Oh yes, I do, and this is the source.
The title right there pretty much says it all, no? The author, one Peter N. Kirstein deploys his considerable, er, intellect in defense of the current frontrunner for Sleazebag of the Year. You can go read the entire thing if you like (and then come back and explain to me how our nation “gratuitously spills their blood…in emergency rooms,” for fuck’s sake), or you can view his Wikipedia entry and learn everything you need to know.
Kirstein is a progressive known for his antiwar views, dynamic lectures and support of academic freedom. He claims to be a pacifist.
He is a nationally known advocate of academic freedom and has defended free-speech rights of many scholars who were denied tenure, incarcerated or removed from their position for speech and controversial writings.
It’s simply astonishing, is it not, how often the words “pacifist” and “completely ignorant of history and/or the law” go together, no? A private company firing someone – or otherwise refusing to grant immutable job security (a bullshit concept if ever there was one) – has (pay attention now) NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
Only the GOVERNMENT can infringe on freedom of speech, you cockbiters, not a private company. Jeebus, you can’t even ACT smart.
And “incarcerated”?? Just where the fuck do you think you live, son?
Sweartagad, it is my stated goal in life to ensure my children enter University with nothing but wariness for these parasites, these psychic leeches. There will be no starry-eyed professor worship going on here, I tell you.
Via Pirate Ballerina
Man, there’s so much to grate offa that idiot there won’t be a hangnail left of him.
Joan of Argghh!
December 16th, 2008
them what ca, do …. them what can’t … “teach”
pete in Midland
December 16th, 2008
@pete in Midland:
…teach at university…
Liberty Girl
December 16th, 2008
Heh. The idiot keeps his comments closed so you can’t dare to set his ‘silly ass progressive im all about free speech’ straight.
What a friggin coward!
JW
December 16th, 2008
Pacifist? A pacifist is someone who, when he sees a fight, first carefully checks to see who is the good guy and who is the thug, and then tries to pin the good guy’s arms.
pst314
December 16th, 2008
“He claims to be a pacifist.”
Ah, so he’s a parasite.
N. O'Brain
December 16th, 2008
He is a nationally known advocate of academic freedom and has defended free-speech rights of many scholars who were denied tenure, incarcerated or removed from their position for speech and controversial writings.
Oh good! So he defends conservatives in academia, right?
Right?
rickl
December 17th, 2008
Wow. Maybe I exaggerated the “greatness” part but he did bring health care to children, free public transit to seniors and cheaper Canadian medicines. Dr King, Gandhi and Thoreau were pacifists and we could use a few more. I would not have had to serve in the army reserves if there were.
Kirstein
February 17th, 2009
@Kirstein: Wah.
And, it may have escaped your notice, but you don’t HAVE to serve in the Army Reserve. You VOLUNTEER for that. So, what exactly does having more pacifists around have to do with a personal decision made by an individual?
You know, nevermind, I don’t want to know how your mind works. Empirical evidence indicates ‘slowly, if at all.’
Liberty Girl
February 17th, 2009
At least you are not calling me names. yes I volunteered; you are right but there was a draft then and I would have avoided all things military to pursue my studies. If more were opposed to war, we would not be as dependent upon military force recruitment because war would be less prevalent. See, it was not so bad for me or you to converse. keep the faith and remember: “Thou Shalt not Kill!”
Kirstein
February 17th, 2009
@Kirstein: And with that everything becomes crystal clear.
I have some names for you, sir, I truly do.
Liberty Girl
February 17th, 2009
Also…the original Hebrew is “lo tirtsah,” from the verb “ratsah,” which actually means “murder,” not “kill.”
Oops. Academic but not actually educated, eh? Next.
Liberty Girl
February 17th, 2009
How is it that this supposedly brilliant academic cannot correctly compose a simple blog comment is passable English? Just askin’…
MLG
February 17th, 2009
Gandhi was still in favor of an armed populist, sin ce he wrote in Chapter XXVII, “The Recruiting Campaign,” in his autobiography, My Experiments with Truth:
“I used to issue leaflets asking people to enlist as recruits. One of the arguments I had used was distasteful to the Commissioner: ‘Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest. If we want the Arms Act to be repealed, if we want to learn the use of arms, here is a golden opportunity. If the middle classes render voluntary help to Government in the hour of its trial, distrust will disappear, and the ban on possessing arms will be withdrawn.’ The Commissioner referred to this and said that he appreciated my presence in the conference in spite of the differences between us. And I had to justify my standpoint as courteously as I could.”
In his case, it took extreme courage to be a pacifist, while in modern academia, pacifist usually means “too cowardly to fight, so you get others to fight in your place.”
divemedic
February 18th, 2009