Cardinal's Braver Profiled
CBS's Rita Braver talks to the network's Public Eye:
A few years ago, a huge crowed gathered as I was doing the on-camera section of a story in a very dangerous neighborhood in Port au Prince, Haiti. Suddenly, I saw a man approach our cameraman Mario DeCarvalho. The two seemed to be arguing, but I was too far away to hear what they were saying. The next thing I knew, Mario was shrugging his shoulders, popping the cassette out of his camera, and giving the tape to the local man, who seemed to be objecting to our presence in his neighborhood. Worried that the man was taking not only my stand-up (which was easily replaceable) but also all of the tape we'd shot earlier in a clinic for impoverished children, I started following him, begging him to return our property. Suddenly I heard Mario call out: "Rita, could you please come over here right now." I immediately turned and walked back to Mario ... who said: "I gave him the tape because he pulled a gun on me ... now we have to leave very quickly." Mario, our producer, soundman and I all jumped into our vans. The crowds tried to block our car ... but our experienced Haitian drivers were able to get us out of the neighborhood. The good news is that Mario had changed tapes just before shooting the stand-up and our morning's work was safe.
Cardinal Alum, DCAA Award Winner Norton Publishes Book
J.R. Norton's new book, Saving General Washington, is available on Amazon:
An edgy work of political journalism that debunks conservative contentions tying the right-wing political agenda to the visionary ideas of America's founders, while reclaiming the progressive legacy of the Founding Fathers.
Modern Republicans have made a smart bet. They're wagering that Americans have gotten so far from their own history that a timely grab could put a "Founding Fathers" stamp of approval on the party that brought us policies as fundamentally un-American as the PATRIOT Act, as well as the war in Iraq.
But the more you learn about the Founding Fathers, the more broad and powerful parallels emerge between their practical--and revolutionary-political ideas and the modern progressive movement. The Founders loved reason and strenuous debate, not the quashing of dissent. They believed in checks and balances, and certainly not an imperial presidency. There were no "deferments" from the Colonial army. There were no "Schooner Ship Vets" to bail them out by making George Washington look like a deceptive medal hound.
With wryness and a touch of understated outrage, J. R. Norton reintroduces a generation (or two) to their Founders, men who were more dangerous and exciting than Che Guevara, Joe Strummer, and 50 Cent combined. We had toughies killed in politically motivated gunfights (Hamilton) and presidents who were also frontline heroes of war (Washington). Nowadays, the politicians who claim fraternity with these men are pampered oil heirs appointed to the presidency by the Supreme Court, leaders who spend "working weekends" on their ranches in the midst of a war-not to mention a massive natural disaster. We have draft-dodgers in the House and adulterers in the Senate and most want to alter the Constitution to take rights away from their own citizens (via the Federal Marriage Amendment). Saving General Washington sets our current political leaders in stark relief against the men who designed this "last best hope of earth," showing us just how far we've departed from the brilliant ideas and core values America was built on--and inspiring us to take up the mantle of the Founders again.
A former editor in chief of the Cardinal and past Middle East Editor of the Christian Science Monitor, Norton was the 2004 winner of the DCAA's William Wesley Young award.
Cardinal Alumnus Milewski Covers Badger Frozen Four
Former Daily Cardinal sports editor Todd Milewski, writing in The Capital Times:
MILWAUKEE - The shifts were seismic, providing boosts at critical times.
Twice Thursday night, the University of Wisconsin was in a precarious situation in a high-pressure environment. Twice, the Badgers responded with a momentum-changing goal to ignite their team and an already charged Bradley Center audience.
The reward? "We get to play in the last game," Badgers winger Ross Carlson said.
It was Carlson who figured into both of those turning-point plays, scoring a second-period shorthanded goal to break a tie and helping set up a Maine momentum-stuffing score in the third to produce a 5-2 victory over the Black Bears in front of 17,691 in the national semifinals.
Wisconsin's Robbie Earl (10) and Joe Pavelski (8) celebrate Adam Burish's goal in the first period of the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal in Milwaukee. Joining the celebration at far left is Josh Engel (6).
Now, there's just one more victory between Wisconsin and a sixth national championship after a series of pivotal moments that gave the Badgers a title-game matchup Saturday against Boston College.