To maintain the sanctity of electoral college, Florida must sink

We are a nation in danger. Not from terrorist cells abroad or domestic, but from ourselves. Our political schisms and petty, partisan bickering - once the background noise to respectably-run campaigns - have coagulated together not unlike the T-1000 from "Terminator 2" to create a political rift in our nation so expansive that Evel Knievel himself dare not attempt to jump it on his motor bike. In a time of knee-jerk partisan retort to potshots that were never thrown, we still fail to realize how perilously close America is to forgetting that we all share the same hope for our country, no matter who its leader is.

Defense focus for captains, season

With three of the four captains on the MSU football team playing on the defensive side of the ball, it's clear what aspect of the team coach John L.

Third annual folk festival expected to bring 80K people to E.L. streets

East Lansing city officials, along with MSU Museum employees and downtown businesses are getting ready for fun, folk music and food during this weekend's third annual Great Lakes Folk Festival. MSU Museum Communication Manager Lora Helou said the 80,000 expected at this year's festival - the same amount as at last year's event - can taste the flavor and cultures of different countries of the world. "Through music, food and arts, it's a chance to experience lots of different cultures in an accessible way," Helou said.

Lansing group to target low-income vote

The streets will be filled this fall with political activists, petitioners and advocates representing the presidential candidates of their choice. Lansing Voters Matter, a new non-partisan voter registration organization, will be targeting a group they say is often overlooked by many of the regular campaigns - Lansing's low-income population. "We realized that all of the 'Get out the vote' drives were politically motivated," co-founder Michelle Johnson said.

2 men die after separate events

Two East Lansing men died in the last two days in separate vehicle-related incidents. Nabi Aslani, 79, died Tuesday in a car accident at the corner of Coolidge and State Roads, and 22-year-old Alexander Zynda shot himself after a high-speed police chase Wednesday.

Islam misrepresented by terror, media

Recently the United Nations, the U.S. government and the Iraqi people have been discussing what to do with the Iraqi city of Najaf.

Smith: Spartans 'miles ahead' of last year's squad

It was back to basics for the MSU football team on Wednesday as the squad had its first practice of the season indoors on a rainy August afternoon. The players were upbeat after their two practice sessions - one for the rookies at 10 a.m.

Wishful thinking

File sharing, while it might have started out illegally, has the potential to become legal and flourish through network services to universities, and contracts with the reformed Napster. If it can be done within the bounds of the law, file sharing doesn't present a problem. Many people were present for the illegal free-for-all downloading during the beginnings of Internet file sharing.

New grad studies vice president to place focus on health funding

Planning to tap into MSU's academic strengths, the new vice president for research and graduate studies said he intends to bring national and international recognition to MSU research and to improve funding in the health science areas. While Ian Gray was traveling overseas, the MSU Board of Trustees approved him for the top research administration position on July 22.

Police briefs 08/12/04

Folk festival features Cooke among others

Calvin Cooke has played the sacred steel for 48 years, and doesn't plan on stopping any time soon. The Cleveland native, who moved to Detroit looking for work 35 years ago, has gone from a young boy, playing the steel pedal slide guitar at his church, to one of the most influential sacred steel players in the world.

Butting heads

When the MSU Board of Trustees had a padlock secured on their conference room doors last week in Petoskey to protect their key documents, their action was more symbolic of faculty unrest than it was indicative of a request for privacy. From the realignment of the liberal arts college last spring to last weekend's lock-up, the tension between some faculty and MSU administrators has approached a boiling point.

Infidelity runs rampant in nature

Here's a conundrum - how do you ensure your partner will remain faithful to you? If the answer to that isn't complex enough, consider if this was the follow-up question - how do you convince them to inject him or her with a gene that makes them more faithful? These sorts of outlandish questions - particularly the latter - don't simply come to my mind out of the blue.

Legacy woes

In Monday's edition of The Contradiction Times, it was reported President George W. Bush is taking a hard line against the tradition of legacy in public universities.

P. Diddy, Russell Simmons missing point of civic duty

In an election that has become less about voting for your particular candidate and more about voting against the other guy, Sean "P.

Frustrated faculty look for solution

A group of MSU faculty are hoping a visit from a top-ranking member of a national association of professors can help them address what they say is a lack of faculty involvement in university decisions.

'U' institutes program on American Indian law

A new American Indian Law Program will begin this fall at MSU, teaching students about indigenous law, policy and practice. When the two classes start they will be the beginning of the only formal American Indian law program in Michigan and the most comprehensive in the Midwest. "It's an entire area of law that people just aren't aware of," said Donald Laverdure, a professor and director of the program.

Phillips mixes folk, rock

Introspective lyrics, dark notes and chords strewn together to yield mysterious guitar rhythms and a voice as smoky as a bar at last call- make Sam Phillips' eighth full-length album worthy of great musical respect. The original talent of Phillips revolves around her unique yet simple guitar playing, which comes across both vintage and beautiful. Phillips' successful mixture of folk, rock and catchy hooks is only complimented by the other talented artists performing behind her. Possibly the best aspect of "A Boot and a Shoe," is the active, hypnotizing drum beats from multiple drummers.

Colleges look to free up networks, provide legal music downloads

To download or not to download? Or more specifically, to have the chance? Those are questions university officials across the country have been asking in recent years in response to the growing number of students taking advantage of speedy school Internet service and the rapid advancement of downloading technology. Though the practice of downloading and file sharing copyrighted material without permission is illegal, many students do it anyway, and many universities know it. This is something that didn't sit well with the Recording Industry Association of America, which began a seek and destroy mission to counter its losses in record sales revenue by tracking down students who were file sharing an average of 800 songs at many universities across the nation, and suing them. In the midst of these lawsuits, universities began to seek out solutions to avoid subpoenas and to free up their campus network from file sharing that bogs down information trading. Hoping to avoid subpoenas and lawsuits in Happy Valley, Penn State University President Graham Spanier signed an agreement with Napster that allowed the now legal network to provide its students with legal file sharing in November. Rochester University followed suit.

Professor named to lead agricultural society

With farming converting into a type of corporate business from its past image of family driven manual labor, agriculture graduates with an economics and engineering background are farther ahead career-wise, MSU College of Agriculture officials say. Otto Loewer, a 1980 MSU alumnus, recently became the president-elect for the American Society for Agricultural Engineers, due in part to his dual background in those subjects.