Category: Opinion

A last-minute call on Oct. 13 landed WTDY-AM 1670 talk host Casey Hoff on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox TV show that night, talking about instructor Kevin Barrett, the UW Band and profs with criminal records in a segment called “UW Out of Control.”

Arecent report released by the Legislative Audit Bureau that looks at the personal practices and policies of the University of Wisconsin System found that faculty use a great deal less sick time compared to other staff.

In a response, UW System President Kevin Reilly addressed the concerns in the audit and ensured they would be reported on and further investigated over the upcoming months.

I may be hung out to dry for saying this, but would you believe university professors like Kevin Barrett, the University of Wisconsin instructor currently under fire for his belief the U.S. government orchestrated the 9-11 terrorist attacks, can give college students one of the best higher learning experiences money can buy?

By JOHN ETCHEMENDY

HARVARD�S and Princeton�s recent announcements that they will soon end the early admission programs they now use to choose part of their freshman classes have garnered a great deal of attention, including editorials urging other institutions to follow their lead. It is a shame that the publicity, so abundant in its praise, has been so short on facts and clearheaded analysis.

In the past 10 years though, my father, who has always been politically conservative, has not only become more so but also more outspoken.

At the same time, I spent four great years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a fifth studying abroad. The people I met in Madison, the intellectual environment and my time abroad rapidly turned me into a sponge for new ideas, values and the nuances of culture. I gradually became more liberal on most issues.

Slowly, conversations with my dad heated up. We rarely argue, but he often e-mails me conservative columns raking Democrats and the mainstream media across the coals. When I get inspired, I reply with my own thoughts or the counterarguments of national columnists I respect and agree with.

Column by Walter Dickey.

Among the most important questions in post-Sept. 11 America is how to draw the balance among civil liberty, the rule of law, and national security.
An appropriate balance must take both the Bill of Rights and the danger to national security seriously.

But rather than thinking seriously about the tradeoffs at stake, the political class in America has too often resorted to a form of “gotcha” politics, with forces on each side of the aisle accusing the other side of indifference to either security or liberty, and leaving it at that.

As it competes in the sweepstakes for America�s most promising high school seniors, the University of Wisconsin knows it cannot be content to merely offer world-class professors and a humbling catalogue of fascinating courses.

While Madison’s plan for Halloween identifies the reduction in dangerous levels of intoxication as a goal for 2006, noticeably absent are any specific strategies. There were 468 arrests last year, including 206 for underage possession of alcohol. Detox was filled to capacity, with hospitals admitting the overflow. Police officers were taunted, had objects thrown at them and police horses were slapped.

Madison, Wis. – Enterprising candidates can score easy points with state voters this fall by reminding them that the University of Wisconsin hires conspiracy theorists as lecturers, pays accused administrators to do nothing, and squanders millions of dollars on computer systems that don’t work.

TO end her opinion in American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency ââ?¬â? the case that enjoins President Bushââ?¬â?¢s warrantless surveillance program ââ?¬â? Judge Anna Diggs Taylor quoted Earl Warren (referring to him as ââ?¬Å?Justice Warren,ââ?¬Â not ââ?¬Å?Chief Justice Warren,ââ?¬Â as if she wanted to spotlight her carelessness): ââ?¬Å?It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of … those liberties … which makes the defense of the nation worthwhile.ââ?¬Â

They still are not identifying themselves, but the “Dane County Danes,” who hoisted their country’s flag over Bascom Hall for five days last week, are willing to tell how and why they did it. In an e-mail from “Danmark Bascom” they responded to my query:

“The flag is there for three reasons,” write the Danes. First, they say, is “solidarity and friendship with the United States.” Second, to “honor the Scandinavian heritage in Wisconsin.” And third, they say that back in 1957, Norwegian students raised their flag on Bascom Hall “while singing the Norwegian national anthem.”