Medill Dean Is Taken to Task Over Quotes

When David Spett, a Northwestern University journalism student, read an item by his dean, John Lavine, in an alumni magazine last spring, something didn't sit right with him. Some quotes in the article, praising a marketing and branding class, seemed oddly wooden.

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Plan for Defeat

Charles Dharapak/Associated Press

Washington

Army Buried Study Faulting Iraq Planning

By MICHAEL R. GORDON

Published: February 11, 2008

The unclassified report identified problems with nearly every organization that had a role in planning the war, including the White House and the Defense Department.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/washington/11army.html?ex=1360472400&en=09078f57ab5217ed&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink




Washington

Revised Army Doctrine Looks to Win Peace, Not Just Battles

By MICHAEL R. GORDON

Published: February 8, 2008

A new operations manual elevates the stabilization of war-torn nations to the same importance as the defeat of enemies on the battlefield.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/washington/08strategy.html?ex=1360213200&en=1d2c54d7d2036eca&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Won't be voting in a fixed primary

Since I'm registered in Pennsylvania as an independent and it's a closed primary, there's no way for me to vote for a candidate prior to the general election. This is unfortunate, as this primary is actually important, but I prefer to remain free from party interests despite my support of one candidate.
In some ways I'm valuing my independence more because of the system the Democrats have set up for how candidates are elected in the primaries. Joshua Spivak, a public relations executive and attorney that frequently writes about election issues wrote a good history of how the current delegate system was put in place in 1982.
According to Spivak it was set up so the Democratic party could control who the nominee would be. There are delegates, who are committed to voting for the nominee elected by citizens in his or her area of the state, and then there are super delegates who are beholden to political favors. For example, although PA Gov. Ed Rendell said he endorsed Hillary Clinton for her political platform, he owes the Clintons because they helped him become chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2000 and because Hillary endorsed him for governor.
In every election since 1982, the clear candidate came out early, so the use of super delegates, who are basically influential party members (This blog has a list of super delegates; they are pretty much all members of congress, members of the DNC or governors), never came into play. But now that the election is tight, these super delegates will probably decide who will be the Democrats' nominee for president.
You could say I wouldn't be talking about this if the system were favoring Obama at this point, but I have decided to remain an independent, rather than registering as a Democrat to vote. I realize that choosing not to vote is a bit of a cop out, that voting is a way of expressing political beliefs and simply not voting is an easy way of not fulfilling the duties of a citizen. In this case, however it's different.
I've chosen to not be affiliated with a party and so I do not have the right to go back on that decision just because I want a piece of the action when it's convenient. I disagree with the electoral college, but I'm still going to vote because this is the system in America, however imperfect it may be. I willingly opted out of the primaries to become an independent, and so I'm stuck with the decision. I guess this is why I'm an independent in the first place. Politicians serve only themselves and perpetuate the a corrupt system.
Regardless, the whole system of powerful party members choosing the candidate (while at the same time holding public elections) reeks of the back room, back slapping and cigar smoking that permeated the Democratic party in its hey day of Mayor Daley's political machine. Frankly, the Democratic party is un-democratic.
In fact, I support Obama, but he's a politician just like everyone else. After all, he's a super delegate just like Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton. They should be able to vote for themselves in the polling stations, just like everyone else, but having an extra vote to swing the election takes away their accountability to a democratic system.
One high ranking member of the DNC, Donna Brazile, said she would resign from her post if the super delegates overturned the will of voters. Since this is the system in place now, there's nothing we can do about it until after the elections, at which time it should be revised. But for now, I suppose I believe that any super delegate that committed to a candidate prior to the primary should be able to back that person. Anyone else who waited to see the outcome of voters should match the votes of people in their states.

Leg breakers

Egypt threatens to break the legs of Gaza infiltrators

21 hours ago

CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt said on Thursday it would no longer tolerate Palestinians infiltrating the country from the Gaza Strip, and threatened to break the legs of anyone crossing the Rafah border illegally.

"Anyone who breaches the border will have their legs broken," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit was quoted as saying by the official MENA news agency on public television overnight.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the impoverished Gaza Strip, subjected to a punishing Israeli blockade, crossed freely into Egypt after Islamist militants from Hamas blew apart border barriers late last month.

Abul Gheit said Egypt had allowed the Palestinians to flood across the border for humanitarian reasons only.

He blamed Israel for the situation in Gaza, accusing the Jewish state of imposing collective punishment on the territory, home to 1.5 million Palestinians, in response to rocket attacks by militants.

Abul Gheit also reproached Hamas for firing rockets into Israel, describing the standoff as a "laughable caricature."

The minister said some rockets misfire and hit the Gaza Strip itself, wounding Palestinians and merely providing Israel with a pretext to attack.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum, responding to the remarks, said that "rather than criticise the resistance one should provide aid to the resistance and to the Palestinian people, because it defends the entire Islamic nation."

Egyptian and Hamas forces, which seized armed control of the Gaza Strip in mid-June, resealed the Rafah border last week.

MENA also quoted Egypt's Defence Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi as saying that no one was allowed to violate national security and that Egypt has a military arsenal "that conforms with the most modern technology in the world."

Egypt is the second largest recipient of United States military aid after Israel.

The Underdog and the Ironman

The strangest stat of this Super Bowl was that the Patriots are 0-2 when Troy Brown was inactive. He sat out this one and the Pats 1997 loss to the Packers. It's as if everything was in the cards to loss this game. Brown is the most productive receiver in Pats history and is a 15 year veteran that was one of the last ironmen in the gridiron. The guy is a class act. If you Google him, the picture is of his son and wife, who is an Army corps engineer, not a vacant super model girlfriend. Boston has become the hated New York. At a time when Boston bought the three best teams in sports, it has to lose. Cause that's why we love sports. I just didn't think New York would the place of underdogs. And just when you thought chats of 1918 were over, now you have eighteen and one.







Troy Brown and his family above, posted on the US Army Corps of Engineers' website


So that was Super Sunday. Tomorrow is Super Tuesday (well, today because Cairo is ahead of the States). Obama gave a speech in East Rutherford, where the G-Men play.



This is a photo from the New York Times of him shaking hands with Ted Kennedy who hasn't gotten this excited about a candidate since his brother.





But then again, no one from the Democratic party has.