Good news for a change: The "Badger Herald", described as the "online version of the University of Wisconsin-Madison newspaper with news, sports, opinions, comics, and classifieds", has published one of the Mohammed cartoons. And this time there seems to have been no back down or apology. The Chancellor's statement is properly respectful of all concerned but it included this:
"But any review of these disputes demonstrates a common finding: that the public controversies which ensued represent, together, a perfect embodiment of unrestricted speech in a free society, in which all views on a given subject were given equal weight and attention, aired so that every individual could form his or her own opinions. Then, as now, it should never be routine to recall that this university has for more than 100 years championed the cause of free and open debate, the "fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found," and that an increasingly complex world requires this standard more than ever.
I thought American universities only paid lip-service to such ideals these days. I am delighted to find that odd corners of integrity do survive on America's campuses. It would have been much better for them to have printed ALL of the cartoons but these days we have to be thankful for small mercies.
Another Racist Whiner
We read:
"A recent incident in the Bethlehem Area School District illustrates how far we are from achieving Dr. King's dream about racial equality. On Jan. 9, BASD directors voted 5-3 to fill a vacancy on the school board with William Heske. Mr. Heske, a former director who lost a bid for re-election, was selected over several Hispanic applicants who were bidding for the job. The selection of Heske has roiled the Hispanic community in the Lehigh Valley. I always suspected that Hispanics encounter a great deal of prejudice in the Lehigh Valley, and this incident only confirms my worst fears".
Source
This guy did not even THINK about whether or not the best candidate for the job was selected. Only the candidate's race mattered. It seems that a very appropriate, qualified and experienced person was chosen but that did not matter. A kneejerk accusation of racism was all that was offered by way of comment. The comment needs to be treated as the ignorance and malevolence it is.
Update:
A reader advises:
"The Hispanic lady who failed to win the BASD board seat has stated in the past that Puerto Rican terrorists are national heroes. A local newspaper columnist, Paul Carpenter stated time, places, and such. The easy scream is racism but the truth is unqualified".
