Running from the Thought Police

The Official Last Post (Probably)

2007-12-31T17:11:00.000-06:00

I've started a new blog, Speaking Liberally. Hopefully I can do a better job of updating that blog than I did in the last year of this one.

Past Due

2007-06-05T21:27:00.001-05:00

In case it's not been obvious, updating the blog has slid off my radar screen. It's not that I don't have opinions - I do. It's just that I don't have the time to read the vast amounts of stuff I did while I was a student, and have something to say about them. Being no longer part of the student body, and thus separated from that bountiful source of material, also played a part in my decision to no longer blog.

This probably isn't a permanent halt to my blogging - I just have no idea when, or how, the next step will be taken. If there is one, I may post here. We'll see.

This Seems Pertinent

2007-02-18T15:57:00.000-06:00

I've been looking for this image for a while, and now that the Chief is gone, it's rather appropriate to post it here.

One More Bit Of Supposed Ligitimacy Gone

2007-01-19T01:35:00.000-06:00

One of the things the Pro-Chief crowd likes to tout is the fact that the current regalia used by the Chief was given to/bought by the university from a member of the Ogala Sioux. They seem to think that having "real, live Injuns" make the costume rather than some Eagle Scout in the late '20s somehow makes everything alright.

Thing is, that tribe now wants it back:

January 17, 2007

RESOLUTION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE DEMANDING RETURN OF LAKOTA REGALIA USED IN PERFORMANCE OF “CHIEF ILLINIWEK,” AND IN SUPPORT OF REQUEST BY PEORIA TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA THAT THE USE OF THE MASCOT CEASE.

On January 17, 2007, the Executive Committee of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Nation submitted a resolution to the University of Illinois President and Board of Trustees and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor demanding the return of the Lakota regalia used in the portrayal of the school’s mascot to the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

The official resolution refers to the “theatrics” and “antics” of “chief illiniwek” and notes that the “Oglala Lakota regalia is being misused to represent ‘Chief Illiniwek’” and needs to be returned to the rightful owners of the tribe. The resolution further states that “Chief Illiniwek” not only “perpetuates a degrading racial stereotype,” but violates the integrity of traditional Illinois tribes including the “Kaskaskia, Peroria, Piankeshuw, and Wea nations.”

Moreover, the Resolution by the Oglala Sioux supports the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma “in its request that the University of Illinois recognize the demeaning nature of the characterization of ‘Chief Illiniwek’ and cease use of this mascot.” In 2000, the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma passed a resolution “Request to University of Illinois to Cease Use of Chief llliniwek as Mascot.”

Given the increasing concerns regarding the experiences of racism and oppression facing American Indian nations and communities, the faculty of American Indian Studies (AIS) and the staff at the Native American House (NAH) at the University of Illinois welcome the Resolution of the Executive Committee of the Oglala Sioux Tribe that disapproves of the use of the Lakota Regalia in “Chief Illiniwek” performances and calls for cessation of the mascot.

Further, AIS/NAH faculty and staff call upon the Board of Trustees, President White, and UIUC administration to respond to this resolution with due respect and action. There can be no misreading of the Oglala Sioux Resolution—those to whom the Lakota regalia belongs and whom the Board of Trustees claims to be honoring have clearly requested that the performance and charade of “chief illiniwek” end.

Click here for a pdf copy of the Resolution of the Executive Committee of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

I wonder where the Bands department will end up getting a new set of regalia from. Part of the offensiveness of the Chief comes from the fact that he wears Lakota regalia to portray an Illinwek, whose culture and clothing were rather different. If this is not part of the end of the Chief, will this force the use of more accurate regalia and the end of the stupid prancing about that the Chief does?

I'll Take "Dat," Cookie

2007-01-12T17:54:00.000-06:00

The You Don't Know Jack website has had a daily Dis or Dat for the past couple months, and today's, titled Run for Your Mushroom asks you whether a term is the name of a Smurf or a point of the Boy Scout Law. I just thought I should share.

Trib Has Its Own Story

2007-01-11T18:03:00.000-06:00

And my, did they get some choice new bits:

One member of the Facebook group said she didn't think the group was racist.

"I'm sure that when the group was started, I don't think that anybody took it seriously," said student Lizzy Cunningham, 19, who was a member of the group before the Web page was taken down. "Students were upset about losing the Chief and were trying to get some huge movement started. I don't think they were trying to make racial statements. They were more like angry outbursts."

Alright, Lizzy. According to Facebook (I'd link her profile, but she's got the privacy settings jacked up right now - not that I blame her), you're an alumna of Benet Academy, the same Benedictine institution I attended for high school. As such, I know that you at least have the raw potential to think. Sadly, it appears that you do not know how to realize this potential. Case in point - you're now on record, for posterity, saying that you did not think that joining a group that says you will be come racist was a racial statement.

To repeat it for those who didn't see it the first two times - you claimed not to think that claiming that one will become a racist was a racial statement.

I'll just let that one hang in the air a little, so that all may admire how oblivious one must be in order to utter such words.

This, by the way, is one of the more passive ways that the hostile and abusive nature of the Chief affects our university community: it creates an atmosphere in which such outrageous comments as those which caused the group's demise are not perceived as being horribly racially insensitive, and in which those who utter such broadly hurtful things are only very rarely made to realize the injury they cause others with their words. This is not the active racism of the civil rights era and before, nor is it that which is fondly looked back upon by those who wish Strom Thurmond had been elected president in 1948. This is more insidious, the compounding of many small statements and actions to make minorities, and Native Americans especially, feel alienated and unwelcome on their own college campus. This is the racism that I spoke about earlier, and which IP apparently likes to pretend doesn't exist.

More Comments On Recent Stupidity

2007-01-10T17:37:00.000-06:00

There I was, thinking I was mostly done with blogging, or at least this blog, and then someone goes and makes a threat against a Native American student for being anti-Chief, along with someone else being generally anti-Indian. Since my last post supplying the online community with Chancellor Herman's massmail, some more information has popped up online about what actually happened.

The Champaign-Urbana Independent Media Center has a press release posted condemning the incident, and at least partially what actually happened.

On Facebook, the popular student-centered social web forum, a University of Illinois student has begun a group called "If They Get Rid of the Chief I'm Becoming a Racist." The group's web site can be viewed at this Facebook address: http://uillinois.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2216973206, though it is likely that Facebook authorities will soon remove the site, because it violates Facebook policies. One hundred and ten University of Illinois students have joined this group.

Two students have posted inflammatory messages on the group's web site. These messages are available to any web user who registers with Facebook, which includes most University of Illinois students and many other people across the campus community and across the national and world-wide network of Facebook users.

On November 20, 2006, a University of Illinois student posted the following explicitly racist words that call for the death of Indian people, which of course includes the Indian people who are members of the University of Illinois community: "what they don't realize is that there was never a racist problem before..but now i hate redskins and hope all those drunk, casino owning bums die." On December 2, 2006, another student wrote the following explicit threat, a call for violence directed at a specific University of Illinois student: "that's the worst part! apparently the leader of this movement is of Sioux descent. Which means what, you ask? the Sioux indians are the ones that killed off the Illini indians, so she's just trying to finish what her ancestors started. I say we throw a tomohawk into her face."

The first comment was bad, but not not out-of-line for many/most of the more vocal Chief supporters once you start talking to them a bit and manage to get them off-message. The second one, though, is decidedly not cool. In a campus like ours, that's constantly torn apart by this issue, one does not threaten to physically harm someone holding the opposing position in a public forum. I've met rabit pro- and anti-Chief supporter, and I know from personal experience that it's not the anti-Chief people who'll be likely to do damage over the issue. As such, I am not disturbed at all by the prospect of students being punished over this.

As I said in the comments of the previous post (which I would link to and quote directly if Haloscan was not down at the moment), this is just the tip of a very ugly iceberg. While these two were caught on the internet where everyone could see, most incidents like this happen in social settings where very few, if any, people are liable to report it. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that part of the reason the Chancellor's going after this now is because he can and so address the larger issue.

One also needs to remember that this incident came after the earlier one where a fraternity and sorority held a racially-themed party and got nailed to the wall for it. They, too, stepped afoul of the Chancellor, and this more recent incident can only confirm for him that racial and ethnic sensitivity, or the lack thereof, is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Illinipundit has his own post up on the issue, and as the predominant local organ of the Mighty Wurlitzer, is trying to downplay the seriousness of the incident by insisting that someone answer the question: "[W]hy isn't it "hate speech" to label all Chief supporters as racists?" There's two answers to this question. The short answer is, "It's not hate speech because it's accurate."

The longer answer is that the Chief is a racist symbol, mascot, and institution, and supporting the Chief at least condones, if not supports, the racism embodied by that institution. As such, support for the Chief either permits or is an active case of racism, and so such support is accurately described as racist. While the term 'racist' has deservedly negative connotations, properly using the term in the context for which it was intended, such as describing the Chief and its supporters, is not hateful but merely an accurate description of the truth, as uncomfortable as such may be.

The News-Gazette has its own story up, but it doesn't say much more than was in the press release and the Chancellor's massmail. Unfortunately, the DI doesn't have anything about this yet. Hopefully they'll start reporting on this when they get back from break. The Spring Semester starts a week from yesterday.

The NCAA Was Right

2007-01-09T17:17:00.000-06:00

Via the university MASSMAIL system comes the following letter from the Chancellor, sent out at 4:29 this afternoon. It appears that Chief Illiniwek does create a hostile and abusive environment on campus. Who'd have thunk it?

To Members of the Campus Community:

It was brought to my attention earlier this week that threats of violence against an American Indian student, and hate speech directed at all American Indians, were posted on a pro-Chief Facebook website created by students at the University of Illinois. The idea that the debate over this issue could degenerate to personal attacks that threaten the physical safety and well-being of members of the campus community is something that all of us should find truly abhorrent.

The men and women who built the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign over the past 140 years have worked hard to create a place where ideas could be explored and discussed in a safe and welcoming environment. Actions such as those that were recommended on this Facebook site really are an attack on each member of our community, and that site has now been removed.

I do not know the motives of the students who posted the threats, but I do know that their words are dangerous and racist. The threats have been forwarded to the Office of Student Conflict Resolution for investigation and action. The Student Code guarantees that members of the campus community should be able to discuss issues and express views, but it does not allow speech that threatens to harm other members of the campus community.

As Chancellor, I can not and will not tolerate such violent threats. The University will take all legal and disciplinary actions available in response to the threatening messages.

But far less extreme actions and words can traumatize and frighten those targeted, as well. The right of free speech--no matter how thoughtless, rude or dumb--is a hallmark of the American system. Yet as future leaders and as citizens of our campus community and later as citizens of a nation and world, we must engage in a far deeper dialogue about how we are to agree to disagree. Vigorous debate is good and it is constitutionally protected--but debate should be based on ideas, not empty-headed slurs or vicious threats.

To all members of the campus community I ask that you think seriously about what you can do to help build a campus climate with zero tolerance for racism and hate. Everyone has a role. We should expect nothing less from ourselves. I invite each of you to join us at 4:00 p.m. February 1, 2007 in Foellinger Auditorium for a forum on creating a more welcoming campus environment.

Together, we must find ways to implement our shared values of respect and dignity.

Thank you.

Richard Herman
Chancellor

This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Chancellor

I sure hope that there'll be a special issue, online if not in print, of the Daily Illini, in order to keep this incident from being overlooked outside the campus community. Not that public shaming will move the Board of Trustees to change their position, but the effort definitely needs to be made.

UPDATE: Surprise, Surprise, I have more to say on the topic. One might think I were a blogger...

On A Door On The South Side Of Bourbon Street, NOLA

2007-01-07T21:41:00.000-06:00

One seems to get the impression that Nothing Happened in a lot of places in 1897.

Still Around.... Kinda

2007-01-07T21:29:00.000-06:00

I don't have much to say nowadays (Why? I dunno) but I guess I'll keep blog up to occasionally share my wisdom.

For example, the next UIUC student to start a blog that is intended to be read by the larger C-U community should title it "Throwing Shade on the Corn."

Yes, that was my profound thought for today. See why I'm not blogging much anymore?

EDIT: Thanks Matt for noticing the typo. It has been fixed now.

Shorter FDL

2006-12-22T23:15:00.000-06:00

New Democratic Election Strategy: Fuck the South.

Less Abridged FDL: The Democrats in 2006 re-learned the lessons of Harry Truman - the Dems can win without the South, and are probably better off for doing so.

Another Classics Lesson

2006-12-05T18:48:00.000-06:00

A headline on the CNN.com webpage right now, that leads to a video link that I'm not about to pay for, reads "Controversial nativity has Gary, Joseph, no baby".

Let's think about this for a moment.

The word 'Nativity' comes from the Latin word 'Natus,' for 'birth.'

If you don't have the mum and the kid, it's not a Nativity, now is it?

Many Happy Returns

2006-11-08T00:23:00.000-06:00

With 11 of 12 precincts reporting, it looks like our guy Matt has a seat on the county board.

Await With Baited Breath

2006-11-08T00:18:00.000-06:00

So, the Dems have taken control of the House - huzzah - and have a shot at a hair's breadth majority in the Senate. While we wait for that, I now get to see if my prognostication comes true and Cheney resigns due to health concerns/poor aim/whatever.

Oh, what fun the oversight hearings will be in the next two years.

Quoted In Its Entirety

2006-11-07T01:23:00.000-06:00

Jim Macdonald over at Making Light:

Vote. Today.
Today it’s important to go to the polls and vote.

Vote straight-ticket Democrat.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote for torture.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote for corruption.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote for cronyism.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote against habeas corpus.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote against our troops.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote against liberty.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote against the Constitution.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote against being secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote against Social Security.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote for “preemptive” war.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote for incompetence.

A vote for a Republican, any Republican, is a vote for Bush.

Go out today. Vote Democratic.

Today is the first day of the struggle to take our country back.

What he said. Though, if you're looking at a race and the choice is only between a Democrat and a Green with no Republican running, choose the best person for the job, since you won't be voting for the GOP if you don't vote Dem.

Because Myers Has Already Invoked Interfering With The Vote

2006-11-07T00:49:00.000-06:00

Kevin Drum points out why laws mandating an ID be presented to vote disenfranchises people, using Arizona Prop 200 as an example.

The new law has disenfranchised native Americans who don't have ID cards, any voter whose address isn't current on their driver's license, and virtually all students, who move around frequently and don't keep their ID updated. Voter registration has plummeted. And all of this, needless to say, is in response to a non-problem: Evidence of actual voter fraud prior to passage of Proposition 200 is virtually zero. On the other hand, it does a great job of solving the problem of too many people voting for those pesky Democrats.

As always, go read the whole thing. It isn't long.

Get Out To Vote

2006-11-07T00:08:00.000-06:00

Since I'm a working stiff and taking Friday off to go to a wedding, I don't have the day off today to help get your butts to the polls. However, you still need to go there. Myself, I'm psyched because I can vote Green for an office (County Board) without the burden of actually handing a Republican my vote.

Of course, I endorse David Gill for Congress. I'll hold my nose and vote for Blago, though if we had Instant Runoff Voting in this state, Whitney'd be getting my little ink mark instead.

For County Clerk, I endorse Michael Richards. I'm acquainted with him since he's a former College Dem, and he'll defintely make improving voting on and around campus a priority. He's also got a picture of himself with Barack Obama as his Facebook profile picture, for those who give two rat's asses about such things.

And as for the advisory referenda in Urbana - I support all three of those as well.

Also, if you're in county board district 6, vote for for Matthew Gladney - aka Matt of It's Matt's World. He doesn't have a "vote for me" post up yet, so I'm beating him to it.

For those who've lost their voter registration cards and need to know where to go vote, you can check your registration at the Champaign County Clerk's Website.

Until next, go out and exercize your right to vote.

Best Plaque Ever

2006-11-04T23:21:00.000-06:00

While I was on the Northwestern University campus this past weekend, I took a walk around their campus and saw this. As much as I don't like their campus (the older buildings are great, but the new ones stick out like sore thumbs), they get major kudos for having a memorial of nothing happening.

I'll Take 'Bullshit,' Alex, For $200

2006-11-03T20:13:00.000-06:00

The following dose of stupid appeared in today's News-Gazette:

In newspaper advertisements and media releases Thursday, the Judy Myers campaign warned voters of possible voter interference on Election Day by individuals from Chicago.

Officials with the Myers campaign said the advertisements and media releases were prompted by current rumors and past incidents.

...In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Myers joined other local officials in warning area voters to "keep their eyes open for suspicious activities on Election Day."

"The voters deserve to have an election process that's clean and honest," Myers said in the release, which also quotes Vermilion County Recorder Barb Young and Vermilion County Sheriff Pat Hartshorn.

The release provides information about what suspicious activities voters should look for and how and where to report any such behaviors.

But the advertisement, which ran in Thursday's editions of The News-Gazette, refers to possible interference from Chicago.

The ad reads, "WARNING, Individuals from Chicago may be brought in to interfere with your right to vote. Please be advised that such interference and other election violations can be considered up to a Class 4 felony. If you see such incidents do not hesitate to report the offense to police immediately. Don't be intimidated by Chicago's attempts to keep you from voting."

I've smelt nicer wafting up from the South Farms when the wind's coming from that direction. This is so blatantly an exercize in scaring the rural "I hate the city that gets this state any attention whatsoever" voters into coming out and voting against the Dem machine that I wonder whose eyes Myers thinks she's pulling wool over.

Besides, Dems generally don't interfere with people voting - that's the GOP's specialty.

You Read It Here

2006-10-30T01:23:00.000-06:00

Digby's prognosticating that when the GOP loses one or both houses of Congress, they'll claim vote fraud, even after the incidents of the 2000 election.

I dare someone to tell me with a straight face that this is below the national GOP.

Wish I'd Thought Of That

2006-10-25T18:15:00.000-05:00

Someone's knitted a hat and scarf for the Alma Mater. I got some pics with my camera phone - once I figure out how to get them on my computer I'll see if any of them were decent and possibly post one.

UPDATE: So I messaged the pics off my phone - they're rather blurry, though, so it's not worth posting them.

A New Blog Thingy

2006-10-22T17:58:00.000-05:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
2
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

For the record, it said there were 2,280 people with my last name, and 245,974 with my first name.

Ewww - Improper Pluralization Of The Latin

2006-10-22T17:05:00.000-05:00

A Tribune story today contains the word "milleniums" as a plural for millenium.

Yeah, I know, it sickened me too.

For those who don't know - as a second declension neuter noun, the proper plural is "millenia."

General Edification

2006-10-16T22:27:00.000-05:00

Someone recently landed upon the blog by asking ask.com for the definition of monosaccharides.

I would heavily urge this person to increase their knowlege of the classical languages as used in the biomedical setting. For one who is knowlegable of such things, the definition comes easily by breaking down the parts: "mono-" comes from the Greek for one, while a "saccharide" is a sugar, so from such analysis we know that a monosaccharide is a single sugar. In the biological setting, a monosachharide is a sugar with one carbohydrate ring, such as glucose, galactose, fructose, or ribose among many others. Di- and trisaccharides have two and three sugars, respectively, bonded together. A common disaccharide is lactose. Beyond that the more complex sugars are generally referred to as polysaccharides, from "poly-" meaning "many." These include glycogen and starch, which contain many subunits without an exact number of them.

And now that I've glazed everybody's eyes over, it's time for something completely different.

Guess You're Going To Grad School

2006-10-15T00:07:00.000-05:00

Judging by the recent search hits for the blog, a bunch of premeds with inflated opinions of themselves have gotten their poor MCAT scores back.

To answer one of the questions asked - no, once you leave the testing room you can't void your MCAT.

Also, taking the MCAT without knowing how it's scored seems odd to me. Then again, lots of things, such as Creationism, seem odd to me.

Where I'm Living Now

2006-10-14T23:47:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to say the name of the place or give the address, but I'm currently living in a room in what appears to have once upon a time been a frat or sorority house. It's in West Urbana, near campus, and I have parking - which is good, cos while I don't need to drive to work I do need to drive to get groceries.

The thing about this place is that the renters are predominantly male - not due to any discrimination on the landlord's part, but because most women probably take one look at the place and decide that it's below their standards. This is not a sparkly clean, bright and shiny apartment complex, but the rent's cheap and, like I said, the location's good.

Under The Category Of "They Needed A Study For That?"

2006-10-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

Fake boobs turn men off.

According to a new survery, men in the UK prefer women not to go under the knife to improve their chest.

A poll for More magazine found that 85% of men aged 18 to 34 said that they hated plastic surgery and found it a "complete turn-off" in women.

The survey, which polled 1,600 men in the age-group across the UK, found that a further 15% claimed not to even notice women's cosmetic surgery.

A spokeswoman for More magazine said: "Women would be better off spending their money on new dress and shoes rather than fake breasts.

"They look at false cleavages but it is clear that it is a big turn off both sexually and in terms of forming a relationship. It seems as though women may have misjudged a lot of blokes."

I'm surprised it took them that long to figure it out. Just like with guys, it's not the size that counts, it's how you use them.

Riddle Me This

2006-10-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

Why agree to go on a date and then make conversation like pulling teeth? Wouldn't it be easier to a)talk occasionally or b)own up to reality and not go?

If You Couldn't Tell

2006-10-11T18:23:00.000-05:00

I've moved into a new place and am no longer crashing on friends' couches. As I get settled in, blogging will return to normal levels, whatever those are.

Way To Not Juxtapose

2006-10-11T18:20:00.000-05:00

Near the top of the CNN.com article about the recent study on Iraqi war deaths, the president's statement,

"The methodology is pretty well discredited," he added.

is near the top of the page, while two-thirds of the way down is:

The authors said their method of sampling the population is a "standard tool of epidemiology and is used by the U.S. government and many other agencies."

Professionals familiar with such research told CNN that the survey's methodology is sound.

Is it just me, or did CNN intentionally not juxtapose these two concepts in an attempt to provide faux-balance and to avoid calling the President either an idiot or a liar?

Oceania's Always Been At War With Eurasia

2006-10-10T21:53:00.000-05:00

Wasn't it the Bush06 campaign's position that only bilateral talks with North Korea were worthwhile?

Yeah, that's what I thought. Then why is Sec. State Condoleza Rice out defending the multilateral scheme? Oh wait, that's right, Kerry and the Democrats actually have a clue and the GOP doesn't. Nevermind....

If All Goes Well

2006-10-02T01:31:00.000-05:00

Then on Friday I will no longer be homeless. More regular posting should resume shortly afterwards, when I get my computer down to Urbana and set up.

This will also be just in time to register to vote in Champaign county. For some reason, I think Tim Johnson's seat is a bit more threatened than Judy Biggert's - but then again, seeing as Biggert sits on the House Ethics Committee, her suburban constituency might not like the GOP covering up for a known child predator and take their dislike out on her.

Then, for an encore, pigs will fly out of my ass.

Where The Fuck Did My Country Go?

2006-09-25T19:34:00.000-05:00

I grew up in a country that didn't condone torture.

I now live in a country that encourages it and protects those who engage in it.

Last I checked, I hadn't moved out of the country.

My country, the America I know and love, must be gone somewhere, 'cos it's not here anymore.

Anyone Got A Room?

2006-09-23T02:38:00.000-05:00

So I'm down here crashing on my friend's couch and living out of my car. Anyone have a room to rent?

Somehow, I Think The Sample's Biased

2006-09-20T00:33:00.000-05:00

David Gill is outpolling Tim Johnson on Facebook, 62.22% to 37.78%.

Make Way For Me Triumphant Return, Me Hearties!

2006-09-19T23:49:00.000-05:00

Yarrrr, I be comin' back to campus tomorrow so as to start working in a laborotory with some other scurvy dogs.

Postin'll likely be light 'til I find me new sea legs.

Yarrrrr, It Be Gettin' Cold Mighty Fast

2006-09-19T20:22:00.000-05:00

48°F. The briny deep be lookin' quite warm, all things considerin'.

The Real Bad Guys

2006-09-19T15:53:00.000-05:00

Darksyde over at Daily Kos makes a good point: all the pre-war justifications for going after Iraq, the vast majority of which have since turned out to be bubkus, are actually valid for Pakistan.

Somehow, I doubt we'll be hearing anything about the Pakistani threat. Probably 'cos Bush only picks on countries that don't have nukes.

So, Which Do You Choose

2006-09-19T02:32:00.000-05:00

As the Athletic Director has done many times before, UIUC's Women's Soccer Coach went on the record saying how much the NCAA ban hurts the smaller, aka non-revenue, sports. Most of these sports, to my knowlege, don't even see the Chief at their games, yet these sports are being impacted by the ban.

It's probably been said before, but the NCAA's ban places the Board of Trustees at a crossroads of conscience. Do they value the spirit of athletic competition for its own sake, or do they care more about the money? As things stand, there's no more middle ground.

Hopefully, we're going to find out soon.

Yarrrrrrr

2006-09-18T17:57:00.000-05:00

Are you ready to talk like a pirate tomorrow, me hearties?

While I'm Razzing The DI

2006-09-18T02:50:00.000-05:00

The link to the Opinions page is broken - it leads straight to one of the columns rather than to the index of the Opinions section.

Strangely Familiar

2006-09-18T02:33:00.000-05:00

Todays DI has a story about the University of Illinois doing well in The Washington Monthly's college rankings.

Gee, I wonder where I've seen that before.

The DI's article does have the usual platitudes about current ranking systems being inadequate. However, I wish they'd have included a summary from the Is Our Students Learning section they cited about how there is a standardized means of comparing schools, but that the so-called "good schools" don't want the results to be released for some strange reason. ::cough::becausetheysuck::cough::

Late Night Rumination

2006-09-18T02:25:00.000-05:00

The past week or so has seen the Bush administration frantically trying to cover its exposed legal ass on torture in light of the possible Democratic takeover of the House. One of the things that Congress has for the most part neglected to do for the past six years, conveniently for the Administration, is conduct oversight hearings. The Dems are itching to have some, and it's my best guess that "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" won't begin to cover what they'll find - especially with torture and the NSA wiretapping, where the Administration was apparently Hell-bent on violating the law and the Constitution when there was absolutely no need.

The Democrats won't stop with impeaching Bush, though - Cheney'll be coming down too. From what we know, Dick's been intimately involved with what's been happening in the White House, and no one in any sane state of mind wants him to be President, so he'll be impeached concurrently.

In this same hypothetical scenario, we'd end up with Speaker Pelosi, assuming the Dems didn't change their House leadership. With both the Pres and the Veep impeached and, possibly, removed from office, we'd end up with a Democratic, female President who, since she'd be serving for less than two years, would be elligible to run for two more full terms. Since she'd have time in the executive under her belt, she'd be well-placed to do so, too.

Even if the Dems change their House leadership upon gaining control, the Bush Administration wouldn't want to cede control of the White House to the Dems that easily. This is why I think that, if the Dems do take control of the House, one of the first things that will happen is that Dick Cheney will resign and Bush will appoint someone very loyal to him but unconnected to his dastardly deeds to be his new Veep. That way, if the Dems do succeed in impeaching and then removing Bush from office, the administration will continue, with an appointed heir apparant who would likewise have the benefits of incumbency while still being elligible for two full terms as President.

At some point during all this a tinfoil hat appeared on my head. I'm gonna go off and try to find some way to remove it... unless, for some reason, any/all of this comes to pass, in which case I'll say "I told you so" a whole bunch of times.

So I Don't Lose It

2006-09-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

The URL of the Kitzmiller decision: http://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/kitzmiller/kitzmiller_342.pdf

For those who are unfamiliar, this is the decision involved with the Dover School Board that tried to mandate the teaching of Intelligent Design in freshman biology. It is, in my own personal opinion, a thing of beauty.

Having Fun While Perverting The Natural Order Of Things

2006-09-16T03:03:00.000-05:00

Via Ctrl+Alt+Del comes this video of clips from Bush's speaches before congress cut up so that he sings "Sunday Bloody Sunday."

Bono does it better, of course.

Sad Thing Is, You Can Say This Without A Tinfoil Hat On

2006-09-15T17:37:00.000-05:00

David Neiwert has some thoughts about Dubya and OBL:

It's becoming increasingly clear, I think, why Osama bin Laden is still at large: Because George W. Bush needs him to be.

It's not a pretty thought. But it's the only one that makes sense.

Although David should be part of your daily blog reading, if he's not, go read the article in full.

From The Creator Of The Questionmark Campaign

2006-09-15T03:29:00.000-05:00

Comes a new Flash animation in time for election season: "Breaking the Law"

The OBO's Really Getting Outclassed

2006-09-15T02:47:00.000-05:00

Upping the stakes for local offensiveness is this "Soulwinners Ministries" group that's been verbally accosting students on campus.

Long story short, it's people like these who give Christians a bad name. As noted in the article, these people aren't winning converts. Instead, they're merely indulging their own persecution complexes. I applaud all the students interviewed in the article for coming out and saying that this group of non-students aren't being good Christian role models. I also give kudos to the student journalist who wrote the article, it's well done. I would suggest, though, that if there's another follow-up article that they go around to local religious leaders around campus and talk to them. I know that Msgr. Svetland would have some tactful yet choice words about this group, and I'm sure that the heads of the other religous foundations that surround the campus have similar things to say.

Too bad I'm not on campus yet, or I'd go out there and call them Pharisees to their faces, and then remind them what a certain itinerant rabbi who lived, oh, about 2,000 years ago had to say about Pharisees. Bet that'd get them riled up.

In any case, the OBO's gonna have to find something really offensive to do to beat this. Anything less and no one on campus is going to notice or care about them and their little hate-rag.

Postscript: I have to wonder if the two Krishnas who hang around the quad have any opinions on these people, or if they've been laying low until the storm passes. While I don't agree with their religion, they're nice people and I'd much rather have them and their music on the quad than these crazies.

Also, what's Preacher Dan's position on these whackjobs invading his home turf?

Daddy's Money

2006-09-14T19:16:00.000-05:00

They're sure as hell not paying for this themselves:

Known as Loft-Right, the mod-looking structure has all the amenities: expansive city views, granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms, modern designer furniture and satellite TV hookups. The lobby lounge -- like something out of a hip hotel -- has a pool table and fireplace, and soon will have a Starbucks and tanning and hair salons next door.

Living at a place like this isn't cheap.

Students at Loft-Right each pay more than $1,000 a month for a private bedroom in a two- or four-bedroom unit, with bathrooms shared by no more than two people.

"It dovetails with their vision of what it is to be a grown-up," says Robert Bronstein, a student housing consultant and president of the Scion Group, which manages the building and university-affiliated residences in other states.

Upscale housing and other perks also fit with some parents' expectations, especially those whose children attend the priciest private schools.

"It makes the $40,000 tuition worth it," says Brian Altomare, the 25-year-old president and founder of Madpackers, a Manhattan-based moving company for students.

This fall, his company added one-off limousine rides so student customers can arrive at school "like a rock star." The company also plans to offer grocery delivery and cleaning and laundry services -- something other companies, such as Valet Today and DormAid, already do.

At East Coast schools, DormAid charges $60 for a two-hour room clean and about $40 to wash and fold three bags of laundry. Madpackers' rates start at $289 for an in-state move, with extra charges for packing services and supplies and the limo trips.

Students who take advantage of the perks tend to shrug off comments from college alumni who scoff at the pampering they never had.

"Going to school today and living as a young adult in this world is completely different than when they grew up. What could be looked at as spoiled for them, is not necessarily spoiled for us," says Josh Hoffman, a 19-year-old sophomore in New York University's jazz performance program. He took a Madpackers limousine to school this semester.

Nope, you're wrong - it's still spoiled. All you need is a bed and a place to store your clothes, books, and computer. The rest of that crap is money you're paying for frivolous stuff.

Yeah, as a senior I moved into the Grad Dorms, with a shared bath and a room to myself - but it cost much less than this "loft" business and came after three years of living in the six pack, and even then I still did my own laundry and kept my room more or less clean. It ain't that hard.

Besides, last I checked, what "made the $40,000 tuition worth it" wasn't the posh living conditions you paid even more on top of it for, but the piece of paper with said institution's name on it that you got at the end of your four years. If that's not good enough for you, why are you in college in the first place?

Back For The Midterms

2006-09-14T16:50:00.000-05:00

Via PlutoniumPage at DailyKos comes word that Electoral-Vote.com is back up and running for the 2006 midterm elections. The map on the front page is of various Senate races, and based on polling he's currently got the Senate at 51-49 in favor of the GOP.

Just In Time For Election Season

2006-09-13T22:42:00.000-05:00

Diebold electronic voting machines are insecure as all get-out.

The OBO's Falling Down On The Job

2006-09-13T18:29:00.000-05:00

For truely stupid conservative collegiate political activities, one apparently has to head to the land of the maize and blue.

Republicans on Tuesday distanced themselves from campaign activities that encourage college students to "Catch an Illegal Immigrant" and shoot cardboard cutouts of leading Democrats with a BB gun or paintball gun.

Democratic Chairman Howard Dean said in a letter to his Republican counterpart, Ken Mehlman, on Tuesday that such activities, reportedly put together by a GOP college organizer, "can only be described as divisive, potentially dangerous and discriminatory."

...The events were reported by the University of Michigan newspaper, The Michigan Daily.

The "Catch an Illegal Immigrant" event reportedly allows participants to win prizes for catching others posing as illegal immigrants and a "Fun with Guns" event allows people to shoot cardboard cutouts of top Democrats such as Sens. Hillary Clinton and John Kerry with a BB gun or paintball gun, the newspaper reported.

Dean cited several news reports that college Republicans on other campuses were involved in events like "Catch an Illegal Immigrant.

"As chairman of America's two major political parties, we have a responsibility to elevate the political discourse in America," Dean wrote to Mehlman.

The OBO is really falling down here in the field of innovative offensive political activity.

Bush Is Bad For Science

2006-09-13T00:40:00.000-05:00

Via Pharyngula, The Scientific Activist has exerpts and analysis from a letter published in Science outlining the declining amount of research money and rate of grant approval that has occurred since Dubya took office. The numbers speak for themselves. Go look at them.

UIUC Ranked Highly By The Washington Monthly

2006-09-12T23:01:00.000-05:00

Pissed off at the US News and World Report rankings of colleges, the Washington Monthly now releases its own rankings of colleges based on how well they benefit society at large.

Of the National Universities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign weighs in at number 16.

Gotta love land-grant, research universities. Perhaps with all the good the University's doing, the General Assembly could see fit to cough up their share of the money to run it?

Yo Trib

2006-09-12T00:36:00.000-05:00

It's a bit late now, but I distinctly remember there being a Sonic Drive-In over by Fox Valley Mall.

I've Got Eggs, But Do I Have Chickens?

2006-09-12T00:25:00.000-05:00

I'm not counting anything before it hatches, but I might be getting a job in Urbana after all.

Flashbulb Moments

2006-09-11T17:13:00.000-05:00

I honestly intended the post below this one to be my final and only word on the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Then I went and read Kiyoshi's account and realized that I hadn't shared my own recollections of that day on the blog.

Like Kiyoshi, I was in school during the attacks. My first class of the day was AP Biology and, on Mondays and Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and Thursdays, science courses at Benet Academy run for two periods to allow enough time for labs. We had more double periods than we had labs, though, especially in the beginning of the year, so we were all seated at our desks about ten minutes into second period when the Principal, Mr. Stark, came on the PA. Since we hadn't left the room during the passing period, we'd had no idea what had been going on.

The thing one has to realize about Mr. Stark is that, no matter what he's talking about, he always sounds like someone's just died. So when he asked in his grave voice for all students in the hallways to return to their classrooms, my first thought was that some students were being unusually noisy in the hall.

After giving everyone a minute or two to clear the halls, Mr. Stark then said that he had some terrible news to tell us, and I instantly thought, "Oh my God, someone's shot Bush," but that wasn't what had happened. He proceeded to inform us that two planes had struck the World Trade Center in New York, and another had hit the Pentagon. He then proceeded to lead us all in the Pledge of Allegiance - the first and only time we'd ever said the pledge while I was at that Catholic high school. Following about twenty minutes of various takes on "Holy Shit!" we managed to resume class and actually went over a bit of stuff before the bell rang and we were released into the hall.

My next two classes were Latin and AP Calculus, and though we tried we couldn't convince our teachers for those classes to turn on the television so we could find out what was going on. Instead, classes proceeded normally - which I understand. Life does go on, and it should. Besides, all we did was talk to our friends who'd been in classes with the TVs on to find out what had happened. That's how I found out about the fourth plane in Pennsylvania.

For fifth period I had my history class, America Since 1945, with the head of the History dept. He and the rest of the department had decided that knowing what was happening that day was more important than anything they were going to teach us, so after a brief discussion about flashbulb moments, JFK, and us, we watched the news on NBC. They still had the people from the Today show on, no one had relieved them yet. That's when I first saw the pictures of the towers collapsing, and heard the rumor that later turned out to be false that there was a fifth plane somewhere.

Lunch was next, and it was my turn to tell what I knew to my friends. I went to mass during homeroom, which I hadn't been doing that year, but it seemed appropriate. After College Prep Lit was the last class of the day, Religion. Here too our teachers had chucked their lesson plans. We talked about what happened, how we were feeling, who did it (we knew by that point), the likelihood of a draft, and other things. Then we all went home, since everything after school had been canceled, and we all watched the news.

Like Kiyoshi, my history teacher told us that September 11th would be our flashbulb moment, which we would remember for the rest of lives just like his generation would remember JFK's assassination. I took him at his word then, but as the years go by and my memory fades, I'm not so sure. I mean, I obviously remember more about that day than the rest of that month combined, but I used to be able to recall the exact minute the announcement came on, what I'd had for lunch that day, and other details, all of which have fallen out of my head.

I think my dampened memory of the incident is related to how much of a shock to the system the news was. For Kiyoshi, like many/most people in this country, the idea that a major terrorist attack could occur, involving something so mundane as an airplane, caused a lot of cognitive dissonance and called into question people's ideas of their own identity, political opinions, and religious beliefs.

For me, it called into question my belief that literacy was widespread, 'cos apparently most of my fellow citizens couldn't read the US Flag Code. Somehow, bad things happening here as opposed to some place across an ocean hadn't phased me.

I'd been a liberal before the attacks happened. My parents are liberals, and what I had learned my Junior year of HS about the Consistant Life Ethic merely backed up my belief that while the Democrats weren't perfect, they held closer to most of the ideals of that ethic than the GOP did, and what the GOP did adhere to was merely for electoral gain and not as an outgrowth of their overall political philosophy.

Even with my staunch liberalism, I was prepared to give Bush the benefit of the doubt. He said that we should go on with our lives, because disruption is what the terrorists wanted, and that made sense and I agreed. I supported our invading of Afghanistan and the toppling of the Taliban, bad people who harbored and encouraged the non-state actors who had attacked us.

But then the Patriot Act came, and the freedoms I valued were being eroded. I went off to camp that summer, as I am wont to do, and didn't hear any news for two months straight. When I came back, suddenly Iraq was a big threat to our national security, yet no one could tell me what they had done.

Then came the invasion, and I went out and protested. I've been told that my picture was in the Daily Illini, holding a protest sign and wearing an Eagle Scout shirt. Dissent is patriotic.

At the end of that school year, I started this blog, and you can find out everything else after that just by reading.

In any case, I don't like what my country's become in the past five years. A supposedly freedom-loving nation like ours shouldn't be having serious discussions about whether or not we can ship people off to be tortured, or whether we can violate the Geneva conventions. People who promote a Unitary Executive should be handed a copy of the constitution and laughed out of town, instead of being given due consideration. Our Congress should be zealously guarding its own priveleges and duties, instead of giving ex post facto validation to the illegal activites of the executive.

I'm not a "blame America first" person that you hear the wingers whining about, but our country is sick, and it needs help getting better.

I hope and pray that we can still accomplish that.

Five Years

2006-09-11T00:36:00.000-05:00

Five years since the largest criminal act of terror occurred on US Soil.

Five years since we knew who did it - Osama Bin Laden.

We have a decently good idea of where he is - Pakistan. There's likely an airtight case to convict him of Conspiracy to Hijack a Plane, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, etc.

And yet, he's had his freedom for five years.

Here We Go Again

2006-09-09T16:00:00.000-05:00

If, God forfend, the GOP retains control of congress, Bush expects to actually succeed in privatizing Social Security - which won't fix the program that isn't broken in the first place.

And before anyone starts going off on the whole "Social Security won't be around when I need it" falsehood, please see what the blogosphere was doing about 18 months ago. Unless something's gone horribly wrong, the situation hasn't changed, and Social Security still isn't broken.

Video To Pass Around

2006-09-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

Off of YouTube, its Osama Bin Missing?, a web ad for the DNC. Show it to all your friends.

Bottled Water No Different From Tap Water

2006-09-09T13:02:00.000-05:00

So sayeth the Chicago Tribune (emphasis mine):

The dirty secret about clean water is that regulation of bottled water is weaker than regulation of tap water. And a quarter or more of all bottled-water brands obtain their water from the same place you do--municipal water systems. These include such leading brands as Coca-Cola's Dasani and Pepsi's Aquafina.

Still, the bottled-water industry would like you to think its products are superior--even though study after study shows no evidence that bottled water is safer or tastes better.

...The bottled-water industry doesn't explicitly claim bottled water is healthier or safer than tap water. But its ads will show you images of beautiful people, glaciers, crystal streams and mountain springs to suggest it is. After all, the industry has to find some way to differentiate and sell a liquid that has no color, no smell, virtually no taste and literally falls from the sky.

Apparently, though, if you're concerned with the purity of your essence, then you should drink bottled water, since it's usually not fluorinated. For the rest of us, though, just drink from the tap.

More Of This, Please

2006-09-08T21:36:00.000-05:00

The organizers of a Spanish fashion show have been rejecting models for being too skinny. As I myself dislike women who are so skinny that a slight breeze or a sharp glance in their direction will cause them to snap in two, I have to applaud this move. I mean, I know that the Western world, and the US in particular, has a problem with obesity, but public images of twigs are not the answer. Getting better images of normal, healthy women out to the public is a good thing.

Something Tells Me

2006-09-08T15:21:00.000-05:00

That if Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) decides to run for president, he might get the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune.

I Swear I've Done This Before

2006-09-08T00:10:00.000-05:00

...but I can't find it in my archives. So, in honor of the nerd-off that's going on over at scienceblogs, here's my Nerd Score.

Bloody Puritans

2006-09-07T16:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a story you won't see presented on an American news website - or at least, not presented in quite the same way.

(And while this kinda ruins the point of blind hyperlinking, I have to warn anyone in the US that it's definitely NSFW.)

Rumbling Back To Life

2006-09-07T16:14:00.000-05:00

Tim Johnson Watch is back up and running now that Labor Day has passed and the "election season" is upon us.

How To Spot A GOP Voter

2006-09-07T14:57:00.000-05:00

For those of you who find the humor of Will Farell funny, Invictus at Blah3 has a guide to spotting people who voted Republican as they exit the polls.

Some Levity

2006-09-07T00:13:00.000-05:00

Via the Editors at the Poor Man Institute comes the English-Winglish dictionary, so that everyone can understand what's actually being said by right-wing ideologues.

So I Don't Lose It

2006-09-06T22:54:00.000-05:00

Chicago Bloggers is a blog listing for, well, Chicago bloggers, that organizes the blogs by nearest public transportation route. I'm not kidding. You'll find me on the BNSF Metra line, once it updates the listings.

Must Be A Slow News Cycle

2006-09-06T18:57:00.000-05:00

Time.com has a story up on the whole Facebook News Feed fiasco.

For what it's worth, my opinion the feed is way too dominant on the main page and the bloody thing should have an off switch. The mini-feed on each person's page also needs to be relocated elsewhere on the profile, but as a track of recent changes (that the individual user can remove things from) it's not a bad idea. I think a big issue with the news feed is that it's so damn large and was a major shock when people logged in yesterday morning, when previous facelifts had been more style changes than anything else.

They DO Exist!

2006-09-06T01:04:00.000-05:00

There are, believe it or not, women out there who don't require an hour long torture session on the rack to utter something along the lines of, "While I really enjoyed our last date, you're not my type of guy/I don't want to see you again/whatever." Finally, I've run across a woman understands that letting a guy down like this is like taking off a band-aid - you do it fast and it hurts less, instead of ignoring it and then doing it slowly, making it get gross and then hurt more.

The unfortunate part of all this is that I am now spoiled and will expect this behavior in the future.

Well, That Could've Been Much Worse

2006-09-05T12:50:00.000-05:00

El Reg reports on Benny XVI's recent meeting about evolution, and according to its sources they didn't discuss anything off the deep end, like Intelligent Design - or, at least, not favorably.

The meeting was called, aides say, not to align the Catholic Church with the Intelligent Design camp from the US, but to revive a public discussion of faith and reason.

...Father Joseph Fessio, provost of Ave Maria University in Florida, told Reuters that described the session as "a meeting of friends with some scholars to discuss an interesting theme".

Fessio explained that the conclusion that God created the world is not a scientific position, but a philosophical one. This, he said, is where the Catholic Church differs from the creationist movement in the US.

He told the news service: "There's a controversy in the United States because there is a lack of awareness of a thing called philosophy. Evangelicals and creationists generally lack it and Catholics have it."

Pope Benedict has also argued that some scientists go too far in their interpretation of the theory of evolution, and make claims for it that are based on ideology, rather than science.

Nope, nothing there that I can fault - some scientists do make evolution into a religion, but that doesn't negate the wide and expanding field of knowlege on evolution. Not that this won't stop PZ Myers from freaking out, of course. Also, with the quip about philosophy, it looks like the Vatican may be taking a new tack against the fundamentalists. In all, when the minutes of the conference are published in November, they should make a very interesting read.

UPDATE: MSNBC, off the Reuters feed, has more information indicating no change in the Vatican's position on evolution.

The minutes, to be issued later this year, will show how Catholic theologians see no contradiction between their belief in divine creation and the scientific theory of evolution, they said after the annual closed-door meeting ended on Sunday.

...Benedict and some aides have joined the debate in the past year, arguing for evolution as a scientific theory but against "evolutionism" — which he calls a "fundamental philosophy ... intended to explain the whole of reality" without God.

"He said this meeting could be an impulse to revive the discussion between theologians and evolutionists," said Father Stephan Horn, who organises the sessions for top students the then Professor Joseph Ratzinger mentored in the 1960s and 1970s.

"He's been concerned for a long time, and especially now that he is pope, about fostering a discussion between faith and reason," Horn said by telephone from Rome.

"He probably believes there is not enough public discussion about this, so that's why he wants to revive it."

There ya go, Benny XVI's keeping the same line as JPII.

UPDATE, Part Deux: even more from the Catholic News Service.

This year's topic was "Creation and Evolution," and one of the presenters was Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, who has argued against what he called "ideological Darwinism." That prompted media speculation that the pope was considering a shift in the church's general acceptance of the theory of evolution.

But U.S. Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, who attended the symposium, said nothing was presented at the meeting that "would break new ground or that lays the foundation for a new position."

And while participants discussed the relationship among faith, reason and science, Father Fessio said that "the whole American debate on intelligent design did not occur at all here."

Father Fessio said the overall thrust of the presentations and discussion, in which the pope took an active part, confirmed the idea that the church can live with evolution as an explanation of the "how" of creation, as long as evolutionary theory does not try to exclude a divine cause.

He said the philosophical component was an important part of the symposium, which went beyond the perspectives of religion and natural science.

...When the papers are published, Father Fessio said, people will see that the gathering did not mark any significant shift in direction on the church and evolution, but rather a deeper understanding of the challenges it poses.

Yup, no change. All is good.

Labor Day Weekend Message

2006-09-02T17:41:00.000-05:00

Unions: The people who brought you the weeekend.

University: False Alarm On Chief

2006-09-02T17:29:00.000-05:00

The DI reports that the UIUC is claiming that the Sun-Times article was "innacurate."

While The Daily Illini confirmed Thursday that the University has met with former Chiefs to discuss the future of the symbol, sources say no definite decisions have been made about Illiniwek's fate. And, the sources say, there are no certain plans for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics to relinquish control of the Chief or his performances.

"No decisions have been made," University spokesman Tom Hardy told The Daily Illini On-Air. "No tradition has been changed."

Now, this could be a case of the Sun-Times jumping the gun on its sources, or it could just be the BoT attempting to keep campus quiet as long as possible. In any case, I guess we'll have to wait to find out.

In Case You Haven't

2006-09-02T16:07:00.000-05:00

Go read this week's Doonesbury, starting with Monday's strip.

UPDATE: Harkening back to the same court ruling mentioned in this week's Doonesbury, David Neiwert of Orcinus has some thoughts on the legal company Dubya's now keeping.

Rising Tides Raise Only Rich Boats

2006-09-02T13:33:00.000-05:00

That wonderful economy Illinipundit occasionally trumpets? It's not going to you and me, folks.

Between 1995 and 2005, productivity -- a measure of the quantity and quality of what workers produce per hour -- grew 33.4 percent. But hourly wages rose only 11 percent, with almost all of that increase coming during the late 1990s, according to EPI.

Looking back even farther, the disparity is greater. Since 1979, productivity rose 67 percent, while wages rose only 8.9 percent.

"The economic expansion continues to bypass most working families," said EPI economist Jared Bernstein, a coauthor of the report.

...Since 2001, however, the median wage for both genders with college educations remained essentially flat.

And among young college graduates, their entry-level wages have fallen since 2000 -- 79 cents per hour for men and 33 cents per hour for women.

This of course doesn't even touch on the loss of benefits, which the article goes on to describe. I've read elsewhere that this most recent period of productivity growth is the first time since WWII that such growth wasn't accompanied by a growth in real wages. I'm sure that Atrios or Brad Delong, both economists, could analyze the crap out of this, but I think it's safe to say that, for all the rosy pictures the economic numbers paint for the economy at large, the benefits of our economy aren't being felt by the average voter, let alone the poor who need it most.

Retiring The Chief

2006-08-31T12:20:00.000-05:00

Via CapitolFax, the Chicago Sun Times is reporting that the university will be turning over control of the Chief to an organization formed of the previous people to portray him. As such, the UofI's wayward mascot will no longer appear at university athletic events, while keeping the Chief alive for a little while for the racial bigots who can't quite let go.

Why this wasn't thought of earlier as part of the "consensus" process the BoT was pushing for years? Oh, I know! It's 'cos the BoT wanted nothing to do with retiring the Chief and merely wanted to keep the status quo while appearing to do something. Silly me.

While some might not be happy with this solution, I am, because without the reinforcement of the so-called tradition at sporting events, future classes of UIUC students won't give a rat's ass about the Chief, and will come up with new traditions of their own.

As of publishing, there's no mention of this on the UIUC or Trustees webpages. I wouldn't be surprised if the university was trying to keep this as quiet as possible for as long as possible on campus. To this end, I note that the Daily Illini doesn't have anything on this today, though it may have run previously and I just missed it.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

2006-08-30T13:37:00.000-05:00

According to CNN.com and the AP, the new Republican buzz word is "Fascism."

A couple quick thoughts:

First, this isn't a new thing - the blogs have been decrying the evils of "Islamofascism" for years.

Secondly, any regular reader of David Neiwert's Orcinus will tell you that this is merely a rather transparent case of projection, which of course is the modus operandi of the GOP.

UPDATE: Breezing past Teresa Nielsen Hayden's blog, I see she has posted a link to a site that links some known characteristics of Fascism to actions of the current administration.

FURTHER UPDATE: Keith Olbermann had some words to say about Donald Rumsfeld's usage of the term "fascism." Crooks and Liars has the video and transcript.

Old News, But

2006-08-28T19:17:00.000-05:00

Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) is coo-coo:

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris told a religious journal that separation of church and state is "a lie" and God and the nation's founding fathers did not intend the country be "a nation of secular laws."

The Republican candidate for U.S. Senate also said that if Christians are not elected, politicians will "legislate sin," including abortion and gay marriage.

Harris made the comments -- which she clarified Saturday -- in the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention, which interviewed political candidates and asked them about religion and their positions on issues.

Separation of church and state is "a lie we have been told," Harris said in the interview, published Thursday, saying separating religion and politics is "wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers."

Why do I get the feeling that Thomas Jefferson's itching for a posthumous smackdown right now?

Guess Those Sanctions Weren't That Bad

2006-08-28T15:39:00.000-05:00

The University is apparently giving the NCAA the middle finger over the Chief.

I'm proud that I went to UofI, but there are days I wish the Athletic Department, or at least it's mascot, would just go away. It's an embarassment, and what's worse is the large number of people associated with UIUC who don't realize that.

Entirely Predictable

2006-08-27T22:44:00.000-05:00

A twisted movie trailer from Jonti Picking, aka Weebl.

It's not as good as the one he did for Two Towers, though.

Anyone Who Thinks Things Are Bright Sunshine In Iraq

2006-08-27T13:38:00.000-05:00

...needs to go read this over at the News Blog.

ATTN: Orange And Blue Observer Contributors

2006-08-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

Your little hate-rag might come back to bite you.

Hugo Awards

2006-08-27T12:43:00.000-05:00

Via Teresa Nielsen Hayden at Making Light, who edited the winning novel, the winners of this year's Hugo Awards have been announced. If relevance to readers of this blog, Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson, won for Best Novel; Serenity won for Dramatic Presentation: Long Form, and the double episode The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances from Doctor Who won for Dramatic Presentation: Short Form.

Stubborn For No Reason

2006-08-27T12:11:00.000-05:00

I was watching a bit of CNN this morning and Wolf Blitzer commented to some of his guests that Bush had said this past week that we would "stay the course in Iraq" as long as he was preznit. Now, anyone with half a brain in the liberal blogosphere's heard that line before, and we all know its stupid since we're not accomplishing anything extra by staying longer. However, this time around the thought occurred to me that people should either start chanting "Hey, Hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" at Bushie or we need to make up a rhyme specific to him. I mean, since this is no longer about the war on terror (not that it was in the first place) but now explicitly a war of Bush's ego, something needs to be done to drive home to Bush what such stubbornness does to history's view of past presidents.

I almost typed, "to drive home to Bush the full consequences of his actions," but I'm to the point that I doubt that's even possible.

They're Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

2006-08-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

Stranger over at Blah3 digs up a story about the return of Students for a Democratic Society. What with all the anti-democratic stuff happening in this country (PATRIOT Act, NSA wiretaps, the backdoor draft, etc.), the return of SDS is definitely a good thing. A quick look through the RSO list at UIUC shows that there isn't a local chapter for SDS on campus yet. Were I a student, I might actually start one, but alas I'm out in the real world looking in, left to issue a call to action for someone else to do it.

Vote For Matt

2006-08-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

Local Champaign blogger Matthew of It's Matt's World is running for a seat on the County Board. Too bad I won't be around to vote for him - he's a good guy.

Anyone Care To Explain This?

2006-08-24T01:49:00.000-05:00

I just got a massmail from Chancellor Herman in my inbox (since my old UIUC email gets shunted to my new gmail account) about "Respect and Civility within the Campus Community." It reads as follows:

DATE: August 23, 2006

TO: Undergraduate and Graduate Students

FROM: Richard Herman, Chancellor
Renee Romano, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

RE: Respect and Civility within the Campus Community

As the new academic year begins, we remind you that it is each of our responsibility to treat others with civility. The campus community is a remarkable array of ideas, cultures and experiences. In your time at Illinois, you will learn from these ideas and experiences but in the process, may encounter people who have views that are different from yours. The University values this diversity and works to create a welcoming atmosphere--where ideas are discussed and debated in respectful
ways. Unfortunately, some people choose to treat others with disrespect, intolerance and even hate.

Speech and expression are our rights, and the Student Code guarantees that members of the campus community are able to discuss issues and express views, as long as they are not in violation of law and do not disrupt the operation of the University or interfere with the rights of others. This is the foundation of a world class academic community such as ours. When viewpoints are debated openly and civilly, truth will eventually emerge. We are confident that we as individuals and as a
university will always be made wiser and stronger by debate.

Your educational experience at Illinois will be much richer, because of the many and varied viewpoints you will encounter in your time here. We encourage you to reach out to classmates and others who might introduce you to new ideas and experiences and with whom you might share your own ideas.

We wish you a successful and rewarding academic year.

This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Chancellor

In my four years at the university, I don't remember ever getting an email like this, so I'm led to believe that something went down on campus in the past 48 hours that really wasn't cool, yet there's nothing in the DI or News-Gazette news webpages about it. (I haven't gotten up the courage to brave the opinions pages yet.)

So, anyone else have any info on what happened, or is everyone else as in the dark as I am?

Question For Fellow Blogger Users

2006-08-23T00:07:00.000-05:00

The Archive list over on the left has gotten entirely out of hand. Then again, that's what I get for running a blog for three years straight. Anyhow, I know where to go to edit my archive settings, but what I want is a drop-down menu, which is beyond my skill level with HTML. If anyone can give me a hand, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Subtle As A Lead Brick

2006-08-22T23:53:00.000-05:00

The following is an exerpt from an email that landed in my inbox thanks to Suburban Express, a company that runs busses between Chicago and UIUC/EIU:

Drunk Bus Drivers & Low Fares
-----------------------------

As John Ruskin (whomever that is!) once said,

"The common law of business balances prohibits paying a little and
getting a lot...There is hardly anything in the world that someone can't
make a little worse and sell a little cheaper..."

We're starting to wonder if this wisdom may be relevant to LEX and their
fares, because we found some interesting documents on the Circuit Clerk's
website. They seem to suggest that a LEX driver was ticketed for driving
a bus under the influence of alcohol. To see the records, visit

http://www.bigbus.com/courtrecords.html

Perhaps low fares and low driver wages translate to low-quality drivers.
What do you think?

One thinks that Suburban Express isn't happy about having competition in town. The last time I saw stuff as nasty as that I was reading about Edison's campaign against Tesla's Alternating Current.

Boom

2006-08-22T12:01:00.000-05:00

Go here to watch a demolitions team take out the water tower from behind my old High School.

I'm kinda upset that they didn't tell the alumni about this, 'cos I'd have liked to have been there in person.

People Here In The Suburbs Have Too Much Money

2006-08-22T11:29:00.000-05:00

Two teenage girls are involved in a lawsuit to determine who should pay for an iPod that one of them lost.

As the article says, it'd be cheaper to just split it down the middle rather than pay the lawyers.

Continuing Our End-Times Theme Of The Week

2006-08-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

El Reg sarcastically upbraids the Wall Street Journal opinions page for predicting that WWIII would start today courtesy of Iran and Israel.

Hopefully the WSJ will go back to its normal beat of saying how our economy's doing fine and that the situation in Iraq isn't completely messed up. Nothing to see here, move along...

The Return Of The Chirping Crickets

2006-08-20T00:14:00.000-05:00

This time it's a surprise - a story in the News-Gazette about one restraunt's drop in business being blamed on Urbana's no-smoking ordinance has been up all afternoon and evening, yet there's no blog post about it over at Illinipundit. I'd have sworn they'd be proclaiming the end of the world and business as we know it.

Perhaps they need their morning coffee to declare the apocalypse.

Ugh, Go Away

2006-08-18T15:34:00.000-05:00

So, how long will it take for me to channel hop across cable news channels and not have to hear about long-dead rich white girls?

A Little Attention Here?

2006-08-16T01:14:00.000-05:00

Whoever runs the vending operation at New Comiskey (yes, I realize that's not its name anymore) needs to make sure their vendors are getting adequate coverage of all the stands. I was in the lower deck and after the top of the second inning, I never saw a hot dog vendor within three sections of me.

Shallow whining? Yeah, but my life's so dull I've got nothing else at the moment.

Oh, and someone needs to whack Vasquez upside the head, for many, many reasons.

Please Explain

2006-08-14T00:41:00.000-05:00

Why would anyone think it's a good idea to go swimming near a dam? Currents both upstream and downstream will kill you. Dams do that to the rivers and streams they're built on, it's unavoidable, and a known fact. So who goes swimming there?

By The Way

2006-08-12T16:35:00.000-05:00

Say "Hi" to Elmo on the Terror Level indicator on the left-hand side of the screen. As far as I know, this is the first time he's come over to play there. Give him a tickle for every time you think this color-coding stuff is stupid.

A Matter Of Perspective

2006-08-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

I still have nothing, so I'll instead send you (via Firedoglake) to a post by Kung Fu Monkey on how taking terror seriously and run[ning] around shrieking, eyes rolling and Hello Kitty panties flashing like Japanese schoolgirls who have just realized that the call is coming from inside the house! in response to terror are two differnt things.

Today's "No Shit" Headline

2006-08-10T19:03:00.000-05:00

From CNN.com comes today's winner, Stronger hurricanes spawn bigger storm surges.

No, actually, they spawn little tiny storm surges that mature into great big ones over many years. Here's your sign.