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(10/19/06 3:25pm)
The recent scandal in the U.S. House of Representatives involving former Congressman Mark Foley and his relationship with underage House pages is appalling on many levels. Obviously, it is reprehensible that a sexual predator was taking advantage of teenagers in the halls of Congress. It is equally disturbing that Republicans in the House Leadership knew of Mark Foley's inappropriate relationship with House pages and covered it up for months and, in some cases, years. \nThis is the latest example of how broken Washington is. Clearly, our leaders are putting their own political interests ahead of our children, and Congress is so corrupt and divided by partisanship that it is unable to do the people's business. We cannot allow the House of Representatives to continue to be sidetracked by ethics violations, scandals and partisan bickering—the work of Congress is too significant and the issues our country faces are too important. Enough is enough. We need a change and some new ideas to get our country back on the right track. \nI believe that we must overhaul the House Ethics Committee if we are serious about cleaning up the mess in Washington. Since April, I have been calling for the complete restructuring of the Ethics Committee and the way in which ethics complaints are handled. The current system of self-examination is not working. My proposal includes the creation of a bipartisan panel of former members of Congress to replace the current Ethics Committee comprised of sitting members of Congress. Former Congressman Lee Hamilton, who represented Southern Indiana's 9th District for 34 years, has endorsed my plan and he is exactly who I had in mind when I developed the proposal. \nWhile there are many problems facing our great nation, there is nothing that we can't solve with straight talk, a little foresight and good ideas. That is what being a public servant is all about—implementing sound policy to help the people. As your representative, I will work to restore honor to Congress, reach across party lines to get things done and bring the change that Hoosier families need.
(10/19/06 3:24pm)
There are two major flaws in the Indiana Daily Student editorial board's article, "Columbia Crash" (Oct. 13). One, freedom of speech includes the right to protest, and two, "legitimate debates" do not include people who threaten or use violence against the opposing party. Protest is a form of political engagement protected by the Constitution. The event at Columbia was not about one group preventing the free speech of another group. Karina Garcia, an attendee and organizer said, "One group was promoting hatred and violence, and the other group was loudly opposing it." During the event, protestors stormed the stage and unfurled a banner that read, "No One Is Illegal," and one of the protestors was kicked in the head. Attacking someone physically is suppression; protest is not.\nI agree with the IDS, "Just because someone disagrees with someone else does not give them any less a right to express their opinion." However, excluding the Minutemen from the arena of legitimate debate is not based on a disagreement of opinion. Minutemen sit out in the desert with guns threatening to shoot immigrant families and have said, "It should be legal to shoot illegals." Jim Gilchrist is friends with Council of Conservative Citizens member Barbara Coe who regularly calls Chicanos savages. The CCC is a white supremacist organization that is officially opposed to "miscegenation." Gilchrist ran for Congress under the American Independent Party; the party founded by George Wallace. And his xenophobic views include the absurd idea that Chicanos are attempting a violent takeover of the Southwest. The legitimate debate on immigration does not include people who, at the worst, threaten murder.\nFor footage that wasn't shown on Fox or CNN, try Democracy Now! or Univision. Democracy Now!'s coverage also features a debate between Gilchrist and Garcia which shows Gilchrist red-baiting and then leaving because he dislikes what Garcia says. Garcia's statements about Gilchrist may not be respectful, but instead of challenging them and engaging her in debate, Gilchrist cuts off the interview while threatening legal action. This controversy is not about freedom of speech; it is about criminalizing dissent and legitimizing hate speech.
(10/19/06 3:24pm)
Regarding the organization of Monday's Indiana Daily Student:\nWhat kind of world are we living in, where a senior in high school that flakes out on another college and a fluke football victory are more important than raising $109,000 for Breast Cancer research? I am appalled by the Indiana Daily Student's decision to run two shallow, nonimportant sports articles ahead of a truly wonderful event. Is the IDS so desperate for readers that they will print out any sort of "eye candy" to grab the students' attention? Why does the IDS feel that $109,000 was not good enough to be mentioned before two measly athletic triumphs? It is reasons like this that IU will forever be linked to partying and sports instead of more positive things like the miracle of a community coming together for the betterment of mankind. It is great to hear about IU's athletic successes and what not, but that money raised by the greek community on Friday will go a lot further for this world than a basketball player and a victorious effort by the football team.\nThe real winners from this weekend were not Coach Hep and the football team, but breast cancer patients and their families. I attended both BMOC and the football game, and those last 20 seconds ticking away from the game clock don't even come close to the joy of hearing the Zetas announce the final amount of money raised. I had never been more proud to be a Hoosier than I was Friday night, and I know I wasn't the only one that felt that way. Hopefully next year, when BMOC raises another $100,000 for Breast Cancer research, the IDS won't sell out and have the front page article be about a high school kid.
(10/19/06 3:23pm)
I have never witnessed such an error in judgement with the publication of the opinion column from Tuesday, Oct. 17, entitled "Greek Speak" (by Scott Leadingham). First of all, to write an article about the lame and fictitious comments written on a bathroom stall, and secondly, to single out ONE chapter, in a community of MANY, is not only unjustifiable, but also inexcusable. There are zero grounds for such accusations to a specific chapter, as well as the entire greek community. The fact that there is a warning before the biased rebuttals to these comments only leads me to believe that this article was written in anger from not being involved in these great organizations. Instead of producing lies and false accusations from comments that are written on a wall where people do their "dirty business," I think it would be wise to take the time and point out the positive aspects of chapters and the greek community as a whole. To single out a chapter that you know nothing about is simply ignorant and shows evidence of inexperience and immaturity. According to IDS' Web site, the opinion page is "reserved for the newspaper's stance on issues affecting students, the community and the world." I highly doubt that the content on bathroom walls is of concern to IU students, let alone the community and world, and furthermore, it seems the longer one sits in a bathroom stall, the more preposterous the interpretations become.
(10/19/06 3:22pm)
INPIRG, the Indiana Public Interest Research Group, is a student-run, student-funded nonprofit organization at IU. Our organization runs four student activist campaigns: Hunger and Homelessness, the Campus Climate Challenge, Higher Education Affordability and the New Voters Project. Last spring we raised nearly $10,000 for local and international poverty relief through our annual Hunger Cleanup, lobbied the federal Commission on Higher Education for better student loan funding and researched ways to increase the use of clean energy resources here at IU. We're able to make a difference on these issues because every year, thousands of students like you become members of INPIRG by pledging to add a $10 fee onto their bursar bill each semester. Our membership pledges allow us to hire professional staff to work on these issues, run an internship program on campus and ensure that we are an effective voice for students here at IU. During the week of October 23, INPIRG members will be stationed around campus asking students to pledge. I ask that the students of IU choose to pledge INPIRG during this time so we can continue to represent their interests through our important programs.\nSincerely,
(10/19/06 3:21pm)
Regarding the staff editorial "School of Hard Knocks" (Oct. 17):\nThe IDS Editorial Board has completely lost touch with the student community. Their latest editorial, "School of Hard Knocks," just continues the clueless detachment exhibited in "Bloomington: Hella Poor" (Oct. 5). Both editorials derisively mock students who struggle to afford to live and study in Bloomington, comparing their hardship with being unable to afford coordinating Ugg boots and North Face jackets. "Hard Knocks" ignores key facts about graduate students' legitimate concerns, including the recent, severe hike in health care expenses under the University's plan. Maybe the Editorial Board should check the IU Fact Book -- they might learn that more than 22 percent of the students on the Bloomington campus are graduate or professional students and that more than 11 percent of students on this campus are part-time students. These students are as much a part of IUB as the Editorial Board, and their voices have every right to be heard. If the IDS wants to have any credibility with the campus community, the Editorial Board should try venturing beyond Ernie Pyle Hall and North Jordan Avenue. They might learn that there is more than one college experience in Bloomington.
(10/19/06 3:05am)
A Bloomington man faces various preliminary charges after police saw him running through downtown streets naked.\nShortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, Bloomington Police Department officers Cody Decker and Shane Rasche saw a man wearing only a baseball cap run south on Dunn Street at the intersection with Kirkwood Avenue right in front of their squad car, Detective Sgt. David Drake said, reading from a police report. The officers turned their lights on to follow him, but the man ran behind Kilroy's Bar & Grill.\nThe officers chased him on foot, and Rasche caught up with him and tackled him to the ground, Drake said.\nDrake said a friend of the man approached them and offered him a sweatshirt so he would have something to wear.\nThe man told officers his fraternity brothers had offered him $50 to run naked in the street and that he had been drinking since 10 a.m.\nHe listed his address as 631 E. Third St.
(10/19/06 2:44am)
ST. LOUIS -- As he turned 80 Wednesday, Chuck Berry could leave the hard work of great music to younger souls and rest comfortably as the rock 'n' roll legend who first made his mark in the 1950s.\nBut Berry, the duck--walking, guitar--playing rock genius who defined the music's joy and rebellion in such classics as "Johnny B. Goode," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven," has plenty left to say and play.\nHe still performs regularly at an intimate nightclub in St. Louis, his hometown, as well as venues from Las Vegas to London, saying "these shows keep me alive."\nEarly next year, he'll release a CD of new material, his first commercial release in more than 20 years.\n"There's some stuff that will surprise people," his piano player, Robert Lohr, said. "It's Chuck Berry meets Ray Charles, black gospel meets country.\n"There's one song, 'Big Boys,' that is classic top-shelf Chuck Berry."\nAt his 75th birthday concert five years ago, Berry was feted by Little Richard on stage, while regards poured in from Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Charles, David Bowie, Bo Diddley and other music icons.\nThe celebration for his 80th will be a more intimate affair -- a dinner party with family and close friends and a late-night performance at Blueberry Hill, where he has given legendary concerts in the Duck Room one night each month since 1996.\nThe concerts draw visitors from around the world and satisfy Berry's nostalgic yearning for the smaller venues of his earliest $4-a-night gigs in the 1950s, friend and Blueberry Hill owner Joe Edwards said.\nIn recent years, Berry's been joined by his son, guitarist Charles Berry Jr., and daughter Ingrid Berry Clay on vocals and harmonica. Berry treasures performing with his kids, Edwards said.\nWhen he takes the stage Wednesday night, Berry will sling his guitar with an ease belying his age and scoot across the stage in his famous one-legged hop, his extended leg kicking off the stage.\nThe old man, still as lean and agile as a teenager, will also surely please the crowd with his signature duck walk, the iconic crouched move he patented in a 1956 performance in New York. It's a move imitated by rockers through all decades since.\n"He intuitively choreographed the first stage moves of the rock era, setting the tone for what a rock performance could be visually, as well as through the music," Edwards said. "He used the guitar as a foil on stage, moving it around his back and in front of him. Jimi Hendrix and all that followed got it all from him first."\nThe only sign of Berry's creeping age on stage is the occasional brain freeze when he can't quite recall a verse he's sung thousands of times. He typically laughs it off, leans on the band to fill in the blank or offers comical utterances to reassure the audience his mental acuity is still intact.\n"He's entitled to that. He's 80 years old," said Jim Marsala, who's been Berry's bassist for 33 years.\nThere's no evidence time has taken a toll on him physically.\nBerry, whose father and brother were carpenters, and who seems driven by an incessant work ethic, loves to tinker at Berry Park, a 155-acre property in nearby Wentzville, Mo., where he records and lives when not at his suburban St. Louis home. He relaxes by maintaining Berry Park's buildings, mowing the lawn and splitting wood, said Berry Jr., describing his father as a "regular guy" off stage.\nBerry's music and a 1987 autobiography started while he served time in federal prison for tax charges will have to speak for the rock `n' roll genius, who refuses all but the rare interview.\nHe made an exception following the death -- at age 80 -- of his longtime friend and collaborator Johnnie Johnson in April 2005. Johnson was the master boogie-woogie piano player who gave Berry his first break.\nOn New Year's Eve 1952 at the Cosmopolitan in East St. Louis, Ill., Johnson called Berry to fill in for an ailing musician in his Sir John Trio.\nThe struggling and unknown Berry rushed over, did a hillbilly country number with a bluesy vein that knocked people out and launched a career.\nBerry told reporters in April 2005 he'd miss his friend and his music but wasn't melancholy.\n"My turn is coming very soon," he said. "Would you shed a tear for Chuck? I hope not because I don't see why one should weep when something inevitable must come.\n"At 78, I'm glad to be anywhere, anytime"
(10/19/06 2:43am)
PHILADELPHIA -- While dorm rooms keep students cramped close to their books, and studio apartments don't offer much room between the stove and the bed, it's rare to find living quarters smaller than those in prisons.\nSo when conceptual artist Peggy Diggs wanted help designing furniture that fits in tight spaces, she turned to a group of 15 inmates at the maximum security State Correctional Institution at Graterford.\n"WorkOut ," a series of brightly colored, collapsible desks representing more than a year of the inmates' brainstorming, designing and decorating, will be on display through Oct. 25 at the Broad Street Ministry in Philadelphia.\n"It's a goofy combination of industrial design and folk art," Diggs said, standing between two versions of the desk. \nOne was covered in stylized black and gray human faces, while the other was bright green and adorned with bold-colored, overlapping blocks.\nOccupying the foyer of the ministry's church downtown, the exhibit is a big concept held in a diminutive showroom.\nThe idea for making pieces that fit in confined quarters came to Diggs after reading an article about how the potential fallout from global warming could force people to adopt small, temporary shelters.\nThe Graterford inmates, Diggs said, are "experts in tight living who could take their experience in the cells to design for others forced to live in tight circumstances, either through catastrophes like (Hurricane) Katrina or because they don't have a lot of money and have to make do with little space."\nIn June 2005, Diggs started meeting with the prisoners twice a week.\nFor the first two months, she led them through design workshops, teaching them the basics of creating three-dimensional objects. With the fundamentals in place, she opened the floor to their ideas for furnishings that might make their compact chambers more hospitable.\nThe inmates came up with ideas such as a fold-up bed containing seats and a table, a storage cube that hooked on to bunk beds and a briefcase that doubled as a desk. The design on which they settled was for a combination desk and storage space. Its two wings, with four drawers each, fold in to make the unit more compact, while still allowing access to the drawers' contents.\nPerhaps the most striking aspects of the desks are their intricate, hand-painted decorations, inspired by tattoos, Japanese animation and other interests in the inmates' everyday lives.\nThe desks the inmates worked with were miniature cardboard models. The full-size, fully operational desks in the exhibit -- displayed in various states of unfolding -- are still crafted from the original cardboard.\nDiggs constructed the full-scale desks with the help of a cardboard company, working off the inmates' model.\n"We wanted to stick with cardboard all the way through to keep it at the same level of deprivation as in the cells," Diggs said. "Cardboard was what we could get into the prison, so that's what we worked with."\nThe project was helped by a grant from the New York-based Creative Capital Foundation and by Jane Golden, director of Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program, who has previously worked with inmates and put Diggs in touch with them.\nArt can be a "form of visual restitution" for the prisoners, Golden said.\nLike painting murals, designing furniture helps them to see that everybody can be productive, she said.\nInmates who called in by teleconference to the exhibit said that the furniture project helped them to stay connected with the outside world and give something back to the community.\nAt the suggestion of one inmate, Diggs will donate 30 of the inmate-designed desks to the Riverview Home for the Aged in the city's Holmesburg neighborhood. The home is a personal care facility for elderly or disabled adults who are homeless or without income.\n"The furniture we have now is basically uniform," said Sally Fisher, the home's director. "What's exciting about this is they'll have something that's functional, that's really going to brighten up their space."\nThe inmates haven't seen the full-sized versions of their desks, and Diggs said they are most excited to see pictures of them being delivered to Riverview.\n"They couldn't care less about some art opening," she said of the exhibit, "but they're really thrilled they can make something in prison, and immediately it's going to work in somebody else's life"
(10/19/06 2:14am)
In the heat of passion, many crazed baseball fans have said they would die for a championship. Are they willing to take that devotion to the grave?\nWith a new venture that will put Major League Baseball team logos on urns and caskets, the league and a company that makes funeral products will find out just how many fans want to be decked out in their team colors and logos for eternity.\nStarting next season, fans of the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers will be able to have their ashes put in an urn or head six feet under in a casket emblazoned with their team colors and insignia.\nMajor League Baseball has entered into a licensing agreement with Eternal Image, which hopes to eventually make urns and caskets for all 30 teams. The company also hopes to have similar agreements with NASCAR, the NHL and the NFL, but baseball was the first to sign on.\n"We have been receiving these requests either directly or through our clubs for several years," MLB spokeswoman Susan Goodenow said. "Passionate fans express their love of their team in a number of different ways."\nThe National Funeral Directors Association meets in Philadelphia this week and gives its members a sneak peak of how the urns will look. Eternal Image says urns for the six teams should be available by Opening Day 2007, and caskets for those teams should be ready later in the year. The products have not been made yet, and the exact cost has not been set.\nKurt Soffe, a spokesman for the funeral association, said the MLB caskets are part of a trend of trying to capture "the life and the passions of the person that has passed away." At this year's convention, for instance, there was a Harley Davidson-themed casket and one featuring Betty Boop.\n"More and more families are wanting to have something that respects the personalities," Soffe said.\nFarmington Hills, Mich.-based Eternal Image, which also makes a line of Vatican-themed products, "wanted to break into a sports venue of some kind," said Clint Mytych, the company's CEO. "It is the all-American sport."\nHe said he has gotten at least 1,000 inquiries since June.\nThe Phillies urn was the first of the MLB products to be designed. Each urn will feature recognition of the deceased's passionate support, stamped with a message that says "Major League Baseball officially recognizes (person's name) as a lifelong fan of (team)."\nThe league, the manufacturer and funeral directors are trying to fill a need with the products. They acknowledge that the sales will have to be done with respect, like all transactions in the sensitive world of funerals and burials.\nDavid Griffin, funeral director at L.J. Griffin Funeral Home in suburban Detroit, said fans in many blue-collar cities have undying loyalty to their teams, which could make the MLB caskets and urns a hot commodity.\n"Looking at it as a consumer, I was thinking this is some pretty interesting, unique stuff," Griffin said.\nNevertheless, funeral homes will have to be very careful so as not to offend their clients, many of whom will surely be scared off by the idea.\n"They are a little bit hesitant because of what others might think," Soffe said.\nThe manufacturer also will have to make sure the products aren't too expensive. People who opt for cremation, for example, often do so partly because it is cheaper.\n"I guess it's going to be interesting to see how it's accepted," Griffin said.
(10/19/06 2:12am)
WASHINGTON -- A Web site claims that seven NFL football stadiums will be hit with radiological dirty bombs this weekend, but the government expressed doubts about the threat Wednesday.\nThe warning, posted Oct. 12, was part of an ongoing Internet conversation titled "New Attack on America. Be Afraid." It mentioned NFL stadiums in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland and Cleveland, where games are scheduled this weekend.\nThe Homeland Security Department alerted authorities and stadium owners in those cities, as well as the NFL, of the Web message but said the threat was being viewed "with strong skepticism." Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said there was no intelligence that indicated such an attack was imminent, and he said the alert was "out of an abundance of caution."\n"The department strongly encourages the public to continue to go about their plans, including attending events that involve large public gatherings such as football games," Knocke said.\nThe FBI also expressed doubt about the threat.\nThe nation's alert level remains at yellow, signaling an elevated risk of attack. The threat level for airline flights is at orange, a higher level, where it has been since a foiled plot to bomb U.S.-bound commercial jets was revealed Aug. 10.\nNFL spokesman Greg Aiello said stadiums around the country "are very well protected through the comprehensive security procedures we have in place, including secure facility perimeters, pat-downs and bag searches."
(10/19/06 2:12am)
Following his career-best performance in Saturday's 31-28 upset of No. 15 Iowa, IU freshman quarterback Kellen Lewis took home his first conference and national honors. \nThe Big Ten named Lewis Co-Offensive Player of the Week along with Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter for their performances. Also, USA Today named the Hoosier quarterback its Player of the Week.\nLewis played a leading role in guiding the Hoosiers to their upset victory of the Hawkeyes. He threw for a career-high 255 yards and three touchdowns, while completing 76 percent of his passes. He also rushed for one touchdown. \nThe award is the first for an IU offensive player since quarterback Gibran Hamdan won a weekly award in October 2002. \nLewis is also the first freshman to win a weekly award for IU since quarterback Antwaan Randle El won twice in the 1998 season.
(10/19/06 2:11am)
Chicago Bears strong safety Mike Brown is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair ligament damage in his right foot Wednesday, a major hit for the NFL's second-ranked defense.\nBrown limped off the field and was taken from the sideline on a cart during the fourth quarter of Monday's 24-23 comeback victory at Arizona after his foot got twisted on a running play.\n"Severe blow," coach Lovie Smith said. "I think we all know what Mike means to our football team. He's a special player. He was having an outstanding game ... That's a big blow, but injuries do happen. Mike has been in this situation before."\nSmith wasn't sure if Brown, a Pro Bowl pick last season, would be placed on injured reserve.\nBrown played a key role as the Bears rallied from a 20-point deficit against the Cardinals.\nThe comeback began when he scooped up a loose ball after Mark Anderson sacked Matt Leinart at the end of the third quarter. Brown returned it three yards for a touchdown that made the score 23-10. Cornerback Charles Tillman returned a fumble 40 yards for a touchdown after linebacker Brian Urlacher ripped the ball from Arizona running back Edgerrin James in the fourth quarter, and rookie Devin Hester put Chicago ahead when he ran a punt back 83 yards.\nFinally, Arizona's Neil Rackers missed a 41-yard field goal with 53 seconds left, and the Bears celebrated, jumping around and pointing toward the sky. They were relieved and overjoyed. They improved to 6-0 with a bye this week, but the good vibe was tempered by Wednesday's news.\nBrown is one of the team's emotional leaders, and it has not played well when he has been sidelined in recent seasons.\nBrown missed 14 games with a torn right Achilles' tendon in 2004, and the injury-ravaged Bears went 5-11. With Brown nursing a strained calf late last year, the league's stingiest defense looked rather average. The Bears split the final four regular-season games, and with Brown seeing limited time in the playoff loss to Carolina, the Panthers' Steve Smith caught 12 passes for 218 yards and two long touchdowns.\n"There's only one Mike Brown that has those qualities as a leader," Smith said. "What we need is to have a good football player step up and fill the role. Brian Urlacher, Adewale (Ogunleye), Alex Brown -- they'll take more of a leadership role."\nCan the defense withstand this loss?\n"It has to," Smith said. "We have to pick it up."\nBrown's injury leaves the Bears thin at safety. Backup Chris Harris has missed three of the past four games with a pulled quadriceps and a sprained ankle. Brandon McGowan was suspended by the team for a week for violating a team rule but is expected to be back Monday.\nBrown's injury could mean more playing time for Todd Johnson, who replaced him on Monday, and Cameron Worrell.\n"The encouraging thing is we have guys who can step in and make plays for us," cornerback Nathan Vasher said.
(10/19/06 2:09am)
IU men's soccer freshman forward Darren Yeagle practiced with the team Tuesday and is medically cleared to play, the team's spokeswoman Brooke Frederickson said. Tuesday's practice was the first time Yeagle participated in physical activity with the team since IU's 2-1 victory against Michigan State on Oct. 1. \nYeagle missed the last four games with mononucleosis and could have missed four more weeks of activity because of the illness, said the team's head trainer Joe Leuken. \nEven with the time off, Yeagle leads the team with five goals and 11 points. The Hoosiers travel Saturday to Penn State, whose Nittany Lions defeated IU twice last season. The game will be nationally televised on the Fox Soccer \nChannel at 7:30 p.m.
(10/19/06 2:08am)
Apparently, I root for pond scum.\nAt least that's what St. Louis told me. \nThey had it written on their shirts and scribbled in black ink on their posters. After driving four hours Saturday to Missouri, I came to one conclusion: St. Louis Cardinals fans piss me off.\nMaybe it's because we are still in the throes of the National League Championship Series. Or maybe it's because the New York Mets fans were embarrassed last Saturday night after doling out 120 big ones to see Steve Trachsel start. I got it! It must be because of those flamboyant red goatees everyone wears!\nThis animosity in Gotham vs. Gateway stems back further than our natural lives -- at least for college students. The current battle for the National League pennant has a similar flavor. Former division rivals, who battled for top spots in the NL for most of the mid-1980s, regained its fire. \nNot necessarily on the field but definitely in the stands. \nIt was like I was traveling back in time in a DeLorean with Christopher Lloyd dressed in a radiation suit. Our destination: an ambiguous period in the mid-1980s. What I thought was a flashback into baseball's luxurious past was actually an awful hangover that took two hours to dissolve en route to St. Louis. Nonetheless, the antipathy among fans still burned.\nThe city was pretty quiet prior to the game. The townspeople gathered at The Outfield at Mike Shannon's -- a bar sponsored by the Cardinals' broadcaster. They were nice to the contingent of Mets fans who dared enter the enemy's lair, though they forced us to drink Anheuser-Busch products. I felt like asking for a Miller Lite to get them annoyed. \nLike tourists, we walked over to the Gateway Arch. It didn't seem like anything special. We also saw the Mighty Mississippi. It didn't seem too mighty. During all this sightseeing, we got disparaging looks from the natives. \nThey saw the 1986 New York Mets in us, with all the drama and arrogance that went with them -- the drugs, the alcohol, the cockiness and the fights that made up the Pond Scum. Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra and St. Louis import Keith Hernandez fought with Tom Herr, John Tudor, Terry Pendleton and Ozzie Smith from 1985 to 1988 for the NL East crown. In those years, the teams exchanged titles. They also exchanged heartbreak and animosity. \nHow could a rivalry forgotten be revitalized in the wake of a pretty sluggish pennant race? In the stands.\nAs we walked into the new Busch Stadium, our shoulders were square and our heads focused on the issue at hand -- not letting the natives outdo us as baseball fans. We sang our "Meet the Mets" songs and clapped until our hands turned as red as Scott Spiezio's trendy goatee.\nI started this road trip with the hopes that the Mets were going to win one for the "Big Smile" (as some of my friends so eloquently term me). But that smile was turned upside down. Then that frown started to utter expletives.\nThe Mets lost, and the same Cardinals fans who screamed "Pond Scum" also screamed "Series is over" and "Mets suck!" I took my licks as a visiting fan with grace. For these Redbird fans, it was like 1985 all over again. \nTo them, the Mets are pond scum; to me, the Cardinals are laughable frauds. The atmosphere at this game was that of a circus. People showed up late to this playoff game, arriving in the second inning sporting their newly pasted red goatees. Waving the towels vigorously, they acted like middle-aged women at a strip club looking for a quick night thrill. I, on the other hand, crawled back to the car like a degenerate gambler losing $120 on the sure-fire favorite at the horse track. \nSure, my trip to St. Louis wasn't ideal. In the end, I wonder if this rivalry can be revitalized despite being separated by divisions, seeing as how the fans still piss each other off. Probably not. \nNo matter what happens in this series between the Pond Scum and the newly-termed Laughable Frauds, one thing is for sure: Our hockey team is better than yours.
(10/19/06 1:38am)
What 'is' isn't what's fair
(10/19/06 1:32am)
If I weren't severely asthmatic, I would totally be a pothead. \nIt's unfortunate, really -- being robbed of such a glorious, mind-freeing drug by a physical handicap. It's by the same token Christopher Reeve didn't smoke pot -- his dealer lived on the second floor. \nIt would have been a bumpy ride up the "Stairway to Heaven." \nAlas, instead of puffing joints, I puff the Advair diskus, a flamboyantly purple asthma inhaler frequently, and ironically, advertised on the Oxygen channel. \nPolitically incorrect, I think -- like advertising coffins on Lifetime. \nNevertheless, there is one great benefit to being pot-free. I can provide a relatively unbiased opinion on the legalization of marijuana. After all, the only time I ever actually "got high" was right before the 2000 presidential elections.\nSo did everyone else, apparently. \nNow before you crazy right-wingers start pooping the angry-bricks, let me defend my qualifications for objectivity. \nFirst of all, aside from being gay, I have few liberal qualities. (Albeit, vaginaphobia is kind of a biggie.) Nevertheless, I am quite conservative. I rarely smoke or drink. I don't eat soy chunks. With the exception of Kerri Strug on my left butt-cheek, I don't have any tattoos. \nIn fact, I used to be staunchly against legalization. However, I realize now that my initial aversion to pot smoking was based on gross misconceptions. \nThis year, I have -- for the first time - been able to witness many pot smokers in action, observing these bong-huffing primates in their natural habitat. \nI've become Mary Jane Goodall, so to speak. \nThus, my perspective has shifted. I've gone from fully-opposed to half-baked. \nAll marijuana does is make people chill. It's comforting -- like smoking Oprah. Unlike alcoholics, pot heads are amiable and inviting, always willing to give you a handful of Cheetos and a deeply philosophical proverb. \nThe fact is, pot is an escapist drug and alcohol is a rapist drug. Liquor makes people do wildly inappropriate things. How many of you, for instance, have either witnessed or performed an act of public urination while intoxicated? On the auditorium? Out a window? In a Bank One parking lot, perhaps?\nOh wait, people are pissing at Chase now. I keep forgetting. Regardless, you get my point: Stoners do not pee on ATMs. Period. \nInstead, marijuana has physical, mental and religious benefits. Physically, marijuana helps relieve chronic pains and headaches. Mentally, it can help you commune with trees. Religiously, pot is very important because when you're high, church is much more entertaining. \nSo is watching "Xena: Warrior Princess" -- random, but true!\nFinancial benefits exist as well. As economist Stephen T. Easton explains in a recent study, if marijuana was legalized and taxed, we could transfer these profits to the government to provide better educational and environmental causes.\nThe bottom line: When it comes to legalization, try not to respond with such a knee-jerk, "drugs are evil" reaction. Do the research, witness the reactions and try it for yourself. \nIf you buy a "device," remember to name it "Colin Bongdale"
(10/19/06 1:31am)
AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France -- OK, so the French don't actually smoke that much. I mean, really. According to World Health Organization figures, 34.5 percent of the population smokes. Compare that to Indiana, where 27 percent of adults and 39 percent of high school seniors smoke, and the stereotypical Frenchman with baguette in hand and cigarette in mouth seems more archaic. \nUnlike America, where smoking is often regarded as shameful, the French smoke publicly, happily and unabashedly. They gleefully puff under no smoking signs and extract their Marlboros, like true rebels, from packs that declare in giant bold letters, "Smoking Kills." (The American Surgeon General's got nothing on these anti-smoking warnings.) French smokers smoke everywhere, anywhere, any time. From photos of French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre with his omnipresent cigarette to the clouds of smoke in French New Wave movies, smoking is ingrained in French culture as intellectual, admirable and chic. \nAll these attributes make France's impending public smoking ban more astonishing. In 2007, France will ban smoking in most public places, followed in 2008 by a ban in bars, restaurants and cafes. Needless to say, this ban has riled up some French smokers to a true lather, yet they are confronted by overwhelmingly supportive public opinion. It would appear that the nonsmoking French public wouldn't mind never seeing -- or more accurately, smelling -- their smoking countrymen ever again.\nAlas, the French have arrived at a conflict between two great French loves: smoking and telling their citizens what to do. While smoking bans in Ireland, Italy and even good ol' Bloomington have worked despite strong local smoking cultures, France is the smoker's romantic, symbolic home. David Sedaris commented in his Bloomington show that he lived in Paris so he could smoke wherever he wanted. The French smoker is so entrenched that no amount of dissuasion can kick the habit. \nDespite concerted efforts toward achieving a smoke-free university, the stairwells and hallways here at the Université de Provence still marinate in ubiquitous clouds of smoke. People try to be courteous about smoking in general. Nevertheless, as the comical nonsmoking partitions in your local Applebee's demonstrate, smoke gets around no matter how courteous you are. \nAs far as I can tell, smoking is happily tolerated here. In the survey mentioned above, the one question they failed to ask is how much respondents care about it. Sure, people generally support banning it, but nonsmokers have been sucking secondhand ash for so long I doubt they'll notice much difference when the ban takes effect in January.\nIn France or in Indiana, the troubling effect of smoking bans is the conversion of smokers into criminals. Smokers are about two steps above lepers and lawyers in American culture these days. It'd be a shame if France, a proud bastion of liberty, further marginalized and criminalized nearly 35 percent of its population. \nSitting in an Aix-en-Provence cafe surrounded by happy smokers and nonsmokers alike, I'm not too worried.
(10/19/06 1:31am)
Missing your pet? Looking for a loophole? We have just the solution!\nFor those of you who can't believe your pet -- be it a chinchilla, rabbit, aardvark or alien -- isn't accepted as warmly by Residential Programs and Services or your professors as it is by your loving arms, read these three words very carefully: psychiatric service animal.
(10/19/06 1:28am)
A Kurdish witness at Saddam Hussein's genocide trial testified Wednesday that he survived a massacre by running and falling into a ditch full of bodies as troops fired on his group of detainees.\nA second Kurd told of a separate massacre in which 35 detainees, knowing they were about to die, decided to attack their guards in the hope that if they struck first, at least one would live to tell the tale.\nSpeaking from behind a curtain to conceal his identity for fear of reprisal, the first witness said he was in a group of detainees who thought they were being taken to another detention center during the military offensive that Saddam's government waged against the Kurds in northern Iraq in 1988. But their convoy of trucks stopped in the desert.\n"It was dark when they brought a group of people (prisoners) in front of the vehicle. The drivers got out of our vehicles and turned on the headlights."\nSome prisoners tried to grab an automatic rifle from a guard, but they failed because they were "so weak," he said.\nHe said the soldiers opened fire, spraying the prisoners with bullets.\n"It was really unbelievable, the number of people being killed like this. A detainee called Anwar recited the Islamic prayers before death and asked for forgiveness," the man testified.\n"I ran and fell into a ditch. It was full of bodies. I fell on a body. It was still alive. It was his last breath," he said.\nHe was lightly wounded. He took off his clothes in the ditch, thinking he was more likely to blend into the color of the sand if he were naked. He then began running again.\n"As I was running, I saw many pits, I saw many mounds, and I saw lots of people who had been shot," he said. "The desert was full of mounds that had people buried underneath."\nThe second witness, who also testified from behind a curtain, said that after a few days in Tob Zawa detention camp in April 1988, he and other detainees were told they were being moved to another facility.