Category Archives: Politically Incorrect

What a missed opportunity.

A little over 100 days into the presidency of Donald J. Trump and political satirists are riding high on the fact that so many of their viewers are feeling very low. Comedian Bill Maher currently in the midst of his 15th season on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher" has certainly been the beneficiary of increased viewership due to Trumpophobia. In fact, this season he's enjoying some of his highest ratings ever.

This is a moment for Maher to take his brand of politically incorrect liberalism the guy literally hosted a show titled "Politically Incorrect," for crying out loud and bring it to the stage. People want to laugh even if especially if they're terrified. They're also ready to be challenged.

But despite a full house and an eager audience, the cynical liberal fire he brings to his show was mostly absent Saturday night at the Chicago Theatre, where Maher treated his hourlong, opener-less show like a complete afterthought, running through a number of softly familiar punchlines in a frequently distracted set.

Much of the distraction stemmed from a notebook Maher brought with him and propped on a metal stand beside him to refer to throughout the show. Presumably the notebook was meant to keep him on track it's not uncommon for a comedian to reference some kind of set list but Maher's overreliance on it pulled his energy, hampered his delivery and kept him from ever truly connecting with the material or the audience.

He's a busy guy recording a new episode of "Real Time" every Friday and performing on a number of weekends but a few more rehearsals were in order here.

Despite landing a number of solid jabs directed at the current president, his family, his cabinet and the entire Republican party (and even a few at overly PC liberals), Maher was decidedly distant for most of his set.

"Does anyone ever tell Trump these executive orders he signs aren't laws?" he asked rhetorically. "Because I think he thinks they are."

As most people buying tickets to a Bill Maher show would expect, the vast majority of his barbs took this form and were aimed at Trump and his voters, with Maher at one point saying that a liberal tea party is brewing, "but of course with more teeth and less misspellings on the signs."

Jokes like this make an audience feel both reassured and superior, and both on his TV show and in this show, Maher wields them with smugly deadpan aplomb.

But even on an off night, Maher isn't complacent enough to pander to standard left-wing ideologies. Toward the middle of his set he launched into a biting criticism of Islam a topic he's been very vocal and very adamant about that sucked the air out of the room, in a way he clearly intended.

"Don't start with me," he said as laughter turned to uncomfortable silence. "It's a religion of peace," he said facetiously. "There's a piece of you over there. There's a piece of you over there."

And here is the type of moment that Maher revels in: a confrontation. His show is set up to provide a platform for people with differing opinions to duke it out, with Maher making it clear whose side he's on. Here it was him against the audience.

"Liberals are supposed to be against oppression," he said, in a condemnation of burqas. "If we agree Donald Trump is not normal it's also not normal to throw a tarp over a human like a motorboat."

Throughout this section the laughter was sparse, but, oddly, there were a number of cheers and applause for some of his statements (for example, "I'm not anti-Muslim. I'm anti-bad idea."). And when he transitioned from mocking Islam to mocking the Catholic church, the laughter returned in an immediate, almost relieved way. "Now we're back to making fun of white people, thank God," Maher quipped.

Maher has never been one to shy away from a controversial opinion or a joke that could be classified as offensive, and that's to his benefit, but here his often muted delivery undermined the points he was making.

"I'm a little tired of 'Check your white male privilege,' " he said toward the end. "I checked. Yes, I'm still privileged."

Maher has earned the privilege of a national platform and the name recognition that goes with it he now needs to earn the kind of audience investment that will carry his set through the tough spots. He could start with a few more rehearsals.

Zach Freeman is a freelance writer.

ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ZachRunsChicago

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More here:
Maher needed to put away his notebook and be present at Chicago Theatre - Chicago Tribune

Gaffe-prone Prince Philip has become renowned for his politically incorrect remarks over the years.

As the Duke of Edinburgh prepares to step down from his royal duties, we take a look at the 96-year-olds most famous one-liners.

1969 To singer Tom Jones at the Royal Variety Performance: What do you gargle with, pebbles?

1969 During a visit to Canada: I declare this thing open, whatever it is.

1974 After a gunman tried to kidnap the Princess Royal: If the man had succeeded in abducting Anne, she would have given him a hell of a time while in captivity.

1984 After accepting a present from a local woman in Kenya You are a woman, arent you?

1986 To British students during a visit to China: If you stay here much longer, youll all be slitty-eyed.

1995 to a driving instructor in Scotland: How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them through the test?

1999 To a group of deaf school children in Cardiff standing next a steel band: Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf.

2001 To a 13-year-old student in Salford who wanted to be an astronaut: Well, youll never fly in it, youre too fat.

2002 To a young female officer wearing a bullet-proof vest in the UK: You look like a suicide bomber.

2009 To a businessman called Atul Patel at a reception for British Indians: Theres a lot of your family in tonight.

2010 To the then Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie in Edinburgh while pointing at some tartan: Do you have a pair of knickers made out of this?

2012 To a 25-year-old council worker in Kent wearing a zipped dress: I would get arrested if I unzipped that dress.

2013 To a Filipino nurse in the UK: The Philippines must be half empty as youre all here running the NHS.

2015 To an RAF photographer:Just take the f***ing picture.

About Princess Anne: If it doesnt fart or eat hay, shes not interested.

On marriage: When a man opens a car door for his wife, its either a new car or a new wife.

To the President of Nigeria dressed in traditional robes: You look like youre ready for bed.

Read more:
The politically-incorrect Prince: The Duke of Edinburgh's best one-liners - euronews

Jake Jacobs, a high school history teacher, spoke passionately to Ripon College students and community members about how Americas Judeo-Christian heritage and values are coming under fire from political correctness.

Political correctness is not new, and is thriving in America today.

So said Jake Jacobs, a history teacher from Lourdes Academy who spoke at Ripon College last week.

Efforts to direct speech and attitudes, particularly as they relate to Americas Judeo-Christian heritage, have been around for centuries, said Jacobs, whose talk was sponsored by the Ripon College Young Americans for Freedom chapter.

You think PC is something new today? he asked an audience of about 30 people in East Halls Kresge Little Theatre last week Wednesday afternoon.

Political correctness has been around since the beginning when mankind tried to be free from the oppression of other people around them, he said. Political correctness is controlling of other people, demanding that you think the way they think. Man has long since the beginning of time, [desired] to be free from that control.

Jacobs stressed historical correctness must be relied on in the face of politically correct intimidation by the academic establishment.

In many cases political correctness is predicated upon bogus or bad history or certain kernels of truth that are distorted into creating a controlled, politically correct environment, he said.

Read the full story in the May 4, 2017 edition of the Ripon Commonwealth Press.

View post:
Politically incorrect and proud of it - Ripon Commonwealth Press - Ripon Commonwealth Press

The perps were all black youth, the victims were white and Asian professionals. Why not just say it?

On Saturday 60 or 70 local kids jumped the turnstiles and committed 60 or 70 robberies of a San Francisco bound BART train, as it sat in the last West Oakland BART Station on it's way to the Transbay Tube. The kids (boys mostly), were filmed as they robbed frightened passengers at knife point.

It's a spectacular crime, the kind that happens in some countries a lot, and in the US, not so much. The Bay Area Rapid Transit people have many ways to contact the public, muses the San Francisco Chronicle. So why is no one talking about it? Indeed, why did BART not go public with the crime sooner than Monday, 48 hours after it happened?

http://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/BART-s-decision-not-to-publicize-takeover-11098643.php

The SF Chronicle knows damn well why not. It's because the perpetrator were all African American kids from local high schools. BART doesn't need the public help, because the entire event was filmed from security cameras all over the station. All they have to do to identify the kids is go to local Oakland high school with photos and ask their teachers. There, I said it. Come arrest me.

The passengers were every race, but included many residents and tourists from Europe and Asia. When they finally release the security camera footage, you'll see what I mean.

Oakland, which up until ten years ago was the largest majority African American city West of the Mississippi, is still 34% black (I use Black and African American interchangeably in this article; you may also write to flame me for that if you want). But Oakland is gentrifying rapidly as property values throughout the Bay Area skyrocket.

Personally, I don't blame these "inner city youth" for being angry. The black kids have mostly been left behind on the rush of money into the East Bay. They know it and they don't like it. That African Americans have largely been left out of the 21st Century Tech Boom in America is just another inconvenient truth. Perhaps if the Oakland School District taught them Science, Technology and Math in school instead of the latest liberal jargon, they would be competitive for jobs.

(Footnote: These "youth from the community" must have used social media to coordinate the crime--Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, most probably. So they are not entirely without tech skills. Just saying).

They also know that White guilt probably means there will be no consequences for them. They are taught in school by the uber-liberal mostly white teachers, that White privilege is the reason the Caucasians and Asians get most of the six figure tech jobs. They are taught that America owes black people reparations for slavery, which ended 152 years ago. Why shouldn't they jump a few turnstiles?

"Tony Ribera, a former San Francisco police chief who directs the International Institute of Criminal Justice Leadership at the University of San Francisco, said he didn't understand why BART didn't publicize the crime sooner - both to enhance public safety and to enlist help in finding the offenders," marvels the Chronicle.

Finally, there is the ridership thing. BART wants people to take the train, of course. This sort of event, if it becomes common and publicized, is a reason to drive into work and leave the train behind.

I close with a long excerpt from the SF Chronicle article. Read between the lines.

Tony Ribera, a former San Francisco police chief who directs the International Institute of Criminal Justice Leadership at the University of San Francisco, said he didnt understand why BART didnt publicize the crime sooner both to enhance public safety and to enlist help in finding the offenders.

It seems to me rather strange ... but maybe they had other reasons, Ribera said. Usually, the quicker you get information out, the more likely youre going to solve the case. The longer you wait, the less likely that is to happen.

Ribera said making the crime public can be critical for locating witnesses and identifying those involved. And releasing surveillance photos and videos, he said, is often key to the effort.

A security camera at the West Oakland BART station. The entire incident is on film.

BART faces a separate set of issues related to surveillance images of the suspects. Officials declined Tuesday to release images from cameras at Coliseum Station, citing a policy of protecting the identity of juveniles, but did send them confidentially to outside police agencies in a bulletin known as a BOLO, which stands for be on the lookout.

The video clearly shows that these were young kids and young teens, said Trost, whose agency has boosted the number of officers patrolling Oakland stations in response to Saturdays robbery and an overall rise in police calls.

David Snyder, an attorney and the executive director at the First Amendment Coalition in San Rafael, said such a policy made sense because California law offers special protections for minors accused of a crime. However, Snyder said that doesnt mean the agency cant release images or video with the identifying features of juveniles redacted for instance, with their faces blurred which BART officials have done in the past.

Continue reading here:
The Politically Incorrect Truth About Oakland's Great Train Robbery ... - Santa monica Observed

Where can modern women look for inspiration thats truly authentic?

If youre like me, you may have become a bit tired and even bored of the modern feminist narrative. Its too safe, too neat, too polite and painfully politically correct.

Maintaining some form of prim perfection seems to remain the new normal despite neo-feminist proclamations and the glorious body baring antics of Lena Dunham and all her Millennial Girls

Sofia Ek is that kind of woman, and her best-selling memoir on Amazon, The Minefield Girl http://a.co/az4mus5, is the transformational narrative women need to hear today.

When she became disenchanted with her 20-something-self, the Swedish native jumped at the opportunity to present Muammar Gaddafis Libya to the western world of big business via the pages of The Wall Street Journals former monthly publication Smart Money.

As she learned to navigate Gaddafis military dictatorship she realized that nothing was what it appeared to be and that she was watched at every turn. However, Sofia was determined to succeed and to be part of something bigger than herself, oblivious of the minefield she had walked into.

Where most stories like hers center around the trials and tribulations of negotiating with the Devil Wears Prada-like dictators of fashion magazines or fending off married Wall Street men, Ek ducks danger daily, negotiating with criminals and dictators even becoming dangerously close to Gaddafis proposed heir, Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, and navigating cultural norms that are polar opposite to those she grew up in. Along the way, she finds new powers within herself to lift her head high in a culture where women are punished for doing so.

Doing this intimate act of self-exposure would be a risk for any woman, but for Ek its even greater.

Shes married to one of the worlds most prominent tech visionaries, Spotify founder Daniel Ek, and with that she carries the crown and burden that being the wife of entails.

A burden of self-censorship at best and paranoia at worse, where one cannot fully express themselves at the risk of doing something to hurt their partners career. One only needs to look to American politics or most of todays top TV shows to see this marital dynamic play out.

As someone also married to a prominent man, Im even more inspired by The Minefield Girl and the authentic, fresh voice Sofia Ek presents to the world.

When I begin to censor myself, I now think of Sofia. Shes a reminder for me to stand out and fearlessly challenge the small boxes people want to shut women in. Read her fun and modern interview below and I think you will agree with me.

Then go read The Minefield Girl http://a.co/az4mus5 because you wont be able to put it down.

Natalia Brzezinski: Why did you write this book?

Sofia Ek: Getting that ten-thousand-foot perspective was exactly what I needed to move past the dark memories and on to a much lighter and more positive attitude towards my Libya experience.

Until recently I considered it a failure, but as I read the book from start to finish it dawned on me that it wasnt. I mostly succeeded in accomplishing the goals I set out for myself. I have a sense of pride about it now.

What lessons do you hope your daughters will take from your book when they read it one day that will help them navigate modern challenges?

My story is authentic. Were living in a world where everyone is glorifying their lives. This is dangerous because its not real. I wanted to show with this book what trying to succeed no matter what really looks like.

Its brutal, amazing, exciting and draining, all at the same time. Just like life. Its exciting to have a purpose, a mission and that you can find a new context to exist in if you dont like the one youve been placed in.

As a mother, whats the most important thing youre trying to teach your own daughters about?

To stand up for themselves and to not let the fear of not fitting in cripple their ability to dream big.

What was the most difficult thing about writing this book?

Remembering all the risks I took for the adventure. Even though Im very thankful that I didnt end up in a more compromising situation than I did, its still hard to reel those suppressed emotions in and lay them bare on paper. Not just the bad ones, sometimes, happy memories can be as painful.

What has been your greatest life challenge thus far, and how have you overcome it?

The value of the present. Its a work in progress.

What did you learn about yourself while living in Libya?

That my lack of patience is a good thing. I would never have been able to climb to the top with that weight in my knapsack. Sometimes patience is just another word for Its not going to happen.

I learned to always keep my ear to the ground and my eyes on the prize. To know when to quit and who to ask for favors and when to follow up on their promises.

How have you changed from that young 20-something in Libya to the woman you are today?

I used to nurture my restlessness with drastic twists and turns because thats what I thought I needed to keep it in check - but it turns out that the antidote to my restlessness was the exact opposite. Smooth sailing is of course more enjoyable if you just went through a storm.

Is there anything we can learn from Libyan culture? What was your favorite thing about living there?

In Sweden we are not proud of our elderly. We are almost ashamed of them. In Libya they were valued and appreciated within the family. They were considered a source of knowledge and comfort and I liked that. I also loved Libyan bread. So much sugar.

How has Sweden shaped you as a woman?

Im opinionated and Sweden protected and allowed me to be that way. In my world gender equality in free countries are mostly circumstantial. This is why its so important that every single woman stand up for themselves in any given situation where they might be disrespected.

We need to start doing what men have done since the beginning of time; look out for ourselves.

You raise a brutally honest point that most women are afraid to state: You used your looks and charisma to get ahead. How do you view the power of femininity in the modern workplace?

If your femininity and charm is part of your artillery then use it -- and if its not, make sure you sharpen the other tools you might have. However, pretty and charming as isolated attributes are useless in the long run, unless they are backed up with something of substance.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Dont let yourself get worked up over absolutely everything. Pick something to be pretty freaking upset about and then do something about it.

Are you a feminist? If so, what does that mean to you?

I cant believe I must answer this question in 2017.

All women should be feminists. In case someone still doesnt know what it is, here we go: Women should have the same obligations, rights and opportunities as men. This includes the same social, political and economic rights.

How do you hope people view you and your story upon reading this?

What they think of me is irrelevant but if my story inspires someone to take that new job, make that trip, meet that stranger, mission accomplished.

Watch the awesome book trailer below:

See the original post:
Meet The Minefield Girl: A 'Politically Incorrect' Modern Feminist - Huffington Post

Mumbai-based homemaker and blogger Vidyut Kale's Twitter bio reads, "I am that part of you you fear to voice. Follow at own risk. Changes in world view/loss of pink glasses non refundable." Over the years, hers has been recognised as one of the most fearless voices in India's online space, chiefly for her politically satirical spoof websites on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other bigshots such as Rahul Gandhi and Kapil Sibal. The spoofs, Kale says, were born of anger at how politicians fail at delivering on promises. Though she received a take-down notice for one of the sites, Kale maintains none of it had dire repercussions, "Unless you count the occasional trolls."

The blogger-commentator, who started Aamjanta.com to bring us 'the perspective of the common man' writes tongue-in-cheek pieces on various socio-political issues. "One of the reasons I started the site was to voice things beyond the dominant narrative of people with voice. And there is so much about India that is vanishing quietly out of sight, as we change and grow as a country," says Kale, who also works with People's Archive of Rural India, a project, started by veteran journalist P Sainath, that 'documents the people of India'.

So, when did she start blogging full-time? "When I had my son in 2009 and was staying at home a lot, I started taking more of an interest in news and realised that the country, at large, was a group too," she says. "So I started blogging from that perspective - the nation as a shared space and the dynamics that impact its actualisation, with issues of hostility, xenophobia, opportunistic polarisation, denial of rights and so on."

The 41-year-old says the space for public debate is shrinking in India. "Celebrity voices tend to dominate what public ethics should be and there is an overall stupidification of the country - it basically tells you that lots of people aren't thinking for themselves, because it is simply impossible for unconnected people to come up with identical nuanced stands," she says.

Kale believes that though there's a lot of social censorship going on, a good trolling attack actually helps. "The first thing to realise is that if you are getting trolled, you probably said something that upset a lot of people who'd rather shut you up than look at what you said. A good trolling attack enhances your reach to people who'd never be exposed to your views normally." And there's a comical irony to the hate too. "I often joke that I grow my follower count on the trolling budgets of others. I mean, it is one thing to oppose, it is quite another to use the money spent to shut me up to improve my reach, yes?"

PHOTO: Vinay Javkar

Read the original:
Blogger Vidyut Kale on being politically incorrect - Femina

The perps were all black youth, the victims were white and Asian professionals. Why not just say it?

On Saturday 60 or 70 local kids jumped the turnstiles and committed 60 or 70 robberies of a San Francisco bound BART train, as it sat in the last West Oakland BART Station on it's way to the Transbay Tube. The kids (boys mostly), were filmed as they robbed frightened passengers at knife point.

It's a spectacular crime, the kind that happens in some countries a lot, and in the US, not so much. The Bay Area Rapid Transit people have many ways to contact the public, muses the San Francisco Chronicle. So why is no one talking about it? Indeed, why did BART not go public with the crime sooner than Monday, 48 hours after it happened?

http://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/BART-s-decision-not-to-publicize-takeover-11098643.php

The SF Chronicle knows damn well why not. It's because the perpetrator were all African American kids from local high schools. BART doesn't need the public help, because the entire event was filmed from security cameras all over the station. All they have to do to identify the kids is go to local Oakland high school with photos and ask their teachers. There, I said it. Come arrest me.

The passengers were every race, but included many residents and tourists from Europe and Asia. When they finally release the security camera footage, you'll see what I mean.

Oakland, which up until ten years ago was the largest majority African American city West of the Mississippi, is still 34% black (I use Black and African American interchangeably in this article; you may also write to flame me for that if you want). But Oakland is gentrifying rapidly as property values throughout the Bay Area skyrocket.

Personally, I don't blame these "inner city youth" for being angry. The black kids have mostly been left behind on the rush of money into the East Bay. They know it and they don't like it. That African Americans have largely been left out of the 21st Century Tech Boom in America is just another inconvenient truth. Perhaps if the Oakland School District taught them Science, Technology and Math in school instead of the latest liberal jargon, they would be competitive for jobs.

(Footnote: These "youth from the community" must have used social media to coordinate the crime--Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, most probably. So they are not entirely without tech skills. Just saying).

They also know that White guilt probably means there will be no consequences for them. They are taught in school by the uber-liberal mostly white teachers, that White privilege is the reason the Caucasians and Asians get most of the six figure tech jobs. They are taught that America owes black people reparations for slavery, which ended 152 years ago. Why shouldn't they jump a few turnstiles?

"Tony Ribera, a former San Francisco police chief who directs the International Institute of Criminal Justice Leadership at the University of San Francisco, said he didn't understand why BART didn't publicize the crime sooner - both to enhance public safety and to enlist help in finding the offenders," marvels the Chronicle.

Finally, there is the ridership thing. BART wants people to take the train, of course. This sort of event, if it becomes common and publicized, is a reason to drive into work and leave the train behind.

I close with a long excerpt from the SF Chronicle article. Read between the lines.

Tony Ribera, a former San Francisco police chief who directs the International Institute of Criminal Justice Leadership at the University of San Francisco, said he didnt understand why BART didnt publicize the crime sooner both to enhance public safety and to enlist help in finding the offenders.

It seems to me rather strange ... but maybe they had other reasons, Ribera said. Usually, the quicker you get information out, the more likely youre going to solve the case. The longer you wait, the less likely that is to happen.

Ribera said making the crime public can be critical for locating witnesses and identifying those involved. And releasing surveillance photos and videos, he said, is often key to the effort.

A security camera at the West Oakland BART station. The entire incident is on film.

BART faces a separate set of issues related to surveillance images of the suspects. Officials declined Tuesday to release images from cameras at Coliseum Station, citing a policy of protecting the identity of juveniles, but did send them confidentially to outside police agencies in a bulletin known as a BOLO, which stands for be on the lookout.

The video clearly shows that these were young kids and young teens, said Trost, whose agency has boosted the number of officers patrolling Oakland stations in response to Saturdays robbery and an overall rise in police calls.

David Snyder, an attorney and the executive director at the First Amendment Coalition in San Rafael, said such a policy made sense because California law offers special protections for minors accused of a crime. However, Snyder said that doesnt mean the agency cant release images or video with the identifying features of juveniles redacted for instance, with their faces blurred which BART officials have done in the past.

Continued here:
The Politically Incorrect Truth About Oakland's Great Train Robbery (BART) - Santa monica Observed

Alumni threatento withhold donations if not reinstated

Columbia University has capitulated to student protesters who demanded an end to a politically incorrect marching band tradition that some have deemed unsafe and triggering.

Alumni band members are having none of it, blasting the administration for shutting down their four-decade comedy tradition.

Orgo Night has historically been held at midnight the day of the organic chemistry (Orgo) final exams.

During the event, the marching band occupies a room in the library and plays music. It also performs a comedy skit, which often takes jabs at minority students, sexual assault, infamous students and cranky administrators.

The administrations decision followed more than a decade of student protests, sit-ins and demands to shut down the event.

MORE: Columbias marching band cares about free speech, not feelings

One notable op-ed from the 2014-2015 school year lamented that the comedy skit is a direct attack on marginalized populations at Columbia.

Every semester after Orgo Night, some students leave Butler feeling miserable and triggered and have to turn to one another for consolation while our peers celebrate, wroteColumbia students Tracey Wang and Dunni Oduyemi, calling the event an unsafe space.

We asked administrators to listen to us, to acknowledge us, and to protect us, they said. Their failure to do so is proof the administration does not care about its students of color, its queer students, or its trans students.

The administration gave a preview of what was coming during the fall 2016 finals, when it blocked the marching band from performing in the library, calling it a disruption to studying.

The band was forced to deliver its half-hour skit to an audience of hundreds outside the library on a freezing cold night, with some seen wearing double and triple layers to stay warm.

Since then, a shadowy group of alumni who call themselves Hamiltonius have published 10 open letters denouncing the administrations decision to shut the band out of the library.

MORE: Stanford students say band suspension cracks down on freedom

While not all of the letters have included the names of actual alumni, the most recent letter was signed by over 60 alumni from the 1960s through the second Obama administration.

The alumni demands seem to have fallen on deaf ears. They claim they have not yet received any meaningful response from the administration, and a university spokeswoman told The College Fix the no-library policy wont change.

President, a First Amendment scholar, is a hypocrite

Some alumni have attempted to raise the Orgo Night issue in personal conversations with university administrators, but have been politely rebuffed, Hamiltonius wrote in the most recent letter, How to interpret the silence from [the administration]?

It argues that Columbia clearly had political motivations for banning the tradition.

It is difficult for any observer not to conclude that the motivation for attempting to silence the Band is to avoid future controversy and appease the small number of individuals who periodically object to some portion of the content of the Orgo Night program, said Hamiltonius.

MORE: Columbia marching band tradition disses sexual respect program

It accuses President Lee Bollinger, a noted First Amendment scholar and fierce advocate for free speech, of hypocrisy:

You often say and do the right thing when that bedrock right is challenged on campus. Yet, in this case it appears that you have opted for censorship over student speech, and have adopted a heavy-handed approach totally lacking in due process over an open public debate.

The unnamed alumni claim they have continued to participate in Columbia, sending their children to the university, giving money and attending Columbia sporting events to cheer on the young.

And yet it seems none of that has value in your eyes, wrote Hamiltonius.

They conclude by demanding a response from Bollinger, threatening to withhold our support, our time, and our money if he continually refuses engaging with us on public matters.

Columbia band alumnus Dan Carlinsky, a 1965 graduate, toldThe Columbia Spectator that hes disappointed with the administration.

The unfortunate thing is that there has been no effort or no willingness even to sit down and talk about it, he said. Columbia prides itself in training its students in critical thinking, and then they turn around and treat us as if were not critical thinkers.

MORE: We dont need your benevolent sexism, marching band women say

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IMAGE: Columbia University Marching Band/YouTube

About the Author

Toni Airaksinen is a junior at Barnard College in New York City. She also contributes to Campus Reform, USA Today College, Red Alert Politics and Quillette Magazine. She formerly held a post with The Columbia Spectator. Her writing is regularly featured on Fox News andDrudge Report, among other websites. Her interests include free speech, due process and mens issues.

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Politically incorrect band tradition shut down by Columbia: It makes students feel 'unsafe' - The College Fix

Topeka Capital Journal

Kansas revenue agency's new dress code bans short skirts, tight ... Topeka Capital Journal The secretary of the Kansas Department of Revenue authorized implementation on Monday of a new employee dress code banning politically incorrect writing ... and more »

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Kansas revenue agency's new dress code bans short skirts, tight ... - Topeka Capital Journal

Congressman Don Young brought his unique blend of political incorrectness and conservative assessment of current affairs to the Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce yesterday and the packed house gathered to hear him speak was highly engaged with Alaskas long-time lone member of the federal House of Representatives.

After more than 40 years doing this, some say I am the old goat in the yard, Young quipped regarding his 23 terms of office beginning in 1973. But the best is yet to come. Under this news president, we are going to do great things for the State of Alaska.

Young wasted no time listing several Obama Administration actions that he viewed as negative for Alaskan interests that he sees the current Congress removing.

That includes retaining control of waters within the state, control of fish management and control of lands a huge issue for the states Native population as well as its hunters and outdoor recreationists.

Not anymore, he said.

We have the opportunity to return a lot of capability in this state to develop resources, Young said to a round of applause. This is a resource-oriented state, but it cannot be just on resource. It cannot just be oil. I want to stress that. We all know what a potentially precarious position that puts us into depend on just one source of income especially one so volatile.

Young wants to see greater development of the states mineral resources and hydropower.

He made note of the current economic downturn, but immediately within the same breath directed thoughts to the states economic future.

I am very optimistic about the future, he said. Some say we are in the doldrums now because supposedly we have a shortage of money. And there is a lot of debate down in Juneau now about this. But I hope you are optimistic about the future too. Keep this in mind: Old money does not solve our problems, Young said in reference to the states previous reliance on oil income. It only prolongs the agony. New money builds the future.

In his role as the federal Legislatures leading passer of bills signed into law by a sitting president, Young renewed his promise to fight for Alaskas interests.

Asserting that 90 percent of the federal legislation he helped craft has impacted Alaska, Young told the crowd, My job is to be your spokesperson.

He then turned the microphone over to Dana Thorp Patterson, executive director of the chamber, for questions from the crowd.

Curtis McQueen, CEO of Eklunta, Inc., which is the local areas largest landholder, was first up.

McQueen spoke of recently secured public recreational access to the Knik River Public Use Area specifically to allow travel between the popular Jim Creek area and the Knik Glacier brokered in an agreement among the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and Eklutna, Inc.

The agreement was announced in an April 19 press release from the state Dept. of Natural Resources documenting the agreement which conveys 31,000 acres to Eklutna from the BLM via the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

McQueen is aware of the dispute between the BLM and the State of Alaska regarding federal navigable waters, but said that Eklunta, Inc., opted to remain neutral regarding the issue in an effort to facilitate the agreement which now allows public access between Eklunta lands and state lands.

Oh, I love that, Young said with a broad smile.

Rich Young, co-owner of the Healthwise Physical Therapy in Eagle River, asked the Congressman about Medicaid and possible changes to payment to providers should Obamacare be repealed.

That bill (the recent failed federal legislation) would have hurt Alaska. Our premiums would go up, the Congressman said. I have offered a simple solution. We repeal Obamacare effective 2020 and we rewrite health care the right way. We give three years to write a correct bill.

Nicholas Begich, III, owner of FarShore Partners a global software technology firm based in Chugiak asked Young regarding the rollback of Environmental Protection Agency rulings that have been tagged as impediments to development in Alaska.

The Congressman began his answer with his well-honed tactic for recognizing the irony that Begich is a Republican among a family of Democrats.

His name is a little different, but he is a fine young man, Young joked with another enormous smile. I just want you all to know that. He is a Republican. Must make for some interesting family Thanksgiving dinners.

Young continued by describing the EPA as a challenge. He asserted that the agency went far beyond its original intent as he described it as being charged with protecting the environment while still taking economic impact in consideration.

They went well beyond their legislative authority by enforcing regulation on everybody in America that impeded economic growth, Young said. All of this regulation is killing our society economically. I see the tide turning on that under the Trump Administration. I am excited.

Eva Loken, a long-time realtor and local resident, mentioned the Janke familys effort to build a hydro-electric power plant on its private property bordering the upper Eagle River. The project took 45 years to be approved. She thought that was a timeline far too long. She would like to see such efforts by private property owners to take far less time.

I think we should encourage people that have small hydro-electric potential to develop that, she said.

The Congressman agrees, noting he has helped several similar projects located in the states Aleutian Islands.

Tonya Gamble, a local Rotarian also employed by Eklunta, Inc., asked the Congressman about potential changes in the federal tax code for individual taxpayers.

We are going to have some type of reform bill regarding this, Young said. I cannot tell you at this time what it is going to be, but I have been a flat-taxer for years.

He was also asked about reports that physicians affiliated with the federal Veterans Administration are guilty of over-prescribing.

We are going to have to refine this so that veterans are properly taken care of, Young said. This drug issue whether it is over-prescribing of medications or the pushing on the street of illegal drugs is the biggest issue we have in this nation.

True to his well-known unwillingness to remain politically correct, Young showed no trepidation in telling the audience at the Eagle River Alehouse that he wants dealers punished even more severely than currently being done.

He thinks the best way to get to dealers is through their pocketbooks and would like to see the Internal Revenue Service more empowered to go after drug money.

He also has no personal tolerance for drug dealing.

This is not right for our society he said. But for some reason, we accept it. We have to say no more to this. I have lost two nephews to it. I have two grandkids that have become drug addicts. If I could catch their dealer, you are going to see me behind bars.

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Politically Incorrect but Fighting for Alaska - Echo NEws (press release) (registration)