Category Archives: education
Ebola Drug
Two Americans suffering from the Ebola virus seem to be responding to a new serum that works on monkeys. It’s called ZMapp. The FDA hasn’t approved it for general use.
Over 1,700 people in western Africa are suffering from Ebola. It’s fatal in most cases.
Ebola Oracle
Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, assistant director-general at the World Health Organization says,”We need to ask the medical ethicists to give us guidance on what the responsible thing to do is.”
UNCF and Koch Brothers
The hated Koch brothers give out a lot of money to libertarian-conservative causes. They also give a lot of money to hospitals, schools, symphonies, ballets, and the UNCF. Those on the receiving end usually don’t question their motives. They say, “thanks”, and spend the money.
UNCF
Some left leaning organization, however, are all about questioning motives. When the Brothers Koch gave $25 million to the United Negro College Fund, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees demanded they give it back.
Instead, the UNCF said, “thanks” and accepted the gift. The AFSCME then decided a “mind isn’t such a terrible thing to waste” after all, and severed ties with UNCF.
West Point Speech
The president gave the commencement address at West Point this week. The speech apparently didn’t have enough trigger points or insensitive comments to get him thrown out. The graduating West Point cadets tolerated their commander’s speech but didn’t give him a very rousing response. Quiet as a mouse according to Krauthammer.
West Point
Patching up his previous comments, Obama insisted he believes in American exceptionalism with every fiber of his being. But just because we are strong like hammer doesn’t mean everyone else is a nail. We must lead by example. Presumably North Korea, Syria, and Iran will follow. It was a little confusing.
Dick Cheney was not convinced.
Trigger Warning
Trigger warnings are the new spoiler alert on campus. Some students are demanding that professors include a warning if course material will include any of the usual offensive suspects like racism, sexism, ableism, classism, or anything else that makes them uncomfortable.
Here’s a link to Bret Stephens‘ advice to the class of 2014: “Those of you who want to lead meaningful lives need to begin unlearning most of what you’ve been taught, starting right now.”
Campus Speech
Well, at least the Harvard Black Mass didn’t happen Monday night.
The Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club invited the devil himself to campus. Lucifer’s speaking gig was arranged in conjunction with the New York Satanic Temple. The event was to take place in the form of a Satanic Black Mass. Joining the Prince of Darkness at the lectern was to be Harvard professor Christopher Robichaud. According to USA Today Robichaud planned to remark on religious liberty.
Not surprisingly, Catholics were outraged and the thing was moved off campus under a storm of protest. At the last moment it was cancelled altogether.
In April Brandeis University cancelled altogether its offer of an honorary doctorate for Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She writes and speaks about real religious liberty and the real war on women in Muslim countries. She’s also a critic of Islam itself. Condoleeza Rice was driven away from her Rutgers University speech by unhinged faculty members and their poorly informed students accusing her of war crimes. IMF boss Christine Legarde was also disinvited from her speaking engagement at Smith University.
I’m not equating disinviting Legarde, Rice, or Ali to disinviting Satan. I’m equating academics to nuts.
In a column about the lack of due process in college, Thomas Sowell discusses “free speech” zones on campus:
The track record of academics in other kinds of cases is not the least bit encouraging as regards the likelihood of impartial justice. Even on many of our most prestigious college campuses, who gets punished for saying the wrong thing and who gets away with mob actions depends on which groups are in vogue and which are not.
This is carried to the point where some colleges have established what they call “free speech zones” — as if they are granting a special favor by not imposing their vague and arbitrary “speech codes” everywhere on campus.
The irony in this is that the Constitution already established a free speech zone. It covers the entire United States.
