This weekend marks the ending of much academic stress and the beginning of new lives for many of my friends. A time when the perseverence through "all-niters" will seem like it was worth it. A time when wasting a week of study time away hanging out with friends (which caused the need for the all-niters) will also seem worth it. A time for reflection, a time for celebration, and a time for much joy. It is graduation weekend at my Alma Mater, the University of Michigan.
For me, it is a joyous occasion because I had the opportunity to mentor many of this year's graduates during some part of their collegiate career. And I really hate to sound sappy, but this is the heartfelt truth: I am so proud of so many of them. The torch of social awareness, economic integrity, academic excellence and magnanimous ethics that was once passed to me by my many mentors (whom I greatly appreciate) has been picked up by these fine men and women, and I'm sure they also leave a positive legacy to aspire to.
On various visits back, I had the grand opportunity to watch many of them work in their elements. Some in "oral acrobats," reciting original pristine lines of prose in the form of spoken word. Others displaying great physical endurance and discipline in many forms of dance. And then there are those who turned to service by volunteering in shelters or by raising money for charitable causes. To all of them, the World says "thank you," and I say that I am proud of you.
The one theme in everything, the premise that I enjoy so much, is that each event put on by these graduates was an opportunity for community education and social coalescence. Not a single event was put on just for the heck of it. But whether it was for cultural awareness in the Latino, Asian Pacific American, or Indian American communities, or if it was for awareness surrounding AIDS or Cancer, each event was unifying and educational. We often speak of "giving back to the community." Well, I'm glad to say that these students have already done so, and show no signs of letting up.
Looking back, I can't believe that just one year ago I was at the same point and in the position you are now in. So if I could give any advice, I'd have to say cherish the moment. Graduation is a for real, once in a lifetime event. Even if you obtain an advanced degree later on, it won't be like getting this one. This time you will graduate with people you have laughed with, cried with, and grown with.
So take as many pictures as possible, and take every opportunity you can to spend your final moments on Campus with your friends. Because once it's over, such classic moments will have passed you by. As many pictures as I normally take, I certainly regret that I didn't take more from the Graduation Ceremony, and with my friends who attended with me. However, I do remember, and will always cherish the time I was able to spend with them before, during, and after (even the ensuing weeks) graduation.
Some of you I know are moving on to further your education, some are on the road to marital bliss, yet others have landed a career job. Whatever you do, don't forsake the chances you now have to hang out with friends one last time, to thank Counselor's and Professor's that helped you out, and to honor those in your families that prayed you through. The advanced education is still there, the marriage will be soon on the way, and your job is waiting for you. Don't be in such a rush to get there that you take for granted the ones who helped you make it there.
Though I will not be able to make it back to see you cross that stage (or stand up in mass at the Big House, as it were). I'm glad for the many hours we all spent together learning of each other's cultures and experiences. I'm forever thankful for the multitude of Diag gatherings. And you know I'm grateful for all the Mafia games (even the last one a month ago, which was indeed epic and reminiscent of some of the games 3 and 4 years ago that I met many of you at). I surely look forward to crossing paths with you in the future.
Like a big brother, I certainly speak of each of you with glee, and do walk around with my chest held high because I know there is much more greatness to come.
Enjoy your day, and Congratulations!!!
GO BLUE!!!
-Maelstrom
Friday, April 29, 2005
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Baptized in the River
“I know where he was murdered. I know the river he was put in,” Elizabeth James calmly said. “I used to buy candy in the store where they say he whistled…,” she continued. Although she didn’t know him or his uncle personally, being from Money, Mississippi, and subsequently living in Chicago, she knew his story well. In fact Ms. James, as she is affectionately referred to by many that know her, had no trouble recounting the events that led up to this tragedy, and its subsequent affect on America.
Due to segregation, racism and Jim Crow laws during the first half of the twentieth century, life was more than difficult for blacks in the South. Many worked as sharecroppers and spent the majority of their days picking cotton in the vast plantation fields. Though a large portion of them were considered to be free, they lived their lives as if they were yet slaves. After slavery was officially abolished, farming land and picking cotton (jobs commonly associated with slaves) were the birthright of many blacks in the South. It was also their “right” to regard white people as superior and to fear the consequences of not doing so, with lynching often being one of those consequences.
Ms. James noted that her brother, whom she simply calls “Brother,” had to step off the sidewalk if a white person was walking toward him. When young white girls turned twelve years old, black people—regardless of their age—had to refer to them as “ma’am” or “Miss.” Public bathrooms, as many today are well aware, were separated: one for coloreds and one for whites.
“I guess I was a child and I felt the world should have been that way. I didn’t know any better.” Ms. James explained. “My mom was a sharecropper. And we had food, and things to eat. But they would say you can’t do this and you can’t do that.”
Money, Mississippi was named after a man known to Ms. James simply as Mr. Money. Mr. Money happened to be Ms. James’ great, great uncle. The town was bordered by the Tallahatchee River, which ran south towards the Gulf of Mexico, on its east side. The town of Greenwood was a few miles to the south of Money, and Sumner, Mississippi was a few miles north. A railway, which ran north to south, connected these delta towns.
With respect to segregation, Money was certainly no different than most other small settlements in the South during that time. Blacks and whites didn’t live in the same areas. Ms. James recalled that the blacks lived on the farmland that was to the south of the town. There was a road that created a line of demarcation between the blacks and the whites. The one black person who lived on the “white” side of the road happened to be Ms. James’ grandfather, Paul Reynolds. Paul was a blunt black man who often spoke his mind despite the looming threat of being lynched. The white people called him “that crazy nigger.” Ms. James believes that her grandfather was given that leeway because he had seven sons who farmed an unusually large amount of land. This brought substantial revenue to the white people who owned the land. As long as his sons produced at the rate at which they did, Paul could get away with saying things to the white people that no other black could.
“You’d be surprised that black people don’t know their culture; they don’t know where they (have) come from. And it’s an old saying, if you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going,” Ms. James said.
During the 1930’s and 1940’s, there was something of a “black flight” from the South to the North. Many blacks moved to the Midwestern states of Illinois and Michigan, and settled in large cities like Chicago and Detroit. In some instances they left all they had in the South, including family and belongings, and moved in with relatives that had already sought refuge in the North. Yet in other instances, blacks took all that they could to the North with no intentions of returning to the South. Those who left much of their family in the South made yearly trips back to their roots. Even though they had moved north where racism wasn’t as brutal, they knew that upon return, they had to carry on as if they had never left. However, this became a bit of a problem when people who were raised in the South began raising families in the North. On their yearly pilgrimage back home they often brought their young, ignorant children with them to meet their relatives. Such was the case in the summer of 1955.
Recounting the time frame, in her seventy-nine year old mind, Ms. James put all the events together. She was able to remember the events of that year well because she was pregnant with her fourth son. He was born in June of 1955. The murder occurred only a few months after that. “It was the week before Labor Day; I won’t forget that, because Sweetheart didn’t have to go to work on Monday. I was visiting my Aunt the day that this happened, but I did not know this had happened.”
As it turned out, no one knew this horrendous crime had taken place for days. It first hit the black media, and then took weeks to make an impact in the national media. When it was all said and done, another wheel had been added to the car that would eventually drive the Civil Rights movement forward.
Sweetheart, her husband, informed Ms. James of the occurrence shortly after they returned to their home in Chicago from Mississippi. “That Tuesday he came home and asked me, did I know that something was going on, or had I heard it on the news, down in my home town?,” Sweetheart asked. “In Money, they have found a boy that they put in the river,” he told her. The following day he came home with the Chicago Defender—a prominent black newspaper that still exists today—where the murder was the major headline. “I didn’t see anything in the white newspaper,” Ms. James remembered.
Ms. James was in Money to visit old friends and relatives. Among the friends she visited was a lady by the name of Ms. Crawford. Ms. Crawford lived next door to a minister that everyone called Uncle Mose. Uncle Mose’s great nephew was visiting from Chicago at the same time that Ms. James was in Money. Uncle Mose’s nephew and Ms. Crawford’s kids went to the store to buy some snacks one day. During their visit to the store, Uncle Mose’s nephew whistled at a white woman, according to the Crawford kids. He was kidnapped from Uncle Mose’s home a few days later by the same white woman’s husband and his half brother. For days, he was missing.
They found his body north of Money in Sumner, in the Tallahatchee River, where Ms. James was baptized. His face, horribly mutilated; his head, with holes; his neck, encased in a cotton gin; his life, tragically cut short.
“I remember when they brought his body back to Chicago. It was hot. Sister, and a lot of people who lived in the building where I lived, went to see him. I heard the mother on the radio talking about, ‘I’m not going to let the undertaker make him up, I want everybody to see what they done to my child.’”
A line of people went to go see this slain child. The line went for about two and a half Chicago blocks. Upon viewing the mutilated corpse many people fainted or vomited. The incredibly maimed figure that existed in the coffin could hardly be identified as a human being. Although heavily urged by her sister to go see the corpse, Ms. James opted not to. She had two young children to watch, and she didn’t want to leave them behind with anyone.
The men who kidnapped the boy were put on trial in Sumner, Mississippi. The jury was all white and the courtroom setting was something like a white gathering. There appeared to be nothing professional about the behavior of the defendants or the spectators in the courtroom, who were chattering amongst themselves, telling jokes and carrying on as if they were in a cafeteria and not a courthouse.
Well aware of what happened to the boy and who killed him, but mindful of the consequences of speaking up about it, most of the blacks in Money that knew anything hid in the fields, fled northward, or kept their mouths shut. There were a couple of courageous souls who testified at the trial. Among the brave was Uncle Mose. When asked who had kidnapped the boy from his home, Uncle Mose famously stood up, pointed at the kidnappers, and said “Dar he.”
Paul Reynolds, Ms. James grandfather, attended the trial and noted how the black dignitaries and news reporters who were present had to sit in a corner at a particularly small table. Among the dignitaries was Congressman Charles Diggs from Detroit. Congressman Diggs was expecting the trial to be carried out the same way it would have been carried out in the North. As the trial neared its end, he anxiously awaited the verdict. In the meantime, all the blacks who were in the courtroom began to file out. Congressman Diggs was advised by the other blacks to leave as well. He questioned why they would leave before the verdict was read. The response he got was that he didn’t want to know what the verdict was going to be, and that he would be better off not hearing it.
After sixty-seven minutes of deliberation, the men were found not guilty. A few months later, they sold their story to Look Magazine for $4000. In the magazine, the kidnapper/murderers told how they only intended to put a scare into the boy. Thy pistol-whipped him numerous times to no avail. The boy still wasn’t afraid. “They asked him, ‘Nigger ain’t you afraid?’ And he said ‘no’,” Ms. James recalled.
The murder, the trial, and the media attention that it eventually garnered helped to jumpstart the Civil Rights movement. It, along with the Brown vs. the Board of Education decision in 1954, the murder of a black man who was attempting to vote in 1955, and numerous other pointless black lynchings, helped to fan the winds of change. Though the history books often point to Rosa Parks and the bus boycott in December of 1955 as the start of the Civil Rights movement because of the unity amongst blacks it created, Ms. James believes that this boy’s death was truly the starting point of intolerable outrage in the black community that brought about the necessary unity that eventually brought change in America. This case, in particular, made the world recognize the horror of racism that existed in the United States.
One of Ms. James’ daughters doesn’t like to dwell on stories such as this one. She once told her mom that their generation made a way for her, and that she doesn’t like to think about how her ancestors were treated. “She says they paved the way, and she just wants to leave it back there,” Ms. James noted about her daughter’s comments. “But you can’t leave it back there. You’ve got to remember what happened. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.”
Due to segregation, racism and Jim Crow laws during the first half of the twentieth century, life was more than difficult for blacks in the South. Many worked as sharecroppers and spent the majority of their days picking cotton in the vast plantation fields. Though a large portion of them were considered to be free, they lived their lives as if they were yet slaves. After slavery was officially abolished, farming land and picking cotton (jobs commonly associated with slaves) were the birthright of many blacks in the South. It was also their “right” to regard white people as superior and to fear the consequences of not doing so, with lynching often being one of those consequences.
Ms. James noted that her brother, whom she simply calls “Brother,” had to step off the sidewalk if a white person was walking toward him. When young white girls turned twelve years old, black people—regardless of their age—had to refer to them as “ma’am” or “Miss.” Public bathrooms, as many today are well aware, were separated: one for coloreds and one for whites.
“I guess I was a child and I felt the world should have been that way. I didn’t know any better.” Ms. James explained. “My mom was a sharecropper. And we had food, and things to eat. But they would say you can’t do this and you can’t do that.”
Money, Mississippi was named after a man known to Ms. James simply as Mr. Money. Mr. Money happened to be Ms. James’ great, great uncle. The town was bordered by the Tallahatchee River, which ran south towards the Gulf of Mexico, on its east side. The town of Greenwood was a few miles to the south of Money, and Sumner, Mississippi was a few miles north. A railway, which ran north to south, connected these delta towns.
With respect to segregation, Money was certainly no different than most other small settlements in the South during that time. Blacks and whites didn’t live in the same areas. Ms. James recalled that the blacks lived on the farmland that was to the south of the town. There was a road that created a line of demarcation between the blacks and the whites. The one black person who lived on the “white” side of the road happened to be Ms. James’ grandfather, Paul Reynolds. Paul was a blunt black man who often spoke his mind despite the looming threat of being lynched. The white people called him “that crazy nigger.” Ms. James believes that her grandfather was given that leeway because he had seven sons who farmed an unusually large amount of land. This brought substantial revenue to the white people who owned the land. As long as his sons produced at the rate at which they did, Paul could get away with saying things to the white people that no other black could.
“You’d be surprised that black people don’t know their culture; they don’t know where they (have) come from. And it’s an old saying, if you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going,” Ms. James said.
During the 1930’s and 1940’s, there was something of a “black flight” from the South to the North. Many blacks moved to the Midwestern states of Illinois and Michigan, and settled in large cities like Chicago and Detroit. In some instances they left all they had in the South, including family and belongings, and moved in with relatives that had already sought refuge in the North. Yet in other instances, blacks took all that they could to the North with no intentions of returning to the South. Those who left much of their family in the South made yearly trips back to their roots. Even though they had moved north where racism wasn’t as brutal, they knew that upon return, they had to carry on as if they had never left. However, this became a bit of a problem when people who were raised in the South began raising families in the North. On their yearly pilgrimage back home they often brought their young, ignorant children with them to meet their relatives. Such was the case in the summer of 1955.
Recounting the time frame, in her seventy-nine year old mind, Ms. James put all the events together. She was able to remember the events of that year well because she was pregnant with her fourth son. He was born in June of 1955. The murder occurred only a few months after that. “It was the week before Labor Day; I won’t forget that, because Sweetheart didn’t have to go to work on Monday. I was visiting my Aunt the day that this happened, but I did not know this had happened.”
As it turned out, no one knew this horrendous crime had taken place for days. It first hit the black media, and then took weeks to make an impact in the national media. When it was all said and done, another wheel had been added to the car that would eventually drive the Civil Rights movement forward.
Sweetheart, her husband, informed Ms. James of the occurrence shortly after they returned to their home in Chicago from Mississippi. “That Tuesday he came home and asked me, did I know that something was going on, or had I heard it on the news, down in my home town?,” Sweetheart asked. “In Money, they have found a boy that they put in the river,” he told her. The following day he came home with the Chicago Defender—a prominent black newspaper that still exists today—where the murder was the major headline. “I didn’t see anything in the white newspaper,” Ms. James remembered.
Ms. James was in Money to visit old friends and relatives. Among the friends she visited was a lady by the name of Ms. Crawford. Ms. Crawford lived next door to a minister that everyone called Uncle Mose. Uncle Mose’s great nephew was visiting from Chicago at the same time that Ms. James was in Money. Uncle Mose’s nephew and Ms. Crawford’s kids went to the store to buy some snacks one day. During their visit to the store, Uncle Mose’s nephew whistled at a white woman, according to the Crawford kids. He was kidnapped from Uncle Mose’s home a few days later by the same white woman’s husband and his half brother. For days, he was missing.
They found his body north of Money in Sumner, in the Tallahatchee River, where Ms. James was baptized. His face, horribly mutilated; his head, with holes; his neck, encased in a cotton gin; his life, tragically cut short.
“I remember when they brought his body back to Chicago. It was hot. Sister, and a lot of people who lived in the building where I lived, went to see him. I heard the mother on the radio talking about, ‘I’m not going to let the undertaker make him up, I want everybody to see what they done to my child.’”
A line of people went to go see this slain child. The line went for about two and a half Chicago blocks. Upon viewing the mutilated corpse many people fainted or vomited. The incredibly maimed figure that existed in the coffin could hardly be identified as a human being. Although heavily urged by her sister to go see the corpse, Ms. James opted not to. She had two young children to watch, and she didn’t want to leave them behind with anyone.
The men who kidnapped the boy were put on trial in Sumner, Mississippi. The jury was all white and the courtroom setting was something like a white gathering. There appeared to be nothing professional about the behavior of the defendants or the spectators in the courtroom, who were chattering amongst themselves, telling jokes and carrying on as if they were in a cafeteria and not a courthouse.
Well aware of what happened to the boy and who killed him, but mindful of the consequences of speaking up about it, most of the blacks in Money that knew anything hid in the fields, fled northward, or kept their mouths shut. There were a couple of courageous souls who testified at the trial. Among the brave was Uncle Mose. When asked who had kidnapped the boy from his home, Uncle Mose famously stood up, pointed at the kidnappers, and said “Dar he.”
Paul Reynolds, Ms. James grandfather, attended the trial and noted how the black dignitaries and news reporters who were present had to sit in a corner at a particularly small table. Among the dignitaries was Congressman Charles Diggs from Detroit. Congressman Diggs was expecting the trial to be carried out the same way it would have been carried out in the North. As the trial neared its end, he anxiously awaited the verdict. In the meantime, all the blacks who were in the courtroom began to file out. Congressman Diggs was advised by the other blacks to leave as well. He questioned why they would leave before the verdict was read. The response he got was that he didn’t want to know what the verdict was going to be, and that he would be better off not hearing it.
After sixty-seven minutes of deliberation, the men were found not guilty. A few months later, they sold their story to Look Magazine for $4000. In the magazine, the kidnapper/murderers told how they only intended to put a scare into the boy. Thy pistol-whipped him numerous times to no avail. The boy still wasn’t afraid. “They asked him, ‘Nigger ain’t you afraid?’ And he said ‘no’,” Ms. James recalled.
The murder, the trial, and the media attention that it eventually garnered helped to jumpstart the Civil Rights movement. It, along with the Brown vs. the Board of Education decision in 1954, the murder of a black man who was attempting to vote in 1955, and numerous other pointless black lynchings, helped to fan the winds of change. Though the history books often point to Rosa Parks and the bus boycott in December of 1955 as the start of the Civil Rights movement because of the unity amongst blacks it created, Ms. James believes that this boy’s death was truly the starting point of intolerable outrage in the black community that brought about the necessary unity that eventually brought change in America. This case, in particular, made the world recognize the horror of racism that existed in the United States.
One of Ms. James’ daughters doesn’t like to dwell on stories such as this one. She once told her mom that their generation made a way for her, and that she doesn’t like to think about how her ancestors were treated. “She says they paved the way, and she just wants to leave it back there,” Ms. James noted about her daughter’s comments. “But you can’t leave it back there. You’ve got to remember what happened. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.”
Thursday, April 21, 2005
The News, Revisited
For some reason my writing ability seems to be at a negative five right now. As a result, I’ve been attempting to write a response to comments left by my friend “GO” last week, concerning the nature of News coverage in this country (This Week On The News). I wrote a response like three days ago, but the language was sub-par and I couldn’t put the right words together. So I’ve enlisted some help through Instant Messenger conversations and some of the comments GO left, in order to further the train of thought expressed in that post. I’ll try to be brief.
To reiterate the thesis: The News sucks! News stations amplify stupid stories (e.g. Janet Jackson’s breast), diminish important issues (e.g. recent alleged government involvement in 26 deaths of Iraqi prisoners), and often feed the nation with one course meals of insignificant occurrences (e.g. Terri Schiavo).
One thing that I had thought about, but GO aptly noted in his comments, is that seemingly inherent in human nature is voyeuristic tendencies. We all claim not to care what the “Jones’s” are doing, and we seemingly have an intrinsic disdain for Hollywood and all its glitz, but secretly we do care what Britney Spears is up to this week, and we really are curious to find out if Michael Jackson is guilty. If not, how else would Reality TV survive?
As my West Coast IM friend Harinder put it, “Because we like those things (Maelstrom)! We just need a pretext to watch them without guilt…porn is stigmatized, but watching Janet’s breasts over and over and over on TV ‘just to denounce’ them, now that’s fine…curiously bizarre part of society.”
Unfortunately, this voyeuristicness (if I can coin a word) and guilt-guarding (to coin another) creeps into the most important things like disbursement of information through the media.
How do we rectify this problem? I don’t know if it is rectifiable at this point because there is seemingly no viable alternative. What we need is a news-station that leans neither to the political right or left, but gives us the news as it is. A news-station that has the balls to actually report dissenting opinions with respect to the Political Party that is in power. Most importantly, we need a station that doesn’t waste time on trivialized, sensationalistic “whoop-tee-do,” which has little to do with the vicissitudes of the average American’s lives.
Sounds like a tall order, but in a nation that’s supposed to be a Democracy, it shouldn’t be impossible.
Alright, my brain is fried, I can’t seem to think or write clearly, so that is all! If you want real wisdom on this topic, peep GO's comments at the end of my April 11th post, This Week On The News. Any further comments???
-Maelstrom
To reiterate the thesis: The News sucks! News stations amplify stupid stories (e.g. Janet Jackson’s breast), diminish important issues (e.g. recent alleged government involvement in 26 deaths of Iraqi prisoners), and often feed the nation with one course meals of insignificant occurrences (e.g. Terri Schiavo).
One thing that I had thought about, but GO aptly noted in his comments, is that seemingly inherent in human nature is voyeuristic tendencies. We all claim not to care what the “Jones’s” are doing, and we seemingly have an intrinsic disdain for Hollywood and all its glitz, but secretly we do care what Britney Spears is up to this week, and we really are curious to find out if Michael Jackson is guilty. If not, how else would Reality TV survive?
As my West Coast IM friend Harinder put it, “Because we like those things (Maelstrom)! We just need a pretext to watch them without guilt…porn is stigmatized, but watching Janet’s breasts over and over and over on TV ‘just to denounce’ them, now that’s fine…curiously bizarre part of society.”
Unfortunately, this voyeuristicness (if I can coin a word) and guilt-guarding (to coin another) creeps into the most important things like disbursement of information through the media.
How do we rectify this problem? I don’t know if it is rectifiable at this point because there is seemingly no viable alternative. What we need is a news-station that leans neither to the political right or left, but gives us the news as it is. A news-station that has the balls to actually report dissenting opinions with respect to the Political Party that is in power. Most importantly, we need a station that doesn’t waste time on trivialized, sensationalistic “whoop-tee-do,” which has little to do with the vicissitudes of the average American’s lives.
Sounds like a tall order, but in a nation that’s supposed to be a Democracy, it shouldn’t be impossible.
Alright, my brain is fried, I can’t seem to think or write clearly, so that is all! If you want real wisdom on this topic, peep GO's comments at the end of my April 11th post, This Week On The News. Any further comments???
-Maelstrom
Thursday, April 14, 2005
John Bolton
In a world where people have embraced their own religions, races, ethnicities, social classes, etc, and used the principles of such things to separate themselves from people of differing beliefs (despite the ballyhooed notion of integration), at least one organization exists with the purpose to unite people for the benefit of the whole planet. That organization is the United Nations (UN).
The UN was birthed in the days following World War II. And although several dozens of countries aren’t members of the UN, its fundamental purpose is the pursuit of Justice in Human Rights for all people.
To that end, the United Nations has come under serious criticism in recent years, mostly over three issues. The most ubiquitous being the Oil-For-Food Scandal with the others being its ineptitude in bringing UN Peacekeepers to justice for criminal acts that include countless rapes in areas like The Congo in Africa, and its slothfulness in aiding war-torn areas like the Darfur region of the Sudan. Indeed, the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan himself has been heavily criticized for mismanagement of the organization over the last 2 years.
Among the many countries that are members, only a handful are significantly powerful; France, Germany, Great Britain (to name a few), and of course the United States of America.
Each country has an Ambassador that speaks on behalf of that nation to the United Nations’ Assembly. President Bush recently nominated Undersecretary of State John Bolton to be the UN Ambassador for the USA. For many, many years, Bolton has been an ardent critic of the UN, and the Political Right believes that his hard-line approach to the UN is exactly what is needed to “right the ship.” This week, on Capitol Hill, his nomination is being brought to a vote.
Bolton is the proud owner of plentiful sound-bytes on the United Nations. So, to give you an idea of his character, and what he thinks of the UN, I’ll let you read one. This particular quote is from Bolton during an interview in the mid-90’s. And I quote:
“The League of Nations was a failure because the United States did not participate. The United Nations would be a failure if the United States did not participate and, in fact, I remember as vividly as though it were yesterday, right after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Jim Baker said to me, we’re going to make this United Nations work, or we’re going to find out whether it is the League Nations or the UN. And that's the fact. And if you don't like it, then I’m sorry. The United States makes the UN work when it wants it to work, and that is exactly the way it should be, because the only question, the only question for the United States is what is in our national interest. And if you don't like that, I’m sorry, but that is the fact.”
STOP!!!
Now scroll back up and read the last two sentences of that quote again out loud to yourself.
Ok, I’d now like to say in one extremely bold and loud statement that John Bolton is exactly who we DON’T need as Ambassador to the United Nations. He is the epitome of American arrogance, and he is the embodiment of everything that the rest of the world hates about America. His idea of diplomacy is you listen to us (the United States), do as we say, or we’re gonna blow you up. The quotation above indicates as much.
On TV, the radio, and the internet, I’ve listened to and read many of his statements concerning the UN, and in ALL of them he points fingers and never offers qualified solutions. He is plainly accusatory and thinks that the US is always right. I indeed agree with Senator Barbara Boxer when she says that the guy needs to be placed in anger management courses and not the UN Ambassador seat.
I don’t know why we insist upon pissing the rest of the world off. All these incendiary appointments by Bush (Condoleeza Rice to Secretary of State, Paul Wolfowitz to Head the World Bank) do everything to further promote anti-American sentiment. This administration fails to understand that the world liked Colin Powell because he was even-handed in his approach, and knew HOW to talk to people.
Certainly the UN needs some critical reform, but Bolton isn’t going to help towards that end because he will always be seen as a UN cynic by other nations. Furthermore, I’m tired of the USA criticizing the UN when the sole reason that the UN has been so ineffective is because the USA itself has violated some of its laws (like pre-emptively invading Iraq without a UN Resolution for war), and because all we do is sit back and criticize while not taking an active role in reform. If we don’t get things our way in the UN, we just ignore it and do what we want.
The last time I checked, that is not the way to function within a group or cooperative organization, as the UN is. And honestly, a leader best leads when they lead by example, not by force or a heavy-hand. So if you want to talk about the USA leading the UN in a better direction, we should work within the framework of the UN’s guidelines (which aren’t significantly flawed), set a magnanimous example, and watch all the other nations follow suit.
Too many times have I literally heard right-wing politicians say that “the United Nations is a joke.” Well, if the UN is a joke, and the USA is a part of it, what does that say about us???
ARROGANCE, ARROGANCE, ARROGANCE!!!
It frustrates me so. I hope that US politicians and citizens alike realize that in modern times the length of world power by any particular nation is about 80 years. We’ve been a world power since the 1st World War, and the most significant power in the world for the last 30 years or so. That means that our time is just about up. And it sounds cryptic, but NO NATION IS POWERFUL INDEFINITELY (read the history books).
So all I’m saying is that in this cacophonous solution of multifarious people, we need a buffer in the United States’ UN Ambassador seat, not a catalyst for the imminent fall from grace for the USA. And Bolton is as far from a buffer as the East is from the West.
-Maelstrom
The UN was birthed in the days following World War II. And although several dozens of countries aren’t members of the UN, its fundamental purpose is the pursuit of Justice in Human Rights for all people.
To that end, the United Nations has come under serious criticism in recent years, mostly over three issues. The most ubiquitous being the Oil-For-Food Scandal with the others being its ineptitude in bringing UN Peacekeepers to justice for criminal acts that include countless rapes in areas like The Congo in Africa, and its slothfulness in aiding war-torn areas like the Darfur region of the Sudan. Indeed, the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan himself has been heavily criticized for mismanagement of the organization over the last 2 years.
Among the many countries that are members, only a handful are significantly powerful; France, Germany, Great Britain (to name a few), and of course the United States of America.
Each country has an Ambassador that speaks on behalf of that nation to the United Nations’ Assembly. President Bush recently nominated Undersecretary of State John Bolton to be the UN Ambassador for the USA. For many, many years, Bolton has been an ardent critic of the UN, and the Political Right believes that his hard-line approach to the UN is exactly what is needed to “right the ship.” This week, on Capitol Hill, his nomination is being brought to a vote.
Bolton is the proud owner of plentiful sound-bytes on the United Nations. So, to give you an idea of his character, and what he thinks of the UN, I’ll let you read one. This particular quote is from Bolton during an interview in the mid-90’s. And I quote:
“The League of Nations was a failure because the United States did not participate. The United Nations would be a failure if the United States did not participate and, in fact, I remember as vividly as though it were yesterday, right after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Jim Baker said to me, we’re going to make this United Nations work, or we’re going to find out whether it is the League Nations or the UN. And that's the fact. And if you don't like it, then I’m sorry. The United States makes the UN work when it wants it to work, and that is exactly the way it should be, because the only question, the only question for the United States is what is in our national interest. And if you don't like that, I’m sorry, but that is the fact.”
STOP!!!
Now scroll back up and read the last two sentences of that quote again out loud to yourself.
Ok, I’d now like to say in one extremely bold and loud statement that John Bolton is exactly who we DON’T need as Ambassador to the United Nations. He is the epitome of American arrogance, and he is the embodiment of everything that the rest of the world hates about America. His idea of diplomacy is you listen to us (the United States), do as we say, or we’re gonna blow you up. The quotation above indicates as much.
On TV, the radio, and the internet, I’ve listened to and read many of his statements concerning the UN, and in ALL of them he points fingers and never offers qualified solutions. He is plainly accusatory and thinks that the US is always right. I indeed agree with Senator Barbara Boxer when she says that the guy needs to be placed in anger management courses and not the UN Ambassador seat.
I don’t know why we insist upon pissing the rest of the world off. All these incendiary appointments by Bush (Condoleeza Rice to Secretary of State, Paul Wolfowitz to Head the World Bank) do everything to further promote anti-American sentiment. This administration fails to understand that the world liked Colin Powell because he was even-handed in his approach, and knew HOW to talk to people.
Certainly the UN needs some critical reform, but Bolton isn’t going to help towards that end because he will always be seen as a UN cynic by other nations. Furthermore, I’m tired of the USA criticizing the UN when the sole reason that the UN has been so ineffective is because the USA itself has violated some of its laws (like pre-emptively invading Iraq without a UN Resolution for war), and because all we do is sit back and criticize while not taking an active role in reform. If we don’t get things our way in the UN, we just ignore it and do what we want.
The last time I checked, that is not the way to function within a group or cooperative organization, as the UN is. And honestly, a leader best leads when they lead by example, not by force or a heavy-hand. So if you want to talk about the USA leading the UN in a better direction, we should work within the framework of the UN’s guidelines (which aren’t significantly flawed), set a magnanimous example, and watch all the other nations follow suit.
Too many times have I literally heard right-wing politicians say that “the United Nations is a joke.” Well, if the UN is a joke, and the USA is a part of it, what does that say about us???
ARROGANCE, ARROGANCE, ARROGANCE!!!
It frustrates me so. I hope that US politicians and citizens alike realize that in modern times the length of world power by any particular nation is about 80 years. We’ve been a world power since the 1st World War, and the most significant power in the world for the last 30 years or so. That means that our time is just about up. And it sounds cryptic, but NO NATION IS POWERFUL INDEFINITELY (read the history books).
So all I’m saying is that in this cacophonous solution of multifarious people, we need a buffer in the United States’ UN Ambassador seat, not a catalyst for the imminent fall from grace for the USA. And Bolton is as far from a buffer as the East is from the West.
-Maelstrom
Monday, April 11, 2005
This Week On the News
So I am a news junkie (I’m also a sports junkie, a Jeopardy junkie, a Jazz junkie, a fan of clam chowder, and a pursuer of exorbitant amounts of random information). I spend as much time as possible absorbing as much information as possible. I’ve been known to actually flip through 5 news stations, in just an hour or two, in search of more and more knowledge. CNN, BBC, MSNBC, PBS, and yes even Fox News. I’m just trying to be as informed about the world around me as I can be.
Through much “news-gazing” I’ve discovered that watching these news stations hardly helps me in my quest to be aware about this planet that I live on, save the BBC (and sometimes PBS). Too often do these stations give in to the sensationalized nature of this planet that American culture breeds, feeding our desire to be in a state of high shock and emotion at all times, like with the OJ Simpson trial (from whence CourtTV was born). This is why too many times there are minor news stories that end up becoming gi-normous news stories by the end of any given day.
Case/Point, the Scott Peterson trial. Can someone please explain to me how in the world that became national news? Spousal abuse, Domestic Violence, and even such murders are, unfortunately, very common in this nation (indeed the world over). So with all do respect to Laci Peterson and her family, as a Midwesterner, I should not know nearly as much about the case as I do. In fact, the case should’ve been little more than a blip on the evening news a couple of December’s ago, and that’s it. Instead I can tell you all about Scott, Laci, Amber Frey, Scott’s hair color, and the other day I even watched as he was shipped off to prison. Why?
To continue with such a silly trend, in the last month we have been bombarded by the Atlanta Courthouse murders (which was NOT a major news story), the Terri Schiavo case (which should’ve never left Florida), and the death of the Pope (which, though significant, was also over-reported). Somewhere, lost in all of this, there was another school shooting that would’ve typically garnered more news attention if it weren’t for Ms. Schiavo. However, I’m not upset about the limited coverage on it. In fact, I think the amount of coverage the school shooting received was just about right. You’re probably sitting there thinking to yourself, “oh yeah, I did hear about that school shooting. It was in Minnesota, right?” And that’s the way it should be.
I guess that I’m just frustrated that before the “CNN-effect” had taken over news coverage, I could sit down and watch the local news from 6-6:30, and then watch Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings from 6:30-7pm, and obtain more knowledge about what was going on in the world than I ever can from these 24 hour news stations. It’s like something is seriously backwards here.
And all these news stations will now shut down all day, or even all week (as was the case with the Pope), and just report on one story. Meanwhile, they all have a news ticker at the bottom of the screen, which often spouts off the “real” news while they report on something as insignificant as Michael Jackson wearing pajama pants to trial. And even worse, sometimes on CNN (and probably the others as well), the ticker will only run one story for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. The problem being that the solo ticker story is the same story as the one that the reporters shut down the station to report on all day. So there are actually times when a 24 hour news station is literally only reporting one news story for extremely large quantities of the day. And there are sometimes whole weeks when there is only 1 story significantly reported on (i.e. Schiavo or the Pope). Does that make sense?
Luckily I’m resourceful enough to actually find out what’s going on around the world during these stupefying, ignorant stretches of so-called news coverage. But I shouldn’t have to hunt down the news; it shouldn’t be that difficult.
I guess I have much the same complaint with all of these 24 hour news stations as I do with Black Entertainment Television (BET); there is an opportunity for these stations to do great things, promote positive aspects of humankind, even-handedly report the vicissitudes of life on this planet, and inform on serious issues with integrity, but yet they fail miserably.
Unfortunately, this problem isn’t soon to stop. Until the next Pope is elected, we will all become make-shift Catholics, or at least it will feel like it, when watching the news. And who knows what other minor story will sweep the nation.
And while we sat there and watched Congress try to solidify next elections votes from the Christian Conservatives during the Schiavo case, a report came out that said the US government is responsible for 26 deaths of Iraqi detainees in Iraqi prisons. But somehow, truly important news stories like that barely make a meow on cable news stations. What’s up with that?
I think we should expect more of the news coverage in this country. I think we should demand that they report what’s really going on in a judicious fashion, and not get caught up into the “Hollywood” dramatizations of things great and small.
Just give me the news and give it to me straight! No gimmicks, no embellishments, just the real deal.
So, what’s on the news this week?
-Maelstrom
Through much “news-gazing” I’ve discovered that watching these news stations hardly helps me in my quest to be aware about this planet that I live on, save the BBC (and sometimes PBS). Too often do these stations give in to the sensationalized nature of this planet that American culture breeds, feeding our desire to be in a state of high shock and emotion at all times, like with the OJ Simpson trial (from whence CourtTV was born). This is why too many times there are minor news stories that end up becoming gi-normous news stories by the end of any given day.
Case/Point, the Scott Peterson trial. Can someone please explain to me how in the world that became national news? Spousal abuse, Domestic Violence, and even such murders are, unfortunately, very common in this nation (indeed the world over). So with all do respect to Laci Peterson and her family, as a Midwesterner, I should not know nearly as much about the case as I do. In fact, the case should’ve been little more than a blip on the evening news a couple of December’s ago, and that’s it. Instead I can tell you all about Scott, Laci, Amber Frey, Scott’s hair color, and the other day I even watched as he was shipped off to prison. Why?
To continue with such a silly trend, in the last month we have been bombarded by the Atlanta Courthouse murders (which was NOT a major news story), the Terri Schiavo case (which should’ve never left Florida), and the death of the Pope (which, though significant, was also over-reported). Somewhere, lost in all of this, there was another school shooting that would’ve typically garnered more news attention if it weren’t for Ms. Schiavo. However, I’m not upset about the limited coverage on it. In fact, I think the amount of coverage the school shooting received was just about right. You’re probably sitting there thinking to yourself, “oh yeah, I did hear about that school shooting. It was in Minnesota, right?” And that’s the way it should be.
I guess that I’m just frustrated that before the “CNN-effect” had taken over news coverage, I could sit down and watch the local news from 6-6:30, and then watch Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings from 6:30-7pm, and obtain more knowledge about what was going on in the world than I ever can from these 24 hour news stations. It’s like something is seriously backwards here.
And all these news stations will now shut down all day, or even all week (as was the case with the Pope), and just report on one story. Meanwhile, they all have a news ticker at the bottom of the screen, which often spouts off the “real” news while they report on something as insignificant as Michael Jackson wearing pajama pants to trial. And even worse, sometimes on CNN (and probably the others as well), the ticker will only run one story for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. The problem being that the solo ticker story is the same story as the one that the reporters shut down the station to report on all day. So there are actually times when a 24 hour news station is literally only reporting one news story for extremely large quantities of the day. And there are sometimes whole weeks when there is only 1 story significantly reported on (i.e. Schiavo or the Pope). Does that make sense?
Luckily I’m resourceful enough to actually find out what’s going on around the world during these stupefying, ignorant stretches of so-called news coverage. But I shouldn’t have to hunt down the news; it shouldn’t be that difficult.
I guess I have much the same complaint with all of these 24 hour news stations as I do with Black Entertainment Television (BET); there is an opportunity for these stations to do great things, promote positive aspects of humankind, even-handedly report the vicissitudes of life on this planet, and inform on serious issues with integrity, but yet they fail miserably.
Unfortunately, this problem isn’t soon to stop. Until the next Pope is elected, we will all become make-shift Catholics, or at least it will feel like it, when watching the news. And who knows what other minor story will sweep the nation.
And while we sat there and watched Congress try to solidify next elections votes from the Christian Conservatives during the Schiavo case, a report came out that said the US government is responsible for 26 deaths of Iraqi detainees in Iraqi prisons. But somehow, truly important news stories like that barely make a meow on cable news stations. What’s up with that?
I think we should expect more of the news coverage in this country. I think we should demand that they report what’s really going on in a judicious fashion, and not get caught up into the “Hollywood” dramatizations of things great and small.
Just give me the news and give it to me straight! No gimmicks, no embellishments, just the real deal.
So, what’s on the news this week?
-Maelstrom
Sunday, April 03, 2005
CAW
While in Undergrad at the University of Michigan, I spent each year doing volunteer work and putting on programs for numerous student organizations. However, one organization was dearest to my heart and brought me the most joy. That organization was the University Students Against Cancer. I know, I know, I’ve heard the jokes like “is there an organization FOR Cancer?” To that question I’d just answer that although if you’re not against Cancer that doesn’t necessarily make you FOR it, it probably does reflect a substantial level of apathy. Virtually everyone’s apathetic about Cancer until it affects someone close them. It is at that point apathy subsides and people understand what it means to be AGAINST Cancer.
In any case, throughout the course of the school year the organization would raise thousands and thousands of dollars and donate it to various Cancer charities, Cancer patient organizations, and Cancer research. All the hard work during the year culminated in one week known as Cancer Awareness Week (CAW). Various events centered around awareness, support, education, and just having fun were put on, and all the proceeds benefited specific organizations (often The Special Days Camp and The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center).
Well, that week is now upon us and I would be remiss if I didn’t do a little promotion here on “The Vortex” for USAC’s CAW; not only because I will be performing on my Sax for the Fashion Show Thursday Night (plug-plug), but because the organization has meant so much to me.
So if you happen to be in Wolverine Country (i.e. Ann Arbor, Mi) this week, make sure to support the University Students Against Cancer’s 2005 Cancer Awareness Week. The events are as follows:
Sunday, April 3, 2005
-Cancer Art Exhibit in the Michigan Union Art Lounge opens at 8pm
-Candlelight Vigil on the Diag 9-10pm featuring survival stories and a cappella performances by 58 Greene and the Harmonettes
Monday, April 4, 2005
-Diag Day 9am-4pm featuring performances by Tally Hall, Encore Dance group, and the a cappella group Gimble
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
-Bone Marrow Registry 12-5pm at Stockwell Hall
-Blue Ribbons Bar Nite 10pm-2am at Necto
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
-Bone Marrow Registry 12-5pm in the Michigan Union
-Restaurant Day all day at Bennigan’s (Bring in a USAC flyer anytime all day and 10% of your entire bill goes to CAW! Bennigan’s is located at 525 Briarwood Circle by the Mall)
Thursday, April 7, 2005
-Bone Marrow Registry 12-5pm at South Quad Hall
-Bivouac’s Project Runway Fashion Show 8pm in the Michigan Union Ballroom featuring dance performances by FunKtion, Encore, the UM Bhangra Team, a Saxy performance by Maelstrom, and an appearance by guest model Laurie Carr!
Saturday, April 9, 2005
-Relay For Life, a 24 hour walk-a-thon to raise money for the American Cancer Society 10am-10pm on Palmer Field
-Maelstrom
In any case, throughout the course of the school year the organization would raise thousands and thousands of dollars and donate it to various Cancer charities, Cancer patient organizations, and Cancer research. All the hard work during the year culminated in one week known as Cancer Awareness Week (CAW). Various events centered around awareness, support, education, and just having fun were put on, and all the proceeds benefited specific organizations (often The Special Days Camp and The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center).
Well, that week is now upon us and I would be remiss if I didn’t do a little promotion here on “The Vortex” for USAC’s CAW; not only because I will be performing on my Sax for the Fashion Show Thursday Night (plug-plug), but because the organization has meant so much to me.
So if you happen to be in Wolverine Country (i.e. Ann Arbor, Mi) this week, make sure to support the University Students Against Cancer’s 2005 Cancer Awareness Week. The events are as follows:
Sunday, April 3, 2005
-Cancer Art Exhibit in the Michigan Union Art Lounge opens at 8pm
-Candlelight Vigil on the Diag 9-10pm featuring survival stories and a cappella performances by 58 Greene and the Harmonettes
Monday, April 4, 2005
-Diag Day 9am-4pm featuring performances by Tally Hall, Encore Dance group, and the a cappella group Gimble
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
-Bone Marrow Registry 12-5pm at Stockwell Hall
-Blue Ribbons Bar Nite 10pm-2am at Necto
Wednesday, April 6, 2005
-Bone Marrow Registry 12-5pm in the Michigan Union
-Restaurant Day all day at Bennigan’s (Bring in a USAC flyer anytime all day and 10% of your entire bill goes to CAW! Bennigan’s is located at 525 Briarwood Circle by the Mall)
Thursday, April 7, 2005
-Bone Marrow Registry 12-5pm at South Quad Hall
-Bivouac’s Project Runway Fashion Show 8pm in the Michigan Union Ballroom featuring dance performances by FunKtion, Encore, the UM Bhangra Team, a Saxy performance by Maelstrom, and an appearance by guest model Laurie Carr!
Saturday, April 9, 2005
-Relay For Life, a 24 hour walk-a-thon to raise money for the American Cancer Society 10am-10pm on Palmer Field
-Maelstrom
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Big Ten What?!!!
For much of the NCAA Men’s Basketball season, I’ve watched various commentators and sportswriters from all over the country berate, disrespect, and count out the Big Ten Conference as a legitimate contender come “March Madness.” Although I didn’t believe that the conference was nearly as bad as it was made out to be, I must admit that I too had developed a lack of trust in their ability to contend, save Illinois. Well, don’t look now but we’ve reached the Final Four and half of that Four consists of Big Ten teams. The two “major power conferences,” the Big East and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), only landed one team in the Final Four (University of North Carolina from the ACC).
Not only was the Big Ten downed all year, but the ACC was touted as the best conference in the nation. Interesting considering that two ACC teams (NC State, Duke) were taken out of the tourney by Big Ten teams (Wisconsin, Michigan State), and the best team in the ACC (UNC) almost lost to the 3rd best team in the Big Ten (Wisconsin) in the Elite Eight. The Big Ten even handled schools from Power Conferences (like the Pac-10’s Arizona), and teams with storied histories (like Kentucky).
In all honesty, I am incredibly amazed that MSU has made it this far. I had them losing to Syracuse in the 2nd round. But I guess I shouldn’t be too amazed. MSU is coached by easily one of the finest coaches in college basketball, Tom Izzo. They have reached 4 of the last 7 Final Four’s under Izzo and have a team full of experienced seniors. I don’t think that Izzo is given enough credit with respect to what he’s done for the program out of East Lansing, Michigan. If he had the same story, but was coaching at an ACC school like UNC, they would be cast-ironing his likeness into a statue at the State Capitol. So maybe no one should be shocked that Michigan State has found themselves in the Final Four this year.
The University of Illinois has had a near perfect season, yet many contend that if they played in the ACC, they would just be “good.” Well I just don’t get it. Didn’t any of those ACC-biased sportscasters watch the Illini DESTROY the 2nd best (and #1 ranked in the nation at the time) team in the ACC back in December? Many of the commentators say that this was only because Illinois had the homecourt, but I beg to differ. You can only claim homecourt as the decisive advantage when the game is close, as far as I’m concerned. I saw the game and it wasn’t even competitive. Illinois literally had a 30 point lead for most of the 2nd half. Such dominance can only mean better team in my opinion. And did you see that comeback against Arizona last weekend? Simply amazing!
So, although I’ve grown up hating the colors Green and White, and have never really been a fan of “Orange Crush” (because curiously enough, when I bleed the colors are always Maize and Blue), I find it particularly delightful that Illinois and Michigan State are representing the Big Ten in a way that should seriously silence the critics.
I don’t know what this weekend will hold for these squads, although I suspect we’ll see Illinois playing UNC for the championship. Wouldn’t it be great, however, if we had an all Big Ten NCAA championship game? That would show ‘em!
I never thought I’d say this but, “Go Green, Go White” and “Let’s go Orange Crush!”
-Maelstrom
Ps: I’ve got Illinois taking home the big trophy in my bracket!!!
Not only was the Big Ten downed all year, but the ACC was touted as the best conference in the nation. Interesting considering that two ACC teams (NC State, Duke) were taken out of the tourney by Big Ten teams (Wisconsin, Michigan State), and the best team in the ACC (UNC) almost lost to the 3rd best team in the Big Ten (Wisconsin) in the Elite Eight. The Big Ten even handled schools from Power Conferences (like the Pac-10’s Arizona), and teams with storied histories (like Kentucky).
In all honesty, I am incredibly amazed that MSU has made it this far. I had them losing to Syracuse in the 2nd round. But I guess I shouldn’t be too amazed. MSU is coached by easily one of the finest coaches in college basketball, Tom Izzo. They have reached 4 of the last 7 Final Four’s under Izzo and have a team full of experienced seniors. I don’t think that Izzo is given enough credit with respect to what he’s done for the program out of East Lansing, Michigan. If he had the same story, but was coaching at an ACC school like UNC, they would be cast-ironing his likeness into a statue at the State Capitol. So maybe no one should be shocked that Michigan State has found themselves in the Final Four this year.
The University of Illinois has had a near perfect season, yet many contend that if they played in the ACC, they would just be “good.” Well I just don’t get it. Didn’t any of those ACC-biased sportscasters watch the Illini DESTROY the 2nd best (and #1 ranked in the nation at the time) team in the ACC back in December? Many of the commentators say that this was only because Illinois had the homecourt, but I beg to differ. You can only claim homecourt as the decisive advantage when the game is close, as far as I’m concerned. I saw the game and it wasn’t even competitive. Illinois literally had a 30 point lead for most of the 2nd half. Such dominance can only mean better team in my opinion. And did you see that comeback against Arizona last weekend? Simply amazing!
So, although I’ve grown up hating the colors Green and White, and have never really been a fan of “Orange Crush” (because curiously enough, when I bleed the colors are always Maize and Blue), I find it particularly delightful that Illinois and Michigan State are representing the Big Ten in a way that should seriously silence the critics.
I don’t know what this weekend will hold for these squads, although I suspect we’ll see Illinois playing UNC for the championship. Wouldn’t it be great, however, if we had an all Big Ten NCAA championship game? That would show ‘em!
I never thought I’d say this but, “Go Green, Go White” and “Let’s go Orange Crush!”
-Maelstrom
Ps: I’ve got Illinois taking home the big trophy in my bracket!!!
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