Let’s be honest – the aide should not have said this, even though the truth of the statement is well-documented.

The father of a middle school student in Spring is upset about comments a teacher's aide made in class. They had to do with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

David Glasker is used to answering questions from his 12-year-old son. But there was one question last week about civil rights leader Martin Luther King that he wasn't prepared for.

Glasker recalled, "'Dad, what is a womanizer?' I looked to him, 'Son, where did you hear this term?'"

His son claimed that's how his teacher's aide described King during a discussion last Thursday. The students were in math class talking about the civil rights leader when he claims the teacher's aide injected her opinion. It's an opinion Glasker is not only offended by, but feels had no place in a math class.

"This is math, this is not American history," he said. "If you're going to talk about a subject, let's keep it to what the class is about."

So, is he objecting to a discussion of MLK in class? Or to the characterization of the civil rights leader?

Well, it quickly becomes clear what the problem is. The parent just doesn’t like having the truth told about King – and doesn’t know the difference between a fact and an opinion. Not that King’s apparent human weakness in any way diminishes his greatness or his accomplishments.

While Glasker isn't against the aide for having her opinions -- in fact, others have written similar statements about King in the past -- he feels based on what his son told him, the aide didn't provide context to the class nor verifiable documentation. Other parents agree.

"I would want the kids to find out the truth, and not something that somebody's assuming," said parent McCoy Brown.

So rather than deal with the facts, parents want the aide sanctioned – which may be an appropriate course of action in this case. After all, is the sex life of a long-deceased American hero a particularly appropriate topic for discussion with young children? However, the basis should be educational appropriateness, not some sort of politically correct sanitizing of history.

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I’m not sure which is worse – the fact that Planned Parenthood officials helped victimize this girl by failing to carry out their legal (and moral) obligation to report her molestation by her father, or their attempt to dodge responsibility by accusing the victim’s supporters of victimizing her by supporting her efforts to hold Planned Parenthood accountable.

The suit in Ohio alleges that when the girl sought an abortion in November 2004 -- she was 16 years old at the time -- she told Planned Parenthood staff that her father was the baby's father and that he had been raping her since 2000.

It alleges that the employees did not comply with Ohio law, which requires them to report suspicion of rape and incest to authorities. The suit charges that failure to report the rape led to another year and a half of abuse.

The girl, whom Cybercast News Service will not name because the crime was committed when she was a minor, is seeking $25,000 in damages "to compensate her for the severe harm she has suffered as a direct result of [Planned Parenthood's] breach of their duties owed her." She also asks the court to levy punitive damages against Planned Parenthood.

Becki Brenner, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, told Cybercast News Service Tuesday that she feels sorry for the girl who is suing her organization, calling her a victim of pro-life activists.

"I consider this woman a victim not only from her father and the abuse that occurred previously," Brenner said, "but I feel she's also being a victim from this court case and what's going on politically regarding this case."

Brenner has it exactly wrong here. The young woman is certainly the victim of her father, but is also the victim of Planned Parenthood. That the spokesperson of this criminal organization would blame those who are assisting the victim is incredibly low – but then again, given that the organization supports itself by murdering the unborn, why should we be surprised.

Posted by: Greg at 01:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I’m not sure which is worse – the fact that Planned Parenthood officials helped victimize this girl by failing to carry out their legal (and moral) obligation to report her molestation by her father, or their attempt to dodge responsibility by accusing the victim’s supporters of victimizing her by supporting her efforts to hold Planned Parenthood accountable.

The suit in Ohio alleges that when the girl sought an abortion in November 2004 -- she was 16 years old at the time -- she told Planned Parenthood staff that her father was the baby's father and that he had been raping her since 2000.

It alleges that the employees did not comply with Ohio law, which requires them to report suspicion of rape and incest to authorities. The suit charges that failure to report the rape led to another year and a half of abuse.

The girl, whom Cybercast News Service will not name because the crime was committed when she was a minor, is seeking $25,000 in damages "to compensate her for the severe harm she has suffered as a direct result of [Planned Parenthood's] breach of their duties owed her." She also asks the court to levy punitive damages against Planned Parenthood.

Becki Brenner, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, told Cybercast News Service Tuesday that she feels sorry for the girl who is suing her organization, calling her a victim of pro-life activists.

"I consider this woman a victim not only from her father and the abuse that occurred previously," Brenner said, "but I feel she's also being a victim from this court case and what's going on politically regarding this case."

Brenner has it exactly wrong here. The young woman is certainly the victim of her father, but is also the victim of Planned Parenthood. That the spokesperson of this criminal organization would blame those who are assisting the victim is incredibly low – but then again, given that the organization supports itself by murdering the unborn, why should we be surprised.

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Want proof? Go to Hazelton, PA.

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, who gained national attention by targeting illegal immigrants living in his small northeastern Pennsylvania city, cruised to the Republican nomination for a third term on Tuesday - and unexpectedly won the Democratic nomination, too.

Barletta trounced GOP challenger Dee Deakos with nearly 94 percent of the vote. And he beat former Mayor Michael Marsicano for the Democratic nomination by staging a last-minute write-in campaign, all but guaranteeing himself another term, unofficial returns showed.

"I think the message is clear," Barletta said. "The people of Hazleton want me to keep fighting for them."

The Republican mayor said Democrats kept telling him they wished they could vote for him in the primary. So, about a week ago, he mailed instructions to Democratic voters on how to write in his name.

Just goes to show what American patriots want done about illegal immigration.

Round ‘em up! Ship ‘em back! Rawhide!

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Of all the nerve! Prosecutors comparing people who burn down buildings to intimidate their opponents being compared to terrorists who burned down buildings to intimidate their opponents!

Defense attorneys expressed outrage Tuesday when federal prosecutors compared 10 Earth Liberation Front arsonists who are awaiting sentencing to Ku Klux Klan arsonists.

"I cannot sit idly by and hear what these defendants did be compared to acts of the Ku Klux Klan burning empty churches," defense attorney Amanda Lee said in federal court.

But what are these eco-freaks charged with? Burning down empty buildings for political purposes – just like the Kluxers.

And the prosecutor had it exactly right.

Federal prosecutors asked Judge Ann Aiken that a so-called terrorism enhancement be added to their sentences.

"This is a classic case of terrorism, despite their protests of lofty humane goals," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Peifer said. "It was pure luck no one was killed or injured by their actions. If that is (humane), then the Ku Klux Klan did not commit terrorism."

IÂ’m sure the sheet-heads in the KKK thought they were justified, too. Just ask Senator Byrd.

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When you start blaming America for 9/11, it is time for you to go. I'm sure that clip will be circulating down here we Texas Republicans look for a credible candidate to unseat him. There is no legitimate justification for 9/11 -- and the fact that Ron Paul argues that there is puts him beyond the pale of the GOP.

At one point, one of Mr. GiulianiÂ’s lesser-known opponents, Representative Ron Paul of Texas, gave what turned out to be a big platform to Mr. Giuliani when he appeared to suggest that the United States invited the attacks of Sept. 11 by having originally invaded Iraq.

“May I comment on that?” Mr. Giuliani said, looking grim. “That’s really an extraordinary statement. That’s an extraordinary statement, as someone who lived through the attack of Sept. 11, that we invited the attack because we were attacking Iraq. I don’t think I’ve heard that before, and I’ve heard some pretty absurd explanations for Sept. 11.”

Mr. Giuliani was interrupted by cheers and applause. “And I would ask the congressman to withdraw that comment and tell us that he didn’t really mean that,” he said.

Ron Paul needs to get out of the presidential race -- and out of the US Congress. And not only that -- the GOP needs to put distance between ourselves and the Kucinich of the Right. I wonder how a resolution rebuking Ron Paul would go over at the next Executive Committee meeting.

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When you start getting favorable write-ups in the NY Times, it is fair to say that your religion is going mainstream.

Above the womanÂ’s fireplace hangs her wedding picture, taken in a Lutheran church years ago. Below it, on the mantelpiece, is a small Wiccan altar: two candles, a tiny cauldron, four stones to represent the elements of nature and a small amethyst representing her spirit.

The wedding portrait is always there. But whenever someone comes to visit, the woman sweeps the altar away. Raised Southern Baptist in Virginia and now a stay-at-home mother of two in this Washington suburb, she has told almost no one — not her relatives, her friends or the other mothers in her children’s playgroups — that she is Wiccan.

Among the most popular religions to have flowered since the 1960s, Wicca — a form of paganism — still faces a struggle for acceptance, experts on the religion and Wiccans themselves said. In April, Wiccans won an important victory when the Department of Veterans Affairs settled a lawsuit and agreed to add the Wiccan pentacle to a list of approved religious symbols that it will engrave on veterans’ headstones.

But Wicca in the civilian world is largely a religion in hiding. Wiccans fear losing their friends and jobs if people find out about their faith.

I'm not a Wiccan, and I don't agree with their theology. That said, I don't have a problem with the practice of the faith and respect those friends who are open practitioners (which include at least one colleague and one student). I appreciate the interesting article.

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This is a shocking development -- she was so terribly young.

Yolanda Denise King, daughter and eldest child of civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has died, said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the King Center.

King died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 51.

Klein said the family did not know the cause of death but that relatives think it might have been a heart problem.

This is, of course, a terrible tragedy for the King family, and my prayers are with them at this time.

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Sponsored Post

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So now we know what qualifies as torture at Gitmo.

An accused enemy combatant held at Guantanamo Bay told a military hearing he was physically as well as mentally tortured there by having to read a newsletter full of 'crap,' being forced to use unscented deodorant and shampoo and having to play sports with a ball that would not bounce.

Majid Khan of Pakistan denied any connection to Al Qaeda and said he was tortured and his family hounded by U.S. authorities, according to a redacted transcript released Tuesday by the Pentagon.

Khan told an April 15 hearing called to determine whether he was rightly classified as an "enemy combatant" that he also had his baby pictures taken from him, that cleaners left marks on his cell walls and that detainees have no DVD players or other entertainment.

At one point, Kan said he wrote on his walls, "stop torturing me, I need my mails, newspaper and my lawyer."

So now hat we know what the allegations are, I think we can see that the claims of inhumane conditions at Guantanamo Bay are nothing but a load of crap from enemies of this country and their fellow travelers. Call me when we start cutting off heads like this jihadi pig's fellow terrorists do -- maybe I'll start to care then. In the mean time, Majid Khan and the rest can do without Grey Poupon and other such indignities.

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Love him or hate him – and I’ve done both over the years – one has to admit that Jerry Falwell made a major impact upon American politics and religion.

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, who founded the Moral Majority and built the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University, a school executive said. He was 73.

Ron Godwin, the university's executive vice president, said Falwell, 73, was found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital. "CPR efforts were unsuccessful," he said.

Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse, but he said Falwell "has a history of heart challenges."

"I had breakfast with him, and he was fine at breakfast," Godwin said. "He went to his office, I went to mine, and they found him unresponsive."

FalwellÂ’s death was clearly sudden and unexpected, and comes as a shock to those associate with him. May his family, friends, church members and students all be comforted in this time of loss.

And IÂ’d like to note that the classiest response IÂ’ve seen to FalwellÂ’s passing comes from Al Sharpton.

"I am deeply saddened by the passing of Reverend Jerry Falwell. Though he and I debated much and disagreed often, we shared a very cordial and warm friendship. I visited him in Lynchburg, dined with him, and even talked with him during personal crises. Though we were as politically opposite as two people could be, I truly respected his commitment to his beliefs and our mutual belief in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As I stated to my nationally syndicated radio show, I pray for the Falwell family and join the nation in mourning the passing of this religious leader."

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Come home – but not until the job is done. That is the position taken by the American people.

A majority (54%) of the 903 adults surveyed last week disagree with Reid's assessment that the war is lost, with 30% disagreeing "strongly." Meanwhile, 78% say Iraq should be stabilized before troops are withdrawn. Fully 48% believe this is "very important."

In short, the idea of stabilizing Iraq before withdrawing troops has universal appeal, and the idea could potentially unify support behind the president.
In fact, our poll shows this concept appeals not only to Republicans, 91% of whom agree with it, and Independents (80%), but to a solid majority of Democrats (66%). Even those who believe we have lost the war believe stabilization is important.

The leadership of the neo-Copperhead Democrats wants to cut-and-run-and surrender in Iraq. They donÂ’t care what the consequences will be. Americans view the matter differently. Perhaps that is why the approval rate for Congress is now at 29%, lower than that for the President.

Even though Democrats now control both houses of Congress, the poll shows that only 37% of Democrats approve of the job Congress is doing right now. These marks are, however, significantly better than those given to Congress by independents (24%) and Republicans (25%). Democrats have been more likely than Republicans to approve of Congress this year, whereas Republicans expressed a higher level of approval prior to the change of power experienced after the midterm congressional elections in November 2006.

Seems to me that the Democrats have lost whatever mandate they may have had.

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The anecdote remains with me, years after reading about it. In advance of the arrival of Pope John Paul II for his first papal visit to the United States, a prominent Protestant religious scholar and ecumenist received a call from a journalist for one of the major television networks. This producer needed help from the scholar, you see – in order to provide balance and fairness in the coverage of this historic event, it was necessary for her to find a “respectable anti-Catholic” to provide commentary during the broadcast.

Why the need to find someone to bash the Pope? Why not respectfully present the historical and religious event as significant in and of itself – perhaps even with a little bit of reverence? Because of a misguided notion of “fairness” as found in the so-called “Fariness Doctrine”, that’s why. Because of a government mandate that there be equal time given to different points of view, even the bigots need to be given their say.

Of course, advocates of this faux fairness would argue, equal time doesn’t mean that any old viewpoint needs to be given a chance to be heard on the airways. But as a practical matter, it will mean giving special prominence to “opposing views” that are outside the mainstream in the interest of making “good television” or “good radio”. We already see that, when Ann Coulter is used as the “conservative voice” on liberal shows. Rather than a thoughtful voice, we get screeching rants that contribute lots of heat and very little light. But at least Coulter has the advantage of being somewhat in the mainstream, as measured by book sales and circulation figures.

But imagine a discussion of terrorism. Will it be necessary for every discussion a bombing to include an apologist for Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda? And if the discussion doesn’t, has the station in question violated its obligation to provide balance? Doesn’t the Fairness Doctrine really do nothing more than create a new grievance class – in this case, marginalized terror supporters. Should the WTC attacks on 9/11 have been accompanied with the pious dronings of an America-hating Islamist to explain why our nation deserved to have thousands killed?

But the reality is that such extremes may still be left out, on the theory that their views are sufficiently bizarre to include. Instead, the new rules will be used to force conservative commentators to include liberal views – or broadcasters to exclude the conservative commentators that the audience has again and again shown that it wants. That isn’t fairness – that is out-and-out censorship. And it is the goal of those seeking to revive the Fairness Doctrine.

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The anecdote remains with me, years after reading about it. In advance of the arrival of Pope John Paul II for his first papal visit to the United States, a prominent Protestant religious scholar and ecumenist received a call from a journalist for one of the major television networks. This producer needed help from the scholar, you see – in order to provide balance and fairness in the coverage of this historic event, it was necessary for her to find a “respectable anti-Catholic” to provide commentary during the broadcast.

Why the need to find someone to bash the Pope? Why not respectfully present the historical and religious event as significant in and of itself – perhaps even with a little bit of reverence? Because of a misguided notion of “fairness” as found in the so-called “Fariness Doctrine”, that’s why. Because of a government mandate that there be equal time given to different points of view, even the bigots need to be given their say.

Of course, advocates of this faux fairness would argue, equal time doesn’t mean that any old viewpoint needs to be given a chance to be heard on the airways. But as a practical matter, it will mean giving special prominence to “opposing views” that are outside the mainstream in the interest of making “good television” or “good radio”. We already see that, when Ann Coulter is used as the “conservative voice” on liberal shows. Rather than a thoughtful voice, we get screeching rants that contribute lots of heat and very little light. But at least Coulter has the advantage of being somewhat in the mainstream, as measured by book sales and circulation figures.

But imagine a discussion of terrorism. Will it be necessary for every discussion a bombing to include an apologist for Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda? And if the discussion doesn’t, has the station in question violated its obligation to provide balance? Doesn’t the Fairness Doctrine really do nothing more than create a new grievance class – in this case, marginalized terror supporters. Should the WTC attacks on 9/11 have been accompanied with the pious dronings of an America-hating Islamist to explain why our nation deserved to have thousands killed?

But the reality is that such extremes may still be left out, on the theory that their views are sufficiently bizarre to include. Instead, the new rules will be used to force conservative commentators to include liberal views – or broadcasters to exclude the conservative commentators that the audience has again and again shown that it wants. That isn’t fairness – that is out-and-out censorship. And it is the goal of those seeking to revive the Fairness Doctrine.

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The data is pretty clear – and shows that attitudes towards Jews haven’t particularly changed in the six decades since the Holocaust.

Many Europeans believe the Jews dictate US policy in the Middle East, wield disproportionate global economic influence and talk too much about the Holocaust, according to a report released Monday by the Anti-Defamation League.

The report's findings found that significant numbers of people in five European countries continue to hold anti-Jewish stereotypes, said Abraham Foxman, national director of the US group.

"A large number of Europeans continue to be infected with anti-Jewish attitudes, holding on to classical anti-Jewish canards and conspiracy theories," Foxman said at a news conference where he presented the report.

The survey of 2,714 people in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland found that 51 percent of respondents believed that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the countries in which they live. In the Spanish sample, the figure was 60%. In France, only 39% agreed.

I wonder to what degree the survey reflects the failure to eradicate the hate that brought on the Holocaust, and to what degree it shows the Islamicization of Europe.

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Not only do they fail to follow state laws requiring the reporting of child abuse, but now Planned Parenthood of California is threatening to sue those who uncovered the criminal activity going on in their clinics.

On Monday, PPLA sent a cease-and-desist letter to Rose, warning her that "surreptitious" recordings of PPLA employees without consent violates California privacy laws.

California law prohibits recording "intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a confidential communication." Violating the prohibition could mean a $2,500 fine, plus civil penalties of $5,000 or more.

In the letter, obtained by Cybercast News Service, PPLA president Mary Jane Wagle demands that Rose stop the undercover investigations, remove existing clips from online video sharing site YouTube, and turn the original tapes and all copies over to Planned Parenthood.

"If you do not agree to take these three steps, PPLA will seek all appropriate legal remedies," Wagle wrote.

Cybercast News Service obtained a copy of the video and audio before the cease-and-desist letter went into effect and has preserved it for our readers' benefit. Click here for the full video -- a large file that may take time to load. (As it was produced by Rose, the video features clips of a song by rapper Ludacris and singer Mary J. Blige called "Runaway.")

David French, an attorney with the Christian legal group Alliance Defense Fund, accused Planned Parenthood of "engaging in a campaign...to bully an 18-year old to distract attention from the fact that their employees were engaging in unlawful behavior."

French, who is serving as Rose's legal adviser, said, "Nothing changes the truth of what's contained in those videotapes. Planned Parenthood was advocating that a patient lie, advocating a way around mandatory reporting requirements for statutory rape, and nothing that Planned Parenthood does as far as trying to bully her regarding the tapes themselves can change those facts."

So let’s get this straight – California law protects criminals from being caught in the course of their crimes, under the theory put forward by lawyers for Planned Parenthood. What is even more frightening is the demand that investigations of Planned Parenthood by the media cease – indicating that Planned Parenthood believes that the fictitious right to an abortion is superior to the freedom of the press guaranteed by the US Constitution.

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I cannot fathom what possible valid educational objective there could be in this incident? How can scaring the crap out of a bunch of children like this possibly be justified?

Staff members of an elementary school staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was not a drill as the children cried and hid under tables.

The mock attack Thursday night was intended as a learning experience and lasted five minutes during the weeklong trip to a state park, said Scales Elementary School Assistant Principal Don Bartch, who led the trip.

"We got together and discussed what we would have done in a real situation," he said.

But parents of the sixth-grade students were outraged.

"The children were in that room in the dark, begging for their lives, because they thought there was someone with a gun after them," said Brandy Cole, whose son went on the trip.

Some parents said they were upset by the staff's poor judgment in light of the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech that left 33 students and professors dead, including the gunman.

During the last night of the trip, staff members convinced the 69 students that there was a gunman on the loose. They were told to lie on the floor or hide underneath tables and stay quiet. A teacher, disguised in a hooded sweat shirt, even pulled on a locked door.

After the lights went out, about 20 kids started to cry, 11-year-old Shay Naylor said.

"I was like, 'Oh My God,' " she said. "At first I thought I was going to die. We flipped out."

Principal Catherine Stephens declined to say whether the staff members involved would face disciplinary action, but said the situation "involved poor judgment."

Yes, you read that right -- an assistant principal was a full participant in this "learning experience". And administrator was involved in putting children in fear for their lives.

I hope Tennessee has some process for revoking the certification of educators who abuse children in this manner -- and I hope it is immediately used. And at a minimum, I hope the district involved uses every available legal remedy to fire each and every teacher involved in this disgusting abuse of authority -- which is, in the end, nothing less than the psychological abuse of each and every one of the children in their care.

UPDATE: Looks like there may be real penalties after all. One teacher and one AP have been suspended -- and I hope that this is done with a view towards termination. What will happen to the rest of those involved? And will there actually be serious sanctions?

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That possibility seems to be getting closer.

The Texas House on Monday gave tentative approval to a bill that would replace the high-stakes, highly unpopular TAKS test with a series of end-of-year exams that could make graduation easier for high school students who excel in class but do poorly on tests.

The House bill would eliminate the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS, in stages beginning in 2011 for grades six through 12. High school students in grades nine through 11 would be required to take standardized end-of-year exams in four core courses — English language arts, math, science and social studies.

But in a dramatic change to the state's 20-year-old testing requirements, those students, under one amendment, could conceivably graduate from high school without passing the exams — if they excel in their courses.

The exams would constitute 25 percent of a student's grade in each course. The TAKS is not part of a course grade, but students must pass it to graduate.

The bill's author, Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, was quick to dispel any suggestion that his proposal would weaken academic standards.

"We're intensifying standards," said Eissler, by encouraging teachers to focus on their subject areas and "teach to content, not teach to the test."

"Teachers can go into greater depth and rigor," he added.

I'm for the change -- after all, the test my kids currently have to pass includes absolutely no content from my course, but my teaching is evaluated based upon how they do! An end of course test will actually measure what goes on in my class.

Now I'm not sure about the amendments that are discussed in the article, but I somehow doubt that the Senate will accept them -- especially given teh requirements of NCLB.

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Despite their denials, the proof is there.

Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded that Iran appears to have solved most of its technological problems and is now beginning to enrich uranium on a far larger scale than before, according to the agencyÂ’s top officials.

The findings may change the calculus of diplomacy in Europe and in Washington, which aimed to force a suspension of IranÂ’s enrichment activities in large part to prevent it from learning how to produce weapons-grade material.

In a short-notice inspection of IranÂ’s operations in the main nuclear facility at Natanz on Sunday, conducted in advance of a report to the United Nations Security Council due early next week, the inspectors found that Iranian engineers were already using roughly 1,300 centrifuges and were producing fuel suitable for nuclear reactors, according to diplomats and nuclear experts here.

Now this uranium is not weapons grade -- yet. But don't be surprised to hear that IAEA inspectors have been tossed out of Iran, which will be the signal that the Iranians are taking the next step towards acquiring nuclear weapons.

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Thomas Sowell notes that even liberal economists understand the impact of tax cuts on budget revenues.

The angry left has no time to spend even considering the argument that what they call "tax cuts for the rich" are in fact tax cuts for the economy.

Nor is the idea new that tax cuts can sometimes spur economic growth, resulting in more jobs for workers and higher earnings for business, leading to more tax revenue for the government.

A highly regarded economist once observed that "taxation may be so high as to defeat its object," so that sometimes "a reduction of taxation will run a better chance, than an increase, of balancing the Budget."

Who said that? Milton Friedman? Arthur Laffer? No. It was said in 1933 by John Maynard Keynes, a liberal icon.

Lower tax rates have led to higher tax revenues many times, both before and since Keynes' statement -- the Kennedy tax cuts in the 1960s, the Reagan tax cuts in the 1980s, and the recent Bush tax cuts that have led to record high tax revenues this April.

Now given the constant cries of Democrats to raise taxes, are we to assume that they want the government -- and the economy as a whole -- to operate on less tax revenue? Or that they simply want to punish some folks by confiscating their wealth?

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Hardly a profile in courage.

Rudy Giuliani yesterday fingered his former top emergency-management aide Jerry Hauer as the man responsible for the tragic decision to put the city's emergency command bunker inside the World Trade Center complex.

"Jerry Hauer recommended that as the prime site and the site that would make the most sense," Giuliani said on "Fox News Sunday," adding, "It was largely on his recommendation that that site was selected."

Giuliani was answering a question about why the city built the $61 million bunker on the 23rd floor of 7 World Trade Center despite the 1993 truck-bomb attack on the WTC, even though Hauer - a Democrat who has since had a falling-out with Giuliani - had told him the existing facility in Brooklyn could be updated.

So Giuliani picked the option that was taken -- but it is the fault of the guy who gave him the options. What we have here is certainly not leadership -- it is an exercise in blamesmanship -- and not very presidential.

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Here's one school board member who clearly feels that obtaining the consent of the governed is simply too inconvenient.

But some elected school board members bristle at that suggestion and resent having to ask voters to increase their own tax rates.

"I've already been elected to make that decision," said Rhonda Lowe, president of the Deer Park board.

No, Rhonda, that isn't the case at all. Sorry that the requirements of state law are too much of a burden for you to follow. I'm sure that the voters of Deer Park will be more than willing to replace you with someone who has more respect for them and the requirements of state law.

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I work with teenagers every day. It isn't easy -- and I can only imagine how hard it is to actually parent one. Where do you turn for help when you don't know what to do for your teen? How do you deal with issues like teen curfew times, questionable friends, and the like?

Really, at that point parents need good information. Where can you find it? Try Parenting Teens, a site devoted to parenting teenagers. And I'll be honest -- I'm impressed with the section on education, and some of the questions it deals with. They are ones i know are dealt with at my school every day -- issues of sexual harassment, academic problems, bullying, and drugs. While I wish sites like this were not necessary, I'm pleased to see that this one is available.

There are a couple of other neat features at ParentingTeenagers.com as well. One is a referral list for parenting support groups, where parents can seek out the help of other parents who have faced or are facing the same sorts of problems. In addition, there is a forum where parents can seek help online from other parents who are struggling with or have struggled with the same sorts of issues. Such support is vital for parents.

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I grew up in a military family. While every duty station has a place in my heart, one of those that is particularly special is Guam. I think that it is fair to say that those two years, from 1974 to 1976, may be among those closest to my heart. I loved Guam, and even thought about returning there to teach at one time. And it goes without saying that I loved the people there.

That is why it is really hard to oppose the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act.

Recognizes the suffering and the loyalty of the people of Guam during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II.

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make specified payments to: (1) living Guam residents who were killed, injured, interned, or subjected to forced labor or marches resulting from, or incident to, such occupation and subsequent liberation; and (2) survivors of compensable residents who died in war or survivors of compensable injured residents (such payments to be made after payments have been made to surviving Guam residents).

Defines "compensable Guam decedent" and "compensable Guam victim."
Directs the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to specify injuries that would constitute a severe personal injury or a personal injury. Authorizes the Commission to adjudicate claims and determine payment eligibility.

Requires: (1) claims to be filed within one year after the Commission publishes public notice of the filing period in the Federal Register; and (2) the Commission to make filing period information available to the public through the media in Guam.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a grant program for research, educational, and media activities that memorialize the events surrounding the occupation of Guam during World War II, honor the loyalty of the people of Guam during such occupation, or both.

There is some good stuff in there, but the reparations program is out of the question. The harm suffered came at the hands of the Empire of Japan over 60 years ago, and reparations, if any, should come (or should have come) from the Japanese, not the United States. Furthermore, the precedent of paying reparations to the descendants of those harmed opens up a whole new can of worms – one which makes it impossible for the United States to ever deny any claim for reparations by any group, no matter how remote the ancestral claim.

Memorializing the heroism of the people of Guam during the war, however, is quite important and appropriate. I heard those stories from some of those who survived the occupation. I actually found 30-year-old bullets under my school building, and knew a girl who found a 30 year old Japanese hand grenade in the woods. And I am still moved by the story of the torture and execution (dare I say martyrdom) of Father Jesus Baza Duenas. Let that be done – but the time for US-funded financial reparations for the crimes of Japan has long since passed, if it was ever appropriate.

Posted by: Greg at 11:44 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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The accusation has been around for years – Planned Parenthood abortion facilities fail to report cases of child abuse as required by state law. Now there is proof.

Planned Parenthood is under fire after one of its employees was recorded encouraging a student - who was posing as a pregnant minor - to lie about her age in order to obtain an abortion without the abortion provider having to report the "statutory rape" to the police.

Lila Rose, an 18-year-old sophomore at the University of California Los Angeles, visited a Planned Parenthood clinic in the city, posing as a 15-year-old impregnated by her 23-year-old boyfriend. The visit was part of an investigation for The Advocate, a new pro-life magazine distributed on the UCLA campus.

California law requires abortion clinics to report instances of statutory rape to police. The age of consent in California is 16.

In covertly-filmed video of the meeting between Rose and an unnamed Planned Parenthood employee, the staffer is heard to tell Rose: "If you're 15, we have to report it ... If you're not, if you're older than that, then we don't need to."

"Okay, but if I just say I'm not 15, then it's different?" Rose asks.

"You could say 16," the worker replies, later adding, "Just figure out a birth date that works. And I don't know anything."

Not only that, but Planned parenthood staff is seen pushing the abortion option over other possibilities – so much for being “pro-choice”.

But then again, are we surprised?

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It appears that there is a good sized contingent of religious conservatives ready to anoint Fred Thompson with that title – if and when he does announce his candidacy.

Several leading Christian conservatives say they will rally to former Sen. Fred Thompson, who they expect to announce "in a matter of weeks" that he will seek the Republican nomination for president next year.

"It's not 'if' but 'when,' he will announce," one Protestant evangelical leader says of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering for position in the 2008 race.

A prominent Roman Catholic social conservative says the three Republicans who have raised the most money and have led the polls -- former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- fall short of social conservatives' expectations, but Mr. Thompson doesn't. "He's right on the issues ... He's better than all of the above."

Both the Protestant and Catholic activist, like other Christian conservatives, spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity.

They say their support for Mr. Thompson is shared by like-minded conservatives, though the sentiment is not unanimous in their circles. Many born-again Christians are said to be skeptical of Mr. Giuliani's views on abortion and same-sex "marriage," of Mr. Romney's change of position on abortion and of his Mormon religious faith, and of Mr. McCain's advocacy of campaign-finance reforms that restrict speech and issues-advocacy ads.

Mr. Thompson, whose celebrity is based on his television and movie acting roles as well as his tenure as a senator from Tennessee, has consistently opposed abortion rights, but until recently had backed campaign-finance laws unpopular with advocacy groups on both the right and left.

I’ve been quite clear that I am behind Mitt Romney’s candidacy. I am generally supportive of his positions on the issue, find his explanation of his evolution on the abortion issue credible (it reflects my own, a couple of decades ago) and don’t find his religion to be troubling in the least. That said, I also find Thompson to be a credible candidate whose entry into the race could be sufficient to stop the two candidacies I find most troubling – those of Giuliani and McCain, both of whom I believe would lose if they somehow received the GOP presidential nomination.

Posted by: Greg at 11:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It appears that there is a good sized contingent of religious conservatives ready to anoint Fred Thompson with that title – if and when he does announce his candidacy.

Several leading Christian conservatives say they will rally to former Sen. Fred Thompson, who they expect to announce "in a matter of weeks" that he will seek the Republican nomination for president next year.

"It's not 'if' but 'when,' he will announce," one Protestant evangelical leader says of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering for position in the 2008 race.

A prominent Roman Catholic social conservative says the three Republicans who have raised the most money and have led the polls -- former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- fall short of social conservatives' expectations, but Mr. Thompson doesn't. "He's right on the issues ... He's better than all of the above."

Both the Protestant and Catholic activist, like other Christian conservatives, spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity.

They say their support for Mr. Thompson is shared by like-minded conservatives, though the sentiment is not unanimous in their circles. Many born-again Christians are said to be skeptical of Mr. Giuliani's views on abortion and same-sex "marriage," of Mr. Romney's change of position on abortion and of his Mormon religious faith, and of Mr. McCain's advocacy of campaign-finance reforms that restrict speech and issues-advocacy ads.

Mr. Thompson, whose celebrity is based on his television and movie acting roles as well as his tenure as a senator from Tennessee, has consistently opposed abortion rights, but until recently had backed campaign-finance laws unpopular with advocacy groups on both the right and left.

I’ve been quite clear that I am behind Mitt Romney’s candidacy. I am generally supportive of his positions on the issue, find his explanation of his evolution on the abortion issue credible (it reflects my own, a couple of decades ago) and don’t find his religion to be troubling in the least. That said, I also find Thompson to be a credible candidate whose entry into the race could be sufficient to stop the two candidacies I find most troubling – those of Giuliani and McCain, both of whom I believe would lose if they somehow received the GOP presidential nomination.

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That is the position adopted by Ralph Peters regarding the war in Iraq. And more to the point, he argues that what is necessary is that we do what is necessary to achieve victory.

Above all, we have to maintain a strength of will equal to that of our opponents. War demands consistency, and we're the most fickle great power in history. We must focus on defeating our enemies, brushing aside all other considerations.

At present, we let those other considerations rule our behavior: We overreact to media sensationalism (which our enemies exploit brilliantly); we torment ourselves over the least mistakes our troops make; we delude ourselves that mass murderers have rights; we take prisoners knowing they'll be freed to kill more Americans - and the politicians and Green Zone generals alike pretend that "it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game."

That's the biggest lie ever told by a human being who wasn't a member of Congress.

Winning is everything. Fighting ruthlessly may not please the safe-at-home moralists, but it's losing that's immoral.

And if that means that we quit fighting by the Queensbury rules against an opponent using street-brawl tactics, that is what has to happen – even if that means taking the gloves off and fighting by means we consider distasteful.

And in particular, that means abandoning the notion, put forward by those who reject the Shermanesque notion that war is (and, indeed, must be) hell, that war can be clean, sanitary, and always fought by the most humane of rules. This has, peters argues, brought us to the point that any misdeed by our troops is seen as proof that our cause is unjust, while the much greater misdeeds of the enemy are brushed aside.

There are countless other ways in which we elevate the little immoralities required in war above the supreme immorality of losing. Leftists loved My Lai - they just adored it - but they were never called to account for the communist atrocities after Saigon fell. Pol Pot's butchery was never laid at the feet of the self-righteous bastards who shrieked, "Give peace a chance."

And no one on the left will discuss what might happen if we fail in Iraq. The truth is that they don't care.

We face merciless, implacable enemies who joyously slaughter the innocent with the zeal of religious fanaticism. Yet we want to make sure we don't hurt anyone's feelings.

We've tried many things in Iraq. They've all failed. It's a shame we never really tried to fight.

Peters has the matter exactly right – and I’d argue that our willingness to abide by his advice will be the telling point on whether or not America can ever successfully fight another war again. Our downfall is not based upon military weakness – rather, it is based upon a sense of moral superiority that leads us to fits of breast-beating scrupulosity while absolving the most ruthless acts of our enemies.

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Yeah, that's right -- Barack Obama is going to decide who needs the cash they earn, and confiscate anything over and above what he feels they deserve to keep.

If elected president, Senator Barack Obama said Sunday, he would seek to repeal President BushÂ’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and use the money to pay for health care, but he did not suggest he would raise other taxes to pay for expanded services.

Mr. Obama, an Illinois Democrat seeking his party’s presidential nomination, said in a television interview broadcast Sunday that he supported “rolling back the Bush tax cuts on the top 1 percent of people who don’t need it.” He did not endorse a broader plan to raise taxes on the affluent that has been proposed by John Edwards, one of Mr. Obama’s rivals for the nomination.

And therein lies an essential difference between Republicans and Democrats -- Democrats don't believe that it is really your money, but instead think that your paycheck is a resource for them to draw from for the programs they favor. After all, the government knows better than you do what you should spnd it n.

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Need evidence that the Democrats want to use the revival of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" to censor one side of the political debate? Consider this -- and the frightening implications of this investigation.

According to another Democrat leadership aide, Pelosi and her team are focused on several targets in the fight, including Rush Limbaugh and the Salem Radio Network. In fact, Kucinich's staff has begun investigating Salem, one of the fastest growing radio networks in the country, which features such popular -- and highly rated -- conservative hosts as Bill Bennett and Michael Medved, and Christian hosts such as Dr. Richard Land.

"They are identifying senior employees, their political activities and their political giving," says a Government Reform committee staffer. "Salem is a big target, but the big one is going to be Limbaugh. We know we can't shut him up, but we want to make life a bit more difficult for him."

Limbaugh will always be a target for the Left -- but that you have the congressional staff of a presidential candidate actively investigating the political participation of members of the media is rather frightening.

I can hear the questions from Kucinich now: "Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Republican Party or any Republican front organization?"

Posted by: Greg at 10:34 PM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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This doesn't look good -- but the university seems to be handling it well.

The senior class president at the Rutgers University campus in Piscataway, N.J., will not be graduating with her classmates next week, university officials said yesterday, after being charged with burglary in the dormitory where she was a resident adviser.

The student, Christa Olandria, 23, a biology major, was arrested along with another Rutgers senior, George Calhoun, 23, on Monday after they were discovered breaking into a room on the seventh floor of Lynton Towers, which houses about 700 undergraduate students, university officials said.

In addition, the university police are investigating whether Ms. Olandria and Mr. Calhoun may have been involved in seven other burglaries in the dormitory that have been reported since September, according to Rhonda Harris, the chief of the Rutgers University Police Department on the schoolÂ’s main campus in New Brunswick, N.J.

Campus crime is covered up in too many instances. I applaud Rutgers for not sweeping this one under the ruig -- and for not trying to keep this case out of the legal system.

Posted by: Greg at 10:25 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
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This is impossible. Doesn't al-Qaida know that it doesn't exist in Iraq? The neo-Copperhead surrender monkeys in Congress have told us so!

An al-Qaida front group announced it had captured American soldiers in a deadly attack the day before, as thousands of U.S. troops searched insurgent areas south of Baghdad for their three missing comrades.

The statement Sunday came on one of the deadliest days in the country in recent weeks, with at least 124 people killed or found dead. A suicide truck bomb tore through the offices of a Kurdish political party in northern
Iraq, killing 50 people, and a car bombing in a crowded Baghdad market killed another 17.

And American troops are working hard to find their missing comrades.

About 4,000 American ground troops, supported by surveillance aircraft, attack helicopters and spy satellites, swept towns and farmland south of Baghdad on Sunday, searching for three American soldiers who disappeared Saturday after their patrol was ambushed, military officials said.

“Everybody is fully engaged, the commanders are intimately focused on this,” Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, the top American military spokesman, said at a news conference with reporters from the Iraqi news media, according to The Associated Press. He said the searchers were utilizing “every asset we have, from national assets to tactical assets.”

Troops surrounded the town of Yusufiya, near Mahmudiya along the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, conducted house-to-house searches and checked all cars entering and leaving town, The A.P. reported.

However, we know the track record of finding captured soldiers alive -- the barbarians we fight are well-known for their tactics of torture, beheading and mutilation of bodies.

MORE AT Michelle Malkin, Pirate's Cove, BlackFive

Posted by: Greg at 10:21 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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I grew up in a military family during Vietnam. Dad was a Navy Officer, and was often away -- including multiple trips into the war zone. And I remember my mother doing her damnedest to raise two boys while dad was gone, with daily concerns about the possibility of my father being killed or wounded, and diminishing public support for the war and the warriors. I therefore feel quite qualified to tell Dr. Laura Schlesinger to SHUT THE F&$% UP!

Radio talk show host “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger is tired of all the complaints she hears from military wives who say they’re lonely and overwhelmed.

“You’re not dodging bullets, so I don’t want to hear any whining — that’s my message to them,” said Schlessinger on a visit to Utah.

Schlessinger broadcast her daily radio program on ethics, morals and values from the Fort Douglas theater here Friday. ItÂ’s one of several visits Schlessinger is making across country this year, publicists said.

Schlessinger boasted of once talking a young woman out of marrying a solider, saying “warriors need warrior wives,” and the girl was unprepared.

“It’s very unwise to be married young when you’re going to be alone — everybody has to grow up first to know who they are,” said the talk show host, whose first marriage ended in divorce.

I'm sorry, but this woman is simply wrong. There is nothing wrong with talking about the difficulties -- indeed, the failure to discuss them was part of why I knew so many neurotic, drunk or drugged military wives growing up. In fact, the military has recognized that reality and now offers more support services for families of those deployed.

Frankly, I've never understood why anyone listens to, much less calls, this woman for family advice when she could not even sustain her own relationship with her own mother. And for all her claims of patriotism, i don't think this attack does American soldiers and their families a bit of good.

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Texas law has done this for decades -- and it has been wrong the whole time. Let's hope they fix this before the current legislative session ends.

Donald Coit Smith, his grief fresh and raw, believes that Texas insurance companies profited after his 22-year-old son was electrocuted in an industrial accident in Bryan — all because of state laws that regulate the payment of death benefits through workers' compensation.

For his loss, Smith got $6,000 to bury his son. But Smith was told that the workers' comp death benefit — $100,500 — would not be paid to grieving family members because his oldest child, Donald W. Smith, a student at Sam Houston State University, had no wife or children.

Instead, the money, paid by his employer's insurance company, went to a state workers' comp fund in a case that shows just what happens in Texas when mostly young, unmarried or childless workers die in workplace accidents.

More than $17 million in workers' compensation benefits bypassed the relatives of as many as 140 dead workers from 2003 to 2006. All of that money ended up in a workers' comp fund where $10 million was then funneled back to insurance companies, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of state data.

Coit Smith, who has 20 years of experience as an industrial safety specialist, calls the payments "blood money."

"I feel it's immoral, what they did with that money," Smith said.

About 450 people are killed in workplace accidents in Texas each year. Yet many families of dead workers collect nothing. That's because historically, workers' compensation benefits have been reserved only for those who depended on those wages to live.

Death benefits are typically paid only to spouses and children younger than 18. Spouses who remarry and children who come of age lose the benefits. Parents and older children also are denied unless they were financially dependent on the worker killed, according to state law.

When no family members qualify, the lump-sum death benefit, often more than $100,000 per worker, goes to the state Division of Workers' Compensation and into the so-called "Subsequent Injury Fund."

The fund was meant to provide a safety net for workers who needed extra help after suffering multiple injuries on the job. But because of changes in the law in 1991, most of that money now goes back to insurance companies who underwrite workers' compensation.

Words fail me. Families of workers killed in workplace injuries deserve to be compensated -- and that they are not is incredibly offensive on a basic moral level.

Posted by: Greg at 02:57 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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ItÂ’s a good thing Jonathan Swift isnÂ’t a student at Tufts University.

A judicial panel at Tufts University on Thursday ruled that a conservative campus journal "harassed" blacks by publishing a Christmas carol parody called "O Come All Ye Black Folk" that many found racist.

The decision by the Committee on Student Life, a board of professors and students that hears complaints against campus groups, ruled that The Primary Source was guilty of harassment and creating a hostile environment in violation of the school's nondiscrimination policy.

The body ruled that an editor now must sign all of the magazine's work. The panel also recommended that Tufts' student government "consider the behavior" of the magazine when allocating money -- a statement that Primary Source editors say could lead to de-recognition.

Hundreds of students, including the president of the student body, have signed a petition against the magazine, said Douglas Kingman, an editor.

At Tufts, criticism of affirmative action is now deemed to be racial harassment and the creation of a hostile environment. Apparently the only diversity that will be tolerated there is diversity of skin-tone and sexual orientation – diversity of thought and opinion will be ruthlessly rooted out and punished.

But I am curious about this statement from one of the deans.

Bruce Reitman, the school's dean of students, said the school is opposed to censoring The Primary Source. Still, he said he was pleased that the committee found a way to reprimand the magazine for writings he said left many students feeling "unwelcome" and "wounded."

"I'm proud of the committee," he said. "I was pleased to see them balance both values of freedom of speech and freedom from harassment, without letting one dominate the other."

Doesn’t this decision leave students who dissent from the politically correct orthodoxy of liberalism feeling “wounded” and “unwelcome”? Or is that irrelevant, given that those are only rights for those who the school views as worthy of inclusion? After all, the panel has essentially recommended the defunding and derecognition of the campus publication in question.

UPDATE: Captain Ed reproduces the text of the ad about Islam. I don't know about you, but I certainly find it frightening that quoting the less flattering verses of the Quran or talking abut documented historical facts about Islam is now considered harassment of Muslims.

Islam Arabic Translation: Submission In the Spirit of Islamic Awareness Week, the SOURCE presents an itinerary to supplement the educational experience.

MONDAY: “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” – The Koran, Sura 8:12 Author Salman Rushdie needed to go into hiding after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeni declared a fatwa calling for his death for writing The Satanic Verses, which was declared “blasphemous against Islam.”

TUESDAY: Slavery was an integral part of Islamic culture. Since the 7th century, 14 million African slaves were sold to Muslims compared to 10 or 11 million sold to the entire Western Hemisphere. As recently as 1878, 25,000 slaves were sold annually in Mecca and Medina. (National Review 2002) The seven nations in the world that punish homosexuality with death all have fundamentalist Muslim governments.

WEDNESDAY: In Saudi Arabia, women make up 5% of the workforce, the smallest percentage of any nation worldwide. They are not allowed to operate a motor vehicle or go outside without proper covering of their body. (Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2001) Most historians agree that MuhammedÂ’s second wife Aisha was 9 years old when their marriage was consummated.

THURSDAY: “Not equal are those believers who sit and receive no hurt, and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit. Unto all Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit by a special reward.” – The Koran, Sura 4:95 The Islamist guerrillas in Iraq are not only killing American soldiers fighting for freedom. They are also responsible for the vast majority of civilian casualties.

FRIDAY: Ibn Al-Ghazzali, the famous Islamic theologian, said, “The most satisfying and final word on the matter is that marriage is form of slavery. The woman is man’s slave and her duty therefore is absolute obedience to the husband in all that he asks of her person.” Mohamed Hadfi, 31, tore out his 23-year-old wife Samira Bari’s eyes in their apartment in the southern French city of Nimes in July 2003 following a heated argument about her refusal to have sex with him. (Herald Sun)

If you are a peaceful Muslim who can explain or justify this astonishingly intolerant and inhuman behavior, weÂ’d really like to hear from you! Please send all letters to tuftsprimarysource@gmail.com.

I've also tracked down the other "offensive" satire, which is held to harass African-Americans.

O Come All Ye Black Folk
Boisterous, yet desirable
O come ye, O come ye to our university
Come and we will admit you,
Born in to oppression;
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
Fifty-Two black freshmen.

O sing, gospel choirs,
We will accept your children,
No matter what your grades are FÂ’s DÂ’s or GÂ’s
Give them privileged status; We will welcome all.
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
Fifty-Two black freshmen.

All come! Blacks, we need you,
Born into the ghetto.
O Jesus! We need you now to fill our racial quotas.
Decendents of Africa, with brown skin arriving:
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
O come, let us accept them,
Fifty-two black freshmen.

Frankly, I think it does a lousy job of satirizing affirmative action -- but it neither qualifies as harassment nor merits the sort of response the university has had to it.

UPDATE II: Interesting analysis from Volokh.

Lovely: Harsh criticism of Islam doesn't -- in the Committee's view -- "promot[e] political or social discourse." Rather, it is an "unreasonable attack[]" (and it's up to the Committee to decide which attacks on religions are reasonable and which aren't).

What's more, this "unreasonable" speech violates the "rights of other members of the community." What are those rights? Apparently the right "to exist on campus without being subjected to unreasonable attacks based on their race or religion" (including attacks on the religion generally, even those that don't give any student names in particular). And apparently the right to be free of "attitudes or opinions that are expressed verbally or in writing" that "create[] a hostile environment" for students "on the basis of race, religion, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or genetics."

In this case, the punishment for the speech is a ban on one newspaper's ability to publish anonymous speech -- while other newspapers that express favored views remain free to shield their contributors from social ostracism and other retaliation through anonymity. It requests "that student governance consider the behavior of student groups," which is to say the viewpoints those groups express, "in future decisions concerning recognition and funding."

But more importantly, the ruling finds that the speech violated general campus rules that make such speech "unacceptable at Tufts" and require "prompt and decisive action." Though it looks like no individual students are being disciplined in this instance, if the Tufts Administration accepts the ruling, it will send a clear message that students who express "attitudes or opinions" like this will be seen as violating campus anti-harassment rules, and will be subjected to "prompt and decisive action," which campus rules say may involve "the disciplinary process," against individual students as well as against organizations. After this decision, what should Tufts students feel free to say in criticizing religions, or in criticizing affirmative action?

H/T Wizbang

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