Current Events: July 2008 Archives

Background can be read here.

P. Z. Myers has demonstrated that he will go out of his way to offend the sensibilities of anybody who holds anything sacred, to treat whatever they hold sacred with public contempt. The problem thus is not limited to Catholics and Muslims. Since, in Myers own words, "Nothing must be held sacred," and since he is willing to desecrate anything that others do hold sacred, the university must conclude that Myers is willing not only to outrage Catholic and Muslim students, parents, alumni, and citizens but members of any other group as well.

Myers is thus incapable of effectively carrying out his mission as an educator and his position must be terminated.

He also is in violation of the University of Minnesota Code of Conduct, which holds that faculty members "must be committed to the highest ethical standards of conduct" (II:2) and that "Ethical conduct is a fundamental expectation for every community member. In practicing and modeling ethical conduct, community members are expected to: act according to the highest ethical and professional standards of conduct [and] be personally accountable for individual actions" (III:1).

Contact info:

To voice your opinion on this subject, contact the offices of the president and the chancellor:

President Robert H. Bruininks
202 Morrill Hall
100 Church Street S.E.
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Via phone: 612-626-1616
Via fax: 612-625-3875
Via e-mail: upres@umn.edu

Chancellor Jacqueline Johnson
309 Behmler Hall
600 East 4th Street
Morris, MN 56267

320-589-6020
E-mail: grussing@morris.umn.edu

News flash: having the Olympics in Beijing really is turning out to be a bad idea. First there is the fact that they are um, Communist, then there's that disgusting One Child Policy complete with forced abortions, their disproportionate capital punishment rates, they eat cats and dogs. And guess what? They hate black people too. OK, I know the last one seems almost laughable compared to the other crimes against humanity, yet it seems like the one people might stand up and notice the most.

Seriously though, why do we do as much business as we do with them? This country is a like a delicious sundae of immoral joy. Every opportunity people try to give them to prove "hey China is not that disgusting, they say "yeah we are, watcha gonna do about it?"

Well nothing apparently. We just continue to support them economically.

Seriously though, what is up with that generation?

Update:More great stuff!

As a woman "of color", I have to agree with Elisabeth Hasselback 100%. If a word is insulting, it is insulting across the board. However, I have never been a fan of black people using the "n" word simply because we "can". It is low class. Many people, both black and white have fought hard to come to this point where we are that if you are white and you use the 'n' word, you reveal yourself to be a complete ass, as opposed to someone with simply a different perspective.

Whoopi makes the point that Elisabeth just doesn't "get it" because she has never been black and doesn't get I guess "the Black experience" (hello 1969). I am actually sure this is true, However, I doubt Whoopi knows what it is like to be on Survivor, or to grow up Italian American, or whatever. Not understanding what people go through is not a ticket to allowing bad behavior. In some cases it can lead to an understanding of bad behavior, but that is very different than excusing it. Anyhow, I have hard time hearing about "what we go through" from Whoopi Goldberg, I doubt with her fame and money she struggles much because she's black. But then again, I have never walked in her shoes either.

Lastly, racial issues aside, I don't get fighting to become ghetto. I hate this trend in our country to raise people to be foul-mouthed and have no manners. I mean this is a show of women for women. Why is being ladylike such a crime these days? We should be fighting harder to get a Thesaurus into their hands so they can express themselves without four-letter words.