What have colleges and universities in this nation become? Ralph Nader once said "If Martians came down from space and watched television, they would conclude that universities are sports organizations." I find this to be true. Let's look at the number of atheletic vs. academic scholarships awarded at your typical publicly funded college and university in America today. Or how about the number of students who can get away with taking what amount to elective and core classes to satisfy every credit hour necessary and graduate with an associate or bachelor's degree like the rest of us because they happen to be part of a university atheletic program.
Or, totally aside from atheletics, there's something else bothering me today. . .there was a piece in Marshall's school paper "The Parthenon" about a girl who won the contest on campus sponsored by playboy. She's in a recent issue and we discussed it in my news writing class today. Now I understand playboy, Hugh Hefner, and the Playmates or Bunnies have become household names. I myself have seen my fair share, and even have my fair share of porn and smut stuff. Part of college life, I concede, is drinking, partying, fooling around with girls/guys you don't know that well, and being altogether crazy. Of course you're going to do those things while in your 20s and away from home for the first time. BUT doesn't someone see a problem with the smut peddlers like playboy and girls gone wild doing so much recruiting at colleges and universities? I mean, for god sake, we're here spending tens of thousands of dollars in borrowed or rewarded monies to increase our earning potentials making us hotter commodities on the job markets; we're hear to increase our knowledge and skill base so that we can become highly trained professionals who have life-long, enjoyable careers with work security and plenty of money to keep ourselves and those we care about healthy and happy. We're also here to seek the education that will enable us to become more active members of our communities and our world; people who lead by example and get things done that either change the world or clearly demonstrate that the status quo is just fine.
We as college students sacrifice our nice homes with comfortable surroundings and the few years we have left of parent-provided living to come to musty, allergin-filled, terribly uncomfortable dorms and sometimes shitty apartments in addition to the loads of money we will have to spend half or all of the rest of our lives paying back so that we can become exemplory people and stronger competitors for our slice of the pie. Then when we get here we find that alcohol, drugs, rampant promiscuity, and a thousand other distractors await. As I said before that's all part of being young and dumb and free from the oversight of the parents or guardians, but why does the sex, drugs and rock n' roll have to be a marketed cultural trend? Why do we have to become known at public colleges and universities not only as sports organizations, but as hot naked drug and alcohol addicts? Shouldn't we be concerned that these trends have gone from being youthful transgressions to an expected and anticipated part of who we are both as students and young people?
Anyone who takes the time to read this should give me some feedback. Thanks.

So I was watching a little CNN today and saw the popular segment known as the CaffertyFile with Jim Cafferty. Mr. Cafferty mentioned today that British schools, often at the behest of the British Government that invests heavily in its schools, are encouraging history teachers to refrain from teaching about the Haulocaust to avoid offending the increasing population of Muslim students. This is absolutely appalling! Here is an otherwise fairly healthy secular society and popular Western government bowing to the wishes of worshipers in a religion that in my opinion is no religion of peace. This is a religion, not in part but in the whole, that is radical and violent and made up primarily of radical and violent fundamentalists just like those governing Iran. How ridiculous is it that objective and very important history would be sacrificed out of respect for the radical beliefs of Islam. This is where the seperation of church and state becomes extremely important! Just as Hitler during the Haulocaust encouraged the burning of bibles and other JudeoChristian parafinalia allowing for the dominance of the Third Rhyche and the dominance of state held beliefs over any and all religious beliefs, so Islam and its global spread is intruding upon the beliefs of other religious and non-religious peoples and tramping over the ideals of secular, democratic society. May God, not Allah, bless us and keep all believers and non-believers alike as we approach a period in history where the most powerful economic and military powers on earth bow to the extremist wishes of extremist peoples.

China's lesson on freedom of religion

Some Americans see ‘separation of church and state’ as a manufactured way to keep God out of public view. But Beijing’s repressive government illustrates that without that separation, the church — not the state — is ultimately in the greatest jeopardy.

By Richard W. Garnett

Although its government likes to claim otherwise, and apparently hopes people won't notice, meaningful religious freedom does not exist in China. Quite the contrary: As the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stated in its report last year, "The Chinese government continues to engage in systematic and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief."

And so, it was probably more disappointing than surprising when the government-controlled puppet church, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, late last year purported to ordain a new bishop for Roman Catholics in the Xuzhou Diocese, about 400 miles south of Beijing, over the objections of the Holy See.

Spring Break was incredible! I had a great time with everyone and it definitely was the most fun I've had in P-burg in a long time. The most important thing that happened on this break though was that I am now dating again. That's right...dating. She's an amazing girl and everything I've looked for in a girl from the start. I don't think I've ever had more in common with anyone, or respected and admired someone so much in my life. Her name is Laura. I really think this is the start of something very special. I've looked around off and on kind of non-chalantly for the past year now and gotten nowhere. I've had many one-night-stands, some great sex, and been on a lot of fun dates throughout the process, but I haven't felt this way about anyone in a long time, and the last time I did it turned out to be the single biggest mistake of my life. I'm praying constantly that this works out and that everything comes together perfectly, and I have so much hope and faith that it will.
Speaking of faith, I truly have a renewed faith as of late. I feel a special connection to God and the Lord Jesus Christ that I haven't genuinely felt in such a long time. I actually WANT to pray constantly, and I feel His love and His blessing in every facet of my life (sorry for referring to God as "Him" for those of you who recognize that God is without gender, I don't intend to sound patriarchal).
Yes, life is certainly good. There's a lot of hard work ahead of me, but I've never felt more motivated, determined, and hopeful. I can't remember the last time I felt this confident, this sure, and this positive about anything. I'm turning a new page in life.
I apologize to those who are reading this who are now ready to vomit from all this rainbows and butterflies language. Normally I'm the pessimist who has no faith in the world or in mankind and believes us all doomed to a much-deserved, horrid fate. Today, however, I believe in our ability to be saved, especially from ourselves. I believe also in our ability to overcome a world that often feels more like a prison cell.

IRAN SAYS 2007 COULD BRING ISLAMIC MESSIAH, POSSIBLY THIS SPRING

The New Year may not be so happy if Iranian leaders have their way. The Islamic Messiah known as the "Twelfth Imam" or the "Mahdi" may come to earth in 2007 and could be revealed to the world as early as the Spring Equinox, reports an official Iranian government news website. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) website says the world is now in its "last days." It claims that the Mahdi will first appear in Mecca, and then Medina. He will conquer all of Arabia, Syria, Iraq, destroy Israel, and then set up a "global government" based in Iraq, interestingly enough, not Iran. Such Islamic eschatology (end times theology) is driving the Iranian regime and helps explains why Iran has no interest in helping the U.S. and E.U. create peace in Iraq or the region, much less in ending its bid for nuclear weapons, the Iraq Study Group Report notwithstanding.

Anticipation of the imminent arrival or "illumination" of the Islamic Messiah has been steadily intensifying inside Iran since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad emerged as president of the country in June of 2005. A television series on IRIB called "The World Towards Illumination" has been running since last November to help answer the many questions Iranians have about the end of the world as we know it. The series explains the signs of the last days and what to expect when the Islamic Messiah arrives. The program also says that Jesus is coming back to earth soon as a Shiite Muslim leader and it denounces "born again Christians" for supporting "the illegal Zionist state of Israel."An Israeli news site was the first to pick up the story and its significance to Israeli national security, noting that the Mahdi will soon "form an army to defeat Islam's enemies in a series of apocalyptic battles" and "will overcome his archvillain in Jerusalem."

Some intelligence analysts are growing concerned by Ahmadinejad's announced plans "to hold the big celebration of Iran's full nuclearization in the current year." Iran's calendar year ends on March 20, which is the usual date of the Spring Equinox. Is Ahmadinejad signaling that Iran will have nuclear weapons by then? Is he suggesting that an apocalyptic war to annihilate Jews and Christians in Israel and the U.S. could come in 2007, perhaps as early as this spring or summer? It is not yet clear, though Ahmadinejad today vowed to "humiliate" the U.S. and continues to vow that Israel will "vanish" soon.

The IRIB series is important in that it offers some intriguing clues as to how Iranian Shiites believe their prophecies will play out. "After [the Twelfth Imam's] uprising from Mecca all of Arabia will be submit to him and then other parts of the world as he marches upon Iraq and established his seat of global government in the city of Kufa. Then the Imam will send 10 thousand of his forces to the east and west to uproot the oppressors. At this time God will facilitate things for him and lands will come under his control one after the other....He will appear as a handsome young man, clad in neat clothes and exuding the fragrance of paradise. His face will glow with love and kindness for the human beings....He has a radiant forehead, black piercing eyes and a broad chest. He very much resembles his ancestor Prophet Mohammad. Heavenly light and justice accompany him. He will overcome enemies and oppressors with the help of God, and as per the promise of the Almighty the Mahdi will eradicate all corruption and injustice from the face of the earth and establish the global government of peace, justice and equity."

The TV series notes that "in our discussion of the world in the last days of the earth we had said in our previous editions of this programme that no source has pointed to the exact date when the Savior will appear and only God knows about the exact timing of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi....There are various versions of the exact day of his reappearance. Some say it would be Friday and the date will be Ashura or the 10th of Moharram, the heart-rending martyrdom anniversary of his illustrious ancestor, Imam Husain. Others say the date will be the 25th of the month of Zil-Qa’dah and may coincide with the Spring Equinox or Nowrooz as the Iranians call. A saying attributed to the Prophet’s 6th infallible heir, Imam Ja’far Sadeq (PBUH) says the Mahdi will appear on the Spring Equinox and God will make him defeat Dajjal the Impostor or the anti-Christ as the Christians say, who will be hanged near the dump of Kufa."

Before the Islamic Messiah appears to the world, IRIB reports, "a pious person...a venerable God-fearing individual from Iran" meets with the Mahdi. This individual will pledge allegiance to the Mahdi as he "fights oppression and corruption and enters Iraq to lift the siege of Kufa and holy Najaf and to defeat the forces of [Islam's enemies] in Iraq." It is not clear whether the program is referring to President Ahmadinejad or someone to come.

Shiite Islamic scholars also say Jesus is coming back to Earth soon. He will not, however, come as the Son of God or even as a leader but will serve as a deputy to the Mahdi to destroy the infidels, they say. "We read in the book Tazkarat ol-Olia, 'the Mahdi will come with Jesus son of Mary accompanying him,'" the series explains. "This indicates that these two great men are complement each other. Imam Mahdi will be the leader while Prophet Jesus will act as his lieutenant in the struggle against oppression and establishment of justice in the world."

"The apocalypse is a deep belief among humans regarding the end of the world," notes the Iranian documentary. "[O]ne of the characteristics of the West in the current era is obsession with the end of time. Experts say discussions about the savior and the ‘end of time’, have not been so prevalent before as they are now in the west....They believe the Messiah [is Jesus and that He] will reappear and will establish his global rule with its center in [Jerusalem], with the help of born again Christians. This sect's religious leaders in the 1990's strongly propagated their beliefs in the US and European societies. In the past two years dozens of books have been published in this field....These extremist Christians believe that certain events must be carried out by the Protestants in the world so as to prepare the grounds for the Messiah’s reappearance. The followers of this school believe they have a religious duty to accelerate these events, for example planting the illegal Zionist state of Israel for the Jews of the world, in Palestine."

Too many Western analysts are missing the central importance of Shiite eschatology in Iranian foreign policy. They mistakenly believe that Iran's current leadership can be somehow cajoled into making peace with the West. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his cadre of loyal mullahs are not being driven by the same goals and aspirations as are the diplomats in Washington, Brussels or at the United Nations. The President of Iran and his team fervently believe the Islamic Messiah is coming back soon, possibly as soon as this Spring. They are convinced that their divine mission is to create the conditions for the Mahdi's return. As a result, they are committed to instigating more anti--American violence in Iraq, not less. They are determined to obtain nuclear weapons at all costs, not negotiate away their atomic research and development program. What's more, they are deeply committed to building political and military alliances with anti-Western powers, not finding accomodation with the West.

Bottom line: the leaders of Iran are preparing for an apocalyptic war with the U.S. and Israel. It's not a question of "if" but "when." The sooner the White House and our new Congressional leaders realize this and take decisive action to stop this nuclear nightmare, the better.