University of the Stupid

From: http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/2009/09/seeking-solidarity-among-k-12-and.html

There is a protest in which a building on the UCSC campus has been taken over by students and faculty in protest of the California budget cuts.

After the blog author mentions the back story and introduces the interview, one of the people he interviews states the start of their movement following the start of the protests:

[S]ome of us walked in uninvited on the large undergraduate lectures of those professors who failed to honor the picket line to make an emergency announcement about the Walkout.

Quote over. Civility is clearly not a guideline of this campaign. While their teachers go on strike, others try to do their jobs and actually teach. Seeing this as unacceptable they disrupt the non-striking professors classes. It goes on to their complaints:

The Community Studies program was gutted; minority student programs were cut back; faculty searches for departments desperate for replacements, such as the History of Consciousness, were cancelled; health-care costs for graduate students were forced up;

Quote over. "History of Consciousness" was canceled, what evils! I'm not sure what Community Studies entails, whether it is a sub-section of biology or a society examination class, I think observing demographics in political science, or the biology in zoology or basic biology covers that topic. How dare health care costs rise with the actual cost of health care! Seriously, these people think everything as a necessity, a right guaranteed to them based on their misinterpretation of the highest law of the land: The Constitution, not the Declaration of Human Rights.

But wait, there is more:

We would like to see a broad social movement against cuts to education and all other state social programs and services.

Quote over. So, despite having a massive shortfall in the California state budget, and a vote by the people saying there should be no increase in taxes, somehow 25% of the shortfall should still not be cut. The logic is non-existent in these people I swear.
But wait, there is still more:

The one-day Walkout and our occupation are only first-steps, the genesis of a year-long or multi-year effort to take back the UC, to rewrite its priorities in the interest of public education and not privatization.

Quote over. A revolution is what they are talking about. Also, to say they shouldn't move to privatization is very ignorant of them. The school isn't privatizing, the cuts are based on the public sector's budget!
But wait, yes, there is more:

We want to express our thanks for the support across the nation. Why stop at the borders of California? Let's take this effort to escalate to the nation as well! Public universities are being run like corporations all across the U.S. This must be brought to an end.

Quote over. So because corporations operate for a profit, and the public sector is being run to just be balanced, the university system is like a corporation? There is no profit in the state budgets! The state budgets have no money to spend so how this person ever thinks the state could afford it is ridiculous.
You know the phrase:

A broad-based social movement that has the capacity to articulate an alternative collective vision to the narrow, corporatist special-interests that control our budgets and strategic planning will be necessary. Nobody is sure what this will look like yet.

For now, we believe one of the first steps to building such a movement is to show that escalation and occupation is necessary and possible. We hope that groups of students, faculty, and everyday Californians can begin to see themselves, too, as people who can organize, occupy, and escalate to fight back.

Quote over. So while they do not know what the solution is or what it will look like, more protests like their own are certainly going to simply bring the answers forth from the vast collective minds in solidarity of protest about the same thing. They think that if others do the exact same thing they are doing somehow an answer to the problems will appear from their movement, which so far has no solutions.

To the people who want a solid community of one thought which results in the communal efforts to solve a problem by expanding the community, not the openness to ideas, as an approach to providing solutions: open your eyes and look at the big picture. Just because you protest does not mean the legislatures which had budget cuts did not try to solve the problem. Just because you protest and join together with others does not mean the legislatures will magically come up with a solution to appease your anger. It does not work like that. You don't like something, do the constructive American thing and solve it yourself.

We are doomed *really doesn't matter what number*

"This is not an American battle; this is a NATO mission"

-Barack Obama, on Afghanistan.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/30/content_12131915.htm

In the event you hadn't noticed, it is an American battle as long as Americans are in the fight. As long as Americans have shed blood in the conflict it is an American war. Sure, other nations can call it otherwise to their liking, but for us in the U.S. that is what matters: Our troops, our war. End of story. We will win our wars, or that should be our constant commitment. To delegate the most advanced force in the world to an allied structure is fine, but to have that structure, notorious for paper shuffling, command our forces is a disgrace. We lead NATO, not the other way around. We lead the world, not the other way around.

Mr. Obama, lead this nation, instead of following the world.

Guinea- Conakry Massacre

Whether it is 58, 87, or 157 killed, depending on the source, a massacre of people demanding nothing less than freedom and democracy occurred in Guinea's capital. Instead of sanctioning Honduras, where is the Obama outrage against Guinea's actions? Last year I saw the events taking place in the coup and thought the promises of democratic elections was sound. At the time no massacres were taking place, just awkward military patrols that made everyone confused. (The coup last year came after the death of their 30+ year ruler who himself came to power in a coup.)

Initially, they promised free elections the world could monitor and the coup leader said he would not run. Now he is running and the election is going to occur later than promised. Finally, his soldiers have slaughtered a democracy protest at a soccer stadium. The various methods of killing are numerous, and women were degraded. Where is the call for sanctions and the demand for the rule of law?

The White House still condemns Honduras despite the calls for violence coming not from the interim government, but Zelaya. Yet they chose the side of Chavez in that case. In Iran Obama chose to not interfere. He then chose to obviously interfere in Honduras. So far the path chosen as been silence on Guinea, highlighting the lack of consistency this administration has in support of "freedom". It is clear the United States government no longer is advocating freedom in the world, but is giving a pass to tyranny.