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(10/23/06 2:47am)
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. -- The father and stepmother of a 7-year-old northwestern Indiana boy savagely attacked by one of his family's two Rottweilers could face criminal charges in the attack, police said.\nPolice Chief Nick Bravos said officers will present their evidence to the Lake County prosecutor's office with hopes of pursuing criminal neglect charges over the attack on Bamba Niang.\n"You shouldn't leave a 7-year-old home alone at all, let alone with two 80-pound Rottweilers," he said. "He's scarred not only the exterior of his body, but emotionally for the rest of his life."\nPolice have also asked Child Protective Services to investigate, Bravos said.\nBamba was airlifted to the University of Chicago Hospital trauma unit after Thursday's attack and was listed in critical condition Saturday at the hospital.\nIn the attack, the boy suffered numerous deep bite wounds on his leg, thigh and head -- some of so serious emergency responders "could see all the way to the bone," Bravos said.\nPolice have taken custody of the family's two dogs. Police were investigating why the boy was left home alone with the dogs while his stepmother went to work at a nearby business, investigators said.
(10/23/06 2:46am)
COLUMBUS, Ind. -- First lady Laura Bush plans another trip to Indiana next week to speak at a campaign rally for Republican Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-9th.\nIt will be the first lady's second appearance this year on behalf of Sodrel, who is in a tight re-election effort against former Democratic Rep. Baron Hill in southern Indiana's 9th District.\nThe rally with Bush is planned for Wednesday afternoon at the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds and will be open to the public with advance registration with the Sodrel campaign.\n"This is simply a rally to fire up our supporters for the last couple weeks, the homestretch," Sodrel campaign manager Cam Savage said Friday. "We want to remind everybody how important it is they go vote and get their neighbors out to vote."\nIn a sign of the importance national Republicans are placing on the Sodrel-Hill race, White House press secretary Tony Snow is scheduled to speak at a Sodrel luncheon Oct. 30 in Jeffersonville, Ind.\nThe first lady spoke during a Sodrel fund raiser in June at a Starlight winery that raised about $200,000. In a visit to South Bend last week, she helped raise about $210,000 for Republican Rep. Chris Chocola, who is in a heated race with Democratic challenger Joe Donnelly.
(10/23/06 2:45am)
EDINBURGH, Ind. -- Leaving Iraq too soon would be a mistake, but the United States will change tactics as necessary to win the war on terror, Vice President Dick Cheney told Indiana Air and Army National Guard troops Friday.\n"We know that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength," he said. "They are invited by the perception of weakness. We know that if we leave Iraq before the mission is completed, the enemy is simply going to come after us," Cheney said during a rally to honor troops at Camp Atterbury.\nThe visit to the National Guard training site was one of several stops Cheney is making to honor troops for their war efforts and for recovery work after Hurricane Katrina last year. On Monday, Cheney was at Fort Campbell, Ky., to thank soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who had just returned from Iraq.\nCheney said Camp Atterbury, through which more than 30,000 guardsmen and women have passed since 2001, has helped the United States make progress in the war on terror.\n"Thanks to you, they've gone into the fight well-prepared and they've achieved great results for the United States," he said. "The excellence and the commitment shown at Camp Atterbury is one of the reasons we're going to win the war on terror."\nCheney said Iraq and Afghanistan are critical battlegrounds in a war that began Sept. 11, 2001, and that decisions on troop levels would be based on "conditions on the ground and the judgments of our military commanders -- not by artificial timelines set by politicians in Washington, D.C."\nGov. Mitch Daniels told the crowd before Cheney arrived that one of his daughters is dating an Army Ranger who recently found out he will be going overseas.\n"Our family will soon be where your family has been by the thousands -- waiting, missing people, staying in touch the best we can," Daniels said. "I am so grateful not just to those of you in uniform that serve, but to all of the families behind you."\nLt. Col. John Newman, of Indianapolis, serves with the 181st Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard. He brought his two children, Jessica, 13, and James, 7, to see Cheney at the camp about 25 miles south of Indianapolis.\n"I think it's fantastic that he took time out of his schedule to come here to Indiana," Newman said. "It's nice to put a little bit of light on the fact that Hoosiers have stepped up to the plate."\nJessica Newman said she enjoyed Cheney's speech and agreed with him about keeping terrorists from U.S. shores.\n"If we just leave, they're going to come back," she said. "If we just stay there and hold our ground, I think we'll win."\nThe rally for troops Friday included food, a band and appearances by cheerleaders from the Indianapolis Colts and the Indiana Pacers. When Cheney came on stage, he joked that he missed the fun earlier in the day.\n"Is it me you came to see, or the Colts and Pacers cheerleaders?" Cheney asked the troops. "I got here too late."\nThere are about 23,000 reservists and Guard members in Indiana, with an estimated 4,300 on active duty at any one time. Not all on active duty are serving overseas.\nSince February 2003, 68 Indiana military personnel have died after being sent to the Middle East for the war in Iraq. Overall, at least 2,786 members of the U.S. military have died in the war.
(10/23/06 2:39am)
What kind of musical is this?" Little Sally exclaims toward the end of "Urinetown, The Musical." \nWell, it is certainly not a conventional one -- but it is a great one. \n"Urinetown" is about the "privilege to pee," and members of the audience very well might laugh until they take advantage of that privilege. \nThe musical opened Friday night at the Wells-Metz Theatre. Full of hilarious songs and choreography, strong characters and a surprising plot, "Urinetown" will entertain anyone who attends. \nIt takes place in a "town like any town you might find in a musical" in the aftermath of a 20-year drought. Local big business Urine Good Company, in an effort to preserve the water and allow the bigwigs to go to Rio, has placed a fee on using the public bathrooms. The poor scrounge together change to pay for the use of Amenity Number Nine, the filthiest toilet in town. \nThe play is narrated by Officer Lockstock, played by senior Kevin Anderson. He tells the story from a nontraditional voice, constantly alluding to the next scenes and noting the mechanisms of a musical. Anderson's comical menacing interpretation of Lockstock kept the audience snickering from beginning to end. In the musical number, "Cop Song," Anderson is particularly comical.\nLittle Sally, played by senior Joanne Dubach, who perfected the girlish voice and pigeon-toed innocence of Sally's character, serves as an assistant narrator with Lockstock throughout the show. \nThe protagonist of the show is Bobby Strong , the assistant custodian at Amenity Number Nine. If there is only one reason to see the show -- believe me, there are hundreds -- it is to see graduate student Eric VanTielen in the role of Bobby Strong. VanTielen masters the dreamy, rebellious hero and has a fabulous voice to boot.\nSenior Rachel Sickmeier plays his boss, Penelope Pennywise, the show's resident big-haired vixen. Sickmeier's gave a solid performance and was one of the strongest vocalists. \nThe bad guys are led by Caldwell B. Cladwell, played by senior Jonathan Davidson. Davidson leads some of the most entertaining scenes, namely when he instructs his daughter Hope to "not be the bunny" -- be the hunter, not the hunted -- and teaches her to manipulate large masses of people. Hope, played by junior Anna Malone, captures the audience's affection with her cheery optimism and her ability to speak the language of the heart. \nThe choreography is quite intricate, utilizing and mocking aspects of "Fiddler on the Roof," "Les Miserables" and even some Bob Fosse. The songs are funny and somewhat random, and the story is like none other -- with unexpected twists and a not-so-happy ending.\nWhat is most enjoyable about this particular production of "Urinetown" is that because it takes place in the small, intimate black box Wells-Metz Theatre, the audience becomes a part of the show. With two rows of chairs protruding onto the stage, the actors could touch and talk to the audience. It is rare that a musical physically includes the audience, but, then again, "Urinetown" is a rare musical. \n"Urinetown" will be running at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the Wells-Metz Theatre. Tickets are $10-$18 and are available from the IU Auditorium Box Office or Ticketmaster. Visit www.indiana.edu/~thtr for more information.
(10/22/06 2:05pm)
When I heard that music "downloaded" from the new music service Ruckus (free for all IU students) wouldn't play on iPods, I was pretty surprised. Why would Ruckus and its protected, non-user-friendly file types willingly alienate a good number of student iPod owners? But I was even more astounded when I learned that Microsoft is, in turn, alienating all its anti-Mac buddies and subscribers to services such as Ruckus with its new portable music player, Zune.\nNow, I'm an avid Mac user and even I'll admit this: Zune looks pretty freaking cool. It's the first media player that might legitimately challenge the iPod in its market. But get this: Zune will not play any of the protected file types from download services such as Ruckus, Napster, MTV's Urge or AOL Music Now. The new Zune will only play unprotected files or a new type of protected file available from Microsoft's Zune Marketplace. Sorry, Ruckus, Napster, et al., but the millions of new Zune owners won't be subscribing to your services any more. However, Zune will play some types of unprotected files. To paraphrase J Allard, one of the men in charge of developing Zune, it's not a problem because there are lots of programs out there that convert file types and strip protection. So the new Microsoft slogan is buy from us or steal from someone else.\nBut with Zune, Microsoft didn't just leave out the download companies and their customers; they encouraged use of these services and then turned their backs on them. For example, Microsoft pushed playsforsure.com, a site that lists music services and devices that use Windows Media files, a certain type of seemingly universal protected media. Microsoft advertises these companies and encourages people to get subscriptions to a service they can trust. "Choose your music. Choose your device. Know it's going to work." \nSo if you trusted Microsoft and Windows Media's claim that your music would "play for sure" if you used one of the suggested stores, you were right -- as long as you buy a JVC XA-HD500 (catchy, huh?) or one of the 154 other "compatible" devices that make up the tiny piece of market share unoccupied by the iPod. If you want Microsoft's Zune, the coolest new media player coming out this Christmas -- well, all the music you downloaded from Ruckus or any of the sites that would "play for sure" won't play on it. Get ready to re-buy all of that music in a new format. Tough luck.\nWith that in mind, I don't feel that bad anymore. Ruckus screwed me over, but it's OK. Microsoft screwed over all the companies that jumped on board with its "play for sure" campaign, and all the consumers who bought into it. As a Mac user, I can understand Windows messing with me: It's competition, right? But it really puts a smile on my face when Windows screws itself.
(10/22/06 2:05pm)
Pen in hand, hand cramping and eyes on wrist watch, students at IU take midterm examinations as they do every October: in sheer frustration. Not frustration at the concepts or at their professors' lack of teaching ability, but frustration at the crowded schedules with which they have to deal at the eight-week mark in the semester. \nWhen professors set up schedules and consider the best way to teach the material they are charged to explain, it admittedly makes sense that the midway-point of the semester be the place for an examination of their students' progress. Each subject is important at IU, and each has its place as a key contributor to higher education. \nThe problem is that of time. Not only are students overloaded during midterm and finals weeks, occasionally they are required to produce many pages and complete many projects between sessions. It's difficult for students to find time to complete course work, and they are therefore required to pick and choose which assignments to complete. This is no new revelation for sure. Students have no doubt been dealing with this problem since IU's inception in 1820. \nHowever, generations have survived the IU experience.\nProfessors, keep pushing your students. Push, and push, and push. If they fall over, they'll get back up. If they don't get back up, they have learned an important life lesson. College is not for everyone.\nThe ball is in the students' court. Complaining about lack of time and problematic professors who don't understand there is other work to be done will get us about as far as running in a hamster wheel. This does not mean students shouldn't be afforded sympathy. Indeed, balancing college classes is a difficult task for any student to some degree. There are manners by which success is garnered, though, even in a hectic environment of essay tests, term papers and quizzes.\nExcuses such as overload and exhaustion are poor reasons for any student to be unprepared for an exam (including overworked columnists that often find themselves more inclined to drinking and dancing than studying John Stuart Mill). As members of an academic community we're required to deal with the strenuous demands of those trusted with our education: an education that costs all students a pretty penny. Obtaining the knowledge held by professors is the students' primary duty on this campus.\nAlso, many professors are more than willing to assist students who are struggling with time constraints and have fallen behind as a result. Given this access to faculty members, students ought to be able to find an avenue of success at IU. \nFailing an examination may be on the horizon for many this week, and rarely is there excuse for that failure, barring extreme emergencies, family, medical or otherwise. Professors strive to prepare their pupils. It is disrespectful of their time and effort to fail an examination. Study and be successful. It is the duty of every student who dares call himself or herself an Indiana Hoosier.
(10/22/06 2:04pm)
Transportation plays a large role in the life of a college student. Whether it's getting from one class to another, to the mall or to a party, it's something we encounter on a daily basis. However, certain forms of transportation, such as bicycling, can cause many problems.\nAs a freshman at IU, I had to get used to many things: over-friendly wildlife, long processes in the financial aid office and early-morning classes. Still, I didn't expect to have to adapt to obnoxious bicyclists. In walking from one class to another, time and time again, rude and impatient bicyclists buzzed me without even an "excuse me", "watch out" or anything. I have seen bicyclists crash into, or cut off, numerous pedestrians around campus. My friend actually went to the hospital for a dislocated shoulder from a bicyclist colliding with her. It's hard enough walking frantically to class while being stalked by squirrels. I shouldn't have to dodge the countless bicyclists barreling toward their destinations. Although I understand that it is an efficient way to move about IU, certain precautions should be taken to ensure the safety of all and a better campus environment. \nAccording to IU's Parking Operations Web site (http://www.iubus.indiana.edu/parking_operations/index.html): "Indiana law gives cyclists the same rights and privileges as motor vehicle drivers... It also means that when you are bicycling, you should know the applicable traffic laws and act accordingly." Here are some precautions bicyclists can take when riding on campus: \n• Obey traffic signs and signals. Bicyclists have the same rights as motorists -- not pedestrians. When approaching any traffic signal, follow the sign as any motorist should. That's including stop and yield signs! \n• Use hand signals. When on the street, you should signal the direction you plan to turn. According to Parking Operations, "Signal as a matter of law, courtesy and self-protection." \n• Watch your speed. When riding on the sidewalk, reduce your speed as you might find it difficult to move through hundreds of pedestrians. Watching your speed will significantly reduce the risk of collisions. \n• Ride in a straight line. Parking Operations says: "Ride to the right of faster traffic in a straight line about a car door's width away from parked cars." \n• Respect pedestrians' rights. Don't cross sidewalks without yielding to pedestrians. Also, when possible, avoid riding on sidewalks by using the street, bike lane or bike path. This will reduce the number of angry pedestrians you face and the potential for conflict.\n• If you think I'm strict, Parking Operations says bicycles should not be ridden against the flow of vehicular traffic, on the grass or on any non-paved areas, in University buildings, on sidewalks, walkways or any other pedestrian area at all. So watch out!\nWith this information, bicyclists should learn the valuable rules of the road and cherish them with their lives. This is one small change they can make to satisfy many people. Maybe the co-existence of biker and pedestrian will become a better one in the near future.
(10/22/06 2:03pm)
After glancing over this week's headlines, I can't help but wonder if anything will be enough to keep the Republicans down as we approach the midterm elections. Republican officials are claiming to have confidence even in the wake of circumstances that should have been politically lethal for our nation's majority party. \nIn spite of early attempts to distract the public from Iraq (which was eventually out-staged only by another issue that the GOP would rather not address ... ), the number of American troops injured this month "surged to its highest monthly level in nearly two years" (Washington Post, Oct. 8). This alone should make the Republican task of retaining the majority a difficult one. However, the negative press they've received has not been due to the war or even national security.\nOf the recent woes it seems that the most detrimental is the Mark Foley scandal -- especially when it comes to the GOP's evangelical Christian supporters. If there's one thing that would most likely cause a decrease in values-voters' turnout, a sex scandal involving a Florida congressman and a 16-year old male page seems like it would be more than enough. On top of that, there are also the mounting allegations of wrongdoing concerning how the Republican leadership handled reports of the incident, and an investigation has begun into what was actually known about Foley's conduct. "Allegations that House leaders were too passive in responding" (Washington Post, Oct. 8) to the scandal have even led some to call for House Speaker Dennis Hastert's resignation, claiming "intense partisanship repeatedly blinded him to GOP misconduct." (Washington Post, Oct. 16)\nDemocrats have been gaining momentum throughout these GOP ethical pitfalls. An early October New York Times/CBS News poll concluded that "46 percent of Democrats said they were more enthusiastic about voting this year than in previous Congressional elections, compared with 33 percent of Republicans." However, Saturday's New York Times explained how Republican strategists believe "they can compensate for any gap in enthusiasm with their legendary get-out-the-vote operation." If the GOP is actually able to retain its favor among voters who consider morals the top priority when casting a ballot, I have to applaud the loyalty of its base. Perhaps I underestimated them by assuming they'd rather stay home than be forced to support someone they felt was ethically compromised. \nIs it possible that the situation is only bleak in appearance? Though "Some Republicans on Capitol Hill are bracing for losses of 25 House seats or more," President Bush and Karl Rove remain "upbeat," with the president even planning to use the next two weeks to "reshape the national agenda" to aid Republican candidates (Washington Post, Oct. 15). Sounds like a lot of reshaping to accomplish in two weeks, but if it can be done, I'll regretfully extend my congratulations. Only a resourceful party with a resilient base could bounce back from the events of the last month. If we are in for another round of GOP congressional control, though I might be personally disgusted, I'll be politically impressed.
(10/20/06 4:02am)
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Texas Tech coach Bob Knight has agreed to a contract extension that would keep him with the Red Raiders through 2012.\nKnight, the former IU coach who needs 11 wins this season to become the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history, has not yet signed the extension, Tim Knight, an assistant athletic director at the university and Knight's son, said Thursday.\nThe contract, which also needs to be approved by the university's board of regents, would be for $300,000 a year with a guaranteed $600,000 in outside income, Athletic Director Gerald Myers said.\n"It's not a done deal," Myers said. "We're still in the process of getting it done."\nMyers said he believes that once the paperwork is signed that Knight will have every intention of staying through the contract period.\n"But he's never really talked about when he's going to retire," Myers said. "He feels good; he's energetic; he still enjoys it. I'm glad he's going to continue on coaching. He's doing an outstanding job."\nThe 65-year-old Knight has a career record of 869-350 in 40 seasons of coaching at Army, IU and Texas Tech. He is 105-61 in five seasons at Texas Tech.\nKnight won national titles at IU in 1976, 1981 and 1987. Last season, when Texas Tech went 15-17, was the first losing season of his career.\n"I may coach another 10 years; I don't know," Knight said at Big 12 media day Thursday.
(10/20/06 4:00am)
We had a difficult decision to make Tuesday night.\nEarlier in the day, reporters covering the trial of John R. Myers II snapped pictures of photos of the skeletal remains of Jill Behrman, the IU sophomore Myers is accused of brutally murdering in May 2000.\nThe photos, which included pictures of Jill Behrman's skull with a hole from a gunshot and a her full skeleton laid out in the shape of her body, were presented to jurors in open court, so they were a matter of public record. \nThe dilemma, however, was one of taste. \nThese photographs showed the remains of a member of the IU community who was violently killed -- a student who took classes and walked across campus. Jill Behrman is just like each one of us. Her parents both work for IU and are themselves established and well-known community members.\nBut the problem is that most of our readers don't know Jill Behrman. Even fifth-year seniors were still in high school when she disappeared. When I wrote a story in April after a grand jury indicted Myers, I was shocked at how many students had never heard of Jill Behrman -- the student for whom Saturday's Run for the End Zone and the recently approved Jill's House are named.\nAnd that is why we chose, after a lengthy and heated discussion among many editors, writers and photographers, to run the gruesome photo. \nWe chose to run a photo of several pictures of the evidence. This image was significantly less explicit than other photos we considered. In the end, the photo that ran balanced the need to illustrate the violence of Jill Behrman's death with the sensitivity that she is loved by many in the community. \nStudents need to know about Jill Behrman. That is why we committed nine reporters and editors, working on alternating schedules, to cover every witness and every motion of the trial in Martinsville. That is why the Indiana Daily Student is a sponsor of Saturday's Jill Behrman Run for the End Zone. Jill is still a huge part of the community.\nWe have fielded a handful of calls and e-mail from members of the community upset by the disturbing images we printed above the fold and in color on the front page Wednesday. \nWe are sorry to our readers who have been following the case and Jill Behrman's life and were jarred by the images. If all of the community understood Jill Behrman like that, we would never have run the photos because they never would have been necessary. \nBut we made the decision to run the photos in hopes that students who had never heard of the disappearance, didn't know about the Run for the End Zone and didn't care about the trial would be jolted just enough out of their daily routines to learn a little about Jill Behrman.\nAfter all, in April, her mother, Marilyn Behrman, told me she wanted everyone to remember that "this is actually about a girl named Jill who went for a bike ride and never came home"
(10/20/06 2:35am)
Texas death row inmate commits suicide with blade 15 hours before sceduled execution LIVINGSTON, Texas -- A death-row inmate slit his own throat with a makeshift knife early Thursday, committing suicide about 15 hours before he was scheduled to be executed, a prison official said. Michael Dewayne Johnson, 29, was on death row for the 1995 killing of a convenience store clerk near Waco, Texas. Early Thursday, he slashed his own throat and arm with a makeshift blade fashioned from a small piece of metal attached to a wooden stick, said Michelle Lyons, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville. Prison guards had been checking on Johnson's welfare every 15 minutes, as is customary, when they found him unresponsive in a pool of blood in his cell, Lyons said. Johnson's execution had been scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday. His last-minute appeal was still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. His was at least the seventh suicide on death row in Texas. Johnson would have been the 22nd Texas inmate executed this year. The state now has 390 people on death row. \nU.S. says Bagdad attacks 'dishearting' BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The two-month-old U.S.-Iraqi bid to crush violence in the Iraqi capital has not met "overall expectations," as attacks in Baghdad rose by 22 percent in the first three weeks of Ramadan, the U.S. military spokesman said Thursday. The spike in bloodshed during the Islamic holy month of fasting was "disheartening," and the Americans were working with Iraqi authorities to "refocus" security measures, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said.\nWal-Mart to expand generic drug program Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will announce Thursday it is expanding a program offering $4 prescriptions for some generic drugs to 14 more states, two weeks after rolling out the low-cost program in Florida. Wal-Mart said Wednesday it would call news conferences in states from Vermont to Alaska but declined to say what they are about, except that they involved "a major new initiative" for consumers.\nChina envoy delivers message to North Korea SEOUL, South Korea -- A Chinese envoy met with North Korea's leader Thursday amid worries the country would test another nuclear device, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited South Korea and said America wasn't trying to whip up tensions with the North. "We want to leave open the path of negotiation. We don't want the crisis to escalate," Rice told reporters, adding that she hoped the Chinese mission was successful in getting Pyongyang to scuttle its nuclear program.\nMan undergoes surgery after \nstingray attack LIGHTHOUSE POINT, Fla. -- An 81-year-old man was in critical condition Thursday after a stingray flopped onto his boat and stung him, leaving a foot-long barb in his chest similar to the accident that killed "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. "It was a freak accident," said Lighthouse Point acting fire Chief David Donzella. "It's very odd that the thing jumped out of the water and stung him." Fatal stingray attacks like the one that killed Irwin last month at the Great Barrier Reef are rare, marine experts say. Rays reflexively deploy a sharp spine in their tails when frightened, but the venom coating the barb usually causes just a painful sting for humans. James Bertakis of Lighthouse Point was on the water with his granddaughter and a friend Wednesday when a stingray flopped onto the boat and stung Bertakis. Docsbarb during surgeries Wednesday and Thursday by eventually pulling it through his heart and closing the wound, said Dr. Eugene Costantini at Broward General Medical Center.
(10/20/06 2:32am)
LOS ANGELES -- A Republican congressional candidate said Thursday that he was not personally involved in sending a letter warning Hispanic immigrants they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a mailing that prompted a state investigation.\n"I did not do this. I did not approve of any letter," Tan D. Nguyen, the GOP challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, told The Associated Press.\nThe investigation is focused on Nguyen's campaign, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to publicly discuss it. The Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register also indicated the Nguyen's campaign was the target.\nNguyen said he believed an employee in his office might have used his voter data base to send out the letter without his knowledge. He said that employee has been "discharged."\nThe letter, written in Spanish and mailed last week to an estimated 14,000 Democratic voters in central Orange County, tells recipients: "You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time."\nIn fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can legally vote.\nIt is illegal to threaten or intimidate voters, and the complaints about the letters that began surfacing this week prompted state and federal investigations.\n"I will do whatever I can do to encourage all citizens in this district to vote," Nguyen said. He said he was cooperating with authorities and promised more details of what happened during a news conference Friday.\nIn an interview Thursday morning, Sanchez told the AP she had never spoken to Nguyen because her campaign didn't see him as a threat to her re-election.\nShe said she didn't know who did it, but if it was Nguyen, it was especially troubling that the culprit might have been an immigrant. Nguyen immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam as a child. His campaign Web site says he opposes illegal immigration.\n"If it is in fact this guy, the most disgusting and saddest thing about it is that it comes from another immigrant," said Sanchez, who was born in the U.S. to Mexican parents. "These communities have spent years trying to get naturalized immigrants to vote."
(10/20/06 2:31am)
ROME -- An elderly priest acknowledged Thursday that he was naked in saunas with Mark Foley decades ago when the former congressman was a boy in Florida but denied that the two had sex.\nThe Rev. Anthony Mercieca, 72, speaking by telephone from his home on the Maltese island of Gozo, said a report in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune about their encounters was "exaggerated."\n"We were friends and trusted each other as brothers and loved each other as brothers," Mercieca said. Asked if their relationship was sexual in nature, the priest replied: "It wasn't."\nHis comments came after the Florida newspaper published a story on Thursday that quoted him as saying in an interview that he had an inappropriate two-year relationship with Foley in the 1960s that included massaging the boy in the nude.\nSarasota Herald-Tribune Executive Editor Mike Connelly said Thursday the story is accurate, including the reference to a night in which Mercieca said he was in a drug-induced stupor due to a nervous breakdown and couldn't clearly remember what happened.\n"The reporter talked to the priest four times yesterday and carefully reviewed his account, especially of the one night," Connelly said. "The story accurately reports what the priest said."\nThe 52-year-old Florida Republican resigned from Congress last month after his sexually explicit e-mails to young male pages surfaced.\nHis lawyer said shortly after his resignation that Foley was an alcoholic, gay and had been molested as a boy by a "clergyman." Foley's civil lawyer, Gerald Richman, said the alleged abuser was a Catholic priest whose name he shared with state prosecutors on Wednesday.\nRichman did not return phone messaged left Thursday by The Associated Press. Foley's criminal defense lawyer David Roth declined to comment.\nEarlier this month, Roth said: "Mark does not blame the trauma he sustained as a young adolescent for his totally inappropriate" e-mails and instant messages. "He continues to offer no excuse whatsoever for his conduct."\nMercieca had worked at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lake Worth, Fla. in 1967, according to church records. Foley would have been 13 at the time.\nMercieca told the AP in Rome that he and Foley would go into saunas naked when he was a priest in Florida and Foley was a parishioner, but he said "everybody does that." The priest also said he didn't think it was unusual to go on overnight trips with a young boy.\nThe newspaper reporter "wrote many things that I didn't say," Mercieca told the AP, his voice trembling and sounding feeble at times. "He quotes me as saying I had one night stands with him. That's not true."\nIn the newspaper article, Mercieca described several encounters that he said Foley might perceive as sexually inappropriate, including massaging Foley while the boy was naked, skinny-dipping together at a secluded lake in Lake Worth and being nude in the same room on overnight trips.\nHe was not quoted in the story as saying they had any "one night stands." However, the newspaper reported that he said there was one night when he was in a drug-induced stupor and he couldn't clearly remember what happened.\nMercieca told the AP that at the time he knew the young Foley, "I had a nervous breakdown and was taking some pills and alcohol and maybe I did something that he didn't like."\nThe priest said he based that statement on what he had seen on TV news accounts about the Foley case. Pressed for details about what Foley might not have liked, Mercieca said he couldn't remember because "it was a long time ago."\nFoley "seems to have interpreted certain things as inappropriate. ... I don't know what I did to him," the priest said. "I wonder why 40 years later he brought this up."\nHe said the two became friends when he was assigned to Foley's parish, and he even had Christmas dinner at Foley's childhood home, with the boy's parents, one year.\nMercieca described Foley as "a very happy person, and he knew how to do things."\n"He was 'allegro,'" Mercieca said, switching from English to use a word in Italian that means cheerful or merry.\n"We would go to the movies," Mercieca said, adding another boy would sometimes come, although he couldn't remember the other boy's name.\nReferring to the page e-mail scandal, the priest said: "I don't think there was a connection with our friendship and this thing now."\nMercieca brushed off other questions, saying he didn't remember much.\nHe said the last time he saw Foley was about 18 years ago when the two had dinner in a restaurant in Lake Worth.\nThe state attorney's office in West Palm Beach, Fla. did not immediately return a telephone message Thursday.\nArchdiocese of Miami spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta declined to comment Thursday about Mercieca "until we receive the name ourselves." Agosta said she was frustrated with the way Foley's attorneys had handled the matter.\nRichman previously said the priest was still alive but that the statute of limitations for criminal charges had expired in Foley's case.
(10/20/06 1:13am)
My first instinct upon hearing of Madonna's decision to adopt a child from Malawi was probably the same as many others': I assumed it was a publicity stunt, a sham, an effort to look holier than thou, a lame attempt at trying be like Angelina Jolie.\nMy curiosity got the better of me, however, and I ended up clicking on a story about the controversial adoption on the Yahoo.com homepage.\nAccording to the story, the infant, a boy named David, was placed in an orphanage by his father after his mother died and the father was no longer able to care for the child. Madonna and her husband are complying with the country's adoption laws, meaning that David will live with them in a trial phase that will last 18 months, after which the couple will be evaluated and either granted or denied permanent custody.\nSeveral organizations in Malawi have protested against the high-profile adoption, but the boy's biological father says he is happy his son will have a better life and claims the protestors are jealous of the child. \nThe public focuses on the negative side of this adoption, but the story brings issues of global poverty and the AIDS crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa to light.\nHow many of us can say we knew anything about Malawi, or that such a place even existed, until we read about Madonna's trip and the adoption?\nYeah, that's what I thought.\nSure, it's not the ideal way to expose these issues, but, if it does, hey, it's better than nothing.\nOf course nobody focuses on the fact that in Malawi, a country of more than one million orphans , Madonna decided to build an orphanage to house 4,000 children and eventually hopes to raise $3 million dollars for AIDS orphans.\nIf you ask me, that seems like a wonderful idea and a noble gesture. Sure, there are probably those out there decrying her actions as merely bids for more fame. In the end, though, how many orphanages are Madonna's critics building? How much money for AIDS orphans are they raising?\nGranted, Madonna's intentions may or may not be all that noble -- we have no way of knowing. Quite frankly, I don't really care. The fact of the matter is: someone has done something good in this world in which numbness to the pain and suffering of others grows exponentially day by day.\nWhy do we automatically assume that because someone is a celebrity, he or she could not possibly do anything out of the goodness of his or her heart?\nPersonally, I think everybody should focus on what really matters, not that a celebrity adopted a baby, but the conditions in Malawi.\nThe impact of the publicity given to Malawi by Madonna's decision to adopt and invest there cannot be measured. Maybe, one day when you walk past people raising money for AIDS awareness and you pretend to fiddle with your iPod so you don't have to dig into your pocket for change, you'll think twice.
(10/19/06 3:30pm)
Brian Stewart wrote on Oct. 11 that honor ought to trump humanitarian considerations and that to withdraw from Iraq would impugn our nation's global reputation ("Number of Americans wounded in Iraq climbs higher" intelligence brief, Opinion front). Apparently Brian does not use sources outside of the American mainstream press or delve at all into reality. Were he to do so, he might be aware that the reputation of the U.S. has long been that of a global bully and that our national honor was lost the first time Native Americans were slaughtered for their land. Brian seems to have noticed what is now a well-known fact; this occupation has led to a greater threat of terrorist attacks. Yes, America is less safe because America is fighting a war, a war which America started on false pretenses and which has been continued counter to the standards of U.S. and international law. Brian might also take note that his beloved nation is widely regarded as the world's most dangerous rogue state. America threatens to use nuclear weapons and is the only country ever to have used such WMDs; America refuses to honor international treaties and even its own Constitution; America ignores the will of the people and hides its war criminals from justice. \nThough it ought to be among the factors in our considerations, the number of American wounded is paltry compared to the toll Iraqi families have suffered. On the same day that Brian told us all to hush-up because America has to appear "mature" to the world, The Lancet published further research on the human cost of America's crimes in Iraq. The evidence shows us that well over half a million Iraqis are dead thanks to America's misguided lust for revenge. I am disgusted when my fellow citizens ignore the suffering that America is causing. Iraqi dead since March 2003 now exceed American casualties in World War II, and this time America is the criminal aggressor; this time the genocide is our crime. As citizens of a putative democracy, the crimes of our government are our crimes. The blood of 655,000 Iraqis is on our hands.
(10/19/06 3:29pm)
Now, there are many rivalries in baseball. Being a Cubs fan from Chicago, the rivalry I know best is the Cubs and White Sox. The law behind this rivalry is: 1. Cubs fans hate the White Sox and Yankees; 2. White Sox fans hate the Cubs and Yankees. Actually, many baseball fans, such as myself, feel that if you have no roots in New York, then you should not be a Yankee fan. However, the events of Oct. 11 have changed my view on the Yankees and their players. You may not like the Yankees; you may not respect the Yankees, but Oct. 11 reminds us that even the Yankees are human.\nThe Yankees have feelings. The fans of New York have booed A-Rod for months, not thinking at all about A-Rod's feelings. How can booing him help? It probably made him feel and play worse. What did A-Rod do that was provoking booing? Did he do anything that wrong?\nThe Yankees are mortal. Just like everyone else, Yankees can get hurt and even die. Oct. 11 reminded all baseball fans that even Yankees are a part of baseball, and it hurts to see a Yankee leave us early. Cory Lidle was last known as a Yankee but was really a man of baseball. He played for all corners of the game from the Mets to the A's and all types of teams between, including the Blue Jays, Reds, Devil Rays, Phillies and Yankees.\nCory Lidle is now gone, but I hope the Yankees fans, and all baseball fans, pick up on the message here. That message is that everyone, including the Yankees, are people with feelings and are mortal. This can even go beyond baseball to get people to respect each other and refrain from saying bad things, because you never know what will happen.
(10/19/06 3:28pm)
Regarding "At least my T-shirt can say 'nuclear,'" by Teri Rosenbaum (Oct. 16):\nI've always been a fan of the Indiana Daily Student, even when they slip up every once in awhile. It's hard to forgive the people in charge of hiring Teri Rosenbaum to the IDS staff, though. I always find her columns comical, but not for her terrible humor. She has some of the worst writing skills I have ever seen in a newspaper (including my high school paper). I won't get started on her grammar that often goes unnoticed, but I will comment on her atrocious lack of writing skills. It's obvious she's trying to piss people off in her articles, but it's hard to agree with any of her points when she comes off sounding like an uneducated moron. Seriously, the girls of "Laguna Beach" could probably give more insight than a Rosenbaum column.\nIn her most recent piece on political T-shirts, she states at the very beginning that she has no clue about anything political in this country. However, she does make time to bash on the Republican party multiple times because they "have worse T-shirt selections." Give me a break. Go ahead and babble about not buying Uggs, but don't pretend to be a political advisor when you are completely off your rocker (not just in politics, but in common sense). On top of that, Miss Rosenbaum had the moxie to describe some disturbing images that have no place in a newspaper. I'm sure I'm not the only one at IU (or at the IDS) that believes that Teri Rosenbaum has no place on the IDS staff or on any paper in the United States (maybe a position at the Iraqi Press would suit her better).
(10/19/06 3:28pm)
The IDS coverage of the Muslim Ramadan is admirable ("Muslim Student Union raises money for kitchen with Fast-a-thon" by Zachary Osterman, Oct 12). It is so important for your readers to realize that most adherents to a religious tradition have spiritual depth. Too often religious persons are characterized as "simple thinkers" who follow leaders with a "mindless obedience." This is quite inaccurate. Most believers do obey but with a critical concern about how to live the precepts of their religious tradition. Hence, they -- the believers -- struggle with their faith and its demands. And it is important in the present sociopolitical climate for Americans to discover that Islam is a tradition of deep human values and of searching. \nIn this article, I was amazed and saddened by the comment of a Catholic student who was quoted in the article about the Fast-a-thon saying, "I'm Catholic, and there's really no religious holiday that calls for (fasting)." Apparently he forgot that Catholics observe Lent, a six-week period of fasting, prayer and almsgiving in the springtime (Feb-March). I invite this student to take another look at his religious tradition and discover in it the practices that, like his Muslim brethren, call us to become humans of deep quality. Fasting does this when it is done with spirit and not just as a legal religious requirement, and when it is linked to almsgiving—sharing from our simplicity of living. \nWe Catholics at St. Paul Catholic Center, the Catholic campus ministry at IU, pray that we, with our Muslim brethren and all true searchers, will be faithful to the calling of God, the One and the Holy.
(10/19/06 3:27pm)
While entertained, I was also a little disheartened to read Natalie Avon's editorial this morning (Oct. 13) regarding the patrons of the Evansville West Side Nut Club Fall Festival. Granted, the festival is a good opportunity to people-watch since it brings in thousands of people from all walks of life in the tri-state area. I grew up in Newburgh and probably spent countless hours doing the same thing when I was in high school. I don't want to be a stick in the mud, but what her article fails to mention is the civic effort put forth by the West Side Nut Club and the whole point of the event. The Fall Festival is not just "a meeting ground for mullets" or an opportunity to eat a brain sandwich. It is also a huge fundraiser that allows the Nut Club to donate money to schools and organizations, as well as offer scholarships to students from the area high schools. Yes, mullets are funny, and there are plenty of them around. According to the article, it would seem that the Fall Festival is nothing more than a redneck freakshow. How sad to think that someone who grew up in the area (and hopefully knows better) wants to present to the uninitiated one of the best examples of a community banding together for the greater good as little more than a joke. All that "mulletude" is a force to be reckoned with and sends a few lucky kids to college. Besides, those patrons who need not worry about showering? Kentuckians, not Hoosiers.
(10/19/06 3:26pm)
In response to the October 13th's B.Y.O.B article ("B.Y.O.B." by Ariel Ivas), I think on-campus drinking is a great idea. Just what IU needs. After all, Bloomington is practically a dry town as it is with its numerous liquor stores and bars selling and serving discounted beer on a daily basis. Some places, like the Bluebird Night Club, practically give beer away at 15-cents per draft on certain nights. So, yeah, I think it's a great idea to allow beer drinking on campus since not many beer-drinking opportunities exist for students in Bloomington, and I think allowing beer parties in fraternity houses is a great way to begin. I mean, it's not like fraternities abuse alcohol or anything like that. You never hear of frats involved in alcohol usage, alcohol abuse or alcohol poisoning. It just doesn't happen. So, yeah, let's Go Greek. Lets have more students like Matt Dills and Colin Thornburg of Phi Kappa Psi make front-page news for their beer chugging skills. After all, this is a very rare talent that both professors and employers look for in good students and future employees.
