Furman University protests Bush speech: We Object!
By John Amato Saturday May 31, 2008 7:50pm 
(click to enlarge)
Well, well, well, a Bush protest at Furman University. And he talks about of all things---redemption.
Delivering the final commencement address of his tenure, President Bush told supporters and protesters at Furman University here Saturday that he was far from "a model citizen" when he left college but that "it is never too late to recover and get back on track."
How many jokes could be written about this?
Download | play 
Download | play (h/t Scarce)
Although he received a warm welcome, Bush's visit was preceded by controversy as more than 200 faculty and students signed a letter objecting to his policies on the Iraq war, detentions and other issues. A conservative group responded with its own, larger list of signatories, and said the protesters were being disrespectful of the presidency and of graduating seniors.
Several dozen protesters greeted Bush's arrival outside the stadium Saturday, and a group of 14 faculty members stood during Bush's speech while wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase "WE OBJECT."
Bush made a joking reference to the protests, telling the audience: "I, too, am a strong believer in free speech. And to prove it, I'm about to give you one."...read on
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Murderer!
"Bush made a joking reference to the protests, telling the audience: “I, too, am a strong believer in free speech. And to prove it, I’m about to give you one.”
He's an asshole in addition to being a liar, a traitor, a warmonger and a killer.
And this from a conservative, Christian school (if I'm not mistaken).
So long house of cards....
what,, no chest bumps?
Ruthless People @ 2:
You just know he was thinking how much money he will be able to make on the speaking circuit after he's out, and how these folks are getting it for free. Lucky them...NOT. What a dick.
Bush is a nazi , hands down. Him and his fascists so called elite have driven america and other countries down to the ground all the while saying its for ´´the war on terror´´!
Yanno Hilter had a quote, the bigger the lie the more its repeated over and over again, ppl will believe it´´!
To bad no one had any eggs on hand !
For how much of his life has this overpriveledged brat gotten away with dismissing and diminishing those who dare defy him?
Pretty much all of it.
Sigh...and these were all faculty members, not students. Any one of them probably could tie him up in knots in any discussion, which is why he's so contemptuous of them, he knows he's not their intellectual equal, but he's the preznit. His daddy made him preznit. He's special.
seevee @ 5:
God willing he wouldn't be able to from his cell in Gitmo.
“I, too, am a strong believer in free speech. And to prove it, I’m about to give you one.”
Ain't it great of him to remind us how he'll cash in with expensive speeches after leaving the WH? What a dick.
And yes, you Republican assholes out there, Billy Clinton made a lot of money as a speaker too. But he didn't cause the death of 100,000-plus Iraqis, the displacement of a million more, and the death of 4,000 U.S. soldiers for oil. Go fuck yourselves.
American universities . . . U.S. corporate shills and whores who have lost all sense of the role of higher education in a democracy. If the privilege of unfettered debate/research/instruction under the aegis of academic freedom results in this type of pandering to ignorant, dry-heaving, contemptuous shit heads like Dubya, then shut the institutions down. They are merely a new version of the sycophants and courtiers of the medieval monarchies. They undermine a citizen-based democracy and deserve only ridicule and contempt.
How do you get through to a socio-path?
The protesters should have hurled rocks & bottles at the asshole, and shut that fucking speech down.
DMS @ 9:
Hey, get out of my mind. :)
Bush's way of giving the finger to free speech.
How I love this blog !
Later folks,, take care and have a good day/eveing or night.
oh and thanks again to C&L for having a kick ass blog too.
Regards,
ralph @ 11:
Electro-shock or meds, I'd say.
Neo-classical secular humanist @ 10:
Dude, lay off the glue. It isn't good for you.
Furman University is about as conservative as they come. It isn't like he was speaking at Cal-Berkeley.
And lately the only people who benefit from a stupid, uneducated population are Republicans. Do you really want to take that position?
I will give him props for recognizing he was not a model citizen when he left college. I would argue that "getting back on track" with your personal life, versus, getting back on track with a life of public service that really fucking sucks is another.
Give credit where credit is due John. He cleaned up his life... just fucked up millions of others :)
From the Nancy Pelosi school of protest.
Bush MSM ally caves to falling circulation
Published: May 31, 2008 11:55 PM ET
WASHINGTON- The Washington Times published its last Saturday print edition in a move the paper's top editor said reflects its shift toward becoming a multimedia news source.
In notices to readers, the newspaper announced Saturday it plans to switch its print edition to a new Sunday through Friday schedule.
After this weekend, readers will have to rely on the Web site for Saturday news. Print subscribers will be able to receive an electronic version of what would have been included in a print edition.
Low circulation on Saturday prompted the move, said executive editor John Solomon.
rend @ 4:
No, chest bumps are just for his fellow military buds. You know, from when he was in the reserves and all.....hiding out until Vietnam was over.
Can't be doin' all that chest-bumpin with just anyone.
It's offensive that Bush is not in prison.
cray86 @ 17:
I won't give him props for a fucking thing. 1,000,000+ people are dead because of him. what kind of props does he deserve for that?
cray86 @ 17:
Bullshit, he cleaned up his life. Since when is being a dry drunk cleaning up your life? Since when is being a mass murderer and a proponent of torture cleaning up your life?
Bush is nothing but a soulless shell of a man. Devoid of any redeeming human qualities. And he is as nuts as they come.
"A conservative group responded with its own, larger list of signatories, and said the protesters were being disrespectful of the presidency and of graduating seniors."
strange there was no mention of GW being disrespectful of the presidency, the constitution, and the founding fathers or the graduating seniors who he'll treat like cannon fodder as he has the others he's sent to iraq.
DMS @ 9:
C'mon. What was that M Albright said? "UNICEF announced that 500,000 child deaths have occurred as a result of the sanctions...The sanctions resulted in high rates of malnutrition, lack of medical supplies, and diseases from lack of clean water. Chlorine, was desperately needed to disinfect water supplies, but it was banned from the country due to the potential that it may be used as part of a chemical weapon. On May 10, 1996, Madeleine Albright (U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations at the time) appeared on 60 Minutes and was confronted with statistics of half a million children under five having died as a result of the sanctions. She replied "...[W]e think the price is worth it""
Let's not write Bill's hagiography too soon. Let's not consider his sins OK, because the pale in comparison with those of the Empty Flightsuit. Bush's actions did not start in a vacuum. There was quite a shitload of ground work laid for the current troubles we have now, and President Clinton was part of it.
And Bush's count is closer to 1,000,000 Iraqis, and the destruction of a sovereign country's infrastructure, FWIW.
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Democratic Party Victory @ 19:
Isn't that the propaganda publication owned by Moon?
Ron @ 28:
Yes, it is.
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Democratic Party Victory @ 24:
I just think giving props for what I stated were much more minor positives then negatives (hence the use of the words fucked up and millions) are more conducive to a productive conversation. I am a dirty liberal that would love for Bush and his comrades to be punished under the full extent of the law. But speaking in absolutes and hyperbole (from the perspective of the uniformed masses we need to convert) will not get the kind of grassroots social change we need to get that accomplished.
I agree with your mentality. Just a slight adjustment to methods. We're on the same page
Ron @ 28:
Yes.
Mr Bush has no one to blame but himself for the isolation he finds at the end of his second term, when it seems even Israel is going against his counsel. Perhaps if he had been less willing to use military force to solve complex problems and not abandoned internationally accepted standards such as the Geneva Convention in conducting his war on terror he might have more justification for claiming the moral high ground.
Back on track,
How many track marks has boosh on his arms?
ralph @ 11:
You don't and you can't, and that includes the conservative group responded with its own, larger list of signatories, and said the protesters were being disrespectful of the presidency and of graduating seniors.
These are the assholes of the future.
Marc @ 28:
What, is he getting tired of throwing billions of $ trying to keep it open?
miss_kitty @ 26:
My rant wasn't about about writing anyone's hagiography, or considering Clinton's sins OK. I have no idea how you could think that, as I didn't say anything nice about Clinton except that he didn't flout international law by invading another country for oil.
Bush doesnt hit the speech circuit. He becomes "First Embarassador of the United States to the World"!. I say build him a Embarassy and show it like on TV.
the Nero jester for all..
The Clintons are ALL DLC.
Just wait for the shoe to drop....
McCain/Clinton '08
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Democratic Party Victory @ 20:
Considering that The Moonie Times has been losing billions since its inception 25 years ago in order to spew their propaganda, this is actually quite a shock.
DMS @ 36:
Well it only goes to prove, one need not invade to kill hundreds of thousands of people. One merely has to stand by and do nothing, or prevent others from helping people who had nothing to do with anything against 'us.'
Mike @ 37:
OHHH so that is what he built in PARAGOFARAWAY
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 32:
The only thing that keeps me sane is knowing that Bush Administration officials have been charged with war crimes. And I hope I am alive to attend then resulting festivities!
I am saving my frequent flyer miles, my Hilton points, and vacation time...for me and my pom poms are going to Den Hague for those tribunals. I hope to see Bush's smirking face and Cheney's scowl as they are found guilty. I'd even watch a hanging...maybe take cell phone pics a la Saddam.
Fucking criminals!
It took courage for them to do that.
Won't do much good, conservatives don't care about the people bush has killed.
Personally, if that asswipe spoke at my commencement address I would have to promptly excuse myself, or at the very least put my headphones on.
And once again, the people cheering for him. America's future douchebags.
Blue Taliban Osama Buddha @ 39:
If it makes Moon lose billions all the more betterer.
mike @ 26:
The reason people are so disrespectful of shrub is precisely because of the respect we do have for the office of the presidency, something the right had no trouble understanding when it came to their feelings for Bill Clinton and how they were expressed.
I HOPE this is what Bush has to look forward to after he leaves the White House. Dignified, meaningful, IN-YOUR-FACE protests at EVERY public appearance he makes.
Right up to the point when they slap on the handcuffs and PERP-WALK him off to his war crimes trial.
There is no more Presidency, it will forever be called the Presiduncy.
Being a n'er-do-well, pom-pom shaker, drunken frat boy is excusable.
Being a traitororous butchering war-monger destroyer of the Constitution is another.
boosh is the dingleberry of our Nation.
thje closing argument is so on point: everyone is attacking the messenger and ignoring the message. sooner or later, someone will have to look at what mcclellan said and then they will have to address the truth of it - that boosh was a lousy president. he gives lousy a bad name.
If all of you in the States would like one place to go to see what the rest of the world thinks about the U.S. and the politics of the U.S. go to "Watching America".
It is a Web-Site that publishes article from all over the world about how other countries are hurt or affected by the policies of the US and in particular this Administration.
Even Canada is pissed because so many U.S. citizens call themselves Americans (not realizing that The Americas are Canada, the U.S. and Central and South America. Those countries don't like having the tag put on them for what the Bush Administration is doing to the name "America"
CowboyBob in Austin @ 46:
Afriggingmen!
MsJoanne @ 34:
yes ive met many of thier brothers and sisters on here , thier the official spelling police, welcome the class of 69ers
Jason Tallismon @ 23:
So are you Jason, take your ISP and go away.
boosh does not care that his entire country is paying the price for what he's done.
DMS @ 9:
Although a firm Democrat supporter and Bill Clinton admirer, I feel it important to point out that Clinton DID oversee the continuation of the UN sanctions against Iraq - sanctions that cost the lives of untold hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Iraqi children and ruined the lives of many... not all goodness and light, I'm afraid!!
miss_kitty @ 27:
Oh, Miss Kitty - spot on!!!
The joking sociopath will try ...
and will also try and continue to portray himself as a "moral man of faith"
...but he is not fooling the people anymore.
Keep preparing the criminal evidence for the trials..
The man is a dangerous sociopathic criminal.
Keep speaking out.
The chorus is now millions of Americans since the coup de tat in 2000.
We also object to bush's ongoing selling out of our country to
corrupt aligned multi-national corporations, contractors.
Watch out for ALL the corrupt bush privitazation proffiteers and off shore money launderers.
Follow the connections to the corrupt state governments that bush is STILL working with...
disabling our justice systems, stealing our treasury.
Criminals WILL be held accountable...
54 state attorneys also object to the judicial Crimes that have been committed.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/01/54-former-state-attorneys-general-su...
Shame on them standing there silently.. objecting..
.. Thats the same kind of tactics the Nazis used!!!
I wonder if it ever crosses Bush's mind when he looks out at a crowd of young Americans that he's murdered over 4000 just like them.
wich mind??
Lynda from DownUnder @ 55:
How can you possibly admire that?
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 50:
Thanks for that!
Gary @ 58:
You are wrong Gary, had they not been silent they would have been taken away by campus police and the secret service. Also, non-verbal communication can impart a strong message.
Bush's people did employ Nazi methods here in Florida in 2000 when they stop the recounting of ballots.
seevee @ 5:
yeah, gonna "fill up the old coffers."
Gary @ 58:
I was glad to see someone was protesting there and I hope there is a protest everywhere the chimp speaks. It would be best for us all if he would just go to Crawford and stay there until January. Better yet, send him to Gitmo. Let him speak from there.
Of course your speech is going to be free ; no one in their right mind would pay to hear you butcher the English language , you unintelligible moron.
Saint Augustine @ 63:
YES,
Think Ghandi.
A strong example of that is when The Ukranian election was stolen. Do you remember?
This is when the current president running against the incumbent and they poisoned him!!!
Sheesh!
Anyway, the incumbent then stole the election and I think it was a million people came and stood in front of the Ukraine capitol equiv. of White House. (sorry, i don't want to look all this up right now.) Anyway, it was freezing cold as you can imagine and a million people came and stood and stared.
There were some more violent protests I think throughout the country but seeing those people just standing htere was one of the most powerful images I've ever seen.
It was stunning. Of course it brought up our own stolen election in my mind.
sigh.
MCMetal @ 66:
ROFLMAO!!!
The only people who would listen to this joker now are his mother and father. Mr.& Mrs Bush, do not give us anymore of your offspring to run for any government office.
Saint Augustine @ 63:
We had a similar protest here in 2005 when Bush spoke at our commencement. Students and faculty took out one full page ad, and when alums heard about it, they took out their own full page ad. This was right about the time that some of the moderates who had voted for Bush were getting an inkling that the emperor had no clothes.
Props to the protesters Furman.
First of all, thank you Bankok Bob from me as well regarding "Watching America". It was a source I've been craving to have for a long while because the American MSM can be so sufficating here. :)
Second of all, I don't know how Bush can show his face anywhere, especially in light of all the evidence against him. One poster was right about Bush having an "Anti-social personality": he is glib, narcissistic, ruthless and numb to the suffering he has caused. Instead, he uses that tactic to only benefit himself without thinking about the the consequences. And instead of the victims being those that he intimately preys upon, instead he is dealing with an entire nation who is held to his victimization.
So, I applaud the faculty for protesting his speech. I don't know (if I were sitting there in the faculty, the graduates or, the audience) if I could stand listening to the man give a key-note speech knowing what I know. I couldn't even face him. Even if I had to, I would probably look to the ground or away.
That's how much this man sickens me. He is evil to the core with no redeeming qualities.
Oops. :( Misspelled suffocating.
Furman University scholars..
Since the Bush Media lies and reports foolish bullshit.
more research needed..
All the damage that has been done to our country...and the world.
The day before Cyclone Nargis actually hit Myanmar, ...
What is not reported is that the Bush administration....signed a harsh new level of economic sanctions ...
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9003
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
scientists... universities.... Keep documenting.
http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine
http://www.economichitman.com
http://www.amazon.com/Weapons-Space-Open-Media-Pamphlet/dp/1583220445
That's a Protest? Silent doesn't make it, sorry.
This must be a preview of Bush's future "Spek'n tours" he's going to do after he's done playing President.
And I agree with gB #74 - if you are going to speak out - at least Say Something!!! Or at the very least grunt and groan at this bozo's contradictions!
Mike @ 37:
LOL!
Saw you'd posted this on the caption thread, but it was too late to show my appreciation ;-}
Dahgrostab'ph-r-i @ 75:
It was a commencement speech. Had this simply been a Bush public appearance, I'd agree with you. But you have to remember that making noises would dishonor the graduates once again. That's a no go.
Bush made a joking reference to the protests, telling the audience: "I, too, am a strong believer in free speech. And to prove it, I'm about to give you one."
Bush, doing something for FREE? You gotta be kidding--you KNOW cash or flesh changed hands...
“Free speech” prompts me to think about the First Amendment:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
…and how this asshole Bush has betrayed it by fighting and winning in court to prevent the press from photographing coffins of returning troops. In addition to not permitting the loved ones of those deceased to great them on the airport tarmacs of United States soil.
He is a despicable pos.
99Luf Balloons Says: "The Clintons are ALL DLC. Just wait for the shoe to drop….
McCain/Clinton ‘08"
It worked for Joe Lieberman.
President Bush told supporters and protesters at Furman University here Saturday that he was far from “a model citizen” when he left college but that “it is never too late to recover and get back on track.”
Wow, that's really inspiring George! "Ya see, Ah was wonce a coke head and drunk just like y'all, but ah found JEESUS n' turned mah life around". Yeah, I'll bet the students who busted their asses to get their degrees, and the parents who sweated helping to pay for it all were certainly soooo proud to listen to your personal story of failure. You see, it has to always be about George, first and foremost, no matter what. I'm surprised he didn't give 'em the "IAh was a C student and lookee where ah ended up!" speech.
For those who were wondering about the big picture...
from Truthdig...
The Corporate State and the Subversion of Democracy
By Chris Hedges
Note: Chris Hedges gave this keynote address on Wednesday, May 28, in Furman University’s Younts Conference Center. The address was part of protests by faculty and students over the South Carolina college’s decision to invite George W. Bush to give the May 31 commencement address...
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080531_the_corporate_state_and_the...
What the hell is Furman University? Is that named after Mark Furman, the racist policeman who helped get OJ off the hook? Or is it just another Evangelical profit generating mechanism? Or both?
BTW, if Bush's life is "on track," what would "off the track" be? Is that somewhere between Josef Fritzl and Caligula?
Maybe this is a hopeful event. These people actually were allowed to put on their restrained demonstraton.
I remember a Bush speaking engagement in Denver (I think it was an '04 campaign speech, not certain) where two people in the audience were ejected because they were tracked down by "secret service" agents for showing up in a car with anti bush bumper stickers and as I recall they had concealed T-shirts with a dissident logo of some sort.
I should have just googled this in the first place
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/alerts/223
BennyP @ 16:
Give Jack Bauer 5 minutes alone in a room with Bush. Trust me, he will talk...
Paul Tsongas spoke at my college graduation. It was just a few days after Tiananmen Square and everyone was still in shock. He gave a great speech. It fired me up and motivates me to this day.
These Furman grads: what a terrible way to start their careers, lectured by a war criminal.
Ruthless People @ 2:
Indeed he is, and the public figure and face of america at the moment (and wont be forgotten); Whom the vast majority of people there were applauding ..... a few brave educated (faculty), and an hoard of embarrassing drones (typical americans), a accurate reflection of the countries population it would unfortunately seem.
I wonder if they will wear the objection hats when McCain is in power and doing the same, laughing in your faces.
Fran Taylor @ 88:
Family tradition, his father and grandfather the same. Tis the americon legacy.
thank you faculty for wearing those tee shirts i am sure your jobs will be in danger from the administrators at your university.
ike warned us but no one listened.
now we pay the price
illegal wars and bankruptcy.
notice the conservatives at the school called them disrespectful. these conservatives are the war mongers that will take America down the same path as Germany went.
they think they are patriotic instead they are imperialists and fascists.
they do hitler proud.
Billy Shears @ 82:
Chris Hedges is the man!
I actually thought Bush's joke was somewhat witty.
So now, whenever someone asks me to name one good thing Bush did during his presidency, instead of hemming and hawing, I can point to that Furman lecture.
I wonder if all those conservative signitures were in crayon because you'd have to be a mental midget to think chimpy is anything but a frat boy who never grew up
As for being a free speech they had to listen to it you'd have to pay me to listen to this chimp
DMS @ 9:
Actually, Clinton is complicit. He's the one who imposed sanctions on Iraq for nearly a decade, causing the death of hundreds if not thousands of children, while the top brass was virtually unaffected by these sanctions. So, Clinton ain't exactly a saint compared to Bush.
Trekkie @ 17:
Sure, and the ever so conservative [snark] Stanford welcomed John Yoo to serve on their board. Google John Yoo and the Patriot Act in case you're not familiar.
If there is a hell ...i hope he rots in it!!!
Remember too that it's not Bush, it's Bush Inc. just like Reagan Inc. Both of them are/were simple prop puppets for a "bigger cause"----OK guys you provide the famous face and name and we'll tell you what to think and do---- just remember whose hands to grease. Sorry to be so cynical.
Chris F. @ 92:
I got to see him give a lecture once. I was living in San Antonio. I think it was 2004, after he'd written War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning. It was one of the best and most disturbing speeches I've ever heard -- and it has stuck with me, since in the following years I've got to see most of his predictions come to pass.
At any rate, don't miss the opportunity, if it comes your way.
Scott McClellan wrote about Bush claiming "he couldn't remember if he did coke" and a firestorm erupted on the Right. But Bush goes to a University and basically says he "did things" as a young man that he later needed "redemption" for... again repeating what we all know about his "out of control youth" and lending credence to Scotty's claim, and no one says "boo".
Mugsy @ 101:
By now I suppose we all understand that republican values and morals are highly selective and convenient.
Their righteous and noble standards are selectively held mostly for "others" to live up to, and conveniently applied to everyone but themselves.
This is why these people were so utterly incapable of questioning any of Bush's actions, for the past eight years.
Contrary to their opinions of themselves the republicans do not deal in high moral standards. The reason for this is because all morality must be built on the foundation of honesty, and there has been no honesty coming from the republican party.
So their morality is really a weapon used, conveniently and selectively, against anyone they want to have power over.
These people, at their very core, are liars -- and if you want to be among them the first requirement is that you be a liar too. This is the foundation of their insanity and their penchant and preference for unreality -- and perhaps explains some of their need to be constantly attacking their chosen targets, because it diverts attention away from their basic fundamental dishonesty.
It is beyond me how any insitution of higher learning can, especially now, see fit to have this dunce deliver a commencement address. It's an affront to all the students that are graduating.
You object
We subject
As much as I do not approve of his policy decisions, he is, ultimately, the President. Further, his speaking at any University marks a very special occasion - especially for a school that I have never heard of throughout the course of my entire life...
I find it shameful that the faculty would use a Commencement Ceremony to wave the flag of their political sentiment. Do the families that are recording this on video really need to remember their significant other's/family member's graduation as being a part of a protest? While they certainly have their freedom to do/say whatever they want to, it is my right to call them on it when they do so inappropriately. Shame on them.
Oh hell...the President was just there for the free beer.
X @ 105:
Of course you don't question why he picked this particular university. Is it in the middle of midwest fundieville. Does its alumni consist of assorted fruits and nuts of the right wing with deep pockets? Is it the only University that extended an invitation. Not the most popular president ya know.
Oh...and as far as the protest...the law grants students and everyone else the right to peaceful protest. You do remember the law, don't you.
X @ 105:
I guess it's a clear case of priorities.
Personally, if my child were graduating from college the one image I would not want showing up on my video tape would be that of a man who had sent thousands of Americans, and Iraqis, to die for a lie. As you say, "he is, ultimately, the President." However, it now should be quite clear to all of us, that being the president should also entail acting like one.
Liberal AND Proud @ 107:
What part of my post's second paragraph did you not read? All of it, perhaps?
MsJoanne @ 42:
----
Watch a hanging? Capital punishment is not allowed at the ICC (Rome Statute: Article 77).
Also, if you read the blog MsJoanne linked, that author writes that Bush is guilty of crimes of aggression ("So, crimes of aggression. Check."). The ICC cannot punish crimes of aggression until it actually defines it (Rome Statute: Article 5).
Please, people, do a little research before spewing your idiotic venom.
Hmmmm....How did they slip by his politburo and out of the 'Free-Speech-Zone'? Heads are going to roll!
JerryO @ 110:
Indeed. The Campus Police SWAT unit must have had a softball game that day.
Lollimom @ 1:
Murder is more "disrespectful" of the presidency and the graduating seniors than a forceful objection to that murder. like duh? what do they teach them at Furman?
X @ 105:
You're kidding, right? This "president" thinks of himself as a dictator. If a dictator who thinks TORTURE IS OKAY showed up at my kid's graduation for the education I paid and sacrificed for in order to have them learn to think independently and critically and not submit to authoritarian regimes, I would protest.
Does anyone else recall what happened at Ohio State in 2002, the "Turn Your Back On Bush" protest? We're only weeks from the six year anniversary of that silencing of free speech.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_Your_Back_on_Bush
http://www.progressive.org/mag_mcohiostate
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2644
http://www.georgewalkerbush.net/ohiostatefascism.htm
One would hope those fourteen brave individuals at Furman (braver than Putz and the neo-convicts, that's for certain) have tenure to protect them, or at least, not lose their jobs.
Teachers have the guts to do what the MSM can't or won't!
X @ 103:
Do the families that are recording this on video really need to remember their significant other's/family member's graduation as an occasion at which the worst president in the history of the U.S. spoke?
seevee @ 44:
I worked in a field where everyone was Republican except for myself about 3 or 4 other employees in a total of over 100. When Clinton was President, you never heard all those "respect the office of the presidency" remarks. They are nasty and awful about Bill.
When the boy wonder of idiotdom came to office, all the "respect for the office" talk started. Just depends which side of the argument you are on at the time.
You can bet that those same lovely Christian Conservative students will forget all that talk if Obama becomes president.
Billy Shears @ 109:
Remember when at school you always stood a chance of being swatted with the school board?
Than they forbade spanking
And introduced school SWAT teams.
that he was far from “a model citizen” when he left college but that “it is never too late to recover and get back on track.”
Never say never. It's way too late for bush to ever make something of himself. "Get back on track?" Hell, he's never BEEN on track.
At least these protesters were somewhat respectful, standing quietly with their silly T-shirts displayed, unlike some of the antics pulled by some of these other more juvenile attention-getters (e.g. Code Pink) who've been stalking people in the administration.
Free speech is one thing, acting like deranged idiots because 'people are angry' is yet another.
Obnoxious protestors! It wasn’t their day and the graduation wan't about them. It was a day to commemorate the graduates who spent several years and thousands of dollars getting their degrees. For protestors to try to upstage the graduates special day was a display of their low-life mentality and personal disregard for the graduates. As I watched this on the news, it became obvious that the graduates did not join in the protest and neither did any appear to appreciate it. Instead, they ignored it and fixed their attention on the speaker, who, whether they agreed with him politically or not, they respected him, which is far more than the obnoxious asshole protestors did for them. If these protestors wanted to make a speech, then let them use their own forum instead of worming their way into someone else’s graduation.
Ted Werg @ 120:
Good point. There should be no political protest if there's even the remotest chance that someone could get his feelings hurt.
That's the kind of freedom our forefathers died for
peaceful easy feeling @ 119:
Goodness, gracious, yes. We wouldn't want to disturb the peace.
Qutote: "A conservative group responded with its own, larger list of signatories, and said the protesters were being disrespectful of the presidency and of graduating seniors."
More like it: Bush has been disrespectful of the people of the United States, the presidency and Furman graduating seniors.
As a Furman grad (class of 91), I have to chime in. First, I would say that you folks are right -- Furman is quite a conservative school. When I went there Furman had a great number of rules that most college students would think of as throwbacks to the 1950s -- visitation rules, no alcolhol, a religion requirement, etc, etc. But of course we compared ourselves to Bob Jones University down the road, making us comparatively liberal (George Bush I vs. Pat Robertson anyone?). But Furman was (and is) a great and demanding liberal arts school -- I'd put my education there up against anyone's. My Furman education made me a radical, and while my politics were not the politics of the majority of students or faculty, I don't think I could have found a more intellectually welcoming or challenging place to go to school. I am not surprised at all that some of the faculty would register their protest at Bush's visit -- we had a small but active Furman group against the first gulf war, and you should have seen the protest when Tipper Gore brought her silly anti-rock lyric crusade to Furman. It was a much more free place than many places I've been since in my academic career. As far as it being some evangelical profit generating mechanism, this ain't no Regent "University." When I was a student there, Furman ended its 150+ year association with the Southern Baptist convention. This was an incredibly controversial and, as I understood it at the time, highly principled move -- mostly concerning the threat to liberal arts education that continued association with the convention would mean. Kudos to the faculty that protested. I can think of no greater tribute to the class of 2008 than calling a criminal a criminal.
Oscartate @ 124:
Here, here! I am also a Furman grad (class of '97) who was actually taught how to be a life-long learner by this liberal arts school. Not all of us were spit out as conservative drones, and most of us love our school - though just not this week... It truly pained me to see the throngs of people out cheering on that motorcade and smiling goofily at the fact that the Presnit was there. Truly, you are NOT paying attention if you are not outraged! If that petition had remained open longer than it had been, you would have seen a much larger response form all of the alumni that stood with these faculty members!
I'm also a Furman alumni, and would like to point out that the choice of Bush as commencement speaker was made by the student leadership. Not the faculty, not the administration, and not the student body. While Furman certainly has its share of conservatives, it's also got a strong progressive contingent, many liberal faculty, and a surprisingly progressive leadership. Furman offers full family benefits to all of its nonmarried (read gay) employees' households, for example. Furman presents a very broad curriculum for its size (about 2500 students), frequently invites speakers with wildly different and sometimes controversial viewpoints, and consistently ranks in the top 40 Liberal Arts institutions in the country. Never in my life have I been encouraged to consider as many perspectives as I was during my time at Furman. So let's not shit on the school because of a few student government schmucks.
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