The Onion Nails It

Free expression on campus today:

Saying that such a dialogue was essential to the college’s academic mission, Trescott University president Kevin Abrams confirmed Monday that the school encourages a lively exchange of one idea. “As an institution of higher learning, we recognize that it’s inevitable that certain contentious topics will come up from time to time, and when they do, we want to create an atmosphere where both students and faculty feel comfortable voicing a single homogeneous opinion,” said Abrams, adding that no matter the subject, anyone on campus is always welcome to add their support to the accepted consensus. “Whether it’s a discussion of a national political issue or a concern here on campus, an open forum in which one argument is uniformly reinforced is crucial for maintaining the exceptional learning environment we have cultivated here.” Abrams told reporters that counseling resources were available for any student made uncomfortable by the viewpoint.

Funniest Thing I've Seen Recently

Every TV news report on the economy summarized in one.

Since you will now never need to watch another such report, I have added hundreds of hours of time to your life, during which you can do something worthwhile (e.g., read Adventures of Bob).

I have done this out of the goodness of my heart with no expectation of payment; but contributions are always appreciated.

Hat tip: Coyote Blog (one of my favorites)

The Onion Nails It

The Onion reports that a recent poll shows that 90% of the US public thinks it is a great idea to intervene in Syria, as long as the intervention is done by the US Congress.

The New York Times/CBS News poll showed that though just 1 in 4 Americans believe that the United States has a responsibility to intervene in the Syrian conflict, more than 90 percent of the public is convinced that putting all 535 representatives of the United States Congress on the ground in Syria—including Senate pro tempore Patrick Leahy, House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and, in fact, all current members of the House and Senate—is the best course of action at this time.

I am among the 90%, although I would add that the congress should be accompanied by Barack Obama and his apparatchiks.

What If It Had Been the Phoenix (or Dallas or Mobile) Marathon?

Let’s say the tragedy we have just witnessed had not taken place in Boston – that it happened instead in a place of which the elite disapprove. What do you think would be the media narrative?

I suspect that what we would be reading in New York Times and Washington Post columns and op-eds would be something like this:

Tragic as the recent bombings at the Phoenix Marathon were, they were also wholly predictable. It was inevitable that young Muslim men, facing the constant hostility toward all foreigners and people of color that is rife in Arizona, would finally snap and strike back at their tormentors.

The only surprise is that it was Muslims who finally shouted, “Enough!” rather than Mexicans, Native Americans, or any of the other groups that suffer the dreary conformity of the desert metropolis – one of the least diverse cities in the country, and one, not coincidentally, actively hostile toward diversity.

This is not to justify the bombings, of course, but merely to point out that Phoenix has long been a disaster waiting to happen. Isn’t it past time that the city’s leaders take action against the haters in their midst and try to make Phoenix a more welcoming place for those whose only sin is being different?