A university is just a group of buildings gathered around a library. ~Shelby Foote

Friday, April 22, 2005

Rock on brothers (and sisters?)

Spirited debate all 'round. Excellent. Threads going on Schiavo (still), media bias (I made a convert!) and what temporary costello's permanent name will wind up being! Rock on, and to TC's protestations that all I leave you blokes to work with is logic and analysis, I say, "Phaw! There's always humor, irony and the well-timed snark."

I find the balance of viewpoints being expressed to be quite invigorating. Greg and John out there on the right side of things while Troy, TC and Jack (where are you dude?) are weighing in from the left. I'm hanging out more in the middle enjoying the show. Only one complaint-- no women! We need more women (any women, actually). That's it! I'm starting an affirmative action plan for my blog. Greg, get Sarah to post. Troy, TC, Jack, Jim, John (my goodness--Jack, Jim, John? Never noticed that before), you guys must know some women, right? Get 'em on board. Let's get the female perspective on these issues. Heck fire, maybe I'll try to get my sister and cousin involved.

In the meantime, I leave you for the weekend with the following "Oh THAT Ivory Tower" observation. It's been just over a month since UW-Whitewater paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $15,000 to bring Ward Churchill to their campus for a little chat, and apparently UW-Madison doesn't want to get shown up in the 9-11 nutbag race. This past Monday, they brought David Ray Griffin to campus for a talk entitled "9/11 and the American Empire: How Should Religious People Respond?" Your tax dollars at work for those of you living in Wisconsin.

In case you are unfamiliar with Mr. Griffin's work, and most non-nutbags are (yes, that's perjorative, ad hominem and not very nice but sometimes you just gotta), he believes that the Bush administration at least knew about the 9-11 attacks ahead of time and may well have been complicit in them. He also believes that it wasn't a plane that hit the Pentagon, it was a rocket, possibly as part of a failed military coup (break out the bananas boys, its Junta time!). To get a feel for his views and those of people who agree with him, you can check out these sites. To get a feel for why I think Griffin and those who agree with him are flaming paraonid nutbags, other than plain common sense, you can go here.

But regardless of whether you think Mr. Griffin is a loon, or "America’s number one bearer of unpleasant, yet necessary, public truths," the fact remains that his is an anti-administration, radical perspective. Fine, universities can handle radical perspectives, even celebrate them-- but aren't they supposed to be open to... how shall I put this... OTHER viewpoints? I went here and tried to find the counterbalance to Mr. Griffin. Suprise! No luck.

So, here's the question/though for the weekend:

Wouldn't it be better for our country and the world if our universities actually lived up to the creed put forth by the UW Board of Regents more than 100 years ago that "Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere we believe the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found."?
Comments:
well alright.

Nick and John are gone for the weekend!

Come on fellas, it's time for armed insurrection! Let's take over the blog while the boss is gone.

Hoist the skull and crossbones like the legendary Crimson Permanent Assurance crew and take no prisoners!!

There'll never be another opportunity like this.

My unitiarian Jihad name is Brother Katana of Patience, but my Pirate Name is Cap'n!



Avast!

http://empireofthesenseless.blogspot.com/
 
"the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found."

Maybe someday the UW will actually live up to this. Despite being unbalanced, the place does have a lot of talented professors, so I give them that. Actually, attending school in Madison turned me into a conservative. In some ways its comforting to know that nothing at the UW has changed since I left there in 1991.
 
I have left a few anon posts, and I am a woman :)
 
Jack-

The old man turned off the radio
Said, "Where did all of the old songs go
Kids sure play funny music these days
They play it in the strangest ways"
Said, "it looks to me like they've all gone wild
It was peaceful back when I was a child"
Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys
Are trying to be heard above your noise?
And the lonely voice of youth cries "What is truth?"

A little boy of three sittin' on the floor
Looks up and says, "Daddy, what is war?"
"son, that's when people fight and die"
The little boy of three says "Daddy, why?"
A young man of seventeen in Sunday school
Being taught the golden rule
And by the time another year has gone around
It may be his turn to lay his life down
Can you blame the voice of youth for asking
"What is truth?"

A young man sittin' on the witness stand
The man with the book says "Raise your hand"
"Repeat after me, I solemnly swear"
The man looked down at his long hair
And although the young man solemnly swore
Nobody seems to hear anymore
And it didn't really matter if the truth was there
It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair
And the lonely voice of youth cries
"What is truth?"

The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you're calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world's wakin' to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find
"What is truth/"
- Johnny Cash



Anon-

welcome. Please help try and provide the point of view that we can't.
 
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