The question always arises should it have a place in modern society?

This article will call for an uncompromised abolition of such an institution that, according to Amnesty Intl., took the lives of 40 people in America and over 2300 people worldwide in 2008.

Horrible crimes such as murder and rape are not condoned by any stretch.

Socrates once said, “one who is injured ought not to return the injury, for on no account can it be right to do an injustice; and it is not right to return an injury, or to do evil to any man, however much we have suffered from him.”

Innocent people are serving time on death row for reasons of spotty evidence, incompetent witnesses, inadequate public defense, or vindictive prosecution who, to advance in their careers, need to be seen as tough on crime. However, too many innocent people have been sentenced to time in prison for murders they did not commit. In 2002, Ray Krone, after serving 10-years in Maricopa County, Arizona, became the 100th person to be exonerated from death row.

Since Krone, the number of people exonerated from death row between the 1973-78 moratorium and 2008 is around 123. Others have not been exonerated.

In 1993, The State of Texas took the life of Ruben Cantu for the murder of a man named Pedro Gomez. In 2005, the Houston Chronicle published, “Cantu Case: Death and Doubt.”

Showing a witness lied under oath and that Cantu’s claims of innocence should not have been in doubt.

Most murders are not committed by being planned and premeditated. Instead, many are done out of impulse.

The death penalty, no matter what part of the world it is carried out in, is always carried out with the full rationalization and justification of the state to punish someone for a crime.

There is nothing compassionate about the death penalty. As devastating as it is for those who have suffered the loss of a friend or family member, using the resources of the state to legally justify the death of a person at the hands of the state helps no one and only creates further heartache for those who will now lose a loved one at the hands of the state.
The death penalty is society’s way of disposing of unwanted people.

It is not a way to help those who once did terrible things work to become better people.

In the long run, even if difficult and expensive, is always the more compassionate thing to do.

To conclude: a bumper sticker, so ubiquitous, almost a cliché, that reads, “Why do we kill people to show that killing people is wrong?”

Like most of us you see it, ignore it and move on, but have you ever thought about it?

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Solutions and “solutions” abound. Let’s take a brief look at something accessible to virtually all that actually makes a difference: Consuming less meat and dairy.

Why eat less meat and dairy? Diets are easier to change than transportation options or how we power our homes and businesses.

The reasons are many, let’s take a look at a couple that speak to all of us.

One, you can save significantly on your food budgets, especially important given the increasingly tough economic times.

Though not all meat and dairy comes from factory farms, more sustainable alternatives exist where animals are better fed and treated. However, this article will talk about meat and dairy production as a whole produced on an industrial scale and accounting for a far higher percentage of what is currently out there, with the aforementioned alternatives being in the minority on the shelves of area food-sellers.

Another reason, ignoring ethical considerations related to including fewer animal products in our diets, is that through eating better overall people can lose weight at the same time!

Contributing to fewer health issues related to over-consumption of meat and dairy, such as heart disease, cancer and the ever-present problem of obesity experienced either through direct consumption or the effects of pollution issues occurring from producing meat and dairy products.

Because of mechanized industrial processes, producing meat and dairy is not especially environmentally conscious. The United Nations FAO’s report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” lists several environmental issues concerning meat production.

Among other issues, 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock, more than transportation sources including planes, trains and automobiles. A third of the nitrogen and phosphorus in freshwater sources is from meat production.

Significant deforestation to rainforests and other forested areas has occurred in the last 30 years as society’s appetite for meat and dairy has increased.

The United Nations study included the environmental impact of producing meat and dairy which includes having to grow feed for the animals, mostly corn and soy beans.  They are grown using chemicals and heavy machinery on huge tracts of land, which makes up the majority of animal feed sources.

For those with appetites and curiosities piqued by the thought of eating less meat, a vast number of excellent resources, recipes, nutrition info and more are all a web search away to help ease this personal transition.

Like many people, I have enjoyed a nice steak, or the occasional bacon-cheeseburger as much as anyone else, but after adjusting to what has been a relatively minor dietary change, I have found that I miss the taste less and less.  This has shown me the transition to eating less meat and dairy, while not initially easy, is not as hard as one might think.

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The film opens with Scott McKenzie’s melodic, easy going, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” interspersed with images of concert-goers with flowers in their hair, throughout the grounds the pop festival would be held on.

The Monterey Pop Festival itself, a large music festival that helped launch the careers of many up and coming music artists in the late 1960s included Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, The Mamas and The Papas and numerous other groups that performed during the three days the festival ran from June 16-18 1967, held at the Monterey Fairgrounds.

The festival is notable in music history as being one of the first modern major music festivals, with organization and effort, not to mention number of music groups, paralleled little in decades ahead.

Though Pennebacker sought to capture all aspects of the concert, from its inception to the performances themselves, yet he himself makes no appearance in this movie, allowing everybody who made the festival what it is tell the story through personal anecdotes but, more interestingly, the music itself.

Pennebacker’s creative camera work shows the reception of the audiences, many our parents age if not older, their names only known to themselves and their loved ones, yet they are as much a part of this as the performers themselves. If these people were not here, names like Hendrix, Mama Cass, Janis Joplin, performing with her group Big Brother and The Holding Company and so many other artists at this place and time could be as unknown as the faces in the audience.

Helping open up the festival, The Mamas and The Papas perform “California Dreaming” in styles of clothing befitting the period and the music. Pennebacker’s camera angles vary, as he focuses on individual performances such as Mama Cass (Cass Elliot) singing, or John Phillips or Denny Doherty playing.

Aside the psychedelic rock popular yet not pervasive throughout the cinematography of the festival, Simon and Garfunkel perform their folk song, “Feeling Groovy” in a darkened room with a red light being one of the few sources of illumination.

Jefferson Airplane performs “High Flying Bird” with the unique vocal styles of Grace Slick highlighting the work as the 60s concert trademark of swirling colors combined with films are shown on a screen enhancing to the eyes while the music is played.

Big Brother and The Holding Company perform their song “Ball and Chain” with Janis Joplin’s vocal talent making the audience take notice of the unique talents she brought to the group during her relatively short, but distinctive, time with the group.

The Who performs “My Generation,” the psychedelic liquid colors seen during Jefferson Airplane swirling in the back. The piece concludes with Roger Daltry smashing his guitar, finally ending with Keith Moon following Daltry by pushing his drums over onto the stage.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience gives one of their first U.S. performances, with songs like “Foxy Lady,” a rendition of Chip Taylor’s “Wild Thing” and others, utilizing Jimi Hendrix’s unique abilities with an electric guitar. The piece ends when Hendrix artistically smashes the guitar on stage as Mitch Mitchell continues to drum in the background.

The documentary concludes with Indian musician/composer Ravi Shankar and his group performing on sitars and other instruments of Indian folk music that western artists, especially George Harrison of The Beatles, would dabble in throughout this period in pop music history.

The audience sits in even more transcendental states of mind as they watch in awe of the mesmerizing music performed.

Criterion Collection’s 2003 DVD release of Pennebacker’s documentary not only includes the concert, there are additional performances by Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix with other behind-the-scenes stories, montages and more, potentially of interest to fans of vintage music.

The Monterey Pop Festival, no matter what generation watches, offers a quintessential look at the 60s music scene.

Timeless thanks to the musical performances of all who played here during this unique time in world music history.

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Americans love to complain about gasoline prices, however for some reason, they would rather pay higher prices than trying to using less.

It is not as easy as some make it sound. It is infrequently suggested we take a long hard look at what makes oil, what it is. Scientifically, it is a collection of hydrocarbons and aromatic compounds, nicknamed “black gold,” and is incorporated into virtually all consumer goods in some way or another.

The history of oil is fascinating in and of itself.  Modern civilization’s appetite for oil has only grown as societies have gained greater knowledge of the potential of this resource.

The book and documentary, The Prize by Daniel Yergin, discusses the development of the modern relationship between the West and Middle East when American and European oil companies discovered huge reserves of oil. Today, much of the prosperity in certain countries is due mainly to oil.

But not all that glitters is gold. While some countries have benefited greatly from extracting and selling this resource, other parts of the world have suffered. Yolanda Gordillo, a teaching assistant at F&M, and a personal friend from Ecuador, discussed how after Ecuador became an oil exporter and OPEC member in the early 70s, the subsistence of the economy became overly dependent on oil.

Under the military dictatorships of the 70s, the oil revenues helped fund social infrastructure, even though the already wealthy class was growing in size, while the majority of the population saw few benefits.

The indigenous Cofan, Siona, Secoya, Huaorani and Quichua peoples were “displaced” by Texaco and other trans-national oil companies exploiting Ecuador’s oil reserves.

The Tetete people of the region have disappeared completely.

Environmental issues from open pits of waste from drilling rigs contaminated air, soil and water, both below ground and in local rivers, creating cancer rates among the area’s peoples (indigenous as well as not) into numbers much higher than that of the cities, prompting a lawsuit from the indigenous people against the Ecuadorian government and the oil companies, said Gordillo.

Today, thanks to some renegotiation of oil contracts, Ecuador receives more substantial royalties, improving the economy and helping the country pump less oil, noting a rise in eco-tourism with the trans-nationals better complying with environmental regulations.

The Amazon rainforests and the people who live there still suffer from the original environmental devastation born out of the oil boom in the 70s.

Ecuador is not alone; other parts of the world have suffered environmental devastation. These other countries saw the benefit of oil wealth, mainly keeping the already rich and powerful about the same, without much benefit to those already impoverished.

Resources on oil including documentaries, books and other media are available, and becoming informed on this commodity as a whole is the best economic policy we have.

That has shaped the industrial age, yet has brought out the worst in humanity. Ah oil! Ah humanity!

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It is dirty, unsustainable, polluting, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions etc.

Yet, the coal industry, aware of their popularity these days promotes the advantages of so called clean coal as a way to keep their industry alive without compromising the environment.

Why is coal still used to generate 50 percent of our electricity? A 1993 article in the Atlantic discussed how the infrastructure uses it as an economical source of fuel and is still present, until you consider the true, or non-internalized, costs of using coal are not factored in, the costs not attached to every ton of coal, but someone, namely tax payers, will have to pay for.

After looking at these costs, the article suggested alternatives could be a more economical, not to mention cleaner, choice.

The topic of “clean coal technology,” promises to be a cleaner use of a resource America has in abundance. That’s the promise, here is a bit of reality: even if it is oh-so-clean, the world still has several significant problems if it continues to use coal.

It still has to be acquired and because it is non-renewable, we will still have to find another substitute once it becomes too expensive to extract and use, no matter how “cleanly” it can be used.

Overall, society will need substitutes that are truly clean and sustainable sooner, rather than later, if we are to keep the lights on for the next several centuries.

Before the end of the year, “The Tennessean” reported that a 40-acre ash pond, used by a coal fired power plant, burst releasing 2.6 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash sediment into Tennessee’s Emory River. Clean coal still produces ash, so such disasters could happen again, and tax payers will have to pay the cleanup bill.

The issue of whether or not to continue burning coal, even if it can be “clean” is not an issue of political affiliation; it affects everyone, we all need clean air, soil and water. The only truly clean coal is that which remains buried underground, and that is sustainable.

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Originally released in theaters in 1973, not long after the debut of the album itself, a DVD version, Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii: The Director’s Cut came out in 2003. Running significantly longer than the earlier versions of the film, it includes additional commentary and interviews with the band in the EMI Recording Studios Abby Road in London.

The premise: Pink Floyd performs at a set of old ruins that once may have hosted performances of Greco-Roman tragedies, period concerts, or the place of some spectacularly bloody and violent show put on to satisfy the Roman Empire’s thirst for blood at the height of the once formidable empire.

It starts with the gentle pinging of the cymbals on the drum, and other slow, soft, sounds including some played using an early electronic keyboard. The melody builds up from those initial soft sounds to Waters on bass and Gilmour on six-string as they dominate with harder guitar rhythms throughout the work.

Vocalists Gilmour and Waters evoke the Albatross of old literature as they sing of an Albatross flying overhead, almost lifeless, much like the Albatross of Coleridge’s poem hung around the head of those that harmed the poor marine bird.  The lyrical segment is short; the group goes back to instrumentals for the remainder.

The audience gets a break from the music with a series of interview and commentary with the group filmed as they were preparing their iconic album, Dark Side of the Moon.

The setting is informal, no one is dressed for the stage, or for formal interview, they dress as themselves. Gilmour and Waters share their thoughts on the direction of rock and roll, in particular what they see as a greater emphasis on using the sophisticated equipment coming out, but all the same, no matter how sophisticated the equipment, what makes a band great is the talent of the members. Water’s comment, “Give a man a Les Paul guitar and he becomes Eric Clapton” feels relevant now, as it did in the early ‘70s.

Nick Mason, who played with Pink Floyd from their inception, does much of the drumming for this album.

Fans of Mason’s drumming will find it almost mesmerizing to see his talent for percussion come to life as he plays in sync with the group. While playing One of These Days his drumstick flies away, he gets another and plays again without missing a beat.

The popular song, A Saucerful of Secrets is performed. Haunting melodies and voiceless vocals with instrumental clashes throughout that surprise, yet never feel out of place.

The film is not without flaw. Animated CGI scenes of ancient Rome before the empire’s fall are mixed in with Pink Floyd’s music playing in the background. This does not take away from the music, just begs of the audience to ask why? It still does not have much place in a film about Pink Floyd.

An enduring legacy of all that is Pink Floyd, Live at Pompeii remains as fresh and daring an album as it did in the early ‘70.

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Around 60 people turned out for WIXQ’s first annual Q-Stock. On Wednesday Nov. 19, Club de ’Ville was filled with the sound of local music and those who wanted to support it.  It went from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. People in Club de ’Vlle sat in big easy chairs and were able to play and watch others play Wii tennis. The game may have been a simulation, but the player’s ambitions to win were not.

Jeff Rawson and Erik Golden of WIXQ talked about how MU’s own radio station looked at Q-Stock as a way to reach out to local businesses, and to help bring a taste of the diverse Lancaster city art and music scene to the Millersville Campus.

“We think it’s going really well, and we’re excited over the results of an idea we had just two weeks ago,” said Golden.

Throughout the night, WIXQ’s DJ Bruce, Bruce Geetz, spun old vinyl records, including some 70’s funk and classic rock. Music from the 90’s includes some hip-hop, future funk and other genres. The event featured artists such as James Brown, Doobie Bros., The Beatles, and Blood, Sweat and Tears.

“I think it is a great turnout for a Wednesday night, and for the first hour. Kids are here, buying things, I think it’s a good start,” said DJ Bruce.

Fans of old vinyl were treated to an excellent selection, which was sold by Lancaster record stores, Bonafide Records and Mr. Suit records. They Sold selections of newer and older vinyl to suit many tastes.

Rick Noll of Bona-Fide Records discussed his impressions of Q-Stock.

“The Q-stock was a blast and a swell way to spend a night.  I have been selling vinyl for 25 years, as well as trying to run an indy label with mixed results,” he said

“There seemed to be a big interest in classic rock at the show, as I sold Led Zep, the Beatles, Stones, Dylan and even the Woodstock LP.  Also I sold a few punk LPs and a fair bit of jazz and soul. Overall, it was a festive evening and I was fun to hang out with my friends, as well as meeting the students and the radio station staff,” said Noll.

Millersville students peruse through music goodies of all kinds at Q-Stock. Photo by Christian Shuts.

Esro Jenkins, an artist from Lancaster, displayed original works of his own creations, using numerous mediums including spray paints and acrylics, “I paint on anything I can get my hands on,” said Jenkins.

He admited to having no formal artistic training, but was clearly talented anyway.

“I’ll do whatever to make a piece look good, I’ll try anything to gain experience and practice by modeling other peoples works as I strive to create original works of my own,” Jenkens said.

Gretchen Marie, an artist and model from Lancaster, displayed original multi-media works.

“I’m just excited to be part of a fun event like this,” she said.

Marie’s pieces ranged from those inspired by reality to more fantasy driven works.

“I create artwork depicting aspects of my own everyday life,” Marie said.

Sara Gallo-Cornell, an MU senior majoring in fine arts worked primarily with metals. On display at Q-Stock were some of her original works, that were not made of metal, however. She created these works using a sweet sounding medium: candy.  To create her pieces, Gallo-Cornell set candy in a resin so the piece will not become old.

“I love using candy because it comes in bright colors that are not achievable on metal,” Gallo-Cornell said.

WIXQ hosts first annual local music celebration at Club de 'Ville. Photo by Christian Shuts.

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Callenbach’s work is a work of fiction from long before many MU students were born. Yet, the look and feel is so relevant. America is in a crisis because of economics, environmental issues, and the large amount of oil we must import even from parts of the world unfriendly to America.

To show how individuals can make a difference, Callenbach discusses the rise of Ecotopia through a series of seemingly unrelated characters striving to change the world. The first is Lou Smith, who is a bright, young and ambitious Northern California teenager with one ambition, to use the sun to power the world, and enable everyone else to do so also. Through creating a simple solar cell that anyone can recreate themselves, she seeks to change the world. Throughout Ecotopia Emerging, her work is described in plausible, but never dumbed down, detail. She goes from numerous trial and errors on her cell designs to a finished product, where all phases of construction are described in detail on the Ecotopian two-way television service. It is not meant to be something only made in low numbers at high cost by large companies interested in profit.

Lou Smith is fed up with the ineptness of the federal government and their cow-towing to the wealthy elite of the nuclear, fossil fuel, automobile and big chemical companies. They feel these individuals just whine and scream that new environmental regulations are too painful for them. In order to create change, she no longer seeks to work with the established political parties. She and several others form a new party, which is called “The Survivalist Party.” They work to change politics at home on the state level first. Over the course of the story, “The Survivalist Party” gains traction. Finally, the corporate criminals are called out for their crimes .

Minor characters play roles as well. A farmer, who is largely indifferent to politics and global issues works on a still to create alcohol-based fuel to help others in his position become more self-sufficient. He shows other farmers, like himself, to do the same.

Not everyone seeks change through non-violent means. A small group of people afflicted with cancer show the corporations what happens when they will not listen to people. This group plants a small bomb in an oil refinery.

Around a third of the way through, the increasing impact of the Survivalist’s party becomes an object of inspiration to many throughout the rest of the United States. A little known novel is published using the title of this environmentalist utopia. It is written from the point of view of a cynical journalist on a state-sanctioned visit to Ecotopia. The book inspires ideas amongst the real people forming their vision of an environmentally conscious state.  The characters in the book must change the things around them to find change in the world.

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Presented and largely sponsored by SOLA, Society of Latino Affairs, and the Latino studies minor of Millersville University. Café Latino’s “Winter Fiesta” offered students Saturday night, Nov. 15, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. a unique alternative to usual Saturday nights, either on campus or off, to enjoy aspects of Latino culture, including, food,
dancing and music.

SOLA Vice President, Maria Gallo, said the theme for this years annual Café Latino
event would be Winter Fiesta.

DJs Alex Aguilar, and Enrique Perez, known as “DJ-Mex” from Kutztown University, played a wide assortment of both Spanish and English language music in various genres to create different moods throughout the night.  “The Latin music we played was of many genres including: Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Durangense and Cumbias.  We also played some Hip Hop.  Early on when the group of girls came out and danced the genre of music we played was Bachata and the song was “Dos Locos” by Monchy & Alexandra.” Said Aguilar.

“The event is a way to promote Latino food, music and culture on campus. To include everyone there we asked him to play everything that was currently out so everyone would dance and have a good time.  We wanted people to teach each other to dance and at the same time incorporating the Latino culture,” said  Sandra Aguilera, PR officer of SOLA.
Midway through the evening, a group of girls came to dance when the song, Dos Locos by Bachata group Monchy and Alexandra.

While the genre of Salsa is certainly known, the other genres DJ-Mex played are probably not well known in the English speaking world including: Bachata, originating in the Dominican Republic only recently rose to much larger popularity, after years as a rural musical genre derided for simplicity and lack of sophistication.

Merengue, getting its name from the dessert topping, is a faster paced genre of music and dance with origins in the Dominican Republic, also popular throughout Latino society.
Cumbias comes from Colombia, a folk music and dance, originating from African cumbe music. It started as a courtship dance and music style, later adding European instruments and becoming popular in areas outside Colombia including Argentina, Peru and the United States.

Reggaeton music is a Latin American blending of Jamaican music  with music of more traditional genres such as Merengue, Salsa and Bachata.

Part of Café Latino included a talent show with an open mike format, allowing anyone to read, sing or perform anything of talent as they pleased.  Annette Pena gave a clear, coherent performance of the poem Thoughts, Goals and Dreams showing she had prepared well to read the poem in front of a crowd.

Food always draws people to an event, thanks to the culinary talents of local restaurant Cochina Mexicana of Lancaster city and local outlets like Victoria’s Grocery and Los Fantasticos. Café Latino included a selection of ethnic dishes including arroz con granules (rice and beans), Taquitos (small fried burritos with chicken wrapped inside), a chicken and vegetable soup called caldo de pollo. It was well received by many in attendance; chicken enchiladas which are much like Taquitos, but not fried with sour cream lovingly drizzled on top were also served.  Everyone in attendance that night did not have to worry about a lack of food, as SOLA had plenty available for all to enjoy.

“I go to this event every year, and unlike most times, this year’s music was better than before. The event itself is quite the blast, and perhaps the dancing highlight is the “percolater” portion, of which a fellow by the name of ‘Urban’ is quite a ladies man, as he excels at dancing, and as of that night, singing. Consistent with Latino culture, they needed a party after the party,” said Robert Peterson, a guest at the event.

Despite the enthusiasm and dedication of SOLA in putting on Café Latino, the overall atmosphere remained somewhat apathetic, with few people partaking in the event, besides trying the food provided, and listening to the music played.

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Even with health insurance, they pick what gets covered, and what does not. Necessary treatments and medications may not be covered for reasons entirely their own.

In this case, after falling down a set of stairs at home, out of pocket, without insurance discount, it cost almost $880 for admission, x-ray, sling and $4 for Advil.

Just like any college student, of course I had such money in my account with nothing better to do with it; it was not like I would need it to pay for school or such.

After a year I did get it paid off, learning there is nothing like having no insurance to see how bad it really is.

Yet, this is hardly all that miserable in comparison, many people endure far worse, remaining chronically ill only for lack of funds.

There are options provided by state and federal government only if you can prove you cannot afford healthcare from a major provider; and who does that benefit?

Certainly not you and me, not to mention problems that under-funded and overworked state programs have to deal with.

To be sick in America, or anywhere, should not be a privilege. Illness and injury are facts of life.

What we need in this country right now, no matter the party in office, is health care for everyone. It could be a Universal Single Payer plan, much like what they have had in Europe for many years.

Or working with insurance to infuse more taxpayer money into reducing health care costs. When everyone has some level of healthcare, we all win.

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