Stop Fake "Hate Crimes" at the 5-C

From Jocelyn Greene of Scripps College,

Last weekend, the homophobic slur, "fag" was written on a Pomona student's dry erase board on four occasions over the course of four days. On Friday, there was a "Bias Incident" report emailed to all students. This email explained what had happened and offered contact information for those who felt they needed support in light of this 'incident'. While we appreciate any response from the administration, we feel that this response can not stand on its own; it implies that such an issue can and should be dealt with at the individual level rather than encouraging a community-wide response. We would like to take this issue a step further and ensure that hate crimes such as this provokes a response greater than simply an email from our administration.

As a community, we need to come together and realize that this affects all of us, not just the individual targeted; hate crimes create a less open and supportive community for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. Can we expect things to change if we continue to frame acts of hate as the problem of the target? Make this a community issue: come to the Motley THIS Wednesday (October 8) from 6-7PM for an open forum. We hope that this forum will create a necessary dialogue and will be a starting point for the change we wish to see at the Claremont Colleges.

Sponsored by the QRC, QQAMP and Family.

For more information, contact Jocelyn Greene at [email withheld]

The real question is what about the incident makes it a hate crime? There wasn't any property damage and besides the annoying thing of someone writing "fag" anonymously on your door repeatedly, we don't really have a context for the supposed incident. What does Jocelyn want to accomplish? This country has an unforunate history of communities deciding to punish people without regard to the law or the authorities. We call them vigilantes.

Full disclosure: Jocelyn and I went to Milton Academy together and she and I have a long history that's probably unprintable here.

CMC Professor Signs Letter Critcizing Obama's Econ. Proposals

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, McCain-Palin 2008 released the following statement signed by 100 distinguished and experienced economists at major American universities and research organizations, including five Nobel Prize winners Gary Becker, James Buchanan, Robert Mundell, Edward Prescott, and Vernon Smith. The economists explain why Barack Obama's proposals, including "misguided tax hikes," would "decrease the number of jobs in America." The prospects of such tax rate increases under Barack Obama are already harming the economy. The economists conclude that "Barack Obama's economic proposals are wrong for the American economy." The proposals "defy both economic reason and economic experience."

The full economists' statement on Barack Obama's economic proposals and a complete list of economists who support it follows:

Barack Obama argues that his proposals to raise tax rates and halt international trade agreements would benefit the American economy. They would do nothing of the sort. Economic analysis and historical experience show that they would do the opposite. They would reduce economic growth and decrease the number of jobs in America. Moreover, with the credit crunch, the housing slump, and high energy prices weakening the U.S. economy, his proposals run a high risk of throwing the economy into a deep recession. It was exactly such misguided tax hikes and protectionism, enacted when the U.S. economy was weak in the early 1930s, that greatly increased the severity of the Great Depression.

We are very concerned with Barack Obama's opposition to trade agreements such as the pending one with Colombia, the new one with Central America, or the established one with Canada and Mexico. Exports from the United States to other countries create jobs for Americans. Imports make goods available to Americans at lower prices and are a particular benefit to families and individuals with low incomes. International trade is also a powerful source of strength in a weak economy. In the second quarter of this year, for example, increased international trade did far more to stimulate the U.S. economy than the federal government's "stimulus" package.

Ironically, rather than supporting international trade, Barack Obama is now proposing yet another so-called stimulus package, which would do very little to grow the economy. And his proposal to finance the package with higher taxes on oil would raise oil prices directly and by reducing exploration and production.

We are equally concerned with his proposals to increase tax rates on labor income and investment. His dividend and capital gains tax increases would reduce investment and cut into the savings of millions of Americans. His proposals to increase income and payroll tax rates would discourage the formation and expansion of small businesses and reduce employment and take-home pay, as would his mandates on firms to provide expensive health insurance.

After hearing such economic criticism of his proposals, Barack Obama has apparently suggested to some people that he might postpone his tax increases, perhaps to 2010. But it is a mistake to think that postponing such tax increases would prevent their harmful effect on the economy today. The prospect of such tax rate increases in 2010 is already a drag on the economy. Businesses considering whether to hire workers today and expand their operations have time horizons longer than a year or two, so the prospect of higher taxes starting in 2009 or 2010 reduces hiring and investment in 2008.

In sum, Barack Obama's economic proposals are wrong for the American economy. They defy both economic reason and economic experience.

Robert Barro, Harvard University

Gary Becker, University of Chicago

Sanjai Bhagat, University of Colorado

Michael Block, University of Arizona

Brock Blomberg, Claremont-McKenna University

. . .

Read the rest of the list here. Talk about damning!