Al Gore's Great Book Tour

Al Gore's latest book-signing tour is not going so well. A group called "We Are Change" has been showing up to buy his latest book, shake his hand- and ask him about the latest scandals that have cast doubt over the veracity of the climate change crowd-led by Al. Take a look at what happened November 24th in Chicago.



Hey Al! What's with the goons and sneaking out the back freight elevator?

Now I must confess that I am not comfortable with the unruly tactics used by this bunch, and I don't condone them. What they should do is ask the questions and let Gore's goons give them the bum's rush-on camera. I noted the first person to ask Gore a question was grabbed and hauled away just for asking a question. True, he began shouting once he was in the clutches of Gore's goon, and I think that was unnecessary.

However, it is clear that Gore is handling this latest development with his customary clumsiness. My advice to Al is to ditch the goons. Nobody is going to harm you. They just want to make you look bad. They are succeeding.

Act For America Petition to Investigate CAIR

My friends and allies at Act for America (Brigitte Gabriel's group) have started a petition to the US Justice Department to investigate the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group known as the largest Muslim advocacy group in the US. Though regarded by many as a mainstream, moderate organization, there are many questions as to CAIR's true objectives. The organization was identified as a co-conspirator in the recent Holy Land Foundation trial in Dallas that centered around so-called Islamic charities that were funneling money to terror groups in the Mid East. CAIR is also dedicated to filing lawsuits against its opponents for alleged "Islamophobia", one prime example being the recent case of the "Flying Imams". CAIR has also been accused of being a creation of the Muslim Brotherhood.

http://actforamerica.org/index.php/petition-against-cair

I have signed the petition. Will you?

Breaking News-Michael Moore Tells Obama Not to Send More Troops to Afghanistan.

The "S" is for slob.



Michael, are you there? Obama is sending more troops to Afghanistan!"


This is what filmmaker, foreign policy advisor (and human unmade bed), Michael Moore has posted on his website in an open message to President Obama regarding the President's reported decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.

"I simply can't believe you're about to do what they say you are going to do."

"With just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics. Your potential decision to expand the war ... will do more to set your legacy in stone than any of the great things you've said and done in your first year.

"For the sake of your presidency, hope, and the future of our nation, stop. For God's sake, stop."

Fousesquawk comment:

.."any of the great things you've said and done in your first year."




Such as what, for example, the great beer summit?

US Should Recognize Honduran Election

Honduran President-elect Porfirio Lobo


Honduras conducted a peaceful election Sunday, and the result was that conservative candidate Porfirio Lobo emerged as the victor over Elvin Santos, who conceded defeat and pledged to help the new president in any way possible. Interim-president Roberto Michelotti immediately agreed to hand over the reins of government to Lobo.

As for those "mass demonstrations" that our news media is trying to portray, my Honduran sources, who have communicated with family members in-country, tell me the protests were quite small and isolated.

In spite of the results, Argentina, Brazil and, of course, Venezuela declared the results "invalid" since their preferred man, the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, stilled holed up in the Brazilian embassy, was not a candidate.

And does the Obama Administration recognize the result? Well, that is not entirely clear since the State Department had first indicated their willingness to accept the will of the Honduran electorate then backed off a bit.

"While the election is a significant step in Honduras' return to the democratic and constitutional order ... it's only a step and it's not the last step," said Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela.

Apparently, the State Department wants the Honduran Congress to hold some sort of referendum on the previous removal of Zelaya.

Honduras should tell the State Department and Mr Valenzuela to shove it. Of course, that would mean that US aid to Honduras would remain suspended.

Normally, any sane US administration would immediately welcome and recognize the results. The problem is that this administration is more in tune with folks like Hugo Chavez. They inexplicably took Zelaya's side when he was forcibly removed from power-in accordance with Honduran law-after trying to circumvent the Honduran constitution. Nevertheless, it is time for the current administration to accept the results and restore aid to Honduras. Normally, I am not a big supporter of foreign aid, but it seems to me that our strategic interests dictate a good relationship with the new Honduran government. This is a country that now stands on our side. We should stand on their side.

The Washington Murders-Another Case of Our Broken Judicial System

Suspect Maurice Clemmons
"100 years in prison"......


At this point, it is too early to pass final judgement on the killings of four police officers in Washington state. We only have a suspect who has yet to even be arrested let alone have his day in court. However, it appears that what we have on our hands here is another case of someone who should not have been back on the streets. If it turns out that Maurice Clemmons is, indeed, the killer of these four police officers, then someone-particularly in Arkansas, has some explaining to do.

How is it that a violent criminal serving over 100 years had his sentence commuted by then-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on the advice of the parole board down to a sentence that immediately entitled him to parole? This is not the first case of Huckabee giving clemency to a violent offender who then went out and committed more mayhem. What in the hell was going on down there in Arkansas during Huckabee's tenure?

Here is the statement released by Huckabee's political action committee.

"The senseless and savage execution of police officers in Washington State has saddened the nation, and early reports indicate that a person of interest is a repeat offender who once lived in Arkansas and was wanted on outstanding warrants here and in Washington State. The murder of any individual is a profound tragedy, but the murder of a police officer is the worst of all murders in that it is an assault on every citizen and the laws we live within.

Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State. He was recommended for and received a commutation of his original sentence from 1990, this commutation made him parole eligible and he was then paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time. He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him. It appears that he has continued to have a string of criminal and psychotic behavior but was not kept incarcerated by either state. This is a horrible and tragic event and if found and convicted the offender should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our thoughts and prayers are and should be with the families of those honorable, brave, and heroic police officers."

Do you notice anything missing in this statement? Yes, the fact that Huckabee signed the commutation. Was he just signing off on everything the parole board put on his desk?

And this guy wants to run for president? I don't think he will have my vote.

New University Report on UC-Irvine Protests

Today's New University (UC-Irvine paper) has the report on last week's tuition protest at UCI.

http://www.newuniversity.org/2009/11/news/protest-at-uci

Here some photos from the event (New University). The guys in green t-shirts are the Muslim Student Union.






"Heigh ho, heigh ho. It's off to jail I go."




Protesters disrupt a class-no arrests made

Here is an editorial written by one of the protestors.

http://www.newuniversity.org/2009/11/opinion/the-confessions-of-a-student-protestor/

An excerpt:

"We’re up against a student press that parrots unsubstantiated reports of student violence against police while euphemizing police violence against students, as though harsh words and hotdog buns were a threat to batons and tasers; batons and tasers that the police turn disproportionately against students of color.

Indeed, we are up against an entire history of racist policy-making designed to keep students of color from ever entering the university. The walls of Jim Crow fell and were replaced by the walls of financial impossibility for students of color, which is why we stand for a university that is accessible to, and affordable for all students."



Fousesquawk comment: First of all, there should be strong disciplinary action taken against those who entered and disrupted classrooms. Secondly, I would remind Mr Bliss that the UCI campus is made up overwhelmingly of a majority of "people of color", however he defines that silly term. Secondly, the one person who was arrested was not a "person of color" as surely Mr Bliss would define it. His entire "racist" premise is silly.

UN Takeover of Global Warming?

This latest from Fox News should cast even a further pall over the up-coming Copenhagen meeting on Global Warming, Climate Change, or whatever the nom du jour is that can be defended. It concerns the efforts of the UN to be the central player in controlling anti-climate change measures.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C577827%2C00.html

At this point, on the heels of the East Anglia University disclosures, should we not now take a very close look at the very real possibility that all this global warming business is a giant hoax designed to set up some sort of one-world government with the US footing the (giant) bill? Is this not really a plan for a massive distribution of wealth from the developed countries to the non-developed countries?

What say you, Mr Gore?



"He played on our fears!!!"

Indeed.

Victor Riesel- A Great Jounalist

These days, there isn't much to praise in American journalism. Sean Hannity maintains that the news media has essentially died now that it has thrown away its little remaining objectivity and search for truth. I pretty much agree with him. Look at the New York Times, once the flagship newspaper in America, now reduced to an arm of the Democratic Party. Most newspapers in America have lost their sense of fairness-first in the editorial section, but also in the news section, in which they decide what they want to print, bury or slant depending on how the story fits into their ideology. Meanwhile, the readers are left to separate fact from opinion. While lamenting what our news media has become, it is fitting to look back on one of the great newspaper writers in our country's history. If you have not heard of him, you should learn about him. His name was Victor Riesel, and he was one of the most courageous writers this country has ever seen.

Victor Riesel was a columnist who wrote for the New York Post and later the New York Mirror. He was a native New Yorker born in 1914. In his youth, he worked in various plants and mines in places like Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Youngstown, where he became involved in unions and later wrote his observations for various labor publications. After a stint as editor of the New York Leader magazine, he joined the New York Post in 1941 and began writing a nationally-syndicated column.

Riesel's topic of choice was the mob infiltration into labor unions. I remember even as a boy reading Riesel's columns in the LA newspapers. His sources must have been incredible as he put out one expose after another about the corruption that went on in the unions. One wondered how long Riesel could continue to write about the connections between organized crime and labor unions before he was killed.

On April 5, 1956 at 3 am, Riesel left Lindy's restaurant shortly after completing a radio broadcast in which he spoke about the corrupt leadership of a Long Island local of the International Union of Operating Engineers. A man emerged from the shadows and threw acid directly into Riesel's eyes blinding him for life. The event, which shocked the entire nation, was attributed to the Lucchese crime family. The man believed to have thrown the acid was found shot to death in New York in July of the same year.

Rather than accept the message and step back from writing, Riesel simply learned to do his job in spite of his blindness. He was still able to type and had others edit for him. He continued to write for the Mirror and continued to expose the mob infiltration of the labor unions.

In addition, Riesel made radio and TV appearances as well as giving lectures. At one point, he served as president of the Overseas Press Club of America.

Riesel retired in 1990 and died in 1995 at the age of 81.

I can't think of any other writer in the media who has exhibited the courage of Victor Riesel. I wonder if the journalism schools in the US teach their students about this remarkable man.

Obama's New "Anti-Semitism" Czar-Hannah Rosenthal

Hannah Rosenthal



The below article by Aaron Klein of World Net Daily concerns Ms Hannah Rosenthal, who is President Obama's choice to be the new "Anti-Semitism" Czar within the State Department. While I welcome such an appointment, I question the choice due to Ms. Rosenthal's connection to J Street, a new Jewish organization that is quite liberal and quite critical of Israel. This choice has to raise some eyebrows as to Obama's overall Israel agenda.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=117248

Fousesquawk comment: J Street is a new custom-made for Obama, liberal organization that has sprung up to challenge the power and leadership of AIPAC-an aggressively pro-Israel group. We look for J Street to expand its reach into the universities, which I also view with alarm. Just the connection to George Soros sets off red flags for me.

It's too bad Ms Rosenthal's portfolio will apparently be limited to overseas. Were it a domestic appointment, she could have paid attention to anti-Semitism right here at home. Unfortunately, there is no "Czar" to go to in order to complain about anti-Semitism on our university campuses as a result of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

If I were the Israelis, I would view this appointment with pessimism.

The UC Budget Crisis

It seems that I have gotten the attention of a few folks within the University of California system with my tongue-in-cheek critiques of the recent student protests and occupations over the tuition hikes and budget cuts that have taken place. I would like to turn serious for moment and discuss the issue head on.

First of all, the protesters and their supporters are mis-directing their anger. Instead of blaming the universities for this mess, they should be demonstrating in front of the state capitol in Sacramento. It is there that this whole disaster was created with the out-of-control spending that has been going on for a couple of decades. Where were the protesters even two years ago when they could see what was happening in the state because of the tax and spending habits of the legislators? I'll bet virtually none of these folks were complaining while Sacramento was throwing huge sums of money around for wasteful social projects, many of which were designed to provide services to illegal aliens.

Where were they then?

The fact is most of these demonstrators were probably applauding all the social spending for liberal causes.

Now the hard reality is that there is no more money. You can't demand that the universities spend more money when they don't have it to spend.

But here is one thing that the students should be upset at, and yet, it appears they don't even know it. Recently, UC decided to cut back on in-state admissions in favor of out-of-state and international admissions. That is happening state-wide in the whole UC system. The reason is obvious. The out-of-state and international tuition is about 3 times higher than in-state.

On the other hand, isn't a university system-of any state- supposed to serve in-state applicants first since it is they (or their families) who are paying state taxes to support the universities?

I can't blame the students for being unhappy about the tuition hikes, which will indeed, drive thousands out of the UC system including many who have not even demonstrated. It is not that I don't have sympathy for them. However, those who have marched in lock step with the usual rabble-rousers and engaged in destructive or disruptive behavior on the campuses to express their anger have lost any sympathy that I may have had. For them, it is time to grow up and start living in the real world that exists beyond the cocoon of the university. It is not-as they claim-"their university".

It is also time for many who teach or administer in the UC system to realize that what happened last week is, in many respects, a case of the chickens coming home to roost. Many of these students were putting to use some of the things that they probably learned from some of their teachers. In addition, if the universities want to find places to cut without hurting education, they could start with some of the outlandish, politically-correct departments that have been forced on them over the past 4-5 decades. I am talking about UCSC's Community Studies and History of Consciousness departments, the Feminist studies departments, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Transsexual and "Confused" departments, as well as the ethnic studies departments that have done little more than foster a sense of resentment, etnocentricity and victimhood among its students, who graduate ill-equipped do much more than teach the same subjects to the next generation.

They could also take a look at some of the academic frauds who are indoctrinating our students rather than educating them. These students and their families are not paying all this extravagant tuition just to come to school and learn that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are "wrong", Israel is a Nazi-like state, and that George W. Bush was an "idiot". Yet, that is precisely what they are getting in many of the Humanities departments. That is not an education.

But what do I know? I'm just a humble ESL teacher. I don't have a PHD after my name.

Meanwhile at UC-Santa Cruz (AWU)

The UC-system-wide demonstrations over tuition hikes and budget cutbacks were also felt last week at the University of California Santa Cruz (America's wackiest university). It appears the little rascals at UCSC have learned their lessons well from their activist teachers. But how did that slip under the Fousesquawk radar for so long? Here is a report from the Santa Cruz Sentinel.(Hat tip to Donald Douglas at American Power)

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/rss/ci_13859820?source=rss


Kerr Hall lobby

blocking doors in Kerr Hall lobby

Kerr Hall lobby by elevator

Kerr Hall lobby reception desk





"Power to the people!"




Here is a statement issued by Vice Chancellor David Kliger on November 19 as the demonstration was on-going.

http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/messages/text.asp?pid=3394













And here is another statement by Kliger the following day:

http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/messages/text.asp?pid=3397









And there was this from Vice Chancellor of Student Judicial Affairs Felicia McGinty:

http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/messages/text.asp?pid=3402









On November 22, Chancellor Blumenthal issued this statement:

http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/messages/text.asp?pid=3403

Bettina Aptheker??? You mean the same Bettina Aptheker from the 1960s? That Bettina Aptheker?


Relivin' the good old days, eh Bettina?






Anyway, all's well that ends well. No arrests were made, and the entire USCS staff went off to lunch....

in their official state-issued Weeniemobile.

Oh, total cost of damages? $50,000-52,000. I hope I have enough documentation for Mr Anonymous at UC Davis in case he wants to challenge this "reactionary" in "solidarity" with the students at UC-Santa Cruz (AWU).

UCSC shouldn't complain too strenuously. After all, isn't that what they teach them to do in the Community Studies Department?

"Thou reap what thou hast sown"

More Exclusive Photos From the White House "Open House"

President Obama greets Tariq Salahi and his wife
(Orange County Register)
















President Obama greets the Ambassador from Waziristan and his wife. (Fousesquawk News Service)


The White House, already embarrassed over release of a photo showing the President greeting party crashers who walked right into the state dinner for the Indian prime minister, is charging that an exclusive Fousesquawk News photo of the President greeting a man introduced as the Ambassador of Waziristan was "doctored". Fousesquawk denies the charge, insisting that the photo is authentic.

You be the judge.

Washington State Bans Christmas and Hannuka Displays Inside Capitol

Washington state capitol "Holiday Tree"

(No, Virginia, those are coconuts.)


In a huge victory for atheists, the state of Washington has banned Christmas and Hannuka displays inside the Capitol building in Olympia. The ban also includes nativity scenes and Jewish menorahs.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/27/washington-state-implement-rules-barring-holiday-displays-inside-capitol/

Well, thank God, they will still allow a "Holiday Tree" to be displayed. No word on what kind of tree it will be, maybe a palm tree imported from California.

Oh, did I say, "Thank God"? Pardon me. I really meant, "thank Mother Earth".

I don't know anything about this Freedom from Religion Foundation, and I have no problem with people who choose not to subscribe to any religion. What I do object to is this modern group of atheists who have adopted atheism as their own religion and want to impose it on the rest of us. It is not a question of separation of church and state, which is only a ruse to give them legal points to argue. What they are trying to do is destroy religion altogether and create a secular paradise similar to what we have seen come to pass in Europe. The fact of the matter is that America has no state religion and has done very well in respecting the religions of minorities. Religion is considered by most in the country to be a private matter, yet our Judeo-Christian heritage is a large part of our tradition and culture. That is why Christmas is recognized as a federal holiday.

Of course, Washington state is a "progressive" bastion under "progressive" Governor Chris Gregoire (D) (who ordered the ban), and I am sure not enough people in the state will raise a ruckus to overturn this decision. However, I feel strongly that if this nation goes the way of Europe and forgets its Judeo-Christian heritage, it will mark the beginning of a dramatic decline in our nation altogether. Or has that already been happening for about the last thirty years? Sorry, I forgot.

You see, this is just the first stage. Today, it's the atheists. Tomorrow (literally) it will be those folks who are anything but atheists, and who will restore religion-in a different form. So my final question is: How in the world are we going to stand up to militant Islam when we can't even stand up to the atheists?

Tuesday's White House Open Party

L-R- Rahm Emanuel, Michaele Salahi, Tareq Salahi



For the benefit of you UC-Santa Cruz Community Studies majors, the guy in the middle is the vice-president of the United States. (Is that a bow tie he's wearing, or is his mask falling off?)



Another Laurel and Hardy moment for the Obama White House.

Yeah, I guess they were there too.


Tuesday night the White House hosted a state party for the Indian prime minister. Little did they know it was an "open house". Apparently, a couple of reality-show wannabes, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, walked right into the party-as camera crews waited a short distance away. And party they did, having their photos taken with Rahm Emanuel and Joe Biden until at some point, they were discovered. Now their attorney says they were "cleared" to enter the White House, which officials deny.

But a Fousesquawk investigation has revealed that the Salahis were not the only ones who managed to get into the party. Fousesquawk has obtained exclusive photos from the party from a confidential White House source and here they are.

"We object to champaign being served."



"Well, on second thought."



"Our invitations? Can't you read?"



"I tried to scalp my ticket, but nobody wanted it."



"We're from the Department of Education"



"Right this way, Mr Capone. Your table is waiting."



Fousesquawk inspecting the Uniformed Security Detail as he enters the party.



Even Saddam Hussein "dropped by" to "hang out".



John Dillinger apparently had a little too much bubbly. Here he is sleeping it off in the Lincoln Bedroom.


So you think this bunch is going to solve the economy, health care, and all that stuff, do you?

California Has Another Empty Suit Lt. Governor

Arnold, Abel and Darrell
"Ja, und du vill be a fiskal conzerfatif, yoost like me und Darrell."

This week, California's empty suit Governor Arnold Katzenjammer has nominated a new lt. governor due to the vacancy left by John Garamendi (D), another empty suit who has gone on to Congress, where he can do even more damage. Katzenjammer appropriately made the announcement during his appearance on the Jay Leno show. The new guy is a Republican. Well, sort of. He is one of a handful of Republicans who crossed over and joined Democrats in recently passing a mammoth tax increase on the citizens of California-supporting Katzenjammer in the process. Ladies and gentleman, introducing the latest empty suit, Abel Maldonado of Santa Maria.

"Und he ist a fiskally conzerfatif Republican. Ja ja."

Abel Maldonado

Make no mistake, this nomination is Katzenjammer's payback for Maldonado's tax vote. In spite of that, the Democrats, who control things in Sacramento, will probably not support Maldonado's nomination-at least according to Darrell Steinberg (D), who is President pro tem in the Senate. According to Steinberg, who is anything but a fiscal conservative, the state would have to spend about $2 million to hold a special election to fill Maldonado's empty suit....I mean seat. Actually, the real reason has nothing to do with saving money. Steinberg wants a Democrat in the post, pure and simple.

At any rate, Maldonado used the occasion of his nomination to make a speech in Spanish paying tribute to the greatness of the Latino people and the need to get more Latinos into state office. Fair enough, I don't disagree, but to some listeners, it came across as if Latinos were the only ethnic group in California that possessed such great qualities. So what's everybody else, Abel, chipped beef?

So now we can watch with baited breath the fight in Sacramento over who will be the next empty suit sitting in a meaningless position.

Fousesquawk Sports Update- US Government Lions Lose-Again

Must be a tea-bagger


The newly-reconstructed US Government Lions of Detroit lost another one today. This year's "turkey-day slugfest" featured the Green Bay Packers slugging the Lions around to the tune of 34-12 at newly renamed Geithner Field. The Lions "Hail Mary" offense was ineffective again today. Penalties were also a problem for the Lions, most notably delay of game flags. On one occasion, the Lions were called for delay of game as they huddled for 2 months trying to figure out their next move.

In spite of all that, the Obama Administration has proclaimed 2009 as a year of "recovery" since the government took over. White House Press Spokesperson (and court jester) Robert Gibbs pointed out that the Lions have won 2 games this year as opposed to zero last year under the Bush Administration.

"That's an increase of 200%", said Gibbs.

Of course, the Lions are playing short-handed with so many of their stars unable to play. Quarterback Carl Levin is back in the Lions' corporate hqs in Washington trying to increase taxes. Wide receiver Jennifer Granholm was also out trying to raise more taxes to pay for more jobs since there are no jobs and no workers because they have all left the state because of the high taxes and no jobs. In fact, the only people in Michigan who have jobs are the Lions.

Most importantly, head coach John Conyers has been granted a leave of absence for personal family reasons. (His wife is on her way to jail.)

Get 'em next week, boys.

UC Davis Administrators Cave in to Student Protesters

The University of California tuition protests have spread to the UC Davis campus, where last week, some 50 students were arrested. Tuesday, the university responded to an occupation of the administration building by about 150 students demanding amnesty by......

caving in.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13865932

No disciplinary action against the students.

A request to the DA's Office not to prosecute the students.

The case of a female student charged with assaulting a police officer will be "reviewed".

(If the police officer was a campus police officer, I guarantee you the case will be dropped. Remember campus police work for the university. They take their marching orders from the Dean of Student Judicial Affairs. So if a campus cop got assaulted, I guess that is just too bad.)

Oh, and that $50,000+ in property damages? Don't worry. The tax-payers will pick that up.

There is this from the UCD website:

http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=9329

And this:

http://www.dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=12140

Fousesquawk News tried to reach the UCD chancellor, Linda Katehi, for a comment but was told that she was "unavailable".



There she is now leaving the campus in her "Weeniemobile".

Hillel's Response to Cynthia McKinney's Appearance at Binghamton University

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA)
Israel-basher, race-baiter, anti-Semite and general all around idiot


Recently, I posted a report on Cynthia McKinney's appearance at Binghamton University, where pro-Israel pamphlets were confiscated by event organizers. Below is a letter from Binghamton's Hillel (Jewish student organization) in response to the event.

What happened to Hillel students at Binghamton University

http://www.hillelatbinghamton.org/index.php?src=news&submenu=About&srctype=detail&category=Press%20Release&refno=1

"We write to you because our voices have been silenced.

Tuesday night former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney spoke at Binghamton University at an event sponsored by the Binghamton Political Initiative, the Walter Rodney Committee and other campus groups. While we expected her speech to be biased against Israel, based on her well-documented record of past presentations of this nature, we were utterly unprepared for our opposing points of view to be so forcefully suppressed.

As executive board members of Hillel at Binghamton and members of an academic community, we felt that it was our responsibility to educate our peers on all angles of the Israeli-Palestinian situation. Therefore, we had spent the week leading up to the event preparing handouts with information representing various points of view that we believed would not be shared by Ms. McKinney.

To our shock, at the beginning of last night’s event, student coordinators were forcibly taking this information away from people. The moderator publicly announced that anyone who received handouts should pass them to the aisle for immediate confiscation. These actions are unacceptable. As students at an institution that promotes academic honesty, integrity, and truth, we are angered that our right to free speech was so clearly denied. Once we distributed the sheets, those who held them had the choice to read the information or disregard it, but it was in no way the coordinators’ or moderator’s right to aggressively take away that choice.

Throughout the evening, student coordinators threatened to remove anyone who offered a dissenting opinion, and during the question and answer period anyone who even hinted at a different point of view was either intimidated or embarrassed into silence. An extreme lack of respect was shown to anyone in attendance who did not wholeheartedly endorse Ms. McKinney’s presentation.

As representatives of the Jewish community on campus, we are outraged that our fellow students chose to bring a speaker to campus who has such a clear record of bigotry. Ms McKinney is strongly tied to the New Black Panther Party, which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a "black racist" group and is decidedly anti-white and anti-semitic. In 2006, McKinney lost her seat in congress. "Following McKinney's concession speech, a reporter attempted to ask the Congresswoman why she thought she lost. The New Black Panther member (part of McKinney's security detail) interrupted, shouting, "Why do you think she lost? You wanna know what led to the loss? Israel. The Zionists. You. Put on your yarmulke and celebrate." (Anti Defamation League Press Release, August 9, 2006)

We are deeply saddened by the fact that our peers who planned this event clearly had no desire for any real discourse other than the hate speech that was delivered to the audience. While we do not have to agree with one another, we do have a responsibility to respect one another and allow for the open exchange of opinions. Ms. McKinney's visit to Binghamton was an affront to any multicultural efforts on campus. Furthermore, it insults the significant struggles that African-Americans went through to gain civil rights in the United States and the Jewish community's support for those civil rights. Jewish leaders marched in Montgomery and Selma. Fifty percent of white civil rights workers were Jewish and fifty percent of civil rights attorneys in the south were Jewish. Jews helped to found the NAACP. Historically Black Colleges welcomed professors who were Holocaust survivors to teach on their campuses. Ms. McKinney wants us to throw away this glorious shared history and begin a new relationship of bitterness and misunderstanding.

We sincerely disagree with this approach and hope that the leaders of all multicultural groups at Binghamton University share our desire to work together to combat hate and intolerance by creating opportunities for real dialogue. We look forward to a day when we can truly partner with our fellow students and learn to understand and respect one another’s backgrounds."

Hillel E-Board

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fousesquawk comment: This is all too typical of what goes on in our universities, especially when the pro-Palestinian crowd puts on their events. Where were the campus police and university officials when this was taking place? Who provides security for these events-the radicals themselves? Don't laugh. It is not uncommon for the student organizers to try and enforce their own will at these meetings while campus police stand around like potted plants. Is it any wonder that on many campuses in North America, Jewish students feel intimidated and reluctant to express their Jewish identity?

Outrageous!

Happy Thanksgiving From MSNBC

On behalf of the whole staff at MSNBC, we would like to wish you and yours a happy thanksgiving.*

Left to right- Ed, Chris, Keith, Rachel

(Or right to left, if you prefer.)

* Except Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Republicans, conservatives, Sarah Palin, George Bush, Dick Cheney, Fousesquawk and all the rest of you tea-baggers. (May you all get testicular cancer.)

"Re-education" at the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota, College of Education and Human Development (Actually, it's Moscow State University.)


The below article by Katherine Kersten at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has caught the attention of several blogs including David Horowitz's Frontpage Magazine. It concerns an initiative by the University's College of Education and Human Development to begin a new training program for teacher trainees, one that would "prepare them for teaching multi-cultural students in the 21st century". (Teacher Education Redesign Initiative-TERI) Apparently, one of the goals of the new program is to make the prospective teachers-at least the white ones- come to grips with their own "bigotry". Not just come to grips with it, but to confess it!

There's a student now (probably on his way to lunch with the faculty).
"I confess."


Here it is. Read it yourselves.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/70662162.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:Ug8P:Pc:UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Below is the website of the program. Open it up and be prepared to do a lot of clicking.

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/cehd/teri/

When we talk about the indoctrination that goes on in our universities, this can only be called a smoking gun.

Chris Matthews Browbeats Bishop Thomas Tobin

Above is Monday's "interview" by MSNBC's Chris Matthews of Providence, Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin regarding the on-going dispute between Tobin and Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy over his (Kennedy's)pro-choice stance.

Far be it from me to be a defender of the Catholic Church on many issues. (I am married to a Catholic, have raised my children to be Catholics, but the priest pedophile issue drove me away from the church. I am a Protestant who never converted.)

There are legitimate questions that Matthews raised in his questions to Bishop Tobin regarding the issue of abortion in moral vs legal terms, but as the interview progressed, Matthews became more and more aggressive and basically browbeat the bishop, who conducted himself with dignity. In the end, the session was hardly an interview, more of a non-stop lecture by Matthews to the bishop.

It is unfortunate in that had the discussion been held more calmly, more professionally, it could have been a useful discussion of the issue. Matthews certainly had valid points to be raised, but as usual, his aggressive and at time obnoxious style ruined it. Tobin was able to make his points about the churches' moral stance on abortion, but that was about all Matthews let him do.

I understand that some Catholic figures are calling on MSNBC to fire Matthews. I oppose this. Matthews has a right to air his views even when it masquerades as reporting. Bishop Tobin acquitted himself with class with Matthews even if we wasn't allowed to engage in a full and spirited debate. Let the viewership pass judgement on Matthews. After all, his ratings are low enough already.

UC-Irvine Protest Update

Apparently, I got to the UCI tuition protest a little too late yesterday due to my class schedule. According to the Orange County Register, one of the little rascals was arrested as he tried to get past police into the Administration building to speak to the chancellor personally. (The chancellor was reportedly out of town.)


Here are some photos of the demonstration from the OC Register. No, those guys in the green t-shirts are not Philadelphia Eagles fans. That's the Muslim Student Union.



"Here we go Eagles, here we go!"







And a wonderful time was had by all (except those got got arrested and/or pepper-sprayed).