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FRIDAY, FEB. 27, 2009 © 2009 OU Publications Board

NEWS BRIEFS Basketball woes continue with suspension of Juan Pattillo Junior forward Juan Pattillo has been suspended for Saturday’s game against Texas Tech for violating a team rule, head coach Jeff Capel announced on Thursday.

Pattillo, a junior-college transfer was initially supposed to redshirt this year, but came out of his redshirt before OU’s game against Texas on Jan. 12. Since then, Pattillo has averaged 7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game as the Sooners’ first player off the bench.

The Sooners may also still be without sophomore forward Blake Griffin on Saturday, who Capel said on Thursday has still not been cleared to play after suffering a concussion on Saturday against Texas.

—DAILY STAFF REPORTS

WHAT’S INSIDE The president of ConocoPhillips will speak today about innovation in the energy industry.

Page 3.

Do you have what it takes to be a rock star?

A new school of rock opens its doors this fall in Oklahoma City. Page 3.

LIFE & ARTS Thirsty? Check out the ‘Wine of the Week’ on page 8.

SPORTS Both basketball teams suffered injuries to key players in the last week, but which one will suffer more? The Daily’s Eric Dama and Claire Brandon discuss. Page 7.

The women’s basketball team has a big home game this weekend against Oklahoma State University. Page 7.

From the hospital to home • Journey from recovery to reality can be a trial in itself EDITOR’S NOTE: To recognize SelfInjury Awareness Week, Feb. 22-28, The Daily’s Brittany Burden shares a firstperson account of her seven-year battle with self-injury in a two-day series.

Yesterday’s installment dealt with her descent into the disorder and concluded with her four-day stay at Norman Regional Hospital’s behavioral medicine center. Today’s installment focuses on her continuing recovery.

BRITTANY BURDEN The Oklahoma Daily It’s impossible to change a seven-year lifestyle in four days.

Almost as soon as I was released from Norman Regional I was at it again, making deeper and more frequent cuts, using as many sharp objects as I could lay my hands on.

A family therapy session gone awry upset my mother, with whom I was very close, and led me to break the oath of the self-injurer.

We swear to “never do it for attention.”

With our relationship shaken, I had the impression my mother, the one who I needed most, had abandoned me. I kept at it for another month, filling my arms from elbow to wrist with numerous cuts, hoping the wounds would bring her back to me. But all the cutting in the world would never bring her back.

I thought I was a failure. I had been given the help I had so desperately pleaded for, yet I found myself cutting closer and closer toward my wrists, wondering when the day would come that I might try to kill myself.

The medicine, the support, it wasn’t enough. I realized it would take something big, something inside myself, to bring me back to the girl I was before.

RECOVERY Continues on page 2

Amy Frost/The Daily

Brittany Burden, English literature senior, displays her tattoo which is a symbol of self-injury awareness. Burden took part in self-injury for seven years before receiving help.

Alum recounts locating S. Hussein UOSA NIJIM DABBOUR The Oklahoma Daily

Amy Frost/The Daily

OUDAILY.COM Read part one of Brittany Burden’s two-part series on her battle with self-injury at OUDaily. com

TODAY’S INDEX Campus Notes Classifieds Crossword Horoscope L&A

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News 3, 5 Opinion 4 Police Reports 2 Sports 7 Sudoku 6

WEATHER FORECAST

TODAY

LOW 42° HIGH 55°

SATURDAY

LOW 30° HIGH 44° Source: Oklahoma Weather Lab

On the night of Dec. 12, 2003, Mohammad Ibrahim Omar went to sleep the leader of the Iraqi insurgency in Tikrit.

At 2 a.m. the next day, he was in U.S. custody. By 6 a.m., an interrogator was trying to convince him to give up the name of the man he worked for.

That interrogator was Army Staff Sgt. Eric Maddox, an OU graduate who told his story to more than 100 OU students and faculty members at a panel discussion Thursday afternoon.

He went on to explain that on that day in 2003, Omar was in a bad situation. Forty of his family members were in prison and the Americans knew the location of 20 more. He couldn’t give in though.

“Even if I knew where [he] was and if I took you to him they would know it,” he said. “They would kill my family.”

Another officer came and tapped his watch at Maddox.

Time was up.

“When you change your mind... I want you to bang on the door,” Maddox said. The military didn’t believe Omar really had the information they wanted. Maddox was sure he did, but unfortunately his tour was over and his flight was set to take off at 8 a.m.

But within an hour, Omar started banging on the door as if his life depended on it. Maddox walked into the cell.

Minutes later, he emerged with a sketch of the exact hideout

Michelle Gray/The Daily

Staff Sgt. Eric Maddox (right), answers audience members’ questions as Chris Howard, vice president for leadership and strategic initiatives (left), looks on during a panel discussion Wednesday evening in Gaylord Hall. of Saddam Hussein.

This is the firsthand account more than 100 Sooners heard at the discussion on interrogation headlined by the Sooner who helped the American military capture Saddam Hussein.

Maddox returned to campus to promote his new book,

MADDOX Continues on page 2

Darwinist argues significance of evolution KALI CARTER The Oklahoma Daily OU continued its yearlong celebration of Charles Darwin Thursday night with a lecture from Michael Ruse, philosopher and historian of science.

Ruse is widely known for his book, “Darwinian Revolution,” and his four decades of devotion to the subject.

Ruse’s work suggests while much of the content of evolutionary biology has moved on significantly since Darwin’s time, natural selection still holds true 150 years after Darwin’s original sug-

gestion of it, said Piers Hale, history of science professor.

Ruse compared Darwin’s theory in “On the Origin of Species” to the modern theory of evolution during the lecture Thursday night in the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

He said he looks at the structure of Darwin’s theory and various parts of biology, like genetics, to form his opinions on the subject.

Although the theory is over a century old, Ruse said the structure of the theory has stayed the same.

He said the foundations for modern

and traditional Darwinism theories are in the clues like basic instincts, fossils, geographical distribution, homology and embryology.

The discovery of the DNA double helix had the largest impact on the theory, because it helped fuel the genetics part of the theory, Ruse said.

“The evolution theory would have stood still for 150 years if people weren’t continuously questioning it and looking for more answers,” he said. “Even though the original pieces of the theory

RUSE Continues on page 2

president decided by default CADIE THOMPSON The Oklahoma Daily Katie Fox and Dewey Bartlett are the next president and vice president of UOSA. Although the voting wasn’t scheduled to begin until March 31, the two will win by default because they were the only pair to file for candidacy by UOSA’s Thursday deadline.

This is the first time in recent history that candidates have run unopposed for the UOSA executive positions.

Raymond Rushing, UOSA elections chairman, said the filing deadline will not be extended because the open positions were advertised for four days prior to the deadline, in accordance with UOSA policy.

Fox, who is current UOSA President Amanda Holloway’s chief of staff, said her expected win is “bittersweet.”

“There is the whole idea of being president which is really exciting,” said Fox, international and area studies junior. “But the bitter part is that I want to show people we deserve to be here, and you don’t get the election to kind of prove it.”

Voters in the March 31 and April 1 election will be able to vote for Campus Activities Council chairperson and president of the Housing Center Student Association.

UOSA Continues on page 2

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ODD

News

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009

Recovery

Maddox

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

With that, I went back to my research. I found a rehabilitation center in Denton, Texas called S.A.F.E. (Self Abuse Finally Ends) Alternatives and found that despite the short notice, they would immediately accept me as a patient.

I called my father and said, “Daddy, take me home.”

MEET MADDOX

Book signing

11 a.m. — 1 p.m.

Oklahoma Memorial Union main lobby

Deeper pain

“Mission: Black List #1,” his retelling of the search for Hussein.

Lack of leverage The other panelists who participated in the discussion with Maddox included Chris Howard, OU’s vice president of leadership and strategic communications, Air Force Reserve Major and former intelligence officer; and David Edger, professor and former associate deputy director of the CIA. The panelists attempted to explain the origin of the “enhanced” interrogation tactics, like waterboarding and stress positions that have been used in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.

“In a situation like Gitmo.”

Maddox said, “Our collectors don’t know [exactly what data] they want and they don’t have anything to give this guy.”

They emphasized that any tactical advantage of using torture came at the expense of the strategic goals of the military. Using normal interrogation techniques allows interrogators to “turn” detainees and gives the mission a moral high ground, he said.

“Having beaten this guy up or tortured him or waterboarded him, and then going, ‘Well I need to talk to your brother, can you just show me where he lives because I’ll be nice,’ it just does not work,” Maddox said.

During the question and answer portion of the discussion, international and area studies senior Will Stackable asked Maddox how he approached interrogations detainees who were religious fanatics.

“Actually that happens quite often [with suicide bombers], because the bomb didn’t go off and they don’t know where to go and they’re just standing there,” Maddox said. “In that situation, what you have to do is... use that religion.”

Most Muslims believe strongly in fate, so when would-be suicide bombers’ missions went awry, Maddox said, he tried to convince them to take it as a sign of God’s will.

Amy Frost/The Daily

Head football coach Bob Stoops signs a Sam Bradford jersey for Army Staff Sgt. Eric Maddox, after a surprise meeting during Maddox’s visit. Maddox, an OU alumnus and long-time Sooner fan, had no idea he was going to meet Stoops.

Stoops Surprise When Eric Maddox arrived in Norman Thursday afternoon, he was excited about his first stop: an inside tour of the football stadium and practice facilities.

Little did he know his representative, Bruce Roach, had arranged for a private meeting with Head Coach Bob Stoops.

“We just want to keep it a surprise,” Roach said. “He is such a big Sooners fan, I know there’s nothing he’d like more.”

Stoops greeted Maddox at his office and Maddox shared his stories from overseas, like receiving a piece of Saddam Hussein’s personal stationary from a soldier and 3 a.m. broadcasts of OU football games in Iraq.

“You’ve got OU fans over there, and their not [all] from Oklahoma,” Maddox said. “They’re from Michigan, and Illinois and Ohio and we’ll just sit around talking OU football.”

After more discussion about the past and future of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Stoops brought out another surprise for Maddox: an authentic #14 OU football jersey and Stoops’ personal four-foot-wide Big Twelve Championship team portrait. He autographed both before Maddox left.

“To me he’s a real hero, you know and guys that sacrifice all that they do,” Stoops said. “It’s somebody you can really respect and admire what they do.”

— NIJIM DABBOUR / THE DAILY

UOSA Continued from page 1

The CAC chairperson candidates are Henry Nunley, international and area studies junior and Kelly Eaton, industrial engineering senior.

The HCSA president candidates are Deborah Hendrix, marketing junior, Hannah Moore, prehealth science junior, Akala Cook, journalism sophomore and Alan Pan, accounting senior.

Kurt Davidson, Student Congress chairman who has been involved in UOSA for three and a half years, said he has witnessed a decline of UOSA applicants along with a decline in student voting over the past several years.

“There’s not as much as an interest in UOSA as there has been in past years. I don’t know if students are focused on other issues, or it’s just not a priority for them,” Davidson said.

There has not been a UOSA election where the president has run unopposed since at least 2000. In 2004, there were seven tickets on the ballot.

Although there won’t be a vote for the presidential seats, Fox said there will still be a campaign.

Fox said she and Bartlett, petroleum engineering senior, plan on letting the student body know who will represent them for next year.

She said they are focusing their campaign on strengthening community ties and have already been talking to students to see what changes the students want to see made.

A few items on the duo’s agenda include creating a new position in the executive cabinet for a director of international affairs and creating a cookout called the UOSA Tailgate.

The road to Tikrit Born in Enid and raised in Sapulpa, Maddox has been a Sooner his entire life.

“I’ve been an OU fan since I can ever remember, back into the Billy Simms days,” he said.

Maddox enrolled at OU in 1990.

But he didn’t know what he wanted to do afterward, so he decided to follow in the footsteps of both his grandfathers and join the military.

“I looked up to those who served,” he said. “They’re the type of people I wanted to be like.”

He enlisted in the Army Rangers, but by 1997 he was ready to move on. He remembered the difficulty he had learning Spanish in school and wanted to see if the military could help him overcome this challenge.

“When I was in high school, I took Spanish. It was the only B I made, and when I was in college, I got a B in Spanish 2. That irritated me,” he said.

He decided to enroll in interrogation school, which required fluency training in another language.

He chose Chinese.

“Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn, so I thought ‘lets see if you can do it,’” he said.

“It had nothing to do with being an interrogator.”

After a year and a half of training, he was fluent enough to be stationed at the U.S. embassy in Beijing in 2000. Within a year, he was transferred to the Defence Intelligence Agency as an intelligence collector.

“Then 9/11 hit,” he said. “And you know, the wars just started coming.”

30 days, laughing, learning and sharing our injuries and experiences. When two of my ‘family’ members were released into outpatient care, they decided to get tattoos with all our names on their forearms, a tribute to our S.A.F.E. family and the work they had accomplished in S.A.F.E. Inside the group, I was forced to face all of my fears: past rape experiences, the problems with my mother, my family, my panic disorder, my eating habits, spirituality habits and life as a self-injurer.

But in the end, I came out of the hospital in 15 days feeling ready to take on the world. Due to the difficulties with my mother, I wouldn’t stay at my parents’ house nearby, but instead stayed with the other patients at a motel near the hospital.

Ruse

Continued from page 1 have completely changed, it is all so obviously Darwin’s theory. His genius is still with us, which is why it’s even worth celebrating today.”

The theory has changed with time, but common misconceptions haven’t, he said. Ruse said a common misconception of Darwin’s original theory is that some see “On the Origin of Species” as a series of arguments, but it was one argument

from beginning to end. Darwin very skillfully put together the piece of work,” Ruse said. “It is all part of his genius.”

Ruse used analogies and anecdotes to help the audience better understand the theory.

“I never lost interest in what he was saying,” said Katherine Ryan, environmental science sophomore. “He had a good sense of humor and told stories to relate the old theory to how

the world sees evolution now.”

Ruse’s lecture was the fourth lecture in the Presidential Dream Course series to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of his book, “On the Origin of Species.”

Ruse will join intelligent design proponent William Dembski to debate the scientific merit of intelligent design at 8 p.m. in Catlett Music Center.

A day later, without any clothes or luggage, I found myself awaiting enrollment at University Behavioral Health Hospital, where I was to be a patient for the next 15-30 days.

According to the 2006 National Survey of Drug Use and Health, of the 24.9 million adults who suffer from major depressive disorder, only 10.9 million sought treatment in 2006. In 2008, I was one of those few.

My first night in the mental ward was terrifying. I remember crying myself to sleep in a cold, dark room, lying next to my strange, toothless, Canadian roommate. Little did I know that she would become like a mother to me, and one of my best friends.

My days in S.A.F.E. were something like the very best of my life. They were the beginning of the end of a seven-year battle with self-injury. Here I learned to say “self-injury” instead of “cutting,” so as to not trigger memories. I learned to set boundaries with friends and family, to stand up for myself, to be open about my emotions, to cry unabashedly, to make a new family where my other was shaken and to be myself at all costs.

Despite all the progress I was making, things with my mother were still cold and unfriendly, until the one day she broke. On about my fourth day in the hospital, she stood up and yelled at me, telling me she wanted a new daughter and not me, that I was “divorced” from her and she would never see me again.

She cut me deeper than I could ever have cut myself, so deep that I have still not recovered.

But at the time, I resolved to move through my addiction without her. At a time when all I needed was to grow away from self-injury, I taught myself to grow up as well.

New life Time went on as usual, getting to the hospital by 9 a.m., taking notes on anxiety levels and how to deal with them and learning how to cope with myself and others. I was beginning to feel much better. I even got a tattoo myself, a ribbon of orange — the color of selfinjury awareness. This serves as a reminder of the work I did in the hospital.

Today it is such a relief to see my tattoo instead of my scars.

It’s a healthy reminder of who I was and who I am today.

However, for my “family,” all was not well. My rehab roommate procured razors from a supermarket in her spare time and used them on herself in our bathroom.

The experience of seeing someone other than myself injure themselves made me nauseous and afraid, not unlike how I imagine my friends and family felt when they saw the fresh scars from my self-injury.

For the first time, I was on the other side of things — and it was the side that I found the most painful. I loved her, and it hurt me to see her hurt herself.

I called the ambulance and convinced her to have herself taken in for a while. When she came back to S.A.F.E. the next day, she was promptly removed from the program, much to my “family’s” dismay.

A few days later, I was released from the program myself. My loving dad and brother came to the hotel to see me on my way. I hugged and kissed my new and old families and was off.

But life on the true outside was just as alienating as it was in those first few days inside the mental hospital. Though I was supposedly prepared to handle what lay ahead, I still cowered at the weight of the life I had to pick back up. I needed to find a job, take classes, finish my incompletes, live with people and be around my boyfriend again.

It all seemed so overwhelming. And though it still feels overwhelming, I carry on.

Real life is a strange and unnerving journey through even more strange and unnerving events. But there’s nothing to do but carry on.

I cannot stop my life, and I no longer want to.

New love I carried forth, making a new family within the S.A.F.E. group.

As I see them now, it is amazing to believe that any of us were ever self-injurers.

There’s Peter, the father figure. Brelyn, the Canadian mother figure. Jen, the sweetest girl I know. Aimée, the funny one. Stacey, the talented one.

Laura, the sweet soul. Shayna, the dancer. And Breeanne, the quiet, nice girl.

They didn’t look like cutters or emotionally injured people when I met them. Such is often the case with self-injurers.

We wear the guise of healthy, adjusted people, but inside we are as broken as the shards of glass we cut ourselves with.

We all came together in those

Revised I-35 expansion plans presented to pleased public • Construction to begin shortly after money is disbursed

“All plans presented are all-access to Lindsey,” said Paul Rachel, ODOT engineer.

“It will look different, but movement will remain the same.”

Norman residents were presented with two concepts for the second phase of the project, one going through the Marc Heitz car dealership and one going around it.

“I think the public will be happy with what we have come up with tonight,” said David Meuser, ODOT spokesman. “The engineers are proud of the what they have come up with and we will leave each exit in place.”

Rachel also discussed the project’s plans for Main Street Thursday night.

“We plan on placing a single point urban interchange, a single intersection on the bridge, to accommodate more traffic rather than a two point interchange,” Rachel said.

After reviewing comments from the com-

LEIGHANNE MANWARREN The Oklahoma Daily The Oklahoma Department of Transportation presented revised plans for the second phase of the expansion of Interstate 35 to the Norman public Thursday night at Embassy Suites.

After a public outcry against the plan to eliminate the exit ramp on Lindsey Street, ODOT engineers revised plans to accommodate new obstacles like the Marc Heitz Chevrolet dealership.

POLICE REPORTS Names are compiled from the Norman Police Department and OUPD. The reports serve as a record of arrests, not convictions. Those listed are innocent until proven guilty.

Clifford Donald Chiles, 47, 1101 Elm Ave., Wednesday Michael B. Feenster, 27, 1101 Elm Ave., Wednesday

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA

Jessica Faye George, 23, 2200 S Classen Blvd., Wednesday

PUBLIC INTOXICATION

MUNICIPAL WARRANT

Billy Albert Bailey, 60, 417 S Carter Ave., Wednesday

but I don’t think those projects should interfere with the car dealership,” said Stephen Tyler, a Norman resident.

The project has also been important to local representatives, who were present to listen to the residents’ concerns. “[The project] is not only critical to me, but it is critical to my constituency,” said Scott Martin, R-Norman. “I haven’t missed a meeting because I wanted to learn about what ODOT has planned for the project and I want to hear the thoughts of the citizens of Norman.”

Martin said he’s glad to see the project finally coming along after years of planning and that ODOT has continued to seek community input. Meuser said ODOT is in its first construction phase and it’s too early to tell when the project will be completed because the money for the project has not been fully allocated.

Elaine R. Wiygul, 37, 1700 N Peters Ave., Wednesday

ASSAULT AND BATTERY

Clyde Eugene Clark, 43, 1901 E Lindsey St., Tuesday, possession of a controlled and dangerous substance and county warrant Darryl Christopher Gaines, 20, 106 W Hayes St., Wednesday

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

munity’s last meeting, ODOT officials revised the project’s plans to include a connection from State Highway 9 to Ed Noble Parkway, pedestrian and bike trails on Lindsey and Main Streets, an overpass over 24th Avenue SW and aesthetic enhancements.

“I am pleased [ODOT has] been responsive to the concern shown by the Norman community at the last meeting, but we still have a long way to go,” said Norman Mayor Cindy Rosenthal. “I personally have a lot of concern for the first concept dealing with one of our city’s large car businesses, but we will continue to work closely with ODOT throughout this project.”

Norman residents were generally satisfied, unlike before, with the plans that were presented Thursday night.

“Overall, I liked the new design for Highway 9 and the Lindsey Street connections and the overpass over 24 Avenue idea,

Michael Anthony Fernandez, 31, 1700 N Peters Ave., Wednesday Dallie Talena Mize, 31, Classen Boulevard, Wednesday

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OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCURACY

COUNTY WARRANT Ronald Leonard Meurer, 47, Beaumont Drive, Wednesday, also driving under suspension Darin Alan Witt, 43, 909 24th Ave. SW, Wednesday, also municipal warrant

FURNISHING ALCOHOL TO A MINOR Darla Juyne Gatzman, 47, 311 E Main St., Wednesday Sean Philip Rogers, 27, 326 E Main St., Wednesday Sangita Naran Bhai Patel, 46, 1305 N Porter Ave., Wednesday Joshua Michael Shupe, 20, 1440 N Porter Ave., Wednesday

The Daily has a long-standing commitment to serve readers by providing accurate coverage and analysis. Errors are corrected as they are identified.

Readers should bring errors to the attention of the editorial board for further investigation.

ERROR SUBMISSIONS e-mail: dailynews@ou.edu phone: 325-3666

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Nijim Dabbour, managing editor dailynews@ou.edu phone: 325-3666 fax: 325-6051 For more, go to oudaily.com.

Campus News

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009

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School of rock rolls into Oklahoma City • UCO to open the state’s first contemporary music school WHITNEY ORTEGA The Oklahoma Daily The University of Central Oklahoma will rock next semester when it begins offering associate degrees in contemporary music performance and production.

The program will be the first of its kind in the state and hopes to mimic the successes of other contemporary music academies, including the inspiration for the program at UCO, said Scott Booker, CEO of the Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO. The idea for the program originated ‘across the pond’ in Guildford, England at the Academy of Contemporary Music. The academy was established in 1996 to give students the skills required to start a realistic music career.

Several other academies have been established throughout Europe since the Academy of Contemporary Music was founded. UCO will be the first in the U.S. to enter into a franchise agreement with the academy.

“There are very few schools, especially inexpensive schools that are offering programs like this,” Booker said. “It’s been very successful outside of the states and that’s what we’re trying to bring here.”

He said UCO will copy what the English academy has done and build from there. He said he wants to eventually expand the program to be

bigger and better than the one in England.

UCO currently offers music degrees geared toward classical training, but, Booker said, he believes there is a need for the contemporary program.

“We didn’t create the ACM to take away from any other programs,” he said. “We created it to fill the need that wasn’t being fulfilled at any other school.” ts, though.

Booker The school won’t just benefit UCO students, said the program is a large step for the state’s music business and the state’s economy.

“I hope ACM becomes a hub for the music ic industry in Oklahoma,” he said. “I want this to be a catalyst alyst for the music business in the state and I think we can do that.”

Booker said the academy will teach students ents practical ways of following their dreams but will also offer real life experience through jobs and internships by working closely with the Oklahoma Department of ze Commerce. He said the academy will centralize he the state’s music industry and connect with the ial national industry by creating a hub for potential employers. iness “I feel that the idea of education and business ple are in working together is something that a lot of people ue connection favor of,” he said. “I certainly am ... this is a true between business and education.”

The academy will be located in Bricktown, which will help build the academy’s image and help students gain recognition and possibly find jobs, Booker said.

“I think people just walking by and seeing all these kids walking around with their guitars and various instruments will add to the hype of the school,” he said. “Them being in the center of all this activity will just make Oklahoma look that much more vibrant.”

Ben Hardcastle, state regents spokesman, said he thinks the academy will have the ability to draw national recognition.

“It’s a unique program and I’m certain it will have wide appeal across Oklahoma aand perhaps other states as well,” he said.

He said the academy will be an opportunity for the state as a whole to showcase the talent of students who are interested in contemporary music perforproduction and management careers. mance, prod academy’s success will partially rely on its enrollThe academ Rich Taylor, dean of the Weitzenhoffer Family ment, said Ri Fine Arts.

College of F think the success will be in how many stu“I thi dents sign up and get in the program,” he said. den “Hopefully, [the program] benefits the stu“H dents. If it becomes a center for contemporary de music, if it helps Bricktown or the economy mu down in Oklahoma City, that’s all well and good. dow We’re in the business of helping their dreams come true and hopefully they’ll be getting the knowledge and support sso they can go be competitive out there.”

Booker said the academy will not have official enrollment numbers until April. He said the program is in the process of hiring instructors, and he has already received many e-mails and phone calls about the program.

ConocoPhillips president to address energy innovation • Business school hosts speaker on the future of energy in today’s economy SANDRA KUNZWEILER The Oklahoma Daily ConocoPhillips might mean a gas station to some, but the president and chief operating officer of the company has other forms of energy on his mind and is set to share them with students today.

John Carrig, president and chief operating officer of ConocoPhillips, will address global energy solutions within the present economic situation and long term trends in the energy market at 10 a.m. in Meacham Auditorium.

“One of the main points will be to address our energy security and that we improve our efficiency to make the best use of the energy we have,”

energy industry. said Stephen Morisseau, “It’s always healthy to be ConocoPhillips spokesman. exposed to leaders in comCarrig’s discussion is part panies who are directing our of the Price Business College’s largest global corporations,” “Distinguished Speaker he said.

Series,” and will draw at least Justin Ely, finance and 300 members of the communienergy management senior, ty, said Kate Burch, Business said he looks forward to College spokeswoman. Other Carrig’s discussion because speakers have included he thinks Carrig will presCEOs from AT&T and Devon ent students with a different Energy. approach on energy.

Morisseau said a key part “The challenges the world of Carrig’s speech will address faces regarding future energy innovation in energy and findconsumption are complicated ing ways to use energy from so it should be interesting to current and new sources of Photo Provided get his outlook,” Ely said. oil and natural gas. He said But student input is also Carrig also will discuss renew- ConocoPhillips president John Carrig important to the company. able alternatives like solar and Morisseau said wind power.

Mel Penn, Student Services spokesman, said ConocoPhillips is interested in what students have Carrig will give a “timely and accurate view” on to say about energy solutions and will look to how this year’s economic challenges will affect the students to discover new ways to face challenges

BE THERE Who: President and chief operating officer of ConocoPhillips, John Carrig

What: “Global Energy Solutions: A New World Economy” lecture

When and Where: 10 a.m. Friday in Meacham Auditorium of the Oklahoma Memorial Union Next Speaker: Gerard Arpey, CEO of American Airlines, on April 23rd within the industry.

Energy is an issue that should concern everyone, Ely said. “[It] touches each of us every single day and the more that people understand our current situation, the better prepared we will be in the future,” he said.

SPORTS BRIEFS

Griffin’s status for Saturday uncertain

As of Thursday, sophomore forward Blake Griffin’s status is uncertain for Saturday afternoon’s game against Texas Tech. Griffin has missed the Sooners’ past two conference games, both of which resulted in losses.

Doctors won’t clear Griffin to play until he passes a battery of tests prior to the game, which includes checking for a headache and nausea. Griffin has taken part in noncontact shoot-around and ball-handling drills Wednesday and Thursday.

“We aren’t going to do anything with Blake until we know he’s fine and that those symptoms have cleared,” head coach Jeff Capel said. “Then we’ll be able to determine better whether he’ll be available to play on Saturday or not.”

— JONO GRECO/THE DAILY

Softball hosts tournament this weekend After traveling to Tulsa on Wednesday, the No. 7 Sooners softball team returns to Norman this weekend for the OU/ Sooner Legends Tournament.

Two other teams, St. Louis and Creighton, will be competing in the tournament. The Sooners will play both teams at 1:15 and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and again at 12:15 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

OU has played a tough schedule thus far, however, both Creighton (5-4) and St. Louis (3-8) are nationally unranked.

OU is currently 13-3, with their most recent win coming in a 7-3 victory on the road against Tulsa on Wednesday.

The Sooners got a big game from senior first baseman Samantha Ricketts, who hit a grand slam and had five RBIs. Ricketts became the first OU player to record 200 career RBIs in the game against Tulsa. Ricketts is a preseason All-American second-team selection, and has been an important factor in her team’s success this year.

Ricketts, junior infielder Amber Flores and junior catcher Lindsey Vandever are ranked No. 1, 2 and 3 respectively in the conference in RBIs. OU’s pitching staff, consisting of two freshmen in Kirsten and Allee Allen, and a senior leader in D.J. Mathis, has performed well so far this season with a combined 2.26 ERA. The Sooners play their next six games at home, followed by three more in Oklahoma City.

— AARON COLEN/THE DAILY

Men’s gymnastics hosting No. 10 Nebraska on Saturday The No. 2 men’s gymnastics team will host No. 10 Nebraska at 7 p.m. on Saturday at McCasland Fieldhouse.

The Sooners beat the Cornhuskers 354.300 to 337.600 last time they competed on Jan. 18. in Lincoln. OU is currently undefeated after taking down No. 8 Iowa Saturday.

“Every meet’s important, especially for ourselves to get the experience competing in front of a crowd and judges,” sophomore Steven Legendre said. “Its definitely another stepping stone in the big picture of putting ourselves in the best position to do well and get another NCAA title.”

— COLIN CURLEY/THE DAILY

Indoor track Big 12 Championships take place this weekend The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams will head to College Station, Texas to compete in the 2009 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday.

The No. 9 OU men’s squad features senior Shardae Boutte, defending Big 12 champion in the triple jump.

Boutte will try to make it two-in-a-row in the competition, Saturday at 5 p.m.

No. 7 Texas will attempt to defend its 2008 Big 12 title in a men’s field stacked with elite talent. Eight of the teams competing in the meet currently sit in the top 25 of the most recent United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll.

No. 4 Nebraska comes in as the highest-ranked team, and No. 6 Texas A&M could be tough to beat in its own backyard.

On the women’s side, the unranked Sooners will try to de-throne two-time defending champion, Texas A&M. The Lady Aggies appear poised to make yet another run at a title this year, as they currently hold the No. 1 ranking.

Aside from A&M, the Big 12 boasts five other teams currently ranked in the women’s top 25, including No. 17 Texas Tech, who will look to Sally Kipyego, winner of both the performer of the year and the high-point score award in each of the last two Big 12 Championships.

Each OU squad will look to improve , when the women finished seventh, and the men finished sixth.

Live results from the meet can be found at www.aggieathletics.com — JARROD YOST/THE DAILY

Women’s gymnastics goes on the road to take on Iowa State The No. 10 women’s gymnastics team takes on conference rival Iowa State tonight in Ames, Iowa. The Sooners are on the road after a home win in last week’s quad-meet against Missouri, West Virginia and Brown. Head coach K.J. Kindler, who coached at Iowa State before moving to OU in 2006, said she hopes to build on that momentum this weekend in order to advance in the top 10.

“The goal is for us to get [a team score] in the mid-range 196’s,” Kindler said. “We’re perfectly capable of that. We’re trying to get the score to put us in a secure place in the top 10. We would like to be up a couple more spots.”

The Sooners scored a 196.375 last weekend and have a season high of 197.175 set in January. A win against the Cyclones would advance OU to 2–1 in the Big 12 and 7–3 overall. Iowa State is coming off its first win of the season in a 194.600-191.475 victory over Minnesota last weekend.

OU has outscored the Cyclones’ season-high of 195.225 in six of eight competitions this season. OU is also the only squad in the Big 12 to be ranked in the top 12 on all four events.

- KELSEY WITTEN/THE DAILY

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4

Opinion

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009

OUR VIEW

Ray Martin, opinion editor dailyopinion@ou.edu phone: 325-7630, fax: 325-6051 For more, go to oudaily.com.

YOUR VIEWS

Extend UOSA election deadline One candidate met Thursday’s deadline to apply to executive branch and election chairman don’t have the run for UOSA president. Whether a lack of knowledge power to extend the deadline, the combined efforts of or a lack of concern led to the lack of student coopera- UOSA’s branches ought to be able to get something tion, we think something needs to change. done. After all, the election chairman and the election It starts with student awareness. UOSA should dates were all determined by legislation. be allowed to send campus-wide emails If necessary, a deadline extension should to inform the student body about upcombe legislated. An emergency join session of OUR VIEW Student Congress and Graduate Student ing elections. They are currently prohibited is an editorial from doing so. There should be a big push to Senate should be called to push through selected and debated encourage as many students as possible to legislation that would extend the filing by the editorial board run for office, and there should be an equally deadline and change advertising policies so and written after a energetic push for students to get either more students can learn about the elections majority opinion is formed and approved themselves or someone they know elected. and run in them. by the editor. Our View No one can remember an election in Students should also know that these is The Daily’s official which only one candidate ran. It’s undemoelections are for anyone. They aren’t opinion. cratic, and should not be allowed. reserved for popular members of the Greek It’s absurd that even without mass e-mail community or National Merit Scholars. capabilities, no one knew the election application They are for anyone who has a legitimate platform deadline was Thursday. Because all of these things that will serve their fellow students. The UOSA adminwere lacking this year, we think the current adminis- istration should seem important to students, as its tration should extend the deadline. And until the new leaders serve as the voice of the student body to higher deadline is set, the current president and vice presi- university officials. dent should lead a charge to generate as much student Officials should spread the word. Students shouldn’t feedback and interest as possible. Even if the current ignore them.

Intelligent Design proponents should pursue research, not political spin Active discussion of biology outside the classroom is something I am pleased to see. However, I want to correct some points recently made in The Daily.

OU administrators were not involved in bringing John West to speak on intelligent design. He was invited by OU’s IDEA club, a group entitled to bring in speakers of their choice.

Similarly, tonight’s discussion between Drs. Michael Ruse and William Dembski is not part of the Darwin 2009 events.

Ruse was approached by IDEA club members after they learned he would be here for a Dreamcourse.

Reading the booklet handed out by intelligent design proponents last Friday, I was struck by how many statements were inaccurate.

For example, the booklet stated it is implausible that the bacterial flagellum evolved rather than was designed.

However, this ignores much work documenting ancestral versions of the protein complex that comprises the flagellum. If Dembski’s talk two years ago is any indication, look

for him tonight to ignore the fact that most of his claims about evolution have been falsified.

Indeed, Dr. Philip Klebba, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, showed during the question session at Dembski’s last visit that the flagellum is not irreducibly complex; there are indeed functional structures (intermediates) with parts missing.

Dembski and others are intellectually dishonest when they continue using the same old arguments and do not acknowledge clear demonstrations that irreducible complexity fails.

If intelligent design proponents want a fair academic discussion, they will have to provide some evidence. As yet, they have not shown how it could be scientifically tested.

But rather than pursuing such research, they have instead focused on promoting their ideas through legislation, local school boards and popular culture.

Respect for ideas in science must be earned, not by political spin and accusations of conspiracy, but by accurate presentation of evidence.

- ROSEMARY KNAPP, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ZOOLOGY

STAFF COLUMN

Christians’ claims about evolution dishonest With Darwin celebration in full force around campus, it’s hard not to notice the controversy that still surrounds evolution. Whether you agree with the critics of evolution or not, one thing should be clear: not all objections are created equal.

You might be surprised to find out which critics are espousing the most inaccuracies and deceit.

Christian objections to evolution, whether they’re filed under the banner of creationism or intelligent design, are often the least scrupulous.

You might call it an epiphany, but there was a distinct moment when I realized that pastors in churches and many prominent Christian apologists don’t seem to mind telling outright falsehoods to their flock. Whether doing it knowingly or not, they’re almost universally wrong on the facts, choosing to omit evidence and propagate fabrications.

Lying in church I’ve sat through more than one church service with titles like “Defending the Faith” or “Creation vs. Evolution.” Interestingly, they seem to follow the same formula.

One of the most frustrating objections creationists often pose is their assertion that there are literally no transitional forms in the scientific record or that there have to be “billions” of transitions in the fossil record for evolution to be true. This claim, which I have heard on more than one occasion, is incredibly ignorant. Despite the difficulty and unlikelihood of

fossilization, the record of transitional forms is quite robust.

For example, it is now widely accepted that birds evolved from dinosaurs, so what would a transitional form between dinosaurs and birds look like? It might have teeth, appendages and a skeleton like a dinosaur but with feathers and related ability to fly. Just one of the specimens that fits this description is microraptor gui.

It doesn’t stop there. Our bird-dinosaur has friends.

Paleontologists have discovered more than 20 non-avian dinosaur genera with feathers. These, couJOSHUA pled with more bird-like transitions WADLIN like archaeopteryx, make quite a plethora of transitions.

I don’t know what a transitional form between these two groups could be besides a creature with both dinosaur and bird traits. Despite this, prominent evolution critics like the organization Answers in Genesis call each and every fossil “fully-formed,” that is, strictly a bird or dinosaur, shoe-horning each creature into a respective category and ignoring shared traits. Another popular way of refuting evolution is quote mining. By taking scientists’ words out of context, critics have been able to make them say just about whatever they want. Stephen Jay Gould is one of the most popu-

lar scientists to misrepresent. Based on what I’ve heard from numerous creationist camps, you might conclude Gould, a prominent and celebrated paleontologist and evolutionary biologist, didn’t believe the very concept he devoted his life to. There’s something especially reprehensible about using the questions scientists pose about the mechanisms of evolution as a pretext for refutation of the whole theory.

The last bit of evidence for creationists to refute is the existence of hominids, which are not quite human, but much more human-like than modern apes.

They tend to use a different approach to deal with these. Instead of confronting the evidence, they point to some of the more notorious scandals that occurred in early 1900s when finding the “missing link” was a much-coveted prize.

Citing Piltdown man – a purported missing link that turned out to be a forgery – or Nebraska man – an extrapolation from a tooth, which turned out to belong to a peccary – as evidence refuting evolution is about as honest as citing phrenology as a reason to reject modern medicine.

A call for reform I’m not trying to participate in the design versus evolution debate with this column. I’m arguing against misrepresentations perpetrated in the name of Christianity. I do believe there are legitimate cri-

tiques of evolution to be discussed, but you won’t find them in a church service or creationist Web site that is stuck on out-of-context Gould quotes and scientific scandals that happened a century ago.

And I know pastors probably aren’t knowingly lying to their audiences, but the sources of their information certainly were. I can’t give a pass because of ignorance.

I find it immensely troubling that the lies and deceit about evolution are coming from the Christian community. At what point does a religion that is supposed to be about truth, love and salvation have to be defended by misrepresenting the facts? Can its leaders claim moral authority when they choose not to investigate the veracity of their own words?

I encourage all Christians to look at science objectively, and to question what they are told and start evaluating the claims of anti-evolutionists within their communities. Deceit by religious leaders is unacceptable, and it should be challenged wherever it is found.

We can operate comfortably in a world in which we are told what we want to hear, or we can step into the sometimes-uncomfortable world of objective truth. The hope for such a world requires that deception is not perpetrated by advocates of moral character.

Joshua Wadlin is a zoology and entrepreneurship senior.

STAFF COLUMN

STAFF COLUMN

We should be excited about success in Iraq

Medical schools better way to spend tobacco dollars

Stephen Carradini is a professional writing senior.

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Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Assistant Managing Editor Night Editor Opinion Editor Photo Editor

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Senior Online Editor Multimedia Editor Sports Editor Life & Arts Editor Editorial Adviser Advertising Manager

The Oklahoma Senate took a step in the right direction this week when it approved a bill that would use tobacco trust funds for OU and Oklahoma State University medical schools. This bill is just a suggestion to the Tobacco Endowment Trust Fund, though it has succeeded in raising public awareness.

I believe using tobacco trust money for the medical schools in our state should be highly encouraged. First, it would allow the schools to expand and produce a higher number of graduates, which can eventually increase the health of many Oklahomans by improving the low physicians-toresident ratio.

OHM Additionally, these schools can DEVANI provide better resources for their students with the extra money, thereby improving quality of education, and hopefully the quality of graduating doctors as well.

Essentially, these public medical schools are the lifeline to our state and to deny them much needed funds would be literally denying health opportunities to many in our state.

Despite the clear benefits of this proposal, there are a few naysayers in the Oklahoma Legislature.

One of them, Sen. John Sparks, D-Norman, opposed the bill, stating the money is intended for smoking cessation programs and should not be diverted.

This is a good point, but tobacco awareness programs and cessation campaigns have largely become irrelevant. In 1964, the U.S. Surgeon General issued the warning linking tobacco and cancer.

The following year’s census showed nearly 42 percent of Americans identified themselves as smokers. In the 2006 census, only 21 percent indentified themselves as smokers. The results show

O F

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T H E The Fine Print

T H E

security for the elections that went smoothly.

They’re cracking down on corruption and abuse of power in their ranks, too. On Feb. 24, it was announced the Iraqis had arrested 11 Shi’ite policemen who killed Sunnis during the sectarian strife.

This is incredibly good news. It is proof that they’re not going to let the ruling party (currently Shi’ites) dominate the minority party with violence and abuse. We may never know exactly why we invaded Iraq, but when President Obama calls all the troops out, they will leave behind a stable, democratic country. Whether the Iraqis will be able to hold it together when STEPHEN we’re gone is unknown, but with CARRADINI this next year and a half or so of stable freedom I’d guess that they’ll get used to it, and if they like it, they’ll work to preserve it.

I didn’t think it could happen, honestly. I didn’t think people could be taught democracy by an outside power and that the war was a lesson in futility. But regardless of all the American public hostility and America’s messy handling of the Iraq war, Baghdad is not under a tyranny any longer, and Basra is under a stable government.

We should be excited about this. As a nation, we accomplished something meaningful. We brought freedom, whether the world credits us or not.

Saddam Hussein might still be in power if George Bush didn’t ride in, guns ‘ablazin, and topple a dictator. Regardless of whether you liked the war or not, the outcome so far has been this: a stable democracy, and yet we don’t see this on the news or in the papers. This is wrong.

Contact Us

On Jan. 30, 2009, 51 percent of Iraqis voted peacefully for their equivalent of state legislators.

There was no sectarian violence at the polling places, and there was even a drift away from religious, sectarian voting towards secular, patriotism-based voting. Why aren’t we jumping up and down excitedly about this? Why isn’t the news ecstatic that we actually accomplished something in Iraq?

While the tanking economy certainly takes up a lot of news time, somebody in America should be recognizing that the Iraqi democracy is showing the first signs of functioning normally. The Iraqi Turkmen Human Rights Research Foundation, which produced the report cited above, can give you some good news. With all the bad economic news we’re privy to right now, good news should be welcomed.

In fact, the worst problems that came out of the elections were threats that our military consider purely hot air. Take this in contrast with the 2005 elections, where 44 people died and hundreds of attacks were reported. Black Tuesday 2008 was a more dangerous event than the most recent Iraqi elections. That’s not the only astounding thing happening in Iraq.

On Feb. 23, Army Maj. Gen. David Perkins reported not a single civilian was targeted in an attack on Feb. 20. There was no fighting anywhere in Iraq that Americans had to get involved in.

Considering the tyranny Iraq came from and the subsequent civil war they narrowly avoided, a day without fighting should have been big-time news.

It wasn’t. Especially since this was the war that spawned the “Endless War” bumper stickers, I think more people should know that we are in fact actually ending the war. Violence is down dramatically, elections are running smoothly and the Iraqi people are patrolling themselves.

The Iraqi security forces are up to 618,000.

They’re not ineffective, either. Iraqis planned the

that currently, most people are aware of the negative effects of tobacco use and smoke at their own discretion. Maybe we don’t need to spend as much money on these awareness programs anymore.

As for incentive-based tobacco cessation programs, most studies show no significant increase in long-term quit rates for smokers who took part in incentive-based smoking cessation programs, according to the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. There was definitely a time for these awareness and cessation programs, but now their existence is trivial.

The large amount of money spent on these programs raises another issue of equal importance.

It is no secret that smokers face a variety of illnesses because of their tobacco use. So whose responsibility is it to treat them when they are sick?

Doctors. Then why would anyone spend money on mostly failing smoking cessation programs when the money would be put to better use training more high-quality doctors, who, in the end, are going to benefit smokers more than these aforementioned wasted efforts.

Putting more money into training doctors would help everyone, not just smokers, whereas the programs help only smokers who want to quit.

In a state that ranks 46th in the U.S. health index, 46th for total nonfederal physicians per capita and 40th for total health care spending per capita, how can a legislator justify keeping funds away from the only two public medical schools in the state?

It is obvious our state needs better health care, and to keep money away from the state medical schools would only perpetuate the current situation. We need to support our state medical institutions wherever and whenever possible, and thereby apply the tobacco trust-fund money to our medical schools. This is the responsible choice.

U N I V E R S I T Y

The Oklahoma Daily is a public forum and OU’s independent student voice.

Letters should concentrate on issues, not personalities, and should be fewer than 250 words, typed, double spaced and signed by the author(s). Letters will be cut to fit. Students must list their major and classification. OU staff and faculty must list their title. All letters must include a daytime phone number. Authors submitting letters in person must present photo identification. Submit letters

Ohm Devani is a University College freshman.

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O K L A H O M A

Sunday through Thursday, in 160 Copeland Hall. Letters can also be submitted via e-mail to dailyopinion@ou.edu.

Guest columns are accepted at editor’s discretion. ’Our View’ is the voice of The Oklahoma Daily.

Editorial Board members are The Daily’s editorial staff.

The board meets Sunday through Thursday in 160 Copeland Hall.

Columnists’ and cartoonists’ opinions are not necessarily the opinions of The Daily Editorial Board.

News STATE BRIEFS Judge won’t dismiss abortion lawsuit OKLAHOMA CITY — A judge has rejected the state’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit challenging an anti-abortion law that would prohibit a woman from getting an abortion unless she first has an ultrasound and the doctor describes the fetus in detail.

Oklahoma County District Court Judge Vicki Robertson, after a lengthy hearing on Thursday, dismissed without comment a motion to throw out the case by the attorney general’s office.

Teresa Collett, an outside attorney retained to argue the case, contended the Center for Reproductive Rights had no standing to challenge the law in state court.

Bill addresses child welfare issues OKLAHOMA CITY — A child advocacy group has no plans to back off of a federal lawsuit it filed over problems in Oklahoma’s child welfare system in spite of plans by lawmakers to implement recommendations in an independent audit that confirms the allegations, the group’s executive director said Thursday.

Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director of Children’s Rights, a New York-based organization that filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of nine foster children in Oklahoma, said the audit of the Department of Human Services documents the same problems in the child welfare system that the lawsuit addresses. ”The audit is in fact a very constructive step forward,” Lowry said. “However, laws are not self executing. Oklahoma is already violating federal standards and many of its own laws.”

Supreme Court invalidates bonds OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court Thursday voided $50 million in bonds for dam and river projects in the state, ruling legislation that authorized the projects violated a prohibition against bills covering more than one subject.

The decision blocks plans by the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority to issue $25 million in bonds for Tulsa County, the City of Tulsa and nearby communities to make improvements on Tulsa’s Zink Dam, provide stream bank stabilization and construct two additional low-water dams on the Arkansas River.

It also blocks another $25 million in bonds for the Oklahoma Conservation Commission to repair and replace flood control dams in rural Oklahoma.

—AP

NATION BRIEFS Gates: Media photos of war dead should require families’ approval WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is reversing an 18-year ban on news coverage of the return of war dead, allowing photographs of flag-covered caskets when families of the fallen troops agree, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

“My conclusion was we should not presume to make the decision for the families,” Gates said in announcing results of a quick review of a ban that had stood through Republican and Democratic administrations.

Sources: Feds moving enemy combatant to a civilian Ill. court WASHINGTON — An accused al-Qaida sleeper agent held for 5-1/2 years at a Navy brig in South Carolina will soon be sent to Illinois for trial in civilian court, a move the government has fought for years saying terror suspects caught in the U.S. could be held indefinitely without charges.

Two people familiar with the case of Qatar native Ali al-Marri said Thursday the government plans to transfer him to the civilian court system. One of them said he would be charged with providing support to terrorists. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity because it’s a pending criminal case.

Senate votes to give DC citizens vote in Congress WASHINGTON — The right to a vote in Congress, denied to the District of Columbia when it became the nation’s capital two centuries ago, would be granted under legislation the Senate passed Thursday.

Congress is “moving to right a centuries-old wrong,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shortly before the 61-37 vote.

The House is expected to pass the measure with a strong majority next week and President Barack Obama, a co-sponsor when the bill failed to clear the Senate two years ago, has promised to sign it.

—AP

5

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009

Obama hopes to lower massive deficits WASHINGTON — Trillion is the new ting expire President George W. Bush’s billion. tax cuts for couples making more than No longer is it a billion here and a $250,000 a year. That would raise the billion there that add up to real money. top income tax bracket from 35 percent Swap a “t’’ for the “b’’ if you want a mea- to 39.6 percent for those taxpayers and sure of what’s at stake under President raise their capital gains rate from 15 Barack Obama’s first spending plan. percent to 20 percent as well.

Obama charted a dramatic new Thursday’s 134-page budget submiscourse for the nation Thursday with a sion, a nonbinding recommendation to bold but contentious budget proposing Congress, says the plan would close the higher taxes for the wealthy and the deficit to a more reasonable — but still first steps toward guaranteed health eye-popping — $533 billion after five care for all — accompanied by an aston- years. That would still be higher than ishing $1.75 trillion federal deficit that last year’s record $455 billion deficit. would be nearly four times the highest And the national debt would more in history. than double by the end of the upcoming Denouncing what he called the “dis- decade, raising worries that so much honest accounting” of recent federal federal borrowing could drive up interbudgets, Obama unveiled his own $3.6 est rates and erode the value of the trillion blueprint for next year, a bold dollar. proposal that would transfer wealth Also, to narrow the budget gap, from rich taxpayers to the middle class Obama relies on rosier predictions of and the poor. economic growth — including a 3.2 Congressional approval without percent boost in the economy next year major change is anything but sure. The — than most private sector economists plan is filled with political land mines foresee. including an initiative to combat global There is already resistance from warming that would hit consumers with Democrats who are upset with the budconsiderably higher utility bills. Other get’s plan to curb the ability of wealthier proposals would take on entrenched people to reduce their tax bills through interests such as big farming, insurance deductions for mortgage interest, charicompanies and drug makers. table contributions and state and local Obama blamed the expected federal taxes. deficit explosion on a “deep and destrucThat tax hike would raise $318 billion tive” recession and recent efforts to over the upcoming decade toward a battle it including the Wall Street bailout down payment on Obama’s high-prioriand the just-passed $787 billion stimulus ty universal health care plan. Cuts to the plan. The $1.75 trillion deficit estimate Medicare and Medicaid federal health for this year is $250 billion more than programs would supply an additional projected just days ago because of pro- $316 billion, but that still wouldn’t proposed new spending for a fresh bailout vide enough money to guarantee coverfor banks and other financial institu- age for all, and Obama wants Congress tions. to come up with hunAs the nation digs dreds of billions of out of the most seridollars in additional ous economic crisis hard-to-raise revin decades, Obama enues to pay for the said, “We will, each rest. and every one of us, Then there have to compromise is the proposed on certain things we clampdown on the care about but which Pentagon budget, we simply cannot which would get a afford right now.”

4 percent boost, to Signaling bud$534 billion next get battles to come, year, but would Republicans were then get increases skeptical Obama of 2 percent or less was doing without President Barack Obama over the next several much at all. years. Domestic pro“We can’t tax grams favored by and spend our way Democrats would, to prosperity,” said on average, receive a House GOP leader John Boehner of 7 percent boost over regularly appropriOhio. “The era of big government is ated levels — even as many agencies back, and Democrats are asking you to are already swimming in cash from the pay for it.” just-enacted economic stimulus plan.

Obama plans to move aggressively Taken together, Obama’s plan contoward rebalancing the tax system, tains so many difficult-to-digest ideas extending a $400 tax credit for most that it’s virtually certain to be signifiworkers — $800 for couples — while let- cantly redrafted during debates later

“For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth about how precious tax dollars are spent.”

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

President Barack Obama speaks about his fiscal 2010 federal budget on Thursday in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington on Thursday. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is at left. this year.

“It’s going to be a tough row to hoe, but he has large Democratic majorities and a lot of popular support and we’re in times of crisis,” said Robert Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute. “So his prospects of him getting much of what he is seeking, while not good, are higher than ... we’ve seen in the past.”

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., predicted Congress would pass much of Obama’s plan, though with significant revisions.

For instance, he’s unimpressed with a proposal to reduce payments to farming operations with sales above $500,000 per year and says the plan to curb tax deductions for the wealthy faces uncertain prospects because of opposition from lawmakers from high tax states and universities whose endowments have shrunk.

A plan to devote up to $250 billion to support as much as $750 billion in increased spending under the government’s rescue program for banks and other financial institutions landed with a thud.

Republicans scoffed at the idea that Obama’s plan calls for much sacrifice on the spending front, citing the big increases for many agencies. they also pointed to tax increases and hundreds of billions in revenues from a contentious proposal to auction off permits for carbon emissions in a bid to address global warming.

Obama and top aides emphasized that they didn’t make the financial mess.

Said the president: “We cannot lose sight of the long-run challenges that our country faces and that threaten our economic health — specifically, the trillions of dollars of debt that we inherited, the rising costs of health care and the growing obligations of Social Security.”

“For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth about how precious tax dollars are spent,” he said. “Large sums have been left off the books, including the true cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that kind of dishonest accounting is not how you run your family budgets at home. It’s not how your government should run its budgets either.”

—AP

Mexico’s president wants to win drug war by 2012 MEXICO CITY — President Felipe Calderon said Thursday he wants to win the war against the world’s most powerful drug gangs before his term ends in 2012, and disputed U.S. fears that Mexico is losing control of its territory.

In interviews with The Associated Press, Calderon and his top prosecutor said the violence that killed 6,290 people last year — and more than 1,000 in the first eight weeks of 2009 — is a sign that the cartels are under pressure from military and police operations nationwide, as well as turf wars among themselves.

“To say that Mexico is a failed state is absolutely false,” Calderon said. “I have not lost any part — any single part — of Mexican territory.”

Calderon, a Harvard-educated conservative, said smuggling cannot be eliminated as long as Americans

continue to use drugs, but hopes he can beat back the cartels by 2012 to a point that the army and federal police can withdraw and leave the problem in the hands of local law enforcement. He declined to give a specific timeline for winning the war against drug gangs.

Calderon easily switched between English and Spanish in an hour-long interview at the colonial National Palace. Sitting in a chair decorated with Mexico’s national symbol — an eagle perched on a cactus devouring a serpent — he was relaxed and jovial.

Mexico had bristled when the U.S. Joint Forces Command put it on par with Pakistan, saying both were at risk of “rapid and sudden collapse.” That and other reports have put a global spotlight on Mexico’s

growing violence and pressured Calderon to change tactics. He said Thursday that wasn’t an option.

“Yes, we will win,” he said, “and of course there will be many problems meanwhile.”

Calderon sent the army and federal police out into drug strongholds on his first day in office in December 2006, promising to turn a tide in a war that was seeing increasingly brazen tactics such as beheadings, assassinations and the attempt to control local governments.

Since then, Mexico has spent $6.5 billion on top of its normal public security budget, but that falls short of the $10 billion Mexican drug gangs bring in annually, Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said in another interview Thursday.

—AP

US aid effort under fire in Pakistan border area ISLAMABAD — A major U.S. effort to erode support for the Taliban and al-Qaida by pumping millions of aid dollars into the violence-wracked Afghan border region is being threatened by attacks on aid workers, corruption and layers of bureaucracy.

The Obama administration has pledged to use development aid as a foreign policy tool, and is expected to unveil a new hike in assistance before April. But there are concerns about how the money is being spent in remote valleys too dangerous for foreign aid workers to venture and where residents risk a beheading if they cross the militants.

A Taliban commander in the North Waziristan border region warned residents last month to shun the “sweet poison”

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Peshawar. The top U.S. diplomat there survived a similar attack in August.

The attacks have complicated the task of winning the hearts and minds of the northwest’s fiercely independent tribes.

“Precious little” new American money has reached the tribal belt, said Owais Ahmed Ghani, governor of the turbulent North West Frontier Province. “Things have to translate on the ground.”

Ghani regularly hosts visiting U.S. officials and lays out ambitious plans that include industrial parks to create jobs and solar-powered TV sets to pull the region toward modernity.

But, he complained, Washington has been

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of development aid. “Wait for the consequences, if anybody accepts anything,” Gul Bahadur warned in a leaflet.

Three years after the Bush administration pledged $750 million for the impoverished tribal belt, people associated with the effort told The Associated Press that a clutch of education and road-building projects are finally getting under way.

Washington has cloaked its efforts in secrecy, foregoing an opportunity to show off a kinder American face in order to protect its staff and contractors.

The danger of operating openly was made brutally evident in November, when suspected militants killed American aid worker Stephen Vance as he drove to work in

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reluctant to embrace marquee projects that could leave a lasting impact on local attitudes toward the West. He said he offered to name a major dam to irrigate large swaths of barren tribal land after John Kerry if the senator could arrange the funding.

Kerry is sponsoring a financial aid bill for Pakistan, an earlier version of which foresaw providing another $7.5 billion in civilian assistance over five years across the whole of the country.

American officials involved in tribal region projects refused

to discuss them on the record and provided only an outline of how they are proceeding.

The U.S. aid is part of a broader Pakistani plan to isolate extremists in the tribal areas, a belt of territory little larger than Vermont seen as the likely hiding place of Osama bin Laden.

Just 17 percent of the adult population — and only one in 30 women — is literate, while the infant mortality rate is nearly 9 percent. An estimated 60 percent of its 3.2 million people live in poverty.

—AP

6

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6 9 6 5 2 2 8 4 1 7 9 9 4 2 5 6 4 3 1 8 8 9 7 4 5

Previous Solution 7 8 6 3 4 1 9 5 2

9 5 1 8 6 2 7 3 4

3 4 2 9 7 5 8 6 1

5 3 9 4 1 8 6 2 7

6 2 4 7 3 9 5 1 8

8 1 7 2 5 6 4 9 3

4 6 5 1 2 7 3 8 9

2 7 8 5 9 3 1 4 6

1 9 3 6 8 4 2 7 5

Monday- Very Easy Tuesday-Easy Wednesday- Easy Thursday- Medium Friday - Hard

Instructions: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker February 27, 2009

ACROSS 1 Revealed to the world 6 Aggressive witticism 10 1979 Middle Eastern exile 14 Tongue-incheek quality 15 “Summertime,” e.g.

16 Exhibiting a limp 17 What Ward and June do 20 Godiva’s title 21 With 53Across, a Beatles song 22 Lengthen 23 Word with “blood” or “dog” 24 Start for school?

25 Used “th” in place of “s” 29 Do home work?

34 ___ nous (confidentially) 35 Brewer’s kiln 36 Opposite of stet 37 Lose one’s cool 40 It may be tall 41 Aft 42 Heathen 43 They may travel by butterfly 45 Liabilities’ opposites 46 Brian of rock 47 Ring cheer 48 Bogart’s role in “Casablanca” 52 Caesar’s

Being

NUMBER ONE is nothing to celebrate.

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welcome 53 See 21-Across 57 Use up all alibis 60 “That makes ___ of sense” 61 Neighbor of Turkmenistan 62 Dear, as a price 63 Deli staple 64 Pullman and dining, for two 65 Type of bear DOWN 1 Statement of charges 2 Blueprint datum 3 Driveway’s end 4 That green feeling 5 “Does she or doesn’t she?” item 6 With ___ breath (expectantly) 7 A bit pretentious 8 ___ Grande 9 Yankee legend 10 Adirondack chair part 11 “… to ___ and to hold” 12 Sunday sign-off 13 Thundering group 18 “If ___ a Hammer” 19 Former husbands 23 Burger meat,

often 24 Tough question 25 Some turns 26 Non-blood relative 27 Record groove cutters 28 Introduction 29 Punch line payoffs 30 Best and Ferber 31 Swamp plant 32 ___ ease (uncomfortable) 33 High schoolers 35 Alamogordo’s county 38 Frantic 39 Church section 44 Computer selection screen 45 Author Haley

47 Many operate on gas 48 Obnoxious young’un 49 Pip 50 Like many a poet, for short 51 Jot 52 Not nearby 53 Burlap element 54 Secondhand 55 Exploit 56 Catch sight of 58 Man-mouse filler 59 Chicago time zone

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

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Sports

Steven Jones, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu phone: 325-7630, fax: 325-6051 For more, go to oudaily.com.

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009

7

FRIDAY FACEOFF

Which player’s injury is more significant?

WHITNEY HAND

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams lost key players last week.

The men, which lost sophomore forward Blake Griffin to a concussion Saturday, lost their past two games after starting 25-1.

The women lost their first Big 12 game Monday against Texas A&M. It was also the OU’s first game without freshman guard Whitney Hand, who suffered a broken left index finger against Baylor.

Both players are crucial losses. But which injury hurts its team the most?

Griffin’s name jumps off the page, but Hand, OU’s ERIC starting guard, is an integral DAMA part of the Sooners’ squad.

Nobody can argue the difference in production between the two players—Griffin certainly wins there. But the most important factor is the length of each player’s injury, and that means the loss of Hand will hurt her team the most.

Hand had surgery on her finger a few days ago and is expected to be out at least four weeks.

Nobody knows when Griffin will return, but although I’m not a doctor, I think it’s pretty safe to say he’ll return within the next week.

The women’s NCAA Tournament is about three weeks away, meaning Hand will most likely miss the first two rounds of the tournament and will definitely not be playing in the Big 12 tourney. Griffin, however, is pretty much a solid lock to play in the men’s conference tournament.

BLAKE GRIFFIN

Amy Frost/The Daily

Freshman guard Whitey Hand reaches for a loose ball in OU’s game against Texas A&M on Jan. 18. Hand fractured her finger in a game against Baylor on Saturday and is expected to miss four weeks.

If the men lose a few games without Griffin, they can make up for it by winning the Big 12 tournament with him.

Without Hand, the women aren’t as likely to win the Big 12 tournament as they did a week ago. And if they aren’t the last ones standing in the Big 12, they’re likely to be a No. 2 or 3 seed.

It’s simple: The fact that Hand’s

injury is going to keep her out of at least one, and probably two, NCAA tournament games means the loss of the freshman hurts the women’s squad more. As far as we know, Griffin could return as soon as tomorrow. And nobody reading this would bet that he was going to miss an NCAA tournament game.

ERIC DAMA IS A JOURNALISM JUNIOR.

Not that women’s basketball isn’t hurting without Whitney Hand. Undoubtedly an impressive player, A ship and a captain. A class Hand has proven to be a key component to the womand a professor. OU men’s bas- en’s team. But she is only a freshman and doesn’t hold the leader label that Griffin does. ketball and Blake Griffin.

Griffin not only leads his team, but the NCAA, You can have one without the other, but it wouldn’t get you too. The sophomore forward is the heart of Sooner basketball. very far.

This isn’t to say that the Sooners can’t manage OU basketball without sophomore forward Blake Griffin just without Griffin. In the challenging games against Texas and Kansas, they demonstrated aggressiveisn’t the same.

Sure, the Sooners have 13 ness and maintained close scores. But the return of CLAIRE players, but OU needs the Griffin is greatly anticipated by everyone, and when BRANDON other he returns to the lineup he will whole team. continue to dominate.

Griffin’s conWithout Griffin, the Sooners are cussion has knocked him out of the Griffin Update a great team. With him, the Sooners game for an unspecified amount of are Final Four contenders. time, but like rock needs its roll, For an update on the current Just like every ship needs a capSonny needed Cher and Boomer status of sophomore forward tain to reach its destination, the needs its Sooner, the men’s basketBlake Griffin see page 3.

Sooners’ need Blake Griffin to lead ball team needs Griffin back. them in the NCAA Tournament.

Pre-injury, Griffin helped the Sooners obtain the best record in CLAIRE BRANDON IS A JOURNALISM SOPHOMORE. college basketball and put them in national title contender status. But Griffin’s concussion has considerably affected the Sooners’ future.

With the absence of college basketball’s leading Player of the Year candidate in matchups against Texas and Kansas, the Sooners lost two crucial games in a row, allowing the Jayhawks to grab the lead the Big 12. Even Kansas coach Bill Self admitted the absence of the Sooners’ main man created an incredible opportunity for the Jayhawks.

Although Griffin could possibly be joining his teammates Sunday in Lubbock, Texas, Monday night’s upset might last throughout the season if the Jayhawks win their final three games. Then it won’t even matter whether the Sooners beat the Red Raiders.

Although the Sooners’ chance of making it to the Big Dance is still certain, their seeding depends on Griffin’s recovery. The past two games have proven exactly that, and that’s a substantial impact.

Griffin’s expected return is still unsure, and a concussion’s recovery time varies from person to person. While other teams are crossing their fingers, hoping to avoid playing against the NBA’s future No. 1 draft pick, the uncertainty of Griffin’s status is unsettling to any anxious Sooner fan.

Amy Frost/The Daily Even though freshman guard Willie Warren Sophomore forward Blake Griffin looks to get past a Baylor wowed the crowd with a team-high of 27 points against Texas, 22 points per game sitting on the defender in OU’s win over the Bears Jan. 24. Griffin has missed the Sooners’ past two games, both losses. bench is bound to alter the scoreboard.

HOROSCOPE

Women’s Basketball

Bedlam comes to Norman Saturday ANNELISE RUSSELL The Oklahoma Daily

Amy Frost/The Daily

Senior forward Ashley Paris fights for a rebound against a Texas player in OU’s Jan. 25 win against the Longhorns. The Sooners suffered their first conference loss of the season Monday, and look to bounce back against Oklahoma State on Saturday.

MORE ONLINE For more sports content, including a preview of the men’s basketball game this weekend, head to OUDaily.com.

Lloyd Noble Center will be rocking to a sold-out crowd Saturday when women’s basketball hosts Oklahoma State in the annual Bedlam battle.

The Sooners are returning from a disappointing road loss to Texas A&M and will be looking to get back into the win column.

The only thing stopping a Sooner comeback is OSU, namely junior guard Andrea Riley.

Riley averages more than 23 points per game and is the Cowgirls’ leader. Her quickness and eagerness to have the ball make her a tough force to defend.

OU head coach Sherri Coale said it will take the entire Sooner team on the floor knowing where Riley is to be successful against OSU. “I don’t think you can really contain her,” Coale said. “She’s too quick and it’s impossible to keep her from catching the ball, but that’s what you like to do with great players is limit their touches.”

While Riley’s numbers are impressive, the success of the Cowgirls tends to depend on her supporting cast.

The Sooners made the trip to Stillwater earlier in the season, and while Riley came up with an impressive 25 points, it was not

enough for OSU as they fell to the Sooners 93-75.

It would be easy for OU to remember the double-digit win and assume a similar result, but with freshman guard Whitney Hand on the bench and the atmosphere of a Bedlam game, OU is not taking anything for granted.

“I just think because it’s Bedlam everybody just comes competitive,” junior guard Nyeshia Stevenson said. “It’s just something that OU and OSU have done and to keep it alive it’s just always going to be competitive.”

Bedlam will be the second time Stevenson will start, filling in for the injured Hand.

Coale said while it is hard to tell what kind of changes come with Stevenson in the starting lineup, getting to practice as a part of the starting five will only help in Saturday’s game.

While Bedlam always brings an intense atmosphere, sophomore guard Danielle Robinson said she enjoys those type of games.

“I think it’s the atmosphere of the whole game,” Robinson said. “Whether it’s up in Stillwater or in Norman, and you can definitely tell it’s a rivalry for sure.”

With a win, OU will sweep the Bedlam series this year after splitting the games last season.

Tip-off is at noon Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center.

By Bernice Bede Osol

Copyright 2008, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Although most good things that happen will be visible to you and others, a behind-the-scenes occurrence will prove to be the most beneficial. Take the good where you find it.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Involvements you have with both friends and business associates will be more pleasant and, consequently, more productive than usual. Make the most of this amiable day.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Don’t sit on any hunches about ways and means to improve your position in life. Your perceptions will be both accurate and extremely useful in the realization of your dreams.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Only you can do things on a grand scale and still be within the realm of possibility. Today might be such a day, so don’t let anyone put doubts in your mind that will keep you from trying.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Don’t be overly eager in your business dealings. Sometimes when you play a little hard to get, you raise your desirability level and can obtain better terms.

This might be one of those days.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- What makes you such a desirable companion is your ability to make others feel important; you handle them in a way that brings out their virtues and good qualities, regardless of their mood.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- If you give full attention to matters that pertain to your ambitions and career, Lady Luck will be there when you need to pull off something impressive.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Troubling problems could be resolved if you start to analyze things from a positive perspective. The answer lies in what’s good about things.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- You’re likely to be extremely fortunate in endeavors where others are involved, because, intuitively, you’ll recognize who is lucky for you and who isn’t. Don’t underestimate your instincts.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- Be extra diligent when you find yourself conversing with an individual who is knowledgeable about something important to you. What you learn will be significant.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Good things can occur when you give your negotiating partners in a critical matter credit for being as trustworthy as you are. Mutual trust allows progress to be made.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -That which you handle individually will come off better than usual.

Thus, it is better not to delegate anything of significance to others just to keep them busy.

8

Luke Atkinson, L&A editor dailyent@ou.edu phone: 325-5189, fax: 325-6051 For more, go to oudaily.com.

Life & Arts

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009

WINE of theWEEK

BE ADVENTUROUS • This week’s wine comes from the Andes Mountains of Argentina BRITTANY BURDEN The Oklahoma Daily For this week’s wine, I’ll begin by being totally honest with you.

I hate red wine.

It’s true, my tender palate abhors the dark humor of a red wine. However, being the adventurous person that I am, I went into my favorite liquor store and told my favorite “wine guy” this same thing.

“Josh, I hate red wine,” I said. “Make me like it.” And he did.

So for this week’s wine, I am suggesting “Maipe,” a cabernet sauvignon shipped from the Andes Mountains in Argentina. At $11.99 per bottle, this is a wine that can be cheaply and aptly enjoyed.

The truth for most college students is red wine is a difficult pill to swallow, particularly for those who aren’t well-versed in the art of wine tasting.

According to The Cellar’s Joshua Yates, the wine should be decanted before drinking using a decanter or pitcher to air out the flavors. For those of you on a budget, simply leave the bottle open for around 30 minutes or “do some serious swirling in a large wine glass,” as Josh puts it.

My personal suggestion, for those of you wanting to save time and money, is to put the wine in a coffee pot for around 5-10 minutes. This will air out the wine so the flavor will not taste ‘tight’ – which Yates describes as the fruit being “being muted slightly, [so] you notice the tannins more.”

In order to make the tannins – the chemical which causes the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth – more mellow, Josh seriously suggests airing a cabernet sauvignon like “Maipe” before drinking.

After the “Maipe” is aired, be sure to smell it in order to absorb the full flavor and enjoy the richness of the alternate plum, fig and floral flavors that make a good wine.

Try “Maipe”at room temperature, and learn, as I did, to love red wine.

– BRITTANY BURDEN IS AN ENGLISH SENIOR.

photo by Zach Butler/The Daily

Searching for Saddam: An OU grad tells his story

photo provided

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CHECK OUT THE L&A BLOGS AT OUDAILY.COM

Interrogations never look like they do on “24.” Instead of beating a guy to a pulp, Eric Maddox, an OU graduate, coaxes his subjects into divulging essential information.

Maddox’s book, “Mission: Black List #1,” relates the search and capture of Saddam Hussein through the eyes of an interrogator.

Eric Maddox, an Oklahoma native and OU graduate, is that interrogator and co-author of “Mission,” SARAH alongside Davin Seay.

The book is a memoir of DORN the days in search for those on the U.S. Department of Defense’s “Black List,” the top 55 people in Iraq for whom the Department of Defense was searching, represented by a deck of cards. The ace of spades, Saddam Hussein, was top priority and focus of the book.

This book is a straightforward account of

one man’s impressive mission and that it’s success. It is written in first-person prose, the way an excited and articulate person might share a story at a party.

This style aids in the credibility of the work.

Maddox doesn’t veil his story with fancy words and twisting sentences. Instead, he provides his unlikely story in unaffected prose.

Maddox helpfully takes care to define any military terms that pop into the story, and does so with words proving he can escape the jargon to relate his story.

The writer was also wise to know when names and events mentioned needed elaboration, and when they were things the general public had already heard and knew about.

The writing occasionally waxes simplistic, but the suspense of the story is enough to carry a reader through these parts. What’s impressive is that such suspense is so craftily inserted, considering that the reader already knows the ending of the story.

Piece by piece, a careful reader will also

be able to collect some of Maddox’s deeper thoughts and find snippets of his sense of humor, which are tucked subtly among the more grave material. In no way will the book let someone far inside the author’s psyché, but it will provide some idea of how traumatic, terrifying or joyous these occasions were.

For a reader like me, who tends to avoid nonfiction war books – especially memoirs – this book was actually quite engaging. Maddox successfully placed interesting breadcrumbs to keep a reader’s attention throughout the plot. Though I knew where the story was going, I was still curious about what tidbits I might find along the way.

If you are interested in a more detailed and personal story about Saddam’s capture, or if you are curious about how military interrogators operate, Maddox’s “Mission” is a book to pick up. The prose has the provision of clarity in a story about a morally ambiguous war, and that story is certainly one remarkable read.

– SARAH DORN IS AN ENGLISH JUNIOR.