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(11/13/06 3:23am)
A decision by the student trustees of Orange Coast College in California has revived the debate on the Pledge of Allegiance in public institutions. The trustees have voted almost unanimously to ban the recitation of the pledge at their meetings, citing ideological issues with swearing loyalty to God or country. The leader is an atheist who claims a government must earn allegiance, not bully its citizens into reciting rote patriotism. Some of their schoolmates have responded with vehement disagreement, loudly reciting the pledge at their open meetings and going public with accusations of being inappropriately offensive and anti-American. This debate bears to question: Are these students forward-thinking heroes of constitutional fervor, or are they commie bastards who should get out if they don't like America?\nThe trustees make the point that "under God" was added during the dark era of McCarthyism -- not an ideology most Americans wish to associate themselves with. And to be compelled to recite it could be perceived as a violation of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court, however, has not ruled on the matter, striking down a 2004 challenge to "under God" on a technicality and leaving the lower courts to decide. With no universal standard for pledge constitutionality, we are left with press-hungry revolutionaries and the reactionaries who hate them to duke it out in the arena of public opinion. \nUltimately, our right to criticize and protest the administration must be protected. To refuse recitation of the pledge is the ultimate expression of no confidence in our government. Yes, the methods this group chose are a childish ploy for media attention, but its protest must remain protected if we value our right to call out the government. Punishing the group with intimidation or ruling the forced recitation of the pledge constitutional would truly be antithetical to the heart of our Constitution.\nIf you force kids to eat lima beans against their will, I can guarantee they won't pass a love of lima beans onto their children. In fact, they will only foment further resentment and animosity toward you and your lima beans. In the same vein, if our government were to legally compel dissenters to pledge their devotion to a country they are unhappy with, it is unlikely that blind patriotism would well up inside them. On the contrary, it would only prove the protestors right that our government does want to suppress liberty, and we are not really free. \nThe best thing to do for the well-being of our country is to concede to their childish tantrums, proving our Constitution's magnanimity and our government's willingness to take criticism. Then perhaps the dissenters would realize that, despite all its flaws, we live in a beautiful country that cherishes personal freedom. We can speak out openly and vocally against our government and petition for change without fear, which is the most precious liberty our forefathers framed for us. Fighting for and protecting that liberty is not only our right as citizens but vital to what it means to be American.
(11/13/06 3:22am)
Last Wednesday I was worried about missing a workout. I was worried about skipping statistics class the day before. I was worried about studying for an art history quiz.\nThen I got a phone call. It was Dad.\n"Bad news ... Mom's blood test achieved strange results ... We're going to the hospital in Indianapolis ... come now ... it could be leukemia."\nI cried. I dropped my phone and everything else I had scheduled and expected to do the next five days. Memorizing the meaning behind Francisco Goya's masterpieces didn't matter so much anymore. Now I worried for my mother's life.\nWell, it turned out -- she doesn't have cancer. She has aplastic anemia. It's treatable. And we think she'll be all right.\nBut as my parents and older brother and sister sat in one of the drab, overheated boxes hospitals like to call "rooms," waiting to hear the diagnosis, we couldn't help but wonder if our family had ties with Hitler in another life. What did we do to deserve all the trauma we've encountered? My family knows two things well: sandwiches and trauma.\nMy dad has had three heart attacks in his lifetime, one just this April, sparking a need for open-heart surgery. He overcame respiratory failure following the surgery, but he is doing well now. His inappropriate humor is as rampant as ever.\nIn 2002, I was diagnosed with leukemia -- a cancer of the bone marrow. Treatment demanded almost an entire year of my life. But it worked. Next July, I can consider myself completely cured. I heart healthy bone marrow!\nAnd now Mom. While it's not cancer, it's still a blood disorder which you don't particularly want to have around. It'll be a few months before we know if the current treatment is effective.\nCombined, the Manchirs could provide grounds for a highly rated Lifetime original film script. \nBut I don't want your pity. The thing is -- we might be better off for it.\nThe obstacles we've faced have made our characters -- and our faith -- stronger. It has enriched our lives. It has inspired us. It has made our "good" or our "normal" days even better. The joy is not the same without the pain.\nTrauma brings out the best in people -- we know. We've witnessed genuine compassion in humans. Good people want to do anything to help out -- even if it means going to three different grocery stores to find the right cereal. Or driving several miles to the nearest McDonald's (chemo can trigger cravings for processed white meat, mmmm).\nMost of all, the fortune we feel in our hearts for the things we have overcome, for the days when treating an illness isn't a priority and for each other's unconditional love, is absolutely overwhelming.\nI almost feel bad for people who haven't experienced really crappy crap.\nSo, feel fortunate. Don't take your health for granted.\nTake care of your body. Enjoy life.You never know when you're going to get one of those phone calls, after all.
(11/13/06 3:20am)
Oh, IUSA, you were doing so well. With investigating the allocation of the Rape Crisis Fund, supporting plans for a more environmentally sustainable campus and calling for more student input in the presidential search process, we were fairly convinced of the legitimacy of this student administration. Our warm, fuzzy feelings toward IUSA came to a screeching halt, however, when quite possibly the most ill-conceived idea since the 2002 election Corvette debacle (in which IUSA purchased a Corvette for approximately $50,000 that would be raffled off in order to get students to vote in the 2002 general election) came into fruition Thursday. \nAn IUSA-backed group called "Students against Terrorism" chose Nov. 9, a day with the prestige of being the opposite of 9/11, to fight terrorism with white T-shirts. Yes, fighting the likes of al-Qaida with all the bunker-busting power of bleached cotton. These blindingly white, somewhat oversized monstrosities were handed out to the student body with the cryptic phrase "SAT" in bold, black letters on the front. SAT stands for "Students Against Terrorism." But how many saw them without thinking of standardized testing? Terrorists around the world must now be terrified by our unanimous agreement that terrorism is bad. Osama bin Laden, take heed. You are no match for our T-shirts! We have called on the gods of Fruit of the Loom to smite you with confusing printed messages and a unified belief in the downright badness of you!\nThe organization's president, junior Danny Schwarz, said he hopes these white T-shirts will help spread the message of unity and keep in the forefront the reality of terrorism the 364 days of the year that are not Sept. 11. As if the mounting American deaths in Iraq, increased hassle at airports and pop culture commentary weren't a 24-hour reminder of the grim reality, we now have a confusing white T-shirt just to be sure. Here's a clue: If a T-shirt would serve as the best reminder of the perpetual innocent deaths in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Darfur and Mexico caused by terrorism, then you probably don't need that T-shirt. You need a lobotomy. \nThe most offensive aspect of this idea was that IUSA spent $5,000 on the T-shirt campaign. IUSA is supposed to have the students' best interests in mind in its decision-making process and especially in the allocation of funds. How wasting $5,000 on a bunk anti-terrorism campaign serves our interests is lost on us. If IUSA is truly concerned for campus unity against pro-terrorist sentiment (which one would be hard-pressed to find here), could it have not put $5,000 toward a more worthy cause than those ugly, confusing T-shirts? That $5,000 could go a long way in feeding orphans in Darfur, buying medical supplies for refugees in Sierra Leone or funding peace missions between Israel and Lebanon. The point is that there is not a single person on campus who is unaware of the terrorist threat around the globe. What this world needs is not one more hollow reminder. Instead, it needs investments in proactive, positive responses for change. Spending $5,000 on T-shirts certainly does not meet that criteria.
(11/13/06 3:14am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- If Gov. Mitch Daniels' plan to build a tollway on the far outskirts of Indianapolis wins legislative approval, land-use experts said the highway would likely be challenged by landowners unwilling to have their land swallowed up for the project.\nThe bypass, dubbed the Indiana Commerce Connector, would cut about 75 miles through five counties east and south of Indianapolis, altering the landscapes of those largely rural areas.\nEminent domain -- the government's seizure of private land -- almost certainly would have to be used to acquire land for the tollway, which would be built and operated by a private company.\nSam Staley, director of urban land-use policy at the Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles-based think tank, said Indiana has recently made it harder to use eminent domain just for economic development purposes.\nDespite that, he said property owners in this case would have a difficult time challenging the state because courts would likely view the highway as meeting a wider public need.\n"A road is a public use ... so unfortunately property owners are going to be in a pretty weak position in terms of combating this," said Staley, who also is a senior fellow for the Indiana Policy Review.\nThe fact that a private company would profit by building and operating the road could help farmers and other property owners challenge government attempts to seize their land, he said.\n"This is a gray area, and we're going to have more and more of these questions coming up across the nation as more and more states realize the things Mitch Daniels is doing are pretty cutting-edge," Staley said.\nIt's unclear how much of the tollway's estimated $1 billion to $1.5 billion cost would be spent to acquire land. Staley said that with most projects like Daniels' proposal, the majority of property owners cooperate and sell.\nDaniels has pitched his vision as a boost for Indiana's economy and a means to help fund the $2 billion extension of Interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Evansville.\nThe plan needs the approval of the General Assembly, and even then the state probably would be several years from determining an exact route. Only then would land acquisition begin.\nDaniels said it could take six years before a ground breaking for the tollway.\nMick Wilson, president of the Morgan County Farm Bureau and a member of the county plan commission, said the governor's proposal is still new to most of the county's residents and "they're trying to digest it and form an opinion."\n"But there will be resistance when it comes to losing property -- no one ever wants to give that up," Wilson said.\nSteve LeMasters, whose 1,000-acre Shelby County farm is in the potential path for the tollway, doesn't like the idea of a highway rolling through the middle of it.\n"If they take some of my land, it could have a huge impact on my livelihood," he said Friday. "I just don't think they've thought this thing out"
(11/10/06 5:01pm)
"My grandmother died." "I was having car problems." "I slept through my alarm." "My roommate kept me up last night with his obnoxious rendition of Paris Hilton's 'Stars are Blind.'"\nAs a graduate student and instructor for introductory courses, I have heard more creative excuses for skipping class than Mel Gibson offered for his drunken tirade. Just last week, a student informed me that his assignment would be turned in late because his computer was not compatible with the Oncourse software. What? Do you think I'm brain-dead? Do you think I'm not aware that this campus has an abundance of computers (with adjacent printers) that are perfectly compatible with Oncourse?\nQuite frankly, I'm tired of all these excuses. I'm a little perplexed as to when it became acceptable to be tardy to an event or for a deadline. When I make an appointment for 8 a.m., I expect for it to occur at 8 a.m .\nI guess if someone deserves the majority of the blame for this societal trend, I'll throw it on doctors. As a whole, doctors are notorious for being late. Why? I honestly don't know, but I've always surmised that they thought their time was more valuable than mine. That and I thought they liked to make me wait on that cold table with the paper sheet and endless copies of Ladies' Home Journal and outdated Sports Illustrated magazines. It seems like they want to put me through a little bit of torture to make up for their years of hell in medical school. However, this unthoughtful practice seems to have trickled down to the masses.\nWhile it might seem beneficial to be prompt and prepared, society has a term for the chronologically challenged: "fashionably late." In order for someone to be considered wanted and desired by friends, they just set their watch for Mountain Time instead of Eastern Time. Instant two-hour differential! When they don't show on time, the mystery of their absence only deepens. The excitement builds, making their entrance even more grandiose than it would have been if they had been on time! Right. I don't know if I'm alone, but I consider such a practice to be rude and inconsiderate.\nI understand that emergencies do occur and careful planning cannot account for a sudden change in events. Even the most scheduled person cannot plan for a Bloomington rainstorm or a train blocking their route of choice. All I'm asking for is an end to the unnecessary excuses. An honest apology for lack of punctuality goes miles in my book. Respect and trust would be maintained, as long as each party were genuine.\nResponsibility isn't just a 14-letter word that was on your spelling list in fourth grade. It's a value that is important in becoming a dependable human being.
(11/10/06 4:44am)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Joe Paterno declared himself "out" for Penn State's next game, designating longtime assistant Tom Bradley to make any tough calls Saturday in the school's first contest without the coaching icon since 1977.\nBetter make the right decisions, Tom: Paterno undoubtedly will be watching.\nHeeding his doctor's advice, Paterno told his staff Thursday he would not be at Beaver Stadium for Saturday's game against Temple. The 79-year-old coach had surgery Sunday to repair a fractured shinbone and two torn knee ligaments in his left leg, injuries sustained in a sideline collision in a loss last week to Wisconsin.\nHis left leg fitted with a temporary brace, Paterno spoke with his assistants Thursday morning during a meeting at his Mount Nittany Medical Center room.\n"You guys know what you're doing and what I want enough that I don't need to be there creating a huge distraction Saturday," he told them, according to a team statement. "Enough on me; let's get back to football."\nPaterno remained in good condition Thursday and was described by a team spokesman, Guido D'Elia, to be in good spirits, his recovery from surgery proceeding well.\nPaterno is eager to check out, though he won't be released until team doctor Wayne Sebastianelli is satisfied with the progress of his recovery. So it's unclear whether Paterno will watch his squad Saturday from home or from his room at the hospital, just down the street from the stadium.\nThe coach "just realized he's got to be proactive," D'Elia said, "that in this condition it wasn't safe to be out and about."\nSo JoePa and his rolled-up khakis will be missing from the Penn State sideline for the first time since 1977, when he missed a game after his son, David, was involved in an accident. Paterno also missed a game as an assistant in 1955 after his father died.\nAt least one thing hasn't changed: Paterno wants to win.\nHis sights are set on a New Year's Day bowl game in Florida, a destination that Penn State can likely lock up if the team beats Temple Saturday and Michigan State in the regular-season finale Nov. 18. A decision on whether Paterno can coach against the Spartans from a coach's box high above Beaver Stadium will be made next week.\nDoctors have said Paterno might be allowed to coach from the sidelines for a bowl game as long as his recovery is going well and he can stay off his feet. It might be six weeks until Paterno can again put weight on his left leg.\n"Let's take a look at the big picture of what could lie ahead ... get the next two," Paterno told his staff.\nBradley, the team's defensive coordinator, and offensive coordinator Galen Hall will oversee their units. The school didn't name an acting head coach, though Bradley, an assistant to Paterno for 28 years, will make any tough decisions come game-time.\n"If a game decision needs to made beyond that, talk it out, and if you can't agree, Tom will be the tiebreaker because he has been around the longest," Paterno said.\nThe architect of Penn State's stingy defense, the outgoing and energetic Bradley is a whirl of activity on the sidelines, his arms often waving wildly.\nHe might be considered the top internal candidate to take over the Nittany Lions once Paterno steps down. Paterno, who turns 80 next month, is under contract for another two years.\nSebastianelli has said he expect Paterno to return next year. Paterno's son and quarterbacks coach, Jay, said earlier this week his father has every intention of returning in 2007.\nPaterno has 360 career wins, four behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden for the top spot among major college coaches.
(11/10/06 4:42am)
It could be the greatest game in Hoosier football history -- a victory against No. 2 Michigan that would secure both a bowl berth and a blurry Bloomington night. \nBut it won't be. \nInstead, the IU football team is likely to receive a beating in Bloomington that will leave it bruised \nThis column will not be full of what-if's for Saturday's soon-to-be slaughtering of the IU football team. I stopped showing up to my own IU football dreams when the Hoosiers didn't show up to last week's Minnesota massacre. That game, which should have locked a sixth win and a bowl game, instead locked the chances that this will be year No. 13 of a bowl-barren season in Bloomington. \nThen again, the Hoosiers could stir up success against Michigan. But if it comes early and in the form of a fight, Bloomington beware. A fight brewed before kickoff last season in Ann Arbor, Mich. IU punched first with a touchdown. The Wolverines responded with a crotch-kicking 41 points, leaving the Hoosiers down and drawing for air. If last week's 63-26 beat-down is any indicator, let's take a DeLorean and blast to the future matchup against Purdue Nov. 18.\nWhat is a columnist to do? I'll leave the sarcasm for the sad. I'll leave the delusions to the Republicans, and I'll leave the miracles to Moses. Instead, I have resorted to cinemantics. \n"Cinemantics?" you're wondering aloud. Yes, reader, particular semantics of popular cinematic moments. I have resorted to cinemantics, and as such, if IU beats Michigan, I'm going streaking ... right down Kirkwood Avenue. I will be as nuts and as nude as Will Ferrell, but I won't be stopping for KFC.\nHowever, if IU does beat Michigan, the rest of the collegiate football community will see us as party crashers. While the S.S. IU will be motor-boating its way to a bowl game, we will have spoiled next week's No. 1 Ohio State versus No. 2 Michigan game, which will likely decide the rest of the BCS picture. \nBut the truth is that both teams are looking beyond Saturday's game. Michigan is ready for a melee matchup against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The Hoosiers sealed their fate after the aforementioned 63-26 ass-kicking. It's now in the hands of their final regular-season game versus Purdue. Of course, the difference is that Michigan can afford to look past us, but IU cannot look past any opponent. \nSo expect a Wolverine whooping, the Earth to remain round, Hell to remain hot and pigs to remain on the ground. Expect the ordinary, not the extraordinary. Expect the best from IU, but expect even better from the Wolverines. \nAs I stated earlier, this could be the greatest game in Hoosier history. But it won't be. It will once more give Hoosiers cause to hide their heads in red Solo cups and refried bean chili bowls. Yet the IU loss to Michigan, whether it is by seven or 70 points (keep laughing, you'll see) will put the Hoosiers' hopes behind the eight-ball, inches from erasing one of the more interesting IU football seasons in recent history.\nYes, sir, all hail the Hoosiers. Hail, hail to the victims!
(11/10/06 4:34am)
Three Indiana Democrats set their sights on carrying change to Washington after helping their party take control of the U.S. House, a victory that left Rep. Pete Visclosky poised Wednesday to become chairman of a powerful appropriations subcommittee.\nRepublican Rep. Mike Pence, meanwhile, announced his bid to lead the new GOP minority with an appeal for a renewed commitment to the restrained federal spending and limited government that swept his party into power in 1994.\nVoters Tuesday returned Baron Hill to the southern Indiana seat he held for three terms through 2004 and also elected newcomers Joe Donnelly in the northern 2nd District and Brad Ellsworth in the southwestern 8th District.\nTheir victories, besides returning House control to Democrats, also gave the party a 5-4 edge in Indiana's congressional delegation.\nEllsworth, who voters elected by an overwhelming majority to defeat six-term incumbent Rep. John Hostettler, said work needs to be done immediately to dissolve a vicious partisan divide in Congress and build a consensus about Iraq.\n"Iraq is still first and foremost on everybody's mind," Ellsworth said. "I don't want to find that impossible to reach across the aisle."\nHill said voters sent a message they want a new course in Washington, with Congress providing more oversight of the Bush administration. Voters also want the two political parties to work more collegially on the war in Iraq and other challenges confronting the nation.\n"I don't believe we can leave Iraq right now, but we can't stay there indefinitely," Hill said during a news conference Wednesday at the Clark County Democratic headquarters in Jeffersonville, Ind. "And the president's message of staying the course is the wrong message because it tells the people of Iraq that we're going to be there forever."\nVisclosky stands to have a greater voice on Iraq policy as the third-ranking member of the defense appropriations subcommittee, which oversees $400 billion and 30 percent of the federal budget.\nThe Merrillville Democrat, who has co-sponsored legislation with prominent war critic Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., on drawing down troop levels in Iraq, noted Wednesday's resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and pending recommendations by a commission headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana.\n"I hope there is an opportunity here and a change is expeditiously made," Visclosky said in a telephone interview from Washington.\nVisclosky stands to become chairman of the energy and water appropriations subcommittee, which controls more than $30 billion in spending for the Energy Department and other agencies. He has used his minority seat on the subcommittee to help win $9.5 million for an ethanol plant in Rensselaer, Ind., and said the nation must invest in new energy sources to end its dependence on oil.\n"This is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed," he said.
(11/10/06 3:58am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts are aware of the trap.\nAt 8-0, on the verge of making NFL history and a heavy favorite at home against Buffalo, the NFL's last unbeaten team didn't need a reminder about keeping focus this week.\nThe Chicago Bears taught the Colts that lesson last week.\n"Exactly. Chicago loses to a team that had one win coming in, and Miami has a lot of good players who made a lot of plays," two-time MVP Peyton Manning said. "It's the same thing with Buffalo: they have Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher, guys like that."\nIf the Colts learned anything from last year's quest for perfection, it was this: take nothing for granted.\nSure, on paper, Sunday's game looks like a mismatch to everyone outside the locker rooms.\nThe Bills (3-5) have struggled offensively, rank near the bottom of the league in turnover differential, have a mid-level rating against the pass and will play without their leading rusher, Willis McGahee.\nIndianapolis, in contrast, is coming off back-to-back wins at Denver and New England, setting up what some believe could be a letdown before heading to Dallas.\nThe Colts don't buy it. They know it takes consistency and concentration each week and how dangerous it can be to discount an NFL team, even one that's still trying to find its footing.\n"Those games are sometimes harder," cornerback Nick Harper said.\nThat attitude might be the best explanation for the Colt's recent successes.\nManning and coach Tony Dungy have won more games in 4 1/2 years (56) than any other quarterback-coach combination in franchise history after winning at New England Sunday. The previous record belonged to two Hall of Famers, John Unitas and Don Shula, who won 55.\nThe Colts also have won 30 of their last 33 regular-season games and haven't lost consecutive meaningful games since that streak started in November 2004.\nA victory Sunday would also make Indianapolis the first team in league history to start back-to-back seasons at 9-0. The Green Bay Packers were 8-0 three straight times from 1929-31 but lost Game 9 in 1930.\nTo avoid a similar fate, they're taking the Bills every bit as seriously as they did the Pats.\n"I think the reason we've been able to do this is because of the practice schedule that's laid out and our attention to detail," Manning said. "It's the coaching philosophy here, and this team has bought into that."\nAs the Bills know all too well, the bigger challenge is designing a game plan to beat Indianapolis.\nManning and Marvin Harrison have combined for 99 career touchdowns, the best combo in league history. When Harrison's not involved, Reggie Wayne usually is. The offensive line has yielded 10 sacks all season, and the Colts' small, speedy defense played its best game of the season Sunday.\nTo coach Dick Jauron, it's almost too much to ponder.\n"Boy, I hope they don't get better, or at least if they do, I hope they wait a week," he said. "They've got it all going right now, and as far as I'm concerned, the defense is part of that 8-0 thing, too."\nWhat the Bills must do is avoid mistakes.\nQuarterback J.P. Losman finished last week's game with no turnovers, a major factor in ending the Bills' three-game losing streak.\nWith the Colts' propensity for scoring points, he must be even better -- and more efficient -- this week.\n"We want to keep the ball a little bit, keep them off the field, but we definitely have to score points, and we have to score touchdowns," Losman said.\nThat's likely to mean testing Indianapolis' poorly run defense even with Anthony Thomas in the lineup.\nThe Colts expect nothing less.\n"Why wouldn't you run it until we show we can stop it?" Harper said. "If I was the offensive coordinator, I'd run the ball against us, too."\nStill, the temptation is there.\nNow that Chicago has lost, the media focus has shifted back to Indianapolis where the questions have again started in earnest about a possible undefeated season. Next up is a trip to Dallas, then a home game against Philadelphia.\nTo the Colts, there's only one game that matters: Buffalo.\n"When you get to midseason, you really don't know what the other team's record is," Manning said. "Really, the record is not relevant. It's how you play on that particular Sunday"
(11/10/06 3:55am)
CLEVELAND -- Every dribble, every dunk and every decision he makes is dissected. Some more so than others.\nLeBron James understands that. He just doesn't get why some are saying he quit on the Cleveland Cavaliers.\nJames was widely criticized on sports talk radio and by TV pundits for leaving the floor in the final seconds Tuesday night in a 104-95 overtime loss to Atlanta. After missing a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, he began walking off the floor toward Cleveland's locker room while the Hawks dribbled out the clock.\nJames stopped near the baseline by Cleveland's bench and watched until the final horn sounded.\nHe was first condemned by Atlanta's radio team, and the team's call was picked up by some national broadcast outlets Wednesday. Later, James was compared to wide receiver Randy Moss, who left the field before a game was over for Minnesota.\nJames, who has been under a public microscope since he was 16, doesn't think he did anything unusual.\n"It's not like I walked off the court and came to the locker room while there was still time left on the clock," he said before Thursday's game against Chicago. "I stood on the court the whole time, until the buzzer's end. I even said something to (Hawks forward) Joe Johnson on his way out.\n"It was kind of frustrating for us to lose that game, but as far as quitting on my team or anything like that, it's crazy. If we would have won the game, it would have never been mentioned. Say if we was winning the game and I did the same thing. Would it have been mentioned? I don't think so."\nJames didn't seem surprised that it was incorrectly reported that he left the floor completely.\n"It was reported I was in Texas somewhere, and I was at home," he said. "It was reported I was in Miami, and I was home, too."\nCavaliers coach Mike Brown didn't know about the flap about James' late-game stroll until he was told by his son it was being discussed on TV. Brown said he and James have discussed the uproar.\n"We both understand there is a right way to do things," Brown said. "This business is the perception business, and the right way to do it is to finish the game out on the court. It won't happen again."\nJames' walk wasn't even noticed by the Cavaliers, who defended their teammate and said he isn't the only one to leave the floor early.\n"It's no big deal," forward Drew Gooden said. "LeBron is under such a microscope that every little thing he does gets noticed. I don't care what anybody says, at some point I'm sure Michael Jordan and Larry Bird walked off the floor with 13 seconds left."\nBulls coach Scott Skiles isn't shocked that James' move got so much hype.\n"I'm not real surprised by anything the media gives attention to these days," Skiles said. "Every little thing gets scrutinized ridiculously."\nSkiles always played to the final horn and knows anything is possible when there is still time left.\n"I've seen Reggie Miller score eight points in nine seconds, so it has happened," he said.
(11/10/06 3:53am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- NCAA president Myles Brand commended college athletes for their academic improvement Thursday, then criticized poor fact-checking by the media and government for failing to report the true story.\nBrand said figures released by the NCAA Thursday prove athletes often outperform their peers in the classroom and called any other notion a "myth."\nThe latest federal graduation rates show athletes are more likely than the general student body to earn a diploma, and female athletes continue to post higher numbers than their male counterparts.\n"One of my most significant frustrations to read time and again is the mistaken myth that student-athletes are not good students," Brand said. "The federal government confirmed something we've known for a long time -- that student-athletes are good students. There really is no excuse for getting this information wrong."\nThe latest statistics showed incoming athletes from the freshman class of 1999-2000 held a 2-point advantage, 63 percent to 61 percent, over those students who did not play sports. Athletes also had a 1-point overall increase over last year's figures.\nFederal graduation rates are calculated over a six-year period for each incoming freshman class.\nBrand blamed the misperception on erroneous reports and called on editorial writers and the House Ways and Means Committee, which is investigating the NCAA's tax-exempt status, to get the numbers right.\n"Their claim that student-athletes don't perform well in the classroom is way off, and I think those wrong stories need to get their facts right," he said.\nAcademic reform has been Brand's top priority since taking over as president in 2003.\nHe presided over a movement that made eligibility standards for student-athletes more rigorous and created more stringent standards for freshmen to play. Brand also pushed for a new, more effective calculation to measure academic success among student-athletes.\nUnder the NCAA formula, called the Graduation Success Rate, 77 percent of student-athletes graduated. The NCAA's numbers were consistently higher than the federal rates.\nThe difference between the two calculations is that the federal rate does not include transfer students.\nBy all measures, Brand likes the progress.\n"I'd say the academic achievement of our student-athletes over the last several years is one of our greatest success stories," he said.\nAmong the more notable findings over a four-year period were that female athletes earned diplomas at a significantly higher rate, 71 percent, than their male counterparts, 56 percent and that blacks (53 percent) and Hispanics (58 percent) continued to lag behind other ethnicities when earning diplomas.\nWhites had the highest federal score at 67 percent.\nBrand also cited a 3-point increase under the federal guidelines, from 43 to 46 percent, for men's basketball players and a 4-point jump, from 38 to 42 percent, among black players.\n"Four points in one year is a very serious move upward, and it's 5 percent higher than African-American students in the general student body."\nFour schools -- Boston College, Bucknell, Duke and Northwestern -- graduated at least 90 percent of their athletes over the one-year period. Duke, at 91 percent, had the highest rating. The other three each had 90 percent rates, but Bucknell was the only school of the top four to exceed its overall student body grad rate (88 percent).\nThe three lowest scores belonged to Florida A&M (19 percent), Texas-Pan American (21 percent) and Lamar (30 percent), although Lamar's total was only 1 point lower than its overall total.\nThe three military academies -- Army, Navy and Air Force -- received no one-year scores for their athletes. The report includes only student-athletes receiving scholarships, which the military academies don't have.
(11/10/06 3:42am)
WASHINGTON -- The anti-GOP wave that upended Congress rewarded Democrats with new opportunities to help set the national agenda and burdened them with the task of delivering on voters' expectations.\n"Time for a change," Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who likely will become the new Senate majority leader next year, said Thursday at a victory rally outside of the Capitol. "This country has spoken loudly and clearly."\nBetween their promise to increase the minimum wage and their vow to seek a new direction in Iraq lies the difference over what is achievable and what might fall beyond their reach.\n"Simply having the title of majority is not enough," said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democratic leader in the Senate. "It's a long litany of challenges before us."\nReid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the would-be speaker of the House, savored their victories Wednesday but struck conciliatory tones, promising to work in a bipartisan way with congressional Republicans and the president.\n"This is not a juggernaut just slicing through town," Reid said.\nDemocrats won the slimmest 51-49 majority in the Senate Wednesday evening with the victory of Democrat Jim Webb over Republican Sen. George Allen in a hard-fought Senate race in Virginia. With some races too close to call, Democrats held 230 seats in the House, 10 more than a bare majority. They appeared to be in line to win two more.\nFor Democrats, winning control of both chambers of Congress raises the stakes.\nBesides hiking the minimum wage, they want to act quickly on legislation to enact recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, reduce dependence on foreign oil, expand stem cell research and lower the price of drugs offered through Medicare. All those pose potential legislative challenges, but none more than the Democrats' pledge to seek a new direction in the war in Iraq.\nSurveys of voters conducted on Election Day showed that almost three out of five voters disapproved of the war and were more inclined to vote for the Democratic candidate. Only a third of voters said the war had improved the long-term security of the United States.\nStill, the strategic course of the war is set by the president. Congress has little leverage to force the president to change course. Bush sent Congress a signal Wednesday when he announced he would replace Donald H. Rumsfeld as secretary of state. The change, Bush said, would provide a "fresh perspective" on the war.\nRecognizing Congress's limitation, Pelosi said that when it comes to Iraq, "it's not about the Democrats in Congress forcing the president's hand."\nThe first test on the war for Democrats could come next year when Bush sends Congress a spending bill to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Democrats have said they will not hold war appropriations hostage in exchange for policy changes. Instead, they are hoping Bush will heed the results of the election and the upcoming recommendations of a bipartisan Iraq study group led by former Secretary of State James Baker.\n"The president is the president of the United States," she said. "I hope that he will listen to the voices of the people and, again, putting aside partisanship and looking to a partnership to end this war."\nCongressional Democrats will have to work with Bush on other fronts, too. The president wields a powerful veto pen that Democrats would be unable to override on their own. And in the Senate, a slim 51-49 Democratic majority would be hamstrung by the filibuster -- a favorite parliamentary weapon of the minority that permits 41 senators to block legislation.\n"The minority, as long as it has more than 41 people together, can have a great deal of impact on whether something passes at all, or, if it passes, what form it takes," said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, in line to become the new Senate Republican leader.\nSome Republicans cautioned against an obstructionist approach.\n"If we do that, shame on us," said Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio. "If the Democrats do what I would do if I were them and reach out with a list of things to do, and if we're depicted as standing on the outside trying to prevent that from happening, it would be terrible for the country. And it's stupid politics."\nDemocrats already were offering to cooperate when the House and Senate reconvene under Republican control next week for a postelection session. The agenda includes unfinished business on legislation ranging from offshore drilling to a nuclear agreement with India to tax incentives for the production of alternative energy.\nAlso unfinished, however, are 10 spending bills needed to keep the government operating. Officials said it was possible lawmakers would simply leave final action on those bills to the new Congress.\nThat would saddle Democrats with the task of tidying up the past when they would rather be looking to the future.
(11/09/06 4:21am)
Forty-three years after her suicide catapulted her into iconic status, confessional poet Sylvia Plath lives on through her words. \nLast week, Anna Journey, a graduate student in creative writing at Virginia Commonwealth University, published Plath's little-known poem "Ennui," which she found in the Lilly Library's Sylvia Plath archive of juvenilia.\nPublishing the poem, which ran in the online literary journal Blackbird, provides a better understanding of Plath's work, Journey said. When compared with Plath's other writings, "Ennui" is a piece in the evolutionary puzzle that shows the development of a poet into maturity.\nJourney said she found out about the poem's existence when she read an article about Plath's personal copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." Plath had written the French word meaning "boredom" -- "L'Ennui" -- in the margin next to a quote by Fitzgerald's character Daisy Buchanan.\n"I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything," Buchanan said in "The Great Gatsby." \nThe highly ironic poem "Ennui" mocks those like Buchanan who lack imagination, Journey said. One of Plath's biggest fears was the death of her creativity and imagination.\n"It is pointing out that the world in which we live is never as exciting as fairy tales," Journey said.\nPlath's iconic status comes from her expression of personal rage against feminization, said Susan Gubar, a distinguished professor in IU's Department of English. Known for her angry poems, Plath wrote about everyday experiences and the details of her life.\n"Ennui" was written in 1955 when Plath was a student at Smith College. She met Ted Hughes -- who would become the poet laureate of England from 1984 to 1998 -- while studying at the University of Cambridge on a scholarship. They married but divorced in 1962; Plath committed suicide the following year.\nBecky Cape, Lilly Library's head of public services, said she feels IU has not missed out on recognition by not publishing the poem.\n"It's not our role as a library to publish (poems). We arrange them ... and make them accessible for research," Cape said.\nIU's Plath archive is the most frequently visited collection at the Lilly Library, said Kathleen Connors, a specialist on Plath's visual art and juvenilia and the primary organizer of the Sylvia Plath 70th Year Symposium held at IU in 2002. \n"What's unique about it is Plath's mother sold everything about Plath (to the library)," she said. "Lilly literally has the motherload of memorabilia."\nCollin Kahn, a senior majoring in English and African American and diaspora studies and a fan of Plath's writing, said visiting the archive gave him a sense of connectivity with Plath.\n"It's great that I can peruse the pages of someone I really admire," he said. "You can really get a sense of the moment (her manuscripts) were written."\nFor Kahn and others in the poetry community, publishing "Ennui" will give insight into Plath's life and personality.\n"By recognizing Plath's early efforts, we can fully understand the efforts of her poetic genius," Journey said.
(11/09/06 4:02am)
MADRID, Spain -- Wednesday, the seismic shift midterm elections brought to Washington's political landscape was welcomed by many who oppose the war in Iraq and the harsh methods the Bush administration has employed in fighting terrorism.\nFrom Paris to Pakistan, politicians, analysts and ordinary citizens said they hoped the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives would force President George W. Bush to adopt a more conciliatory approach to global crises and teach a president many see as a "cowboy" a lesson in humility.\nSome also expressed fears that a split in power and a lame-duck president might stall global trade talks and weaken much-needed American influence.\nAbout Iraq, some feared Democrats will force a too-rapid retreat, leaving that country and the region in chaos. Others said they doubted the turnover in congressional power would have a dramatic impact on Iraq policy any time soon, largely because the Democrats have yet to define the specifics of the course they want to take.\nU.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said American policy would not dramatically change, despite the Democratic election success.\n"The president is the architect of U.S. foreign policy," the ambassador said in a videotape distributed by the U.S. Embassy. "He is the commander in chief of our armed forces. He understands what is at stake in Iraq."\nRegardless of the effect on world events, global giddiness that Bush was finally handed a political black-eye was almost palpable.\n"Of course, the citizens of the United States are humans with a conscience. It's a reprisal vote against the war in Iraq, against the corruption" within the Bush administration, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said. "All this fills us with optimism"
(11/09/06 4:02am)
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down Wednesday, one day after midterm elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses.\nPresident Bush said he would nominate Robert Gates, a former CIA director, to replace Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.\nAsked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said: "Well, there's certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon."\nBush lavished praise on Rumsfeld, who has spent six stormy years at his post. The president disclosed he met with Gates Sunday, two days before the elections in which Democrats swept to control of the House and possibly the Senate.\nLast week, as he campaigned to save the Republican majority, Bush declared that Rumsfeld would remain at the Pentagon through the end of his term.\nRumsfeld, 74, was in his second tour of duty as defense chief. He first held the job a generation ago, when he was appointed by President Gerald Ford.\nWhatever confidence Bush retained in Rumsfeld, the Cabinet officer's support in Congress had eroded significantly. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the House speaker-in-waiting, said at her first postelection news conference that Bush should replace the top civilian leadership at the Pentagon.\nSenate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who had intervened in the past to shore up Rumsfeld, issued a statement saying: "Washington must now work together in a bipartisan way -- Republicans and Democrats -- to outline the path to success in Iraq"
(11/09/06 3:49am)
I had Mr. Gordon Kato as an instructor in PSY P154, the accompanying lab for Introductory Psychology II for Majors (PSY P152). Though it took me a while to understand all the statistics involved in the results section of a psychology research paper (sounds mind-boggling already), Mr. Kato really took the time to help me individually so that I could better understand the material. Even though it was difficult material to understand, Gordon was committed to making sure we understood it so that we would have great experiments and papers. I am very saddened to hear about his death. I would like him to know and want to thank him for helping so many of us students with the difficulties of psychology. You will be missed greatly, Gordon!
Sarah Wells
,
Junior
(11/09/06 3:27am)
It always makes me laugh when the American people, some of the most overweight on Earth, act like they're doing something proactive in the fight against obesity and the health problems that are associated with it. \nMagazines and newspapers follow one after the other with the latest trend in pseudo-nutritional and health care advice, working the ignorant masses into a panicked frenzy about dying from clogged arteries or how their hearts will explode and/or implode if they don't follow the latest up-to-date "medical," "scientifically proven" information. \nCutting carbs was so last season, darling -- the new evil is trans fats, duh! I don't think it took more than a week or two after the flurry of bad media coverage for food-producing companies to start packaging their products in wrappers that boldly state in yellow or orange "Zero Grams Trans Fat!" \nI doubt most people know, or ever will know, what trans fats are, but I'm almost positive it really doesn't matter. It just makes them feel psychologically better about themselves to buy something that claims it has zero grams of something bad. Ah, I can eat my crispy fried lard puffs in peace knowing that they have zero grams of trans fat. \nHow many people watched the vomit-inducing movie "Super Size Me" and squirmed in their seats? I'm sure hundreds of thousands vowed, en masse, never again to eat at those delicious dungeons of doom known as fast-food restaurants. Well-intentioned as they must have been, though, I'm also sure the majority of those people went back to their fast-food regimens within a few weeks. And I bet the long respite from the tasty trans-fatty treats made them extra enthusiastic, chomping down on their Big Macs with the excitement of beavers let loose in a furniture store. \nMy favorite attempt at pseudo-health consciousness, however, are the lawsuits obese people file against fast-food chains. These people, such as the man involved in a 2002 lawsuit against McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and KFC, claim that fast-food restaurants are responsible for their obesity and weight-related health problems. \nThey claim that fast-food restaurants are deceptive in their nutritional information, create cravings that lead to addictions and don't have enough healthy options on their menus. \nAnybody with an ounce of common sense knows that daily consumption of fast food will lead you to become overweight and develop health problems. The nutritional information -- either available on request or posted on the wall of the establishment -- is always clear about the fact that you're definitely eating something with 37 grams of fat and 700 calories.\nNobody forces anyone to go eat at a fast-food restaurant; it's a choice. People are personally responsible for their health, and they could order salads and skip the dressing. \nLastly, I for one, am sick of reading headlines like "Breakthrough in Weight Loss," followed by something about a magical pill or tea or some ancient secret from Tibet being the key to a healthy lifestyle. \nBreaking News! New study shows that eating better keeps you from being obese!
(11/09/06 3:26am)
You're making pasta in the kitchen -- \npantless as usual -- and the water has just begun to boil. It's really hot now -- a liquid pool of Jake Gyllenhaal. \nYou pour in the noodles and look at the box: "10-12 minutes or until soft." Just like sex, you think to yourself. \nYour apron shakes as you chuckle madly.\nIn the living room, Vanna White is pressing the tiles to a "Before and After" phrase that is clearly "Marilyn Monroe County Library." The chubby contestant in the tangerine sweater guesses the letter "D," and you shake your head, wondering when she will stop eating Cheetos and start being intelligent. \nSuddenly, a breaking announcement interrupts the program. Spunky news anchor Andrea Morehead appears on TV, unusually solemn. She's wearing a bright red suit in a shade as alarming as the news she's about to deliver. \n"Ladies, gentlemen, hermaphrodites and victims of bizarre accidents," she begins, "I regretfully inform you that today ... \nwill be your last. According to information recently obtained by meteorologist Bob Gregory, the Earth will implode in exactly two hours. Also, tonight will be partly cloudy."\nWhen "Wheel of Fortune" returns on TV, you see Pat Sajak and Vanna White, who have recently received the news themselves, going at it hardcore -- right on top of the wheel. The show's creator, Merv "The Perv" Griffin, soon joins in. As soon as Pat "Sajakulates," you turn off the TV.\nThe noodles are done. And soon your life will be, too. \nIt's the proverbial, Armageddon-inspired question, one commonly posed by drunken friends and existentialist professors: If you had two hours to live, what would you do?\nThough this question seems pointless -- \ninsignificant at best -- in a world of global crisis and tangible turmoil, the varying answers provide an interesting insight into the perverse human psyche. \nThough many answers are given, one is undoubtedly the most common: "I'd have a giant orgy."\nIt seems strange to me -- idiotically demonic even -- that many people would spend the final, fleeting hours of existence munching the dirty tacos of desire. Don't get me wrong, I love sex. More than cheese even, and let me tell you, this homo loves his sharp cheddar. Truly, sex is beautiful -- like a basket of babies. But, still, even in mass quantities, it's a poor substitute for love. \nOrgies are hamburgers. Love is prime rib. \nIndeed, you could stuff yourself silly with a giant hamburger, but nothing compares to the savory taste of real, emotional beef. \nAs trite as it might sound, I would much rather spend my final moments surrounded by the people I love -- \ndrinking hot chocolate and playing double-deck euchre. \nThus, I've come to a realization. There are two types of doomsday respondents out there: the ones who would have orgies and the ones who would play euchre. \nSo, ask yourself: When the world comes to an end, will you be screwing a stranger ... or screwing the dealer?
(11/09/06 3:25am)
You might have heard of the book and movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Unfortunately, fear and loathing have spread well beyond Sin City -- just ask Rev. Ted Haggard.\nLast week, allegations of meth use and extramarital sex were brought against the recently dismissed leader of the National Association of Evangelicals. Supposedly, Haggard met a male escort each month for "massages," drugs and sex. Haggard initially denied all accusations but later confessed that he had to be removed as pastor because of "sexual immorality."\nNow, it looks like Haggard's monthly massages might have had "happy endings." It's a pity his life story isn't headed in the same direction.\nHaggard is clearly filled with fear and self-loathing. His "confession" to his former congregation stated: "There's a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life." The letter continued: "For extended periods of time, I would enjoy victory and rejoice in freedom ... Then, from time to time, the dirt that I thought was gone would resurface." Because he couldn't communicate his "problems," "the darkness increased and finally dominated" him. \nDirt. Repulsion. Dominated by darkness. At war with oneself. Those are ugly words to describe an intrinsic part of one's identity. They signal the extreme desperation Haggard must have felt living a life hiding in the miserable and psychologically destructive closet that his loving church home helped create and that he actively bolstered. \nHaggard's evangelical buddies have done their part to build a confining closet for gay parishioners, too. James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, gave a scary Halloween radio address about the haunting and horrific possibility of "same-sex marriage in places all over the country" in order to spook his followers to the polls. Dobson fails to realize that the homophobia he imparts is the real demon.\nBut the chorus of fear and loathing becomes more haunting when led by people like Haggard. Filled with self-hatred, they often preach a little louder in hopes of suppressing and denying their own unchanging reality.\nRoss Parsley, Haggard's interim replacement at New Life Church, told his congregation Sunday: "We all feel worse today than we did a week ago, but we were worse off a week ago," and, "You're watching healing and restoration start to occur as we go through this process."\nHe's exactly right. They were worse off before this happened. Not because the "evil" truth about Haggard was hidden, but because the destructive consequence of their homophobia was unrevealed.\nAnd they should feel worse. Not because their spiritual leader has "fallen," but because they were complicit in the culture that taught him to hate and punish himself.\nUnfortunately, Parsley has a different idea of "healing and restoration" that likely involves Haggard's rehabilitation and continued repression. True healing and spiritual rebirth will not occur until we abandon a culture of fear and loathing that constructs isolating, destructive closets in which tormented souls like Haggard feel compelled to hide.
(11/09/06 3:24am)
OXFORD, ENGLAND -- All English people love cheese. English Northerners are friendlier than Southern English people -- an interesting flip in the otherwise identical American stereotype concerning Northerners and Southerners. English people look down on dining guests who put their knife down at any point in the meal. Germans are assertive. The Swiss are boring. An English person will never complain if someone cuts in line in front of them. An American always will. These are only a few of the pearls of wisdom jovially dropped into my foreign lap since my arrival in England six weeks ago.\nSince I arrived in London, it seems I have talked to at least once person a day trying to explain the English people and their differences from Americans. Tour guides make a killing by making substantiated generalizations that may prove helpful to travelers or at least confirm their already deep-set suspicions and stereotypes. Guides who are citizens of the target country seem most likely to confirm unfair stereotypes. \nThe welcoming speeches at the Butler study abroad program's orientation meeting warned students visiting Oxford University that British students hide from fellow students the fact that they are doing work in order to create the impression that they are able to succeed without much hard work. However, most students I have met at Oxford work hard and complain about their work load, as well as how long it took them to complete it, along with their American counterparts.\nSome American students fall into the trap of trying to fit into stereotypical molds in order to better uphold the version of the world their conversation partner has constructed. For example, Jonathan Rhodes, an English student at Oxford University, told an entertaining story expressing admiration for the Americans' unwillingness to tolerate injustice. As a result, I think that the next time someone cuts in the queue, I may be more likely to speak up about it. Alternatively, American students may use the generalizations as a challenge to contradict the English version of the "American" identity. When one of the more common generalizations about Americans concerning the loud volume of their voices emerges, I could be careful to talk softly for the rest of the conversation.\nGeneralizations are amusing, entertaining and even useful to the extent that they can challenge us to re-examine our own identities. They are also inescapable.\nPicture it: an average college room in a well-known British university. The normal accoutrements of an Oxford student's college room litter the desk and floor -- \nliterature books, computer cords and opened bottles of wine. What is missing from this picture? That's right, all English people (as well as French people, so I hear) share a common obsession with cheese. Cue: Entrance of a large 1 kilo (that's 2.2 pounds) package of soft white cheddar. Fast forward one hour, when four English literature students have succeeded in reducing the block of cheese to a sliver. Lesson learned: four English students, a block of cheese and a discerning analytical mind are an instant recipe for an indigestible generalization.