Rant up ahead. You were warned. 🙂
I regularly read the Internet, which means that I’m constantly bombarded by stupidity. So, sometimes it’s hard to determine what the silliest or stupidest thing I’ve come across actually is. But sometimes, something jumps out as so … dumb … that it just begs for comments.
Remember when the Iranian president came to speak at Columbia University – where he didn’t exactly receive a warm reception? In fact, he was introduced as “a petty and cruel dictator” and “astonishingly uneducated”. He then proceeded to make himself look quite foolish with his ideas about the Holocaust and homosexuals. It’s very doubtful that he made any friends among the faculty or students of Columbia University that day.
Despite this, the very fact that Iran’s president was invited to a university to be heard at all has made one second-tier Republican presidential candidate – Duncan Hunter, a representative from California – wet himself all over the Congress. He’s introduced HR 3675 – the “Restore Patriotism to University Campuses Act”. See for yourself:
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the destruction of the State of Israel, a critical ally of the United States.
(2) In January 2007, commander of Multinational Corps-Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno stated that the United States had traced back to Iran serial numbers of weapons captured in Iraq, including rocket-propelled grenades, roadside bombs and Katyusha rockets.
(5) Columbia University dissolved its long-standing Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program on campus because of disagreement with United States military policy, and for nearly four decades has not invited the return of any ROTC program to the University campus.
(7) Through their invitation, Columbia University provided a public, prestigious platform on United States soil from which on September 24, 2007, President Ahmadinejad spoke and defended his wide-ranging support for terrorist activities.
SEC. 3. DENIAL OF FUNDS.
(a) Denial of Funds for Permitting State Terrorist Access to Campus- No funds described in subsection (b)(1) may be provided by contract or by grant to Columbia University of New York, New York, or any subelement of Columbia University.
(b) Covered Funds-(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the limitations established in subsection (a) apply to the following:
(A) Any funds made available for the Department of Defense.
(B) Any funds made available for any department or agency for which regular appropriations are made in a Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
(C) Any funds made available for the Department of Homeland Security.
(E) Any funds made available for the Department of Transportation.
(2) Any Federal funding specified in paragraph (1) that is provided to an institution of higher education, or to an individual, to be available solely for student financial assistance, related administrative costs, or costs associated with attendance, may be used for the purpose for which the funding is provided.
(c) Notice of Determinations- Whenever the head of a Federal department or agency makes a determination under subsection (a) or (b), the head of such department or agency–
(1) shall transmit a notice of the determination to the Secretary of Education, to the head of each other department and agency the funds of which are subject to the determination, and to Congress; and
(2) shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of the determination and the effect of the determination on the eligibility of Columbia University for contracts and grants.
So, Mr. Hunter has apparently forgotten that by allowing Mr. Ahmadinejad to speak, the US was showing strength. We’re not afraid of him or his words. It’s, in effect, showing the world that we’re better than he is. This is something that Mr. Hunter just doesn’t seem to understand. Instead, he would prefer to cower in fear and punish the fearless.
Even “W” gets this, and he’s certainly no fan of the president of Iran:
“He’s the head of a state sponsor of terror, and yet, an institution in our country gives him the chance to express his point of view, which really speaks to the freedoms of the country,” Bush told FOX News on Monday ahead of the Columbia event. “I’m not so sure I’d offer the same invitation, but nevertheless, it speaks volumes about the greatness, really, of America. We’re confident enough to let a person express his views. I just really hope he tells everybody the truth.”
Now that’s a real rarity … me agreeing with something “W” says. Don’t worry, though. It’s not likely to happen again anytime soon. 🙂
(via Think Progress…)