tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post8533627158055754375..comments2024-03-28T10:45:56.205-05:00Comments on Althouse: University president lambastes professor-blogger for finding some good in Rush Limbaugh's anti-Fluke rant.Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-24002638693619399322012-03-10T10:07:57.888-06:002012-03-10T10:07:57.888-06:00You along with virtually all of the media have mis...You along with virtually all of the media have mischaracterized Ms. Fluke's appearance as testimony. It was theater before a group of Democrat House members. As the minority party, they can't hold hearings or take testimony, so they create the illusion that is what is happening, and we give it credibility it does not deserve.IronwoodCOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18057805320636722067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-4019680792610717162012-03-09T17:16:17.101-06:002012-03-09T17:16:17.101-06:00Sorry. Don't buy it. And there is a deep vei...Sorry. Don't buy it. And there is a deep vein of hypocrisy here.<br /><br />You are concerned about Landsburg's free speech being stifled b/c the University President found his thoughts unethical.<br /><br />Yet not a word from you that students, such as Ms Fluke, might also be stifled when people such as Limbaugh respond to their expressions of ideas with such demeaning and insulting hatred - and then to have a University professor endorse it !<br />Clearly you are worried about SOME free speech being stifles (ie, slanderous free speech). But not other...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-9408185907425195112012-03-08T23:21:43.249-06:002012-03-08T23:21:43.249-06:00All in all, this is why I no longer give to any co...All in all, this is why I no longer give to any college or university, including the ones I and my kids went to. I might make an exception for Hillsdale, but as for the rest, well, I don't give to the Communist Party USA, why should I give to its surrogates?Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13617687006180956861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-8005604031370516062012-03-08T22:55:44.173-06:002012-03-08T22:55:44.173-06:00Dear Professor: Your words I disagree with include...Dear Professor: Your words I disagree with include "To openly ridicule, mock, or jeer a student in your classroom may be one of the most offensive things a professor can do, but when a student is a political activist who testifies before a congressional subcommittee on a specific policy question that you disagree with, it's not that horrible to blog about that."<br /><br />Ms Fluke was not giving testimony, she was stating her position at a press conference dressed up as testimony before Rep. Issa's Committee. During the video of her statement, as released, note that at one point a cheer went up from the audience and Ms Fluke turned and acknowledged that with a smile; well played Ms Fluke.<br /><br />This whole kerfuffle would have been ignored if it weren't for the false presentation of Ms Fluke as a person giving testimony; at least IMHO. But a press release, a public statement of her beliefs presented falsely as something else? <br /><br />No, Limbaugh apologized as he should have for his remarks yet that doesn't erase Ms Fluke's ;ies as to what she was doing. Why is her statement being treated differently from that of a street hustler spouting forth from a soapbox?1775OGGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14855909337030182350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-47552915628761429452012-03-08T18:45:37.959-06:002012-03-08T18:45:37.959-06:00I thought Steve Landesberg was an actor/comedian w...I thought Steve Landesberg was an actor/comedian who played one of the detectives on Barney Miller.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05061304265345986242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-13769590267436403952012-03-08T16:12:40.908-06:002012-03-08T16:12:40.908-06:00David said: "The lefties have no short term s...David said: "The lefties have no short term solution for that little tenure problem. Their long term solution is to make sure that tenure is only granted in the first place to the right kind of people"<br /><br />Yes..it's interesting in that tenure is supposedly designed to protect independent thinking but getting to it likely requires conforming.walterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17818749187960350810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-20991193729603639512012-03-08T13:33:06.141-06:002012-03-08T13:33:06.141-06:00I've been dismissive of Pelosi as stupid girl ...I've been dismissive of Pelosi as stupid girl ever since the hurricane Katrina I looked specifically to her for wisdom and got partisan crap. <br /><br />So I looked again and got the same thing. And again and the same thing. And again and the same thing. And again. <br /><br />But now I am starting to see why people in San Francisco keep putting her forward. She is fierce. She controlled this whole thing with a play act that is truly cynical and yet she knew what she could rely on and she knows what works and she did kick the living shit out of this whole thing. There was no way she could predict precisely how radio would react, that was all extra but in line with what she knows and uses. <br /><br />Way to go. Make Pelosi appear brilliant by comparison and reaffirm her usefulness. <br /><br />I have friends in SF and they are none of the things that the Right say of them. Well, they <i>are</i> some of the things, okay many of the things, but not <i>all</i> the terrible things said of them and they are certainly not stupid. I haven't asked specifically but I see now why they would keep reelecting her.Chip Ahoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597726289890879627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-88181311903971101432012-03-08T13:31:07.699-06:002012-03-08T13:31:07.699-06:00Have you listened to Fluke's testimony? Limbau...Have you listened to Fluke's testimony? Limbaugh is factually wrong and anyone who defends him is a party to his slander of this private citizen! This was about PRIVATE insurance COVERAGE, insurance that Georgetown students already pay for with no subsidy from the government or you, me or Limbaugh! If you listened to her testimony, you would also know that Fluke used the word contraceptives referring to prescriptions, and her examples were mostly medical, not sexual, use of these prescriptions. If you look at this article where the math is laid out calculating quantity of Fluke's sex (written 2 days before Limbaugh started his vile slander of Fluke) you'll see the probable source where Limbaugh copied his idea and erroneous calculation about quantity of sex. And all of you defending Limbaugh are now involved in what has to be slander based on Craig Bannister's distortion of Fluke's testimony! For shame! http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6329595&postID=8533627158055754375&page=0&tokenLinda and Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05917318560840091982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1271546204204747562012-03-08T13:25:10.369-06:002012-03-08T13:25:10.369-06:00Here's some "inside baseball" ...
L...Here's some "inside baseball" ...<br /><br />Landsburg is a target of convenience for Seligman to use to clean up his, Seligman's, cred after bobbling working Governor Cuomo II's new state economic development initiative as he, Cuomo II, positions himself for the presidential run his, Cuomo II's, father never made. <br /><br />Let me break it down ...<br /><br />The U of R is in the early stages of an expansion project dependent on continued government approvals and funds. University money and prestige are already sunk costs, forfeit if the project is delayed, criticized or canceled. (FWIW, it's a good project.)<br /><br />Last year Seligman co-chaired the regional economic development council working with Cuomo II's big new economic development initiative.(See note.)<br /><br />What council? Well Cuomo II decided to *competitively* "award" $ 130 million in state economic development money & other support to 10 "regions" based on submitted "applications." Each region spun up a council-thing to write the "application", with Seligman one of the two "co-chairs" for "The Finger Lakes Region" (See other note), the 9 counties centered on Monroe which housed the UofR, <br /><br />Got that?<br /><br />The "Finger Lakes Region" came in second-ish, or something, in this competition, because the proposal didn't include enough *support for the poor* and *job creation.* What they mean is *direct transfers* and *government or other entity hiring with the awarded funds.* (See note.)<br /><br />Seligman publicly called "foul" - politely, but still - claiming that the directives for the applications didn't say that. Cuomo II shot back "We met four times and I even brought in Bill Clinton." (Which has what to do with what the criteria were?) All this played out in the press.<br /><br />So, Seligman needs to fix his cred sooner rather than later, and wouldn't you know here comes libertarian loudmouth Landesburg, saying math-y things about an entitlement issue getting national press. Bandwagon. Hopping on. Persona repair. Etc.<br /><br />Note:<br /><br />I saw the criteria for this "competition", participated in the public parts of developing the "application" and have read the submitted applications that are public.<br /><br />If the game was to determine who grovelled best for funds for direct transfer, Finger Lakes blew it. The criteria didn't say that in anything I read, heard or saw.<br /><br />Also, everybody gets *some* of the $130 million, some getting a "minimum" while others got more. So, why not just *not route the minimum award through Albany in the first place?* If I were cynical I'd say that the difference between "minimum" and "max" wouldn't be enough to get the regions to jump through this hoop. Or I might say that not routing the $ through Albany amounts to a tax cut, and we can't do those.<br /><br />Meanwhile, declaring new "regions" bypasses existing city & county governments and regional entities which seems a bit arbitrary.<br /><br />Other Note:<br /><br />The "Finger Lakes Region" in this competition isn't what we call "the finger lakes region." That's closer to "the central region", but really about half in each one.<br /><br />I believe it is still called "New York State" for legal purposes, although it might be renamed "Northern Pennsylvania" at any time if that suits Cuomo II.<br /><br /><br />Coda:<br /><br />With the now official demise of Kodak, finally, Xerox moving operations to anywhere else & GM continuing it's long history of sucking, "The Finger Lakes Region" may eventually become destitute and bereft of possibilities enough to "win" some "economic development" support from the state.Jim Bullockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02824981079885202606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-90396638716591937512012-03-08T13:17:21.800-06:002012-03-08T13:17:21.800-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Linda and Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05917318560840091982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-65558991172340213542012-03-08T13:15:58.901-06:002012-03-08T13:15:58.901-06:00Althouse:
We've seen university presidents co...Althouse: <br /><i>We've seen university presidents cower before student protesters too many times. This isn't exactly Cornell in 1968, but nevertheless...</i> <br /><br />Non-responsive. you stated in your post that he sides with the students who were standing silently in the classroom, as if he approved of the action. That is baseless, as your lame misdirection reveals. <br /><br />And, Ann, "hack" is a word with meaning, not an insult if not flattering: <br />"A political hack is a negative term ascribed to a person who is part of the political party apparatus, but whose intentions are more aligned with victory than personal conviction."<br /><br />I used it in the deleted comment because you are going to such great lengths to defend Limbaugh as some brave teller of truths and dump on his critics. <br /><br />Hey, maybe you do actually believe, as you imply inn another post, that calling women sluts, prostitutes and the other insults is fine. However, I don't expect you did before Limbaugh did it, nor would you if it came from someone who was not a leader of the Republican Party and important to your base. <br /><br />So, that's where I was coming from.AlphaLiberalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08711124490821422066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-80174998733295865272012-03-08T13:04:19.770-06:002012-03-08T13:04:19.770-06:00It is disheartening, but not surprising, that so m...It is disheartening, but not surprising, that so many who wander the rarefied halls of academia refuse to judge the merits of Ms. Fluke's words by actually considering her words. <br /><br />The central tenet of Ms. Fluke's testimony before Congress (aside from talking almost exclusively about the exceptional cases -- the women who need contraception for extreme medical necessity) was this: "Forty percent of female students at Georgetown Law report struggling financially as a result of this policy [of not providing contraception coverage]." <br /><br />Read it again, and actually think about the words: it's not the tens of thousands of dollars that go toward law school tuition every year, nor is it the cost of housing or books or anything else that cause female law students to struggle financially. It's contraception. <br /><br />She just as easily could have added the cost of Skinny Flavored Starbucks Latte and similar beverages law students are known to purchase on a regular basis. <br /><br />We are stranded in an era where gross exaggeration is as good as the truth if it advances the correct agenda. Instead of critically examining Fluke's position, too many, at your university and elsewhere, are content to gravitate to the easily mouthed clichés of political correctness, which gives them a false veneer of enlightenment and sophistication, and separates them from the “guns and religions” crowd they find so abhorrent. This veneer, of course, arms them with McCarthyistic bats to attack anyone who doesn’t share their world view.<br /><br />Ms. Fluke's position is absurd on its face. Mr. Limbaugh did not need to resort to name-calling to underscore that. All he needed to do was quote her.Archivisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16111826469289575169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-3731533512054260342012-03-08T12:11:16.052-06:002012-03-08T12:11:16.052-06:00Most medical "insurance" is indeed a pre...<i>Most medical "insurance" is indeed a prepaid medical plan where costs are spread across a group.</i><br /><br />For two reasons: the tax exemption for health insurance offered as an employee benefit and state mandates.<br /><br />Neither of those reasons has anything whatsoever to do with what "insurance" is intended to deal with in a world not subject to government's hamfisted intervention.Chip S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13210586187250159751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-33583549604972399492012-03-08T12:04:02.026-06:002012-03-08T12:04:02.026-06:00"I am outraged that any professor would demea..."I am outraged that any professor would demean a student in this fashion."<br /><br />My first thought was "WTF?" Then I noticed he has a J.D. and realized he's never had to be on the receiving end of a dissertation committee.<br /><br />"by coming to one of his courses and standing between him and the class while he continued to lecture"<br /><br />Now this I don't understand at all. This would last about 30 seconds in one of my classes before the university police put a stop to it (and if for some bizarre reason they refused to do so, I would do so by any means necessary). You have no more of a right to "free speech" in my classroom than you do in a courtroom.Crimsohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01618292072861640747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-51348949867180881252012-03-08T11:53:49.337-06:002012-03-08T11:53:49.337-06:00Apparently Freder does not understand what insuran...<i>Apparently Freder does not understand what insurance is; a bet against a catastrophic or rare event or unforssen event.</i><br /><br />Apparently, you don't understand how most medical insurance works. True, calling Medical coverage (the way it is supplied by most employers in this country) "insurance" is not technically correct. Most medical "insurance" is indeed a prepaid medical plan where costs are spread across a group.<br /><br />You are getting hung up on semantics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-47286048212479460922012-03-08T11:49:58.866-06:002012-03-08T11:49:58.866-06:00"HHS has apparently mandated that contracepti..."HHS has apparently mandated that contraception be available without co-pay, and that the insurance companies not raise their rates to cover those who so chose it."<br /><br />Can't we do that for every health care product and service, and solve all our health care problems at once?hawkeyedjbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02445315365889955298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-61239177692234685272012-03-08T11:46:35.422-06:002012-03-08T11:46:35.422-06:00Compare and contrast this episode with the institu...Compare and contrast this episode with the institutional establishment's treatment of the girl who didn't want to wade into the 'Occupy' morass and asked for another assignment and was refused.<br /><br />She was mocked by every leftist blog out there, and I'm sure some were run by professors.<br /><br />No one in the establishment made proclamations calling for restraint in any form for harassing her.<br /><br />This girl makes an intentional spectacle of herself in front of Congress and we're supposed to handle her delicate soul with kid gloves?<br /><br />This is just leftist morons protecting other leftist morons by demonizing anyone who openly opposes them. Nothing more or less.Tarzanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00749350183917452144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-32702772394528481402012-03-08T11:44:55.230-06:002012-03-08T11:44:55.230-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Tarzanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00749350183917452144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-17487640709747820812012-03-08T11:43:21.075-06:002012-03-08T11:43:21.075-06:00However, when she gives public testimony to her pr...<i>However, when she gives public testimony to her promiscuity she is a slut.</i><br /><br />How do you know she is promiscuous?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-64981841231091518752012-03-08T11:41:29.287-06:002012-03-08T11:41:29.287-06:00The insurance companies have surely studied the is...<i>The insurance companies have surely studied the issue a little more rigorously than you have, Freder, and they've evidently come to the conclusion that providing free birth control does not save them money.</i><br /><br />Many insurance plans already cover contraceptives, and in some states it is indeed mandatory. The issue here is whether to require religiously affiliated institutions to provide the same benefits as non-religious plans.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-87017229437374754382012-03-08T11:19:57.983-06:002012-03-08T11:19:57.983-06:00@Brennan: Thanks for the tip.
The two schools I...@Brennan: Thanks for the tip. <br /><br />The two schools I'm supporting are not in their database, for now. FIRE now has a "Guide to First-Year Orientation and Thought Reform on Campus" to help new students understand what part of their "intro to college life" sessions are diversity sensitivity training and P.C. 101.Lorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06646402387071321983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-4617980825561957702012-03-08T11:15:28.979-06:002012-03-08T11:15:28.979-06:00In the wonderful words of Kate @ SDA.
"The o...In the wonderful words of Kate @ SDA.<br /><br />"The opposite of diversity is university."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-75619586173200189862012-03-08T11:12:30.096-06:002012-03-08T11:12:30.096-06:00If that translates into "free" for you, ...<i>If that translates into "free" for you, I don't know what to say.<br /><br />But, when your insurance premium rises, be sure to tell us how "free" this all was</i>.<br /><br />Here is the problem - it depends on your point of reference. HHS has apparently mandated that contraception be available without co-pay, and that the insurance companies not raise their rates to cover those who so chose it. That includes religiously affiliated institutions like Georgetown, whose leadership object to paying for contraception on religious grounds. The HHS "compromise" is apparently that they can offer two policies, one with and one without contraception coverage, but cannot charge anything more for it over the policy that does not provide for contraception coverage. Which is, in essence, an accounting gimmick to get around the religious objections to the contraception mandate, but ignores that these institutions will have to pay for the contraception any way, since the cost of the contraception will, by necessity, based on the way that the rule was written, be spread out across the policies of both those who elect contraception and those who do not. Or, more relevant here, the employer or other provider of the insurance will have to pay for contraception, regardless. <br /><br />So, no, I am not arguing that contraception coverage is free, per se, but rather, that it is "free" to the policyholders, and the cost of it is effectively spread over those who elect to have it and those who do not.Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-17144988079816334682012-03-08T11:00:41.074-06:002012-03-08T11:00:41.074-06:00In her private life, with resources acquired from ...In her private life, with resources acquired from her labor, she can be and do whatever she wants.<br /><br />However, when she gives public testimony to her promiscuity she is a slut.<br /><br /><i>woman of loose character, bold hussy</i><br /><br />When she gives public testimony to receive transfers of wealth in order to support her promiscuity she is a prostitute.<br /><br /><i>a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money; whore; harlot</i><br /><br />That would imply the Democrats who invited her to bear witness are her pimps or handlers.<br /><br />When she does all of this in service of conducting exploitation through authoritarian coercion. Well, there is a name for this, but Democrats don’t enjoy discussing their heritage.<br /><br />Of course, all of their actions are justified through the euphemistic call for “rights” and “women’s rights” in this instance. It has an emotionally appealing ring to it.<br /><br />Both the man and woman should accept personal responsibility for the outcome of their voluntary behavior and associated costs.<br /><br />We are discussing the same issues that arose with the so-called "health care reform", but from a narrowing perspective. This is where appeals to emotion are their most effective at extorting compliance.n.nhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04252447117532342957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-43927990612135209072012-03-08T10:47:42.748-06:002012-03-08T10:47:42.748-06:00An unintended pregnancy is certainly more expensiv...<i>An unintended pregnancy is certainly more expensive than providing free contraceptives under a health plan as is a yearly prostate test or mammogram rather than letting cancer develop.</i><br /><br />I'll tell you an absolutely guaranteed way to avoid getting pregnant if you tell me an absolutely guaranteed way to avoid getting cancer.bgateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14094313567630214207noreply@blogger.com