Thursday, March 22, 2007

A Starn Special

John in Carolina has two superb posts detailing the agenda behind Orin Starn’s Friday conference, for which Duke forked over $2500 to host. Starn himself, who sports an academic expertise in Latin American culture, appears to have personal motives for organizing the conference: he seeks to reconcile his politically correct principles with the fact that he’s a golfer, a sport generally associated with white male elitism.

Displaying a nuance that he’s never offered when discussing lacrosse—a sport that he doesn’t play—Starn contended, in a 2006 essay, that “any black-and-white view of golf’s political incorrectness misses the multiple, sometimes unexpected layers of history, experience, and involvement that make the sport something more than just another form of conspicuous consumption.” (The essay thanks Group of 88 members Anne Allison and Grant Farred and “shut up and teach” stalwart Charles Piot for their insights.)

Translation: sports perceived as upper-class in which Starn participates have multiple layers of history. Sports perceived as upper-class in which he doesn’t should be purged from the University.

Starn also went out of his way to sprinkle the program with figures who have demonstrated little or no expertise in golf but have distinguished themselves for their ferocious attacks on different groups of Duke students. Starn himself, of course, has aggressively exploited the lacrosse case to further his crusade to transform Duke into the Haverford of the Triangle, a school with Division III or club sports. Starn appears to believe that Division III or club athletes do not hold spring break parties, and therefore if Duke were a D-III school, the lacrosse case never would have emerged, although he has never offered evidence for this insinuation.

Selena Roberts: A Lexis/Nexis search of articles penned by Selena Roberts shows that the New York Times columnist has penned one article on golf in the last 12 months (on Michelle Wie, the subject of her presentation).

But Roberts possesses impeccable credentials in attacking Duke students. Her Wie article appeared two days after Roberts produced a piece that praised the potbangers for their moral integrity, incorrectly described a search warrant as a “court document,” incorrectly claimed that the lacrosse players had constructed a “wall of silence,” and compared the lacrosse players’ behavior to that “of drug dealers and gang members engaged in an anti-snitch campaign that is frustrating authorities.”

Grant Farred: The Literature professor (on leave from Duke this term, so the conference offers an all-expense-paid trip home) appears to have no obvious expertise in the study of golf. He has written about sports, it is true—fantastically asserting that Houston Rockets center Yao Ming “is, precisely because of his complicated ideological heritage, the most profound threat to American empire.”

Like Roberts, Farred sports impeccable credentials in smearing the students of his own institution. In a late October op-ed, he accused those Duke students who registered to vote in Durham of projecting their “secret racism” onto the city; and asserted that the leaders of the registration drive (who happened to be four women—three current Duke students, one alumna) intended through their efforts to uphold “white male privilege.”

Hanif Omar: The conference moderator appears to lack any expertise in golf. But Omar has had things to say about Duke students.

Last spring, many members of Duke’s women’s lacrosse team wore armbands of headbands expressing sympathy with the three men’s players targeted by Mike Nifong. The decision showed courage, and has been wholly vindicated by subsequent events.

Omar, however, decided to give a “shout-out” to the Duke women’s players (scroll down to bottom of page, “fastbreak pundits”; I have transcribed the remarks):

My initial thoughts were, “Wow, what a bunch of ignorant, pompous, misguided young ladies.” Are they not aware that women in this country, white and black, have fought for so long to have equal rights and to be respected on the same level as men?

Apparently not.

So, let me tell them: Hey, Duke women’s lacrosse team—rape is a heinous form of violence against women, and until all the facts come out, you should not publicly speculate.

And, for a group of so-called bright and intelligent women to come out on the side of male suspects in a rape case shows that there are several parents wasting over $40,000 a year in tuition . . .

See, it is this type of same condescending and arrogant mindset and sense of entitlement that led to the trans-Atlantic slavery, colonialism, Jim Crow, and ultimately to Washington Duke being one of the biggest tobacco tycoons in the South.

After contending that “we do, in fact, know” that Reade Seligmann, Dave Evans, and Collin Finnerty were guilty of “obstructing justice” (so much, I guess, for the assertion that people should not “publicly speculate” about the case), Omar concluded:

Usually, I would have absolutely no interest in a lacrosse game, but this weekend, I’m going to be rooting against you, Duke women’s lacrosse team [in the national semi-final against Northwestern]. Regardless of what slogan you write on your collective headbands, the ironic twist in all of this is that now the Duke women’s lacrosse team is now guilty, themselves, of stupidity, at least . . . Now I hope you get your butt kicked. I really hope you all get your butt kicked. I really hope you get your butt kicked, on the field, that is.

To my knowledge, Farred, Roberts, and Omar have not apologized for their comments, much less retracted or modified them as Mike Nifong’s case imploded.

---------

To sum up: Orin Starn has managed to invite to his conference three figures who unapologetically savaged the character of three different groups of Duke students. Selena Roberts compared the men’s lacrosse players to drug dealers and gang members. Grant Farred labeled the hundreds of Duke students who registered to vote in Durham “secret racists.” And Hanif Omar contended that the “ignorant, pompous, misguided” women’s lacrosse players—people who were “guilty, themselves, of stupidity”—embodied the mindset behind the slave trade.

But, as we know, Duke’s anti-lacrosse faculty care deeply about their institution’s students. They just have an odd way of showing it.

60 comments:

AMac said...

Not to worry. I am sure that the seemingly anti-student faculty will post cvil, reasoned responses that demonstrate that there are benign interpretations for the actions KC Johnson's describes.

** crickets chirping **

** crickets chirping **

Well, I'm not giving up hope just yet. There's a first time for everything.

Anonymous said...

Where are the Duke trustees? What an embarrassment for a great university!

Anonymous said...

Here's another one -- sounds legit, but why does it seem likely this is going to be run through with blame?


The Institute for Critical U.S. Studies invites you to join Mark Anthony Neal, Assoc.
Prof. of African and African American Studies, and Darrell Stover, cultural historian and
poet, (see bios below) for dinner and a screening of “New Orleans Music in Exile,”
followed by conversation about Hurricane Katrina’s continued impact on culture and
community in New Orleans.

Mark Anthony Neal is Associate Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Program in
African and African American Studies and Director of the Institute for Critical U.S.
Studies (ICUSS). He is the author of four books, What the Music Said: Black Popular
Music and Black Public Culture (1998), Soul Babies: Black Popular Culture and the
Post-Soul Aesthetic (2002), Songs in the Keys of Black Life: A Rhythm and Blues Nation
(2003) and New Black Man: Rethinking Black Masculinity (2005). Neal is also the co-editor
(with Murray Forman) of That’s the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader (2004). Neal's
essays have been anthologized in more than half-a-dozen books, including the 2004 edition
of the acclaimed series Da Capo Best Music Writing, edited by Mickey Hart.

Anonymous said...

Hey KC,

After this article, I'd love to see how red his face would go having to stand in the same room as you. Keep the shining the light!

Anonymous said...

Two things:

First, by coincidence, just before reading this edition of the blog, I was reading Orin Stran's Jan. 17,2007 attack on this and other blogs. There he says:

"But Johnson’s Edward Gibbon-length postings are shot through with factual errors

"Just one of many examples: Duke’s African and African American studies program has five full-time faculty. Johnson reports that 15, a number better than serves his Tolkienesque yarn-spinner’s desire to paint the program as a menacing Orthanc of grim radical power of intolerance."

Let us leave aside Stran's attempt at proper English structure in that last sentence -- after all, he's a "Professor of Cultural Anthropology" and so for him correct grammar is a construct of the white male patriarchy to blah, blah, blah, bullshit. My question is, Why was the number of faculty members the most noteworthy of the errors, with which he says this blog is "shot through"? Prof. Johnson, has Stran ever contacted you about any OTHER errors?

The second thing:

It's too rich to hear an Arab-named person complaining about the Atlantic slave trade. While I know it's politically incorrect to mention this, but the Arab enslavement of black Africans began hundreds of years before the Atlantic slave trade and continues right down to today. The Arabs had to send raiding parties deep into the interior. The blacks for the Atlantic slave trade were usually waiting on the beach (enslaved by other blacks for sale -- mostly to Hispanics). And where did all those descendants of the millions of black slaves go? Oh, it turns out that the Arabs castrated all their black male slaves. I guess the proximity of blacks to the Arab world meant they didn't need to bother letting slaves procreate. If anyone needs a longer history lesson on this, let me know.

Finally, I'm tired of the progenitors of hate and violence complaining about "anonymous" blog commentors. From here on out, I will use my name, "RRHamilton". For reference, I've used "WhyteRain" to comment for about ten years. Prof. Johnson, Stuart Taylor knows my e'mail address -- in case anyone asks.

Anonymous said...

One more thing -- Is the man's name spelled Starn or Stran? The Herald Sun reports it as Stran. Ah, I just checked. Apparently it is Starn. Please correct in my prior post.

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking I'd like to get Starn in a $1000 Nassau.

Anonymous said...

K.C.,

On more than one occasion you have chastised Selena Roberts for describing a search warrant as a “court document.” Why? Search warrants are issued by judges and records of those warrants and related documents are (I assume) maintained with the records of the courts with which the issuing judges are connected. What keeps a search warrant from being a court document?

Anonymous said...

"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid."
- Soren Aabye Kierkegaard -

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

As to the first quote, I think it exemplifies people like Orin Starn and the seemingly endless list of people willing to simply ignore facts for whatever gain they perceive.

As to the 2nd quote, I think the pants are about on, and soon will catch up with the lie.

Bday

kcjohnson9 said...

On the "court document":

In her article, Roberts suggested that the warrant treated as a finding of fact by the court.

She was rebuked for this by (of all people) public editor Calame, who conceded she should have called it a search warrant.

Gary Packwood said...

APRIL FOOLS

Oh, Good Grief.

Would someone please contact the incomparable Kristin Butler over at Duke and ask her to cover the conference, please?

She could even cover the conference for Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone magazines.

Kristin needs to make a quick call and get the word out to the parents of students for both Duke Lacrosse teams so that parents who are golfers can make the trip over to campus for the conference.

I'm sure parent's of Lacrosse players would be willing participants in the conference Q & A which would add a great deal of bulk and even some red meat for Kristin's first article in April which she can title ...APRIL FOOLS

Anonymous said...

North Carolina NAACP head to speak in Durham Church 4pm Sunday. I hope he will address the goals and moral compass of the organization seeking justice for all.

Anonymous said...

Omar accussed the valient Womens lacrosse team with eveything but original sin. Obviously these people have no shame. I can only hope that the Duke students and gaculty boycott this event. Womens Lacrosse - heroines of the hoax.

Anonymous said...

Better the thugnigga should talk about the impact og Hurricane Katrina on Houston crime stats.

Anonymous said...

Do these damned fools realize lacrosse was invented by American Indians?

Anonymous said...

Well, are these people aware that lacrosse was invented by American Indians?

tripp1 said...

Well, my goodness! What absolute ignorance! Rubbish! I believe American Indians played a roll in the development of lacrosse. My blond headed, blue-eyed grandson may well take up lacrosse. Is this permitted? He is part Indian, but I don't know which part. Do I have the Group88's permission? I don't want to offend.

Anonymous said...

So, Duke University continues to give the lacrosse players the middle finger, and continues to push the lie that Reade, Collin, and David really are rapists. How do I deduce that? I say it because three of the most vicious attackers of the lacrosse players will be treated like demigods in an on-campus forum.

None of these people have apologized for anything, and, in fact, have reveled in their hatred of the players. Salena Roberts remains an arrogant, screechy and preachy writer who never has acknowledged the absolute wrong that she did.

Face it, Duke really does hate the students who pay most of the tuition. The university continues to declare: "We want your money, but we despise you."

But, then, Duke already did that to its Jewish students, so why not attack the others? I never have seen a place that truly despises the hand that feeds it.

I feel sorry for those loyal Duke alums who have put so much into their alma mater only to have Duke spit in their faces. This is the real legacy of Richard Brodhead.

Anonymous said...

After reading the proposal connected to the $2,500 investment Duke is making to support this circus, I felt the need to take a shower.

What a bunch of liberal political crap they plan to discuss! The G88 template of racism, sexism, and classism in all its glory!

Throughout his career, Tiger Woods has remained completely apolitical. Detractors have accused him of abandoning his own for not speaking up about the "racist" history of Augusta National and the Masters Golf Tournament. Unlike the Dixie Chicks and Sean Penn, Woods is astute enough to know that he can do much better by focusing on his talent rather than reaching for a soapbox and a microphone to opine on politics. I don't know much about Woods other than having watched him perform in tournaments on TV, but I don't believe he would support the context and the content of the forum that Starn and Farred are presenting.

It also mentions that Roberts will be available to meet with students outside the formal presentation. I'd like someone to ask her about her column last year and whether or not in hindsight she has any comment on joining the rush to judgment feeding frenzy. Would she react differently in a similar situation having been proved so wrong in this case? Given that she's a journalist, for the "vaunted" New York Times no less (motto: all the news that fits our agenda, we print"), I would expect a duplicate of McClain's famous one word response.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely despicable. Not a dime for Duke from alumni who care until they clean house. sic semper tyrannis

Anonymous said...

Starn appears to believe that Division III or club athletes do not hold spring break parties, and therefore if Duke were a D-III school, the lacrosse case never would have emerged, although he has never offered evidence..

K.C. is reaching too far with this assertion. He has no information about what Starn believes about Division III.

Anonymous said...

Current Duke President Brodhead should attend, and be seated in the front row.

Jamie said...

Yao Ming “is, precisely because of his complicated ideological heritage, the most profound threat to American empire.”

Seriously - did Farred really write that? Because there's a certain genius to it.

If I worked on a parody of these guys for a solid year, I just don't think I'd ever come up with anything quite so magnificently absurd.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what either of the female student athletes from the golf team who are scheduled to speak will contribute to this little show. Do they have friends on either lacrosse team?

Article on one of them with pic:

http://www.publinksgolfer.net/articles/103/1/%3Cb%3ERhode-Island&%2339%3Bs-Anna-Grzebien-Wins-NCAA-Title%3C%7B47%7Db%3E

rl medicine '75

Anonymous said...

Here is a bio of Hanif Omar:
http://fastbreakradio.com/hanif/hanif_bio.htm

Anonymous said...

Orin Starn is teeing off from inside an Al Gore sized glass house. The history of golf is one of privilege and exclusivity. Among the last organizations in the U.S. to explicitly exclude women and minorities from membership were country clubs. This history contrasts rather sharply with lacrosse. A game developed by Native Americans who hardly could be considered elitist. Starn should remember that the warriors who seized Fort Michilimackinac weren’t swinging five irons.

Anonymous said...

K.C., it cracks me up that Starn is such a hypocrite and uses his employment to engage in two sports that have long been the bastion of white male privilege. Only equestrian sports have been more unavailable to "ordinary folk." I wish my deceased husband had known that he could find a job where a major university would pay for him to study the sports he loved. What's next for Starn, since he's "studying" Pinehurst now, the cultural anthropology of the Angler's Club or purchasing fishing rights in England? What a deal!

Quick, someone, find out what handicap Starn carries, and what sort of fishing rod and reel he uses. Also, I'd love to know if he goes to the Bohemia Grove- bet he has, though as a guest- of course, only to "study" how elitist culture works!

I am so tired of the p.c. correctness, hypocrisy, and attack dog mentality that has been exposed over the past year. Starn is a great example of what my children call "the people with no souls." Whether it's Gore telling people to use clothes lines while he's using lots of natural gas to heat his swimming pool or Starn trying to con people by "studying" golf, it's all symptomatic of the deeper ills of our society. Where did we go so wrong?
Texas Mom

Anonymous said...

K.C. is reaching too far with this assertion. He has no information about what Starn believes about Division III.

Mar 22, 2007 8:11:00 AM


I agree with KC, not XYZ. Starn used the lacrosse incident of alleged bad behavior to emphasize his point.

A few years ago, the women's field hockey team here at the True FSU made national headlines with an infamous hazing ritual for new players. We are a DIII institution, but managed to make the news because of one of our sports teams.

Anonymous said...

"North Carolina NAACP head to speak in Durham Church 4pm Sunday. I hope he will address the goals and moral compass of the organization seeking justice for all." 1:42 AM

I'm not so good with acronyms. Please help me out. Are you talking about the:

National Association for the Aggrandizement of Corpulent Polemicists?

Anonymous said...

Oh my....

Well, these types always clamor for attention....Well now you got it.

Enjoy the scrutiny.

Anonymous said...

Wise people often tell young folks who are deciding on a career choice to "figure out what you like to do, then get paid to do it."

It's obvious Orin likes to fish and play golf with a bunch of white guys, and he has found a way to get paid to do what he likes.

From his blog, http://golfpolitics.blogspot.
com/


~snip~
Orin Starn

I'm a professor in the Cultural Anthropology department at Duke University in North Carolina. I've played golf since childhood and am a five handicap, at least until two recent back operations.
~snip~
There’s a larger question of priorities in the whole golf technology revolution. Why are we spending hundreds of millions of dollars developing new digitalized golf training systems when more than half the globe’s population lives in poverty? How can one justify buying a two thousand dollar set of the latest Srixon clubs when that’s more than a PGA show security guard with a family of four earns in a month? What does our obsession with having the latest, most expensive toys say about our values and vision for ourselves and our society? The PGA Merchandise Show is something of a temple to guiltless extravagance and consumer capitalism gone wild in a world of haves and have nots.

But, of course, these are the ravings of a left-leaning, politically correct professor who happens to like golf. That bearded 19th century prophet, Karl Marx, failed to recognize capitalism’s flexible resilience, not to mention the atrocities that would be committed after his death in socialism’s name. But Marx foresaw that capitalism would bring constant technological revolution -- the holy profaned, the shattering of the old in the rush to the new. As much as he detested capitalism’s savage inequities, Marx admired the entrepreneurial energy of the business classes, the "most revolutionary" figures in world history for their tireless-profit seeking energy and initiative. The great social theorist further understood that capitalism would shrink the world itself in "battering down China's Great Wall” and traditional societies everywhere to join the world into a single interconnected system, careening headlong towards the future. The old iconoclast wouldn’t be surprised that the most capitalist of sports, golf, is growing rapidly in the nation of Confucius, Mao, and the gleaming Shanghai skyscrapers.

There will be no stopping the golf technology revolution anytime soon.
~snip~

He also uses his blog to address these other important issues:

--What does golf tell us about globalization?
--TIGER, THE MASTERS, AND RACE FATIGUE
--GOLF’S CONTINUING COLOR CONTRAST
--IS GOLF BAD FOR NATURE?

Anonymous said...

foxnews just said that they will drop all charges tomorrow

Anonymous said...

Will they prevent their remarks from being recorded, except for their own recording, and then prevent the release of that? Odds anyone?

Anonymous said...

I cannot imagine another place where University professors would invite people who have slandered their own students on to campus and welcome them to take part in something like this. Only in Durham!

It is truly pathetic and says volumes about Starn and those who arranged this meeting.

Not surprising that Mr. Omar is a graduate of NCCU. Whenever I think these 88 professors cannot make themselves look any worse in the eyes of their students and alumni, they open their mouths and reach new depths.

I also wonder if the ladies on the golf team who are participating in this event are aware of the comments Mr. Omar made about their fellow students on the women's lacrosse team.

I only wish I lived in Durham and could attend this gathering.

I guess the equation works like this...say something outrageous, negative, and hateful towards Duke student athletes......get invited to speak on campus. Sound about right?

Anonymous said...

Off topic, but Fox News is reporting that all the charges will be dropped, most likely by tomorrow. Anonymous sources, of course. And I couldn't find it online, but I was watching it this morning.

Anonymous said...

FOX NEWS SAYS THE CHARGES ARE GOING TO BE DROPPED

Anonymous said...

NEWS FLASH!!!

Fox News is saying that all charges will be dropped in the next day or so..

Anonymous said...

Awesome.

But I do love golf....

TaterCon

Anonymous said...

Fox News reporting that all charges against the players will be dropped in the next few days...

Anonymous said...

Sorry - here's the link:
http://www.foxnews.com/
story/0,2933,260426,00.html

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

There is something very self-indulgent about this conference. It seems that Cultural Anthropology is a kind of victim studies for white people, a place where people ashamed of being born to white male privilege can expiate their guilt and exempt themselves from the drumbeat of cultural condemnation emanating from their colleagues in identity studies departments.

It would appear that the conference is a plea to grant exemption for the game of golf. Duke is spending $2500 to allow politically correct professors to feel comfortable with the enjoyment they get from playing the game. If blacks and Koreans like golf I guess it is okay for white males to play a few rounds.

No matter how much evidence is produced to show how political correctness distorts our perception of even everyday life, it doesn't seem to shake up the belief systems of so many in academia who are beholden to it.

I have come to believe that a new politically correct version of the old fable "The Emperor's New Clothes" is needed. In the new pc version, the boy who points out that the king is naked is charged with offensive speech, forced to make a public apology, and consigned to attend forty hours of diversity training where he will overcome his prejudice against the "differently" clothed.

Steve White said...

I teach at the University of Chicago, which is a Division III school with a rigorous academic program. In gentle counter-point to one of KC's points, we're able to reconcile being a D-III school with our academic mission (our students don't have much of a party reputation, unfortunately!). But having dropped out of the Big Ten Conference over fifty years ago hasn't seemed to hurt us much.

The counter-point, one that Orin Starn can't make very well, is that one can have a great university without having a Division I sports program. Is that the right course for Duke? I have no idea; I'm not there. It's a legitimate point of debate for the people of Duke, not that the Group of 88 would have anything constructive to say.

Anonymous said...

Ah, we need a rumor central spot on this site - I too have read the headline that the charges will be dropped. If true, that is great news. But as with so many aspects of this case, I'll wait until some action occurs. Until then, Nifey is still the DA, the boys are still charged, and the civil suits have yet to fall upon those who behaved so badly during this time.

Anonymous said...

Carolyn says:

Excuse me - I know this is off topic but has someone just seen the FOX News headline: "Report: All Charges Against Duke Lacrosse Players to be Dropped Soon". The report says that sources "more than just attorneys for the defense" are saying that the remaining charges will be dropped within the next few days.

Oh, please tell me that this is true!

Anonymous said...

KC, you rhetorically ask about DIII atheltics not having parties. The recent brouhaha in Greensboro involving Guilford College football players attacking Palestinian students provides an ample counterpoint to that G88's argument that such levels of athletics are smiling cherubs of goodwill. This has since been described as an "alcohol fueled" incident. GC is ... DIII. And they drank. And they fought. QED.

This incident garnered some local/regional attention and even briefly national. Of course, it was properly left to police and DAs who had the good sense to keep their mouths shut while they sorted it out. In the end, the Palestinians simply wanted an apology and no charges were filed. Now, wasn't that easy?

james conrad said...

DRUDGE is reporting.... REPORT: All charges may be dropped as early as tomorrow in Duke Lacrosse rape case, FOXNEWS reports... 'We will be hearing a dismissal in the coming days'... MORE...

Anonymous said...

We'll have to confront it sooner or later. From Robert Godwin at http://onecosmos.blogspot.com/2007/03/nocturnal-stinkubations-of-left.html


"Thus, we should not be surprised if we see in leftists the same pattern of projection, condescension, and sanctimony. Can I get an witness? Thank you. Where would the left be without their projected racist fantasies of the po' hepless negro? It is quite striking how blacks can tolerate the utter contempt that liberal politicians and the MSM have for them. They are infantilized, held to lower standards, excused of behavior that would not be tolerated in others, and worse. Only on the left could a low life thug such as Al Sharpton run for president without provoking comment, much less deep soul-searching. It is not ironic. It is inevitable."

This whole case is about the infantile and the infantilizers.

Anonymous said...

Again, according to FoxNews - accuser has been called to the special prosecutor's office...now.

Anonymous said...

I had not realized that the Gang of 88 is secretly sympathetic to the genocide of Native Americans and their culture and historical memory. Attacking lacross in the name of political correctness is so insidiously clever. Oh how unsubtle that Custer was; if only he had been educated at Duke rather than West Point.

JeffM

Anonymous said...

"We mean no disrespect to Bob Harris when we say this. He is a wonderful man and very bright and accomplished. But: for all the academic firepower Duke has, for the amazing intellects and formidable accomplishments, why is it that a sports announcer nailed this case, absolutely pegged it, and the geniuses who sneer at him and the world he represents can’t even admit they were wrong? They don’t have to apologize. But why is it so hard to admit they were wrong?

Harris was right when he told Nifong it’s about honesty. But he might have also said it’s about character. And for highly intelligent people, who are entrusted with young students and their intellectual growth, for them to perpetuate lies, to accept and encourage prosecutorial misconduct, is just an unbelievable abdication of character. And Duke deserves better." - by DBR, March 20th, 2007


The more I read about this case the more I’m convinced that Bob Harris was right. Not only in regards to Nifong but also in regards to the people who tried to push their causes on the backs a non-event.

The “Group of 88” are not stupid but lacking in basic honesty and character.

Anonymous said...

"That bearded 19th century prophet, Karl Marx, failed to recognize capitalism’s flexible resilience, not to mention the atrocities that would be committed after his death in socialism’s name."

Ah yes, if only someone could get Socialism/Marxism "right" then we wouldn't end up with 50,000,000+ shallow graves, er ah, I mean "atrocities".

Golf courses would trench nicely for mass graves, though I don't that any look swimmingly great in red golf shirts, and that would hurt pro-shop sales.

Anonymous said...

From hotair.com:

"Megyn Kelly just updated this story on Fox News, saying that she’d spoken to the defense attorneys and they told her they hadn’t heard anything about it yet. However, she did confirm with another source that the accuser has been called in tomorrow for a chat with the new prosecutors. Maybe it’s their last ditch appeal to her to give them something, anything, to work with before they pull the plug."

Anonymous said...

Starn, like Lubiano, received his PhD in the late 1980's from Stanford, another university where some humanities departments are bastions of political correctness.

molonlabe28 said...

"Now I hope you get your butt kicked. I really hope you all get your butt kicked. I really hope you get your butt kicked, on the field, that is."

Omar is certainly articulate and mature.

Please tell me that he is not on the faculty.

It sounds like this conference will be quite a freak show - a bunch of intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals babbling about sports and white elitism.

Don't these people have daytime jobs?

They certainly need instruction on the Constitutional protections which inure to the benefit of defendants in criminal prosecutions.

It will be fun to observe the Gang of 88 when the charges are all dropped.

Anonymous said...

Just read this on drudgereport.com today

"REPORT: All charges may be dropped as early as tomorrow in Duke Lacrosse rape case, FOXNEWS reports... 'We will be hearing a dismissal in the coming days'... MORE..."

FINALLY!

Gary Packwood said...

Starn - Stickball Golf and Lacrosse

Orin Starn's little conference about Golf is almost laughable.

Professor Starn knows a little something about Native Americans as he wrote the book Ishi's Brain, a story about the Northern California Yahi people. http://www.orinstarn.com

You would think that the good professor would take on Cherokee Indian history in North Carolina instead of fumbling around with Golf.

The Cherokee Indian people's march from North Carolina and Georgia to Tahlequah, Oklahoma is known as the Trail of Tears.

You would think that Professor Starn could help with the understand of that long Trail of Tears and the ability of the Indian people to survive and even start again their ancient tradition of Stickball when they arrived in Oklahoma.

Stickball is now called Lacrosse.

If the good professor was truly interested in the poor and disenfranchised he would be helping the Cherokee Indian people promote Lacrosse and the history behind the game.

A well written history and conference about Lacrosse will trump a two bit Golf conference every time.

gak said...

fox news said
"DNA tests never conclusively proved that anyone on the team assaulted her. But DNA from other individuals was found in the accuser's underwear, among other places."

They still have to put that cloud over the heads of the 3. They did conclusively prove that "anyone on the team" did not assault her.

Anonymous said...

I nominate Gary Packwood as the next Executive Officer of Duke University.

Mr. Packwood, thank you for your insight.

Anonymous said...

HI all,

This is kalyan,
I gone through this website. It is dealing with how to make Business opportunities. This is very interesting and useful to the Business magnets.Can find every business opportunity which can yield benefits. National Grants Conferences is a company that has claimed that there's a lot of money, free for the asking, from the government. This money can supposedly be used to buy or fix up a house, start a business, get an education or for almost any other thing if you can qualify. We have a site which deals with the same category href="http://federalreviews.com/National_Grants_Conference_Scam.html">national grants conference