The Watchman

Columbine Documents make me sick

2006-07-08T23:34:00.000-05:00

Here's my opinion.

Here's the CNN news article.

Audio Blogging Introduction

2006-07-08T15:07:00.000-05:00

Audacity is the program I am using to edit the voice recording.

My First Attempt at Audio Blogging.

Positions at The Crimson White

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

I just wanted to use this Web log as a forum to try and recruit more people to participate at The Crimson White.

I am extending the deadline for applications for our reporter positions until this Thursday at midnight. I will be conducting interviews this upcoming Friday, April 14 for those positions.

I am also looking for more people to apply for featured column positions at the paper. Basically, the only criteria that I place on this position is that you be able to produce one column each week. (Well, you do need to include samples of writing with your application There will be applications for this position available Monday morning on the second floor of the Office of Student Media.

Be sure to sign up for an interview time on the bulletin board.

Editor of the Crimson White

2006-04-01T15:25:00.000-06:00

I thought this would be as good a place as any to break the news that I have been named editor for the Crimson White for the 2006-07 school year.

You are going to see some major changes coming to the paper to get us back to the goal of reporting on what students really want. More information to follow.

Prayer and Pressure

2006-03-26T14:11:00.000-06:00

Abdul Rahman, the Christian on trial in Afghanistan because he converted from Islam, will go free soon. The Afghan court has dismissed all the charges against Rahman.

But prayers for this man should not end because he is in almost as much danger now as he was when the court wanted him dead. Islamic clerics have called for Rahman's death as soon as he is released from prison.

Rahman converted 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group, according to ABC News. He was arrested last month after police discovered him with a Bible.

Please continue to pray for him.

A brother is in trouble

2006-03-23T01:11:00.000-06:00

All those who read my blog who are Christians need to pray for Abdul Rahman right now.

Rahman, is on trial in Afghanistan for converting to Christianity from Islam, which is a crime punishable by death in the newly "freed" country.

Even after the American military removed the Taliban from power, the new constitution for the country is based on Sharia (or Islamic) law. In several Islamic countries, part of Sharia law dictates that anyone who converts from Islam to another religion must be killed.

As the story above states, the Afghan government is trying to get out of this media spotlight by dismissing the case on the premise that Rahman is crazy. So, in reality, they are saying that anyone who would dare become a Christian is crazy.

This raises questions about whether we have helped create a new, truly democratic country or just another country the wheels and deals in oppression.

Please, please raise this man up in prayer. Once you have lifted him up in prayer, take the time to write your Senators right now. Tell them to do everything in their power to save this man's life.

If you live in Alabama, Sen. Richard Shelby's e-mail address is senator@shelby.senate.gov, and Sen. Jeff Sessions' e-mail address is http://www.sessions.senate.gov/email/contact.cfm. Please contact them both on Rahman's behalf. I did.

I wish others would stand up like her.

2006-03-05T09:38:00.000-06:00

Here is a video of a really cool lady, Wafa Sultan, risking danger to talk on Arab television about the need for reforms in the Middle East.

Just as the World Net Daily editorial proclaims, Sultan, a psychologist in the United States, has put her life on the line to speak on Al-Jazeera television.

Here's the video from Memri TV.

"The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations," she says in the video. "It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century."

While it has only been estimated that 10 percent of the Muslim world actually holds to the Wahabbist view of Islam (i.e. suicide bomber mentality). Out of more than 1 billion Muslims, that means 900 million of aren't supposed to believe in this.

Somehow, they have got to stand up to the 100 million who do. Wafa stood up. How many others will do the same.

The Fakeness of Business

2006-02-17T03:18:00.000-06:00

You know, I've never really been the type of person to want to wake up every morning to don a suit and tie for work. I've never been one for flashy shows of wealth (probably because I'm not wealthy) or other things that business does on a daily basis.

The reason: I think about 90 percent of all this stuff is fake anyway. It's so fake. For example, we go to job fairs wearing our suits and ties, combed hair and charismatic smile. We walk up, making sure to firmly shake the person's hand.

And, what do we do then. We make out with all the sugary sweetness talk about how great their organization is and how much enthusiasm we have about wanting to work and all this other crap.

Sometimes, I just want to go up to a potential employer and say, "You know what. I really just want a job. I'd like to make enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle. Let's just cut out all the small talk and the pleasantries, so we can be real with each other. I know you don't want to be at the job fair, and I don't want to have to wear a fake smile for you. So, why don't you just tell me whether I actually have a shot at getting a job with your company, and then I can stop wasting your time.

I'm not being bitter at the whole thing, but I just think that there's so much fakeness that goes on in business that it makes me want to barf. I want to be the same person I am at home. I don't want to be any different. And I won't be. I'm going to be myself.

That's all I can be.

Questions about USA Today

2006-02-17T03:14:00.000-06:00

I have some questions about how important being named to the USA Today All American Team is. Now, don't get me wrong because I think it is a great honor, and many of the people that are named to the team are great people and have contributed to improve the University.

But, the question I have is how important are the rankings to other schools. For example, the University boasts that it has more people named to the team than any other university in the country. But, does Harvard actually care about how many people are named to the team? I don't know in all honesty.

I'm not taking away at all of the honor that these people deserve. I would love to be a USA Today All American. I'm just wondering how important these types of things are in the long run.

From the University's standpoint, I guess this can be used as a recruitment tool to help get more and better students to the University. That's always a plus. So, I guess these rankings do help us. I just think we may need to keep some of this in perspective.

Confusion

2006-02-16T15:15:00.000-06:00

I may be stirring the waters a little bit here, but I'm not exactly sure I understand what all the hype is behind Vice President Cheney shooting his friend in the face.

Frankly, the vice president is under no obligation to tell anyone anything about this. They didn't even have to release a statement if they didn't want to. So, why all the fuss about the length of time it took for the information to be made public?

I just don't understand.

My happy song lyric of the day

2006-02-16T15:10:00.000-06:00

"And I am the moon / with no light of my own / Still you have made me to shine / And as I glow in this cold dark night / I know I can’t be a light unless I turn my face to you"--Sara Groves

This makes me smile

2006-01-30T10:58:00.000-06:00

You know, I really get a kick out of moments where I know that people from the Tuscaloosa News are reading the CW for story ideas. (I'm not saying that it doens't go the other way around as well.) But, it's interesting to think that the city paper is getting ideas from our paper. That's pretty sweet.

Compare for yourself:

CW story on SGA political parties (Jan. 11).

Tuscaloosa story on SGA political parties (Jan. 30)

ASCR rally

2006-01-26T10:08:00.000-06:00

Well, I covered a rally yesterday, hosted by the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform, that called on legislators to approve bills that would put a resolution on ballots in November to have a constitutional convention.

Here's the story. And here's a photo I took.

Quick note: The quilt behind Bill Gardini has names of people on it who want constitutional reform. It also has words like "fair taxes" and "equality" on them.

Freedom in Christ.

2006-01-25T00:19:00.000-06:00

I found this story really inspirational and cool. These women have turned away from the stripper lifestyle to embrace Christ and to try to help other women get out of the adult industry. Cool stuff if you ask me.

Here ya go. (It's a CNN video just in case you were wondering.)

To that random person:

2006-01-25T00:16:00.000-06:00

Okay. Okay. I know there's some great thrill about posting curse words on the blog. But, obviously, you should know that Blogger sends those postings directly to my e-mail. So, I know exactly where you posted it and when.

I'm going to remove them obviously, so why even do it. It really just doesn't make sense. At least, if you plan to post bad things on here, put your name.

I suppose you don't even really have the courage to do that. What a shame.

I'm back again.

2006-01-25T00:08:00.000-06:00

Hello again to the 100 or so people who visit this site every week. Sorry about not posting. With work at the CW, etc., it just makes it difficult for me to get back into the groove of posting. I guess this first new post of the new semester should be the column that I wrote.

Here's the completely original version:

Higher ed needs revamp
By Marlin Caddell
The Watchman

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write…” —Alvin Toffler

Report card day at my house was always a time for my parents to reemphasize the importance of education to my future.

“Your grades are going to get you into college,” they would say. “We want you to have a better life than we did.”

But, even as much value as my parents and I have placed on education, something is drastically wrong with the current system.

The Associated Press reports that more than half of students at four-year colleges — and at least 75 percent at two-year colleges — lack the literacy to handle complex, real-life tasks.

The literacy study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the first to target the skills of graduating students, finds students don’t have key skills -- no matter their field of study, according to AP.

Schools haven’t failed students by not teaching the skills of reading and writing; they have failed them by not teaching them simple common sense skills that many of us take for granted.

Without "proficient" skills, or those needed to perform more complex tasks, students fall behind. They cannot interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.

As a journalism major, I’m not exactly thrilled that such large numbers of people can’t even comprehend the argument in a newspaper editorial, one of the fundamental pieces to a democratic society.

So what should happen now?

The educational system, from K-12 into higher education, needs a complete overhaul to try to turn us back to a direction of common sense.

This study, in my opinion, only serves as greater evidence to my hypothesis that education as a whole has disconnected itself from the real world.

This disconnect happened, oddly enough, as schools started teaching students more and academics became the pinnacle goal to achieving success.

Academia, especially in higher education, started pushing the concept of “the well rounded citizen” who is only concerned about expanding his or her mind. This signaled a shift away from the “machine” model where high schools and colleges churned out churned out people with specific skills who could immediately go work somewhere.

I’ll try to simplify what I’m saying by using the journalism school as an example.

In journalism, many of the classes specifically focus on the “greater” role of journalism within society. Professors chat away about the role of the journalist as an agenda setter or our role in a democratic society.

But, in many cases, they talk about these things more than they show us how to write better stories or improve on our reporting skills.

Though two internships I have discovered when you work for a newspaper in a deadline situation, the editor doesn’t really care about your role as a journalist in society.

He only wants to know whether you can go cover a story and turn it in on time. The real world doesn’t care about the theoretic. It only cares about how you can apply your skills to do the job better.

Following this same vein, professors rarely discuss how to make yourself more profitable in the workplace, when the majority of students are here at college to get what they need to make more money.

This is just a microcosm of the greater problem, when the entire university would rather see students learn just what is in a book, rather than the real skills to be successful in the workforce.

Academia has formed an ivory tower where they only see life in terms of learning instead of a training ground to equip students with what they need to know to make enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle.

But, a tower built on the shaky sands of the theoretic is bound to fall sooner or later.

I just hope this study is a wake-up call, because it appears the “smarter” we’re getting, the more ignorant we become.

Putting Christ on trial

2006-01-05T14:02:00.000-06:00

Well, it appears that Italy is preparing to put the authenticity of Christ's existence on trial. The case pits two 70-year-old men from the same town against each other. The plaintiff in the case claims the Catholic church is breaking two Italian laws. According to CNN, "The first is 'Abuso di Credulita Popolare' (Abuse of Popular Belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or conned. The second crime, he says, is 'Sostituzione di Persona,' or impersonation."

The plaintiff claims that the Catholic church is lying to the Italian people because Christ is based on a Jewish man who fought the romans in the first century A.D.

But, I think the case will be ruled as hogwash.

The existence of Jesus is just as much an established fact of history as almost any other ancient historial figure. There are more historical accounts and references in histroy made to Jesus than to many other historical figures. To deny Jesus is the same as denying the existence of Socrates.

Simon Greenleaf, one of the principal founders of the Harvard School of Law and an agnostic Jew, set out to disprove the Gospels as a work of fiction created to fool people. Greenleaf, who wrote Treatise on the Law of Evidence, found conclusively using the rules of evidence that the Gospel accounts are as accurate an account as any other historical document.

Subsequently, Greenleaf became a Christian. It's pretty lengthy, but if you want to read his work, here it is.

The Jewish historian Josephus even refers to Jesus:

At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus, and his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon their loyalty to him. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion, and that he was alive. Accordingly they believed that he was the Messiah, concerning whom the Prophets have recounted wonders.

(Now, though historians doubt some parts of this because of Christian copyists, but my point is made.)

At the end of the day, I don't even know if trial will come to anything, but I think that the proof will stand for itself at the end of the day.

Interesting miracles

2005-12-26T13:23:00.000-06:00

This is cool.

If you were interested, 73 percent of Americans believe in miracles according to the Harris Interactive company.

Dress issue is controversial

2005-12-22T12:12:00.000-06:00

While I wouldn't necessarily wear a kilt to a classroom, I think it was a completely out-of-bounds action for the principal of a Jackson, Mo. high school to tell a student they couldn't wear a kilt to school dance. (The story did not mention this, but this case could be situational if the student's kilt was 4 or more inches above the knee or if he didn't wear undergarments under the kilt.)

The school district's superintendent, Ron Anderson, said McClard has the authority under the district's dress code policy to judge appropriate dress for extracurricular activities, including dances.

I am not questioning the decision of school officials to judge attire based on common community standards of nakedness or profanity. For example, a principal is well within his rights to ask a student to remove a shirt with profanity or nudity on it.

But, this issue does boil down to a First Amendment right to expression. Again, my right to wear a shirt that says "Jesus is Lord" on it is just as protected as the rights of a guy to wear a kilt.

In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School (1969), the court said that a student's freedom of expression in school must be protected unless it would seriously interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline. (My definition of what "interferes with appropriate discipline" would be if a student was trying to express himself or herself by destroying or defacing school property. Cursing a school official also falls into the "interference" of the educational process.)

The Hazelwood case muddled the waters further about how far the First Amendment goes to protecting student rights by saying that a principal had the right to censor material in a student newspaper if they felt the writing would "interfere with the educational process.

The case generally gave principals access to prior review and prior restraint over materials printed in student newspapers. But, the case has been interpreted to expand the ability of school administrators to censor other things provided they can cite a specific reason why the dress or action interferes with the education process.

If you actually have read down this far, my point is simply that this entire effort just moves every school closer to the uniformity concept that we all need to look the same.

School uniforms are the pinnacle of the uniformity movement. Obviously, there are arguments on both sides of the school uniform fight, so I'm still forming my opinion. I'll tell you that I'm leaning against it because it seems very communist to me, but if people want to discuss this, please feel free to comment.

Just to help start the discussion, here is the list of Wikipedia's pro and con reasons for school uniforms:

PRO:
1. They are sometimes very stylish and flattering.
2. They reduce cliques (or gangs) and peer-envy based on clothes.
3. They allow the student to focus on schoolwork rather than on socialising.
4. They add a professional air to the school environment, resulting in better morale.
5. Parents do not have to spend on fashionable brand attire.
6. They give a sense of belonging to the school.
7. They help prepare students for the expectation of wearing proper work attire (business suits,
military uniforms, et al).
8. They help to teach students the importance of following rules (and laws), even if they do not
understand/agree with them.
9. They allow the student to learn new ways of self-expression, from hair-style to speech
mannerism to adjusting the skirt-length.

CON:
Violation of rights
1. They violate the students' right to self-expression and individuality.
2. Schools act "in loco parentis" by making clothing decisions for parents.
3. Some school uniforms can be costly, especially if there are multiple (junior/senior,
summer/winter) uniforms or a student moves schools.

Effectiveness
1. The idea that students will focus on schoolwork rather than socialising is idealistic.
2. Many uniforms are not gender-neutral, which may lead to exploitation or discrimination.
3. "One-size-fits-all" style does not suit all students' body shapes.
4. Many times students still manage to show socio-economic status and brand consciousness
within the uniform policy.
5. It is also possible for gangs to show affiliation, such as through particular hair-styles, non-
regulated apparel (jewelry, for example) or body markings (piercings, tattoos)

Well, at least other people did it too.

2005-12-20T22:46:00.000-06:00

Before you start calling for George Bush's resignation for authorizing secret searches on America, you need to do a little bit of history first.

It seems that our good ole friends, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, both issued executive orders calling for searches on Americans without a court order. And, in case you forgot, these were both before the Patriot Act and before 9/11.

Here's President Clinton's happy orders. And here's Jimmy Carter's.

Just to give credit where credit is due, Matt Drudge looked this stuff up first.

Again, this doesn't necessarily mean it is right to spy on people without a court order. I'm just saying don't string George Bush up without taking a look at what other presidents did during their administrations. Also, keep it in mind that these presidents did what they did before 9/11.

They didn't even have this brave new world to deal with before authorizing searches.

Just say you hate Jesus

2005-12-20T14:53:00.000-06:00

Well, here we go again. California's gotta bite for Christians.

The Christian Student Association at California State University at San Bernardino was denied recognition by the school because their constitution requires students to live by Christian principles.

Christian principles preclude homosexuality as a lifestyle choice.

According to the World Net Daily article, a university administrator said although the group "would not be required to admit members who did not support the purpose of the organization," it could not exclude students "because of their status as a non-Christian or as a homosexual."

How can a university refuse to recognize a Christian group because they won't include non-Christians in their group? That doesn't make sense.

Let's examine this logically just for a second. The university is assuming the Christian group is discriminating against non-Christians by not letting them into the group.

This would be the same as the University refusing to recognize the Society of News Designers because they didn't allow a chemistry major (who never designed or had a desire to design in his life) to join the organization. The SND organization is organized for a specific group of people.

In the same way, a Christian group is designed for Christians. It really does just show people hate Christians. But, hey, it's California. I suppose I can just discount most of what comes out of that state anyway.

Just if you were interested, according to Wikipedia, the Supreme Court defines freedom of association as follows:

1. Freedom of association is recognized and may be protected as a fundamental element of personal liberty when choices to enter into and maintain certain intimate human relationships are at issue.

2. Freedom of association is recognized and may be protected for the purposes of engaging in activities protected by the text of the First Amendment—speech, assembly, petitioning government for a redress of grievances, and the free exercise of religion. Because the role of these relationships is central to safeguarding individual freedoms, they may receive protection from undue intrusion by the State. Thus, there is a constitutional freedom to associate as a means of preserving other individual liberties.

God is good.

2005-12-12T09:43:00.000-06:00

This about sums up the beginning of this day. And every day.

Lovely is our perfect God
Wonderful in all that you do
We bow down and cry out to you O God
You are wonderful

America keeps control of Internet

2005-11-18T10:53:00.000-06:00

The United States dodged the bullet of being forced to give away control of the Internet to the EU.

If I have neglected to mention this before, he who controls the Internet controls the world. If the EU controls the Internet, the EU controls the world and one world government here we come.

The Bible prophesizes that a one world government will come into existance one day out of the remains of the old Roman empire, and out of that government a world leader will arise that Christians call the "Antichrist." Although Christians will not be here because of the rapture of the church, we can already see the precursors to the rise of the Antichrist government.

Giving the EU control of the Internet would just give them even more control of the world. The longer we can hold out on that, the better things will be for everyone involved.

Shame only works when you're guilty

2005-11-18T09:30:00.000-06:00

I'm all for shaming people when they're guilty of doing something wrong, but if you're going to go to the level of shame of taking a student from room to room calling the student a liar and thief, you've got to make sure that the child is actually guilty.

This Pennsylvania principal was just ignorant for using that high level of shame without confirming the student was guilty.

When will they learn that moms know everything?

2005-11-14T20:36:00.001-06:00

New evidence suggests the advice parents have been giving since the beginning of time, "Put on your coat or you'll catch a cold," has finally got scientific evidence to back it up.

Researchers in England found that "chilled" people are more likely to develop cold symptoms because cold temperatures constrict blood vessels and limit white blood cell activity.

If you've ever noticed that your mother is never wrong, this just adds another weapon in her arsenal.