4-5-10

weather tomorrow

Sunny High 63˚/ Low 45˚

Great Barrier Reef hit by Chinese coal ship.

Vines to Wines connects students to wine industry.

Softball & baseball fall in conferenceopening series.

in news, P. 4

in arts, P. 10

in sports, P. 15

mustangdaily Monday, April 5, 2010

volume LXXIV, number 95

Cal Poly student killed on Highway 101 Sunday Mustang Daily Staff Report mustangdaily@gmail.com

Industrial engineering junior Matthew Hurlbutt was killed on the first southbound lane of Highway 101 early Sunday morning.

The California Highway Patrol said Hurlbutt, 21, was struck by

a Toyota Tacoma near the Santa Rosa Street exit. The driver, a Pismo Beach resident, was traveling at about 65 mph. Hurlbutt was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to a press release from the highway patrol, Hurlbutt walked into the traffic lanes and the driver could not avoid the collision.

It is unknown at this time if alcohol was involved.

The incident remains under investigation; the coroner’s report will be released after 8 a.m. Monday, according to a representative from the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office.

More information to come on mustangdaily.net.

www.mustangdaily.net

Abortion doctor’s killer must serve at least 50 years in prison

Bike sharing a possibility in SLO

jeff tuttle mcclatchy-tribune Scott Roeder is led from the courtroom after he was given a life sentence by Sedgwick County District Court Judge Warren Wilbert in Wichita, Kansas, April 1. Roeder was convicted last January of murdering Dr. George Tiller.

Judy L. Thomas mcclatchy newspapers

kate mcintyre mustang daily A Cal Poly student’s class project would allow students to rent bikes at different places throughout San Luis Obispo.

Zach Lantz Z.LANTZ.MD@GMAIL.COM

It’s finals week, but you couldn’t study because you were up until 4 a.m. finishing your 10-page paper.

You almost miss the bus. After arriving on campus you realize that in your hurry to catch the bus, you left your essay in the printer at home.

Enter city and regional planning senior Alex Padilla, and a group project he has championed. Titled “Slo Rollin,” his group’s project utilizes the concept of bike sharing, which has been gaining popularity around the world.

The program would put mul-

tiple bike stations all over San Luis Obispo. Anyone needing quick transportation could quickly rent a bike by swiping a credit card or membership card that would unlock a bike. Then when they arrive at their destination, they drop it off at another station.

Despite many obstacles, Padilla is carrying on with his group’s project in another class in hopes of implementing it.

Civil engineering graduate student Spencer Mullaney worked on the project all winter quarter and said such a program has unique challenges and benefits in a small city.

“Cars aren’t that quick to get around San Luis Obispo, especially if you need to go to and from campus. In the time you get to the parking lot, find a spot and walk to class, you probably could have ridden a bike in half the time,” he said.

The small size of San Luis Obispo could hurt the project. The popularity of this idea is mainly attributed to the “Vélib’” system established in Paris, France in 2007. There, the program currently uses 20,000 bicycles and has an automated station every few hundred yards.

In Paris, the bike sharing prosee Bike, page 2

WICHITA, Kan. — It took an entire day to sentence Scott Roeder for killing abortion doctor George Tiller, and then much of the drama came at the end.

Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert handed down the harshest possible sentence, and Roeder shouted in defiance as he was led from the courtroom.

The “Hard 50” sentence requires Roeder, 52, to serve at least 50 years before he can be considered for parole.

“Mr. Roeder chose church ... where one would expect to be safe and let their guard down,” Wilbert said.

“He intentionally killed Dr. Tiller in the very place that abhors violence — a church.

“Mr. Roeder shot and killed Dr. Tiller at point-blank range and left him bleeding on the floor of the narthex, where everyone exiting the sanctuary could see that horrific scene.”

The judge said the total disregard for reverence that should be shown in a house of worship “by itself is heinous, vicious and cruel,” which are among the qualifications for a “Hard 50” sentence.

Wilbert also sentenced Roeder to 24 additional months for threatening two men who chased Roeder after he shot Tiller on May 31 inside his church.

Roeder had faced a minimum sen-

tence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He was found guilty of first-degree murder on Jan. 29 after testifying at his trial that he shot Tiller in the forehead while Tiller was serving as an usher in his church.

Roeder interrupted the judge several times as he issued the sentence, saying “babies were dying” and “babymurdering is chaos and anarchy.”

As he was escorted out of the courtroom, he shouted at the prosecutors: “The blood of babies are on your hands.”

The sentence came after hours of motions and testimony, a parade of character witnesses speaking on behalf of Roeder and a lengthy statement by Roeder during which he described numerous abortion procedures in graphic detail and called Tiller’s church a “synagogue of Satan.”

Tiller family attorney Lee Thompson spoke to the court on behalf of the family, calling the murder a “cruel act of domestic terrorism” and a hate crime.

“We aren’t dealing with free speech or the right of expression with this case,” he said. “It is an act of terrorism characterized by boasting and the complete lack of remorse.”

Thompson said Tiller was a devoted father and grandfather and a defender of women’s rights.

“He gave his life for the rights of women,” he said. “The impact of see Prison, page 2

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news editor: Kate McIntyre mustangdailynews@gmail.com

Bike Student lassos first place in national contest

continued from page 1

Sean Hanrahan seanhanrahan.md@gmail.com

The 2010 Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Conference invited students from around the country to speak competitively about public perceptions of farmers and ranchers in Tulsa, Oklahoma earlier this year.

Cal Poly agricultural communications senior Olivia Gonzales challenged three others national competitors in the final round and took first place.

Gonzales’ win is shared by the agricultural communications department at Cal Poly.

Gonzales said most of the money will contribute to the expansion of her family’s dry-farmed walnut brand. Her father currently serves as president of the county farm bureau and the family raises cattle and owns a wine-tasting room in Paso Robles.

Serving as this year’s chair of Young Ranchers and Farmers, Olivia said she worked hard with the help of agricultural education and communication professor Scott Vernon to understand the many issues facing American family farmers and ranches.

“Her win helps validate Cal Poly’s strong national reputation

“ ” Her win helps validate Cal Poly’s strong reputation in agricultural communication.

— Scott Vernon

agriculture professor

During the collegiate discussion contest, presented by the American Farm Bureau Federation, judges analyzed 38 undergraduate and recently-graduated students’ abilities to offer information and constructive criticism on the topic.

“We talked a lot about accountability and the viral impact of social media, like Facebook and other sites,” Gonzales said. “Social media is one of the best ways to communicate very quickly and effectively.”

Gonzales said social media has created a new way of engaging people and farmers and ranchers should not be left out.

During the final round, Gonzales and three others from West Virginia, South Dakota and Illinois were asked, “How can we continue to bridge the gap between farmers, ranchers and lawmakers in order to have an influence in the changing political environment?”

Gonzales won a $2,500 scholarship from the CHS Foundation.

The foundation’s Web site says the scholarship fund is “committed to investing in the future of rural America, agriculture and cooperative business through education and leadership development.”

Monday, April 5, 2010

in agricultural communication,” Vernon said. “She is a model of the high caliber students we have in the program.”

Vernon teaches in the Agricultural Education Department and serves as the Co-Director of the Brock Center for Agricultural Communication. He currently manages the Livestock Publications Council’s National Writing Contest, and is an adviser to the Cal Poly Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow.

“My role was to help her develop a strategy to communicate the issues in a way that was interesting, original and compelling,” Vernon said.

Vernon, who has coached many national champion speakers in the past, said his experience helped Gonzales be efficient and focused during her preparation.

“She listened closely and executed the communication plan perfectly,” he said.

Gonzales said she has some job offers waiting for her once she graduates in June. She wants to stick to communication once she gets her degree.

“The family business is subsidiary, but a career in agriculture is preferable,” she said.

gram was started by an ad agency, who, in return for starting the program, received premium on-street ad space from the city.

“In that sense San Luis Obispo isn’t that big of a draw for large ad agencies and outside financing so initially from a start-up standpoint, its probably a hindrance,” Mullaney said.

Despite the small size of San Luis Obispo, Padilla hopes his group’s proposal would garner support from the community, including Cal Poly’s student body.

“We definitely need community support, from the bicycle com-

Prison continued from page 1

his death on women throughout the world is like an earthquake.”

Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston told Wilbert that Roeder’s actions qualified for the “Hard 50” sentence under Kansas law. She said Roeder stalked Tiller for years, scoping out his gated community and his clinic, and on several occasions went into his church with a loaded gun searching for Tiller.

“This individual planned to kill Dr. Tiller as far back as 1993,” Foulston said, “stealthily going after him as though he was a partridge in the woods. ... He should be given the longest sentence possible.”

Security was tight in the courthouse Thursday, with a bomb-sniffing dog brought in to examine all bags and purses, including those of reporters. Eight Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputies stood guard inside the courtroom, and several FBI agents observed the proceedings as well.

Roeder entered the room dressed in a gray jacket, red tie and dark pants, his ankles in shackles. The judge warned observers that outbursts would not be tolerated and said Roeder’s witnesses would be limited to talking about his character and not espousing their views about Tiller and abortion.

Tiller’s family members sat with two of their church pastors, clutching tissues and often hugging, holding hands and leaning on one another for support.

Those speaking on behalf of Roeder were Kansas City anti-abortion activists Eugene Frye and Regina Dinwiddie and her mother, Kitty Coons, and Iowa abortion opponent Dave Leach.

www.mustangdaily.net

munity, from the city and from the community residents. It’s hard to put a timetable on it, but once we have support of those three groups, we are definitely looking at a couple of years down the road,” he said.

There is some budding excitement from those in the community who have heard about the project, Padilla said.

“This idea obviously sounds great and I look forward to hearing information about its progress,” Associated Students Inc. President Kelly Griggs said. “From what I understand, there are a lot of positives and it would be great to see something like this here in San Luis Obispo.”

The project will most likely run under a non-profit model that would keep rental rates to a minimum. De-

pending on a person’s membership, he or she could get up to the first hour of a rental free, and then pay as little as $2 for the next hour.

Mullaney said affordability is the key to this project’s success.

“The whole point is not to make money and not to expand into this huge business that takes over the world, but rather just a way too break even, maybe turn a small profit in order to expand in the future. Most importantly (we want) to provide bike access to a lot of people and encourage those short trips station to station,” he said.

The goals of the project are to make San Luis Obispo more sustainable and create a program that benefits students as well as local residents.

“I have visited with Scott in jail four or five times and have talked with him numerous times on the phone, and from those visits and phone calls I came to believe that Scott acted on his beliefs that abortion is murder of a preborn baby,” Frye said.

Dinwiddie told the court that “Scott loved our country and he knew the terror of our Lord regarding the shedding of innocent blood.”

Foulston objected to Dinwiddie’s comments, asking the judge to dismiss her. Wilbert warned her not to talk about the abortion issue: “You’re now upon your own soap box,” he said.

Roeder’s defense team brought in a clinical psychologist who evaluated Roeder to testify about his findings.

George Hough said Roeder’s ability to conform to the law was “substantially compromised” because of his strong beliefs about Tiller and abortion.

Roeder began his own statement by talking about the “victims” of abortion, then read a brochure describing abortion procedures followed by reading a lengthy excerpt from a book written by Paul Hill, an activist who killed an abortion doctor and his bodyguard in Florida in 1994.

After that, Roeder began talking about what he said was documentation about Foulston’s failure to enforce the law when it came to Tiller’s practice.

Wilbert shut him down.

“You killed Dr. Tiller,” he said.

“You’re not going to politically assassinate Nola Foulston.”

Then Roeder told Wilbert that “if you were to obey the higher power of God himself, you would acquit me.”

Roeder said it was the duty of the state to protect all people, “including those whom George Tiller killed. Had

the courts acted rightfully, I would not have shot George Tiller. The blame for George Tiller’s death lies more with you than with me.”

Roeder complained repeatedly he wasn’t being allowed to speak: “If this atrocity is ever going to end, this Holocaust, the truth has got to come out.”

Afterward, Rudy said the defense will file an appeal.

There’s no question that Tiller’s death has had an impact on abortions in Kansas.

Just last week, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported that 121 late-term abortions – those at 22 weeks or more gestation – were performed in the state in 2009. That was fewer than half the 293 late-term abortions performed in 2007, the most recent year available for comparison.

That’s one of the reasons Julie Burkhart said she founded the Trust Women PAC. “The murder of Dr. George Tiller ... has left women all over the country without access to safe, legal later termination of pregnancy,” said Burkhart, who worked with Tiller for eight years and ran ProKanDo, his political action committee. She said her group will fight proposed legislation that seeks to restrict access to late-term abortions and would work to elect candidates who support abortion rights.

Now the closest abortion clinics to Wichita are in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and the Kansas City area. The only clinics in the country where late-term abortions are available are in Omaha, Boulder, Colo., and Albuquerque, N.M., which began performing the procedures in response to Tiller’s death.

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Monday, April 5, 2010 www.mustangdaily.net

March jobs surge lessens weight on struggling economy Don Lee tribune washington bureau

WASHINGTON – Like a breath of spring air, exhilarating and hinting at still better days ahead, the U.S. economy got its best jobs report in three years Friday as employers added 162,000 jobs in March – a substantial boost itself and a harbinger of more large-scale gains ahead.

Encouraging as the Labor Department report was, it wasn’t strong enough to bring down the unemployment rate. The jobless figure remained stuck at 9.7 percent for the third month in a row amid a surge of people returning to the labor market as the overall economy recovers from the worst economic crisis in more than half a century.

And economists, mindful of continuing problems and uncertainty, were generally cautious in assessing the employment gain.

“Having lost 8.2 million jobs over a period of two years, it’s a drop in the bucket,” said Bart van Ark, chief economist at the Conference Board, a business-membership and research organization in New York. “It’s too early to say we have a sustainable recovery.”

Part of the concern stems from the fact that it’s hard to pinpoint specific areas of the economy with the potential to send employment rocketing upward. The housing industry, long a staple of economic growth, remains deeply troubled, as does construction.

And, while manufacturing and exports have helped pull the economy out of its nosedive, they face long-term problems of global competition and currency barriers.

Analysts reckon that the economy needs to create 125,000 or so new net jobs a month just to keep pace with the population growth, but depending on how fast people pour into the labor market, many more jobs than that will be needed to cut into the unemployment rate.

Still, van Ark said, March was “the first month of really solid growth” in a long time. “We can be a little bit more optimistic.”

A chunk of the job increases in March, or 48,000 positions, came from the hiring of temporary workers by the Census Bureau. But the private sector generated 123,000 jobs last month, more than many

analysts were projecting.

Manufacturing payrolls expanded for the third month in a row, adding 17,000 jobs, led by fabricated metal and machinery makers. Some factory owners say they are hoping to hire this spring, but they remain guarded about adding payrolls too quickly after the painful recession.

“I’m looking at the second quarter to see how business pans out,” said Sanda Westlund-Deenihan, president of Quality Float Works Inc., a Chicago-area maker of industrial floats and valves.

She said that domestic sales as well as export orders have been picking up since last fall, but rather than hire anybody, she said she had been filling the gap by giving overtime and Saturday work to her existing 17 employees and by going to the shop floor herself to help out.

“We can’t get the work out the door without people,” she said.

Another indicator of future hiring, the temporary-help sector added 40,000 workers last month, boosting its increase since September to 313,000.

Financial services and the information industry lost jobs in March, but health-care, education, retail and the leisure industry employers all added to their payrolls. Even the hard-hit construction sector ended its long string of severe job losses last month, adding 15,000 jobs.

The Labor Department on Friday also revised upward the nation’s payrolls for the first two months of the year. The economy created 14,000 jobs in January, instead of losing 26,000 as previously reported, officials said. And the losses in February were shaved by more than half to 14,000.

Taking the first three months together, the economy added an average of 54,000 jobs monthly – a dramatic turnaround from losses averaging 752,700 jobs a month in the first quarter of 2009 and 89,700 in the final quarter of last year.

These figures don’t include selfemployed workers, whose numbers also appear to be rising but are not precisely tracked by the government month to month.

President Barack Obama hailed the March report as a significant milestone.

“We are beginning to turn the

corner,” the president said, speaking Friday afternoon at Celgard, a Charlotte, N.C., company that produces lithium battery devices. “This month more Americans woke up, got dressed and headed to work in an office or factory or storefront.

“More folks are feeling the sense of pride and satisfaction that comes with a hard-earned and well-deserved paycheck at the end of a long week of work.”

Alan Levenson, chief economist at T. Rowe Price in Baltimore,

“ ” Having lost 8.2 millon jobs over a period of two years, it’s a drop in the bucket.

— Bart van Ark

Conference Board chief economist

viewed the March performance as a signal of accelerating growth in the months ahead. It “sets in motion a self-reinforcing dynamic that lends solidity to the expansion,” he said in a note to clients.

Certainly, over the next couple of months, the economy will get a big lift from the Census Bureau’s hiring of hundreds of thousands of temporary workers to knock on doors and collect data for the constitutionally mandated decennial count of the nation’s population. But most of those jobs will be part-time, paying $10 to $20 an hour, and will likely last just a few weeks, according to government reports and private economists.

What remains to be seen is whether private employers can pick up the pace of hiring fast enough to drive down the unemployment rate and begin to fill in the cratersized jobs hole left by the recession.

Thirteen states, plus the District of Columbia, reported double-digit

unemployment rates in February – including California, Illinois and Florida.

A broader Labor Department measure of unemployment and under-employment, which includes part-time workers who want fulltime jobs, rose a notch to 16.9 percent in March.

This last month, without the statistical rounding that government statisticians employ, the jobless rate actually went up to 9.74 percent from 9.68 percent in February. That’s because even though the economy added a substantial number of jobs, the labor force – comprising people working and those looking for jobs – increased by nearly 400,000 in March.

As hiring prospects look better, more workers sidelined during the recession will re-enter the labor force. And this summer they will be joined by a flood of fresh graduates, all of which could push up the unemployment rate in the coming months.

“While (Friday’s report) is very good news, it’s not a signal that the private sector is poised to create the kinds of numbers of jobs to put many people back to work,” said Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington.

The ranks of the unemployed grew last month by 134,000 to cross 15 million. And a record 44 percent of these workers, or more than 6.5 million, have been jobless for six months or longer – an increasingly worrisome social and economic situation as many of them are losing their skills and struggling to compete for jobs.

“For those laid off, unemployment is stretching longer and longer and putting severe distress on families,” said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, a group advocating congressional funding to extend jobless benefits through 2010. Without action, the group said, about one million unemployed workers stand to lose those benefits in April.

Many analysts see a slow jobs recovery ahead and unemployment remaining high for the next few years.

Although the broader economy has been expanding since last summer, growth this year is expected to come

in at only about half the robust 5.6 percent rate of the fourth quarter of 2009.

In past recoveries after a deep downturn, economic growth has often been much stronger for a longer period and hence has led to more vigorous hiring.

But with millions unemployed and many others facing stagnant incomes or having overextended themselves in the boom years before the recession, consumers aren’t likely to provide as much spark to the economic or job recovery as they typically do after recessions by buying houses and big-ticket items that had been postponed.

“There is little enthusiasm among owners to hire more workers, primarily due to continued weak sales trends,” said William Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-employer lobbying group.

On the investment side, business spending for software and equipment, which had been growing at good clip, has more recently shown signs of fading, said van Ark of the Conference Board.

The housing industry, traditionally a strong job generator following a recession, also remains depressed and can’t be expected to lead a recovery.

All of which raises the question: “Where are the jobs going to come from?” said van Ark. “Caution is required.”

Peter Nicholas in the Tribune Washington Bureau contributed to this report.

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news editor: Jessica Barba mustangdailywire@gmail.com

Great Barrier Reef hit by Chinese ship John M. Glionna and Ju-Min Park and Kenneth R. Weiss los angeles times

SEOUL and LOS ANGELES — Australians on Sunday scrambled to ensure a Chinese-owned bulk coal carrier that rammed into the Great Barrier Reef would not break apart and seriously damage the planet’s largest coral reef.

Peter Garrett, the nation’s environment protection minister, told reporters the federal government is concerned about the impact an oil spill could have on the environmentally sensitive reef, one of the wonders of the natural world that was selected as a World Heritage site in 1981.

Environmentalists said they were “horrified” at the possible damage the mishap might cause to the ecosystem, which is 1,800 miles long and comprises more than 3,000 individual reefs, cays and islands — providing a habitat for countless sea species.

Coral reefs cover slightly less than 1 percent of the world’s oceans, but are home to about 25 percent of all identified marine species.

Like other coral reefs, the Great Barrier Reef was built literally on the backs of small, colonial animals that make formations resembling tabletops, giant brains or elk horns.

Growing on top of one another,

Monday, April 5, 2010

these skeletons of calcium carbonate fuse together into rock that can slice through a ship’s hull like a can opener.

Besides physical damage to the reef, the greatest threat from the cargo vessel comes from the roughly 300,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil it carries to run its engines.

Shipping companies favor such low-grade fuel because it’s cheap.

But it’s also particularly viscous, almost like sludge, and needs to be heated before injected into engines.

The gooey texture makes this class of fuel more ecologically troublesome and more difficult to clean up, as it coats birds and other wildlife, corals and sandy beaches.

Video taken late Sunday showed the 700-plus-foot vessel stranded about nine miles outside the shipping lane, leaking what seemed to be a streak of oil into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park near Great Keppel Island off the east coast of Queensland state.

Great Keppel Island, about 340 miles north of Brisbane, has long been a major tourist destination on the Great Barrier Reef, which provides Australia a great source of national pride and tourist dollars.

The Australian government have moved to protect this national treasure in recent decades, setting aside see Reef, page 5

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music monday What are you listening to?

“All in the Jungle“ by The Hours

“Rhinoceros“ Pumpkins

by

Smashing

“Pigs” by Pink Floyd

-Alex Grillo, wine and viticulture senior

-Andrew Streckfus, biological medicine junior

-Erik Johnson, biology junior

“My brother. ”

“You Just Know“ by J-Co

“Winter Takes All” by Common Market

-Jasmine Pickett, kinesiology junior

-Mattics Phi, computer engineering sophomore

-Logan Stark, chemistry graduate student

compiled and photographed by jessica barba

www.mustangdaily.net

Reef continued from page 4

about one-third as marine reserves off limits to fishing and other forms of exploitation. Despite these underwater parks, the reef has suffered significant declines from a combination of overfishing, fertilizer runoff from land and coral bleaching from hot water associated with global warming.

Marine ecologists often talk about oil spills as the nightmare scenario that can push coral reefs or other undersea areas past the point they can recover — particularly when their resilience has been weakened by other chronic stress.

“Climate change is a problem for virtually all coral reefs, and fishing has had some problem there,” said Ben Halpern, a marine ecologist at UC Santa Barbara. “If you add into that a major oil spill, it tends to push the system past the tipping point.”

What happens beyond that point, Halpern said, is the subject of much study. What’s known is that corals tend to die. The reefs become overgrown with invasive algae. Then the fish and other marine life that rely on a living reef can no longer survive.

Early morning flights over the carrier identified a small number of oil patches about two nautical miles southeast from the vessel, according from a release from the Queensland state government.

A light aircraft was also shown spraying a chemical dispersant on the spilled oil. Authorities said they planned to assess the success of the move before continuing with the

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Monday, April 5, 2010 spraying.

“This is a serious situation and we’ve mobilized air, sea and land resources in response,” said Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

“The situation remains serious as the extent of the damage means that there is a very real risk that the vessel may break apart. Every effort is now being made to limit the impact of this incident.”

The Shen Neng 1, hauling more than 65,000 tons of coal, hit the reef at full speed late Saturday in a restricted zone of the marine park.

The impact ruptured the vessel’s fuel tanks, prompting Australian officials to activate a national oil spill response plan.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will be conducting a full investigation into the incident. The carrier was aground on a shoal and is not expected to be moved without salvage assistance.

Authorities said they were trying to assess the scope of a salvage project late Sunday.

Capricorn Conservation Council, a national environmental group, said in a release that it was “horrified that a Chinese coal carrier has run aground near Great Keppel Island.”

The group called for a marine pilot to be required for all vessels operating in the area.

“We can be certain that this is a sign of things to come,” said spokesman Ian Herbert. “Who knows what damage will be done to our local coral reefs and marine animals from the oil spill from the ship? We are outraged that no marine pilot is required on ships between Gladstone and Cairns. This will increase the likelihood of similar events.”

Briefs State

SAN LUIS OBISPO (MCT)— San Luis Obispo residents who host rowdy parties could face stiff fines under a proposed law being presented to the City Council on Tuesday.

The proposal, dubbed the “unruly gathering ordinance,” would allow police officers to fine hosts of parties of 20 or more people that create what they deem to be a substantial disturbance. The fine would be $700 for the first offense. Additional citations would cost party hosts $1,000.

Multiple complaints, crowds overflowing to neighboring properties or streets, traffic interference and large, unruly crowds constitute such a disturbance, police Chief Deborah Linden said.

•••

LOS ANGELES (MCT)— The four people killed at a San Fernando Valley, Calif., restaurant Saturday afternoon were “targeted,” Los Angeles Police Department officials said.

All of the victims were men, said Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese, commanding officer of operations at the Valley bureau. He said three of the men were pronounced dead at the restaurant, another later died at a local hospital. Two others were also wounded and are expected to survive. Law enforcement sources, who asked not to be identified because of the ongoing investigation, said they believed the shooting might have involved Armenian gangs.

National

WASHINGTON (MCT) — Supporters of climate-change legislation are using a surprising figure to promote their cause: Ronald Reagan.

Radio ads asking “What would Reagan do?” are airing during the conservative talk shows of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck on stations in New Hampshire and are planned in other states in the drive to get Congress to act on global warming legislation.

The ads, which include clips from Reagan speeches, are the work of Republicans for Environmental Protection. They come as a group of senators works to draft a bill that can attract bipartisan support.

•••

CHICAGO (MCT) — The ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” were stolen almost five years ago from a Grand Rapids, Minn., museum.

Last month, police thought they had made a break in the case. Will County, Ill., sheriff’s police raided a southwest suburban Homer Glen, Ill., home where a tipster said he had seen the iconic shoes in a glass case under a television, court records show. The insurance company that paid out $1 million in the theft confirmed the identifying details the tipster provided were accurate beyond what was apparent in the film, records show.

International JAPAN (MCT) — Finance Minister Naoto Kan worked to promote Japanese technologies and companies during a recent discussion of financial issues with China, but he and rest of the Japanese delegation’s efforts yielded less than satisfactory results.

During the meeting held Saturday in Beijing, the two sides agreed to reinforce economic cooperation between Japan and China. Based on the Japanese government’s new growth strategy, Kan attempted to sell his country’s technologies and promote the entry of Japanese companies into China’s markets, but ultimately he could not garner a favorable response from the Chinese side or achieve progress on specific measures.

•••

CHINA (MCT) — The U.S. decision to delay a report on whether China is manipulating its currency stems from hope a diplomatic solution to the dispute can be worked out, according to senior administration officials over the weekend.

The head of President Obama’s National Economic Council, Larry Summers, said in an interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that the delay of the U.S. Treasury report on China is “part of our international economic dialogue.”

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news editor: Jessica Barba mustangdailywire@gmail.com

Suicide car bombers target embassies, killing at least 41 Ned Parker and Usama Redha los angeles times

BAGHDAD — At least 41 people were killed and 237 wounded Sunday in three suicide car bombings targeting the Iranian and German embassies and the Egyptian Consulate in a span of 30 minutes.

The attacks, which Iraqi government officials blamed on the Sunni Arab extremist group al-Qaida in Iraq, came less than two days after unknown gunmen in uniforms massacred 25 people in a Sunni district south of Baghdad.

The ongoing carnage raises fears the security situation could unravel before Iraq’s next government is formed, as armed groups and political parties look to exploit the uncertain period after last month’s national elections. The conditions are reminiscent of early 2006 when al-Qaida in Iraq took advantage of the transition between elected governments to blow up a Shiite holy shrine and ignite a civil war between the country’s Shiite majority and its Sunni minority population, which dominated the government of Saddam Hussein before he was toppled in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

It also comes as American forces prepare to draw down to 50,000 noncombat troops by the end of August and are less able to curb tensions between the sides, because of their diminishing numbers.

Many of those killed Sunday were motorists and pedestrians near the consular buildings in Baghdad’s central governmental hub and an embassy row in west Baghdad.

No diplomats were reported wounded or killed None of the compounds were breached, but the force of the blast by the Egyptian Consulate tore down a wall. The deadliest attack was at the Iranian Embassy in central Baghdad, surrounded by key government institutions, where 23 were killed. Eighteen died in the twin bombings at the German and Egyptian buildings, located about five minutes apart on Emirat Street in Baghdad’s Mansour district.

The road opposite the Iranian Embassy, a stately sand-colored building, was strewn with half a dozen incinerated vehicles, like a child’s messy train set. Cavedin jeeps and sedans, smeared with blood and tiny bits of flesh, were parked by cement barriers, still plastered with faded posters of politicians from provincial elections a year ago when Iraq’s mood was more optimistic. The packed district, located next to Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, has been hit by suicide bombers at least four times since August.

Monday, April 5, 2010

A man climbed onto the husk of a minibus’ upturned blackened chassis and peered inside the remains for a piece of clothing, papers, a trace of blood.

“I am sure of it. I know this is his car,” the flushed man screamed, as he looked for survivors. Tired policemen and bystanders pleaded with him to come down, saying maybe it wasn’t his brother’s. Moments later, after coming down from the wreck, he spotted a blackened clump of muscle near the front windshield.

“A hand,” he screamed. “A hand.”

A policeman and two bystanders pulled him away. “No one was killed in the minibus. It was empty,” the policeman insisted. The man looked the officer in the eyes, but continued to cry: “You are lying to me.”

The attack on the Egyptian Consulate left three Egyptian officials lightly wounded. An Iraqi policeman charged with security for the embassies of Germany, Syria, Morocco and Tunisia was killed, along with two other policemen, according to Foreign Ministry officials At the German Embassy, a guard was killed, and nearby three doctors at a clinic were wounded.

Abu Nima, a guard at the clinic, was a friend of the embassy guard.

“I saw his young son crying and screaming. He wished that he was dead like his father,” Abu Nima said, blaming the nation’s political feuding for the violence.

“It’s part of the struggle to form the next government. They are attempting to impose pressure and instability as they race and fight for posts,” the night watchmen said.

“But unfortunately they oppress the poor people like us. We are the victims.”

Political infighting weighs heavy on the minds of most in Baghdad after the March 7 election, in which former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s secular Iraqiya alliance won slightly more parliament seats than the Shiite-led slate of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did.

Neither bloc has the necessary 163-seat majority in the 325-member parliament and al-Maliki has refused to accept the election results, charging fraud. Since the vote, raids have been carried out against several winning candidates from Iraqiya’s list. The situation has fed simmering religious tensions as al-Maliki’s backers have depicted him as the choice for the Shiite majority, while the onetime Sunni elite have pinned their hopes on Allawi.

Politicians and Western diplomats predict a drawn-out fight to lead the next government that could drag on into July, with the drift exploited by groups inside and outside

the political process.

Those at the Iranian Embassy after the attack Sunday saw no easy solutions. Bleary-eyed soldiers, who had been stuck in traffic when the suicide bomber exploded in front of them, sprawled out in the grass and smoked, not far from their destroyed vehicles. They described bundling their wounded soldiers to the hospital.

“There will be more,” said an officer, who called himself Abu Ahmed.

“The country is living in a bad political situation. A vacuum has been created.” His companion nodded.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, whose ministry was gutted in a bombing in August that rang in a new era of assaults on ministries and important city buildings, also worried bloodshed would increase in this transition period.

“This has strong connections with the ongoing political debate and the discussions about the new government. It is a message to derail the process and to emphasize the terrorists are still in business,” the minister said.

Zebari said politicians, with their name-calling and broad accusations, had helped breed an atmosphere in which groups seize the opportunity to carry out such gruesome bombings.

“This unhealthy political environment with (political figures’) unhealthy statements and threats of violence may have been conducive,” he said. “Everyone is urging that we expedite the formation of the new government so there won’t be any security or governmental vacuum.

This has been the main concern for everyone and all of our friends.”

The minister blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for Sunday’s seemingly coordinated attacks but wondered aloud how such blasts could keep happening in central Baghdad, on the same streets, without help from within the nation’s security apparatus.

“We’ve said definitely there must be some collaboration. Otherwise, these terrorists shouldn’t be able to move so freely in downtown Baghdad,” Zebari said.

Supporters of al-Maliki also sounded grim.

“This transition period is good for al-Qaida and those who have weapons, with the differences between the political parties and the uncertainty of the direction in which the country will go,” said Jabr Habeeb Jabr, a parliament member from al-Maliki’s slate.

Jabr expected more attacks as a means of destabilizing the government and discrediting al-Maliki.

“Everyone knows the important achievement of the prime minister is the security file,” Jabr said. “When he is stripped of that, he will be left with nothing.”

Memoir continued from page 7

Marian that he should give the presidential race a go. His sister, he said, was reluctant for another campaign so soon after he was elected to the Senate.

After Obama became president, Michelle turned to her brother to encourage Marian Robinson to move into the White House, Robinson writes in her forward.

“As a compromise, I opted to move to the White House after all, at least temporarily — while still reserving lots of time to travel and to maintain a certain amount of autonomy.”

The book is sprinkled with life lessons on how this brother and sister excelled and how Craig Robinson, when confronted

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with challenge — including a rocky academic start at Princeton University and a first marriage that ended in divorce — picked himself up.

But amid homespun stories of the family’s humble roots and Robinson’s climb to a college-level coaching career (after a foray into the world of finance), people hungering for more about Barack and Michelle Obama may be a bit disappointed.

Robinson writes mostly about basketball, even when describing how he introduced his sister before her prime-time address at the Democratic National Convention.

“Michelle was being asked to sink a three-pointer at the buzzer in a do-or-die game at the start of the championship,” he writes. “Everything to come, victory or disappointment, would hinge on this one shot. And all I could do to help was simply pass her the ball. And believe.”

brian baer sacramento bee

Craig Robinson, older brother of Michelle Obama, introduces his sister during the first night of the Democratic National Convention.

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Michelle Obama’s Earthquake shakes Mexican brother debuts a border causing damage family memoir Rong-Gong Lin II los angeles times

Katherine Skiba chicago tribune

WASHINGTON — The news might have set off alarms in some past administrations: The president’s brother-in-law has written a book.

But you won’t find dirty laundry in a memoir from first lady Michelle Obama’s brother, Oregon State basketball coach Craig Robinson. The book, “A Game of Character,” which has a foreword by their mother, Marian Robinson, is due out on April 20.

Craig Robinson writes that he and his parents didn’t think Barack Obama stood much of a chance with his sister when they met him.

He and his parents were out on their porch on a hot summer night in Chicago when the couple stopped by to say hello on their way to a movie.

“Well, he’s tall,” Marian Robinson said while Obama was out of earshot.

“Not a bad-looking guy either,” said her husband, Fraser.

But even though the suitor struck the Robinsons as a self-possessed man with a nice smile and firm

handshake, they figured he wasn’t a keeper. “Too bad,” Marian said.

“Yep,” Fraser answered. “She’ll eat him alive.”

Craig Robinson, 47, less than two years older than Michelle, was close to his only sibling. In childhood, they even shared a bedroom separated by a divider.

Miche, as he calls her, was a disciplined, scholarly girl who saved money fastidiously, who learned to box at their father’s behest and who once conspired with him, upset that their parents smoked, to destroy every last cigarette in the house.

In the book, Fraser Robinson is dubbed “Philosopher in Chief ” in the forward, and his long struggle with multiple sclerosis is treated with much compassion by his son.

The father died in 1991 at age 56.

Craig Robinson writes that both parents urged him to excel and quotes his mother as saying: “Knowledge acquired is something no one can take away from you.”

He also says Obama sought his help in convincing Michelle and see Memoir, page 6

LOS ANGELES — An estimated 7.2-magnitude earthquake centered in Baja California, Mexico, shook buildings as far north as Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. Seismologists said the quake hit about 108 miles east of the border city of Tijuana.

Early reports from Mexico indicated damage in Mexicali, a border city north of the epicenter. Cesar Garcia, an editor at Channel 12 television in Tijuana, said a two-story parking garage next to the Mexicali government headquarters collapsed, causing several injuries. No deaths had been reported.The government building was also damaged in the city of 653,000, he said.

The local general hospital was evacuated, with patients transferred to other facilities, according to Garcia.

He said the news station had not been able to reach anyone in Guadalupe de Victoria, a town closer to the epicenter where wineries are the main industry.

In Calexico, California, across the border from Mexicali, Carlton Hargrave, 64, was standing in the entryway of the Family Style Buffet restaurant when the quake hit. The restaurant, he said in a telephone

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Guests of the Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel in San Diego, California, wait to be allowed back into their rooms after earthquake. interview, was “almost completely destroyed. We’ve got tables overturned, plates broken on the floor.”

“The ceilings caved in. It was big, I mean, it was major,” he said in a shaky voice.

The earthquake hit at about 3:40 p.m., about 40 miles southeast of Mexicali and 220 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Several major aftershocks have already hit the area, and triggered a 4.1 earthquake six miles southwest of Malibu, Calif., in the Pacific Ocean,

according to seismologists.

In Los Angeles, no significant damage or injuries were reported.The Los Angeles Fire Department said it saw a slight increase in 911 calls, mostly associated with automatic alarms and stuck elevators. At the Knotts Berry Farm theme park in Buena Park, rides were shut down for 20 minutes while they were inspected, said Willie Parker, a spokesman for the park. No one was stranded on any of the rides, Parker said.

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Vines continued from page 10

festivals provide a different take on the industry that one couldn’t get from a textbook.

“I like being able to participate in so many events behind the scene that the general public couldn’t do.

Vines to Wines (let’s us) to get out and into the industry,” Hong said.

The festival itself, which began as a senior project in 2003, is entirely student run and usually has about 1,500 attendees. Kyle Theriot, a wine and viticulture senior and volunteer for the past two years, is excited for the overall atmosphere. “(There is) such a diversity in

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Monday,April 5, 2010 styles with usually close to 100 wineries pouring all day,” Theriot said. “Paired along with outstanding food and a pretty epic reggae band, it’s an event worth getting excited about.”

There are also benefits of volunteering beyond just the networking or experience.

“The organizations that ask for help are usually so appreciative that they often give you bottles of wine afterward, or even allow you to taste at the event when your job is completed; if you’re 21 of course,” Theriot said.

Naturally, the issue of age always comes into play in events and meetings. With tastings obviously reserved for those over 21, some younger students are left out.

“ ” It’s an opportunity to learn more in a fun social environment

— Kenneth Volk

Owner, Kenneth Volk Vineyards

“It’s hard if you’re under 21 and you’re trying to visualize wine tasting. It’s really hard to describe something like that,” Bergvall said.

However, Bergvall says there are still endless opportunities for those not of age.

“It never hurts to still put yourself out there. If you’re really passionate about it and you’re really interested and want to learn, every experience that you get is going to be a learning experience,” Bergvall said.

For those over 21, alcohol consumption has been an issue in the past, with some students going over their limit. But the club continuously works to troubleshoot by emphasizing responsible tasting.

“We go about by tasting, not necessarily drinking,” Bergvall said. “For the club itself, it’s important that we always stress moderation. It always comes back to the educational aspect of it.”

Moderation in mind, the club continues to provide an interactive experience beyond the classroom with its motto at heart — learn by tasting.

“I enjoy seeing people with the same interests every other week and learning about something in such a casual atmosphere. People are there to have a good time, and we are there to be a part of that,” Theriot said.

Meetings are held every other Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the crops unit.

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Vines to Wines club connects the wine industry to Cal Poly students Kelly Cooper kellycooper.md@gmail.com

After 20 years, one Cal Poly club will continue to “learn by tasting.”

Vines to Wines, Cal Poly’s wine and viticulture club, exposes students to the wine industry through guest speakers, volunteering at wine festivals and networking.

Each meeting, held every other Tuesday in the crops unit, features a guest speaker from the wine industry and usually a tasting for those of age.

Club president and wine and viticulture senior Erica Bergvall finds speakers from the surrounding wine community to speak to the 60-member audience.

“The meetings themselves serve as a way for people to learn about the industry from someone’s personal point of view,” Bergvall said.

To accommodate the enology, wine business or viticulture concentrations, Bergvall and the of-

ficers try to reach guests from all aspects of the industry.

“We have a variety of people who come in — not just wine makers. We have people that own vineyards, people who have worked in marketing and distribution, and so it’s comprehensive,” Bergvall said.

Kenneth Volk, owner of Kenneth Volk Vinyards in the Santa Maria area and a member of the industry since 1978 and Cal Poly alumnus, spoke and did a tasting at a meeting earlier this year.

“It’s good to have a support network for students to basically have an informal opportunity to discuss the industry and draw potentials and experiences,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to learn more in a fun social environment.”

With meetings providing both networking and internship opportunities, members are eager to volunteer for events and talk to speakers to hopefully get their foot in the door of the growing busi-

ness. Wine and viticulture senior Jennifer Hong, a club member for three years, said meetings are beneficial for those who wish to find a career.

“They’re constantly bringing people in who are actually in the industry. Job opportunities are pretty valuable at these meetings,” Hong said.

Hong, as well as several other members, has been involved with wine festivals and events in the region, such as Hospice du Rhone in Paso Robles and World on Pinot Noir in Shell Beach. The club is most involved with the Cal Poly Wine Festival, which will be held at the Santa Margarita Vineyards later this month. The festival will feature a winemaker barbecue on April 23 and the afternoon festival on April 24.

Hong, who is in charge of organizing the featured wineries and restaurants this year, said that the see Vines, page 9

courtesy photo Cal Poly’s wine and viticulture club, Vines to Wines will celebrate its 20-year anniversary this year. The club is open to all majors.

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SEE IT .

WATCH IT .

White Hinterland adds sex appeal to newest release to a swirling synth-bass wondering why she “must always see the ending in the beginning.” I immediately get the excitement of a damsel in distress.

I am happy in the same way I am happy when my girlfriend is sick. It’s this perverse subconscious joy that I am needed, that I can be useful, that I can be used yet still maintain a certain element of power.

However, as the album goes on, Dienel proves to be more. “Bow and Arrow,” at least to me, feels almost emasculating. The music becomes less focused on the inviting warmth of the bass and use, more percussive staccato than any other track (if that is the proper use of the word staccato). She sings, “I never know what might set you off/You wanna kiss me but you don’t know how/I wanna hold you but I can’t right now/You wanna love me but you don’t know how.” It totally sucks, I don’t have the unquestioned control I thought I had and I’m not the man that I thought I was. There are thoughts and powers beyond my control.

And that is how I feel during “Cataract.” It is this haunting confirmation that there are these things and emotions that cannot be seen or heard or ever understood without being tainted by your interpretation influenced by your own simplified world views.

White Hinterland has outdone themselves with Kairos. The album is sexy in a spiritual way. It inspires a recognition of beauty that is beyond recognition, a sublime sexuality devoid of invested interest in immediate gratification. Kairos undermines the shallowness of the one night stand and has the power to arouse a deeper connection.

Jack LaPorte is a KCPR DJ and “Hipster Bulwwlshit” contributing columnist.

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Upon my first listen of White Hinterland’s newest release, Kairos, off of Dead Oceans, I immediately thought that this would be the sexiest thing you could throw on when you bring somebody home after a night out on the town. Of course, I imagined the evening through the lens of the classic male gaze, behind a phallic camera, looking down on a chosen mate.

She would be in soft focus and would stand out from the crowd as we made intimate eye contact from across the dance floor as aggressively sexual jamz pumped through the speakers.

Insert your favorite pick up scenario here (bump into each other, pick up her dropped purse, she asks you if she could bum a cigarette, etc.) and eventually make our way to some fancy loft that is apparently mine and throw on this record, with its deep and soft ambience provided by slow and sensual bass beats and sultry female vocals. Insert whatever must be inserted here for your ideal one night stand.

But that’s an incredibly ridiculous scenario that only happens within the comfort of the male gaze we’ve seen a million times from the safety of a dark theatre, where anonymity makes it all seem plausible. In reality, the album’s effects are a little more disquieting if I am going to be perfectly honest.

The music is still very sexy. Like I said, the music itself is very deep and soft, a sort of cool down, a gentle and flowing transition from everything jarring about modern living. But if we step away from what we/I think the average male wants to hear, there is another type of beauty being projected back.

Kairos begins with “Icarus,” in which Casey Dienel wanders through a grove of eucalyptus trees (male gaze again)

CLICK IT .

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To see success, we must open our minds beyond a linear world Who would you vote for: Stalin or Hitler?

Hopefully you’re thinking neither, despite the fact that you were presented with what appears to be a choice between the two. I think we can agree the two are brutal dictators and we wouldn’t be happy having either as a leader. Please realize the hyperbole, but many Americans are greeted with two poor choices on ballots. There are the Democratic and Republican Parties, and while there are some things to like about both of them, there is also an increasing dissatisfaction with both.

All too often I hear people saying they voted for the “lesser of two evils.”

We’ve been sucked into this game of left or right. There is no down or up. Let me lay out a baseball diamond of sorts as a political landscape rather than the linear model that’s been engrained in us.

Suppose on the left, you have the left as you know it: the liberals who stand for social liberties (gay marriage, gender equality, pro-choice, etc.). Similarly, on the right is the right as we know it: conservatives who stand for economic freedoms (lower taxes, business regulations, etc.). As you know, both the left and right stand for freedom but in their respective areas. Add two more directions to this field: up and down. Imagine that if you move up, you move towards an authoritarian society. I use the term authoritarian because it’s pretty broad, but this is the category where you have the least amount of freedom (think dictatorships). If you move down on the field you have the libertarian camp where people have the most liberty. The libertarian camp is composed of the liberties the left and right advocate, but combined: both economical and social liberties.

Now I’m definitely in the libertarian camp, but even if you aren’t, I think we should consider this two-dimensional playing field more than the linear model we seem to be stuck on. Even the four cornered baseball diamond idea is somewhat elementary and limiting, but it’s at least a step in the right direction.

I’m describing this model to help illustrate the following: if you’re a Libertarian or a part of the growing segment of America who describes

themselves as independent (who are increasingly libertarian-leaning) then it should be easy to see if you want our government to move down on the playing field towards liberty, then you’re never going to get there voting left or right. In fact, I think by voting back and forth between left and right we’re stuck with a system that is increasingly closer to authoritarian. Legislators from each party pass laws restricting freedom in the areas they see as needing restrictions, and then when the power shifts laterally, we get restrictions from the other side. When you couple restrictions from the left and right, you get an authoritarian society, one that is far from liberty.

Even if you aren’t a Libertarian but you agree with the theory

that alternating between politicians from the left and right leads to an ever more authoritarian society, you might still want to vote for a libertarian candidate and join the Libertarians as I’m guessing most people from the left or right would rather have a Libertarian society than an authoritarian one. I could be wrong on that though.

It’d be nice if people started voting libertarian (and whether that means an actual member of the Libertarian Party, Constitution Party, or even a Libertarian with a Republican title such as Ron Paul, it doesn’t really matter) to actually start moving in that direction.

However, due to the linear left or right model we’ve been sticking to for so long now, people are hesitant

barrie maguire

to vote outside of that model. Thus, we end up with regulations from both sides and end up even farther away from what some Americans want.

Expecting things to get better and voting for the lesser of two evils are mutually exclusive concepts.

I think we need to stop worrying about how everybody else is voting and vote for the people who we really want to win. Americans’ political views are just so much more complicated than left and right, even if we discount the Libertarians. How are we going to get the real change I think the vast majority of us want if we keep voting the same ways we always have?

It’s time we thought outside the establishment and voted for the people we think embody the principles we stand for as individuals, regardless of their party. The United States is supposed to be a republic and you get a very poorly functioning one if the choices at the polls are only twofold.

Make no mistake about it: there are more options than just Democrat or Republican. We need to open our minds to the possibilities.

Aaron Berk is a computer engineering junior and Mustang Daily political columnist.

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Follow the White Rabbit? Never.

Happy day-after-Easter, kids!

I wanted to share my Easter-day musings with you, and I’d appreciate a few minutes of your time.

You’ll be happy to know I caught — but didn’t kill — the Easter Bunny. I caught it red-handed as it ravaged my garden eating most of my ready-to-harvest organic carrots. I interrogated Mr. Bunny and asked if its corporate contract fulfilled its purpose as a living organism. All I got from my interrogation were a few blinks and a twitch of the nose. Cute as it was, I wanted answers, which I didn’t receive. So I cut off one its feet and tucked it in my pocket for good luck. Some day I hope to reap the rewards of my new trophy.

The Easter Bunny epitomizes the conflict between consumerism and religion. The battle holds firm ground; the war has raged since the birth of this nation. While there is a war going on between church and state, with both sides firing heavy artillery rounds into the minds of the masses, we consumers have a choice against the politicos in charge: either rise up against these dictators or blindly follow.

As I held my eyes shut Sunday on Easter morning wanting-and-willing myself back to sleep, my cerebral orb flooded with childhood memories that kept me from enjoying the one day on which I can sleep past 6 a.m. I grabbed a pen and pad to jot down my wonder-year recollections.

I remember Easter-egg painting parties where purple, green and blue dye stained the table, but mom didn’t care because Christ was going to rise again. I remember morning Easteregg hunts (with real eggs, not the crappy twist-and-turn plastic ones), with nickels and dimes rewarded for each found egg. And of course, I remember morning mass, when my two sisters and I would head out for a morning sip from the cup of Christ, thinking all the while it was his blood, never suspecting it was actually an early Franzia tottie.

Needless to say, today, I find myself caught in the middle of a religious/ corporate tug-of-war. On one side, Jesus Christ fervently pulls with help

from his Father, and on the other side the Easter Bunny silently gnaws with help from its two, large-but-handy buckteeth.

How in God’s good name did the Easter Bunny hop its way into society? If you’re from Australia, you’d call it the “Easter Bilby,” named after the country’s desert-dwelling marsupial.

In Afghanistan, you could be stoned for worshipping the cute lil’ critter.

Europeans show their love for the rabbit by worshipping the beauty of its egg — and last I’d checked, rabbits don’t lay eggs (silly foreigners, Trix are for kids). The list could go on and on I’m sure, but in consideration for both my time and the paper’s print space, I’ll finish the origin of easter tour right here in the good ‘ol U.S. of A. This year I attended Easter service in Atascadero. (I don’t have to call it “mass” anymore because I waved bye-bye to the soft, caressing touch of the Catholic priests years ago.) And sorry, but, too many Jack-and-Cokes leave my memory jarred, and I can’t remember where I spent last Easter.

However, in Sunken Gardens downtown Atascadero is where this year’s sha-bang took place. While the free pancake breakfast filled my belly, so did Pastor Steve’s sermon.

Steve stressed that faith is more than saying one prayer then expecting a return; and one doesn’t have to be religious to say a “prayer;” it just doesn’t work that way. Asking for a little help from whoever or whatever is the name of the praying game, no matter which side — church or state — you play for. The pastor’s message resonated under the cloudy sky and provided some clarity to my hectic, first week back in school. What’s even nicer is while sitting in the crowd among the hundred-or-so cattle, I had a choice to take away or discard his wisdom, which was mixture of Bible prophecy and life experience. As I sat there blocking the bullshit, but soaking Steve’s finer points, the Easter Bunny casually skipped through my wavering thoughts.

Why the obsession with the Easter hare? The answer is simple: Because rabbits are prolific maters in the ani-

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mal kingdom and the world likes sex; so, naturally, on arguably the most important Christian holiday, why not present a dual kingship: one to the Lord and the other to the world’s greatest sex addict.

First, a brief mating overview.

Does (female rabbits) are induced ovulates, meaning they release eggs when bucks (male rabbits) strut their stuff, so to speak; and what a feat, to become so aroused at the presence of the opposite sex! Without going into detail, that’s where the term, “he or she has sex like a rabbit” comes from.

These little puffs of fur reproduce like it’s their job and they don’t have to wait until their “time of the month” to produce little babies. The catch is, rabbits don’t need money to survive, unlike homo sapiens, a species that depends on it as both a status symbol and necessary evil. So, one could say that rabbits are good at what they do — the best, in fact, and that makes them professionals. And professionalism makes the world go round, right?

Coming full circle to the meat of this opined preacher’s tale: The Easter Bunny encompasses the world’s obsession with sex and money in one tiny — sometimes large — cuddly animal. Corporate entities make millions off its image: marshmallow Peeps, Cadbury eggs, life-size bunny suits for those who have Furry Fandom fetishes. Fur trappers thrive in near-death writhes of the little jumpers caught by their necks in hoopsnare traps waiting to be skinned, only to be sold to the highest bidder — the clothing companies which buy the stolen fur should edure the same horrors, then thrust by a spear in the rib cage as retribution for their sin.

Last but not least on the list of inhumanity, cosmetic agencies use rabbits and other fauna as, for lack of a better term, guinea pigs, when testing their latest eye goop or skin cream, often smearing or dripping such products in the poor animal’s eye in the name of “science” and profitabilty.

So, yeah, I caught the Easter Bunny, but it didn’t tell me squat; it blinked and winked and chewed my carrots, as if laughing in my face without cracking a smile, without an un-

derstanding of the problems between Church and State. Bunnies don’t care for money or for sex; for their purpose stems from instinct, which, unfortunately for us, said hi-bye in the garden of Eden.

There is only one solution: Rebuke, and let’s move to Mars, where we can plant a sapling and start all over again.

Realistically, the the move to Mars is not viable, I know that; plus, nurturing a plant of any kind on a planet with no life — and only “traces” of water — will not suffice. So, I’ll entertain my second solution, which includes sewing seeds in the youth of our red, white and blue nation.

The problem with the Easter Bunny is it has no relation to religion whatsoever; it is not real and, technically speaking, neither Jesus Christ nor his Christian-based fellowship are real either (and this applies to all religions). But with events such as “The Egg-mazing Race” and “Egg-stravaganza,” what message are we sending to those who lack the ability to read between the lines? Are we setting the table for a dinner which will never take place?

Faith is a concept that puts trust in something or someone, and, if we

put our faith in an imaginary ideal, such as an animal that acts apart from it original intent, then what else can we do but wake up on Easter morning and hunt for eggs purchased from a corporate entity. Do we fix something that appears to be working? Do we revert to living as our ancestors did? No. That’s why I say we start from the bottom and build our way up, like the Tower of Babel, only this time, instead of arguing and forming clans based on language and beliefs, we come together in unison and save what is left of our tattered society.

So here’s to you Mr. Bunny, keep your head up and your ass down ... er, your ass up and head down – whatever. Your existence depends on it. And don’t let anybody tell you that religion is against having sex, because nowhere does it frown upon such an act. Keep doing what you are doing and leave the political bullshit to our entrusted leaders. Guess we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope someone or someting comes along and saves us from ourselves.

Anthony Pannone is an agricultural sciences senior and Mustang Daily reporter.

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Round-up continued from page 16

Cal Poly will take the field again next weekend in a conference series against UC Santa Barbara.

— Patrick Leiva and Anthony Pannone contributed to this report.

Game 1: cal poly 2, UC riverside 3 Game 2: Cal Poly 5, Uc Riverside 3 Game 3: CAl Poly 5, Uc riverside 14 mustang daily staff report

The Cal Poly baseball team lost two of three games to UC Riverside in its first conference test last weekend.

The Mustangs (8-18, 1-2 Big West) fell in the final game, 14-5.

With the loss, the Mustangs dropped the series to the Highlanders — the Mustangs fell victim to a heartbreaking ninth-inning rally Thursday, 3-2. Cal Poly salvaged its sole victory with a late rally, defeating UC Riverside 5-3 in extra innings Saturday.

On Saturday, the Mustangs were crippled by a career day from Central Coast native Brian McConkey, who tied an NCAA record with three triples and two RBIs. UC Riverside drew blood first.

sports

15

Monday, April 5, 2010 They tallied four scores in the second inning. Cal Poly bounced back with four runs in the top of the third, featuring a two-run double

by J.J. Thompson, an RBI grounder

by Adam Melker and a run-scoring single by David Van Ostrand.

However, the rest of the game belonged to the Highlanders as they snapped the tie with three runs in the third and pulled away with four more in the fourth.

The Mustangs were able to piece together just one more run on Evan Busby’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.

The loss went to Mustang starter Joey Wagman (1-2), who surrendered seven runs — four earned — and five hits in 2 1/3 innings.

Busby and Van Ostrand both went 2-4; they were the only Mustangs to collect a pair of hits.

Mitch Haniger and Bobby Crocker also produced two hits each as Cal Poly was outhit by the Highlanders 15-9.

Friday, Haniger hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning and Matt Jensen tripled home two runs in the 10th as Cal Poly snapped a six-game losing streak with a 10inning, 5-3 victory over UC Riverside.

Cal Poly trailed 3-1 with two outs and the bases empty in the top of the ninth inning when Van Ostrand drew a 10-pitch walk and Haniger belted his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot to left-center field. That tied the game at 3-3 and Jensen — riding 4-25 slump over a seven-game stretch— broke the tie with a two-run triple to right-center field in the 10th, his fourth of the season, giving Cal

ryan sidarto mustang daily file photo Second baseman Matt Jensen (8) broke a 4-25 hitting slump with a game-tying, two-RBI triple to right-center field in extra innings to snap a six-game losing streak and give the Mustangs their only win of the series Friday night.

Poly a 5-3 lead.

Cal Poly scored its first run in the sixth on Jensen’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly to right field, cutting UC Riverside’s lead to 2-1. The Mustangs threatened for more in the inning, but Ross Brayton lined into an inning-ending double play, one of three the Highlanders turned in the game.

Thursday, UC Riverside pinchhitter Eddie Young singled up the middle with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning, driving in two runs to defeat the Mustangs in a 3-2 loss.

Cal Poly scored its two runs in the first inning. Luke Yoder was hit by a pitch, Jensen singled and Brayton’s squeeze bunt scored Yo-

der. Van Ostrand reached base on an error which allowed Jensen to score from second base.

UC Riverside tallied a run in the fourth on an RBI double by Robert Brantly and won the game in the ninth on Young’s heroics.

Cal Poly looks to turn its season struggles around against Fresno State Tuesday night.

Sports

mustangdailysports Monday, April 5, 2010

Game 1: cal poly 0, UC riverside 10 Game 2: Cal Poly 3, Uc Riverside 2 Game 3: CAl Poly 0, Uc riverside 5 Brian De Los Santos mustangdailysports@gmail.com

The Mustangs tried to size up UC Riverside pitcher Marissa Alvidrez all series. The senior finished the Big West portion of last year with a 2.70 conference ERA and, is currently on pace to duplicate that number.

Cal Poly’s offense couldn’t piece it together. In 17 total innings, Alvidrez allowed nine hits and threw two complete game shut outs against Cal Poly. The Mustangs (12-17, 1-2 Big West), who were outhit by the Highlanders 30-14, lost the final game of their threegame conference opening series to UC Riverside (17-19, 2-1), 5-0, Sunday afternoon.

“For us, it was disappointing,” head coach Jenny Condon said.

“I think Riverside did a great job; they came to play.”

Right fielder Dana Perez was the lone Mustang to tally multiple hits against Alvidrez. With the exception of shortstop Trista Thomas and centerfielder Whitley Gerhart, no other Mustangs recorded a hit.

“We didn’t get it done on either side of the ball,” Condon said. “We didn’t execute.”

sports editor: Brian De Los Santos mustangdailysports@gmail.com

16

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On the mound, reigning Big West Player of the year Anna Cahn struggled. After leading the Big West in ERA through the nonconference portion of this season, Cahn struggled to locate her pitches against UC Riverside. Cahn didn’t last past the first inning of Saturday’s game, allowing four hits and three earned runs. The ace of the Mustangs rotation struggled in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader as well. Cahn went two innings and allowed five earned runs. In the early portion of Big West play, Cahn’s ERA stands at 21.00.

“It was just rough,” Cahn said.

“I wasn’t hitting my spots. I was thinking too much and forcing the ball. I think I did that at the beginning of last conference too.”

But as Cahn struggled, freshman pitcher Rebecca Patton established rhythm.

“Rebecca warmed up (early in the game) and we went with Anna on a short hook,” Condon said.

“She didn’t have her stuff today, so we had to pull her out early. Rebecca was ready to go.”

Patton, a freshman from Northridge, took the rubber midway through the first inning with two runners on base, but got out of the jam unscathed. She went on to finish the game and pitch 6 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs.

“I thought (Patton) did a great job,” Condon said. “She was really composed, she stepped in and she shut it down when we needed her to … I was really impressed with how she pitched all weekend long.”

Patton recorded 1-4 record in the non-conference schedule. She held and ERA of 4.61 and held opposing batters to a .323 batting

ryan sidarto

mustang daily

The Mustangs were out hit by the Highlanders 30-14 and shut out twice in the Mustangs’ first conference series of the season.

ryan sidarto

mustang daily

Cal Poly freshman pitcher Rebecca Patton (2) pitched 13 1/3 innings and allowed four earned runs this weekend. average. That wasn’t the case this weekend. Against UC Riverside, those numbers turned around. Patton pitched 13 1/3 innings this weekend, she recorded one win and now holds an ERA of 2.10. No to mention, she held batters to a .208 batting average.

“I feel like I did pretty well,” Patton said. “The experience I have been getting in every game has helped me get better.”

Patton started the second game of Friday’s double header as well.

Behind the young pitcher, the Mustangs held the advantage early. After the Highlanders went down in order in the top of the first inning, senior first-baseman Krysten Cary led the bottom half off with a single up the middle. Left-fielder Nora Sobczack, who leads the team with 27 hits, followed suit with a single off an 0-2 fastball through the left side. With runners on first and second and two outs, second-baseman Capri Ruiz hit an RBI single down the right-field line scoring Cary for the first run of the game.

In the top of the fourth, UC Riverside left-fielder Ariel Shore led off with a walk. The next batter, shortstop Kameron Hebenton, jumped on a 3-2 fastball hitting a triple to right-center that sent Shore off to the races scoring all the way from first. After two pop-up outs, firstbasemen Brittany Keeney’s single to left drove in the go-ahead run for the Highlanders.

After four innings, Cal Poly had a 3-2 lead. Aided by their younggun, the Mustangs held on for the rest of the game.

In the first game of Friday’s double header, the Highlanders chased Cahn and broke the game

open with six runs in the top of the third inning. Thomas led off the

Last year, Mustangs drew the same result in their opening se-

“ ”

You never want to open up conference — at home — one and two ... but there are a lot of games left and we will regroup from this.

— Jenny Condon

Softball head coach

inning with a double to center and Alvidrez drove Thomas home with an RBI single to right. Following another single, Alexis Pickett doubled to left-center field to drive in the third run for Riverside. After a sacrifice fly to left, Riverside tallied three more times with two singles and a walk with the bases loaded to make the score 7-0 after three innings.

The Highlanders added three more runs in the top of seventh for the final margin of victory, 10-0.

The big blow in the frame came off the bat of Keeney who tripled to right-center and drove in two runs.

All three runs in the inning were unearned as the Mustangs committed two errors in the frame.

While Cal Poly is off to its worst start in conference under Condon, the conference schedule is still young.

“You never want to open up conference – at home – one and two,” Condon said. “But there are a lot of games left and we will regroup from this and get back after it on Tuesday.”

ries. Against Cal State Fullerton the Mustangs dropped two of three games, but then went on to win 14 straight conference games. Although Cal Poly was not shut out twice in last year’s opening series, they are not holding their heads down just yet.

“I’m really excited,” Patton said. “I know that, even though we struggle, the team will always come together. We’ll pull through.” see Round-up, page 15