You are currently browsing the daily archive for May 14, 2009.
Longtime anti-choice wackjob Randall Terry says that someone leaked him a copy of the text of the honorary degree President Obama will be receiving on Sunday, and he says this is it:
The University of Notre Dame Confers the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on the 44th president of the United States, whose historic election opened a new era of hope in a country long divided by its history of slavery and racism. A community organizer who honed his advocacy for the poor, the marginalized and the worker in the streets of Chicago, he now organizes a larger community, bringing to the world stage a renewed American dedication to diplomacy and dialogue with all nations and religions committed to human rights and the global common good. Through his willingness to engage with those who disagree with him and encourage people of faith to bring their beliefs to the public debate, he is inspiring this nation to heal its divisions of religion, culture, race and politics in the audacious hope for a brighter tomorrow.
On Barack H. Obama, Washington, District of Columbia
I’m going to go out on a limb and call this a fake.
It reads like a right-winger’s image of how a left-winger would praise Obama, dwelling on exactly the aspects of Obama’s public persona — community organizer, healer of divisions, “advocacy for … the worker in the streets of Chicago” — that drive conservatives crazy.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it just doesn’t smell right to me.
Friday morning update: Fox News claims it’s legit.
Sunday morning update: Fox is still vouching for the text’s authenticity, but as far as I can tell no other news outlet has bitten. Various conservative Catholic bloggers are skeptical, but tentatively appalled — one says that it reads like Obama campaign literature, while another says that if it’s real, it’s a “Fuck you” from the university to the Catholic church’s bishops.
Sunday afternoon update: I guessed wrong. It was real. Yeah, I’d call it a bit of a fuck you to the university’s critics.
By the way, I’m liveblogging the commencement as it occurs.
The University of Tennessee has granted a football scholarship to a student who participated in the brutal rape of his cousin at the age of 13.
(I’m putting this story behind a cut, as it contains details of the crime.)
The Iowa Daily published a front-page article yesterday on the arrest records of the members of the University of Iowa Student Government.
The article, which was based on public records searches, reported that ten UISG members “have criminal charges other than traffic violations,” mostly citations for underage drinking or public intoxication.
The article names four of the ten offenders, providing details of the records of each:
- The SGUI vice president, who picked up a public intoxication charge last year.
- A senator who has seven infractions on his record, five of them for public intoxication.
- A senator with six infractions, including two charges for using false ID to obtain alcohol.
- A senator with two underage drinking charges and one for theft.
Not all of these charges have resulted in convictions or pleas — the article notes that at least one case is currently pending.
The article suggests that this information raises a “question for UI officials — along with current and former UISG members” as to “how much those tickets affect representatives’ credibility and ability to lead the students.”
studentactivism.net 
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