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8/14/2019 The Hillsdale Forum - Fall 2006-07
1/12
hillsdaletheforum
Fall 2006
Volume IV, Issue I
the
Dilemma ofHigher Education
The Ballots Have Been Cast!
--Who Got Elected--
?
--Where Do They Stand--
?
--Whats on the Line--
full story pages 8-9
In this issue...
Hforum*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%
#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%#@!*%
No Soap and Toothbrush
Needed Here
...
One Students
Examination of
Hillsdales
Clean Campus
-page 7-
The election is over and the
Democrats have taken the Congress.
The war in Iraq forced the unemployed,
disgruntled citizens of America tospeak out via the election against their
dominantly Republican government,
or so says the opposition. But the
war in Iraq is not the only issue on
the ballot these days. While jobs and
the war are important, these topics
jeopardized the election commercials
at the expense of other very important
issues, such as education.
Politicians commonly use education,
and more recently higher education
issues to get the American public up
in arms concerning the future welfare
of our country. If the children of
today lack proper education, the
adults of tomorrow will fail tocarry on the American dream. We
poor college students deserve the
subsidization of the government
to ensure the continuation of our
beloved democratic-republic. Both
Democrats and Republicans have
dumped millions and millions of
dollars into the system in order to
impress the local voters.
Our very own President Larry Arnn
pointed out the problem in his recent
essay, The Crisis and Politics of
Higher Education published in
the Claremont Review of Books
and Imprimis. (Currently, the
essay can also be accessed via theHillsdale College home page.) He,
being a true believer in Hillsdale
College and the idea of remaining
true to ones founding, noticed that
since September 11, 2001, defense
spending has risen 47 percent, while
higher education spending has risen
133 percent.
Complain as they may about spending
on the war in Iraq, the Democrats in
conjunction with the Republicans
have blown the lid off of education
spending in the last six years, and it
doesnt help the national deficit.
All this money going out makes
one wonder what the institutions ofhigher education are doing with the
funding. The Intercollegiate Studies
Institute took up this very question in
their recently published study The
Coming Crisis in Citizenship in
which they examined what was being
learned by students at 50 institutions
of higher education nation wide.
byStephAni Francl
-continued on page 3
8/14/2019 The Hillsdale Forum - Fall 2006-07
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news2 Fall 20062
As Hillsdale College students, we all know the meaning of busy. From writing a paper to
reading a book, there are a million things that come ahead of watching the news, which iswhy weve decided to bring the important stuff to you!
In Germany, for the low cost of $25, one
can hire Bernd Dressler of the Separation
Agency in Berlin to break-up with ones
significant other. The more elaboratebreaking-up packages can go as high at
$65, but one must have at least three rea-
sonable reasons for breaking up before
Mr. Dressler breaks up with your sig-
nificant other for you. Talk about cold.
Ernest Charles Pusey, 111, is
Floridas only living World
War I veteran and received his
long-delayed medal for his
service on the battleship USS
Wyoming nearly 90 years ago.
The FBI is now investigating
the Los Angeles police after
viewing a videotape releasedon YouTube.com that shows of-
ficers repeatedly beating a sus-
pect in the face while he cried
out that he could not breathe.
It is now under speculation that the mass surrender of 500
Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners in November 2001, during the
opening phases of the Afghanistan war was a ruse. It led to a
prison riot in an aging fortress in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan,which was suppressed by a band of American and British com-
mandos. Only 85 prisoners survived to be captured; among
them was John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban.
The number of overseas
graduate students going
to school in the US has
increased after the three
year decline following
September 11th in 2001.
Robert Gates became the
new nominee for the office
of United States Secretary of
Defense after Donald Rums-
felds resignation earlier
this week. He is currently
president of Texas A&M and
was the 15th director of the
Central Intelligence Agency.
Can you name all the Supreme
Court Judges of the Roberts
Court?: Samuel Alito, StephenBreyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
Anthony Kennedy, Chief Jus-
tice John Roberts, Antonin
Scalia, David Souter, John Paul
Stevens, and Clarence Thom-
as. (No, this is not news, just
something you need to know)
The Supreme Court contin-
ues to hear arguments to up-
hold the disputed Partial-Birth
Abortion Ban, weighing in
on the constitutionality of a
law banning a surgical meth-
od to terminate a pregnancy.
Democracy, Hugo Chavez-Style: For workers
at Venezuelas state-owned oil company, sup-
porting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
isnt a choice; its a direct order. On one poster,
highlighted in capital letters, it says He who
is not with Chavez should not be in PDVSA.
It encourages workers to be vigilant of their
colleagues and to turn in anyone who does
not appear to be identified with the process.
In California, Orange
Coast College votes not
to recognize the Pledge
of Allegiance, and
bans it from meetings.
Al Qaeda says they will not rest until our pret-
ty White House is a ugly black pile of rubble.
After a Huston landscaping
business refuses to do busi-
ness with a homosexual cou- ple, they are kicked form the
Assoc. of Professional Land-
scape Designers, and sent
hate mail and death threats.
After making racist remarks that air in the new Borat film, two North
Carolina fraternity brothers are suing the makers of the film, claiming
they were tricked into making the remarks.
Whitman College cancelledclasses Thursday so that stu-
dents could attend a sympo-
sium on race and diversity
after several pictures of stu-
dents wearing blackface made
it onto the internet causing
a campus wide controversy.
The average American
with AIDS will live 24
years, and spend over
$600,000 on treatment.
8/14/2019 The Hillsdale Forum - Fall 2006-07
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newshforum 3hforum 3Hillsdalethe
forum
Stephani FranclEmilia Huneke-Bergquist
Editors-in-Chief
Julie Robison Copy Editor
Gina Gallutia
Brian JohnstonStohn NishinoJeremy MarshallG. Stolyarov II Staff Writers
The Hillsdale Forum is a
student publication distributed
four times throughout theschool year.
Questions?Comments?Submissions?
Contact The Hillsdale Forum:
Twenty-five of the schools were
selected based on information from
the National Center for EducationStatistics Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System. The other
25 percent were elite schools hand
selected based on the US News
and World Reports rankings of the
nations colleges (which well come
back to later).
These schools were selected to
show both a broad overview of what
Americas college student is learning,
as well as the difference between an
elite education and a non-elite
education. The results are astounding.
The college with the most value
added (Value added is the increase in
knowledge of graduating seniors over
incoming freshmen.) was Rhodes
College, and the second, Colorado
College. Ranking at 50, 49, and 48
respectively were Johns Hopkins
University, UC Berkley, and Cornell
University. All of these come in well
behind Utah State University (14) and
the University of New Mexico (7).
The areas of question addressed in
the study included common historical
and political topics such as the
Jamestown Colony, the Form of the
US Government, Womens Suffrage,
and World War II. Students showed
an increased value added in many
of the categories, though the largest
decrease in value added came on
the subject ofMarbury v. Madison.
However, the topics that showed
improvement, albeit only a little
were disturbing: the Origin of the
Doctrine of Separation of Church and
State, Platos Republic, the Founders
Understanding of Moral and Political
Knowledge, the Enumerated Powers,
and Traditional Just War Theory.
The fact that these value addeds
are improving is encouraging, but
here is the discouraging part: In
each of these categories, incoming
freshmen got less than 39 percent
of the questions correct. And the
seniors who improved on the subjects
improved by, at most, a margin of 3.2
percent.
From the recent election results, it
will be no wonder to you which was
the least understood category from
the list: Traditional Just War Theory.
Todays voting citizens grasp on
just war theory shows in the wishy-
washy voting tendencies displayed in
the last three elections which relied
heavily on the war issue.
Thank Heavens for Hillsdale College,
which, like it or not, now forces each
of its graduating students to take
a course on the US Constitution; at
least we know our stuff.
However, this is not recognized
by the general population or by the
general media. In the US News
and World Reports rankings of the
nations best liberal arts colleges,
Hillsdale doesnt even make the top
100. We fall somewhere in the top
120. This, in itself, is frustrating,
but the methodology of the rankings
will make one pull their hair out
in aggravation. The most heavily
weighted criteria used by US News
is what is titled peer ranking. Peerranking means that the president,
provost, and admissions dean of each
college sends in their ideas of how all
of the other colleges in their category
rank on a scale of one to five with five
being the best. Hillsdales number:
2.2. Though frustrating, Hillsdales
rank among the other liberal arts
colleges is not as important as the
actual task undertaken by the college.
The fact is that Hillsdale College
was founded in 1844 to furnish to
all persons who wisha literary,
scientific or theological education
as comprehensive and thorough as is
usually pursued in other colleges or
theological schools in this country,
and to combine with this, such
moral, social and artistic instruction
and culture as will best develop the
minds and improve the hearts of the
students. The most recent anthem of
Hillsdale Educating for Liberty
takes up this challenge in a modern
day battle cry. Hillsdale College,
though imperfect, fulfills its mission
and its Articles of Association; if only
the same were true of the schools
shown to be struggling to add value
to their students.
-education from page 1
College seniors failed
the Civic Literacy
Exam administered
by ISI with an average
score of 53.2%.
Of the 50 schools sur-
veyed, 16 schools se-
niors scored lower than
freshmen showing a
negative value added.
Civic learning is
significantly great-
er at schools with
traditional core
curricula.
Civicly educated citi-
zens are more active-
ly engaged in voting,
volunteer community
service and politicalcampaings.
The Coming Crisis inCitizenship
ISIs AmericanCivic Literacy
ProgramsFindingsAll statistics courtesy ofISI.
8/14/2019 The Hillsdale Forum - Fall 2006-07
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debate4 Fall 2006
When a wild or domesticated animal
loses control over itself, enters a rage,
and kills or maims a human or another
animal, that act is sufficient for the
animal to be rightly put to death. The
animal has shown irrefutably that it
cannot exist in a civilized setting; it
cannot behave without aggressing on
individual humans lives and property.
The animal is not given any second
chances; it is not rehabilitated and
no one entertains the delusion that just
because the animal killed or injured
someone already, it
will not kill or injure
anyone again.
Yet when a human
being loses control
over herself, enters
a depression, and
systematically drowns
her own five children,
she is not only spared
executionshe is not
even locked away in
prison to suffer for her
vile and murderous
acts. Instead, she is
absolved of any guilt
in the brutal murder
and put in a mental
hospital, where she
receives food, lodging,
and medical care at
taxpayers expense.
Thisin its stark
essenceis what the
not guilty by reason
of insanity verdict given to child
murderess Andrea Yates means.
The bizarre argument underlying this
verdict is that because Yates allegedly
did not have control over her ownthoughts, emotions, and actions during
the murders, she can be absolved
from guilt and punishment for those
murders. It is questionable that Yates
even committed the murders without
knowing their full implications and
wanton evil. However, even if we
accept that premise, it follows that her
punishment should only be greaterthan
it would have been otherwise.
Every human being has the inalienablemoral responsibility to honor the rights
Andrea Yates: A Timeline
1993 Andrea and Rusty Yates Wed
1993-2000 The couple have five children, four boys and one girl
1999 Andrea seeks psychiatric help for the first time, and is placed on medication.
June 20, 2001 Off medication for only a few days, she takes her children into the bathroom
and drowns them. Hours later, she confesses to Huston police.July 2001 Andrea indicted on first-degree murder charges in all five deaths.
August 2001 Yates pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, and the prosecution reveals that they
intend to seek the death penalty.
September 2001 Jury finds her competent to sand trial.
March 2002 After a half hour of deliberations, a jury sentences her to a life sentence with no parole
for forty years
March 2002- 2004 Yates moves back and forth between prison and psychiatric facilities
January 2005 A Texas Court of Appeals reverses the capital murder conviction
January 2006 The re-trial begins and Yates pleads not guilty by reason of insanity in the murders
February 2006 Yates is given bail on the condition that she submit herself to an institution until trial.
Later this month she turns down an agreement giving her only 35 years in prison.June 2006 The re-trial beings.
July 2006 The jury returns with a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Information compiled by Laura Weisman of Chron.com
byG. Stolyarov II
of other human beings. That is, every
human being must not infringe onother human beings lives, liberty, and
property. This responsibility is the
fundamental imperative underlying all
civilized human interaction; without
it, rights could not be honored and
would remain in perpetual jeopardy.
Furthermore, because individual
rights are eternal and inalienable, the
responsibility to honor individual rights
is likewise eternal and inalienable.
It does not depend on the internal orexternal condition of the individual in
question.
Honoring individual rights is easy;
a person in a vegetative state can
manage it perfectly. Such a person
will not kill other people, injure them,
restrain their freedom, or steal their
possessions. Violations of individual
rights are always active; they require
an individual to move her body in
some way as to deprive another of life,
liberty, or property. The responsibility
to honor individual rights is in essence
a responsibility not to act in certain
ways.
The human being not only has
responsibility over her actions; she has
responsibility for being responsible
over her actions. If an individual
suffers from mental problems that
prevent this control, she inhibitsher ability to lead a life proper to
a human beingto the extent that
these problems are present. If these
deficiencies harm only the individual
and no one else, then the individual still
maintains her essential humanity
for she still has enough self-control
to fully respect the rights of others.
However, if an individual with mental
problems harms other people, she
should be punished to the extent thatshe violates their rights. Their rights
are sacred and immutableand it is
her responsibility to honor them. Any
time she forfeits that responsibility,
she also forfeits the higher standard of
treatment pertaining to human beings.
With lesser violations of rights
especially those where the harm can
be compensated for by fines or other
reparationsthe offending party need
not be permanently restrained, because
the damage can be undone. However,
where the damage is permanent, the
punishment for the damager should be
permanent as well. Two categories of
rights infringement meet this criterion:
murder and permanent injury.
If we, as civilized, moral people, are
concerned with attaining a society
where individual rights are honored
and enforced, we should implementmeasures to punish infringers so as
to prevent further violations. The
deterrent effect provided by permanent
punishment will discourage many
would-be violators from ever resorting
to crime. Even animals are subject to
the effect of deterrence; a hungry wolf
will not attack a flock of sheep if the
shepherd aims a gun at the predator.
Mentally troubled humans are far
more intelligent than the animalsso their ability to understand and be
affected by deterrence should be even
greater.
If the deterrent
effect fails
in a given
situation and
the permanently
damaging crime
is committed
n o n e t h e l e s s ,
p e r m a n e n t
punishment for
the criminal
will minimize
future crime by
ensuring that
the offending
person never
violates another
persons rights
again. Thus,
the principle
of permanent
p u n i s h m e n t
for permanent
violations of
rights leads to a worst-case scenario
of one criminal incident per violator
and a best-case scenario of none due
to the deterrent effect.
Mercy and help offered to those who
could not restrain their active violations
of others rights constitute a bizarre
attack on the civilized imperative of
honoring all individual rights. Mercy
to those who killed in cold blood
though still unwarrantedmakes
more sense. The cold-blooded killer
knows the evil of his deeds, but he still
has control over his mind and body
his ideas and his actions. There exists
an extremely slim chance that he
-continued on page 11
A Travesty of Mercy: the Andrea Yates Story
8/14/2019 The Hillsdale Forum - Fall 2006-07
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spotlighthforum5
byStephAni Francl
The Czech Republic, formerly a part of
Czechoslovakia, has much in common
with America. It is a democracy.
Vaclav Havel, quite like our George
Washington, was the extraordinary
statesman who, in 1989, led the charge
against the oppressive communist
regime. The Czech people now love
their freedom and covet their rights.
Beyond being a European nation that
as a whole loves America and looks to
it as a fellow bastion of democracy and
freedom, the Czech Republic has paved
the way for the founding of democracies
in the modern world.
Churchill claimed that, Democracy
is more vindictive than Cabinets. The
wars of people will be more terrible than
those of kings. The lines have blurred
between the soldier and the civilian. In
a monarchy, the king hires soldiers to
fight for him against his adversaries, but
in a democracy the populous supports
the war effort through their investments,
their votes, and their enlistment to
fight the war. Democratic institutions
gave expression to the will-power of
millions, Churchill explained during
World War I. The expression of the
peoples will was displayed in the Czech
Republic as the citizens peacefully
demonstrated in December of 1988
Built nearly five-hundred years ago, the historic Charles Bridge is still
the only way to cross the Vltava River into Old Town Prague.
Oldrich Olda Cherney addresses a group of studentsat this years Geostratic Journalism Course in Prague.
against the communist regime that wasviolating their natural rights.
They followed in the footsteps of the
American people who consented as a
whole to fight for their unalienable rights
in 1776. Both peoples, 200 years apart,
fought, by choice, making a statement
to the world that they would not be
trampled. And they won. We won. Our
heritage left it to us, their posterity to
preserve the sacred, secured rights and
to pass them on to our offspring.
I remember when I first heard someone
say What about Havel for president,
Oldrich Olda Cherney, former head of
security under President Vaclav Havel
and Executive Director of the Prague
Securities Studies Institute recalled in
an interview this June. I thought it was
crazy! Havel was an idea man; a man
that could lead in the intellectual world
of political
philosophy
and theory,
but Olda
t h o u g h t
H a v e l
would never
take on the
leadership of
the country.
The
recovery of
the government by the Czechoslovakian
people was unique
because of the lack of
bloodshed throughout
their revolution. It began
on November 16, 1989,
and the government
takeover was completed
by December 29, 1989.
In just over a month, the
Czechoslovakian people
had, through words
backed by the ideals of
the populous, mandated
that the oppressive
Soviet government be
abolished.
It was termed the Velvet
Revolution. Yet those
involved in the efforts
remember it differently.
Velvet Revolution is a
sound bite made up by the
press. Olda countered. The Velvet
Revolution was not velvet; it was not
gentle. While there was no bloodshed,
it was a battle the final battle for the
opinions of the people. Olda clarified,
It was a revolution of minds, of
attitudes. As Kristi, a fellow Czech
who works with the People in Need
Foundation explained, [Havel] was
the unification factor. Czechoslovakian
opinion changed gradually throughout
the mid-1900s, seeping into various
parts of society a little at a time and
culminating in the revolution of 1989.
Jaroslav Kurfrst, the Deputy Chief of
Mission at the Embassy of the Czech
Republic in Washington DC who was
in college at the time of the revolution
summarized Czech emotion: Havel
was a hero for me.
Kristi explained what sets Havel apart
as a statesman: He has the talent to
look at things a different way. Havel
believes that the people are generally
good, Kristi elaborated, and as such
he is very much an idealist. Havel
basically sacrificed his life to lead
the revolution; he gave up his privacy
everything. The principles Havel
wrote and lived by in 1989
are the same principles Havel
still writes and lives by today.
He has become something of
an institution in the Czech
Republic.
Havel made a difference in
Czechoslovakia and in the
world not because he is any
greater a human than you or I.
Havel has made a difference
in the world because, like
our Founders, he chose to sacrifice
his own comfort and ease to live by
the principles in which he believed.
And what makes Havel and the Czech
Republics story so exceptional is the
fact that the changes of the world,
and specifically the change of the
world toward democracy, allowed for
a bloodless overturning of a nations
regime.
It was democratic ideas, thoughts,
and attitudes creeping into the minds
and hearts of the Czech that forced
the Soviet government to leave their
offices. Winston Churchill explained
of unjust rulers such as the Soviets
were in Czechoslovakia: They are
afraid of words and thoughts! Words
spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at
home, all the more powerful because
I remember the first time I heard
someone say Havel for Presi-
dent, I thought it was crazy!-Olrich Cherney
-continued on page 6
Photos courtesy of Stephani Francl.
Czech Republic: modern example of democratic influence
8/14/2019 The Hillsdale Forum - Fall 2006-07
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opinion6 Fall 2006
Government policy tends to be a very
convenient scapegoat for Americas
problems. However, the problem may
not lie solely within the government but
the way the government is portrayed to
its citizens.
The media, it can be argued, can be more
deceptive than even the governmentsmost wily ways. This is because the
U.S. population more readily listens to
the media than to their own government.
The media is looked at as an ally with
the people, exposing The Mans corrupt
policies, conniving under dealings, and
general mishaps. It has come to be the
general consensus that if news is printed
or said on the air, it must be true. This
is the downfall of American liberty and
freedom. Americans are constantly onguard against the government in case of
an infringement of rights and have since
let down their basic defense system,
giving themselves over to the Media
Machine.
Americans, earnest about not being
blindly misled by authority, have the
tendency to overcompensate by putting
their trust elsewhere. They allow their
own judgments to be replaced by the
opinions of political pundits. Themedia has become a tool of society;
specifically, television, as it is prevalent
and omnipresent to nearly all Americans.
Television has been lulling Americans
to sleep with lies and half-truths for
the last half of the century. They have
become programmed, accepting and
not questioning many of the stories
heard on television. It has been drilled
into Americans for so long to always
question the government: why does the
questioning stop there? One cannot only
question the government but everything
and everyone! Nothing
is too sacred to be
tampered with. What
people need to realize is
that the media is fallibleas well. It is viewed as
a legitimate and noble
institution in American
society. In reality, the
media is just another
facet of commercialism,
selling ideas and stories
to the American people
at the expense of what
is pure and true in this
country. The media needs to fear thepeople; it needs to feel an obligation to tell
the utmost truth, no matter
what the circumstance,
because it should know that
if it doesnt, people will find
out and call them on it.
This is not the first time the
media has had a significant
role in shaping Americans
thoughts. A little over a
hundred years ago, a newphenomenon in the world of
news broadcasting was introduced to the
public. It was called yellow journalism
and it was sensational. Yellow
journalism is journalism that exploits,
distorts, or exaggerates the news to
create sensations and attract readers. It
was especially influential on the Spanish-
American War,
significantly
c h a n g i n g
A m e r i c a n
policies and
p r e j u d i c e s
from then
on. Yellow
j o u r n a l i s m
was created by
Joseph Pulitzer
and William
R a n d o l p h
Hearst as their papers competed for sales.
With newspaper prices dropping to the
point where anyone could buy a paper,
more people became informed. The
only downside was that, in the articles,
the line between fact and fiction became
very smudged.
H e a r s t
reportedly said
to illustrator
F r e d e r i cR e m i n g t o n
You furnish
the pictures
and Ill furnish
the war.
This lurid
sensationalism
and type of
investigatory
reporting set a
new standard for American journalism.Today the legacy of yellow journalism
carries on as the press continues to
show bias and misrepresent facts; from
the War in Iraq to Hurricane Katrina to
the tragic death of Terri Shiavo, what
America is experiencing is modern-day
yellow journalism. During the 2004
Presidential Election, 60 Minutes ran
a story concerning President Bushs
service in the National Guard. The
slanderous story was based on fourdocuments which later proved to be
bogus and resulted in the firing of three
CBS executives and Dan Rather stepping
down as CBSs evening news anchor.
A new epoch has begun in American
politics as President Bushs presidency
further reflects his lame duck status, the
War in Iraq continues, and Democrats
gain control of
the House and
the Senate.Nonetheless, it is
not too late to set
a new standard
in the American
media by breaking
the cycle of faulty
journalism. It
starts with the
American people
demanding the
truth, not a hyped or puffed up story. One
should check and double check sources
the media cites as their information
And it was all yellow...the fight against tainted journaism continuesbyJulie RObison
Stephani Francl, a senior from
Central City, Nebraska, and former
editor in chief of the Hillsdale Fo-
rum, went to the Czech Republic
this summer with the Collegiate
Networks Geostrategic Journalism
Course. She spent a week in Prague
studying international journalism
and affairs at the Prague Securities
Studies Institute, which was founded
and is directed by Oldrich Cherney.
they are forbidden. These terrify
them. A little mouse - a little tinymouse! -of thought appears in
the room, and even the mightiest
potentates are thrown into panic.
The free elections held in May of
1989 saw the Czech people vote a
majority of non-communists into
the legislature. It was not just
the government that changed it
required a change over a period of
time in the mindset of the people
to prepare them for democraticfreedom.
When the revolution officially
began on November 16, 1989,
the people were ready, and within
four days, over 100,000 people
converged on Prague to demonstrate
to the government that they meant
business. The communist regime
was ending. The world had
changed.
-From Page 5
(all logos courtsey of cnn.com, msnbc.com,foxnews.com)
outlet and stay wary of glossy pictures
and technical terms that can portray
a very different picture than the actual
circumstance.
In the movie A Few Good Men, when
Lieutenant Kaffee demands the truth
from Colonel Jessep during a trial,
Jessep tells Kaffee You cant handle the
truth. Americans need to realize that it
is insulting that the media would not be
wholly truthful because it implies that
the media does not believe Americans
have the capacity to handle the truth.
Not only can Americans handle the
truth, they should demand it and expect
nothing less.
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opinionhforum 7
byJulie RObison
In my first few weeks at Hillsdale, one
of the things that surprised me the most
was the apparent lack of swearing on
campus. I was walking down the hallway
with two friends when I let an expletive
slip. One of my friends stopped in her
tracks.
What did you just say? She asked,
her eyes widening and narrowing in the
same glare. I looked around nervously
to see if there was actually an evil
minion looming in the shadows who had
said the word in my voice. The moment
was awkward, but we continued walking
without further incident.
I did not always swear. My parents
used the traditional fear tactics; if they
ever caught me saying bad words,
my mouth was promptly washed out
with soap or my tongue scorched with
Tabasco sauce. Back then, however,
bad words were calling your siblings
derogatory names like Stupid, telling
anyone to Shut up, or using the ever-
forbidden word of Crap.
We lived in a Golden Age. I remember
in the fourth grade having to read a
passage about beavers aloud to the
class. I said the word dam and my
classmates snickered into their books
as they incorporated beavers and dams
into our daily classroom conversation.
What are dams?
What are dams made out of?
Why are dams called dams?
Our teacher shushed us and tried to
move on with the lesson but it was too
late: we had caught the Bad Word Bug.
This infectious disease followed us
through middle school and junior high,
where we experimented with a few
shocking words from time to time. It
wasnt until high school that the Bad
Word Bug went from common cold to
epidemic. I say I had to go to an all-
girls school to learn how to swear. Most
people scoff when they hear this.
Didnt you go to an all-girls school?
they ask.
Girls dont swear. It isnt ladylike.
Didnt you ever swear in high school?
I ask in return. Then comes the dreaded
reply: Not really.
Imagine: over six hundred plaid-
skirted girls in one building. They
come from all over the city and so did
their vocabularies. Swear words were
the new adjectives and it was never
long before certain words crept into
ones own vocabulary. It was a kind of
freedom, a rebellion against the system.
If caught, profanity of any kind resulted
in top punishment. Nevertheless, it
was flagrant. We took every chance we
had to break the rules in that cloistered
atmosphere and that included swearing.
Coming to Hillsdale was a different
type of culture shock than the one I had
experienced upon entering high school.
Hillsdale is filled with many people, but,
despite the intensity of some storytellers,
one does not often hear swearing. I have
received some of the most impressive
looks of shock and surprise upon the
utterance of an expletive.
Everyone is so clean-cut here, I
once thought to myself after receiving
yet another scandalized look. They are
such goody-two shoes.
Hillsdale often feels like a scene out
of Happy Days, cut out of Wisconsin
and pasted into this obscure town in
Michigan. I wholly expect Richie and
Potsie to walk across the quad any day
now. Ive witnessed high fives, frequent
smiles and an alarming number of argyle
sweaters around campus. I immediately
became suspicious.
What is wrong with these people?
I thought. This thought was usually
followed by a What have I gotten
myself into? Yet I knew, deep inside,
that they were not the ones that needed
to change.
With the exception of eccentric teachers
and the traditional sailor-mouthed
students that frequent college campuses,
a majority of the Hillsdale student body
choose not to curse. Everyone has
their reasons. In the Bible, Colossians
3:8 says But now you must get rid of
all such thingsanger, wrath, malice,
slander and abusive language from your
mouth. On the secular side, arguments
for why one shouldnt swear include that
swearing is bad for society, it corrupts the
English language, it lowers the speaker
figuratively in the eyes of others, and it
is simply not socially acceptable.One must realize that there is more to
swearing than the word being used; it is
the idea behind the word. Where does
one draw the line between good words
and bad words? One does not swear
because one likes the way the word
sounds. If that were so, people would go
around saying words like juxtaposition
or pasticcio. Rather, one curses for
the shock value, the position one takes,
or the achieved status. This is why itis important to understand the offensive
nature of cursing. There needs to be a
standard for the English language.
Luckily, there is a cure for the Bad
Word Bug: not swearing. This seems
to be Hillsdales preferred antidote to
break the vicious swearing cycle. The
lack of swearing at this school is strange
but refreshing, like rain on a day while
the sun is still out.
Coming to Hillsdale forced me to clean
up my act. While I admit to occasionally
lapsing back into my old school girl
ways and saying whatever words fall
off my tongue without a second thought
to my neighbors ears, Ive decided to
put an end to my sailor days; out with
the old words and in with new ways to
express myself in a non-offensive way!
It has not been a major phenomenon;
no one has paraded a marching band
down Hillsdale Street in celebration of
me holding my tongue. I doubt if many
even notice my new vocabulary. I, on
the other hand, have noticed it in myself
and that is the best feeling because I
know that my clean-cut self is making
a difference by not subjecting anyones
ears to unwanted words and, of course,
not offending God is always a good
feeling.
During Fall Parents Weekend at
Hillsdale, I had the pleasure of showingmy parents around campus. They laughed
at my stories and reminisced back to
their own glory days at their university
as we ambled along. They discussed
the lovely weather and how Hillsdale
was the quintessential college campus,
but, to my disappointment, neither
mentioned their newfound admiration
for my improved vocabulary.
Amidst our walk, I was suddenly
startled at the sight of a rather largesquirrel, despite my daily exposure to
them.
Holy Crap! I said, surprised that
a squirrel that large mustered up the
energy to leap as it did. My father
frowned disapprovingly at me and did
not hesitate to inform me that Crap
was a base word used by criminals and
scallywags and he never wanted to hear
me use it again. I sighed and continued
walking.Gee Whiz.
We all know that swearing is rudebut, what about all the other little tips
and tricks we need along the walk of life? Never fear, with theHillsdale
Forums Pocket Guide to Manners and Etiquette, youll never be without
your best behavior.
Never carry on a private
conversation in company.
---
Be on time, and if you know yourerunning late--make a phone call.
---
Do not start or end a realtionship
via text message or instant message.
---
If you need to ask someone if it is
trashy, dont wear it.
---
Should you excuse yourself
midmeal, place your napkin in thechair, not on the table.
Always RSVP to an event.
---
Never bring up an ex girlfriend/
boyfriend while on a date.---
When attending a fancy dinner, use
the silverware on the outside first,
and work your way in.
---
Dramatic confrontations should be
avoided at all costs. No one needs
to hear about it.
--
Unless service was terrible, leave agood tip.
Monday...Tuesday...Hillsdale Days!
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8/12
election8 Fall 2006Just in Case Youve Been
Living Under a Rockfor the Last Week...the United States did this election thing
---and well---
lets just say it was not too pretty.
Oh, you want details? Then read on:
House Seats: 232
Senate Seats: 51
House Seats: 203
Senate Seats: 49
ind.
House Seats: 1
Senate Seats: 2
Election Day not only brought poor
news to Republicans nationally but in
Michigan as well. The Michigan House
of Representatives for the first time in
eight years has gone to the Democrats.
Michigans Democratic Party now
holds a 58-52 majority, though still a
minority in the state Senate.
Adding to the woes for Republicans
is the 56% victory that Governor
Granholm scored over Dick DeVos
42%. The loss came as a surprise to
many considering DeVos had led or
tied in polls with the Governor for the
past three months.
The chance for school reform,
eliminating the Single Business Tax,
slowing environmental regulation
and bureaucratic expansion has been
diminished. Not to say that Si quaeris
peninsulam amoenam, circumspice, the
state motto, will be replaced with some
Bolshevik slogan, but conservatives in
Michigan will have to wade through
some rough waters.
This defeat partially mirrored the
national fiasco that turned over
complete control of the Congress.
Michigan Republicans were able to
maintain a significant majority in the
state Senate.
Similar to the national election,
Republicans at the state level have been
displaying unconservative tendencies
throughout the past few sessions,
including Senate Majority Leader Ken
Sikkemas ill-timed minimum wage
reform.
Regarding the progressive agenda
on a national level, Newt Gingrich
commented on November 9th that the
election was a loss for Republicans, not
conservatives. On the national level he
was correct but this election killed the
chance of sending a conservative to
Lansing.
The man was Dick DeVos, the
politically active businessman out of
Ada, Michigan. DeVos was a co-chair
of Kids First! Yes!, the group that
led the school vouchers proposition
in 2000. He recently went as far as to
say overturning Roe v. Wade would be
delightful on Ave Maria Radio. DeVos
recognized the effects complicated
regulations and taxations were having
on businesses and gas prices.
There are certainly cases in Lansing
where inaction and poor leadership
should have been punished, and
Governor Granholm should have been
the first to the chopping block. It is
truly unfair that national politics and
the Presidency lost the race for this
potentially great Governor.
byJeremy Marshall
Quick Facts:
--John McCain is said to
launch an exploratory
committee concerning
the 2007 presidential
election this week.
--President Bushs
Crawford Concress-
men is a Democrat
--South Dakota first
state to ban abortion
--Arizona first state to
ban same sex marriage
-- Dems control the
house for the first
time since 1994
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After looking at the title of this article, you
might be thinking that I am here to complain
that my vote does not matter because it is
not going to influence who wins. But I am
not here for that reason. Perhaps a more
appropriate title would be, Does Anyones
Vote Really Matter?
I used to be nave, thinking that elections
in America today really matter. During the
2004 campaign, I spent numerous hourslistening to talk radio, watching Fox News,
or reading letters to the editor about why
George W. Bush or John Kerry should win.
I would get angry every time some pundit
would come on TV accusing Bush of lying
about Iraq or defending Kerrys disgraceful
Vietnam service. I thought the future of
this country depended on who won.
As I write this, just days before the
midterm elections of 2006, I keep hearing
how desperately we need Dick DeVos tobeat Jennifer Granholm, or how crucial it
is that the Republicans maintain control
of Congress. While I did vote for DeVos
and for Michael Bouchard over Debbie
Stabenow for U.S. Senate, I do not exactly
see this election as Armageddon. In fact, I
am not really all that concerned about who
wins the presidential election in 2008.
Since we are at Hillsdale College, you
probably are thinking, But we cant let
Hillary win! You dont want Hillary to
be our next president, do you? Well,
I certainly do not want Hillary Clinton
to be our next president, but in the long
run I really do not think it matters whether
she wins in 2008 or not. Four years of
any one person in office is not going to
dramatically change the direction this
country is heading.
For some historical perspective, let us
take a very brief look back at other major
eras in American political history. As
our new republic and Constitution was
trying to find an identity, the election of
1800 provided two completely different
visions of what the Constitution meant.
On the one side, there were the Federalists
led by John Adams, who valued highly
the supremacy of federal power over the
states and believed those powers were
broad. The Republicans led by Thomas
Jefferson, on the other hand, believed in
very narrow and defined federal powers
and in state supremacy.
Andrew Jackson believed that theConstitution gave him the power to demand
that the Union stick together during the
nullification crisis and said that the people
could vote him out if they disagreed.
Abraham Lincoln believed that he could
violate one principle in the Constitution if it
was necessary to hold the Union together,
while opponents of both believed that the
Constitution allowed for secession if a
state believed the federal government was
acting unconstitutionally. Progressivessuch as Woodrow Wilson believed that the
Constitution needed to evolve in order to
keep up with the contemporary problems
that the Founders did not see.
Readers may have an opinion about which
of these policies are right and which ones
are not, but notice a word that I mentioned
in each of these examples: Constitution.
When was the last time that any politician
running for any office used that word? No
matter where politicians stood on issues, itused to be that the Constitution was always
recognized as supreme. Most American
voters today do not care about the
Constitution or even know what it says, so
consequently politicians do not care either.
The Progressive living view of it may
have planted the seeds for this downfall,
but at least Wilson acknowledged theConstitutions existence.
This may be one major reason why
judicial activism is a problem today. We
view the Supreme Court as the final
arbiter of constitutional questions, a
power that they have happily assumed
because politicians often believe that if
an action is unconstitutional, the Supreme
Court will figure it out. If the American
people do not know what their true rights
are, the Supreme Court will not hesitate totake them away.
Applying this to the situation today,
Republicans and Democrats may fight
over some issues, but theoretically they
really are not much different. Conservative
candidates may tout their record of fighting
for lower taxes, smaller government, pro-
life, more freedom of religion, etc. But have
conservatives really made any progress on
any of these issues recently? In nearly six
years of the Republicans controlling thePresidency and both houses of Congress,
has government gotten any smaller? Are
we any closer to ending abortion? Do we
have more freedom to publicly express
religion?
The reason we are not making any
progress is because politicians today have
byBrian Johnston
Does my vote really matter?no fundamental believes behind theirstances on certain issues. For example,
Republicans support Bushs efforts in Iraq,
while my suspicion is that most Democrats
oppose it because Bush is the one who
decided to go into Iraq, as evidenced by
many prominent Democrats publicly
warning of the dangerous situation in Iraq
in the past.
The point here is that, without a fundamental
view of what the Constitution means and
what officials true duties are, politics will be nothing but squabbling among elitist
politicians who could really care less about
what the Constitution says. Once politicians
get into office, they will inevitably support
policies that increase government power
and intervention. Contrary to what many
politicians campaigning for office say, their
job is not to change the world, but to
follow the Constitution.
I do not see how this trend can ever be
reversed. Here in 2006, I would like tothink that a Dick DeVos could come into
office and solve all of what is wrong with
Michigan, but I doubt it. I probably will
continue to watch election night coverage
on TV in the future, but as I do, I might
just keep asking myself, Does this all
really matter?
Courtesy of USBCI.
electionhforum 9
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-yates from page 4children from our sleaze and our
sludge by instilling a hatred of little
old us. This explains why the near
terrorist attack coming toward us on a
plane from London a few months ago
was planned and executed by third
generation British citizens. Those
that see the democratization of the
Middle East smell our putrescence
coming their way and threaten to
destroy us from afar. Fear brings mentogether, whether it be culturally or
nationally, and unites them against a
common enemy. If one is in constant
fear of his life, earthly or eternal, he
has not much time for vices. Fear
keeps men pure of heart and mind.
In America we have distinct lack
of fear, except in the radical corners
such as this Dale. We do not fear
greatly or even understand the affects
of our corruption on our children, oron our safety. But if the Dems are as
bad as we really believe they are, if
they are going to impeach Bush and
get half of us slaughtered by terrorist
attacks, then maybe just maybe we
Sure, it certainly feels like the end
of the world is coming. The Dems
have won the House and the Senate,
including a Demonrat Muslim
Congressman. The truth is that this is
the beginning of hope! We are not all
going to die. And it is very possible
that we might just have a better life
for it in twenty years, after just a little
period of pain and suffering.Machiavelli, our favorite evil
political philosopher, and many other
wise men have pointed out that the
absence of fear in a republic causes
the corruption and the eventual
destruction of that regime. This the
Islamic nation understands. They
have had a lifetime of hate built into
them. This hate really only boils
down to fear. Men hate what they
fear and Islam fears corruption bythe vices of Western Civilization.
They hate our pornos, our homos,
and our sluts (and even our right to
foetal carnage). Those Muslims that
live in our vile bog must protect their
byGina Gallutia
DEMONRATS!will again become as pure as the
driven snow. Fear only brought
us together and reminded us of the
importance of piety for a short time
after September, 11th. Not even that
knocked our brains from our pants
completely back into our heads. It is
true that we were partly robbed of our
fear by the constant suggestion that
we must love our enemies. Muslim
religious leaders were insinuated intoevery type of religious celebration,
because out offearofhate crimes we
would not want to be exclusive. We
were told by politicians not to hate or
fear Islam, and that it was not Islam
that attacked us. But if the damage is
great enough, we will stop listening
to them. We will begin to recognize
and then fear and hate our enemies
as they fear and hate us. Perhaps
it is wrong to hope for death anddestruction, but if this does not work,
if the Demonrats are only Democrats
then perhaps this is the beginning of
the apocalypse.
an extremely slim chance that
he might be reformed during
the course of his imprisonment
and upon release pose no further
danger to individuals rights. Such
a chance should typically not even
be considered, but extreme cases
are conceivable where it might
be more significant than usualas in the case of Raskolnikov
in Dostoyevskys Crime and
Punishment.
But keeping a mentally troubled
murderess from permanent
punishment is like letting a rabid
dog who has bitten and killed
five children remain on the loose
or even residing comfortably in
a veterinary facility. There is no
guarantee that this woman willnot kill againunknowingly,
unpredictably, unwarrantedly,
and uncontrollably. No civilized,
rational methods are available to
assure her future safety to others.
Andrea Yatess drowning of
her own five childrenan act
abhorrent to natural law, moral
conscience, and civilization
itselfclearly demonstrated her as
being worse than a rabid beast. The
rabid beast enters an occasional
wild and indiscriminate rage,
but Yatesbeing humancould
still kill systematically, though
ostensibly without recognition of
the implications and consequences
of such an act. Yates, a human, is
far more capable of inflicting harm
than a mere animal. If we rightly
put violent, murderous animals to
deaththough the animals, too, do
not recognize the consequences and
implications of their actionsthen
it is even more fitting that Yates
be terminated as soon as possible.
Permanently imprisoning Andrea
Yates was the least the court
could have done to prevent further
violations of rights on her part.
Alas, even that act was rejected
by those who would use mercy to
perpetuate savagery.
Courtesy of USBCI.
electionhforum11
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politics10 Fall 2006
Lincoln Chafee is an interestingcase. Hes the junior Republican
Senator from Rhode Island who was
appointed in 1999 to replace the
late 5-term Senator John Chafee,
his father. He won a term in his
own right in 2000 by a large margin
and was up for reelection this year.
Chafee is a nice, charismatic man.Hes a family man. He turned
things around when he
was mayor of Warwick,
RI, and he talks about
being tolerant and
working in a bipartisan
manner to get things
done. However,
despite the fact that
he is a member of the
Republican party, hehas the most liberal
voting record out of any
of the Republicans in the Senate.
In fact his voting record is more
left than some Senate Democrats.
This being said, the Republican
Party gave him a generous $1.2
million to defeat a conservative
candidate in the primary.
The American Conservative
Union ranks the votes of membersof Congress based on how
conservative (social, fiscal, and
foreign policy) his/her voting record
is. The American Conservative
Union rated Sen. Chafees voting
record as 12% conservative in
2005, and 30% in his 6+ years
in the Senate. His 2005 voting
record was by far the lowest of the
Senate Republicans, lower than 16
Senate Democrats (including RussFeingold), and the same as 4 Dems
(including Hillary Clinton). Chafee
was one of the few Republican
senators to vote against opening
up ANWR for drilling and was one
of only three Republican senators
to vote against the Protection of
Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,
which banned lawsuits against gun
manufacturers and distributors.
He was also the only Republican
to vote against the authorization of
military force in Iraq in 2002, the
only Republican to vote in favor of
reinstating the top federal tax rate of
39.6% on upper-income taxpayers,
and the only Republican to vote
against confirming Judge Samuel
Alito to the Supreme Court. On top
of this, Chafee openly didnt vote
for President Bush in 2004 and he
expressed interest in switching his party status to Independent had the
Republicans not gained seats
in 2004. So, going off of
his record, Chaffee seems
more like a moderate-liberal
Democrat than a Republican.
On September 8, 2005,
Stephen Laffey, Republican
Mayor of Cranston, RI,
announced his candidacy for
U.S. Senate. Laffey, althoughnot as conservative
in the likes of Rick
Santorum, is well to the right of
Chafee. He is pro-life, supports
winning the war on terror, wants
to cut government spending
across the board, make the tax
cuts permenent, and privatize
social security. At first he
was a low-profile candidate.
Not long after influentalconservative political action
committees (PACs) began
endorsing and funding Laffey,
beginning with the Club for
Growth PAC, a fiscally conservative
organization. With the possibility of
Republicans losing the
Senate, the Republican
Party went on alert with
these endorsements for
Laffey. The Republicanssaw the situtation as
this: Rhode Island is
a fairly liberal state.
Lincoln Chafee is pretty
liberal. Steve Laffey is
more conservative. Thus
Laffey has no chance
of winning the general
election. So, if Laffey
wins the primary it could
cost Republicans thecontrol of the Senate. In
response, the National Republican
Senatorial Committee (NRSC),
chaired by Sen. Elizabeth Dole
(R-NC), started pouring money
into Chafees campaign. As a
result, prominent Republicans
such as Sen. John McCain (R-
AZ), Senate Majority WHIP Mitch
McConnel (R-KY), and Laura
Bush came out and endorsed
Chafee in the primary. RhodeIslands Republican Governor Don
Carcieri also endorsed Chafee.
There are some interesting notes on
the partys decision to aid Chafee.
The $1.2 million they spent on
Chafee leading up to the primary
was the second most spent on any
candidate runner up to Sen. Jim
Talent (R-MO). Thats $1.2 million
that was not spent on Michael Steel
in Maryland or Sen. George Allenin Virgina.
W h i l e
the party
c l a i m e d
that Laffey
was not
w i n n a b l e ,
Laffey is
Mayor of
C r a n s t o n ,
RI, whereD e m o c r a t s
ou tnumber
Republicans
by a 7
to 1 margin. Many pundits and
politicians claimed that because
Laffey is pro-life he is doomed in
Rhode Island. Thats an interesting
twist considering both the Republican
Governor Don Carcieri and the
Democrat U.S. Representative
Jim Langevin (District 2)
are both staunchly pro-life.
Chafee outspent Laffey by a
considerable margin and his
campaign turned out many
independents and disaffiliatedDemocrats in the primary. Thus,
Chafee defeated Laffey by a 54% to
46% margin. The Republicans got
what they wanted, a saved seat to
possibly save their majority. Wrong.
Chafee went on to loose the general
election to Rhode Island Attorney
General Sheldon Whitehouse
(D) by a 53% to 47% margin.
Following the election Sen. Chafee
was asked in a press conference ifhe would remain a Republican in
the last 2 months of his term, he
had this to say, I havent made
any decisions. I just havent even
thought about where my place is.
Lincoln Chafee
Stephen Laffey
byStohn Nishino
Flex YourConservative Muscle
Write forThe Hillsdale Forum!
We are looking for a dedicated staff of editors, pho-
tographers, and writers, sound interesting? E-mail
[email protected] for more information.
forum
Arnold says,
Chafees place in GOP
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