Memo to Gann: Want to Save Some Money? Get Rid of the Solar Powered Trash Cans!

President Gann sent out an email today about how our endowment has taken a hit in light of financial downturn. Gann promises that financial aid will be a top priority and I, for one, am glad to see that the education of students takes precedence at you know, a college. 

Over at the Compass, Andrew Bluebond draws parallels between Presidents Gann and Obama. (Who else?)  The whole comparison kind of reminds me of this video from the Onion in which Obama supporters struggle to find meaning in their lives after the election. For some, it seemed the secular coming of Christ and I can understand why pretty much everything else feels like a let down. 

Bluebond honestly believes that Obama will go line by line in the budget, cutting spending as he goes. Will he? I don't think so, but then again, I don't confess to being an accountanting major. 

But if Gann wants to trim the fat of our budget, I've got at least one suggestion. 

You remember those $3900 solar trash cans? We could probably do without that.  

Some Idiot Makes a Comment That Encourages Dan to Return and Be an Ass

Yeah, that about says it. I usually come on here to highlight something deliciously asinine. This time, I'm responding to a poster who got stoned and then tried to take Charles to task for chiding the PR team for pretending like Republicans don't do anything on campus. Here's what our indignant friend has to say, trying out his subtle sarcasm shoes for the first time:

Let's feel sorry for the people here who think that white supremacy is the way to go. Also let's represent more people who feel that women should be subservient to men (people because some women feel this way as well...don't ask.) Because people who has an opinion that sets us back in terms of progression should get as much of a say as people that are actually trying to change things for the better.

The above post does a pretty good job making the case why conservatives feel like they don't have much of a presence on campus. That a student could come here and walk away with such clownish caricature of conservative thought shows how liberal the school has become. Most kids a find what they want: a progressive echo chamber.

In addition, I might add, I'm glad conservatives don't write as poorly as the above poster. From my experience, conservatives tend to be the smartest bunch on campus. They actually try to understand and respond to the other side.

And there is no doubt that the best and smartest professors tend to be the conservatives in the government and economics departments. So at least we have that as consolation.

So what's our beef with the school? The problem is not that the admissions department doesn't discriminate based on political views (no conservative I know has ever advocated such a stupid position). The problem is that the admissions department and the PR team try to hide the fact that the school has many stellar conservative faculty members. We could easily promote the identity we were founded on. We could tell people that this is a place where students can get a solid liberal arts education and where they can learn to be responsible citizens and statesmen by being exposed to political philosophy, free-market economics, and the principles of the American constitution.

But instead we try to sound like everywhere else. Sure, we're "politically active," but that just means young lefty hipsters will get a platform to annoy their fellow students. And for the most part we bill ourselves as a school for "leaders," a vague, nebulous concept that found meaning in the progressive era's contempt for constitutional government. So there you have it. Come to CMC and bitch about Prop 8 and our carbon footprint. You can call it an education, but there will be a few of us who know the truth.

Forum Publishes Bigotted Gay Activist Rant

Expect a full response in the coming days, but The Forum recently ran a piece by Nico Brancolini about Proposition 8's passage. His post is revealing in that it outlines basically all the agitprop that those favoring Prop. 8 have been ramming down our throats. It includes the usual argument that gay marriage will have a monogamizing effect on homosexuals, even though lots of evidence gathered in Europe where gay marriage has been legal suggests that few gays ever get married and that they have a much higher rate of divorce. 

Nico offhandedly says that those favoring Proposition 8 "wantonly lied" about gay marriage in other states. Maybe he hasn't heard about all lawsuits against religious people in states that have been forced to recognize gay marriage by court order. Here's the whole list, if you're interested in perusing it. They include attacks on adoption agencies, churches, and even the Boyscouts of America. 

Maybe he thinks that discrimination against members of the Church of Latter Day Saints is okay. It isn't. The kind of hatred that Mormons endure everyday for their beliefs makes one wonder how tolerant Nico is. He doesn't say anything about all the homosexual activists throughout the country that lobbied to stop a vote on gay marriage in Massachusetts. Or the millions of Americans who went and put money into elections that weren't their own district races. That includes Americans that supported Barack Obama in California who campaigned in Nevada. Nico never answers the argument for why political activism should be confined to the state in which you reside. 

Instead Nico calls Mormonism, the religion of 10 million people, a "creepy cabal." 

I frankly don't understand why anyone would hate on Mormons. They don't blow themselves up; they give to charity. They don't father children out of wedlock, or take from government welfare. By and large, they keep to themselves. 

Of course CMC will never send out a bias-related incident email about hatred against Mormons. Nope, that's okay. After all, Mormons aren't a protected class.