The Cornell Review The Conservative Voice on Campus
An Independent Publication vol. xxxi, no. i
“We Do Not Apologize.”
August 26th, 2012
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Freshman Issue
Cornell’s New Sex Inquisition Policy Change Leaves Students Defenseless Kirk Sigmon Columnist
Right on the Law
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hile enjoying yourself at Cornell over the next four years, be warned: you may inadvertently find yourself accused of sexual assault in a kangaroo court with no lawyer, few rights, and no chance. Cornell has recently changed its sexual assault policy from one with substantial protections for an accused student to one with virtually no protections for an accused student at all. In the past, when one student accused another student of sexual assault, Cornell would begin an investigatory process where the accused student could retain a lawyer and could have their case heard by a University Hearing Board (that is, by multiple people). Under this process, the University Hearing Board could only find a student guilty (and thus could only expel a student) if the evidence showed that there was “clear and convincing evidence” that the
student committed the alleged act. In practice, this system made Cornell’s sexual assault investigation system like a criminal trial, with numerous protections for an accused student. This all changed in April. Under a new system allegedly designed to keep Cornell in compliance with Title IX, sexual assault accusations are handled by an investigator, an accused student is not allowed to have an attorney argue on their behalf, and the student accuser needs only prove by a “preponderance of the evidence” that the alleged sexual assault occurred. In short, Cornell has stripped away the most important protections available to a person accused Continued on page 2
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Generation Debt Misha Checkovich Staff Writer
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f there is one thing that can be added to the list of the sure things in life, accruing and paying interest on debt tallies nicely up there with death and taxes. As the United States federal government scrambles to pay its titanic bills, it farms out an increasing portion of that payment to debt – money it literally does not have, and probably will never have at this rate. The bondholders who invest in US treasuries (the people who finance our debt) get paid interest, courtesy of the US taxpayers, who are unfortunately an ever-dwindling segment of our population. But I don't think too many people know exactly what kind of hard numbers are on the books in terms of the interest the US pays on its federal debt – not just as a percentage of the budget, or the percentage of our GDP, but the actual number of dollars – fifteen trillion dollars
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Even Cornell Editorial: Forward? What, can't afford over the gorge? Cornell tuition
($15,000,000,000,000), to ballpark it, and growing. As a percentage of the budget it's roughly 700% of what we can afford and 500% of what we spend. As a percentage of GDP, it's nearing 100%. When we talk with great panic about any of the European countries defaulting, that involves billions, maybe tens or even hundreds of billions. To the American government, that number is merely a rounding error or maybe a decrease in the rate of growth of our largest programs, when compared to our $15 trillion debt. America is on a course to fiscal destruction the proportions of which the world has never seen, never mind what it can afford. There was a revealing exchange between Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner and Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) that should be cause for some serious alarm, even Continued on page 8
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Ten Reasons to date a conservative
Survival Tips for Freshmen
“You Didn't Build That” Backlash
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Opinion
August 26, 2012
Romney: The Culture Vulture Romney’s remarks on Palestine triggered great controversy. But was he wrong? Kushagra Aniket Columnist
Platonic Squabbles
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itt Romney fumbles quite a bit. Who doesn’t? He expressed skepticism over London’s preparedness for the Olympics, which in
American Greatness, Romney made a compelling case for American Exceptionalism, arguing that cultural values play a central role in the progress of nations.But Romney is not alone. Samuel Huntington describes the substance of “American creed” as being rooted in the Anglo-Prot-
“…does Romney’s argument that culture is incredibly important to economic success find empirical support?” hindsight, proved to be a remarkable success. Needless to say, he displeased Cameron. What’s more? While addressing the media along with Ed Miliband, the Leader of the Labour Party in the British Parliament, Romney forgot his host’s name and referred to him as “Mr. Leader” instead. Perhaps “Mr. Skunk” would have been better. And when he referred to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, he actually left some commentators wondering whether this was a statement in diplomacy or a case of loss of memory. But all this wasn’t too bad. What enraged some people the most were his remarks on Palestine. And that’s where Romney was exactly right. On comparing the per capita GDP of Israel to Palestine, Romney noted that Israel owed its economic growth to its better cultural attributes. Unexpectedly, this provoked a firestorm in Palestine. Romney’s detractors denounced his comments as “racist and out of touch”. But little did they realize that Romney was not making unwarranted observations on a subject he was not acquainted with. On the contrary, he was articulating a long-held and principled position on the causes behind economic development. Indeed, in his 2010 bestseller No Apology: The Case for
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estant work ethic, free enterprise, reward for merit, rule of law, intellectual freedom and pursuit of happiness. In Romney’s parlance, the idea of American Exceptionalism is premised on a society that cherishes these values and consciously designs institutions on their basis. Nonetheless, not everyone is expected to agree with these cultural attitudes, let alone share them. To be fair, some cultures promote authoritarianism, coercion and absolute obedience to Iron Age laws. They prohibit women from driving cars and owning property. Likewise, these societies condemn free speech as blasphemy and innovation as heresy. Most importantly, they set up “extractive institutions” that privilege an entrenched class of elites, who often deploy the resources appropriated from the poor to fund fundamentalism and terror. So, who knows which of the two is better? However, this liberal superstition that cultures cannot be compared or criticized needs to be demolished. Indeed, Romney observes that some cultures are superior in terms of their consequences and the American culture is one of them. It is clear that cultures that are correlated with peace and prosperity are superior to those associated with violence and
poverty. But does Romney’s argument that culture is incredibly important to economic success find empirical support? In other words, can the question of economic growth, which depends on numerous parameters such as historical experience, physical and human capital, international trade, political clout and foreign aid, be reduced to differences in culture? Romney himself cited the work of the Harvard economist David Landes who concludes that culture has a profound influence on the choices that societies make. While some cultural values are more conducive to economic growth, others fail to provide the right incentives to people. More formally, Mankiw’s augmented Solow Model underscores the importance of human capital in explaining a large segment of cross-country variation in per capita income. And at any rate, culture determines the accumulation of human capital because it is not just an extraordinary coincidence that the poorest places in the world are also the most belligerent, corrupt and subversive.
country with few natural resources and surrounded by the most hostile neighbors, has not only survived as a homeland for Jewish people but also attained considerable economic growth. On the other hand, the Arab countries, with their enormous
petroleum resources, are still not counted among the developed economies of the world. It is true that economic development is derailed in part by decades of military aggression, which the Palestinians claim to have suffered. But even when we blame Western misadventure in Palestine for its de-
“…culture determines the accumulation of human capital because it is not just an extraordinary coincidence that the poorest places in the world are also the most belligerent, corrupt and subversive.” Furthermore, Romney offered the instance of Israel to counter Jared Diamond’s central thesis of his Guns, Germs, and Steel. Diamond argues that the success of nations is determined by their access to natural resources. But Israel, a
privation, there is no doubt that the Palestinians are culpable for the lack of peace and economic development in their region. For no amount of foreign stimulus, education, or institutional assistance can help Palestine overcome their political problems, which have been caused, to a great extent, by an imaginary notion of the Promised Land. Regardless of the liberal media’s criticism, few scholars will contest the importance of culture in the success of nations. In fact, any sincere observer would see that Romney’s position was not only defensible but also uncontroversial. But when Romney, on his foreign trip, attributed the economic performance of Israel to its culture, he was not just stating the obvious but also reaching out to our trusted ally. Contrast this with the incumbent soon-to-be lame duck, who far from appreciating Israel’s tremendous tenacity in a turbulent neighborhood, has not cared to visit the country even once. Kushagra Aniket is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at ka337@cornell.edu.
The Cornell Review
Founded 1984 r Incorporated 1986 Jim Keller Jerome D. Pinn Anthony Santelli, Jr. Ann Coulter Founders
Noah Kantro Alfonse Muglia Editors-in-Chief
Karim Lakhani President
Lucia Rafanelli Managing Editor Vice President
Michael Alan
Executive Editor
Katie Johnson Treasurer
Laurel Conrad
Campus News Editor
Zachary Dellé
National News Editor
Contributors Kushagra Aniket Misha Checkovich Andre Gardiner Jonathan Jaffe Raj Kannappan
Tianye Liu Faux Manchu Roberto Matos Kirk Sigmon Andy Wagner
Emeritus Members Anthony Longo Lucas Policastro
Christopher Slijk
Board of Directors
Christopher DeCenzo Joseph E. Gehring Jr. Ying Ma Anthony Santelli Jr.
Faculty Advisor William A. Jacobson The Cornell Review is an independent biweekly journal published by students of Cornell University for the benefit of students, faculty, administrators, and alumni of the Cornell community. The Cornell Review is a thoughtful review of campus and national politics from a broad conservative perspective. The Cornell Review, an independent student organization located at Cornell University, produced and is responsible for the content of this publication. This publication was not reviewed or approved by, nor does it necessarily express or reflect the policies or opinions of, Cornell University or its designated representatives. The Cornell Review is published by The Ithaca Review, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The opinions stated in The Cornell Review are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the staff of The Cornell Review. Editorial opinions are those of the responsible editor. The opinions herein are not necessarily those of the board of directors, officers, or staff of The Ithaca Review, Inc. The Cornell Review is distributed free, limited to one issue per person, on campus as well as to local businesses in Ithaca. Additional copies beyond the first free issue are available for $1.00 each. The Cornell Review is a member of the Collegiate Network. The Cornell Review prides itself on letting its writers speak for themselves, and on open discourse. We publish a spectrum of beliefs, and readers should be aware that pieces represent the views of their authors, and not necessarily those of the entire staff. If you have a wellreasoned conservative opinion piece, we hope you will send it to cornellreview@ cornell.edu for consideration. The Cornell Review meets regularly on Mondays at 5:00 pm in GS 162. E-mail messages should be sent to
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Copyright © 2012 The Ithaca Review Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Editorial
August 26, 2012
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Forward? What, Over the Gorge? Alfonse Muglia Editor-in-Chief
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s the incoming editors for The Cornell Review, Noah Kantro and I are excited to continue the traditions of the paper that brought you Wisemen and Fools, Colonel Cornell, and 30 years of exposing the attacks on our liberties that occur every day on this campus and in our nation. In both arenas, the events of the past few years are an indication that we are needed now more than ever. The page has been turned toward a new chapter in the multi-volume series that is Cornell University’s history, and recent events are screaming with evidence of troubling trends. Are your ears turned toward the waterfall? Throughout the years, The Cornell Review has established itself as a legitimate avenue for looking at
The simple answer to this question, of course, is no. She is happy in the sort of self-satisfied, self-righteous way we have come to expect from all liberals. Rather, Cornell is constantly – and perhaps just as dangerously – looking to improve and evolve. Nearly 150 years after our school’s founding, the gorges are now not safe enough, and much information will be disseminated this year about the nets being built to catch us. The traditions of fraternity houses are being labeled, thrown out, and replaced. Each year brings a refreshed statement of our diversity initiatives, to be taken as law on top of that of the previous year. While all of this negativity was keeping us Cornell Patriots busy, the University committed nearly $2 billion to the NYC Tech Campus that
Do we attend a university that is fundamentally unhappy with itself? events around campus through an alternative lens. Our biweekly production cycle gives us the benefit of reflection, while allowing our writers to form their own opinions, ones that are almost never heard elsewhere in Ithaca. This allows readers to think for themselves when it comes to analyzing campus and national events. While we are proud of our conservative roots, the bounds of higher education’s “manifestations of ideological fetishism and domineering conformity”—as described last spring by writer Roberto Matos— allow us the opportunity to appeal to all students who believe in free speech and free thought, independent of personal political ideology. We are currently buying our education from a school that wants to be the top research institution in the world, as it has stated throughout ongoing fundraising campaigns. As free-market capitalists and American patriots, rational students cannot help but adore this version of “Cornell Exceptionalism.” We came to Cornell because of its prestige, and making it more prestigious is certainly in our interests - now and in the future. That being said, when it comes to dissecting this goal of excellence, one cannot help but look at the other side of the coin and ask: do we attend a University that is fundamentally unhappy with itself?
will forever change how the world views the name of the institution on your college degree. As highlighted in the first editorial by the 2010-2011 editorial board, we do not know what Cornell University will look like in ten years. Little did they know how differently the University would look in only two years. To digress for a moment, the same can be said for our nation. Traditions as old as time itself are being misconstrued and the dissolved under the veil of so-called evolution. Meanwhile, national tragedies bring a refreshed dialogue on gun control, and each year similar repetitive conversation occurs in the fields of immigration and affirmative action. While all of these social issues are keeping us American Patriots busy, the American story is being condensed down into the life of one woman—named Julia—whose existence is completely dependent on the state. This deserves considerable attention as well. For now, we hope to illuminate Cornell’s “save face” policy of political correctness that has been on public display for a national audience the past few years. As we have said and will continue to say throughout our tenure as editors, the decisions made by the administration behind the “Cornell Now” era are all rooted in the ultimate goal of becoming the top research university in the
world and silencing all legal liability and public opinion that will get in its way. From removing provocative issues of The Cornell Daily Sun from Day Hall during Cornell Days for fear of parents getting the wrong perception of our institution to spamming Cornell undergraduates with an email during study week in order to restate the University’s diversity policy, this “save face” policy has infringed upon our liberties as both Cornellians and Americans. The evidence is all around us. Meanwhile, the time has come for the issues that this paper has repeatedly raised over the years to receive more attention. This starts with just about the only thing that the administration seems to believe that the University does well: the curriculum. The University has sided with the rest of liberal academia by neglecting calls for intellectual diversity in the classroom, even from esteemed, conservative professors before us. In this sense, our beloved University has gone so far as to value physical diversity over intellectual diversity. If “Change” was the buzzword of the last four years, Cornell did their part to contribute to the cause. President Obama now has a new catchphrase, “Forward!,” which eventual GOP nominee Mitt Romney jokingly mocked by asking, “Forward? What, over the cliff?” Needless to say, we are likewise wary and already weary of where continuing blindly Forward! will take this University and this nation. It is with this mindset that our paper welcomes the new school year. The question lies in how we will respond, for in times of great change come opportunities for grassroots efforts to lead that change. We are confident that pride will override apathy, that individualism will overcome groupthink, and that truth will prevail over opinion. As Cornellians, we move forward toward our goal of becoming the world’s top research institution. As Patriots, we will analyze the moves of our adored University along the way, before it’s too late and we find all that we love caught in the strings of the safety nets. Alfonse Muglia is a junior in the School of Industrial & Labor Relations. He can be reached at arm267@ cornell.edu
The Review welcomes and encourages letters to the editor. Long, gaseous letters that seem to go on forever are best suited for publication in the Cornell Daily Sun. The Review requests that all letters to the editor be limited to 350 words. Please send all questions, comments, and concerns to cornellreview@cornell.edu.
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Campus
August 26, 2012
Sex Inquisition
Virginia and has since expanded into a national organization with over 20 chapters at various universities nationwide. In early 2012, a NeW chapter was founded at Cornell University by sophomores Caroline Emberton and Ali Smith. “We had a phenomenal year building a community for conservative university women at Cornell through events, dinners, meetings and discussions,” remarked Emberton. “NeW is keeping it classy at Cornell!” The motto of Cornell University’s chapter of NeW is “Classy,
Conservative, Cornell”, and it has quickly grown in popularity on campus. The club gives young conservative women at Cornell the opportunity to network, discuss issues, listen to conservative speakers, and form new friendships. It provides an alternative to Cornell’s women’s studies classes and feminist groups that are often biased against and unfriendly toward conservative students.
of the evidence” (that is, more likely than not, or 50.001% likely) will almost certainly condemn innocent accused students, as under this lowered evidentiary standard an otherwise innocent situation that looks like sexual assault could result in the conviction of an innocent student. Perhaps most worryingly, a single university investigator now holds the power to destroy the life and reputation of a university student. There is absolutely no control for the biases or mistakes made by that investigator. Thankfully, I’m not the only person from the law school who finds this policy frightening: professors from the Cornell Law School, including respected professors Kevin Clermont and Cynthia Bowman, have called the policy “Orwellian” and “Kafkaesque.” Sexual assault accusations are sticky and difficult to prove – rape trials are infamously difficult to prove in the criminal justice system – but this does not justify Cornell’s policy change. Cornell has made the disastrous mistake of trying to remedy the stickiness and difficulty of sexual assault cases by sacrificing protections afforded to an accused student in order to make trials easier. This is nonsensical: no student should be inherently disfavored in an administrative proceeding, regardless of the charges levied against him or her. A student accused of a heinous murder would be afforded more protections in a criminal trial than they ever would under Cornell’s system – and that’s disturbing. As a freshman, what can you do to protect yourself from being subjected to these biased inquisitions? Honestly, there is very little you can do, but common sense obviously applies: don’t get yourself in a situation that would look questionable in the eyes of a biased, inherently unfair investigator. Avoid sketchy parties, and avoid being alone with unstable people of either gender. And, if all else fails, invest in a chastity belt.
Laurel Conrad is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at lrc54@cornell.edu
Kirk Sigmon is a student in the Law School. He can be reached at kas468@cornell.edu.
Crowded at the Top
climax of this tale comes with Cornell being handed the opportunity to emulate the success that Stanford has had and take it to new heights on the East Coast. Entering the 2012 fall semester, one can confidently say that Cornell has the potential to lead the New York City Applied Sciences boom. There are two main reasons. For starters, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has given Cornell the green light. He wooed the administration with $100 million in funding and property on Roosevelt Island. Even more
importantly, he put their faces in front of cameras and brought good publicity to a school that cares very much about its imagine. These have been indicators that he wants Cornell to succeed. Secondly, Cornell can lead New York City into the next era of technological innovation because it is willing to put the resources and funding in place to make this a reality. This summer, Cornell tapped a Stanford dean to lead the fundraising efforts of CornellNYC Tech. Twitter Chief Financial Officer Greg Pass, ’97, was announced as the school’s entrepreneur officer. The University has made it evident that they want to build a team that can succeed, as they strive to double the amount of
Continued from the front page of sexual assault and has put them at the mercy of an inquisition run by a single university “investigator.” It should go without saying that Cornell’s new sexual assault policy
is frighteningly draconian and ripe for abuse. While any trial process has errors, fair trials have always been at the heart of the American system, and the idea that Cornell can subvert this process through an inherently biased administrative inquisition is dangerous.
Students untrained in trial procedure and unfamiliar with the stresses of a court are unquestionably illequipped to calmly and persuasively defend themselves against a false sexual assault accusation. The idea that an accuser need only provide his or her case by a “preponderance
Cornell NeW Club Wins National Award Laurel Conrad Campus News Editor
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ornell was named the “New NeW Chapter of the Year” at the Network of Enlightened Women’s two-day national conference hosted at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC. Notable conference attendees included Marji Ross, Christina Hoff Sommers, Mary Katharine Ham, and Katie Pavlich. NeW stands for Network of Enlightened Women, and is a national organization for conservative university women. It began in 2004 as a book club at the University of
Recognizing Cornell’s Competition in NYC Politics Alfonse Muglia Editor-in-Chief
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erhaps the most publicized story around Cornell since last December has been the announcement that our institution will be constructing a nearly $2 billion school in New York City. The depiction of the story has the look of an awesome, awardwinning drama: A central character with upstate roots is taking on the big city. It has a hint of
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international flair, by means of our partnership with the Israeli Institute of Technology. And it features a compelling competition with a rival school in Stanford that already has an established presence in urban technological innovation. The
“What this means for Cornell is that other schools in the area are also revamping their advanced science programs.”
Continued on page 10
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Cuts to Financial Aid Hurt Reputation and Competitiveness Michael Alan Executive Editor
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n 2008, Cornell introduced what administrators called “a sweeping new financial aid initiative” that had the University joining the growing number of elite colleges that allow middle and lower class students the opportunity to graduate debt free. Over the summer, University administrators announced that this initiative would be scaled back significantly. President Skorton called these changes “modest” as they were quietly announced over the summer.
In one sense, he is right. Compared to some of the other priorities Cornell commits financial resources to—new construction projects that seem to be announced every other week, a $2 billion Manhattan campus, bridge nets, and costly student life experiments (remember that $15,000 RPCC party?) that only drive students to less controlled environments like Collegetown—the amount of money the University is saving by scaling back financial aid is modest. But for the students that would benefit from the generous policies
announced in 2008, these changes are anything but modest. Not only will families making between $60,000 and $75,000 annually be expected to take out significant amounts of loans thanks to the changes, students coming from lower income families will be expected to work 25% more at their on campus jobs to keep up with growing savings expectations. Tuition is going up and financial aid programs are being slashed. Admittedly, this is a trend seen at schools across the country and Cornell isn’t alone in making these types
August 26, 2012
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of cuts. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which introduced a similar debt free policy for lower and middle income students in 2008, is also scaling back their initiative. However Cornell, which is always looking for ways to stay competitive with its elite peers, already sports the lowest yield of the Ivy League schools. Just over 50% of accepted students joined the Cornell class of 2016, a number lower than more than a few of our peer schools, including many that offer debt free financial aid packages. Cuts to financial aid not only hurt the University’s reputation and competitiveness, they also stifle socioeconomic diversity. Even if their methods of achieving this goal can often have negative unintended Continued on page 10
The Collegiate Network supports independent student publications on college campuses across the country with financial assistance and journalism training. Our members seek to promote liberty on campus with in-depth reporting and thoughtful commentary on the ideas that sustain a free society.
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August 26, 2012
Ten Reasons to Date a Conservative ce too well to be desperate or clingy.
10. Conservatives understand self-relian
9. You won't have to break the bank when going out to dinner with a conservative. They understand economic responsibility and wouldn't let you blow all your money in one place. g you're not. in th e m so e k li ed to act means equalty li 8. You don't ne a u q e t a th ves know me. True conservati uality of outco q e t o n y, it n u rt ity of oppo 7. On a da te, it isn't necessary when it co to use sm mes to po all words litical issue what they s. They be believe be lieve cause they because it 're informe 's what th d, not eir favorite celebrity s ays.
6. Cons ervative sw just like they wo on't flip-flop o n n't flip-f lop on p a boyfriend or olitical c g andidat irlfriend, es. n out in public with a 5. You won't be embarrassed to be see d like a hipster. Also, conservative. He or she won't be dresse concealed. everybody knows to keep their weapons
4. Constant comp lements aren't ne cessary for conservatives. They value actions mo re than words an have confidence d in their own princi ples.
3. You w on't offe n door fo r her. Sh d a conservati ve e knows that you woman if you open th know sh e e can d o it hers elf. 2. If you sh will actu ow this list to conserv al atives th even th ly read it. They ey e hidde r e a d everyth n detail ing— s in legi slation.
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ion1. A conservative will tell you how they feel about your relat ship. Conservatives will always tell you how they feel.
Disclaimer: Since this is the Review and not the Sun or Progressive, we understand that there are not the same number of men as women pictured on this page, and have absolutely no problem with that.
August 26, 2012
Survival Tips
Karim Lakhani President
Coffee with Karim
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elcome Class of 2016! Yes, you’re finally in college. Your years of hard work have brought you here for another at least four years of struggle and despair, but I can promise you that these four years will be the best you will ever have—so long as you don’t screw it all up.
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Freshman year is full of mistakes that can haunt you for years to come. Whether it’s that advanced class you shouldn’t have taken or that time Cornell Police found you doing something you shouldn’t have been doing in the fire escape, Cornell never ceases to leave you room to slip-up. So, I’ve created a short list of survival tips that may make your transition to Cornell much smoother.
1. Learn the bus system before you need the bus system. Walking to class looking through the large fences over the beautiful gorges can be really relaxing and scenic. But, that morning will come when you wake up late for class and there is rain (or snow) falling from the sky. That may not be the best time to finally try using a TCAT bus.
hear from so many influential people is one of the greatest assets of going to school at Cornell. Don’t let these opportunities go to waste.
4. Start looking for an internship now! It’s never too early to start researching and testing your contacts for a summer internship. If you wait too long, you’ll be stuck taking summer classes at Cornell or work2. Stay aware of what is happening outside ing at your local restaurant. the bubble. Ithaca functions as a little bubble. Once you enter Ithaca, you completely 5. Get involved. For many of you, joining lose consciousness of what is going on with clubs in high school was for the sole purthe rest of the world. Take time to read the pose of helping you get into college. Joining news, listen to music, and catch up with clubs in college is much different. You’ll family. It will keep you sane and not igno- find it fun to join different groups of people rant when you return home for breaks. and talk, debate, and generally be around the things that you love the most. More 3. Take advantage of events held at Corimportantly, you’ll make friends and have nell. You never know which great political an opportunity to be a part of something mind or amazing artist will come to Ithaca that is much larger than you are. next, but having an opportunity to see and
I hope these tips give you some guidance about being successful at Cornell. My last piece of advice is to not be intimidated by your classmates who have and will accomplish a significant amount or those
who find 100k+ jobs on Wall Street or with tech companies. We can all find success if we continue to dream big. A Cornell degree will help take you everywhere you have imagined.
Karim Lakhani is a Junior in the Industrial and Labor Relations school. He can be reached at kml248@ cornell.edu.
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National
August 26, 2012
Generation Debt Continued from the front page
among the dyed-in-the-wool comrades running around campus. Ryan pointed out a graph in Geithner’s budget plan that outlined the percentage of our GDP that government liabilities will consume over the course of the next few decades. The graph dropped off in the year 2027, because the US economy, on its present course in conjunction with US government spending, will cease to exist. This administration is patently unserious about correcting course, frittering away hard-earned taxpayer dollars in an endless Orwellian campaign promising redemption for the masses whilst shamelessly engaging in the most vulgar conspicuous consumption. No, I recant. They are frittering away yet-to-be-earned dollars from taxpayers yet-to-be-born.
Our generation, our progeny, and the next several after that will have to labor under an evergrowing burden of debt and interest. We will have to divert increasing amounts of resources to fill this hole, while we have less and less with which to build our own lives. If anyone is mad about the transfer of wealth from one class to another, they should
Mitt Romney Announces VP: Paul Ryan Changing the Focus of the Campaign
Andy Wagner Staff Writer
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ast Saturday, while campaigning in Virginia, Mitt Romney announced his running mate Paul Ryan. The move came as a shock to many political analysts who had predicted that the Romney Campaign would shy away from the controversial and risky Wisconsin Congressman. Representative Ryan has emerged as a conservative leader in entitlement program reforms. He has been very outspoken about the need to reduce spending on welfare programs and has not shied away from his proposed plans to increase the Social Security retirement age to 70. His entitlement spending reduction plans would seem to make him an easy target for the Obama campaign, who has tried to paint the Congressman as a callous budget slashing conservative hacking his way through social welfare programs. This could end up costing Romney the support of a large portion of the over 55 working population. That being said, Paul Ryan’s controversial welfare reform plan has served as a starting point for the Romney campaign to redefine the issues of the presidential election. The selection is a bold choice and will bring the focus of the election back to the issues facing the country and away from the negative personal ads that the President has been throwing Romney’s way. Essentially, the choice will enable the Romney campaign to redefine its platform. Paul Ryan is popular with core conservatives and will help the GOP rally behind Romney. The Congressman’s purposed reform policies will show the public
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that Romney is serious about balancing the budget and getting Americans back to work. With Paul Ryan on the ticket, the Romney campaign will be able to go on the offensive. Paul Ryan has shown a willingness to fight for tougher reduction measures called for by Republicans that Romney has shied away from. The country is in a $15 trillion hole which the current administration has made no serious attempts to climb out of. Paul Ryan has shown a strong commitment to cutting spending and a stricter fiscal policy. If he can bring this support to the Romney platform he will likely rally conservatives who were originally alienated by the Republican nominee. His clear and realistic message of the country’s financial situation is also a sobering reminder to the liberals currently debt-crisis denial. The choice not only highlights the stark policy differences between the two parties in the race, but it also adds a younger conservative opinion to the debate. Paul Ryan has repeatedly shown support for American youth entering the workforce hunting for jobs. He has also criticized many liberal policies for “passing on the debate” to younger generations. However, despite being branded the ideological messenger for the Republican party, the voice of a generation, and a “new hope” for the Romney campaign, the real impact of the Paul Ryan nomination has yet to be felt. Romney himself will still have to prove he is behind the young conservative’s fiscal and entitlement reform plans. Andy Wagner is a junior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He can be reached at amw286@cornell.edu
really consider redirecting that ire to the transfer of wealth from one generation to the one that came previously. All of the work that we will do in the future, and the taxes collected on that labor, will go to payments for things already gone by. We will be literally chained – to paraphrase and splice together some of my favorite
Joe Biden moments – to the obligations that were made before we came into existence. This is manifestly outrageous. This is immoral, irresponsible, and utterly impossible to sustain. Misha Checkovich is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at mcc254@cornell.edu
Excluding the Libertarian Voice?
GOP Convention Organizers snub Ron Paul Roberto Matos Staff Writer
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hile Romney’s well-oiled campaign accumulated delegates, endorsements, pledges and donor commitments throughout the GOP 2012 primaries, Congressman Ron Paul’s liberty movement generated widespread grassroots support from across the breadth of the nation. The party establishment, which had hastily rallied around Romney as its most promising option to confront Obama, had little choice but to take seriously the implications of a Ron Paul revolution within its own ranks. Having won many converts, and having marshalled the resources of a highly dedicated and outspoken legion of political activists, this revolution harnessed the energies of a cross-section of enthusiastic followers. A tapestry of thousands of civil libertarians, anti-war activists, limited-government advocates, bluecollar workers, military veterans and college students invested time and money to sustain Paul’s message and promote his vision. Surely, accommodations on the part of the establishment would have to be made, no? Realizing the necessity to avoid alienating this libertarian wing of the party, observers assumed that Romney would seek to maintain at least a cordial, if not comfortable, relationship with Paul (as during the primaries). One would think that Romney strategists
and RNC directors would intend on summoning the resources and energy of libertarian volunteers and activists during the fall campaign. But the announcement that Paul has not even been included on the speaker’s docket at the GOP convention has struck libertarian activists and conservative strategists alike as a puzzling and ill-advised gesture. This is especially true in light of the need to conduct overtures toward a movement still skeptical of Romney. Alienating Paul means alienating these voters, crippling an already tenuous alliance. More pressing is the concern that the deliberate “snubbing” of Paul risks not merely bad blood but a real backlash on the part of his followers. Paul supporters are very well known for their sensitivity to perceived slights toward their leader. Libertarians have been persistent and vocal in calling attention to what they feel are attempts to exclude Paul’s message from the political discourse. They are exceedingly suspicious of not only the media, but of the GOP establishment itself. One might speculate that the snubbing might prompt zealous Paul supporters to create a scene on the convention floor itself. Anticipating this, Paul representatives have urged libertarian attendees to exercise decorum during the convention proceedings, reports Politico. Continued at right
National
August 26, 2012
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If You Build It…You Didn’t Build It Lucia Rafanelli Managing Editor
A Fortnight of Follies
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resident Obama came out against individualism last July with his now infamous line, "If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that." Just to put this quote into context, below is the surrounding (but no less incriminating) text of the speech of which it was a part, given in Roanoke, Virginia. Skip ahead if you have already watched the video: There are a lot of wealthy, successful Americans who agree with me -because they want to give something back. They know they didn’t -- look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own. You didn’t get there on your own. I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. (Applause.) If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet. The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires. So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you Continued from left To make matters worse, the political struggle may now descended into the slimy realm of legal quarrelling. The Paul campaign’s formal appeals to the RNC to include a group of Louisiana delegates, Paul supporters, were flat-out rejected in June as reported by CNN. “Jesse Benton, Paul's national campaign chairman, said by email that Paul would be pressing challenges about his delegates from Oregon and Massachusetts, as well as from Louisiana and Maine,” reports the St. Louis Dispatch. This ongoing battle, and the fact that Paul has yet to endorse Romney, have overshadowed the fact that about 200 delegates, seeking a higher profile for their message, will represent Paul at the GOP convention
know what, there are some things we do better together. That’s how we funded the GI Bill. That’s how we created the middle class. That’s how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. That’s how we invented the Internet. That’s how we sent a man to the moon. We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that’s the reason I’m running for President -- because I still believe in that idea. You’re not on your own, we’re in this together. (Applause.) Now, firstly, I'm not sure where the President is finding all these people who have deluded themselves into thinking they have succeeded literally without the help of a single other person. I personally don't know anyone who would seriously contend that their success was solely the result of their own genius. The individualist contention – and the conservative one – is not that people are completely unaffected by the world around them. That would be an utterly ridiculous claim. Rather, the contention is that each person is the primary guardian of his own life. He takes input from his environment – his teachers, friends, enemies, customers, and circumstances – but he is the one who ultimately decides what to do with that input. And it is he who is responsible for the outcomes of his actions – actions which he could have chosen to take differently or not to take at all. So, it appears that Obama has set up a straw man as an opponent. Secondly, his fire-fighting analogy is of seemingly little relevance. Not only are most of the phenomena of which he speaks—building in Tampa Bay, and that Ron Paul’s son and apparent heir to the liberty movement, Rand, is on the speaking roster. Nevertheless, both Politico and the St. Louis Dispatch attest to the deepening of resentments: Tim Blessing, a Ron Paul alternate delegate from St. Louis, said: “You can't be the party that says we have room for everyone in our tent, and as soon as we get active in the party, say 'you're not one of us; you're not a real Republican.’” “I don't feel that he [Ron Paul] has gotten his justice,” said Heather Coil, one of eight Ron Paul delegates and alternates from Missouri. Some Maine Republicans seek to disqualify their state’s Paul delegates from the convention. True to form, Paul and his supporters will assemble at a Ron Paul
damns, for instance—far less urgent than putting out fires, but the comparison recognizes only two possibilities: that of selfish individual action, and that of government supervised action. President Obama ignores the important third option of cooperative action without the supervision of the government. This is perhaps the gravest oversight in his speech—the utter refusal to acknowledge that private action can be anything but isolated and self-serving. Indeed, this is a discredit to the private sector, to American citizens, and to the
government policies played some part in creating the middle class, but it is made up of individuals who spend their lives working and saving in common marketplaces. Without them, the middle class would by definition by nonexistent. And if a private fire service were established, it would surely be a cooperative effort undertaken by several individuals (as some volunteer fire stations in fact are), not simply a coincidentally-coexisting network of individual people each with his own personal fire department. Obama claims that we are all “in
individualism that has played such an important role in national politics and political culture since the country’s founding. Individualism and private action need not be opposed to cooperation. After all, even if it was the government which created the modern Internet (It wasn’t), it was the private sector that made it widely affordable and accessible, and that brought us innovations like the smartphone and Facebook that transformed the landscape of social networking and political activism. It may be that
this together,” but what he really appears to be saying is that we can only be “in this” if we step aside and let the government take charge. This, of course, is far from true. People do not need the government to be able to work together, to share ideas, or to influence each other’s lives. Thousands of years of civilization have shown that we can do that all on our own.
“Save America” event on the eve of the Tampa Bay convention in what is being described as a rally to urge that Paul be selected as the GOP’s nominee. Yet despite the bewildering decision to exclude Paul and the ensuing factionalism which it might spawn, a few facts make fratricidal warfare in the GOP unlikely. For starters, Obama unifies the GOP far more effectively than Romney could ever hope to. The importance of replacing President Obama, for both Libertarians and Conservatives alike, is so exceedingly pronounced, intense and potent that it will make intra-party jabbing seem hilariously irrelevant. This will prove especially true in the wake of a highly animated and laser focused convention.
Secondly, too much is at stake for convention antics and posturing, and Libertarians know it. The spirited nature of the convention will be too powerful for delegate games to be warranted. The critical importance of selecting an electable nominee will seem too obvious for even Ron Paul revolutionaries to question. And lastly, not wanting to embarrass Paul and his successor, Rand, with misbehavior, Libertarian delegates will think twice, and consider their movement’s reputation very carefully, before sabotaging the GOP’s efforts to win one of the most critical elections of their lifetimes.
Lucia Rafanelli is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at lmr93@cornell.edu
Roberto Matos is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at rlm387@ cornell.edu
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Sports
August 26, 2012
Girls of the Gold Rush Uceny Highlights USA Female Olympians Katie Johnson Treasurer f you have been watching the Summer Games of the XXX Olympiad on NBC – or live in London, if you were lucky – then I hope that your excitement has not already waned too much. I may be opening up a can of worms when writing an article that is mostly about the female athletes in the Olympics. I’m not attempting to be discriminatory—I just have to narrow it down somehow, and half of the athletes seem like a good place to start. More than half, actually. Overall, women earned fifty-six percent of the United States’ one hundred and four medals this year (forty-six of which were gold) – and Belarus, Spain, the Netherlands, China, and Australia had similar or higher percentages of their medals won by women. This seems natural enough, considering that there were more female Olympians representing the United States than there were male. Perhaps this is why NBC featured competitors in their “Women of the Olympics” videos and 2012 was declared the “Year of the Woman.” It is important that attention is brought to their excellence because in many countries women do not yet have the same ability to compete as men do in athletic events. This summer’s Olympic Games did just that; it brought attention to its female competitors for reasons both bad and good. There was plenty of interest and controversy among the women in
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Tech Campus Continued from page 4
graduate tech students in New York City. Where there are leaders, however, there will be followers. Much like Cornell will continue trying to outshine Stanford’s presence in Silicon Valley, it has become evident that other schools will try to top it in New York City. Furthermore, while Mayor Bloomberg has shown his support to Cornell’s efforts, he has made it clear that his first priority is understandably the city. What this means for Cornell is that other schools in the area are also revamping their advanced science programs. On July 30th, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that Columbia University will create an Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering. They will be receiving $15 million from New York City. This announcement came after the deal between Cornell and the city, as well as a similar one that will
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the Olympics, and not just the competitors from the United States. There was sixteen-year-old Ye Shiwen from China who swam faster than male American champion Ryan Lochte in the last leg of her race, prompting suspicion of doping amid vehement denials. Nur Suryani Mohammed Taibi, a riflewoman from Malaysia, was eight months pregnant and accused by many of endangering her baby. Fanny Lecluyse was sent home to Belgium early for drunken behavior. A triple jumper from Greece, Voula Papachristou, did not get to compete at all due to a “racist” Tweet prior to the Games’ commencement. Not every point of interest is potentially viewed as negative, however. Saudi Arabia, Brunei, and Qatar had female athletes compete for the first time in history. Unfortunately, many of the women will face cold shoulders when they return home because of their Olympic involvement. A protest secured American gymnast Aly Raisman a bronze medal after her routine was judged more difficult than originally thought. The oft-ignored, but highly successful, United States women’s basketball team won their seventh Olympic championship. Seventeen-year-old Missy Franklin won five medals for the United States in various swimming events. Of course we cannot forget the multiple excellent races run by the track phenom who Cornell should be proud to claim as an alumnus:
Morgan Uceny. Uceny was in position to run an excellent time in the first three laps of the 1500-meter race before falling. Asli Cakir of Turkey won the race instead – a considerable comeback for Cakir, who was banned in 2004 for doping. It is the first time that Turkey won a gold medal, and the second time that Uceny tripped in an international meet that she was expected to win. It is no wonder that she and her fans here at Cornell were heartbroken, but in a post on Facebook she acknowledged that the journey is not yet finished. A comeback is now doubly in order for Uceny, and I believe that she will deliver. Gender aside, Cornell has produced many Olympians. This year alone, rower Ken Jurkowski ’03 and triple jumper Muhammad Halim ’08, led by Cornell coaches Dan Fronhofer ’04 and Nathan Taylor respectively, also represented the Big Red.
It only makes sense that some of the finest athletes are also some of the finest students. Hard work can
create the NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress in Brooklyn. While Cornell will be receiving $100 million from the city’s office, that difference should not be used to downplay how excited Columbia is to be the leader in the mayor’s Applied Science initiative. Their dean even went as far as to proclaim the announcement as the “most exciting moment that I can think of in the school’s 150-year history” as reported by the Wall Street Journal. New York City currently ranks third in job growth in the technological sector, behind Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Mayor Bloomberg wants New York City to be number one, and Cornell has the ability to take it there. That being said, it will have to be ready for the competition from other top New York City schools.
Financial Aid
loans or the extra couple of hours each week working at an on campus job have a significant weight on your college decision. A top student that got into several schools in Cornell’s peer group with this kind of background would have probably elected to accept Cornell’s offer under the generous 2008 policy. In fact, I’m sure there are many students on campus now that fit this description pretty well. But under the new rules, they’ll likely go to one of Cornell’s peers (for instance, Vanderbilt) that offer no-loan financial aid packages for all families. It is understood that the University has a finite amount of resources, but the investment Cornell makes in providing competitive financial aid packages should be a top priority. Not only can Cornell not afford the blow to its reputation that these changes will cause, it also can’t afford to lose the talents and unique perspective that these students bring to campus.
Alfonse Muglia is a junior in the College of Industrial and Labor Relations. He can be reached at arm267@ cornell.edu.
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consequences (affirmative action is a topic that should be addressed some another time), administrators are correct in their charge that being exposed to people from different places, races, cultures, and religious backgrounds is a critical part of the college experience. Why they can’t see that actively undermining Cornell’s chances of attracting highly qualified students from less well-off groups by slashing financial aid to levels that put Cornell at a disadvantage relative to other similar schools hurts this goal astounds me. For example, the median income for a household on Long Island’s Suffolk County, where scores of Cornell students call home, is $103,900 and their cost of living is commensurate. If you come from a family making $60,000 a year in Suffolk County, you’re probably struggling financially and could very well be on your own when it comes to financing your college education. The extra couple of thousand dollars of
translate from the classroom onto the field. Not all Cornellians are Olympic athletes, of course, but perhaps to some degree, we can all understand the discipline and determination that they command. Katie Johnson is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at kij5@cornell.edu.
Michael Alan is a junior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He can be reached at mja93@ cornell.edu
The Cornell Insider
August 26, 2012
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CORNELLINSIDER.com
a blog by the writers of the Cornell Review
Get the Facts on Paul Ryan’s “War Against Women”
Posted by Laurel Conrad
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n the recent weeks, I have seen a large number of my friends link to a graphic of “Paul Ryan’s War Against Women”. (Depicted below and here.) It is frustrating because this graphic is deeply flawed and unfairly distorts Paul Ryan’s record. The group that put out the graphic, a radical feminist group, is relying on the fact that young Americans aren’t educated and don’t know the issues. Conservatives, arm yourself with the facts below so that you can easily out-debate a liberal. 1. The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is incredibly misrepresented in the image’s description. The Act does not give fair pay for equal work. Instead, the bill’s purpose is to extend the period of time that women are able to file a claim of wage discrimination. Before this act, anyone facing discrimination had the ability to file within 6 months of the incident. This time frame is for practicality and fairness, not because Paul Ryan doesn’t “think women deserve to earn the same pay as men for the same work”. In the present economy, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act actually hurts women’s job prospects. Companies are discouraged from hiring women because women employees become a greater liability- companies know that in twenty years’ time, they may be sued by these former employees and have to pay large sums of money. Men become more appealing to hire because they do not present this liability. To accuse Paul Ryan of being anti-woman based on his opposition of an unfair time frame is both extreme and unsubstantiated. 2. Paul Ryan is pro-life, there is no doubt about that. However, this image claims that being pro-life is synonymous with being antiwoman. For this image to declare that Paul Ryan “would even rather let a woman die than allow her to have an abortion” is both misleading and false; Paul Ryan’s record includes voting in favor of legislation that allows women to get an abortion in the case of life endangerment, rape, or incest. The allegation that “He’s supported a bill to allow hospitals to refuse to provide abortion care to a woman, even if she could die without it” is also misleading. It refers to the “Protect Life Act,” H.R. 358, which allows for Catholic hospitals to maintain their religious freedom by not forcing them to perform abortions. (The Church is strongly morally opposed abortion.) It is an act that seeks to protect religious freedom, not ban all hospitals from performing abortion no matter the circumstance. 3. Paul Ryan does wish to de-fund Planned Parenthood. It is speculated to be a deeply corrupt organization that tax payers are being forced to fund, even if they are morally opposed to its work. To quote the Luce Policy Institute, “the government’s role should be to help make health insurance high-quality and affordable by encouraging free market competition among insurance providers.” There is nothing “free-market” about Planned Parenthood. 4. The statement “Happy about free birth control? Rep. Ryan sure isn’t.” is another extreme and misguided statement. Birth control is never free, someone always pays for it. Before, it was the individual who actually used it. Now, it is the tax payers. Ask yourself why a seventy year old man should be forced by the government to give up his hard-earned income to pay for a college woman’s birth control and you will understand Ryan’s opposition to government-subsidized birth control. In response to the allegation that “he adamantly opposed to the health care law’s requirement that insurance companies cover birth control”, this is another issue of freedom of religion being spun by feminists to be a woman’s-issue. Ryan is not opposed to insurance companies covering birth control of their own choice, but he believes that no one should be forced to pay for something if they are morally opposed to its function. This is an issue of liberty, not being anti-woman. 5. There is no evidence that Ryan wants to criminalize in vitro fertilization, as this graphic depicts. The author of this misleading claim is basing it on Ryan’s co-sponsorship of H.R. 212, a human rights bill that would give rights to embryos. This is again an issue of government-subsidization, what government should pay for, and what it shouldn’t pay for. Ryan believes that taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund something they are morally opposed to.
Bailey Hall Showdown: Santorum vs. Dean Posted by Alfonse Muglia
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he Cornell College Republicans and College Democrats announced today that they will co-sponsor a debate this October between national political figures Rick Santorum and Howard Dean. The duo will take to the stage of Bailey Hall on the night of Thursday, October 18 in a debate titled “The Role of Government in a Free Society.” Santorum, fresh off his unsuccessful campaign to capture the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has spent the last few months out of the limelight until recently being named as a speaker at the upcoming Republican National Convention. Dean, as you may recall, had his own run at the Presidency in 2004, when he also failed to defeat a more moderate, Massachusetts-based member of his party for the opportunity to take on the Incumbent in November. Dean would go on to serve as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. “Both figures are very extreme, and we expect that there will be support and opposition for both,” commented Cornell Republicans President Jessica Reif, ‘14. “With the Presidential election coming up in November, we expect politics to be a big topic of conversation on-campus and hope that both speakers will contribute to the discussion.” The debate, sponsored by the Young American Foundation, is free of charge. Tickets will be made available to the public in a few weeks. This is not the first time that Santorum and Dean will take the stage together. The pair squared off in a debate at Northwestern University in December 2010. Issues discussed at that gathering included the role of young people in America, states’ rights, and the deficit. With Santorum preparing to launch his own presidential campaign at that time, Dean closed the Northwestern debate by offering the Senator a valuable piece of advice: “Don’t talk about the states you’re going to visit.” Expect more coverage from the Cornell Insider in the coming weeks.
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August 26, 2012
Wisemen & Fools All of a sudden this man gets up and says, “How long will you blame the previous administration for all of your problems?” I said, “Forever.” Madeline Albright Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. Gilbert K. Chesterton You built a factory out there. Good for you...you move your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. Elizabeth Warren You didn't build that. Barack Obama Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill
gentlemen, and welcome aboard the maiden flight of Hill-Force One. My name is Hillary and I am so pleased to have most of you on board. FAA regulations prohibit the use of any cell phones, Blackberries, or wireless devices that may be used to transmit a negative story about me. Hillary Clinton I did not have sexual relations with that woman. Bill Clinton The consideration of this ought to bind us all, rich and poor together, against those wicked writers of the newspapers, who would inflame the poor against their friends, guardians, patrons, and protectors. Edmund Burke
We've got a philosophical difference, which we've Hillary Clinton is as qualified debated repeatedly, and that is or more qualified than I am to be Vice President of the United that Senator Clinton believes States of America. Quite frankly, the only way to achieve it might have been a better pick universal health care is to force everybody to purchase than me. it. And my belief is, the reason Joe Biden that people don't have it is Good afternoon ladies and not because they don't want
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it but because they can't afford it. And so I emphasize reducing costs...And as has been noted by many observers, including Bill Clinton's former secretary of labor, my plan does more than anybody to reduce costs...Senator Clinton and the administration went behind closed doors, excluded the participation even of Democratic members of Congress who had slightly different ideas than the ones that Senator Clinton had put forward. And, as a consequence, it was much more difficult to get Congress to cooperate. And I've said that I'm going to do things differently. I think we have to open up the process. Everybody has to have a seat at the table. And most importantly, the American people have to be involved and educated about how this change is going to be brought about. Barack Obama, 2008 Presidential Primary debate We'll go through the gate. If the gate's closed, we'll go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we'll pole vault in. If that
doesn't work, we'll parachute in but we're going to get health care reform passed for the American people. Nancy Pelosi, 2010 [Justice Roberts] appears to believe that in order to get beyond politicization, he must first take account of politics. Perhaps instead the way to stop deciding cases on the basis of politics is to stop deciding cases on the basis of politics. James Taranto on SCOTUS The moment government appears at market, all the principles of market will be subverted… I am sure that, in the first place, the trading government will speedily become bankrupt, and the consumer will in the end suffer. Edmund Burke Thoughts on Scarcity Change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change change Barack Obama
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