The Debate Over Stem Cell Research Rages On ...

Hilary Not to Finish Senate Term?

Remember on May 17th, 2005, when I reported that Republican Richard Cox, the son-in-law of the late-President Richard Nixon, was formulating a campaign to run for the senate seat of the State of New York against Hilary Rodham Clinton and how this could potentially hinder chances to run for the White House on the Democratic ticket? And what can her solution be to this dilemma? According to the Washington Post, a new book written by Washington Post columnist John F. Farris entitled “The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House” believes she choose not to complete her senate term in order to save face and have no bad mark on record going into the primaries, whether she wins in a close race in the senate campaign or loses. I however find this very unlikely and don’t view John Farris, or his book, to be all that reliable. The description of the book paints consultant Dick Morris, who has come out against the Clinton Administration following the attacks on September 11th and blames the tragedy of that day in 2001 as a failure of President Clinton, as quite sleazy and credits “Clinton with recognizing the growing threat posed by al-Qaeda and expanding U.S. efforts against it”, a description hardly pertinent for the man who three times allowed Usama Bin Ladin escape when he had been handed to us on a silver plate. Hilary, much like her husband, is arrogant and will see through the end of her term in the Senate. She will seek re-election in an attempt to be the Democratic Party’s knight in shining armor and ride into the primaries on a white horse to supposedly save the day.

Tom DeLay: Hero to White Supremacists?

Did anyone happen to catch the season finale of NBC’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent this past Wednesday evening? According to the Media Research Center, the episode tied House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to white supremacist gun nuts, of course can be no other kind at least from the perspective of liberal extremists like Michael Moore, who were suspected of murdering two judges. At one point after the ballistic results come in from the shooting of a black judge, this prompts the character of Detective Alexandra Eames to exclaim, “Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt." Once evidence is presented that shooter came from the West, this causes Detective Eames to point out that it is “home of a lot of white supremacist groups." Cheap swipes at leading conservative politicians and pretentious comments such as this are not a new expedience for producer Dick Wolf and his Law & Order franchise. I can recall one episode not too long ago in a lawyer is forced to prosecute a man believed to be behind a murder case and chooses to use the claim that homosexuals choose to be gay, thus making gay marriage morally unethical. This prompts a detective, once again a woman (can Wolf never have a man make these controversial statements), to exclaim, “Don’t tell me you’ve been brainwashed by the religious right”. Another episode attempted to defend a Muslim woman who murdered an off-duty military woman who had some connection to the Abu Gharib ‘scandal’ of which her brother was apparently a part of.

NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly responded to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s complaint about the episode, citing, “The script line involved an exasperated detective, bedeviled by a lack of clues, making a sarcastic comment about the futility of looking for a suspect when no specific description existed. This isolated piece of gritty cop talk was neither a political comment, nor an accusation.” How can this be described as anything but a political swipe from producer Dick Wolf and the writers of Law & Order: Criminal Intent?

Chiming in with his own cavalier retort, producer Dick Wolf commented, "Up until today, it was my impression that all of our viewers understood that these shows are works of fiction, as is stated in each episode. But I do congratulate Congressman DeLay for switching the spotlight from his own problems to an episode of a TV show." This of course coming from the man behind one of the most successful crime programs in television history who was left injured in December 2003 from a collision with an SUV after he jaywalked! There can be no excuse which would exempt him from scrutiny when he intermingles historical political figures in a fictionalized world, particularly when the situation involves white supremacists.

Want to Buy a Nickname Vote?

Professor John McAdams pointed out in a recent article an interesting find he discovered on eBay. Apparently a disgruntled Marquette University alumnus unhappy with the shame of a process given for the new athletic nickname has decided to sell off his vote to anyone willing to pay for it. The bidding is rather low at this moment (only six dollars), so whether you attended Marquette University or not, why not purchase this voter and participate in this historic Marquette event. Normally I would not endorse something such as this, but as Professor McAdams noted on his weblog, the process is already a sham that it doesn’t matter at this point whether something is ethical or not in the nickname process.

Oliver Stone Faces Drug, DUI Investigation

To be honest, I have never been a fan of director Oliver Stone’s work. With regards to his last film project, Alexander, I ripped the movie to shreds in my analysis available on my website back in November 2004. His gushing documentary on Fidel Castro’s suppression of freedom in Communist Cuba has solidified his reputation as a Communist sympathizer, which designates him as being more dangerous then the majority of Hollywood, if only slightly. This story was rather amusing for me. With the rather length list of celebrities who have over the years been arrested under drug possession charges, why do so many continue to defy reason and sensibility through possession of illegal substances? Oh, that's right, they're Hollywood celebrities. If they had the least bit intelligence they wouldn't be in this industry.

Remembering the Fallen

Eternal God,
Creator of years, of centuries,
Lord of whatever is beyond time,
Maker of all species and master of all history --
How shall we speak to you
from our smallness and inconsequence?



Except that you have called us to worship you
in spirit and in truth;
You have dignified us with loves and loyalties;
You have lifted us up with your lovingkindnesses.



Therefore we are bold to come before you without groveling
(though we sometimes feel that low)
and without fear
(thought we are often anxious).
We sing with spirit and pray with courage
because you have dignified us;
You have redeemed us from the aimlessness
of things' going meaninglessly well.



God, lift the hearts of those
for whom this holiday is not just diversion,
but painful memory and continued deprivation.
Bless those whose dear ones have died
needlessly, wastefully (as it seems)
in accident or misadventure.



We remember with compassion those who have died
serving their countries in the futility of combat.
There is none of us but must come to bereavement and separation,
when all the answers we are offered
fail the question death asks of each of us.



We believe that you will provide for us
as others have been provided with the fulfillment of
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Freedom of Expression or Just Plain Malice?

I can not stand for individuals like this who defend their shameless and spiteful anti-American propaganda as freedom of expression through art. Respect for the modern art form in American society has declined significantly since ‘creative’ pieces such as this were admitted into art museums and allowed to be placed amongst true masterpieces though little effort was ever placed in them. The dilemma will only continue to escalate as long as cynics like this are allowed to retain the title of professional artist.

French in Disarray, EU Vote Lost

Who could have foreseen this coming? Let us assume that every straight minded conservative reading this right now has their hand up in the air and we can rest the debate at that. The rest of the European nations are about ready to slit their throats right now. Funny, the French people are the ones who voted down the creation of a constitution the French government created and push so adamently for. Now that is what is called cruel irony, ladies and gentlemen.

A Return to Fascism?

Not exactly a return to the days of Benito Mussolini but it draws a thin line awfully close to it though.

Most Boys at Christian Schools Say No to Sex

Again, this is surprising to Europe?! Do not tell me that abstinence only programs in private schools do not work effectively!

An Honest Nickname Election

Head on over to conservative radio talk-show host Mark Belling's official website and cast your vote to determine the new Marquette University athletic nickname with the choice of 'Warriors' added onto the ballot. It is essentially the same basic ballot the Wild administration has presented minus the PC bull-crap.

Child Population Dwindles in Gay City, USA

Now here is a real surprise! Anyone care to fathom a guess as to why this is?

“MU Voice” Marquette Nickname Voting Begins

Marquette Press Release on today’s vote
————

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and season ticket holders begin voting today in an online survey to select the university’s athletics nickname. “MU Voice” will allow the Marquette community to participate in a series of two binding votes. The first slate of 10 names plus the option of a write-in is available online in a survey conducted by Advantage Research, an independent research firm.

To vote, go to http://www.marquette.edu/ and click “MU Voice.” You will be asked to enter your MU ID number. If you do not have Internet access, call (866) 477-4004. If you have technical problems, call (877) 477-7001.Please note that these instructions are for students, faculty and staff only. Separate instructions are being provided via postal mail to alumni and season ticket holders.

The first vote will run from today through Sunday, June 5. The two nicknames receiving the most votes will be presented to the Marquette community on Tuesday, June 7, for a second vote. The nickname with the most votes in the second vote will then be presented to President Robert Wild, S.J., to be announced as Marquette’s athletics nickname in time for the university’s entry into the Big East Conference on July 1. Both votes are binding.

In addition to e-mail to those eligible to vote, instructions have been placed on the nickname Web site at http://marquette.edu/nickname, on the CheckMarq Web site for students, faculty and staff, and on the MU Connect Web site for alumni. In addition, faculty and staff will be receiving a postcard in campus mail with these instructions and students, alumni and season ticket holders will receive separate information via U.S. mail.
————

The Office of Homeland Security – MU Division would once again like to take this time to announce that it is officially endorsing ‘Golden Knights’ as the new nickname of the athletic sports teams of Marquette University. We also encourage students and alumni alike to write-in ‘Warriors’ as a demonstrate of protest to the academic administration. Also, please visit the Marquette University College Republicans website and vote your choice for the new nickname in the straw poll.

The Dictator's New Clothes

I am not afraid to say that I stand with the authors of GOP3.com and the rest of the Marquette University College Republicans organization in saying that I was proud when The Sun newspaper out of London, England, chose to publish photographs of former-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein standing in his underwear. Of course the left-wing media had a field-day with this story, moaning on and on about how inhumane this was to Mr. Hussein. Gee, would the media have felt the exact same way had it been Hitler standing in his Calvin Klein’s?

Lord Doyle and the Illegal Immigration Debate

Source: Charlie Sykes

I realize this story may be a couple of days old by now but with all the stuff that I have had to deal with lately (searching for a summer job, stuff going on at home, preparing for vacation at Disneyland next month, and then the nickname issue this afternoon) I haven’t exactly had the time to catch up on these sorts of things as quickly as I would like to. In any event, a couple of days ago I was skimming Charlie Sykes’s weblog and noticed a particular entry which announced the launching of a brand new website which I thought a few of my readers would enjoy checking out. The Coalition For America's Families has launched their website in an effort to address specific issues which most affect the families of Wisconsin taxpayers. This includes the recent proposal by the Dark Lord Doyle to use tax dollars to subsidize tuition for illegal immigrants. Alright, it is bad enough that efforts aren’t being made by either the state or federal government to filter out these illegal immigrants and deport them back from where they came from, but now Doyle wants to reward these people further by giving taxpayer money to go to college? True, there is only enough money spent per person to allow them to attend either MATC or UW-Milwaukee, but no matter how much is being spent or not, this is a clear waste of taxpayer money which should not be wasted on individuals who should not be here in the first place. Not only is this an unnecessary burden for the taxpayers of Wisconsin to bare but it also creates an incentive for the Mexican government to exploit the generosity of this nation in order to create an even more chaotic situation for the border patrol in the southwest region of the United States. We attempting to curb illegal immigration, not escalate it. The organization made the announcement on their website that they would be running a television advertisement directly attacking Governor Doyle’s subsidized tuition proposal for illegal immigrants. Wispolitics.com was kind enough to provide a transcript of the following advertisement. Charlie Sykes also pointed two editorials which discussed the subsidization of home loans for illegal aliens and the state encouragement of illegal immigration which are worth a glance over.

Warrior Vote Will Not Spoil Ballot

Professor John McAdams has confirmed for us that we can both vote for our choice of new nickname and write in Warriors without spoiling our ballot in the upcoming nickname election. The Office of Homeland Security – MU Division advises the students and alumni of Marquette University to write in “Warriors” as a demonstration to the current university administration that the Students for Warriors will not fall prey to this sham process and will continue the fight to return dignity and honor to the campus’ athletic sports teams. Golden Knights and Warriors, now that is what I call a potent combination!

“MU Voice” Marquette Nickname Voting to Begin Tuesday

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and season ticket holders will begin voting Tuesday in an online survey to select the university’s athletics nickname. In a process previously announced by the Board of Trustees, “MU Voice” will allow the Marquette community to participate in a series of two binding votes. The first slate of 10 names plus the option of a write-in is available online in a survey conducted by Advantage Research, an independent research firm.

The nicknames included in the survey were compiled from suggestions received by the university in 1994, 2004 and 2005. The Nickname Advisory Committee had an opportunity to provide input on the slate of nicknames. The committee of students, alumni, faculty, staff and a member of the Board of Trustees was appointed by President Robert Wild, S.J., following the board’s announcement of the new selection process. The committee is charged with an advisory role in oversight of the voting process and to assist in the development of strategies to involve the entire Marquette community in creating the visual identity for the athletics nickname once it is selected. Additional committee details, including a roster, are online at http://marquette.edu/nickname.

Nickname list

The following nicknames are listed here alphabetically but will appear in random order on the survey.

Blue and Gold
Marquette’s first nickname, circa 1892 to 1916, was used for the football team. Since then, “blue and gold” have remained Marquette’s official colors in athletics and throughout the university.

Explorers
Marquette University’s namesake, Father Jacques Marquette, was a Jesuit missionary and explorer. The spirit of exploration, whether through seeking truth and knowledge in our classrooms or seeking athletic achievements in competition, characterizes Marquette, students and alumni.

Golden Avalanche
From 1924-37, Marquette’s football team was dubbed the “Golden Avalanche” by the sports media for the sight of the football players in golden helmets charging down the field, creating a “golden avalanche” of force. It is a name that represents a powerful force and overwhelming might.

Golden Eagles
Since 1994, Marquette’s athletics nickname has been the “Golden Eagles,” effectively combining the gold of Marquette’s athletics traditions with the bold, swift and forceful nature of Marquette’s athletics teams.

Golden Knights
Knights are known for bravery, dedication and their noble defense of important causes. Student-athletes are proud to share those same characteristics, as is the university. Knights are part of the athletics history of the Jesuits in Wisconsin, as Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wis., used the knights as its nickname for 95 years until it closed in 1975.

Hilltoppers
The name Hilltoppers has been connected to Marquette Athletics since 1917 and was first used because the original Marquette building was erected on top of a hill at 10th and State. The name represents a person who has attained great heights, like the lofty goals set by Marquette’s students and coaches.

Saints
The Marquette community has created a special tie to two saints: St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, and St. Joan of Arc, the namesake of the chapel on the Marquette campus. Saints are among our most revered figures, admired for their strength and perseverance, two qualities also found in every Marquette player and fan.

Spirit
In one word, Spirit captures the character and energy of student-athletes and coaches, and the enthusiasm that students, alumni and fans bring to every game. At Marquette, spirit can refer to a higher power.

Voyagers
Voyagers take risks, explore new horizons, and push ever forward into new worlds. Like Marquette’s namesake, student-athletes push the limits of the possible. As an academic institution, Marquette encourages that same voyage toward truth and knowledge.

Wolves
The wolf is part of the crest of the family of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, and is featured on the official seal of Marquette. It represents strength and fierceness, two characteristics always found at the heart of Marquette teams.

Write-in option

Voters will have the opportunity to select up to two nicknames on the first vote, one of which can include a write-in option, provided that selection adheres to the Board of Trustees' criteria. To be counted, write-in nicknames must be consistent with the university’s Catholic, Jesuit mission and the Board of Trustee’s resolution forbidding Native American imagery and references. Additionally, write-in suggestions of nicknames that are intended to mock or embarrass the university will not be counted. Any nicknames under review by the NCAA for their relationship to Native American imagery will not be counted. Examples of nicknames that will not be counted include Warriors (or any variation of the word, i.e., war) and Jumpin’ Jesuits.

Voting details

The first vote will run through Sunday, June 5. The two nicknames receiving the most votes will be presented to the Marquette community on Tuesday, June 7, for a second vote. The nickname with the most votes in the second vote will then be presented to Father Wild to be announced as Marquette’s athletics nickname in time for the university’s entry into the Big East Conference on July 1. Both votes are binding.

After a nickname has been announced, Marquette will engage the university community through focus groups and forums in the design of its visual identity.

Specific details of how to vote will be announced Tuesday.



The Office of Homeland Security – MU Division would like to take this opportunity and announce its support of the ‘Golden Knights’ as the new nickname for the athletic sports teams of Marquette University.

Could This End the Warrior Debate Entirely?

Source: Badger Blog Alliance

I do not know why I did not notice this story earlier but I tip my hat off to the Badger Blog Alliance for posting this on their weblog this past Monday. The entire debate which has raged for months over the potential reinstatement of the Warrior nickname to the athletic teams of Marquette University, one that will ongoing even after a decision in reached on the new nickname for our entry into the Big East Conference on July 1st, made be dead in water entirely should the seventeen member Executive Committee of the NCAA meet and vote in favor of a proposal which would ban the use of Indian imagery and nicknames for college campuses. There is however a ray of hope in all of this. Such a review of the use of Indian imagery and nicknames was proposed by minority interests in 2002 but was eventually shot down. Furthermore, high-profile academic universities such as Florida State and Utah will be putting tremendous pressure on the committee to shoot the proposal down quickly and effectively. I shall keep you up-to-date on this issue as news develops on it.

Congratulations Seniors!

Source: GOP3.com

On behalf of the Marquette University College Republicans and God-fearing Americans everywhere, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to all graduating seniors at Marquette!

Click on the Marquette University seal for GOP3.com's long recount of the graduating Class of 2004's four years on campus.

Governor Warren Beatty?!

Oh Warren Beatty, when will you learn? Tricks are for kids! Apparently there was a rumor floating around the Golden State for quite a length period of time that writer/director/producer/actor, none of which he is exceptionally gifted at by way, Warren Beatty was the leading candidate to run on the Democratic ticket in the gubernatorial election to face off against incumbent Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Beatty of course denies the reports. Besides, the Democratic Party of California has had quite a bit of time to find a decent enough candidate to attempt to reclaim the governorship of California in 2006 and Warren Beatty is the best they could come up with? That is a laugh! I wouldn’t be surprised if Beatty started the rumors himself just to create publicity for his withering career. The man is so high on himself that after all these years he still believes that his film, Dick Tracy, was still a box office smash which it wasn’t, at least if you factored in production budgets and marketing costs. In fact he is battling in court for the movie rights right now, in spite of Michael Eisner, let alone the rest of the Walt Disney Company, wanting to have nothing do with this dismal failure. Seeing as how La-La Land has been the source of a majority of the DNC’s funds for years, it is not surprising then to find them searching for candidate to run on their ticket in the next gubernatorial race in California. But, seriously, Warren Beatty?! Come on!

Zell Miller's Deficit of Decency

If there was ever a Democrat that I would vote for if I had the chance, which would be quite a rarity indeed for me, it would most certainly be former Georgia Senator Zell Miller whose new book, Deficit of Decency, was released last month. I realize it is a little late, but better late then never I suppose. If you wish to purchase the book, please click the icon below in order to help financially support this weblog. I thank you in advance for your contribution.

Judicial Wars

As Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith racked in an estimated $158.5 million in just four days at the box office (I am still debating as whether or not I should post a link to my review of the film on this blog seeing as how I don’t address the issue of this film being an anti-Bush propaganda piece), the following cartoons caught my attention and I thought I would post them here for your amusement. Yes, there were more substance in the next few days other then these cartoons but right now this is all I have time for.

Remembering Armed Forces Day

"O God, I beg You to watch over those exposed to the dangers of a soldier's, sailor's, or airman's life. Give them such strong faith that no human respect may ever lead them to deny it or fear to practice it. Strengthen them by Your grace against the influence of bad examples so that, being preserved from vice and by serving You faithfully, they may be ready to meet death, if it should come to them on land, at sea, or in the air.

Our Lady of Victory, we humbly beg you to protect all our armed forces everywhere to give them unflinching courage to defend our country with honor and dignity. Protect our land from enemies within and without. Grant us an early peace and victory founded on justice. Instill into the hearts and minds of men and women everywhere, a firm purpose to live forever in peace and good will toward all."

Amen

News Weak or Weak News?

I honestly wanted to discuss this topic at length earlier in the week. Unfortunately, I have been sidetracked lately with the search for a summer job and writing up these movie reviews at the last minute that I didn’t have the time that I originally thought I would. But in any event, I thought I would post the following cartoons, which pretty much sum up all that can actually be said about the entire debacle (without the use of excessive obscenities of course), some of which contain links to specific articles concerning the event.

Revenge of the Cartoonists

Ghosts Skew Better Then God

Whenever a high-profile corporate individual makes as startling and offensive a statement as CBS head Leslie Moonves did this morning in announcing the network’s new fall lineup, stating quite bluntly that "I think talking to ghosts will skew younger than talking to God", don’t you wish you could just reach out to them, slap them across the face, and question what the Hell they were thinking when they said it? Moonves made the statement as a reference to the network’s new fall drama program, The Ghost Whisperer. From my standpoint at least, this program sounds vaguely like a cross between The Sixth Sense and Medium, the new hit NBC drama, and doesn’t demonstrate much originality, just simple corporate catch-up. But you want to know what is even worse about this program? It stars Jennifer Love Hewitt. Now I am sure she is a sweet woman but she honestly can’t act and doesn’t have a clue as to what constitutes a good film.

Rise Lord W!

Remember a few days ago on this weblog when I posted an article entitle ‘The Anti-Bush Star Wars?’ in which I brought to your attention the accusations made by certain individuals who claimed that the latest and final installment in the epic galactic series, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, was in fact a vitriolic propagandist rant against the Bush Administration? Well, it seems as though the New York Times has decided to finally get in on the act as well, publishing an interesting article which takes a full overview of the arguments within the situation from both sides of the political spectrum. And while I did argue last summer that 20th Century Fox’s The Day After Tomorrow was a propagandist piece for the environmental wackos of the world who wished to see the United States be turned into a Third World country in order to prevent the extinction of ‘itchy green algae’ through the destabilization of our industries, I have serious doubts that anyone, let alone the most dedicated Star Wars fanatic, is searching deep within the context of the film to decipher the subliminal political message series creator George Lucas has planted into his science-fiction saga. I even have my reservations that Lucas’ inspiration for the Star Wars series was based on the Vietnam War as he claimed during his question and answer session following the premiere of the film at the Cannes Film Festival. Lucas could very well be doing all of this just to drive up the publicity for the film. If Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Passion of the Christ taught us anything last year about the box office, controversy breeds success. Some would argue, however, that the film is already a guaranteed success, so why would he risk the reputation of the film with a certain group of potential ticket holders? Why did he have to guest-star on the crappy OC television program on the Fox Network this past week? Any further publicity he can get for the final installment in the series, the happier he and his checkbook will be. But the bottom-line, at least as far as I can see, is that this whole ‘political message’ controversy should be put aside and not be taken seriously. Those who are going to see the film this weekend should simply enjoy the last episode of the Star Wars saga as I will and leave it at that.

Here is a short list published within the article of the New York Times which indicates what specific groups of individuals have made use of the political controversy swelling around the release of The Revenge of the Sith this Thursday, or at least attempted to do so ...

• The liberal advocacy group Moveon.org was preparing to spend $150,000 to run advertisements on CNN over the next few days - and to spread leaflets among audiences in line at multiplexes - comparing Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, to the movie's power-grabbing, evil Chancellor Palpatine, for Dr. Frist's role in the Senate's showdown over the confirmation of federal judges.
• Conservative Web logs [myself included] were lacerating Mr. Lucas over the film's perceived jabs at President Bush - as when Anakin Skywalker, on his way to becoming the evil Darth Vader, warns, "If you're not with me, you're my enemy," in an echo of Mr. Bush's post-9/11 ultimatum, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."
• A little-trafficked conservative Web site about film, Pabaah.com - for "Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood" - added Mr. Lucas to its list of boycotted entertainers, along with more than 200 others, including Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and the Dixie Chicks.
• Even the Drudge Report Web site got into the act: beneath a picture of Darth Vader, it compared the White House press corps to the vengeful Sith, after reporters peppered a press secretary for pressing Newsweek magazine to "repair the damage" in the Muslim world caused by a retracted report about desecration of the Koran.

The Myth of Journalistic Ethics

Don’t you just love it when the media unwittingly admits to the entire world that they are indeed as biased as the bloggers of the web and the conservative talk-radio hosts of the airwaves claim them to be? Apparently they were unable to contain their glee long enough after the dust had settled following the ‘Memogate’ debacle that they had to bring veteran news anchor Dan Rather out of hiding and award one of their very own with the prestigious Peabody Award for excellence in journalism.

With thanks to two former colleagues who left CBS in the wake of a scandal, CBS News' Dan Rather accepted broadcast journalism's most prestigious honor on Monday for the "60 Minutes Wednesday" story that exposed the shocking conditions inside Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

Sure, I can hear his acceptance speech now, “Thanks for taking the heat off me for a few moments to allow me to make a clean break guys. Now that is what I call taking one for the home team!” And on the subject of Abu Ghraib, which was hardly a scandal but instead a perfect demonstration of the use of CIA interrogation tactics in obtaining critical information and controlling unstable prisoner environments, too bad they could not apply the exact same type of 'journalistic excellence' in their coverage, or lack thereof, of the beheading of Nick Berg.

Jews Are the Virus?

Courtesy of Little Green Footballs, a transcript of Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris’ sermon which was broadcast on Palestinian Authority television this past Friday gives you just a small idea what fanatical beliefs we are up against in bringing about a resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Of the numerous topics he touched upon in his vitriol rant, he proclaimed that Islam will one day rule the world, conquering the lands of the infidels (specifically the United States and the United Kingdom), and wipe clean the Earth of the Jewish race which, in his words, has been a virus on this planet. And we all thought Howard Dean had a gigantic ego!

The Revenge of Nixon

The defeat of Senator John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential Election all but solidified expectations that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York would run for the presidency of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 2008. And while GOP leaders continue to search for the perfect candidate to challenge her in the next presidential election campaign (personally, my money is on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice right now), it appears as though a candidate for the senate seat in the state of New York, the one currently held by Hillary Clinton, has been found which they hope will, at the very least, bloody her up a bit going into 2008. Republican Edward Cox, the son-in-law of the late-President Richard Nixon, will soon form an exploratory committee for an expected run against Senator Clinton in 2006 and has already begun preparations to begin fundraising efforts for his expected campaign. And while Clinton’s adviser admits that the election is still eighteen months away, she has to be sweating bullets right about now. A defeat going into 2007, the year in which the Democratic Party begins searching for a candidate for the 2008 presidential election, would be a huge road block in her plans to retake the White House. What makes this race all the more proverbial is that Clinton was one of the young lawyers who worked in Washington on the impeachment proceedings against Nixon in 1973.

Tough Love

I do not know whether to laugh hysterically at this news item or hang my head in shame and disgust. Taxpayers in the United States pour, unwillingly mind you, millions upon millions of our own hard-earned dollars into the public school systems and receive so little in return for our overtly generous contribution to the pursuit of ‘education’ and knowledge. In the state of Colorado, is this honestly the best way they could find to demonstrate the ‘effectiveness’ of the public educational bureaucracy?

Latino Hypocrisy?

[UPDATE (5/18/05): It appears as if President Vincente Fox has once again changed course on the controversial statement he made this past Friday, rescinding his so-called 'apology' from yesterday and now insisting that he was misinterpreted.]

[UPDATE (5/17/05): Since reporting the story this afternoon, President Vicente Fox has come out, three days after the fact, and has 'apologized' for his comment. In the above article, Fox doesn't exactly apologize but states that he 'regrets' making the statement, which is hardly what one would consider to be an apology. But here is the real kicker - Fox has arranged a meeting, not with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, which you would think would the clear indication of an apology to the United States, but instead with Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton. Since when did they officially become U.S. Ambassadors?]

I have been hammered over the course of the past month for a comment I had made concerning illegal aliens sneaking into the United States across the US/Mexican border, and yet I doubt a single one of those same group of Hispanics is demanding President Vicente Fox to apologize for his comment in which he stated that Hispanics do the work that blacks do not want to do. Of course not! This put the illegal aliens in a quasi-heroic light. They are rescuing poor, pathetic white America from having to get off their asses and mow their laws, tend to their gardens, take out their garbage, or, God forbid, raise their own children. Fox and the rest of the Mexican state are once again adding fuel to the lie which has created such sympathy for the illegal alien population in this country, and for future generations of riffraff to follow. Guess what? It’s a lie!

You Can be Promiscuous, Just Remember to Suit Up

It continues to baffle me as to how ignorant some people can be when they refuse to accept the practice of abstinence strictly being taught within sexual educational courses of public schools. How can adults, whose political leanings are directed more toward the left-side of the spectrum, stand by the sidelines and allow their children to throw their lives away, teaching them simply that if they must have sex they should suit up.

How beneficial is this to the children, “Jimmy, Sally – we don’t want you to have sex, but if you must, be sure to use a condom and birth control”. If teenagers within public schools are as sex starved as counselors claim they are, what are the chances that they are going to pay heed to the warning that their parents “do not want you to have sex” part? More likely they will view as a concession on the part of the parents and exploit it to their fullest advantage.

Putting aside for a moment the fact that condoms and birth control medication do not protect you from contracting sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS among them, but simply slipping on a thin piece of rubber does not guarantee you that a pregnancy will not result from engaging in sexual activity. Condoms are not as foolproof in spite of what many teenagers, along with a few adults, would care to believe otherwise. Even with the use of a condom, a three to four percent chance of a pregnancy occurring still remains. Why is it then that individuals find it so difficult, or ethically wrong, to teach strictly the practice of abstinence which, quite amazingly, has a zero percent chance of pregnancy occurring?

I bring up this discussion because over the weekend I stumbled upon a story in Yahoo! News’ Entertainment section entitled "Girls' Film on Pregnancy Gets Exposure" which explained how a school "with at least six classmates pregnant, including the valedictorian with her second child" created a film concerning safe sex.

I do not know who I should be more embarrassed for, the children who went through all this preparation and effort and still missed the point entirely or their parents who had no participation in this project’s conception whatsoever.

The Anti-Bush Star Wars?

[UPDATE (5/16/05): I was surfing The Drudge Report this afternoon and came upon two articles similiar in context to the one below. One article is from Japan with the entertainment headline which reads, "Lucas jabs at 'Bush's empire'" and the other comes from a local newsstation in New Madrid, Missouri, entitled, "Cannes premiere of `Star Wars' raises questions of U.S. imperialism".]

When this little news item first appeared on a site I have frequented for the occasional oddball noteworthy story or two during the course of a relatively slow week in the field of politics, I was quite skeptical of its legitimacy and thought it may well be some ultra-conservative or extremist liberal movie critics reading far deeper into the meaning behind the nearly thirty year old Star Wars saga then actually existed. But now with Yahoo! News and other media outlets, including Fox News, having begun reporting on this particular item as well, I am more willing to take a leap of faith here then I was previously, though I remain adamant in my opinion that if this is true then it may well be so obscure that few, if any, audience members will pick up on it.

George Lucas confirmed at the world premiere of the final installment in his epic science-fiction series, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, at the Cannes Film Festival, which for decades has been a haven for European elitists and left-wing Hollywood activists alike, the meaning behind the saga that fans have been waiting in eager anticipation for nearly thirty years – he doesn’t like war. Apparently European socialists have picked up on the Star Wars director’s message and made direct comparisons between the action in the series and the current events in the Middle East and the political spectrum in the United States, particular involving the current Bush Administration.

Apparently there at least two specific lines in the film which appear to be a direct reference to the current political environment of the United States, whether this was intentional or not on the part of director and writer George Lucas is unclear. One comes from Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) who bemoans, “This is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause,” as the galactic-Senate applauds dictator-in-waiting Palpatine while he announces a crusade against the Jedi. But the real kicker is Anakin Skywalker’s line directed toward Obi-wan Kenobi in which he states, “If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy”, supposedly echoing Bush’s post-9/11 ultimatum to the world that “either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists”.

The sentiment seems to be shared with at least two other early film reviews of the film, including one from the conservative-oriented news magazine, The National Review.

From the National Review magazine group blog:

Warren, it's all there, but believe me, the movie's plot is so confused that it doesn't really matter. At one point, Natalie Portman complains that "this war happened because of a failure to listen." But the war she's talking about was started by the good guys! It was the Jedi who secretly built the Clone army that appeared in the movie before this upcoming one. And, of course, the Rebellion that Luke Skywalker joined in the first trilogy was conducting a war against the Evil Empire which included blowing up Death Stars and arming Teddy Bears. Evidently 25 years into the Star Wars empire, George Lucas decided he just doesn't like war. Now he tells us. The whole confusion is reminiscent of the last Matrix movie, which is all about a noble truce between our heroes and the computers that have been using all of humanity as batteries. So that a few people could survive to have orgies in the underground city of Zion, billions of people had to remain in the Matrix. Inadvertently, both Lucas and the Wachowski brothers (who wrote and directed the Matrix movies) reveal with their brainless anti-Bushism the essential cowardly vapidity of pacifism.

From a review in Slant magazine:

I imagine that Revenge of the Sith is very much the film Lucas's fans want to see, but are some of them ready for an anti-Bush diatribe?

Though every Star Wars film until now has existed in an insular comic-book world, a lot has happened since 1999 and 2002 in the real world and Lucas dares, for the first time, to address how the hollow political conflict in his franchise correlates with the reality outside its panels. (It would have been stupid not to strike a parallel.) Revenge of the Sith's two greatest moments tap into the uncertainty of our own political climate: the dazzling battle between Yoda and Darth Sidious (an outstanding Ian McDiarmid) inside the beautifully spiraling Senate hall evokes Democrats and Republicans scrambling for power and, during an obscenely over-the-top duel in Mustafar, Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) declares, "Only a Sith Lord deals in absolutes," after Anakin says, "If you're not with me, you're my enemy." Lucas's political gestures would be easier to appreciate if he himself didn't trade in absolutes and generalities (you know the drill: the darker the couture, the closer you are to the dark side), but it's still a welcome step forward. Pity we had to wait so long for it, but, as they say, better late than never.

Hard to think the "if you're not with me" line isn't intentional.

If that isn’t enough evidence for you then perhaps testimony from the cult-director himself, George Lucas, may convince you otherwise. While answering questions after the premiere of his latest film at the Cannes Film Festival, Lucas put on the line his views on the Iraq War and the current political spectrum of the United States, which the socialist European elites amply ate up. "When I wrote it, Iraq didn't exist," Lucas said, laughing. "We were just funding Saddam Hussein and giving him weapons of mass destruction. We didn't think of him as an enemy at that time. We were going after Iran and using him as our surrogate, just as we were doing in Vietnam. ... The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable."

Lucas’ most insight commentary of the evening though appeared to be aimed directly at the bitterly partisan-divided Senate and House of Representatives rather then President Bush and his administration, which he never directly named during the question-and-answer session. In ancient Rome, "why did the senate after killing Caesar turn around and give the government to his nephew?" Lucas said. "Why did France after they got rid of the king and that whole system turn around and give it to Napoleon? It's the same thing with Germany and Hitler. You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship, and it always seems to happen kind of in the same way, with the same kinds of issues, and threats from the outside, needing more control. A democratic body, a senate, not being able to function properly because everybody's squabbling, there's corruption."

This, however, could easily be drunken left-wing Hollywood activists talking out of their asses and searching for evidence to support their cockamamie conspiracy theories, ones of which Michael Moore and his cult followers easily apply to, in which President Bush is using the war in Iraq to solidify Republican control of the country and eventually use that iron fist to rule the world. I honestly believe that the Star Wars fanatics, which are the main base of the box office coinage for this series, are too busy wetting their pants in eager the anticipation of witnessing the final transformation of Darth Vader to give a second thought as to the political allegory buried within.

The Other Nuclear Option

For Further Political Satire like This, Please Visit Filibuster Cartoons!

Bolton Has the Dems. Backed Against the Wall

The Democratic Party and the rest of their U.N. American compatriots are scared out of their minds at the very thought of John Bolton becoming the new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations which automatically makes him the most qualified individual for the position. The reaction of the Senate Democrats doing everything within their power, and quite possibly even exceeding their congressional authority, demonstrates the importance in having John Bolton as the U.S. Ambassador. The United Nations have proven time and again in the last few decades to be as ineffective in fulfilling its obligations to the citizens of the world as The League of Nations was prior to escalation which led to World War II. John Bolton, I believe, will be the one to help bring down this corrupt international haven for Third World dictators and terrorist sympathizers and bring about the installation a new global organization that will be a beneficial partner in the war on terror rather then a hindrance. And who has taken upon themselves to lead this bitch-fest? Why Barbara Boxer, of course. According to her, “If this comes to the floor, we're going to have a fight”, though failing to clarify how the process could actually be halted at this point in time. Now honestly would the Democrats put up this much of an effort if this wasn’t someone crucial to the Bush Administration’s plan to clean shop in the United Nations? Hell no! That is why I call on the United States Senate to end this mindless bickering and Confirm Bolton already! He has a job to do!

Illegal Immigration is Just That ... Illegal

You know, I have taken quite a beating from several visitors to this weblog, including amongst them some of my fellow conservatives (though in all honesty the people in question aren’t as conservative as they perceive themselves to be), over the issue of illegal immigration, but the following article sums up poignantly what can happen when illegal aliens are allowed to simply waltz into this country without so much second thought from its governmental officials, whose job is to protect this nation from outsider invaders.

The man suspected of fatally shooting a police detective in Denver is an illegal alien, police said yesterday.

Cops say Raul Garcia-Gomez, 19, is an illegal alien who used false documentation to get a job at the Cherry Cricket restaurant, which is co-owned by Mayor John Hickenlooper, the Rocky Mountain News reported. The alien is now the subject of a massive manhunt.

Garcia-Gomez failed to show up for work Monday. The killing of Detective Donald Young and the wounding of Detective John Bishop occurred early Sunday morning. The men were providing private security for a party.

According to the local report, Lee Driscoll, the mayor's business partner, said yesterday that the company learned last month Garcia-Gomez provided the restaurant with two forms of identification, but the Social Security number he provided turned out to be false.

"I learned this morning (Tuesday) that he worked for the restaurant when I got a call from the general manager ... who said the police were questioning people," Driscoll told the paper. "He worked as a dishwasher. He worked for us about 10 months. He looked like a stellar employee from what I can determine from his file."

The restaurant is owned in part by Hickenlooper, but the mayor reportedly is not involved in day-to-day operations at the Cherry Cricket.

"Certainly, in the restaurant business everyone is like family," Hickenlooper is quoted as saying. "It's stunning to believe someone a part of the family could commit such a heinous crime."

Cherry Cricket managers told police that Garcia-Gomez presented a resident-alien card when he applied for the job, according to a police source close to the investigation.

"You could see that this card was fake," the police source told the Rocky Mountain News. The card was falling apart and typewritten, the sources said.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., yesterday blasted the Hickenlooper administration's handling of the case, saying federal immigration officials should have been contacted after each of three traffic citations issued to Garcia-Gomez in Denver because police could not confirm his legal status.

"Denver's sanctuary policy prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal officials on immigration matters, despite federal law which explicitly prohibits such a policy," Tancredo said in a news release.

The congressman also questioned whether or not the Cherry Cricket had done enough to verify Garcia-Gomez's legal status when he was hired.

Sandra Rivas, Garcia-Gomez's girlfriend says he made a bedside confession to her just hours after the shooting, Denver's CBS TV affiliate reported. Rivas says she hoped to marry the suspect, who is the father of her 3-week-old daughter.

Garcia-Gomez is described as a Hispanic male, 5-foot-6, 150 pounds, with short shaved dark brown hair, brown eyes, thin mustache and a tattoo on his left hand. He was last seen driving a white 1995 four-door Dodge Neon with temporary Colorado tags.

According to authorities, Garcia-Gomez has connections in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, or may be heading to Mexico.

If Not Golden Eagles or Warriors Then What Are We?

Now that the decision on the new athletic nickname for Marquette University is now within the hands of the student body and its alumni base, at least that is the claim from Father Wild and the Board of Trustees, I thought it would be intriguing to experiment with some of choices that have been thought up so far. The Marquette University College Republicans have a poll with the following choices …

• Hilltoppers
• Golden Avalanche
• Golden Eagles
• Blue & Gold
• Explorers
• Jumpin' Jesuits
• Fightin' Jesuits
• Trailblazers
• Golden Knights/Golden Crusaders

As this point in time I am simply going to wait for the official list of ten choices come out before I make a final decision, but I thought I would comment slightly on a few of the options presented in the following poll. Hilltoppers no longer makes any sense since we are not located on a hill as we were when the university was first established, hence the reason why the nickname was changed to the Warriors in the 1970s. A few of my fellow Marquette peers have backed the Golden Avalanche choice but this too, at least from my perspective, does not make sense. Sure, it is part of Marquette’s tradition but only from the perspective of the now defunct football team. The name for the campus’ football team was changed to Avalanche while the other athletic sports teams stuck with the Hilltopper nickname. It does not make sense to choose this on the basis that it represents a hollowed tradition of this university when it represented a branch of the athletics department that no longer exists. I won’t even bother wasting the time commenting on the Golden Eagles nickname … this was the reason the board went with the ‘Gold’ decision in the first place and now they want it on here? They never run out of bright ideas, do they? Speaking of which, who was the genius who thought after the past week’s ‘Gold’ debacle that simply tacking on ‘Blue’ to ‘Gold’ nickname would make the choice any less asinine? I can imagine the exchange … “Since Gold didn’t work, how about Blue & Gold?” “But that’s two color names instead of one, it is essentially the same” “No it isn’t. There’s two of them” “But they’re still just colors” “But there’s two! Two is always better then one, right?” “Brilliant!” ‘Explorers’ is a neat idea, inventive I will admit, but not something I would definitely be excited about. Some have suggested either Jumpin’ Jesuits or Fightin’ Jesuits (personally I would believe the Board of Trustees would side with the first one more then the second, unless they happen to be especially egomaniacal and given Father Wild’s arrogant stance with ‘Gold’ over the past week …), and while those are certainly creative, I wouldn’t bite. The Jesuits are the most liberal Catholic organization in the United States and it is not a name, at least from my perspective, that I would be all that excited about cheering for.

Since I am being so critical of the choices, what would be my choice? Though I have found particular interest in a certain nickname option, I know right off the bat that the Board of Trustees would reject it, so I am not really all that optimistic that it will be on the list of ten later this month. If it were up to me, I would go with either the Golden Crusaders or the Golden Knights. Why won’t this be on the list later this month? One, the Arab minority on campus would be upset (God forbid since the current university administration has been eating out of their hand all year), and secondly, there has been in the public eye a grave misinterpretation of the Crusades and too many I think would likely misinterpret the nickname from our standpoint. Right now I think the administration is doings its best to avoid any further controversy but honestly I can not imagine the reputation of the university being in more jeopardy then it is now.

Not Whatever the School Decides

GOP3.com has written an astute article in response to a comment made by Marquette University Men’s Basketball Coach Tom Crean in this morning’s edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in which he stated, though certainly not intentionally I believe, that Dwyane Wade, a former student of Marquette, would accept whatever the school decided. As stewards of the university’s reputation as well as our own we should not simply lie down and accept whatever decision the administration hands down to us and I would think the recent ‘Gold’ debacle would solidify that theory.

Is Half a Victory Honestly a Victory?

Charlie Sykes summed up a lot of the main points I was thinking about in this debate but I thought I would toss in my own two cents on the announcement by the Board of Trustees to rescind on their previous decision to accept ‘Gold’ as the new athletic nickname for Marquette University.

Marquette’s Board of Trustees today unanimously reaffirmed its position not to reinstate the Warriors nickname and announced that it would establish a process for stakeholders to select the new Marquette athletics nickname.

First off, this is truly astonishing – two unanimous decisions in a row by the Board of Trustees at Marquette University. Is this some kind of record?! Quick, someone call Guinness! Again, I want someone from the university’s math department to calculate for me the probability of the Board of Trustees coming up with not one, but two unanimous decisions on the same issue. First they were unanimous in their decision to select ‘Gold’ as the new athletic nickname and now they are unanimous in their benevolent wisdom to backtrack on that judgment. What does this say about the Board of Trustees at Marquette University? Believe me, there is quite a lengthy laundry list – they have no spine, they are unorganized, they do not care in the least about the opinions or attitudes of the students or alumni of this university, they are a basic rubber stamp for Father Wild and the liberal Jesuit agenda – and it goes on from there. Secondly, since when did the Board of Trustees ever make a unanimous decision to not reinstate the Warrior nickname? Last time I checked they were only unanimous in their selection of ‘Gold’ as the new athletic nickname. If the Board of Trustees was never in the mind to reconsider the Warrior issue, then why bring it up in the first place? This is why I am honestly baffled at the utter stupidity and arrogance of this board. If you were never in the mind to reconsider the issue of reinstating the Warrior nickname, how hard would it have been to say “Hell, no” when questioned by an alumni offering two million dollars to reconsider? Not that hard! It certainly would have saved them a lot of headaches which they are battling with right now.

The Trustees made the decision after reviewing feedback received in the past week from students, alumni and fans expressing surprise and frustration that their voices were not adequately heard in the decision to change from Golden Eagles to Marquette Gold.

“We have spent the past week listening. We heard you,” said John Bergstrom, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “The decision to change the nickname to Marquette Gold generated a response that we did not expect from Marquette stakeholders. We regret that we disappointed them and we want to respond to those concerns. We’ve established a new process today so that your voices can be heard. It’s transparent, it’s inclusive and it’s easy”

They’ve been listening, huh? Could have fooled me! How does this work exactly, both ignoring us and listening to our complaints on the issue? If they were truly listening to the students and alumni of this university then what was with Father Wild coming out in the middle of the NO 2 GOLD Rally crowd last Friday and declaring that we would stick with ‘Gold’ and that was final, as if to say he had the final say in the matter.

Speaking of Father Wild, the university’s beloved president who was rumored to have threatened to resign from his position if the Board of Trustees did not agree to ‘Gold’ as the new athletic nickname, here he is in double-speak once again on the issue of the Warrior nickname …

“While I recognize that some people are disappointed that we are not reinstating the Warriors nickname, we cannot teach one principle about respect for human dignity in our classrooms and then fail to act by that same principle when making decisions … The Warriors nickname will always be part of our proud athletics tradition, and we will honor that tradition. But we live in a different era than when the Warriors nickname was selected in 1954. The perspective of time has shown us that our actions, intended or not, can offend others. We must not knowingly act in a way that others will believe, based on their experience, to be an attack on their dignity as fellow human beings.”

If the Warrior nickname is as offensive or degrading to the quality of the human dignity as Father claims it to be then why on Earth would we ever respect, let alone honor, it as a hollowed tradition of this university? I am sure that there were quite a few traditions in the southern colleges of this country in which campuses degraded black Americans and honored offensive racial objects as the Klu Klux Klan and the Confederate flag, and yet I doubt that the top brass there now would say that they honor or respect them as hollowed traditions. What way is it Father? You can not have your cake and eat it too. Make a decision on the issue and stick with it for Christ’s sake!

The Board of Trustees announced a new process by which a new athletics nickname will be chosen and also announced the formation of the Marquette Nickname Advisory Committee made up of representative students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Who would care to bet with me that at least half, if not more, of the representatives on this committee will be either on the payroll of the university and/or are basic puppets of the Wild administration and the Jesuit agenda? Wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

1. Within the next two weeks, a list of as many as 10 names will be presented to the Marquette community. All the names presented will be selected from the hundreds of names suggested by the Marquette community during either the 1994 or 2004 nickname processes. While the final list has not been decided, the list will certainly include some of the obvious names given Marquette’s athletics history, including Blue and Gold, Golden Avalanche, Hilltoppers and Golden Eagles.

This is pathetic, honestly pathetic. If ‘Golden Eagles’ was as unpopular an athletic nickname that it required the Board of Trustees to decide on a new one themselves, without student or alumni input, why is it being offered on this list? And after the entire ‘Gold’ fiasco, what would make the Board of Trustees believe that by simply tacking on ‘Blue’ on there it would automatically make it a better decision? Here is yet another set-up from the Wild administration forcing the student body of this university into accepting what they want.There will also be a write-in option, presented with the parameters that votes for Warriors will not be counted, and that all write-in’s must be consistent with both our Jesuit, Catholic mission and the Board resolution on Native American imagery.

2. All members of the Marquette community, including students, alumni, faculty and staff, will be asked to choose two nicknames from the list, or can offer a write-in option.

3. The two options receiving the most support from the first vote will be presented to the Marquette community for a second vote. The nickname with the most support in the second vote will then be presented to the president to be announced as Marquette’s new athletics nickname going into the Big East Conference.

Both votes will be binding, and will be conducted on the Web with provisions made for those who do not have Internet access. Members of the Marquette community will be notified via mail and e-mail in the coming weeks about steps for participating in the voting process. More information about the voting process will also be available at http://marquette.edu/nickname

Conveniently enough as everyone leaves the college campus and starts off on their summer vacations. Anyone else surprised by this move?

The Marquette Nickname Advisory Committee will oversee the voting process and will advise the university in the development of the look of the new nickname, following its selection after the second vote.

So what it is essentially saying, if my theory proves correct, that the Wild administration will have free reign to ensure they receive the decision that they want. Yeah democracy!

Marquette has preliminarily planned that the timing for the nickname process will be as follows:

Week of May 23: List of nickname options will be presented to the Marquette community for the first vote. The Marquette community (students, alumni, faculty and staff) will choose two names from the list, or offer a write-in.

Mid-June: Second vote will be conducted with the top-two vote getters.

By July 1: The winning nickname will be announced.

Father Wild concluded, “We must remember that Marquette University is first and foremost an academic institution. We have great momentum resulting from the accomplishments of our students, faculty and alumni over the past several years. Just last week, we received the largest single donation in university history with a gift of $28 million that will transform our College of Communication. For the third consecutive year, we celebrate the fact that students are applying to Marquette in record numbers. Marquette has risen in national academic rankings. The campus has undergone a physical transformation, and Marquette has enjoyed the most successful fund-raising period in its history, raising more than $300 million during the current comprehensive campaign. These are the true measures of a great university”

Honestly, I never thought Father Wild and the Board of Trustees could be more arrogant or pompous in their demeanor toward the students and alumni of this university then they were in the previous week but they have clearly proven me wrong here. Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen!

Feels Appropriate, Doesn't It?!

From Professor John McAdam’s The Marquette Warrior weblog comes a humoristic, yet still quite poignant, take on a possible choice for the university’s mascot that would incorporate the new team nickname and represent the campus’ student body collectively. Believe me, if you have ever, or will ever for that matter, live in either McCormick or Schroeder Hall, the humor in this will all be too truth fulfilling. And look at it this way, it will give one more reason for the Madison communists to hate our guts – we just stole their campus symbol.

Remembering the End of World War II

Your Majesty; Mr. Prime Minister; Mr. Mayor; distinguished officials of The Netherlands; veterans and their families, including the 104th Infantry Division, known as the Timberwolves; the unit of Harold B. Welch -- my father-in-law, the father of First Lady Laura Bush -- Congressman Hoekstra; General Jones, General Franks; Superintendent Schwind; fellow Americans and friends:

On this peaceful May morning we commemorate a great victory for liberty, and the thousands of white marble crosses and Stars of David underscore the terrible price we pay for that victory. For the Americans who rest here, Dutch soil provides a fitting home. It was from a Dutch port that many of our pilgrim fathers first sailed for America. It was a Dutch port that gave the American flag its first gun salute. It was the Dutch who became one of the first foreign nations to recognize the independence of the new United States of America. And when American soldiers returned to this continent to fight for freedom, they were led by a President who owed his family name to this great land -- Roosevelt.

Some of those brave troops are here with us today, and we welcome you and we honor you. And they're here with their Dutch comrades. They share a love of liberty. In the war that came to an end 60 years ago this day, all those who fought for freedom made sacrifice, and many gave their lives.

In the Voice of America's radio broadcast from London on the first V-E Day, the announcer asked Europe to "think of these Americans as your dead, too." In Dutch hearts, they already were. The Americans saw the Dutch spirit in action within weeks of liberation, when this new cemetery marked its first Memorial Day. It was still a time of hardship and want and depravation; yet Dutch citizens from 60 local villages collected 20 truckloads of flowers so that every American grave here would be decorated when the sun came up on Memorial Day.

And in the six decades since, the Dutch have continued this wonderful tradition by adopting and attending to the graves of the people they never met. Your kindness has brought comfort to thousands of American families separated from their loved ones here by an ocean. And on behalf of a grateful America, I thank you for treating our men and women as your sons and daughters.



Today we join them at this hallowed ground. We come first to remember the young Americans who did not live to comb gray hair. Each man or woman buried here is more than a headstone and a serial number; each person here has a name that is precious to some family. And in faded black and white photographs, each one here looks back at us in the full glow of youth: the fresh-faced American in uniform; the newly minted officer with a smiling sweetheart on his or her arm; or the young dad traveling, holding a baby son or daughter on his knee. Every one of these Americans added his own unique contribution to the story of freedom.

In this cemetery lies Willy F. James, Jr., one of seven African American soldiers from the second world war to win the Medal of Honor. On this memorial wall is inscribed the name, Raymond Kelly, a young man studying to be a priest in Detroit, who could have sat out the war, but gave up his exemption to serve his country. And in this ground rests Maurice Rose, the brilliant division commander who led the first Allied troops into Germany. Here they rest in honored glory with thousands of their comrades in arms, and here we come to affirm the great debt we owe them.

We come to this ground to recall the evil these Americans fought against. For Holland, the war began with the bombing of Rotterdam. The destruction of Rotterdam would be a signpost to the terror and humanity that the Nazi lie would impose on this continent. Like so much of Europe, over the next years of occupation, Holland would come to know curfews, and oppression, and armed bands with yellow stars, and deportation for its Jewish citizens.

The winter just before liberation was the worst. When Dutch railway workers went on strike to make it harder for the German army to reinforce their troops, the Nazis responded with a blockade that made fuel and food even more scarce. Amsterdam would wait for liberation longer than almost any other city in Europe. Before it came, more than 20,000 Dutch men and women and children would perish in what was called the "hongerwinter," and many others were reduced to eating tulip bulbs to stay alive.

For some, V-E Day brought hope for normalcy, after almost five long years of occupation. For many others, including a Jewish girl named Anne Frank, hiding in an attic, V-E Day would come too late, two months after the institutionalized evil of Bergen-Belsen took her young life. And for still others, V-E Day would bring a lasting sense of solidarity with those who fought. One resistance leader put it well: "We are one because, together, we believed in something."



And so we come to this ground to remember the cause for which these soldiers fought and triumphed. At the outset of the war, there were those who believed that democracy was too soft to survive, especially against a Nazi Germany, that boasted the most professional, well-equipped and highly-trained military forces in the world. Yet, this military would be brought down by a coalition of armies from our democratic allies and freedom fighters from occupied lands and underground resistance leaders. They fought side-by-side with American GIs, who, only months before, had been farmers and bank clerks and factory hands. And the world's tyrants learned a lesson: There is no power like the power of freedom, and no soldier as strong as a soldier who fights for that freedom.

Private Robert Lee Rutledge was one of those soldiers. He gave his life fighting against a brutal attack by two Nazi divisions. Weeks before he died, he wrote a letter to his daughter on her fifth birthday. The letter was addressed to little Ginger Rutledge in Lumpkin, Georgia. Private Rutledge told his daughter, "You're too young to understand it now, but you will later. It's all for your benefit. You came into a free world, and I want you to finish in one."

Sixty years later, Ginger is still free, and she does understand. And so do her three children and eight grandchildren. Private Rutledge did his job well, and the men who fought and bled and died here with him accomplished what they came for. The free America that Ginger grew up in was saved by their courage. The free Europe where many of them lie buried was built on their sacrifice. And the free and peaceful world that we hope to leave to our own children is inspired by their example.



On this day, we celebrate the victory they won, and we recommit ourselves to the great truth that they defended, that freedom is the birthright of all mankind. Because of their sacrifice and the help of brave allies, that truth prevailed at the close of the 20th century.

As the 21st century unfolds before us, Americans and Europeans are continuing to work together and are bringing freedom and hope to places where it has long been denied: in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Lebanon, and across the broader Middle East. Freedom is a permanent hope of mankind; and when that hope is made real for all people, it will be because of the sacrifices of a new generation of men and women as selfless and dedicated to liberty as those we honor today.

May God bless you all.

President George W. Bush speaking on the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II.

Disneyland Turns Fifty!!

It may be a day or two late for this but I thought I would post it anyway. Better late then never I suppose. In any event, I want to take the time and congratulate the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California on their 50th Anniversary in existence, the celebration of which officially kicked off this past weekend. I am a big Disney fan and though I personally have been quite displeased by the recent actions of the company as of late, mainly from company CEO Michael Eisner, this is truly a prestigious moment and deserves congratulations. I myself will be visiting the historic theme park institution this coming June, a first for me, and I will report back here on the weblog, complete with pictures, upon my return.

Demand Father Wild to Live Up to His Threat

Students and alumni alike, of no fault of their own mind you, are quick to condemn the Board of Trustees at Marquette University for the ‘Gold’ debacle, but this only goes about in diverting attention from the true source of the controversy. While I will acknowledge that the Board of Trustees deserves to be blamed partially for all of this, whether it is for one particular reason or another which will be discussed in greater detail shortly, but I believe personally that it is Father Robert Wild who bares the most responsibility for this public-relations disaster. Reports have come out recently which have indicated that Robert Wild threatened the Board of Trustees that he would resign as President of Marquette University if they did not go forward with the ‘Gold’ decision. While confirmation on this event has yet to be validated, this surely begs the question as to whether Marquette University would have been better off had Robert Wild resigned as he threatened. The amount of good he has done can never equate to the humiliation and frustration the nickname issue has caused for the university.

On the part of Father Robert Wild and the Board of Trustees at Marquette University, the Warrior debate has resulted in one public-relations disaster after another. All that needed to be done in order to squash the issue was to have refused to bring up the discussion of reinstating the Warrior nickname when that alumni speaker offered the two million dollars to bring back the Warrior to the college campus. It was that damn simple! But no, we had to say that we would consider the decision in the future. This led to a forum and a survey being set up. Pushing the meeting back time and again to the point where the announcement has caused ten times the amount of criticism and backlash then was ever expected when the issue first came about. This is why I am calling on Father Robert Wild to live up to his threat and resign as President of Marquette University.

There are those individuals who would wish to defend Father Wild from such attacks arguing that he has done so much for this university in the past few years. And while I will agree that that is true to an extent, his assumed legacy as the university’s president, which I will begin questioning as of now, does not make up for the arrogance he has shown in the face of overwhelming opposition and not limited to within the university itself. Wild has not only succeeded in establishing this academic institution as a mockery in the eyes of the state but from the perspective of the nation as well as we make the transition from the Conference USA to the Big East. He has overwhelmingly exceeded the duties assigned to him as President of Marquette University in defense of a decision which has embarrassed essentially the entire student body and angered the alumni base which has been the backbone of this university, and what has separated us dramatically from UW-Milwaukee.

The pinnacle piece of evidence in the case against Robert Wild is the Board of Trustees supposedly unanimous decision to approve the new ‘Gold’ nickname for the university. How could the Board of Trustees at Marquette University vote in favor of this glaringly obvious mistake thirty-eight to nothing? Would someone from the university’s math department calculate the probability of this occurring? Zilch if I had to guess. There can be only two explanations for this – either the Board of Trustees has become a basic rubberstamp for Father Wild and the Jesuit agenda, the more liberal of the Catholic orders, or else the Board of Trustees are entirely incompetent to the needs and the opinions of the student body of Marquette University.

If the former then the question has to be raised as to how long this has been occurring. Even at the level of academic institutions such at Marquette University, Board of Trustees do not become rubber stamps for an administration over night. If the latter there is still no excuse for at least one trustee from not taking a stand and arguing against the decision because he/she believed it to be a bad idea.

Film Review - Kingdom of Heaven

"There can be no genuine characterization of Kingdom of Heaven then to say that it is in a sense nothing more then an atheist's wet-dream ..."



Read the entire review of 20th Century Fox's Kingdom of Heaven by clicking on the poster above.

Take the Fahza Away!

"I love gooooooold"

"Can I paint his yoo-hoo gold now? It's kind of my thing, you know..."

Charlie Sykes does it again!

May 2005 Box Office Predictions

House of Wax

Are American teenagers dumb enough to be lured into yet another horror-remake in which nearly everyone except the sweating, though still sizzling hot, heroine and quite possibly her boy-toy hottie are expected to be killed by the midway portion of the picture? Toss in Paris Hilton and that’s a done deal (but, honestly, those horny bastards that will undoubtedly be in the audience, you would be better off saving yourself the money and downloading a certain video off the internet then to sit through this trash-heap just to see Hilton in her underwear) Though I predict this will not be a tremendous success for the studio, the fact that it will end up making money in spite of its blaring shittyness will be a victory in itself for Warner Brothers.

Opening Weekend - $12.1 million, Domestic Gross - $45 million

Kingdom of Heaven

Watching the commercials for this film you would think you were looking at a sequel to Gladiator. Judging by the early reviews of the film from a majority of the critics who have taken in preview screenings of the Ridley Scott picture seem to agree with that early assessment. Being the first major blockbuster of the summer season, not to mention teen-hunk Orlando Bloom’s first leading role, this will have a decent box office return in its opening weekend but don’t expect it to approach anywhere near the level of popularity or acclaim that Gladiator had going for it four years ago. Hell, I would not be surprised if this is forgotten entirely by year’s end.

Opening Weekend - $51 million, Domestic Gross - $165 million



Monster-in-Law

If there is anything in this world that I despise (not hate, but absolutely despise) more then Jennifer Lopez (also referred to as J. Lo, Jenny from the Block, the successful side of Bennifer), it would have to be Jane Fonda, a treacherous snake who should have tried and hung for treason the minute she stepped foot back into this country following her stunt in Hanoi. As for the film itself, I could not care less and I believe a majority of the public will agree. I may be heavily overestimating this film’s potential prospects but I expect the normal opening weekend for a romantic comedy with the typical Jenny-curse fallout to follow.

Opening Weekend - $15 million, Domestic Gross - $65 million

Unleashed

Your guess is as good or as bad as mine on this one. I am going on a limb on this one and predicting the average Jet Li opening weekend gross and a not too-bad fifty-five million final domestic gross to this unfamiliar, and apparently not too well advertised, project.

Opening Weekend - $18 million, Domestic Gross - $55 million

Kicking & Screaming

Could this turnout to be a repeat of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy? Could half of the film’s audience in its opening weekend already know by heart the majority of its key gag lines, thus making the film experience all the less enjoyable? Could Wisconsin residents be turned off by the presence of Mike Ditka? We will just have to wait and find out for ourselves but as long as Will Ferrell has not lost a bit of his high-intense comedic energy with his frantic filming schedule lately, I think we should be fine. Not wanting to chance it, I will suggest that Kicking & Screaming pulls in a little more then Anchorman, both in terms of its opening weekend and final domestic gross but not by much.

Opening Weekend - $32 million, Domestic Gross - $95 million

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

The early news that Revenge of the Sith will receive the coveted PG-13 rating fanatics the world over had been praying on their knees for years already gives it a tremendous advantage over the previous two prequels in terms of public reception. If the final film in the Star Wars film saga (the franchise will continue beyond Revenge of the Sith, albeit in television form and never again on film) is as half as graphic as those whiny soccer moms claim it is then we can easily forgive Lucas and pretend The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones never happened … True, some already do that but this way we will no longer have to pissed off at George Lucas.

Opening Weekend - $95 million, Domestic Gross - $370 million



The Longest Yard

Seriously, is this the summer of feature films that look as though they could easily be passed off as sequels to recent films? Does The Longest Yard not come as The Waterboy II? Alright, it is an Adam Sandler film after all, so you just need to remember to leave your brain at the door and you will be fine. All and all, this does not look too bad on paper but appearances can be quite deceiving and I find Chris Rock irritatingly annoying, more so since the Oscar debacle this past March, so this one could honestly go either way for me. Expect a large turnout opening weekend and then the all too common post-fan rush freefall of fifty to sixty percent the following weekend.

Opening Weekend - $51 million, Domestic Gross - $150 million

Madagascar

Man, if you truly have a problem listening to Chris Rock this weekend then you are quite honestly out of luck, now aren’t you? I have no reservations that this film will be a hit with the family demographic who will by this time be clamoring for a child-friendly picture now that the Star Wars film has been slapped with the PG-13 rating … yeah, I know but those soccer mothers make a big deal out of it, so let us just assume that is the case. There is just something about this film that rubs me the wrong way, beside the increasingly annoying Chris Rock of course. Perhaps it’s the film’s “stylistic” animation design or maybe it’s its storyline which sound eerily familiar to the now deceased Disney computer animation project that I can not recall what it was called now. Does not matter all that much since the children will eat it up no matter how badly it stinks.

Opening Weekend - $45 million, Domestic Gross - $145 million