Monday, September 24, 2007
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Surprise! Bollinger's Speech Gets an A
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Posted by:
Dean Barnett at
2:38 PM
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I can’t pretend to understand Lee Bollinger. I’m not sure why he invited Mahmoud Ahmadenijad to disgrace his campus, and whether the invitation was a ruse to get the diminutive dinner jacket on the same stage so the Dean could blast the Mahdi with the Mahdi’s list of horribles. Regardless of how stupid inviting Ahmadenijad to the Columbia was in the first place, let’s give Bollinger credit for standing face-to-face with evil and calling it out.
If you didn’t see Billinger’s speech, you have no idea what I’m talking about. Suffice to say, Bollinger used the occasion to deliver a Sister Souljah moment on behalf of academia. His attack on the Mahdi was withering, something so harsh that it could have sprung from the modem of a conservative blogger. Bollinger’s speech today, for what it’s worth, gets an A . The Mahdi, clearly with hurt feelings, labeled the speech a “wave of insults.”
Will the rest of the left follow Dean Bollinger’s example? Not likely. The Daily Kos has a diary up reviewing Ahmadenijad’s Daily Press Club speech that concludes, “I have to say that I think our government and the MSM have really spun us on Iran and this guy… He ain't such a bad man.”
Dean Bollinger, if you want to be fair about things, has either partly or fully rehabilitated his reputation with his speech today. Believe me, I didn’t expect to be typing those words. The rest of the American left sadly has a lot of growing up left to do.
Compliments? Complaints? Contact me at Soxblog@aol.com
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Trustees: Wow, Bol, great scowling!
Bollinger: Yeah, it was pretty good, wasn't it?
Trustees: I mean, hey, we haven't seen such a scowling since the days we ran ROTC off.
Bollinger: Yeah, well, guy like that needs a good scowling.
Trustees: Indeed, indeed.
Student intern: Maybe you shoulda done a back turning, too.
Bollinger: Thought about it, thought about it, but a scowling, well, that's pretty atomic.
Trustee: Certainly is. Things will turn around in Iran, now.
Bollinger: Absolutely.
Trustee: Too bad you weren't around with Hitler. Why, one good scowling at him probably would have saved 6 million Jews.
Bollinger: Well, sure. But, these are our times.
Student intern: Maybe we should get Bush up there.
Trustee: Yeah! With a back turning, this time. That'll get us out of Iraq!
Bollinger: Hmm. Let's send out the invite. |
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What is with all the poop about having to hear both sides of a story to make a someone a better educated person. I have a daughter in 9th grade and it would be a waste of her time and energy and my money to send her to a school that was morally bankrupt.
If hearing both sides of an issue is so important than why is conservative thought essentially ban from universities. Why did Columbia pull an invitation to the founder of the minute man project. When was the last time you heard of a liberal getting attacked while giving a speech?
I want my child to go to a school where education is more important than being drunk and stupid. |
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His speech gets an B+ but his whole performance gets an F- |
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I disagree completely with the grade Dean.
Bollinger doesn't deserve any pats on the back.
Having read the letter Ahmadinejad penned to President Bush I feel I have a complete understanding of the man.
And it isn't good.
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To explain why arabs deny Holocaust, we must remember that palestinian arabs committed Holocaust in 1920s in Palestine with British government’s help. In 1942, Jerusalem mufti, Haji Amin, brought the Final Solution and Holocaust idea to Hitler and organized two islamofascism brigades in Europe to kill Jews. The bottom line is: arabs are responsible for Holocaust and hiding their responsibility. After WWII, Amin was declared war criminal, but British government helped him to escape prosecution. |
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There were people back then that thought Hitler was OK and we could deal with him - some of these same people still supported Hitler after it became clear that his programs for the Jews were designed to eradicate them.
Iran intends to eliminate Israel - Ahmadenijad has made that clear. The Joe Kennedys of this era want us to look the other way - he was wrong then and they are wrong now. Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons.
Let's move the UN to Davos or Dubai - then we won't have to allow these creeps access to the US |
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is a despicable, Un American, leftist POS, IMO.
He and his "herd" wouldn't allow the Minute men to speak at Columbia, yet welcome with open arms, a murderous lying thug, whose intent is on killing us all, because we are infidels and defend Israel.
Columbia should be refused any state or federal funding.
Free speech, my a**.
And, what about the "useful idiots" who were "cheering and clapping" for AM-A-NUT-JOB?
A sickening and sad day in America! |
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and differing opinions isn't the issue. The daughter went 52:2 in Lincoln Douglas debate last year, she can take either side of any argument and stomp the crap out of the other side. I know, she beats me about 8 times out of 10. I often have to resort to "because I said so."
The issue is competence and risk.
For example, Duke isn't off her list because 88 faculty members think white men shouldn't get due process. They've identified themselves, she could avoid their classes if she chose. It's off because the administration there seriously damaged the reputation of the school for the sake of political correctness, and doesn't particularly care that it did. If a new graduate goes out for an interview now, the thing that sticks with the interviewer is the Lacrosse hoax - and the administration there hasn't disciplined one employee or changed a single policy.
Every time an administration - like Yale's or Columbia's - acts stupid, the value of a degree from there goes down. If they do it often enough, the value goes down a lot. Columbia can survive this - but what if they do it again in December? And 5 times next year?
That's the situation UCI is in right now. It's not one decision that's the problem. It's a whole series of decisions, each one of which takes the school down another notch. If you think how they handled Erwin is problematic, you should see how they handle Islamists.
The daughter is paying for college herself - she made money doing TV ads 10 years ago and has invested very wisely, she's got enough to pay for 6 years at a top school if she's frugal (she means to move directly into a masters program.)
She doesn't want to spend that on a school that willfully damages itself for some momentary political fad.
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For the last week you and Hewitt have been saying every nasty derogatory thing you could think of about Bollinger.
You were wrong Barnett.
You were wrong Hewitt.
Now you say Well, maybe Bollinger isn't quite as bad as we said, but the rest of the left is everything we say they are. They have a lot of growing up to do.
You are wrong again Barnett.
You say that Bollinger "partly or fully rehabilitated his reputation with his speech today."
The reason his reputation needed rehabilitation is because of the slanderous stuff you printed on this website. Why don't you tell the truth... Why not admit you were wrong to print that stuff in the first place? |
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"... As an alumna of Columbia College, class of 1991, it is with great distress that I say it is time to disassociate with the school. This does not simply mean cutting off donations. It means understanding that the problem with Ahmadinejad had nothing to do with legitimate policy debates. It means recognizing and openly stating that by placing genocide on the debating table, Columbia ceased to be an institution that can be said to represent our values. It means stating publicly that we will not send our children to the school. It means stating openly that Columbia has abandoned the moral underpinning of civilization and has descended into the depths of evil. It means stating openly that Columbia is a depraved institution."
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/09/columbias_choice_and_ours.html
I would love to hear Michael Ledeen on this issue regarding the impact of this visit on the dissidents in Iran? Have we completely destroyed the country-wide effort to throw out the government?
If we had shown solidarity like this for those in Europe during the 1980s and we would still have a Soviet Union.
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...in the Peoples Republic of Ann Arbor, so it's no surprise that he wished to have some fellow travelers over for dinner.
Anyone who thinks the "harsh" opening comments from Le Bol were a surprise to Aquavelvajad probably thinks that professional wrestling is unscripted.
Le Bol probably called the Mahdi last night and said, "Hey, big Mamhoud! How's it going? Can't wait to see you tomorrow here. Of course, I've got the Champagne Room booked at Scores afterwards. Listen, homey, I'm getting some grief here about your visit from the Zionist puppets and in order to chill out these running dogs, I'm going to have to front that I'm mad at you. I'm going to say some mean-sounding stuff, but you know I love ya, dawg. It's all just playing. Feel free to slap me down in your replies in case you need some B-roll for Al Jazeera. OK? Cool. See ya on the flip side, brother, and the first lap dance is on me, yo!" |
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Everytime one of these dictators tries to address the American people, the mouth the Democratic Party talking points as if they can just come here and endear themselves to an oppressed people. Bin Laden does it in every tape, Chavez did it in his UN speech and city tour and now Dinner Jacket tried it an Columbia. They really don't understand what a free society is. Just because we don't trust our government doesn't mean we are ready to trust someone else's. They end up revealing to the world how arrogant and clueless they really are. This guy seems to by annoyed that CBS and now Bollinger won't grant him the respect the next leader of the entire world deserves. Excellent time to take his pants down and take out the nuclear facilities in Iran. His people would probably thank us.
(That squinty smile is hard to resist though. Very endearing. Kind of like the twerpy teacher's pet who struts like the coolest guy in class, always threatening to "tell".) |
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In re-reading my comment above, I see that it might be interpreted as saying that everyone at Claremont-McKenna is in ideological lockstep. That is certainly not the case; Claremont McKenna is a liberal arts college in every sense of the term, and a very fine one. |
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To quote Rep. Lantos(d) California. In all due respect,"I'm not buying it". Next, will be ask to believe one can be patriotic and liberal. |
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... about your daughter. It is a luxury to be able to choose among universities, and not to have to worry about paying for it.
Kind of a pity, though, that a smart young woman like her -- one with the "grades, scores and athletics to go anywhere she wants" -- strikes schools off her list because of perceived ideological differences. Claremont McKenna is a fine college, and she will no doubt thrive there. But there's no doubt she would also thrive at Yale* or UCLA, even if they (or, more precisely, some people there) "act like nutters." Indeed, exposure to folks with views that differ from hers would probably be better for her development as a truly educated person than would be four years at a school where everyone is in ideological lockstep.
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*And believe me, as the father of a Harvard student I hate to say this. |
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were all good reasons for not inviting him in the first place, but when he said those things to his guest's face, I thought Blowinger had achieved the worst of both worlds. He gave a tyrant worldwide legitimacy, proclaiming loudly all the while that we need to hear his ideas, and then he ambushed the guy in what we had been led to believe would be a respectful setting.
Ugly on both counts, and BLowinger gets NO credit from me. |
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"The rest of the American left sadly has a lot of growing up left to do."
Sorry, you can grow out of being ignorant, (if you attempt to learn, that is).
You can't grow out of being stupid. |
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Bollinger's histrionics were nothing more than a desperate bid to save his job. Purely reactionary and hopefully insufficient to save his sorry hide. Columbia needs to have every dollar of government grant money stripped away, until American institutions, such as ROTC, are provided the same access to the campus that murderous, anti-American tyrants are given. |
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I think and certainly hope that this event will redound negatively for the Left... and it certainly should but it does not let Bollinger or the Columbia community off the hook. The "Free Speach" mantra is not worth the CO2 it takes to utter. They mean only that they are free to say and also DO whatever comes to mind since they are on the correct side. Intellectual Diversity etc is a principle only when evenly applied. Otherwise it is a thin veneer for special pleading. Does this new era of Good Feeling for this institution insulate Columbia from, say, addressing the question of whether they negotiated with Iran for the release of a prominent alumna? I agree with the above folks who see this as a deathbed conversion for Bollinger. A forthright attack was his only chance to slather some lipstick on this pig. In Iran, using the word "pig" in connection any Iranian official would get me the jumper cables up the bum. Does the Dean know this? Could he not? Or does it not matter? It is Bollinger's turn for "hard questions". Who will ask them? |
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off the daughter's list.
She has the grades, scores and athletics to go anywhere she wants - and she's already got college paid for, she doesn't need financial aid. So she's been striking schools off her list whenever they act like nutters. Duke is gone, of course, and Yale after they hosted Taliban Man. UCIrvine, because they're a hotbed of Islamists (and because Drake backed down and hired Erwin). Now Columbia.
UCLA (my alma mater, and my parents) has been off the list for a long time. Berkley was never on it. UCSD is acceptably sane but not yet top tier. None of the UC look good after the Sumner debacle. Hopkins went off with their speech code.
Princeton's sex-ed freshman orientation puts them on the edge. If Stanford can keep itself from doing anything certifiably nuts for the next 18 months, it might get a very desirable student - but they're probably going to go over the edge with Romney at the Hoover Institute. If so, she'll go to her fall-back, Claremont McKenna. |
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there are no losers. Everybody gets a trophy for participating.
Even Dudley was a winner today because he participated in the townhall discussion with the conservative meanies. |
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Goes for a withering introductory speech. But Ahmadenijad wins, the whole video will be sliced and diced for propaganda purposes. Billinger could have made all the same remarks, without giving Ahmadenijad a stage.
We already knew how eveil Ahmadenijad was, we didn't need to see him not answer those questions. We already knew about his beliefs and that he would lie. Debates are for honest brokers. War is for terrorist scum like Ahmadenijad.
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Surely mimi is irrelevant, and don't call me surely. |
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and you were punked. Organshoes was correct in the assessment of your gullibility. Bollinger has done nothing to erase the immeasurable harm that has been done. You don't think cherry picked sound bites aren't already buzzing around ME television and radio? |
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See Dean it doesn't pay to give credit to the left because they will just use it to bash you over the head. The fact that Columbia is still entirely wrong and inconsistent in letting this thug and murderer of homosexuals and adulterers speak is foreign to people like dudley. |
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so, that wasn't so bad, was it? Talk about foolish: Columbia comes off looking like a University, America survived intact, Ahmajinedad goes home having achieved whatever he wanted about taking the heat in the land of the infidel, and rightwing bloggers now sound like foolish, shrieking mimis. Have a nice day. |
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Dean, you are right on Bolinger's speech--but overall he gets an F for creating a huge media Charlie Foxtrot. Mahmoud Ahmadenijad is definitely no Hitler, because say what you will about Hitler being evil, Hilter could at least string two sentances together and give a speech.
Ahmadeninjad is a stooge.
But unfortunately this circus did nothing other than cause confusion. What does Ahmadenijad take from this? That some people in America like him? He got some applause. Ahmadenijad is only a figure head, real power in Iran is vested in the Ayatollahs. |
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Rule #1 for dictators - never release your hostage until after you speak. |
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and maybe a little gullible.
Not a good moment. Not a good idea, and hardly a ringing success.
So Bollinger sounded tough.
I think he just figured he'd better try and make lemonade. |
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If I didn't know better I would have said that Hugh and Bollinger were in cahoots to create enough controversy for Bollinger's comments to receive the widest possible audience.
Frankly, the outcome was SO MUCH BETTER than just turning him down. Because not only did America get to see what a fool Ahmadenijad is, so did all of his "peers" at the UN, who undoubtedly were watching his performance, as will most of the Arab world via Al-Jazeera and the rest.
Almost as precious as Bollinger's comments were Ahmadenijad's denying homosexuals exist in Iran. Maybe the common Iranian or other Arab can deny the Holocost happened, but you can be damn sure they know a few homosexuals in their neighborhood.
There is nothing more humiliating to the self-rightous than to be made the fool, and right now Ama-Dinner-Jacket is the Fool of the Day, possibly of the year. |
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He made something good out of a bad decision. DinnerJacket left us whining about getting no respect in the "60 Minutes" interview and picked right up on the same theme in his opening statement. And the black backdrop. Might as well have made his speech in a dark cave in Afghanistan. I doubt he's feeling very victorious today. I also hope that this is just the beginning of what will be a bad day he remember for a long time. |
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Got a good caption for the photo of the surprised young lady at the top of this post? |
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Is anyone truly surprised at what the Kos kids had to say. Once again a good example of what happens when children are allowed to listen in on an adult conversation. |
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...is that the one thing which charges up the left about this creep is that he labors under the belief that there are no gays in Iran.
I suppose it's better than nothing to get them to understand just who this man is. But, really, do we have to finally get to that nuttiness (ie, forgetting his comments about Israel, the holocaust, the US, Iraq, nukes, etc.) to conclude that he's a creep?
The irrational hatred of Bush has pushed the collective left over a cliff...and they don't know it. |
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What about that applause the kids gave to legitimise this Lout? In a word, this whole shebang still gives the Iranian thug cred which he does not deserve. That the Left thinks he is not a bad guy, is proof that they have no legit moral souls in understanding this rabid hateful murderer that represents really, all of Islamofascism. Good for Bol but boo on the mush headed lefty students who have been brainwashed by their elite profs and the MSM. |
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and dean gets an "f" for once again jumping the gun. |
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and Liberal Arts Faculties!"
"Threats To Dean's Family From Left!"
"Bollinger Banned From University For Attacking Tyrant With Conservative Talking Points!"
"Bollinger Dubbed 'Bush Puppet' For Speech!"
Above:Tomorrow a.m. Headlines.
**I,neoconservative of long standing,am pleased,
surprised,amazed and damned proud of Bollinger's Stand-Up Behavior.**
***They're gonna go apes--t BIZZIRK at Kos and other Nutter Sites,academia,Nation,MoveOn, Sullivan...err..maybe not,Andrew being gay...*** |
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Unhesitating praise to Bollinger for saying needed to be said.
The only thing I would have added was a challenge to play his (Bollinger's) remarks on national television in Iran, with a translation provided by Columbia, as a clear sign to the world that Iran and Iran's press is truly as free as claimed by Ahmadenijad.
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A few of he finest have already missed the motive of the Columbia's 'TOUGH' introduction of Iran's fool of a President.
The manipulation is quite clear, as the Liberals spin quickly.
Bollinger was forced to treat the Iranian Despot firmly, because so many are outraged that they invited this monster.
So many like Mr. Hewitt, can be thanked for this strong treatment of Ahmadenijad, for reacting so justly and strong to the foolish enabling of this lunatic.
The Protests in NYC was growing like wildfire.
Columbia was in trouble, and needed to rescue some of it's sinking reputation before it was too late.
Thus, Bollinger challenged Ahmadenijad.
Certainly this was not the plan originally.
A clear revealing moment, as a Liberal just openly blew the effort to bolster an enemy of their enemy (President Bush).
Bollinger's job was more important, as well as State Funding for Columbia, than the mantra of encouraging the enemies of the USA and a Republican President.
Bollinger had to save face, and try to appear to not be enabling this fool at the last minute.
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...I'm not Lee Bollinger's life insurance provider today. I give Bollinger a lot of credit, but I have a hard time believing that was Bollinger's and Columbia's original plan. I think Bollinger was just trying to save his job today. He saw the blowback coming and was trying to step out of the way. |
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Never would have guessed that someone in academia had a spine. |
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I must tell you Dean, the whole Dinner Jacket (that's so much easier to spell) was a bit of a letdown. His speaking skill need work and I guess I have heard him enough to to not get all revved up at his talking points.
I am ready to move onto the next talk radio crisis, something with race, sex or lots of money, please. How about something meatier than this for the next one, I found it mostly a yawner.
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Would be the caption to the picture I suppose (young doctor getting good news on a grade). Too bad she's saying that about Dinner Jacket. Imagine the patient's raction to the doctor's reaction. That would be about my reaction to Columbia inviting a crazy man to its campus. Bollinger may have ranted it up really good, but he still looks like a played fool. |
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Yes, great speech by Bollinger, not enough to gain him any favor on the right, but maybe there is more going on here than all the pre speech screaming suggested.
To me Dinner Jacket looks like a nut, sounds like a nut and is a nut, Bolligner said the same thing in nicer language. Maybe this will turn into a teaching moment different than we expected.
Oh, Dinner Jacket is getting loud boos for saying there are no homosexuals in Iran. |
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just like not everyone on the right or conservatives are the same.
liberals and the left are not all the same.
conservatives need to understand that just as their are atheist conservatives there are religious and strong liberals. |
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