15 minutes after break was over. I was extremely agitated and unable to pay attention the rest of the day. According to my instructor, each class in summer school is the equivalent to a week of normal classes, so because of the UMPD, I missed half a week's worth of class time. They had no reason to stop me or not believe I was a student in class as opposed to an alleged criminal. Had I actually been trying to steal a bike, they still would have let me go unless I admitted to it, and what experienced thief would do that? Besides, why did it take five police to harass one unfortunate student on break from class? Do we pay these clowns' salaries? Perhaps they should earn that money, or at least find something useful to do. How many bikes were stolen in the 25 minutes that I was detained and accused of a crime I didn't commit? These police officers ought to be reprimanded.

Daniel Timp

University student