Here are some class quotations for those times when you feel nostalgic. It's literally been an honor being in class with you all. Thanks for an awesome semester!
-It's complicated.
-The short answer is, it's complicated.
-I welcome all perspectives, with one exception: No nazis allowed.
-If you don't like digressions, don't take this class...
-I used to say "read a good newspaper," but that's SO twentieth century.
-Drinking in class is okay... well, FLUIDS.
-I can say the 'Hail Mary' in Latin... and French.
-*To Miriam* Any relation to Ted Cruz? He's married to a CMC alum running for Senate in Texas... AGAINST ANOTHER CMC ALUM!
-*On the Declaration of Independence* Political Bonds... think of a rubber band.
-You're in the Honors class... oooooh.
-It was LITERALLY a revolutionary statement.
-There was a group of people who owed their allegiance to England - they lost. Their descendants are... Canadians.
-***Reenactment of the American Revolution***
*French Accent* We'll support these good people.
*British Accent* Awh, screw it...
AND THEN WE WON!
-Relativists really aren't... because they all think they're right.
-Anyone ever read Spinoza?
*Silence*
Well, Jefferson did!
-Divine Right of Kings, I STAB AT THEE!
-We're the Beta testers for the whole world!
-As Mr. Spock once said...
-You have the Pitzer definition of happiness...
-This was nerd heaven!
-When I try to speak French, it sounds like Yiddish.
-You should generally avoid passive tense. Jefferson didn't, but he was Jefferson, dammit!
-*On the Founding Fathers* So they all went to the city tavern and got hammered.
-Segway - I love using that word.
-"The first rule of Tea Party is that there is no Tea Party." - Brad Pitt
-You are all going to make errors.
-You guys aren't that original.
-The first draft of anything... is shit.
-If you see the indentations of my circle, you know I'm upset.
-I will follow you back to your dorms and rip your lungs out.
-English is not logical. Deal with it. If you want a logical language, speak Spanish.
-Governmenty political stuff.
-Excommunication. It's almost as bad as having your I.D. denied at a bar.
-This is a helluva lot easier than teaching a Kindergarten class.
-Alcohol consumption per capita circa 1820 was higher than even CMC.
-Think of CMC on Saturday at 11:39, that was America ALL THE TIME.
-I know what it's like to write a paper at three in the morning.
-You are beyond that. You are, after all, the Honors class.
-Let's keep this classroom oriented... *laughing*
-She looked at me and said, "God saw that," and I remember it. FIFTY YEARS LATER!
-"German Patriotism"... has some negative connotations.
-I hate the term prompts. They're question topics. NOT PROMPTS!!
-The next fifteen minutes will increase your learning potential by fifteen percent.
-You may make donations in my name.
-*On the Writing Center* Do exploit them... They familiar with me.
-You should just send me an e-mail of your draft. If you came to my office, I would read the paper faster just to avoid the awkwardness/discomfort.
-By the way, great drinking game. If you're watching C-Span and drinking [you're now CMCers, drinking and CMC actually go together!], taxes and job-killing will get you blotto!
-You do not apply, you are chosen. It's kind of like being Pope.
-At least he's a consistent loon.
-*On Hamilton* He had a really interesting life. And death. In a duel. How cool can you get?
-Springfield, Massachusetts. Not the Simpsons, D'oh.
-If you ever want a Congressman to take a picture with you, show up in a wheelchair.
-This is the talk. You'd rather get these comments in this warm, nurturing environment to aid you in your road to excellence.
-FAH!... I TOOK LATIN.
-People who take my class say, "I remember all those red marks you gave me." I NEVER USE RED INK!!
-And the Supreme Court said, "Nnnnooo."
-A lot of bells and whistles, which, as you know, I like.
-God said, "Cain, where's your brother?" And there's been investigations ever since.
-In New York, the Supreme Court is not the Supreme Court... It's New York you guys.
-When Oswald killed Kennedy, and yes, it WAS Oswald.
-Do a youtube search for Spongebob and China.
-The Tony Soprano school of politics.
-As the fire was bearing heading down to my house, all I could think was, "FEDERALISM!"
-World War I was one of those wars people look back on and think, "boy that was stupid."
-Divorce was a major source of income for NEvada.
-CMC contributes to the well being of this state in many different ways, and alcohol is one of them.
-When I was an undergraduate, I would've given an important body part for this.
-*On his new laser pointer* I got this not for class, but for my son. Notice you can't slice someone's arm off with this.
-I can actually channel Newt... "I was right and the world was wrong."
-Romney's the one you settle for... like vacationing in Branson, Missouri.
-We'll do a project - a Newt Gingrich drinking game.
-Walter Cronkite... he was basically... God.
-For everyone watching ESPN, my wife's 401K thanks you.
-It's awesome being a Newt Gingrich expert at a time like this. Then again, I love my country.
-He was one of the Pomona students that could have been a CMCer. That's the highest praise I can give.
-Alinsky was the ultimate CMCer.
-Think of the line, "What would Mitt Romney do."
-*On Newt Gingrich* The term megalomaniac comes to mind.
-A text without a context is a pretext.
-The little things are the big things.
-Kennedy could compartmentalize BIG time.
-Who knows, maybe next thing you'll see is Prime Minister Bieber.
-Predator - not starring one, but TWO future governors.
-The Gospel of Mark... it's the Strunk and White of the New Testament.
-You wouldn't want to giet into a fight with Bill Clinton because you're probably going to lose... it's like stepping into the ring with Mike Tyson... or Muhammad Ali.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Gingrich mentioned Alinksky and Rules for Radicals!
Hello everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas so far!
I thought it was pretty neat that Gingrich mentioned Alinsky back in the Iowa debate this weekend (around the 18:00 mark here) Just goes to show that the class truly was a lasting experience!
Thank you everyone for the wonderful class!
I thought it was pretty neat that Gingrich mentioned Alinsky back in the Iowa debate this weekend (around the 18:00 mark here) Just goes to show that the class truly was a lasting experience!
Thank you everyone for the wonderful class!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
The Final Moments of the Cain Train
Our class closed with a quote from Sir Thomas More; the Cain Campaign closed with a quote from Pokemon... I'll let you all decide which of the two was more successful.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Obama's insistence on Gay Rights could be troubling
Obama, Clinton to world: Stop gay discrimination
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both stepped up international efforts to ensure rights for gays. Clinton likens the fight for gay rights to the fight for racial equality and women's rights in America, saying that it is a gay rights are equivalent to human rights. Obama has gone as far as saying that foreign assistance and diplomacy will be used to ensure gay rights worldwide.
This brings with it some troubling questions, as well as difficulties for the Obama administration. For instance, it cannot be said that even within America, gays have completely equal rights. Although the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell was lauded by LGBT groups nationwide, the Defense of Marriage Act is still law in the United States and many states d0 not allow gay marriage. Also, homophobia is still alive and well in the US. Much like the debate over whether the government should help subsidize abortions, which evangelical Christians were up in arms against, there is likely to be political backlash from evangelical groups if Obama uses foreign aid to try and coerce nations into protecting gay rights.
An important question that needs to be asked is how far President Obama is willing to go in order to ensure gay rights in other countries. For instance, when Clinton was giving her speech, her audience included representatives from many Arab and African nations in which it is outright illegal to be gay. In these countries, homosexuals are oppressed and in some cases, this oppression is augmented by state-sanctioned attacks on homosexuals. It is naive to expect these countries to have a sudden change of heart and acknowledge gay rights, especially when some of them don't even acknowledge that homosexuals exist.
While many humanitarian groups and a large chunk of Obama's base may be in support of gay rights and want exactly this kind of policy in place, the wisdom of the US's stance, especially considering that it doesn't have its own matters in order, seems questionable. Only time will tell just how devoted the Obama administration and future administrations will be to this policy and how America and the world will react.
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both stepped up international efforts to ensure rights for gays. Clinton likens the fight for gay rights to the fight for racial equality and women's rights in America, saying that it is a gay rights are equivalent to human rights. Obama has gone as far as saying that foreign assistance and diplomacy will be used to ensure gay rights worldwide.
This brings with it some troubling questions, as well as difficulties for the Obama administration. For instance, it cannot be said that even within America, gays have completely equal rights. Although the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell was lauded by LGBT groups nationwide, the Defense of Marriage Act is still law in the United States and many states d0 not allow gay marriage. Also, homophobia is still alive and well in the US. Much like the debate over whether the government should help subsidize abortions, which evangelical Christians were up in arms against, there is likely to be political backlash from evangelical groups if Obama uses foreign aid to try and coerce nations into protecting gay rights.
An important question that needs to be asked is how far President Obama is willing to go in order to ensure gay rights in other countries. For instance, when Clinton was giving her speech, her audience included representatives from many Arab and African nations in which it is outright illegal to be gay. In these countries, homosexuals are oppressed and in some cases, this oppression is augmented by state-sanctioned attacks on homosexuals. It is naive to expect these countries to have a sudden change of heart and acknowledge gay rights, especially when some of them don't even acknowledge that homosexuals exist.
While many humanitarian groups and a large chunk of Obama's base may be in support of gay rights and want exactly this kind of policy in place, the wisdom of the US's stance, especially considering that it doesn't have its own matters in order, seems questionable. Only time will tell just how devoted the Obama administration and future administrations will be to this policy and how America and the world will react.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Tactics
Rule 1: Power is not only what you have, but what an opponent thinks you have. If your organization is small, hide your numbers in the dark and raise a din that will make everyone think you have many more people than you do.
Rule 2: Never go outside the experience of your people. The result is confusion, fear, and retreat.
Rule 3: Whenever possible, go outside the experience of an opponent. Here you want to cause confusion, fear, and retreat.
Rule 4: Make opponents live up to their own book of rules. “You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.”
Rule 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It’s hard to counterattack ridicule, and it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.
Rule 6: A good tactic is one your people enjoy. “If your people aren’t having a ball doing it, there is something very wrong with the tactic.”
Rule 7: A tactic that drags on for too long becomes a drag. Commitment may become ritualistic as people turn to other issues.
Rule 8: Keep the pressure on. Use different tactics and actions and use all events of the period for your purpose. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this that will cause the opposition to react to your advantage.”
Rule 9: The threat is more terrifying than the thing itself. When Alinsky leaked word that large numbers of poor people were going to tie up the washrooms of O’Hare Airport, Chicago city authorities quickly agreed to act on a longstanding commitment to a ghetto organization. They imagined the mayhem as thousands of passengers poured off airplanes to discover every washroom occupied. Then they imagined the international embarrassment and the damage to the city’s reputation.Rule 10: The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure on the opposition.Rule 11: If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through to its counterside. According to Alinsky, the main job of the organizer is to bait an opponent into reacting. “The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength.”
Rule 12: The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative. Avoid being trapped by an opponent or an interviewer who says, “Okay, what would you do?”
Rule 13: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. Don’t try to attack abstract corporations or bureaucracies. Identify a responsible individual. Ignore attempts to shift or spread the blame.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Fox News and the 2012 race
I would be interested in what people think about this?. Pretty much its saying that Roger Ailes is making Fox News tack to the center.
"If 2010 was the year that Fox fueled the Tea Party — culminating in record ratings and the Republican sweep of the House midterms — 2012 is shaping up to be the year that Ailes decided Fox will benefit if the political world recognizes that his network is willing to make GOP candidates sweat in front of their base...The GOP primary candidates may think Fox News studios are friendly territory. But while it will continue to function as home turf, especially in the prime time hours, they shouldn't be surprised to see more curveballs. The front-runner Ailes cares most about is Fox."
Do you feel that this is accurate? If it is how will it affect the primary/general election or FOXNEWS?
"If 2010 was the year that Fox fueled the Tea Party — culminating in record ratings and the Republican sweep of the House midterms — 2012 is shaping up to be the year that Ailes decided Fox will benefit if the political world recognizes that his network is willing to make GOP candidates sweat in front of their base...The GOP primary candidates may think Fox News studios are friendly territory. But while it will continue to function as home turf, especially in the prime time hours, they shouldn't be surprised to see more curveballs. The front-runner Ailes cares most about is Fox."
Do you feel that this is accurate? If it is how will it affect the primary/general election or FOXNEWS?
Also an interesting idea on Sarah Palin's endorsement . It would make her relevent though it could lose her much of her loyal base.
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