All the President's Liars

From the Huffington Post,

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan blames President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for efforts to mislead the public about the role of White House aides in leaking the identity of a CIA operative.

All the presidential candidates are reacting and this is providing an opportunity for Republicans to distance themselves from Bush. So far, Huckabee is the only Republican who has, reminding voters that he isn't a "Washington insider". Oh, and Chuck Norris approves!

Of course, this latest revelation about the Bush administration comes on the eve of Thanksgiving when no one is paying attention. Just like when Bush commuted Lewis "Scooter" Libby's sentence on July 2nd right before the public went on vacation for the 4th of July holiday. These guys sure know how to strategically time their "bad news" items. I wonder what they are holding for Christmas this year.

~BT

Check out what the UA is doing

In the midst of our student government website contest, the Undergraduate Assembly has just released their second youtube address.

Did you forget the first one? There is no way you forgot Jason Karsh as a ninja.

Props to Jason and the UA on this effort to effectively communicate with their constituents. The video is detailed and rightfully focuses on individual members who are working and making significant progress on projects.

See for yourself,


~BT

Who Killed the Electric Car?

The second film in our Zeitgeist Film Series is

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Monday, November 19 at 7:30

Check out the event on Facebook.

See the trailer.

~BT

Best Student Government Website Tournament

Inspired by Ivygate's recent "Worst A Cappella Group of the Ivy League Tournament", I am announcing a little tournament here at Penn to see which branch of Penn student government has the best website/online presence. Start by taking a look at all of their websites. Chances are you've never even been to them. Who knows, they might even have some useful information.

From the NEC's website:

Class Boards:
Class of 2008: http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~class08/
Class of 2009: http://www.penn09.com
Class of 2010: http://www.penn10.net

Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC)
Website: http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~nec/

Social Planning and Events Committee (SPEC)
Website: http://specevents.net/

Student Activities Council (SAC)
Website: http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~sac/

Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE)
Website: http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~scue/

Undergraduate Assembly (UA)
Website: http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~ua/

Now you can vote. This first round of voting will determine the tournament poll positions. (I think I might need some help from someone more sports-savvy to figure out a way to do this)



Stay tuned...

~BT

Fox News Gone Wild - See for yourself

Robert Greenwald, of Outfoxed fame, has done it again and this time might be the jackpot. Earlier today, I received an email about the launch of FoxNewsPorn.com. This follows a great report by Keith Olbrmann on Monday in his number one story:

Fox Gone Wild: Bill O'Reilly's words often require translation. So "culture warrior" turns into "smut peddler"... just as fast as you can say "great video". And in our number one story on the Countdown, it isn't just Bill-o showing soft-core porn while railing against soft-core porn. It's the entire Fixed Noise establishment. The latest recorded example -- 4:24 P-M Eastern Standard Time, today. And film-maker Robert Greenwald (who will join us)... has documented a telling slice of it in his four-minute video production. "Family Values"... as seen in the Alice-Through-The-Looking-Glass kaleidoscope that is, Fox News.

See the Olbermann clip here.

With so much crazy, partisan, and misleading reporting on Fox News nothing seems to hit them where it hurts: advertisers. But, I think Greenwald has found the perfect angle to really expose Fox News for what it is: a right-wing mouthpiece for hypocritical conservatives. With this, we see the hypocrisy of Fox News' 'conservatism' and family values. I wonder what Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council is going to say about this. Do these Fox News clips represent his family values?

And what about the advertisers? I find it hard to see how they will be able to resist the outpouring of complaints theywill be receiving once word of FoxNewsPorn spreads. We need to hit Fox and News Corp where it hurts, on the bottom line. I hope the next step is an online tool that allows people to submit complaints to prominent advertisers.

You can even spread the news via facebook by becoming a fan of FoxNewsPorn.

Check out Fox Attacks Decency. Over half a million views so far. You can sign the petition telling the FCC that you should not be forced to pay for FOX's smut.


~BT

Join the Campus Progress Chapter at UPenn

I've previously mentioned Campus Progress on this blog and have highlighted our first few events at Penn, notably the Iraq Film Series and the recently announced Zeitgeist Film Series.

I would like to now invite you to join our Googlegroup to stay up to date with future events and get more involved in the group.

We have begun planning some environmentally-related events for the spring semester that we are collaborating with the Penn Environmental Group on.

~BT

We could all use a smile

From the geniuses behind "Shoes", their second installment "Let me borrow that top"


~BT

Jason Karsh Steps Up on Safety Concerns

Earlier tonight, the chair of the Undergraduate Assembly, Jason Karsh sent an email alert regarding the recent public safety issues that have arisen at the University of Pennsylvania.

After hearing about the disturbing events last night, Karsh did what any good UA chair would do and had a meeting with Maureen Rush to clarify the facts and make sure that students had the correct information. I applaud him and any other members who were involved in this effort.

This is a clear example of Penn's student government working hard on behalf of their constituents. The email is clear, clarifies all the facts and makes suggestions for students. Jason also goes further and reassures us based on the briefings he received today. Having previously been "in the room" per se, I know the feeling and I trust Jason's judgment.

Here is the email in its entirety, judge for yourself:

Sent: November-13-07 8:00 PM

Subject: ***Public Safety- Update from the Undergraduate Assembly***

Please forward this message on to your constituencies:

Fellow Penn Undergraduates,

Last night, I was deeply disturbed, as many of you were, to receive the university-wide e-mail from the Division of Public Safety regarding the Monday morning stranger-rape that occurred on the 4000 block of Spruce Street. Shortly thereafter, I was taken aback by another widely-circulated e-mail that depicted an account of an Allied Barton security guard/walking escort who walked a female undergraduate student home and later exposed himself to her.

After a productive meeting this afternoon attended by Maureen Rush, Vice President of the Division of Public Safety, other DPS officials, Allied Barton representatives, and Penn students, the Undergraduate Assembly (UA) wants to make certain that the record is set straight and that we indeed remain a safe and secure community at Penn.

The findings from this meeting give me complete confidence that the issues are being addressed properly and that there is no reason to distrust Penn's men and women in uniform .

Here are the facts:

4000 Block of Spruce Incident:
-Yesterday morning at about 5AM a female student was sexually assaulted in her apartment
-the victim was not physically injured
-this was reported in the DP and was the 3rd incident of stranger rape that has occurred at Penn since 1994
-they are highly unusual but naturally have a deep impact on the psyche of those within our community

What should we do now?:

-Make sure you LOCK YOUR DOORS !

-There is currently an increased overt and covert patrolling by law enforcement (Penn Police and Philadelphia Police) in Penn's vicinity.

-If you wish to seek counseling or have any concerns, please call DPS Special Services at 215-898-6600, as they are on-call 24/7.

-Report any suspicious activity to DPS and Penn Police at 215-573-3333.

Security Guard Incident:
The facts:

-A Penn student was offered to be escorted by an Allied Barton security officer, which is normal procedure if an escort sees someone walking home alone and is not currently on a call.

-The Allied Barton security officer, who has worked at Penn for nine months with no prior criminal background, exposed himself.

-He was quickly identified after the incident was reported and was taken into custody.

-He is no longer employed by Allied Barton.

- NO UNIFORMS HAVE BEEN STOLEN. Any reports of stolen uniforms are false.

What's being done to address this situation as of tonight?
-All security guards/escorts will have photo IDs on them that they will be wearing visibly around their neck or on their jackets.

-All security guards/escorts will have courtesy cards to give to you, stating their name, and what to do to give feedback. (Additionally, you can cross-reference their courtesy card to their ID.)

-All security guards/escorts will introduce themselves, present their ID, and provide you with a courtesy card.

As someone who is deeply troubled by these incidents, after being presented with the facts and follow-up, I feel absolutely confident in my safety and security on campus. I believe that with our increased vigilance and the efforts made by the Division of Public Safety and the folks at Allied Barton, we are taking steps towards a restored faith in the safety and security of Penn's campus.

My thoughts are with the victims of the egregious acts of crime that occurred within our community, and we must show resolve by demonstrating that it will take more than highly unusual crimes perpetrated within a 24-hour period to break the spirit of the Penn community.

Sincerely,

Jason Karsh

--
Jason Adam Karsh
Chairman, Undergraduate Assembly
University of Pennsylvania
uachair@dolphin.upenn.edu

~BT

Tancredo goes over the top

From Wonkette,

Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo’s new ad ups the ante for him — and this is for a guy who said we should bomb Muslim holy places. Every single word in this ad is funny, and it’s read by some really, really old-sounding guy.

See it on youtube.

Over at mydd.com, Todd Beeton writes,

Yep, "elect me...or else!" is pretty much all the Republicans have to run on, Tancredo's just the first to say it. What's so jarring is the honesty with which he says it.

~BT

Obama has the 'big mo'

Momentum, that is.

It all started with an interview with the New York Times where Obama discussed taking on Clinton more forcefully and raised the stakes in the last debate in Philadelphia. As Chris Bowers points out,

For the first three weeks of October, the press ran with the "Clinton is inevitable" narrative. However, at some point, they grew bored with that story, and picked up the "Clinton is going to get attacked" and "when will Clinton stumble" narratives. Obama's claim that he was going to attack Clinton more forcefully was, as Media Matters showed, all the rage in the three days leading up to the debate. Both the attacks and Clinton stumbles were expected. In short, Clinton is now down a bit because the press told everyone for several days that, because of the attacks, poor debate performance and by "playing the gender card," she should be down. And so, they can move on from the boring, played-out inevitability narrative.

After reviewing some new polls out of New Hampshire, Bowers concludes,

Clinton is down, and her supporters seem to have moved to other candidates at roughly the same proportions as those candidates stand in the polls. Three factors are probably at play here. First, it seems that Clinton was dropping a bit even before the debate. Second, while the debate was not watched by many people, it was watched by some, and the combined attacks on Clinton during the debate probably made an impact. Third, after the debate, the news coverage was fairly harshly anti-Clinton, and that certainly made an impact as well. How much each of these factors made a difference is anyone's guess, but I remain a little spooked by how easily the established media was able to move Clinton's, or really anyone's, numbers downward when they wanted to. Her advantage in New Hampshire seems to have been trimmed by 7-9 points, and most of that change probably happened in only one week from only October 31st to November 6th.

Meanwhile, back in Iowa, where the democratic presidential primary will be decided and where there is still a three-way tie between Clinton, Edwards and Obama, democracts gathered for the big Jefferson Jackson Dinner. According to David Ypsen at the Des Moines Register,

The six leading Democratic presidential candidates showed up for the Iowa Democratic Party's big Jefferson Jackson Dinner on Saturday night, and five of them gave very good speeches.

Barack Obama's was excellent. It was one of the best of his campaign.

The passion he showed should help him close the gap on Hillary Clinton by tipping some undecided caucusgoers his way.

His oratory was moving, and he successfully contrasted himself with the others — especially Clinton — without being snide or nasty about it.

After reading such a glowing review, I couldn't resist the temptation to watch the speech for myself. After a quick search, I found that the Obama campaign had posted the whole speech.


An incredible speech it was! The coverage of it has rightfully been postive. Around the blogosphere:

• TalkingPointsMemo - The 'big mo' from the J-J dinner?

If last night's speech was any indication, Obama is now trying to strike a balance, threading an ideological needle. He used '04 themes ("I don't want to pit blue America against red America, I want to lead the United States of America"), while slamming Bush-style politics ("The era of Scooter Libby justice, Brownie incompetence, and Karl Rove politics will finally be over"), and subtly criticizing the Democratic frontrunner ("Not answering questions because we're afraid our answers won't be popular just won't do it").

Apparently, it was a rhetorical challenge that worked pretty well, though one can't help but wonder what the race would look like now if Obama had hit some of these same notes sooner.

• Mike Luxe at Openleft.com - Time for Obama to Make a Move

Coming at a time of relative weakness by Hillary, and with a strong J-J performance, Obama is now well-positioned to make a major move forward and take the lead in Iowa. If he does that over the next couple of weeks, he might gain real momentum, as all the anti-Hillary folks who have been split between a lot of different candidates might start gravitating in his direction. If he grabs the lead, a lot of people who have been disappointed by his somewhat listless campaign in recent months might be re-interested and re-energized.

• At mydd.com - Obama's Remarkable J-J speech

This section was particularly pointed.

The same old Washington textbook campaigns just won't do. Not answering questions because we're afraid people won't like the answer just won't do....Tri-angulating or poll driven positions because we're worried about what Mitt or Rudy will say about us just won't do.

Here, he's tapping into Clinton's real weakness, which was on display at the recent debate and is the reason for the viral success of Edwards's Politics of Parsing web video: Clinton's double speak. But he doesn't stop there. Later in the speech, he calls Clinton out on some of her more hawkish votes, arguing that it's her way of tacking to the right for the general election.

I am running for president because I am sick and tired of Democrats thinking that the only way to look tough on national security by talking and acting and voting like George Bush Republicans. When I am this party's nominee, my opponent will not be able to say I voted for the war in Iraq or gave Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran or that I support Bush/Cheney policies of not talking to people we don't like.

Not only is he aligning Clinton with Bush and Cheney much more effectively than he did over the summer, but he's portraying Clinton as sort of a partisan traitor in a way, someone who'd sell out the values of the Democratic Party to act more "Republican" in order to win. Obama is saying we can win by being Democrats...acting like a Democrat is a winning strategy. That's very appealing and, while risky, I think was the best way to go after the beloved first lady who is widely perceived to have been a Democratic champion against the right-wing machine.

Things are getting interesting!

~BT

Zeitgeist Film Series

Following on the success of last month's Campus Progress Iraq Film Series, where we screened No End in Sight and Iraq for Sale, I am happy to announce our next film series co-sponsored with Current TV: The Zeitgeist Film Series

Campus Progress, Current TV and Harrison College House

present

The Zeitgeist Film Series

• Monday, November 12 at 7:30: The Corporation
• Monday, November 19 at 7:30: Who Killed the Electric Car?
• Thursday, November 29 at 8:00: Crossing Arizona

All screenings will take place at the Harrison College House rooftop lounge. Pizza and refreshments will be served.

***Monday, November 12: The Corporation

Provoking, witty, stylish and sweepingly informative, THE CORPORATION explores the nature and spectacular rise of the dominant institution of our time. Part film and part movement, The Corporation is transforming audiences and dazzling critics with its insightful and compelling analysis. Taking its status as a legal "person" to the logical conclusion, the film puts the corporation on the psychiatrist’s couch to ask "What kind of person is it?" The Corporation includes interviews with 40 corporate insiders and critics - including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Milton Friedman, Howard Zinn, Vandana Shiva and Michael Moore - plus true confessions, case studies and strategies for change.

***Monday, November 19: Who Killed the Electric Car?

A documentary that investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future. Check out the New York Times review.

***Thursday, November 29: Crossing Arizona

Crossing Arizona examines immigration and border policy through the eyes of those directly affected by it. Frustrated ranchers go out day after day to repair cut fences and pick up the trash that endangers their livestock and livelihoods. Humanitarian groups place water stations in the desert in an attempt to save lives. Political activists rally against anti-migrant ballot initiatives and try to counter rampant fear mongering. Farmers who depend on the illegal work force face each day with the fear that they may lose their workers to a border patrol sweep. And now there are the Minutemen, an armed citizen patrol group taking border security into their own hands. Crossing Arizona reveals the surprising political stances people take when immigration and border policy fails everyone

~BT

Afternoon Tunes - 04-11-07

Good song and video. check it out.

Chicane Feat. Bryan Adams - Don't Give Up



~BT

Conservative Ideas and Media

I want to share a great post from Akkam's Razor about the perceived negative bias towards conservatives and their ideas.

What is it about conservatives that they perceive bias anytime one of their outstandingly brilliant ideas get challenged? Or better still, that they are crucified for their beliefs socially and economically? From Mashable's Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins :

"I’m going to come out and say it here, brand me how you like, but I lean libertarian to conservative in my political beliefs, and on my personal blog and podcast, have made no bones about that. It’s given me a unique opportunity to meet other folks in high tech, folks that you know and have heard of from big time reputable companies and Web 2.0 startups, and who’s services you likely use. Many of these same folks have in confidence have told me that as a conservative, they don’t really feel comfortable publicizing their political affiliations for fear of it affecting their business negatively."

Rzklkng, the author of Akkom's Razor, offers the following explanation:

In the marketplace of ideas, where anyone can contribute, and anyone can evaluate, conservatives consistently deliver inferior products. Even more importantly, the longer and greater their ability to peddle their wares, the stronger and more extreme the public rejection of them.

Historically, the only way conservatives have been able to get a fair hearing is to speak to the choir. I'm looking at you, FOXNEWS, along with the usual cadre of partisan subjects, such as Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Times, and the gaggle of other wingnut welfare recipients. CNN and MSNBC are too liberal? Launch a conservative cable channel. Wikipedia has a liberal bias? Launch Conservapedia. The only place where bad ideas get considered is when there is a monopoly on ideology, a complete lack of balance, and an audience that dare not challenge the party-line.

Don't blame the medium for the public's rejection of your products. It's not because they are horribly biased by the liberal press-media-academia-and now internets, it's that your ideas suck, and that they pander to the lowest common denominators of our society. Conservative media are affirmative action for bad ideas.

I really couldn't of said it better myself. Thinking about it, conservative media really do provide affirmative action for bad ideas. Just look at the huge well-financed conservative think tanks that produce papers and books and then can invest in major marketing of their ideas.

That is why I have been excited about the continued growth of the Center for American Progress which has become a great counterweight to the Heritage Foundations of the world. You should check out their amazing ThinkProgress blog and Campus Progress, the Center’s comprehensive effort to strengthen progressive voices on college and university campuses nationwide and to empower new generations of progressive leaders. I am slightly biased given that I recently started a Campus Progress chapter at the University of Pennsylvania. Join our facebook group here.

~BT

Evening Tunes

Faithless - We Come 1

~BT

What's in a name?

Diversity & Equity, Affirmative Action, Pluralism?

All three have been the names of official committees set up at the University of Pennsylvania to address issues of diversity, inclusiveness and affirmative action.

Last year, the University Council adopted a bylaw change that merged the President’s Affirmative Action Council and the University Council Committee on Pluralism into a single advisory body whose work would be reflective of the charges of both Committees. The new advisory body, the Committee on Diversity & Equity, was established with Dr. Bernett Johnson as its Chair and Dr. Judy Shea as its Interim Chair. You can view their annual report here.

So, how is our new committee doing this year?

Unfortunately, the new Diversity & Equity committee has not met yet, although I am told an email was recently sent out to try and schedule the first meeting. There is also a new chair, John Jackon, the new Penn Integrates Knowledge professor. Like he isn't busy enough trying to get acquainted to Penn! In addition to having a chair that is brand new to Penn, almost the entire committee is made up of new members to Diversity & Equity. Only one member of last year's committee has returned.

2007-08 Diversity & Equity Members

2006-07 Members:
Bernett Johnson, Chair
Camille Charles - Faculty
Judy Shea - Faculty, Interim Chair
Howard Stevenson - Faculty
Rosalyn Watts - Faculty
Irene Wong -Faculty
Shakirah Simley - Undergraduate Student
Jerome Wright - Undergraduate Student
Mahlet Mesfin - Graduate Student
Susana Ramirez - Graduate Student
Marina DeScenza Walker -PPSA
Karen Ringlaben - PPSA
Karima Williams - WPSA
Mary Jones-Parker -WPSA

Where does it leave all the important issues that were on the agenda last year? To refresh our memories here is a brief list:

• Implementing a campus climate survey
• Diversity in the curriculum
• Follow-up and evaluation of revision of Penn's Affirmative Action Statement to include gender identity
  
• Revising the Equal Opportunity Policy
  

It looks like the committee will start from scratch this year and that's a real shame!

I hope it isn't the case and that current members of the committee do their homework and take a look at last year's annual report and begin making recommendations to University Council. But, I'm not going to hold my breadth.

It's time for the University to start explaining what's going on.

~BT

Biden: Giuliani not qualified to be president

In the democratic debate tonight in Philadelphia, Biden said the following:

Rudy Giuliani is probably the most underqualified person since George Bush to run for president. He can only say 3 things in a sentence: a noun, a verb, and 9/11. "This man is truly not qualified to be president. I'm looking forward to running against Rudy Giuliani."

I couldn't agree more!

~BT

Late-night Tunes (10-28-07)

Justice - D.A.N.C.E

Enjoy!

~BT

The Intersection of Politics, Religion and Stupidity

A wonderful graphical representation of our current state of affairs.


~BT

STUDENTS: A CHALLENGE FOR US

This Youtube video is poignant given the anti-war mobilization today. It has close to 2 million views so far. Check it out.


~BT

The fin-de-siecle Flaneur

From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary,

fla·neur

Variant(s):

also flâ·neur \flä-ˈnər\

Function: noun

Etymology: French flâneur

Date: 1854

: an idle man-about-town

From the editor's introduction to Georg Simmel's The Metropolis and Mental Life,

Simmel's detached and capricious urban cosmpolitan is much similar to the "flaneur" of philospher Walter Benjamen ("Paris, Capital of the Nineteenth Century,") and poet Charles Baudelaire, the Parisian pedestrian dandy, the bourgeois shopper, or the urban commuter. The barrage of lures, stimulations, and choices in the modern city of commerce has induced a kind of monkish self-reflection that can be seen as trascendence as much as retreat. Freed from the prejudices and obligations of family and community, the bourgeois urbanist experiences the restlessness of liberation, a new condition of self-consciousness and inner emotional development. For all his liberation from the communal society, the urban modernist is now embedded in the iron cage of a world of work and bureaucracy, and the consumer's dilemma of a search for identity in a soulless mass society.

-The Urban Sociology Reader by Jan Lin and ChristopherMele

It makes one wonder, who are the flaneurs of our time? Does contemporary culture suppress them or allow them to flourish?

B-squared

National Rally to End the War

Saturday October 27th, United for Peace & Justice is organizing 11 regional rallies to protest the war and occupation in Iraq. Philadelphia is one of cities and is having a Human Chain for Peace which will begin assembling at noon and stretch across the city, right through Penn's campus. At 1pm, the march will begin to Independence Mall for the rally at 2pm.

Unfortunately, the weather forecast for Saturday is heavy rain. Regardless, I'm really looking forward to attending the day's events and hope that it rejuvenates the fledgling anti-war movement. Penn Against War is organizing the 36th to 37th block of Locust and hopefully there will be a good presence of students.

~BT

Should Congress Impeach?

Saturday night I had the incredible opportunity to ask Whoopi Goldberg a question that I have been pondering for quite awhile. (thanks SPEC!!).

In her lecture, at Irvine Auditorium, Whoopi talked about a whole range of topics but the thing that resonated the most was when she talked about the need to hold people accountable in our society. My question was whether the impeachment of Bush and Cheney was the way to truly hold them accountable for their lies and plundering of this country.

Her answer in a nutshell was that it's too late. She encouraged me to look to the future and the 08 candidates. (at least that was my recollection, granted I was a little nervous standing at the mic). This is the same response I hear from the establishment democrats that I have often read and hear on television. They say that it is either a distraction from accomplishing a progressive legislative agenda, or that it will jeopardize the democrats' chances in 08. Moreover, some claim that the American people won't support it, worried that if the Democratic Congress pursues Impeachment, that they will experience a backlash similar to what the Republicans felt after the Clinton Impeachment.

I disagree and was frustrated by Nancy Pelosi's assertion in the 2006 mid-term election campaign that impeachment was off the table. Why should I be looking to the 08 cycle? There is over a year left and Bush is still doing damage. Bush is actively stopping progressive legislation, most recently his veto of SCHIP (Colbert segment on SCHIP).

I hope to talk about this a lot more on this blog. What do you think? Should Congress impeach Bush and/or Cheney?

~BT

Update on Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week at Penn

Following up on my previous posts about Islamo-Facism Awareness Week (IFAW), here is a brief update:

• There are ongoing negotiations between Programs in Religion, Interfaith, and Spirituality Matters (PRISM), MSA and the leadership of College Republicans, the group that is spearheading the event at Penn.
  
• Last week, the Undergraduate Assembly Steering committee discussed Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week and student leaders aired their initial concerns.
  
• There is a University Council meeting during the week, on Wednesday October 24th. At every Council meeting there is an open forum, which typically isn't used. I submitted a request to speak about the awareness week which if granted will mean I have 3 minutes and time for question/comments.
  
• This Wednesday, October 10th, the University Council steering committee is meeting and will discuss which open forum items will be on the agenda (the deadline to submit items was last week).

More to come after I get a response. I also still need to get the calendar of events for IFAW.

~BT

Campus Progress at Penn Presents: Iraq Film Project

Here are the details for the Iraq Film Project sponsored by the newly founded Campus Progress Penn chapter and the Law & Society program of Harrison College House.


- No End in Sight

Thursday October 11^th, 7:00pm

Harrison College House, rooftop lounge

"No End in Sight" examines the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy - the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government, and the disbanding of the Iraqi military - largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today.

- Iraq for Sale

Thursday October 18^th, 7:30pm

Harrison College House, rooftop lounge

Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck drivers, widows and children who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so.

Pizza and refreshments will be served at both film screenings. Please RSVP for the No End in Sight film screening so that we have an idea of how much pizza to order:

http://www2.americanprogress.org/t/8/event/index.jsp?event_KEY=20250

If you have any questions, feel free to contact pennprogress@gmail.com

~BT

PennSTART for all

In today's DP, Ernest Gomez discusses a new pilot project for Wharton and Engineering freshmen that hopes to help students better handle mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression both of which are highly prevalent among college students.

According to a national survey of 13,500 college students published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2005, 45 percent of undergraduates reported experiencing depression severe enough to prevent them from functioning day to day.

According to Counseling and Psychiatric Services, more than 10 percent of Penn students meet with a counselor at CAPS each year. You do the math: Either Penn students are less prone to depression than the average college student, or many cases go unreported every year.

I definitely agree with the columnist in encouraging freshmen in Wharton and Engineering to take this seriously and to not simply disregard the program thinking that they don't need help.

I could've benefited from PennSTART, but I probably would have cast it aside as a crutch for the weak-willed.

This is why I have a message for Wharton and Engineering freshmen: Get over yourselves - you're not the best, nor do you have to be. It's great that you're raising the bar of collegiate success, but you're not invincible. Give PennSTART a chance.

I also have a message for the administration: If the program proves initially successful, make it mandatory for incoming students a la AlcoholEDU. Distant rewards and raffle prizes will not motivate busy students to take the program, but an ounce of PennSTART is worth a pound of CAPS.

PennSTART is a great compliment to the work being done by student groups, such as the Mental Health Coalition, to better educate students about mental health issues and dispel the many myths about CAPS.

But, what about College and Nursing students? I understand that this is a pilot program and that the administrators and professors spearheading this effort want to determine its efficacy but College students deserve the chance to participate if they want. Why not just open it up to all Penn students as well?

~BT

Naomi Klein's latest: The Shock Doctrine

The Shock Doctrine by Alfonso Cuarón and Naomi Klein

From The Thought Kitchen,

Naomi Klein has just published a controversial best seller entitled The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism In it she defines shock doctrine as “the use of public disorientation following massive collective shocks—wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters—to push through highly unpopular economic shock therapy.”

The metaphor of “shock” is important because her thesis stems from a contention that what works on a person also works on a nation. Think 9/11 and fear-induced politics that have eroded some of the fundamentals of what we knew as American democracy. To peer into her thinking, check out the short film by Alfonso Cuaron, who made Y Tu Mama Tambien and Children of Men. Klein was hoping he’d send her a quote for the book jacket, but instead he assembled a team of artists and this short film. Sweet indeed.

Read more about the book and film at her website.

~BT

Update: Joseph Stiglitz is fairly sympathetic to Klein in his recent New York Times review of the book, which isn't so surprising given his place within the anti-globalization movement. Definitely looks like a great read.

Update 2: Naomi Klein speaking to the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives.

Blackwater, Rush Limbaugh and more

Olbermann had a great interview with John Edwards tonight in which he says in reference to ending the Iraq war, "what we need is a surge in New Orleans."

From The Newsole, the blog from the staff of Countdown,

The Blackwater Hearings: Somebody has some shame. The team of F-B-I agents heading to Baghdad this week to investigate Blackwater security contractors for possible murder... were to be protected by bodyguards from Blackwater. Tonight, breaking news in our fifth story on the Countdown: assistant F-B-I director John Miller issuing a statement tonight reading "to avoid even the appearance of any conflict, the FBI team deployed from Washington to assist the State Department in the events of Septembr 16th, will have any additional security needs provided by U.S. Government personnel." Nobody's saying additional to what? The presumption is, no Blackwater Guards trailing along as the FBI investigates alleged Blackwater murders...But that is not made explicit.

Olberman also covers the latest from Rush Limbaugh where he called anti-war soldiers "phony soldiers". A great interview with a soldier featured in this great VoteVets.org ad.

Also tonight, Dan Savage was a guest on the Colbert Report The Daily Show also had a great night with a good segment on Blackwater.



More info on Blackwater from Sidney Blumenthal at Salon.com,

On June 27, 2004, the day before the United States was to grant sovereignty to a new Iraqi government and disband the Coalition Provisional Authority, L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. proconsul, issued a stunning new order. One of the final acts of the CPA, Order 17 declared that foreign contractors within Iraq, including private military firms, would not be subject to any Iraqi laws -- "all International Consultants shall be immune from Iraqi legal process," it read. "Congratulations to the new Iraq!" Bremer said moments before flying out. His memoir, "My Year in Iraq," neglects to mention Order 17.

~BT

Olbermann: The Iran drumbeat gets louder

Keith Olbermann's lead story yesterday,

Target Iran: Disproving the theory that President Bush never learns...A report tonight that after the enduring debacle of war against Iraq because of Weapons of Mass Destruction which did not exist...Somebody has convinced him that war against Iran because of the imminent nuclear threat it presents, will not fly...So instead it would be war against Irahn because of terrorist activities by part of that country's military. Our fifth story on the Countdown: more saber-rattling...different sabers.

The Iran drumbeat gets louder

~BT

The plot thickens

It turns out that Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, is the same week that Penn's Muslim Student Association is planning their annual Islam Awareness Week (add google event).Talk about bad luck with scheduling.

There have been discussions about Rev. William C. Gipson, Penn's Chaplain organizing a forum or discussion during the week. I think that would be a great idea.

I also would like to find out which organizations at Penn are helping to organize David Horowitz's latest campaign. The College Republicans are the likely candidates. Also, I haven't heard anything on the Penn Israel Coalition listserve about it.

stay tuned...

~BT

Drumbeat for War Continues

Quietly, on 150 college campuses across the country, including Penn, conservative students are getting ready to organize what is being billed as "the biggest conservative campus protest ever", Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.

Organized and coordinated by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, this awareness week's goal is to "to confront the two Big Lies of the political left: that George Bush created the war on terror and that Global Warming is a greater danger to Americans than the terrorist threat." Yes, these people are serious!

Keith Olbermann named David Horowitz the worst person in the world on September 28th, for the ridiculous poster which is a photo with “a girl being buried before being stoned to death.” The image was actually from a film and the girl is ok, appearing in various shows since then. The poster has since been taken down from Horowitz's website.

Islamo-Facism week is scheduled for October 22-26 and rumor has it that Rick Santorum is the keynote at Penn. If you know any details about what is planned at Penn please email them to pennprogress [at] gmail.com.

More to come...

~BT

Update: Students at UC Berkeley are planning to resist Islamo-Fascism week. An idea for us Penn students.

Update 2: The plot thickens.

Update 3: Student government gets involved.

Real Reasons for the Ahmadinejad Protest

From Matt Stoller,

Just in case it's not obvious enough what the right is doing in New York City today by protesting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia University.

1) Empowering Ahmadinejad: He's not particularly important within Iran, but this kind of mindless attention helps him domestically.

In demonizing Mr. Ahmadinejad, the West has served him well, elevating his status at home and in the region at a time when he is increasingly isolated politically because of his go-it-alone style and ineffective economic policies, according to Iranian politicians, officials and political experts.

2) Leading Us into a New War: Wars require villains. Ahmadinejad, as an ineffective buffoon with a weak domestic power center, wasn't enough of a villain. He must be built up into an all-powerful character that can only be removed by American force. The divestment from Iran campaign, currently swirling around the states, is accomplishing this, and will almost certainly continue, at least PR-wise, into the next Democratic administration. This will make negotiations much harder and the path to a military strike much more likely.

3) Attacking Free Speech at Columbia: Dismantling or weakening institutions that stand up against the right or could conceivably do so is one of the long-term conservative movement strategic interests. The Freedom Watch ad calling Columbia University 'appeasers' is meant to intimate, and it often works in subtle ways.

Anyway, just in case you were confused about Republican patriotism, here's a short primer. The right is suppressing speech, building up the power of an avowed 'villain' Ahmadinejad, and trying to lead us into a larger and more devastating war.

Update: Earlier today, by a vote of 76-22, the Senate passed the Lieberman-Kyl amendment, which threatens to “combat, contain and [stop]” Iran via “military instruments.” Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) called the amendment “Cheney’s fondest pipe dream” and said it could “read as a backdoor method of gaining Congressional validation for military action.” (ThinkProgress)

~BT

Updated: Columbia President Lee Bollinger throws down

From the Columbia Spectator's Ahmadineblog,

[Lee Bollinger's] first point is about the freedom of scholars and journalists in Iran. “I call on the President today to ensure that Kian will be free to travel out of Iran as he wishes,” Bollinger said, before extending a faculty position to Kian, the Iranian scholar with a doctorate at Columbia who is under house arrest in Tehran.

Bollinger is hitting the point home, citing statistics about the relatively high number of scholars, children and journalists jailed.

The money quote:

“Mr President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator.” Bollinger.

On the Holocaust,

Bollinger is grilling Ahmadinejad on the rights of free speech, Holocaust, and Isreal . He asks Ahmadinejad - why are you so afraid of Iranian citizens expressing their needs for change? Bollinger then proposed that Bollinger lead a delegation of Columbia professors to Iran to address University’s about free speech.

He then moved on to the denial of the Holocaust. Denial, Bollinger said, of the most documented event in human history “makes you ridiculous … you’re either brazenly provactive or completely uneducated.”

Bollinger then moved on to Israel. He said that with 800 collegagues in Israel, destruction of Israel is a personal offense. “Do you plan on wiping us out too?”

He then asked the President why he funds terrorism, why he is waging a proxy war against the United States in Iraq, and why he will not suspend Iran’s uranium enrichment program, even as sanctions are hurting innocent people.

He finished “I doubt that you will have the intellectual courage to answer these question … I expect you to exibit the fanatical mindset.” He finished by saying that he hopes Ahmadinejad is removed from power.

Well done! I believe it was the right decision to allow him to speak on campus and I am especially happy that he is being challenged. Unfortunately, Bollinger's prediction that the Iranian President wouldn't answer the tough questions seems to be true:

In response to the first question,

Whether Ahmadinejad seeks to destroy it. Ahmadinejad said Israel has the right to self-determination.

Coatsworth [the moderator] tells Ahmadinejad he didn’t really answer the question and tells him he needs a one word answer to the question “do you seek the destruction of Israel” Ahmadinejad refuses to give an answer, instead going back to the argument that we need an international solution to Palestine.

wow.

~BT

Update: President Bollinger also sent an email to the members of the Columbia community this morning. (thanks Jason)

It is vitally important for a university to protect the right of our schools, our deans and our faculty to create programming for academic purposes. Necessarily, on occasion this will bring us into contact with beliefs many, most, or even all of us will find offensive and even odious.

But it should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas, or the weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas, or our naiveté about the very real dangers inherent in such ideas. It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honor the dishonorable when we open the public forum to their voices.

The great majority of student leaders with whom I met last week affirmed their belief that this event, however controversial, is consistent with the values of academic freedom we share at the center of university life. I fully support, indeed I celebrate, the right to peacefully demonstrate and engage in a dialogue about this event and this speaker, as I understand a wide coalition of our student groups are planning for today. That such a forum and such public criticism of President Ahmadinejad's statements and policies could not safely take place on a university campus in Iran today sharpens the point of what we do here. The kind of freedom that will be on display at Columbia has always been and remains today our nation's most potent weapon against repressive regimes everywhere in the world. This is the power and example of America at its best.

Columbia Spectator columnist J.D. Porter, via Ivy Gate:

In general, students seem to be pro-invitation, anti-Ahmadinejad. As far as I know, no one has taken a poll, but that stance shows up pretty consistently in everyone's coverage, and in my own conversations with fellow Columbians.

Ahmadinejad Speaks at Columbia

I am watching CNN's live feed of the Iranian President's speech at Columbia. The Columbia Spectator has a great blog tracking all the events on campus.

The BWOG another Columbia blog, also has some great coverage.





[Picture credit BWOG.net]

More to come soon...

~BT

Climate "skeptic" refuses to reveal funding sources

From Kevin over at DeSmogBlog.com,

Climate "skeptic" Pat Michaels is feeling the heat today after publicly released court documents show Michaels refusing to reveal his funding sources for his consulting firm, New Hope Environmental Services. In the documents Michaels lawyer states that: "Many of New Hope's clients provide funding to New Hope with the understanding that the funding will be confidential." Michaels has long been criticized for his views on climate change and his connections to the fossil fuel industry.

~BT

How the GOP & Moveon.org support the troops

From Firedoglake,

You have to wonder what on earth the Republicans (and Joe Lieberman) were thinking when they voted down Senator Webb’s plan to ensure that our nation’s soldiers are rested and mentally and physically ready to go into battle. What could possibly justify the continuation of the cruel, punishing policies that send soldiers back to war when they are not yet fit to fight?

Reuters:

Fellow Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a co-sponsor of Webb’s plan, said Republican senators were heavily lobbied by the administration against the measure.

“The White House has been very effective of making this a loyalty test for the party,” Hagel said after the vote.

After voting down the Webb amendment and the failing to restore Habeas Corpus, what important business did the Senate vote on? Debating the appropriateness of a political ad, of course. 72 senators voted to condemn a newspaper ad by the liberal anti-war group Moveon.org. Yes, you read that right.

Here's a real democrat, Rep. Pete Stark, on the subject, via Matt Stoller at Openleft.com:

"I commend MoveOn for their ad and for speaking truth to power," said Stark. "Up is not down, the earth is not flat, and the surge is not working. General Petreaus betrayed his own reputation by standing with George Bush in opposition to the timely withdrawal of all of our brave men and women from Iraq. I thank MoveOn for their patriotic ad and call on Petreaus to help Bush end a war the President should have never started."

In an email I received from Moveon.org today:

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday, an amazing thing happened. After the Senate's shameful vote, and after President Bush called MoveOn "disgusting,"¹ our email started to fill up with messages like this one:

I'm currently in Iraq. I do not agree with this war, and if I did support this war, it would not matter. You have the RIGHT to speak the truth. We KNOW that you support us. Thank you for speaking out for being our voice. We do not have a voice. We are overshooted by those who say that we soldiers do not support organizations like MoveOn. WE DO.

YOU ARE OUR voice.

And then came the donations. By midnight, over 12,000 people had donated $500,000—more than we've raised any day this year—for our new ad calling out the Republicans who blocked adequate rest for troops headed back to Iraq.

The message from MoveOn members was loud and clear: Don't back down. Take the fight back to the issues that matter.

So today we're shooting for a very ambitious goal: Reach $1 million so we can dramatically expand the campaign we launched yesterday going after politicians who support this awful war. Can you chip in $25 toward our goal?

~BT

Giuliani must face the NRA

Via The Caucus,

The sportsmen (and the politicians who love them) are set to converge on the capital this weekend as the National Rifle Association holds a “Celebration of American Values.”

Speakers include some of the movement’s best-known conservatives, both on and off the presidential ballot, including Newt Gingrich, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Fred D. Thompson and Senator John McCain. But perhaps the most-watched remarks will be those given by Rudolph W. Giuliani, who was a vocal supporter of gun control as mayor of New York.

During a 1995 appearance on PBS’s “The Charlie Rose Show,” Mr. Giuliani was critical of the influential gun group.

“I agree that it’s the person who uses the gun that is the source of the real problem, but the gun is also the source of a very big problem,” he said, referring to the classic N.R.A. slogan, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”

He continued, “And the N.R.A.’s in essence defense of assault weapons, and their unwillingness to deal with some of the realities we face here in cities, is a terrible, terrible mistake.”

“This really should be an indication. Let’s have national licensing and gun control,” Mr. Giuliani says in another interview currently circulating on YouTube. “Ninety-five percent of the shootings in New York City occur with guns from outside of the city of New York, and they’re really victimizing us at this point with the craziness of this ‘you can buy any gun you want, anyplace you want, you wait five days…’”

That video also has a clip of him calling a Second Amendment objection to the gun control laws he endorses “an overstated argument.”

I'm not sure how Rudy actually wins the Republican nomination. Can we expect a flip-flop on gun control too?

~BT

Vilsack attacks Giuliani

Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor, attacked Rudy Giuliani's past personal life in a television interview with a New York Television station. From a fellow Penn blog, The Appletonian:

When asked about Rudy being the Republican nominee in an interview with a New York TV station, he said the following: "I can't even get into the number of marriages...and the relationship that he has with his children." Vilsack went on to say that Rudy has "a very interesting past."

I think it is great that Democrats are going after Rudy Guiliani's personal life. The conservative attack machine will trash whichever Democratic presidential nominee that is chosen and delve into their past personal life. So, they might as well make the same point about Rudy and other Republicans for that matter.

Because we are still in the primary season, this partisan attack appeals to the Democratic activist base and at the same time makes it harder for Rudy to gain the support of social conservatives that he will need to get the nomination.

I say, good for Vilsack and hope there's more where that comes from. It's time Democrats respond to the constant attacks from the right.

~BT

Penn Endowment Grows to $6.6 billion, a 20% Return

Great news!

The University of Pennsylvania's endowment returned 20.2 percent for the fiscal year that ended June 30, bringing its total market value to $6.6 billion. The endowment has grown more than 65% during the past three years thanks to strong investment returns, new gifts and the reinvestment of reserves.

It's about time Penn had a good investment return, unlike previous years when Penn had dismal performance relative to our Ivy peers. Last week, the Daily Pennsylvanian had a softball Q&A with Penn's Chief Investments Officer Kristin Gilbertson which didn't mention any of the recurring divestment issues and how Penn can use its huge endowment to affect change through socially-responsible investment principles.

~BT

George Bush: Betrayal of Trust

Moveon.org, a great organization of which I am a proud member, has put together a new ad that calls Bush out for betraying the trust of the people and tells Congress that his plan isn't going to cut it. Read the facts at https://pol.moveon.org/betrayaloftrust/

~BT

Loonie reaches parity with US Dollar

The Canadian dollar, known to us Canadians as the Loonie, has reached parity with the American dollar for the first time in 30 years. This has been a story Canadians have been following for years now as the Loonie has risen over 60% over the last 5 years. In real terms, that means that my Penn education now costs less than half as much as it did my freshmen year and that since my assets are denominated in Canadian dollars, my net worth has risen 60% relative to my American peers. Not bad.

This story here has to do with the US dollar weakness against all major currencies and will likely continue its decline as global current account imbalances work themselves out.

With oil closing at record highs above $80 and the mortgage crisis continuing to take its toll, things are not looking good for the US economy.

Cross-posted at Canadian Liberal @ Penn

~BT

Jena 6: It's time for action!

On September 20, there will be a Day of Action in support of the Jena 6. From Color of Change:

Last fall in Jena, Louisiana, the day after two black high school students sat beneath the "white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more black students sat under the tree in protest. The District Attorney then came to the school accompanied by the town's police and demanded that the students end their protest, telling them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen."

A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA did nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the DA responded by charging six black students with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

It's a story that reads like one from the Jim Crow era, when judges, lawyers and all-white juries used the justice system to keep blacks in "their place"--but it's happening today.

...Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor, were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high -- between $70,000 and $138,000 -- that the boys were left in prison for months as families went deep into debt to release them.

On Penn's campus, Efe Stella Johnson the chairwoman of the United Minorities Council (UMC), recently sent out an action alert to UMC members. I hope this is just the beginning of further campus activism. The UMC also launched a blog this semester which you should check out.

It is also great to see that there is a broad coalition of national civil rights organizations including the NAACP and ACLU, supporting this effort. Last week, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced that it will be a part of the civil rights community seeking justice in the case of six black teenagers who have fallen victim to severe racial bias at the hands of judicial authorities in Jena, Louisiana.

Over at Openleft.com, Matt Stoller shows the stunning contrast between independent coverage and how the traditional media is distorting the story. And, that's not even mentioning the complete lack of national news coverage since the incident happened last year! Watch both of these reports, one from Brian Williams and one from an independent outfit, and note the difference in narration and the use of facts. It's really, well, stunning.

You can join the Facebook event here. Be sure to wear black on Thursday September 20th and take a stand against racism!

~BT

Yep, I think we have a trend

• Fox censors Sally Field's political comments about the war at the Emmy's.

• University of Arizona young Democrat banned from forum over t-shirt

• The Bush administration's anti-protester manual
  

• Nicole and Jeffery Rank arrested because they refused to take their t-shirts off at a Bush event on the 4th of July.

• University of Florida student who was arrested and tasered at a John Kerry event.
  

Mattew Good on the subject:

Dissent is something guaranteed us, though a right that is universally despised by those in power. We possess the right to dissent, to freedom of speech and expression, so that we have the power to voice discontentment, even if just a single person standing on a street corner.

Yet our perception of democracy is a convoluted one in that it does not particularly exist in this country, nor in most that claim it as their foundation. In reality, plutocratic governance is a far greater reality, and has been for centuries. Those that have the power to economically influence are of greater importance to government than the average citizen, that is the unfortunate state in which we are all born into.

~BT

Updated: Out of control!

U.S. Sen. John Kerry's speech at the University of Florida came to a dramatic close Monday, shortly after a vocal audience member was hauled off by police and shot with a Taser gun.

After watching this video, I am really frustrated and disgusted with what happened.

This afternoon, John Kerry released a statement saying "In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way."

Meanwhile, Tom Nolan, a criminal-justice professor and former cop who teaches at Boston University, has his own views of the incident which were e-mailed to reporters by the university's media-relations office. Nolan doesn't side with the campus police.

“The deployment of an immobilizing, less-lethal weapon in an auditorium crowded with students to bring an unruly student (who was being arrested for a misdemeanor charge) under control, by no fewer than six police officers, is a shocking and dangerous breach of police protocol."

You can check out all the details at Andrew Meyer's website. I hope the march they have planned is well attended and that the outrage on campus can be wielded in a constructive way to not only change police policies but also shed light on how dissent is consistently stifled on and off campuses across the country.

~BT

Update: About 200 people marched to the University of Florida Police Department Tuesday afternoon to protest the arrest and use of a Taser.

An online post announcing the march, which started at the Plaza of the Americans, had called for officers involved to be suspended and investigated, policies involving disrupting speech and using weapons such as Tasers to be re-evaluated and all charges against the student to be dropped.

Also,

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has released a statement condemning the use of a Taser gun in the arrest of University of Florida student Andrew Meyer on campus Monday.

Executive Director Howard Simon said aside from the possible use of excessive force, the response of the University Police Department "squandered the free speech rights of both Kerry and Meyer."

Update 2: The two officers involved in the tasering have been suspended and police report that the arrested student told them: 'You didn't do anything wrong'.

Update 3: I was also reminded of another Taser incident in a library at UCLA.

Update 4: An eye-witness account via Dailykos diary that paints a very different picture. (h/t to Billy)

College Republicans want us to remember 9/11

The Penn community got a visual reminder of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks, courtesy of none other than Penn's College Republicans. The College Republicans chairman, Jack Abraham, who I have much respect for, said "it's not just for conservative people or Republicans". Of course it isn't, this political event was designed for maximum impact and was financed by the Young America Foundation, the premier conservative youth organization. They want us to think that this is simply a memorial and the DP is kind enough to oblige with their prominent coverage. Will they be remembering all the of the deaths resulting from Bush's failed Iraq adventure which he has pursued in the name of all of those 9/11 victims? I think not.

The reason for this political event is no different than why Giuliani mentions 9/11 at every opportunity and why for him "every day is an anniversary of Sept. 11". Republicans and the conservative movement want the American public to keep their focus on the attack on 9/11 and the 'terrorists' purely as a political strategy. They don't want people talking about the failed war in Iraq or asking questions about why we are even there, since Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Is it simply a coincidence that General Petreaus testified the day before the anniversary of 9/11? In fact, he was originally scheduled to deliver testimony on September 11th.

This is just another example of the power and resources that conservative groups have on campuses across this country. Even though they are significantly smaller in numbers, at least at Penn, they are much better funded and have substantial connections to the broader conservative movement.

Luckily, the progressive movement has begun to realize the importance of supporting progressive students and is beginning to organize on campuses. Through Campus Progress, progressives on college campuses are now able to access the same types of resources as our conservative peers. With the Penn Dems and a slew of advocacy groups, I hope to soon be writing much more about progressive organizing on Penn's campus.

~BT

Olbermann: Bush is 'playing us'

Yesterday, Keith Olbermann delivered his latest special comment focusing on Bush's recent photo-op in Iraq.

~BT