4A -The Michigan Daily -Thursday, February 10, 2005
OPINION
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JASON Z. PESICK
Editor in Chief
SUHAEL MOMIN
SAM SINGER
Editorial Page Editors
ALISON GO
Managing Editor
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890
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ANN ARBOR, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily .com
NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
Iran has
achieved nuclear
technology without
the help of others,
and it will never give
up its right under
illegitimate pressure
from others."
- Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami, pledging that Iran will not
give up its nuclear energy program,
as reported yesterday by CNN.com.
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The Super Bowl Shuffle
JOEL HOARD OH YLA H
t's been over a year and the Blind perform a heartfelt rendition com that the network decided to pull a sec-
since we all saw of "America the Beautiful," I couldn't think ond version of the ad later in the game.
.L that fateful nipple, of a more touching or appropriate way to Fortunately the rest of the advertisers were
that heinous attack on "kick off" the night. What a moment! It more tasteful. Whether advertising subma-
the values we hold most really reminded me of all the little things rine sandwiches or American-made auto-
dear. And not just any we take for granted. mobiles, the companies handled themselves
values, but family values. Then there was the Super Bowl itself. with grace and dignity. The kids really got a
Some in the media have What a spirited game! The Patriots, led by kick out of the Quizno's ad with the talking
argued that the incident the Kalifornia Kid, Tom Brady, prevailed baby, but I'd have to say the real winner of
was no big deal, but think in the end, but feisty Irishman Donovan the night was the Anheuser-Busch company
of it this way. We have to live with the fact McNabb and his Eagles kept things close and their tribute to our armed forces who
that an entire generation of boys will grow throughout the game. are out there every day risking life and limb
up knowing what a female breast looks like When halftime rolled around, I was about to protect our freedom and liberty. I hope
long before they're married. Oh, how times to send the kids out of the room, remember- that when my kids are old enough to drink,
have changed since I was young. ing full well what happened last year. But they'll think back and remember this.
As a concerned parent of children ages when I saw who was performing, I called All in all it was a great night, but perhaps
6, 9 and 11, I turned on this year's Super them right back in, for it was none other the NFL saved the best for last. When Patri-
Bowl expecting much in the way of atone- than Paul McCartney, America's greatest ots wide receiver Deion Branch stepped up
ment, and to my relief, the National Foot- living songwriter and patriot. What a per- to the podium to accept his Super Bowl
ball League and Fox did not disappoint me. formance! Not only were the songs great, MVP award, I was expecting him to do
From the pre-game festivities to the post- but McCartney was seated behind a grand some disgraceful victory dance like Randy
game celebration, Super Bowl XXXIX was piano, so even if his genitals did acciden- Moss did a couple weeks back. But do you
a splendidly patriotic and uplifting event tally pop out of his pants, children wouldn't know what old Deion did? He thanked God.
for the whole family. have been able to see them. Why is it that humble, upstanding guys like
First there was the match-up between the The only real hiccup of the night came him never end up on SportsCenter? Now
Patriots, representing the state of New Eng- during the commercials, but boy was it a there's a role model.
land, where our forefathers first set foot on big one! A little-known Internet company As I put my kids to bed that night, I looked
this great land some 400 years ago, and the called GoDaddy.com apparently didn't take back on how far this country's come in the
Eagles from Philadelphia, the very birth- the Janet Jackson incident as seriously the past year. First we proved the world wrong
place of democracy. So far as mascots go, I rest of us, so they felt the need to make light when Iraq held its first democratic elec-
don't think there's anything more patriotic of it. And did they ever! Their ad showed a tions in history last week, and then families
than the Patriot, but the Eagle runs a close chesty brunette testifying before Congress from Maine to Hawaii were treated to one
second. wearing nothing but a tank top and a pair of the best Super Bowls in recent memo-
As I eagerly awaited the national anthem of short shorts. I immediately covered my ry. It wasn't just a football game; it was a
as performed by a choir of our servicemen youngest's eyes, and am I ever glad I did, celebration of everything we hold dear in
and women, I was treated to the first sur- because no sooner than that did the actress's America: family, football and America.
prise of the night. Watching fully clothed shirt strap break! I was on the phone with
pop singer Alicia Keys and a group of stu- Fox and the NFL within seconds, and I was Hoard can be reached
dents from the Florida School for the Deaf happy to learn the next day from foxnews. atj.ho@umich.edu.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Daily's coverage of Creeks never extend to referencing erroneous rape Do,
inaccurate, deeply biased charges and quotes from unconfirmed, anony- BoRE'
mous informants.
We would like to reiterate that our organizations
To THE DAILY: consist of everyday University students, not blind ArrEND A DAILY WD TRtAL
Your article, SAE may face expulsion from entities. The IFC Executive Board is committed
frat council (02/07/2005), contained several fac- to putting forth the time and energies necessary to BOARD MEETING.
tual inaccuracies. First and foremost, the men of work with the Daily in an effort to ensure that all
Sigma Alpha Epsilon are not being considered for future reporting related to the Greek community
expulsion from the Interfraternity Council. Your is accurate and comprehensive. MO#4DAy$, T4UR Ay$
headline was incorrect and misleading. Michael Caplan
Furthermore, the correction that ran on Feb. LSA junior 9 P.M.
8 was vague and inadequately clarified the President, Interfraternity Council Q MAYNARD
facts that IFC President Michael Caplan made Russ Garber
clear to a group of your editors during a meet- LSA junior
ing on Feb. 7. Vice President, Interfraternity Council
Additionally, the lack of journalistic integri- Jon Krasnov E-M st:
ty that this article exhibits is troublesome. The LSA sophomore iI' N M1 CHIGANDAIL.CO
insistence of your publication to continually Vice President of Public Relations,
tarnish the name of the Greek system should Interfraternity Council
VIEWPOINT
Two Leftist feet in Iraq
BY SAM BUTLER
Most of the Democrats in this country see
the recent election in Iraq as a very positive
event. But still, the nod of approval is painful
due to the enormous level of disapproval over
how it was brought to fruition. The American
Left is stuck about Iraq, stuck between a rock
and a hard place. We are caught in a no-win
situation, faced with the bitter choices of either
supporting Bush's newly created legitimacy or
drearily saying that democracy is not a worth-
while goal to actively pursue. How can the Left
say that democracy isn't worthwhile, when to do
so would go against everything America holds
dear? Sadly, this allows the Republican machine
to appropriate democratic values and paint
them as something uniquely conservative. To
denounce democracy is now not only un-Ameri-
can, but strikingly liberal too.
The election in Iraq only compounds the
current crisis of a Left that seems to lack direc-
tion and vision. But the Left isn't struggling
because of inept leadership, nor is it the victim
of a nrticiarly dhalic trateov from Karl
is really nothing more than a reaffirmation of
18th century liberalism, the very democratic
principles on which this country was founded.
The new generation isn't full of Republicans,
but really disciples of the Philosophes.
Whereas class equality was the driving pri-
ority of young liberals even until 30 years ago,
today the struggle of identity politics is the main
concern. The communist ideal of uniformity is
thrown away for the individual relativism of
"to each his own." Feeling the memory pains
of such atrocities as slavery and the Holocaust,
ethnic hatred has replaced being a capitalist
as the most heinous crime in today's Leftist
cultural landscape. We are wary of imposing
one's cultural superiority over another, saying
that one type of dress, custom or belief is bet-
ter than the other. Tolerance is the paramount
virtue of our age.
However, this individualism runs into con-
flict with our deep-seeded democratic beliefs.
How can we extol the virtues of universal suf-
frage and freedom of expression when women
in some countries are not even allowed to show
their faces in ihlic? But almost immediately.
type of government for everyone, everywhere?
In one of the most dramatic political flips since
the Dixiecrats, Republicans have taken over the
notion of international revolution, pledging to
carry democratic principles across the globe. If
a country is too dark to see our beacon of hope,
then damnit, we will come down and light their
ass up. Unfortunately, Bush's amalgam is any-
thing but strange and nothing that hasn't been
seen before. The same time period that brought
us the enlightened principles of political equal-
ity and free speech was also the time that saw
the birth of widespread colonialism. The "prog-
ress of civilization" was Europe's responsibility
to bring to savages worldwide, just as it is our
responsibility to convert dissenters into the fold
of liberal democracy.
So what's the answer? Everyone has his or
her own take on how to fix the Left so here
is my manifesto to add to the pile. The Left
doesn't need merely new legislative tactics but
an entire ideological alteration to compensate
for the cultural shifts of the last few decades.
The Democratic Party should take back its
orincioles and re-aporopriate the notion of lib-
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