We have yet another story highlighting the horrific abuse faced by women in many Muslim countries. Egyptian member of parliament Elhamy Agina this month has reportedly encouraged women to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) to “reduce their sexual desires.” His rationale for this primitive abuse is particularly bizarre: women must mutilate themselves to lower sexual desires to match that of Egypt’s “sexually weak” men.
Category: Society
We have previously discussed the controversy surrounding University of Missouri Assistant Professor of Communication Melissa Click who was caught on videotape obstructing a student journalist and calling for “muscle” to prevent him from covering a protest. She was charged with assault in that case. Eventually she was sacked by Missouri in what should have been one of the easiest decisions ever made by an educational institution. Now however Gonzaga University has given Click another faculty position, a move that is likely to result in considerable controversy. The effort to “muscle” a student journalist and keep him from reporting on a protest is viewed by many academics as unpardonable, particularly in a market filled with people trying to secure jobs in higher education.
Continue reading “Gonzaga University Hires Fired Missouri Professor Melissa Click”
There are times when a fantasy seems to unfold before your eyes. Malcolm Perry experienced just that in a moment that rivals Santa coming to Rudolf to ask him to guide his sleigh tonight. Perry is a member of the Navy football team but low on the depth chart and recovering from an illness. However, when QB Tago Smith was injured and backup Will Worth not playing, the coach looked into the stands and saw Perry in his dress whites with his other midshipman.
Continue reading “Navy Midshipman Gets The Call Of A Lifetime”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
In a shameful and terrible scene reminiscent of police attacks against civil rights advocates and union busting of the 1920’s, the Dakota Access pipeline company dispatched its “goon squad” which unleashed attack dogs and pepper spray, injuring several Native American protesters. What began as a peaceful protest deteriorated into a new and shameful moment in today’s America, symbolized quite fittingly with images of Native Americans’ blood in the teeth of Corporate America’s attack dogs.
Continue reading “Native Americans Protesting Pipeline Attacked By “Goon Squad” Using Dogs And Pepper Spray”
We recently discussed the courageous stand of the University of Chicago against the growing speech codes and “safe spaces” in campuses around the country. Now, Purdue University has taken its own stand in favor of free speech in adopting “the Chicago principles.”
Continue reading “Purdue Follows University of Chicago In Standing Ground In Favor Of Free Speech”
Below is my column on free speech on college campuses and the courageous decision of the University of Chicago to reject “safe spaces” and speech regulation. We are facing a growing movement to curtail free speech on campuses. Conservatives rightfully complain that they are being silenced as hecklers bar speakers and administrators punish unpopular speech. The forced silence of students and faculty will be the death knell for American higher education. Too many faculty are unwilling to speak against these measures in fear that they will be labeled racist or micro aggressors. Others like University of Chicago Professor Eric Posner have readily embraced speech regulations by belittling college students as just impressionable children.
They think universities are treating students like children. And they are right. But they have also not considered that the justification for these policies may lie hidden in plain sight: that students are children. Not in terms of age, but in terms of maturity. Even in college, they must be protected like children while being prepared to be adults.
So now people who are adults legally will be dismissed as children to justify the imposition of speech codes where faculty dictate what is acceptable or unacceptable viewpoints. It is incumbent upon the rest of us to fight the rising tide of speech regulation and intolerance. To that end, every faculty senate should consider replicating the letter of the University of Chicago to its incoming class, as discussed in the column below.
CNN has become the leading target of conservatives objecting to a bias in the media in both attacking Donald Trump and giving Hillary Clinton a pass on her own controversies. Now Headline News has blurred the name “Trump” on the tee-shirt of a hero former police officer being interviewed for saving a baby. It appears that someone viewed his shirt as unacceptable to be shown as if it were profanity. This followed a controversy at CNN where a Trump tweet was edited to remove the word “Crooked” in front of Hillary Clinton’s name.
Continue reading “CNN Blurs Out Trump Tee-Shirt In Interview With Hero Former Police Officer”
The University of Missouri continues its free fall after the Black Lives Matter protests. “Mizzou” has now lost almost a quarter of its freshman class. That is devastating for any academic institution and Mizzou is reportedly closing dorms due to lack of students.
We have previously discussed trophy hunters who kill and pose with dead animals. We recently followed the controversy over the shooting of “Cecil the Lion” by an American dentist Walter Palmer from Minnesota. There were other trophy hunting stories that enraged people around the world. (here and here and here) Then there was Josh Bowman who has been denounced around the world for his video from Alberta, Canada as he celebrated the slow killing of a bear with a spear. Now a 12-year-old named Aryanna Gourdin from Utah has posted a series of highly controversial pictures with dead animals and expressed her love for killing animals. One picture shows her holding a giraffe’s heart.
Continue reading “Twelve-Year-Old Girl From Utah Causes International Uproar Over Hunting Images”
Susan L. Terrillion, 55, found herself under arrest in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware after she left her two children unattended for 45 minutes as she ran down the street to retrieve some take out food. She is now facing two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
Moulay Omar Benhammad, 63, and Fatima Nejjar, 62, have long been figures in the Islamic community calling for chastity and advocating Islamic justice. The two Islamic politicians are now under fire after being found allegedly having sex on a Moroccan beach.
There was an interesting story recently where Minnesota experts have warned that the new Vikings stadium could be injurious to the hearing of fans. There has been an increasing push in stadium design to match the ear splitting levels of the Seahawks in fans drowning out the calls of opposing teams. However, it appears that the “twelfth man” could be rendered stone deaf in Minneapolis. While the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority said ear plugs will be available at guest services at U.S. Bank Stadium, it could present an interesting torts case for those who find their hearing reduced by attending a Vikings game.
Continue reading “Vikings Stadium Found To Be Harmful To Human Hearing”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
We are now seeing the fruition of the campaign to normalize in society state legal marijuana. We’ve discussed previously how those on probation in Washington State no longer will face prosecution for marijuana usage, and where marijuana shops and billboard advertisements are seen alongside energy drinks and beach ready bodies. Now Oregon, having recently legalized marijuana, hosts at its State Fair exhibitions and competitions featuring legal weed. Let the Fairijuana begin!
I have always been proud of my alma mater, The University of Chicago, and the education that I received in Hyde Park. However, that pride has been magnified this week with a letter sent to the class of 2020. As we have been discussing how various schools have eradicated free speech protections on campus in a national trend toward speech regulation. UChicago has decided to stand its ground and reaffirm its commitment to free speech on campus. The letter warns students that they will not shielded from views that upset them or given “safe spaces” on campus. In doing so, UChicago has recommitted itself to the very touchstone of education: the free and robust exchange of ideas.
There is a controversy at State University of New York (SUNY) that is reminiscent of our recent discussion about the exclusion of white students in a housing advertisement at Claremont. The SUNY controversy concerns a course put together by Resident Advisors Ciaran Slattery, Nicholas Pulakos, and Urenna Nwogwugwu, entitled “#StopWhitePeople2K16.” Once again, the controversy raises the question of equal treatment at universities since SUNY would presumably react aggressively at RAs holding a course entitled “#StopBlackPeople2K16.”
Continue reading ““Stop White People”: Resident Advisers Create Controversial Course”