After a nice four-day weekend in Chattanooga, I’m back to the grind and attempting to catch up on the news. I can’t believe the audacity of good friends getting married on what ended up being a heavy news weekend. They should have known better…
Back in TN-03, I noticed the Congressional race is heating up. Van Irion signs are everywhere, and “Send Mrs. Smith to Washington” bumper stickers covered numerous cars. While the entire country becomes more and more divided over politics, my home district is just slugging it out over which Republican to elect. One of the many reasons I love East Tennessee.
What did I miss over the weekend?
1. There was not one, but two new “scandals” involving Sarah Palin. E! News reported that she was a bit greedy at an Oscar event, which conflicted with a number of other stories that I read earlier. Ted Casablanca, who doesn’t have the best gossip track record and is just a tad partisan, spread the vicious story. Earlier accounts said that Palin accepted the free gifts and then donated them to the Red Cross in addition to donating $1,700. Immediately after Casablanca published his version, the blogosphere and media ran with that angle. When you factor in Radar incorrectly announcing the retirement of Chief Justice John Roberts, don’t trust celebrity gossip sites for political news. If these are legitimate sources for politics, Perez Hilton needs a Sunday morning talk show.
The media is also going crazy with reports that Palin’s brother illegally obtained medical care in Canada when they were children. Hot Air has a rebuttal. Good heavens. We need a version of Snopes just to get Palin facts right.
Dear media: we get that you don’t like Palin. Get over it and focus on real news.
2. Christopher Buckley realized that Obama is not that great after all.
Mr. Buckley, you are still my favorite novelist, but you are not your father. Sad that someone who writes razor-sharp satire about the Beltway could be taken in by the slick marketing of the Obama campaign.
3. The Census sent letters to 120 million households announcing that the Census will be mailed in April. How much did this cost? Mail from the Federal government doesn’t require postage like private mail does, but this had to cost several million dollars to print and deliver. Couldn’t those resources have been used more efficiently? Also, what about the environmental impact? How many trees died so that the US Government could tell us something we already knew?
Offline, I’ve gotten a lot of criticism for writing about this Al Gore situation at UT. In the long-run, I fully agree with all of you that this doesn’t matter. As I’ve said numerous times, honorary degrees are publicity stunts. But I’m truly bothered by what UT is doing. Good news! You’ll get a break. I’m going back to Chattanooga this weekend for a wedding, so I doubt that I’ll have time to write.
When I first heard about this ridiculous decision to politicize UT’s commencement, I instantly thought of the promotional campaign that UT was running my senior year of high school. It’s one of the reasons I originally looked at the University. Despite growing up in Chattanooga, I had never felt a desire to become a Volunteer.
Coming off of the 1998 National Championship, UT ran a campaign that said, The University of Tennessee/2 Nobel Laureates/7 Rhodes Scholars/6 Pulitzer Prizes/10 Astronauts. We also play a little football.” I remember landing at the airport in Nashville after my senior trip to LA in 2000 and seeing the ad. For the first time, I got really excited about college. Since I attended an uber-Baptist high school, every teacher clearly expressed his/her disappointment in me for not choosing a Christian college, and my parents had their own qualms about sending me to such a big school.
There was a poster that accompanied it, but I can’t find a graphic of it. Once upon a time, I had a copy, but it got destroyed in one of my many moves. The poster had the slogan printed on an awesome photo of Neyland Stadium. It captured UT perfectly. Great football (at the time) and athletics combined with strong academics. That poster made me realize that there was more to UT than just Peyton Manning and Jeff Hall. (My best friend and I had bit of a crush on Jeff Hall in high school.)
What happened to recognizing those people? I realize that not all of them are probably alive. In fact, it’s sad that I don’t really know who any of those people are. The 10 astronauts are a lot cooler than Al Gore, but that’s a personal preference.
This morning, I was greeted by an email alerting me to the fact that the Drudge Report had linked to a Knoxville News Sentinel story on what I’m naming DegreeGate. A KNS poll is overwhelmingly against it.
Now, I know that web polls are hardly scientific, but 96% against the decision should be telling. Then Red State picked up on the story.
Oh UT, why? Why did you willingly walk into another controversy on the heels of the Kiffin scandal? I also appreciate the smug column from KNS telling people like me to, “Get over it.” Well, KNS, I refuse to get over it. I’m outraged at the actions of my alma mater, and I plan on making as much noise about it as possible. I’d also like to explain a thing or two to editor who wrote this paragraph:
Some objectors have pointed specifically to Gore’s involvement in the global-warming debate, suggesting that man-made climate change has been disproven by the “Climategate” e-mails. That’s far from true. Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander is among those who still say climate change must be addressed, and he certainly shouldn’t be disqualified from some future honorary degree. In fact, he would be an excellent choice.
You see Climategate is a big deal. The East Anglia CRU emails and subsequent stories prove that the data that created the infamous “hockey stick” graph is completely flawed. Al Gore used the hockey stick graph in his documentary. The same documentary for which he won an Oscar and a Nobel Prize, and the main reasons that the administration cites in giving him this degree.
Essentially, KNS is defending the decision by the University to award a man who has knowingly spread misleading information and refuses to acknowledge that. That is academic fraud, and it is shameful that my alma mater, a research institution, is willing to be complicit in what could be the biggest scandal of the 21st century.
The Facebook page has 1,100 people less than one week after it was started. Drudge has linked to the story. Red State is covering it. Doesn’t the University realize that it’s only going to get worse the closer we get to graduation? People are only just now learning about it.
Many have argued that Gore deserves this as a public figure. Why do universities award honorary degrees? Essentially, they’re PR stunts and a nice recognition to prominent figures.
However, what happens when the university awards a degree to a controversial and polarizing figure? Well, alumni like me get ticked off and withhold fundraising dollars. The university needs to weigh the opportunity costs of recognizing a political figure or threatening their donation base.
Now, if Vice President Gore would come clean and say that he apologizes for fraudulently using bad data, and that we need to put more open-minded resources towards the climate change debate, I’d be ok with UT’s decision. Until then, I’m going to be an unhappy and very vocal alumna.
In UT’s defense, I just got off the phone with Megan Smith in the Chancellor’s office. She was very nice and reacted the way all PR people are supposed to. I’ve been on her end of the phone before and feel for what she’s either going through or likely to go through. However, UT made a huge mistake here, and it keeps getting worse.
A number of people that I respect have attacked me for making this “political.” It’s not that at all, and I’m offended that friends are trying to silence me. I deeply care about my alma mater, and my blood runs orange. It always will. My four years at UT were amazing, and my education was outstanding. However, as the leader in the climate change debate, Al Gore is suspect when the science ends up being questionable. As I said in my original post, if Climate Gate is remedied or climate change proven, give Al Gore every prize you want.
My main concern is with the University. If Climategate keeps getting worse, Gore’s reputation is going to be incredibly tarnished. Any organization that recognizes him for his work on this issue will look foolish. As a leading research institute, UT has an obligation to only support legitimate and honest research. Why doesn’t UT wait and see how Climategate plays out?
This is not a personal vendetta or a political fight. This is questioning why my alma mater is partnering with a promoter of bad science. Ultimately, my right to freely express my opinion and protest the actions of my alma mater should be respected. Nothing less than that is acceptable.
Despite promises from Obama and a strongly-supported measure in the House, the new version of the health care bill funds abortions. Americans United for Life Action have a new ad urging Congress and Obama to prohibit any federal funding from going to abortions.
Susan B. Anthony List also has more information about abortion and the Health Care Summit last week. This is a major problem. Americans should not be required to fund abortions with tax dollars.
This week, Washingtonian.com featured Cosmopolitan Conservative on The Blogger Beat. Check it out if you want to see my thoughts on a GOP cocktail, the best/worst dressed Republicans and my final opinion on Meghan McCain.
Since the Washingtonian rarely covers political blogs, I was really honored to be considered. To my knowledge, the only other conservative included has been Rob Bluey.
You can’t read CosmoCon very long without noticing how the media blatantly ignores the misogyny directed towards conservative women often by other women. Last week, I wrote about feminists attacking the women who attended CPAC.
The Culture and Media Institute at Media Research Center put together a top ten list of attacks against conservative women. They write:
Much of the criticism was the worst sort of misogyny with a dose of violence and disgusting adolescent sex references thrown in for good measure. The media outlets in question ranged from Playboy magazine to MSNBC to Sirius XM radio and included comments from both men and women.
The message that rang through loud and clear was that perspectives from conservative women were not appreciated or welcomed, and if a woman stepped out of line, she deserved whatever treatment she received.
Aside from the Playboy incident, which only made news because of the overwhelming outrage on the right, how many of these stories did you hear about? NOW conveniently issues press releases when it suits their political interests, but where were they in attacking Keith Olbermann, Ed Schultz, Frontline or the Toronto Star?
Had someone tweeted a death wish for Gloria Steinem or written about violently attacking Katie Couric or Rachel Maddow, there would have been marches through the streets of Washington.
Feminists are always yammering about double-standards in our society. Why don’t they focus on the double-standard of not defending conservative women? That’s something they can realistically fix without involving the word “patriarchy.”
Mrs. Sullivan is exactly the type of woman that I’m always hoping will run for office. She’s a staunch conservative, a Christian and a homeschooling mother of four.
Calling herself a “defending mother,” Mrs. Sullivan said, “We need conservative women in congress who can multitask with common sense. We need watchmen to say no. Moms are good at saying no.”
If the treatment of Jim Bunning is any sign, we definitely need more men and women who can say no in Congress.
Going into 2010, it’s exciting to see a groundswell of grassroots candidates running. They’re distinctly different than the typical people who run for office. After working in DC for a number of years now, it is almost strange to encounter them. While talking with Mrs. Sullivan, I asked how fundraising was going. She replied that, “DC people always ask about fundraising, but is that the most important thing?”
I had to admit that I was taken aback. As hard as I try to stay un-Beltway, it creeps into your soul. That’s another reason why we need more candidates like Mrs. Sullivan. Even people who purposely try to avoid becoming part of the system end up doing so.
As we chatted, Mrs. Sullivan shared that she had made the decision to run only dif her entire family was on board. After discussing it, her 14-year-old son was reluctant. They decided to take additional time for consideration, and the son went on a missions trip. When he returned, he started reading a book that a friend had recommended. By that time, the family was once again sitting down to decide if an election was in their future.
Mrs. Sullivan shared that the book completely changed her son’s outlook. After praying about it, he knew that it wasn’t right for his mom to miss this opportunity if God was opening the door. She started to tear up while telling me this.
As I sat on Blogger’s Row typing, Mrs. Sullivan’s story took on a personal turn. I asked what the book was. I’ve worked with teen boys. Not many books change their lives.
“In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day,” she replied.
My jaw dropped, and I stopped talking. In shock, I looked up and said, “My pastor wrote that book!”
The interview went from talking about her race to sharing how much this book had influenced her son. I told her a little about NCC and promised to share the story with Pastor Mark. She was excited and said something that only Believers can understand, “It wasn’t a coincidence that God brought us here to talk about the race.”
That evening, I excitedly got to church. As a hospitality co-leader, it is my job to make sure that everyone is welcome and has bulletins, chairs set up, information available and tithe collected. I serve on the team that makes sure that the service goes smoothly, and I love it. Working in the background to make sure that everything gets done has always been my major gift.
Normally, the evening flies by, and I’m running like crazy. (Church also doubles as a cardio session for me.) Normally, I don’t get a chance to talk to Pastor Mark except to wave and say hi. That Saturday, he walked up while I was discussing something with Pastor Ross, the campus pastor at Ebenezer’s. I seized the opportunity to share the afternoon’s experiences with him and saw him light up with the story that his book had helped a 14-year-old boy. He asked for the family’s information so that he could follow up.
To be perfectly clear, NCC stays apolitical. As a church that meets on Capitol Hill, you have to. I may be a staunch conservative, but I do believe that Democrats can be godly Christians. I know Democrats who are better Christians than many Republicans.* Pastor Mark and the church leadership do an amazing job staying above the fray on political issues. NCC is a refreshing escape from the polarizing and often depressing issues we deal with each day. (I’m not sure what I would do if my church were political. I need a break from it all.) He was excited to hear that his book had helped a 14-year-old boy, not that In a Pit is influencing conservative politics (although both sides could probably benefit from reading his books).
I write this to 1) highlight an awesome candidate like Mrs. Sullivan. 2) encourage other women to run for office and 3) share how God orchestrates strange meetings. Out of the 10,000 people at CPAC, what are the odds that Mrs. Sullivan would meet someone who knew the author of the book that helped her decide to run for public office?
Take a few minutes to learn more about Patricia Sullivan. We need more people like her in Congress. Moe Lane at Red State did an interview with her during CPAC.
Also Smart Girl Nation interviewed Mrs. Sullivan last year.
*Sometimes I wonder what the New Testament would have looked like if Jesus had come to DC and not Israel. Hypocrisy and evil exist on both sides of the political aisle. Political systems are designed by humans and are therefore imperfect, but I do believe capitalism and democracy are the best systems that help the most people at once.)
Lately, I’ve gotten a lot of inappropriate comments and hate mail. Rather than just deleting those, I’m setting up a comment policy. As long as a comment is clean and fair, I’ll always post it. I’m not going to delete a comment simply because I don’t like what someone has written, or you disagree with me.
1. Don’t use profanity.
If you use foul language in your comment or name, your comment goes directly to trash. I don’t care what else you’ve written. I try to maintain standards here.
2. No anonymous comments.
If you leave an anonymous comment, it goes straight to trash.
3. No fake email addresses.
Recently, someone named “usuck” left a comment and used at@yahoo.com as their email address. Yeah, no cigar.
I invite debate and discussion. Keep it polite and fair, and I’ll post your comment. Don’t spam me. A few weeks ago, someone left 7 different comments with different thoughts. That was just annoying.
I always view comments as someone visiting another person’s home. Just because we’re not sitting down face-to-face, you shouldn’t be rude. If you came over to my house for a dinner party or event, would you address me as “usuck?” My blog is my property. When you leave a comment, you are commenting on something I own. If you want to be rude or crass, go create your own blog.
Update: To highlight how immature people are, below is an updated comment that my friend, “usuck” wrote tonight. I know that civility has never been present in the political world but grow up. If the actions of one individual blogger bother you that much, stop reading. I might also add that you may be taken more seriously if you don’t sound like a text message that a 14-year-old girl wrote. I may try to pull his/her previous comment from trash. Trust me. It definitely didn’t “destroy my entire logic.” Oh, the hubris of liberals!
Update II: Usuck/UStillSuck’s comment was still in the trash folder, so I added it to the post, “Celebrating Abortion.” Please tell me if you are as blown away as me by his/her logic as I am. Suddenly, the blinders have been lifted, and I’m not pro-life! </sarcasm>.
Update: Some pit in hell must be icy today because I nearly agree with Amanda Marcotte on something. Although, I do enjoy the “joys of housework,” and look forward to spending a few hours each week cleaning my apartment. Also, as a life-long crafter, Martha Stewart ideas are generally overrated.
In a post displaying all of the hubris that comes from being a liberal feminist writer, Newsweek’s Margaret Wheeler Johnson admonishes those under 35 for taking the time to cook. In response to a New York Times article on bread recipes, she writes:
The question that occurred to me reading every one of these pieces is how anyone trying to succeed in New York or a similarly pricey and competitive cosmopolis finds the time or reason to engage in elaborate culinary exercises like bread making. Perhaps these articles are geared to a middle-aged, upper-middle-class demographic secure in their careers with some leisure time to spare. But the Times articles also validate the idea currently floating in the zeitgeist that while building our actual careers, we under-35-year-olds should also be joyously training ourselves in the art of fresh-market-simple-slow-nouveau soul-food preparation. Think of the multitudinous cook-offs, the astonishing amount of cookware urban twenty-something engaged couples receive as shower and wedding gifts, the “young artisanal food scene,” or Noteatingoutinny.com. The overall implication is that if you stock your freezer with Trader Joe’s frozen entrees, or worse, anything non-organic, if you aren’t making your friends buttercream-frosted birthday cakes or whipping up truffle frittatas, you do not live “seasonally, locally, sustainably, cost-efficiently and healthily”; you are immature and possibly lazy; and the worst of all possible Gen Y fates, you are NOT WELL-ROUNDED.
What’s wrong with cooking? Even though I live in a busy metropolis and work hard at my career, I haven’t felt society pushing me towards culinary action. I have a crazy commute, several blogs, including a cooking blog, numerous weekly volunteer commitments, and relationships to maintain but I still find the time to cook each week. Why? Because I like it. Am I offending Ms. Wheeler Johnson by being more well-rounded than her?
I simply disagree with Ms. Johnson’s opinion that Millenials shouldn’t cook:
The truth is that unless you are a chef by profession or truly love cooking, spending a minimum of seven hours a week in the kitchen—and that’s just making dinner—is not the best use of an ambitious youngish person’s time. Wouldn’t the energy we expend making the meatloaf our mothers never did, or feeling guilty that we don’t, be better spent connecting with peers, putting in extra hours at work, or pursuing personal projects? If you want an Amy’s loaf, get it from Amy’s. Otherwise buy a sleeve of Nature’s Own, and leave the no-need bread for retirement.
Actually Ms. Johnson, cooking is not a waste of time for educated young workers. IT’S CALLED BEING A GROWN UP. Responsible adults think ahead about what they’re going to eat in order to be healthy and use their financial resources wisely. I’d rather spend a few hours a week cooking than spending my money eating out every night or defrosting TV dinners as Ms. Johnson suggests.
For many, baking or cooking is a way to relax. I spend my work hours in digital media and then come home to blog. Cooking provides an outlet to use a different part of my brain. There are many days that I spend writing emails or building websites while I’m thinking about a recipe or dying to try out a new cookbook. I’m not alone. My best friend’s husband calls her love of the Food Network, “cooking porn.” Why is cooking offensive?
Cooking also provides a better way to control our diets and budgets. Eating out is expensive. When trying to save money, the experts always say eliminate Starbucks and restaurants. One day when I’m finally free of credit card debt and student loans, will I look back and regret all my missed opportunities for Chinese takeout? Also, those Trader Joe’s dinners that Ms. Johnson praises are typically high in fat and sodium. As a Trader Joe’s customer, I’ve checked. The best way to stay on a budget and eat healthy is to cook.
Perhaps Ms. Johnson also failed at the most basic Millenial skills–time management and multi-tasking. Typically, I cook several meals on the weekend, freeze the leftovers and enjoy them during the rest of the week. I also package fresh veggies in sandwich bags after grocery shopping, so that I can throw my lunch together quickly in the morning (with a re-usable and fashion-forward lunch box even the trendiest Manhattanite would approve). It hardly takes time. Just a little planning.
Cooking also helps those concerned about buying environmentally-friendly products, fair trade or special diets. A friend of mine is now eating gluten-free at the advice of a doctor. Try going to a restaurant and finding gluten-free food. It’s difficult. My mother is a vegetarian, it is still hard to eat out decades after the vegetarian movement took off.
Honestly, what’s Ms. Johnson’s deal? Cooking isn’t sexist. Millenials who cook are just as likely to be men or women. It’s not a waste of time to enjoy being in the kitchen. Apparently, it is a crime for the New York Times Dining & Wine section to publish a recipe. Something struck a nerve with Ms. Johnson. I just don’t understand why she had to share it with everyone else.
Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore will be honored by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with only the third honorary degree granted by the campus. The degree was approved by the UT Board of Trustees at their meeting today.
Why UT? Why? There are many other examples of non-controversial Tennesseans who should be honored before Gore. Why is the University willingly walking into the controversy surrounding the former vice president and Climategate? The Trustees really want to honor a man who could possibly be questioned before Congress for promoting inaccurate information?
I’m truly bothered by the fact that this degree comes AFTER Gore endowed a professorship at UT. In my four years at the university from 2000-2004, there was absolutely nothing from the Gore family on campus. It really looks as though the University is trying to cash in on the crisis that Gore manufactured and then capitalized on through ventures like “carbon off-sets.” According to the press release:
Gore’s appreciation and personal interest in the institution of higher education is apparent as he serves as faculty member/visiting professor at various institutions across the country. A UT Knoxville faculty member holds the Nancy Gore Hunger Chair for Excellence in Environmental Studies, endowed by Gore to honor his late sister. Gore also is a distinguished member of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy’s board of directors and honorary co-chair of the Tennessee 4-H Club Foundation Inc. with UT Extension.
That’s a new endowment. The Center for Public Policy is also a new program at UT that opened up in 2004 or 2005. Until the last five years, the Gore family has had zilch to do with the UT system. I remember it was something of a slap in the face when Gore opted to teach at MTSU shortly after he lost the 2000 election. I was sophomore or junior in Knoxville at the time. The absence of Gore’s involvement at UT sharply contrasts with the long history that Howard Baker has with the University and the legacy of service and commitment that Dolly Parton has shown East Tennessee. Gore’s connection with the UT system is tenuous at best.
I’m ashamed to be a Vol today. UT has a ripe history of stepping into PR disasters with back-to-back embarrassments of presidents, arrests of athletes, and a shifty football coach. Through all the scandals of the UT system, I’ve always cared about my alma mater. Now, it appears that the Board of Trustees are selling out the University to gain PC points and a pile of cash.
Good job, UT. You may win a few points with the far-left and extreme environmentalists, but you proceeded to tick off a lot of alumni.
Upset? Call the University at 865-974-3265 or email Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek at chancellor@utk.edu or join the Facebook page.
