Teach your children well

Something folks may not know about me: I never graduated from dear ol' R.U.

My time on the banks of the old Raritan, my boys, was fraught with self-caused misery, only some of it academic.  Sure, good times too.  Found Christ at college, so net-plus, and made a number of life-long friends whom I see or speak with regularly.  (One of them I share a blog with.)  But still... it took me ten years after I'd finally bottomed out to finally finish paying the student loans.

Now, had I managed a degree, that would have been a quicker process: but still, that's TEN years for paying off a relatively-small debt burden from a university that charges less to in-state residents such as myself.  (Remember, I didn't finish - I didn't have four or five full years of tuition and costs to pay off.)

Now imagine going to an Ivy League school for four years, with loans covering much of it.  Yowch.

I've long thought that if you didn't need college for what you wanted to do (or were likely to find yourself doing) then it was probably a lot of hassle for little gain.  My brother, for example, never went to college and he out-earns me as a mechanic.  (And is this sort of thing typical for the HVAC industry, Spider?)

Part of me also suspects that four years of higher education for certain jobs is probably overkill, and you could do them with two or three years of specialized training - with the benefit of starting a career earlier, with less debt, and wasting less of your precious time fiddling about with topics of no interest.  Rutgers, like many colleges and universities, requires its students to satisfy a long list of conditions before conferring a degree.

I'm not saying that schools should just start tossing sheepskin into the air like confetti.  But if I wanted to go to school to be a scientist, why do I need a major AND a minor (or two majors, if I perferred)?  Why do I also need two humanities courses, two social sciences, a non-Western, etc etc - by rule?  Instead of letting me focus on the twelve or fifteen courses that will outfit me for my chosen career, and then a smattering of what actually interests me, I wind up spending a lot of money and at least a full year on courses of no value to me, either economically or academically.  It's not like it would be difficult to include a course in the major that covers important non-technical matters.  But all the rest strikes me as the college doing what should properly be done in high school - giving me a basic well-rounded education and general skills useful to anyone.

It's not like you can't go to college parties without taking classes. (I know a lot of students who managed that quite well.) You can make friends and socialize anywhere. You can find Christ in the unlikeliest places. So if you don't want to be there and don't need it, why do it? Why do so many jobs require full-on Bachelor's degrees (and sometimes, Masters is preferred) when the actual job will use nearly none of what you learn getting the degree?

Where was this...

..when I was at RU?

Your disease is too white...

....to get charitable support.

OTTAWA -- The Carleton University Students' Association has voted to drop a cystic fibrosis charity as the beneficiary of its annual Shinearama fundraiser, supporting a motion that argued the disease is not "inclusive" enough.

Cystic fibrosis "has been recently revealed to only affect white people, and primarily men" said the motion read Monday night to student councillors, who voted almost unanimously in favour of it.

I came to RU as a 28-year-old freshman, I mean, first year student. I had already been brainwashed at Lackland AFB, then later on by the Holy Spirit, so by the time I got to RU I was impervious to efforts of Rutgers to indoctrinate me.

But I saw 18-year-old kids lose their minds. Never have I been in a place where so many people obsessed over their skin color, or their gender, or which gender they wanted to bed. I once had a talk with a guy who was bent out of shape because Jesus Christ was black and know one knew it. Of course I obsessed over Jesus Christ being the Savior of the world and not enough people know about it.

There were people walking around who thought I served in Vietnam. "Sure, back in 1970 when I was 11." During the first Gulf War I saw porn being used as a form of political protest. Fake draft notices were put in student mailboxes.

Hopefully, most of these people came back to their senses when they set out into the real world.

(h/t to Michelle Malkin)

RU 49, USF 16

Boy was this a fanny-whoopin! And I was there to see it.

When I saw this game on the schedule a month ago, I assumed that Rutgers was going to get clobbered. But as RU was getting better and the Bulls were tanking I thought the Scarlet Knights had a chance at pulling this one out.

Did I think that RU as going to give USFit's worst home loss ever?

The southeast corner of Raymond James Stadium is where all the away team fans sit. It was Christmas a month early for this RU fan. There were a couple thousand of us, a big red wedge in a sea of green and gold. I was doing RU cheers and singing the alma mater for the first time since I was on The Banks of the Old Raritan.

There was suprising little violence in the stands. The USF fans were too humiliated. Gosh it was so much fun!

Speaking of bright bulbs

Apparently the San Diego State University campus is experiencing a brown-out.

On Tuesday, authorities announced that 96 young men -- including 75 students -- had been arrested on a variety of drug charges as a result of Operation Sudden Fall, which infiltrated seven fraternities on Fraternity Row and Fraternity Circle.

The cops just recruited several young officers to serve undercover, and within a matter of months they were tapped into the whole scene.

One of the alleged drug dealers is 19 and recently had been praised as a model student in a university publication. Another was just a month away from earning a master's degree in homeland security and had worked with the campus police as a security officer. ... A criminal justice major was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine. As he was being arrested, he asked officers if this would hurt his chances for a law enforcement career, officials said.

Nah, you're cool, man.

One suspect, Kenneth Ciaccio, 19, a member of the Theta Chi fraternity, sent out a mass text message early last month to "faithful customers," saying that he was traveling to Las Vegas and would not be able to make his normal cocaine sales, the DEA said.

Mr. Ciaccio is the aforementioned "model student" from the university publication, since taken offline. I love the text message bit, too.

o hai
in LV for wknd
no coke til Mon
kthxbai

On the bright side, he and his fellows can look forward to working the other side of the aisle.

Although the investigation was widely praised in San Diego, the nationwide group Drug Policy Alliance blasted it as "sensationalistic" and futile. The group believes in the decriminalization of marijuana and favors increased drug education and treatment over mass arrests.

They must have missed the part about the cocaine, meth, and Ecstasy.

I think it's time to run off some appropriate t-shirts for these upstanding citizens.



(Hat tip to Tracey for the story.)

The grass is always greener on the other sideline

bump - I almost forgot something about this whole mess. It's now footnote number three, with Ted Nolan going to footnote number four. Sorry about that. We still have Mitchell Report madness the post right below this one, and it will be updated from time to time as I read more.

Quote from Louisville Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Arkansas Razorbacks football coach Bobby Petrino, as heard on SportsCenter last night: "It was difficult on one side, very easy on the other. It was difficult to leave Atlanta, the staff, players, fans. The timing of it probably is the thing that made it most difficult. Coming to Arkansas was the easy part."

He also said something to the effect of "I would have liked to have finished what we started here."

I call Bravo Sierra. He obviously didn't like it enough to actually, you know, DO IT.

If Alge Crumpler decided to sit out the rest of the season because Mike Vick went to the pokey and the Falcons went into the dumpster, he'd be fined... and if he decided to dog it to force a trade out of town, he'd be justly vilified. And if a college athlete decides to switch schools, the NCAA makes him sit out a full year. Heck, if I tried to access my 401-K before retirement, I would pay a hefty penalty for early withdrawl - and that's my own money in there. So, why not a similar penalty when the coach does it? He is breaking his contract; in Petrino's case, a FIVE-YEAR contract offered in good faith.* He lasted 13 games before deciding "boo-hoo, this is HARD" and fleeing back to college. ** (Or as he put it, "I knew I wanted to come back and coach in college football." Which, again, is Bravo Sierra, because if he DID know this when he signed the deal, he was putting his signature to a bald lie. Ask Sir Thomas More about that sometime.)

Ideally, there's a sanction for a guy like Petrino, or Nick Saban before him, or any of these other phony baloneys - nobody would trust them. Teams would be slow to hire them, for fear that the next open job would lure them away. At the very least, a pro team should seek some protection from the next big-time college hotshot jumping up in class - write into the contract a hefty penalty for ship jumping. The owner would have to pay any coach he fired, as per the contract; why is this a one-way situation? ***

This drives me particularly crazy on two levels.

1. In my little ghetto-hockey world, there is no such thing as contracts. If I agree to be the goalie for a team, I have an obligation to show up for the games, not quit if it's going badly, and should another team ask me to play with them, I would at the very least give my current team some notice, so they could get a new guy. If I didn't even tell them, and suddenly showed up for a game for the new guys and left them high and dry? My name would be mud; the commish would call me exotic obscenities, and I would very likely get run the first time I played my old squad. And I would deserve it. As a result, NOBODY does this in any of the leagues I've ever been in; not even forwards and defensemen, who are more easily replaceable. It's not worth it. Well, if we schlubs can honor our word, why not a highly-paid professional? Is it in part because of the pay, the idea that one is simply a mercenary who owes no loyalty, even while paying lip service to the concept of "family" and "commitment"?

2. Current Islanders coach Ted Nolan won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's best head coach back in 1995 (I think) with the Buffalo Sabres. He was then fired by the team (the sordid details are here) and suffered through a total blackballing lasting years - nobody would touch him before the Isles brought him aboard in 2006. This is a good guy with great coaching credentials who shows real commitment in giving back; but because he had a falling-out with his head-case goaltender and front office, nobody would give him a second shot, even as an assistant. This really ticks me off, frankly... apparently people would rather hire charlatans and head-cases to run teams, rather than dedicated and talented people. ****

And what happens to the defensive coordinator, Reggie Herring, who will coach Arkansas in their bowl game? It's likely that Petrino won't even retain him, and he will be pounding the bricks, uprooting his family in search of another gig. Some reward for loyalty to the program. The same may well go for the yet-to-be-named interim Falcons coach, if the "permanent" replacement wants to bring in his own staff. (update - it's Emmitt Thomas.)

* I would say "signed in good faith" as well, but the truth is that people have to sign contracts because their good faith is no good. If you could simply trust me to be your head coach, and I could trust you to pay me as agreed, then all would be well.

** Fun tidbit from the EPSN article linked above - Lou Holtz did the same thing in 1976 to the Jets; his destination? Arkansas. From football coaches to governors, this place seems to specialize in phonys.

*** Under-reported aspect of the story: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, an Arkansas alumnus, apparently had a hand in bringing the sides to each others' attention. The Falcons may stink out loud, but they are a conference rival. How is this not tampering? Do the Cowboys give the Falcons their first round draft pick, or do they skate on this?

**** I can only hope that Herring and Nolan and others choose to live by this fantastic quote from John Adams, so timely quoted by Sheila: "I thank God I have a Head, an Heart and Hands which if once fully exerted alltogether, will succeed in the World as well as those of the mean spirited, low minded, fawning obsequious scoundrells who have long hoped, that my Integrity would be an Obstacle in my Way, and enable them to out strip me in the Race. But what I want in Comparison of them, of Villany and servility, I will make up in Industry and Capacity. ... Nor shall Knavery, through any Negligence of mine, get the better of Honesty, nor Ignorance of Knowledge, nor Folly of Wisdom, nor Vice of Virtue."

John Adams - ^$*%# yeah!

Da Knights

Rutgers used two fake kicks and a monster game from Ray Rice to beat USF 30-27.

Rice had been considered to drop out of Heisman Trophy consideration a few weeks ago after the Knights dropped two straight, but 181 yards against the #2 team in the country - who hadn't allowed a 100 yard rusher since Rice did it last year - may catch some notice.

Yeah, ok, he did fumble in the fourth quarter, but this is Rutgers. They can't win a big game without giving the Loyal Sons a heart attack first.

I really feel most sorry for Auburn, who is going up against LSU this weekend. As if they weren't motivated enough to win, the Tigers now know that they can move back up in the rankings.

PS - oh, yeah - Isles won too. Take that, uncle jim!

PPS - updated 12:50 pm - Kurt Snibbe of ESPN.com chimes in on Page 2:


It kind of looks like Babe's big green cousin, pining for the fjords.

Thoughtcrime revisited

Maybe my tribal name is Beats a Dead Horse, but here we are again today - ESPN's Bomani Jones:

Wednesday night's game between Illinois and Michigan at Assembly Hall in Champaign will be emotional for some. Halftime will be the last time that Chief Illiniwek will dance as the the Fighting Illini's official mascot.

Dan Mahoney, who portrays Chief Illiniwek, believes "[Tonight] is going to be very tough for a lot of people." Ahhh, but those people should keep their eyes on the bright side -- at last, Illinois will move into the 21st century!

If Mahoney only knew how wonderful things are in the present. Does he know that in the 21st century, people are able to connect to the Internet without having to plug cords into their computers? Shoot, pretty soon cars might even pop up on campus that use gas and electricity and get about 60 miles to the gallon! And wait until he and his fellow Illini find out about this HDTV thing. They'll be able to read the players' tattoos without getting courtside seats!

But wow, it's a good thing no one will see Chief Illiniwek in HD after Wednesday. I'd imagine that crystal clarity would make it obvious what Chief Illiniwek often was -- a white kid dressed in feathers and using a stereotype of Native Americans in the name of entertainment.

Save the arguments that Illiniwek was intended to honor the state of Illinois' Native American heritage for someone dumb enough to believe them. As Ron Froman, the former chief of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma (the closest living descendents of the Illiniwek Confederacy), said, "I don't think [Chief Illiniwek] was intended to support us, because, they ran [us] out of Illinois."

Finally, Chief Illiniwek has been run out of the Univeristy of Illinois. Welcome to the present.

I've printed the whole thing because it's on Page 2's main intro for today, and since that gets updated every afternoon I don't think there's any sort of permalink. It's nice, of course, to see a shorter-format essay, not so nice to see the contents.

1. "Moving into the 21st century." It's a favorite theme to quote calendars in support of the truth, and to say that one's opponents are stuck in the past. Sometimes, it even makes sense. In this case, I'm not certain, since the scorn comes fast and heavy - hi-def TVs! Wireless internet! As if technology somehow changes what is or is not true. Look, if Illiniwek is insulting, he's insulting - and would be whether or not we still all rode horses and sent telegrams.

2. "I'd imagine that crystal clarity would make it obvious what Chief Illiniwek often was -- a white kid dressed in feathers and using a stereotype of Native Americans in the name of entertainment." It's true that the kid in the outfit was usually not Native American. And I seem to remember that the leprechaun mascot of the Fighting Irish was once black without the whole Emerald Isle marching on South Bend in their umbrage. The race of a person is wholly unimportant. It does not matter that Illiniwek was often performed by a non-Indian. Think about it this way - this white kid was proud to represent a Native American image - he felt a connection to the ideals that Illiniwek was created to represent. He had risen above ethnic ties to embrace a common humanity. And the feathers and the dancing were researched thoroughly, so whatever else one may think, this wasn't merely a caricature or stereotype, but as authentic as could be discovered.

3. "Save the arguments that Illiniwek was intended to honor the state of Illinois' Native American heritage for someone dumb enough to believe them." Mr. Jones, meet the people dumb enough to believe them - the people who helped create Chief Illiniwek 81 years ago. That actual tribes were driven from the state is true and regrettable - would we prefer to forget they ever existed on top of that? Would we prefer to know nothing of them and their philosophy of integrity, as represented by the name Illiniwek? "They spoke a dialect of the Algonquin language and used the term 'Illiniwek' to refer to the complete human being -- the strong, agile human body; the unfettered human intellect; the indomitable human spirit."

4. "Welcome to the present." Unfortunately, the present often sucks. Consider the pay-for-grades, booster kickbacks, thug culture, and general arrogance and entitlement rampant throughout many of the NCAA's flagship programs. I mean, Lamar Thomas cheered on the UM-FIU football brawl from the broadcast booth - ON THE AIR. (There was a reason for all those "Catholics vs. Convicts" t-shirts they used to sell.) There's the wonderfully tactful remark Steve Spurrier made while head coach of Florida, regarding Tennessee's inability to beat the Gators: "You can't spell Citrus without U-T." Great example, there, ballcoach. I see that example followed all the time - teenaged roller hockey players acting like they're immortal talents (and immortal jackasses) after scoring goals in rec league games, for crying out loud. Chief Illiniwek sets a far better example and represents a far greater ideal than most of the NCAA can boast, and instead of a reflexive condemnation based on mere appearances - "He wears feathers! It's a Native American! Hostile!" - we should take the time to do a little reading and consider that there could be something positive to be learned.

Now, the moment that you point this out, someone will hurry to talk about how the good old days weren't really a golden age, and that there's good and bad in every time. True - and another argument against using the calendar to approve or disapprove of someone's behavior.
...

Big heap thoughtcrime

The NCAA has a policy not to allow certain universities to host postseason events, mostly on the grounds of "hostile and abusive" campus atmospheres.

This comes in handy when Penn State decides to flood the quad with chlorine gas on purpose, but not so much in other circumstances - for example, when your team is named after anything having to do with Native Americans. The latest casualty is Chief Illiniwek of the University of Illinois. It turns out that their appeal was in vain, and the University is striking its tent on this issue.

The major objection to the Chief, who has been around since 1926, is that he trivializes and stereotypes Indians. Another objection, seen here, is that his dance is too authentic, and thus trivializes Indian religious belief.

Lost in all of this is the actual history of Illiniwek, gleaned fairly easily from the University's athletic department website. What's written there suggests that the whole point of the Chief is educative, to show the strengths and virtues of the Native Americans:

The expression "Illiniwek" was first used in conjunction with the University of Illinois by football coach Bob Zuppke in the mid 1920's. Zup was a philosopher and historian by training and inclination, and he was intrigued by the concept the Illini peoples held about their identity and aspirations. They spoke a dialect of the Algonquin language and used the term "Illiniwek" to refer to the complete human being -- the strong, agile human body; the unfettered human intellect; the indomitable human spirit.

Agile and strong, unfettered mind, indomitable spirit... sign me up, please.

The first performance was well-received. The first student spent the following summer studying Indian culture, and his replacement, who wanted to give Illiniwek a genuine costume, hitchhiked to South Dakota to explain his intentions and was made an authentic outfit by three Sioux women. "Since then, five different authentic outfits have been used by Chief Illiniwek. The one used in performances now was purchased in 1983 from Sioux Chief Frank Fools Crow..."

This mutual cooperation and understanding is a little too much to bear for certain folks, who've banded together to be a colossal pain in the headdress. Now to start off with, I am going to be clear: they have the God-given right to be as colossal and painful as they please. I would never silence them. But that doesn't mean I agree with them. In fact, given some of the statements printed there, it's hard to disagree because one isn't sure what they mean. The most convoluted screed so far is dated November 17, 2006, by D Anthony Tyeeme Clark, "Why I Don't Do Interviews About the Chief." (Press releases, yes. Interviews? People questioning me about my public statements? Oppresion!)

The problem with print and television journalists is that they frame the issue of Chief Illiniwek around the notion of “objectivity” as it tends to be constituted in a so-called balanced journalism.

It figures. One of the few times the media actually strive to be balanced and objective, they get condemned.

Emerging out of a dominant culture and power of antagonism that elides the play of power in racism and colonialism,

Uh-oh. I smell some rifted writing coming on.

journalists uphold a racist, colonialist, ...

You already mentioned that.

... misogynist, and heterosexist status quo when assuming two opposite sides:

Oppresors! How dare anyone assume TWO sides!

... a multi-racial, majority-white critical mass who, through the lens of critical cultural theory, represent a form of homo-social Chief love rooted historically and psychologically in the fear of being emasculated (of losing white-male heterosexist power and privileges), and “the Native Americans,” who in local mass media represent chief hate, as well as assimilation.

It was more confusing, believe me, before I corrected the punctuation - but even the repaired version is nonsense. He seems to be accusing journalists of assigning people to two categories, both of which he himself has invented and neither of which is complimentary.

I guarantee you that the critical mass doesn't look at things through the lens of critical cultural theory. They're not gullible enough. They couldn't care less, and thank God for it. For example, Mr. Clark, looking through his lens, darkly, thinks that people's love for Chief Illiniwek is based on fear of being emasculated. I think the psychologists call this "projection," personally, but leave that aside for a moment. About the only thing clear here is that Mr. Clark prefers demonizing those who disagree to explaining his objection to the Chief. He's hit every PC buzzword for "my enemies are evil" - misogyny, racism, heterosexism, and colonialism. (I wouldn't be surprised if they all had really big carbon footprints, too.) He's so opposed to the objective approach that he's decided to be barking mad to to set himself apart.

Chief Illiniwek can be understood simultaneously as a dignified symbol of the university and an example of what Renato Resaldo terms “imperialist nostalgia,” a widespread tactic used by white peoples and people of color collaborators in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States (and, before apartheid ended, South Africa) to cover up domination and transform those responsible for the oppression of indigenous peoples—including American Indians—to act as innocent bystanders.

Um... really? So, it's insulting for Illiniwek to be a dignified symbol? I don't get it. Historically, oppressors destroyed the cultural and social practices of those they conquered. Rome didn't celebrate Carthaginian or Etruscan achievements, they obliterated every possible trace of them and plowed the very soil with salt. The admirable stuff (like the Hellenic gods and art) they simply stole and renamed. It's a strange oppression that consults with an indigenous people for a more authentic expression of their nobility and power.

Thus, love for the high-stepping, jumping official symbol of the University comes into view in ways that empower adoring fans and university alumni to ignore the history (e.g., genocide) and its lingering residue (such as legal title to stolen land) from which most white people and many non-Native American people of color continue to reap untold benefit.

Oh, criminy. Look, the U.S. is not giving back Chicago, OK? For one thing, they built it. For another, Native American persons have equal rights under law with everyone else, so even with the country's faults we're coming out ahead of most similar situations in history. (In fact, since Indian nations are still technically sovereign, sometimes Native Americans have more rights under law in US Courts than they do in tribal proceedings - little things such as trial by jury and the right to counsel.) The treatment of the conquered Native American peoples isn't something to be proud of, but making the misdeeds of history the only parts that matter is patently dishonest.

Oh, and he does go on... it's all about power, blah blah, and "the struggle for hegemony." He's half-right, at least, on that count - but he's the one who wants the hegemony. He wants the University of Illinois to adhere to his ideal of white behavior: bowing and scraping and forever apologizing, pausing every moment to acknowledge the evils of their past (but NEVER the successes or virtues); and forbidden to admire a culture other than their own. This permanent sorry is more acceptable than a vigorous debate between free minds: the best way for us hegemonic oppressors to deal with our profound dread and apprehension is to be made to constantly feel it.

Dominant culture and power constitute a reaction formation of visual impressions, assumptions, stereotypes, and expectations that transform unacceptable urges into their opposite and free white people and their people of color allies from the necessity of dealing with profound dread and apprehension.

Just to recap - you're not allowed to admire a foreign culture, and you're not allowed to transform unacceptable urges into their opposite. In the old days, that was called improving your character; now it's just a smokescreen, a way to dodge unpleasant feelings.

Thus, through an enduring life-cycle of repetitive signifying practices (from children's literature and activities such as “sitting like an Indian” to scouting and Y-Indian Guides and Princesses) Illinoisans link their children and themselves through reaction formation to the institutionalized authority of spiritual guides such as Chief Illiniwek who capture their imaginations and offer them cathartic reproof of their ancestors' injustices and conceal their complicity in the ongoing oppression of Indian peoples.

FOR GOD'S SAKE BUY A DAMNED COMMA.

As for the "substance" of the objections: scouting? Lord Baden-Powell, trying to instill character in young men, was doing evil? He was oppressing Native Americans? Horse feathers. All of these hundred-dollar words really just boil down to one thing: D Anthony Tyeeme Clark is furiously determined to take his offense. If facts don't back up his umbrage, he will denounce them as false objectivity. If Illiniwek were a caricatured savage he'd complain on those grounds, but since he's meant as a noble figure of admiration and pride for the school, he'll complain on those grounds instead. Admiring the Chief means oppressing the rest of us! You are complicit! And I will toss as much sociology and grievance jargon at you as I need to avoid your questions!

Really, if he just says, "Chief Illiniwek offends me," then we can discuss why. If he further says, "I think that holding up Illiniwek as a wholesome image after having warred against actual Indians, confining them to reservations, is patronising lip service," then we have an actual position to be argued. In doing so, he may actually change some minds - but he also runs a risk of having his own mind changed. People discussing an idea from two different sides are in one sense colleagues: searching for a consensus, trying to reach a true answer or at least an accurate understanding of each other's thinking. This is obviously unacceptable - he says as much when he brands those who cooperate "collaborators." Descriptively, it's accurate, but he's not trying to define, but conjure. When he says collaborator he wants us to think quisling. Beyond that he doesn't want us to really think at all. He's so proud we are not allowed to admire his pride, his people so noble that we are not permitted to want to be like them. According to Mr. Clark, we are permitted only to be inferior and acknowledge it, never to improve on it. This amounts to racism, and Mr. Clark's fancy dress terms don't make his hatred virtuous, any more than putting a warthog in a prom dress makes it the homecoming queen.

Forgive me if I decline to share in delusion, however erudite.