tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post7605752161883341543..comments2024-03-28T15:24:53.579-04:00Comments on Rational Nation USA: UC Berkeley Administration Displeased...Les Carpenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-62708720710470271932014-11-04T12:33:50.097-05:002014-11-04T12:33:50.097-05:00Actually, to the degree to which one finds no diff...Actually, to the degree to which one finds no difference between Rice, Clinton, Kerry, etc in this is the degree to which one has drank the Kool-aid.Dervish Sandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13671865801885224353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-2960276560041235372014-11-04T06:47:25.659-05:002014-11-04T06:47:25.659-05:00....and the degree to which one finds a big differ.......and the degree to which one finds a big difference between Rice, Clinton, Kerry, etc in this is the degree to which one has drank the Kool-aid.dmarkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269773990064736457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-72478425336183555722014-11-03T11:39:33.457-05:002014-11-03T11:39:33.457-05:00Condi Rice is no more a liar than any other Secret...Condi Rice is no more a liar than any other Secretary of State in support of their boss. Clinton and Kerry included.Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-19870224619904475052014-11-03T11:03:41.831-05:002014-11-03T11:03:41.831-05:00I should have said that you SHOULDN'T rescind ...I should have said that you SHOULDN'T rescind an offer once it was extended. RN is correct, yes you could. And should, if justified (for the right reasons). Like when Condi Rice was invited - which RN blogged about previously.<br /><br />BTW, I very much like Mr. Maher, except for the "Muslim bigotry". But then Bill Maher does not think that highly of ALL religions. Although atheists usually come across as smug and self-satisfied to me* Maher, while in that mode is no different. Still, I absolutely prefer him to the liar Condi Rice. And I think Maher would take it seriously.<br /><br />Anyway, everyone knew his position on Islam before the most recent comments that people are objecting to. If they don't want him speaking for that reason they shouldn't have invited him to begin with.<br /><br />(*this is a general comment in regards to atheists in general and NOT a comment directed at RN).Dervish Sandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13671865801885224353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-83258327565913007822014-11-03T09:54:28.989-05:002014-11-03T09:54:28.989-05:00Flying said: " I can't really stand Maher...Flying said: " I can't really stand Maher because he is so smug and self-satisfied. Like a liberal GWB."<br /><br />Or a liberal Limbaugh. An entertainer whose "humor" is often based on bigotry and contempt for those he considers to be inferior to himself.dmarkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269773990064736457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-55962008508060705242014-11-03T08:02:30.976-05:002014-11-03T08:02:30.976-05:00It looks clear from the comments above that inviti...It looks clear from the comments above that inviting the bigoted bomb-thrower Maher in the first place was beneath the standards and reputation of this university.... and that reputation is further damaged by yanking him due to the intolerant braying of others.dmarkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269773990064736457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-27205788116794425472014-11-02T22:43:01.129-05:002014-11-02T22:43:01.129-05:00I don't really know exactly what Berkeley was ...I don't really know exactly what Berkeley was all about in the late 1960s. Suffice it to say they opposed the war in Viet Nam. I think just about everybody opposes it now in hindsight except for the ethnic Chinese that were forced to flee to the U.S.<br /><br />My thoughts are based on television programming made available by UC Berkeley on UCTV, broadcast on my own ucsd.tv uhf station. My favorite is Harry Kreisler. He interviews people from every walk of life, politics, military and government and always asks them how their parents helped to shape their life as his first question.<br /><br />Actually, UC Santa Barbara has a more varied and interesting output of programming in its totality. These are wonderful discussions with people like Michelle Bachelet, Vicente Fox, Isabel Allende, Poet Laureate Charles Wright, Greg Mortenson, maybe the former commander of CENTCOM, an ordinary officer who served in Afghanistan, a three star general, people you would never hear anywhere else.<br /><br />I feel that Reagan became a better statesman in his later years. I can't really stand Maher because he is so smug and self-satisfied. Like a liberal GWB.Flying Juniorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02098313953658606206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-44437465764845602522014-11-01T20:33:14.814-04:002014-11-01T20:33:14.814-04:00I liked Reagan, can stomach Maher in very small do...I liked Reagan, can stomach Maher in very small doses, and I too value higher learning and education. Without bias and politics.Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-10415456792023675652014-11-01T10:54:25.175-04:002014-11-01T10:54:25.175-04:00True, I'm no fan of Reagan. Nor Maher. I do ...True, I'm no fan of Reagan. Nor Maher. I do place much value in higher education, though.BB-Idahohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388509941702241290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-40855492613068043872014-10-31T22:58:33.725-04:002014-10-31T22:58:33.725-04:00It is clear BB Idaho and Flying Junior that you we...It is clear BB Idaho and Flying Junior that you weren't Reagan advocates.<br /><br />Politics rule, always have, always will, and academia unfortunately is influenced by politics. Elusive is the state of non bias.Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-82957047921794615932014-10-31T01:34:08.192-04:002014-10-31T01:34:08.192-04:00Thank you for pointing that out BB-Idaho. My firs...Thank you for pointing that out BB-Idaho. My first reaction was simply that together with UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley publishes and records an enormous body of international, politically and sociologically significant content, comprising perhaps one of the greatest resources of discussion and thought in U.S. academia. To send off the graduating class with the antics of a television clown like Maher just seems incomprehensible. At least someone like Condoleeza Rice would have taken the responsibility seriously.<br /><br />This flap about the Muslim Mafia just sounds like so much of his typical off-the-wall ejaculate that he enjoys spouting off just for shock value. At one of the oldest and most venerated campuses in California. Preposterous.Flying Juniorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02098313953658606206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-50005694850811397342014-10-30T18:44:13.999-04:002014-10-30T18:44:13.999-04:00The brouhaha stems from Maher's statements on ...The brouhaha stems from Maher's statements on Muslims and the response led by Berkeley's <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/10/27/uc_berkeley_students_are_petitioning_against_bill_maher_as_commencement_speaker/" rel="nofollow">Muslim students</a> . Lots of angles; we know they never invited<br /><a href="http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/06/08_reagan.shtml" rel="nofollow">invited Regan to speak</a> . Governor Reagan was propelled into the presidency, UC-Berkeley turned out 70<br />Nobel laureates.<br />BB-Idahohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388509941702241290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-46973199540853979572014-10-30T18:18:06.790-04:002014-10-30T18:18:06.790-04:00Well, yes you could. And should, if justified (fo...Well, yes you could. And should, if justified (for the right reasons). <br /><br />You might be right. But, I'm a skeptic/cynic<br /><br />Good point, you very well could be right.Les Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8549971354391868786.post-12545356400221502612014-10-30T18:02:57.324-04:002014-10-30T18:02:57.324-04:00You can't rescind an invitation once it is ext...You can't rescind an invitation once it is extended. That's rude. I don't think this has anything to do with some speech being more free than other forms of speech. The school likely doesn't want to gain a reputation of extending and then rescinding invitations. Future invitees might decline if they think the invitation might later be rescinded.Dervish Sandershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13671865801885224353noreply@blogger.com