Free Republic

His poll ratings may be in the basement and his policies might have mostly blown up in his face but there is one place where the president can still boost his self-esteem. This past Monday, Stephen Colbert, the faux television news host for Comedy Central, hosted President Barack Obama on the campus of George Washington University. As their school newsletter, GWToday, noted: “Our students started lining up for the show outside Lisner Auditorium by 9 a.m. George Washington Today was there to capture what was Trending Today – the first in an ongoing video series on current events and issues.”...

The faculty at George Washington University made substantial contributions to President Obama when he was seeking that office. They are about to contribute heavily towards their own medical care now that his Obamacare is the law of the land. gwu bust George Washington University’s student newspaper, The GW Hatchet, reports that the university has “traded in a more expensive employee health care plan to avoid paying nearly $1 million in additional taxes.” The article noted that GWU will offer “a cheaper plan to ease faculty concerns about rising costs.” The new plan offered by the university is a high-deductible plan,...

The federal government is spending $152,000 to study “voice therapy” for transgenders, saying it is incumbent to being “accepted as one's preferred gender.” “This study will illuminate the capabilities of the human larynx and inform the relationship between voice production and perception,” states a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, awarded to George Washington University. “The long term goal of this research is to inform and provide new directions for Transgender (TG) voice care, thereby improving the lives of TG people who feel their voice is a great obstacle to living as their preferred gender.” “Incomplete gender presentation can negatively...

In the name of tolerance, of course. At least a dozen students, including seniors Damian Legacy and Blake Bergen, say they have left the Newman Center in the last several years because Father Greg ShafferÂ’s strong anti-gay and anti-abortion views are too polarizing. Shaffer, a Roman Catholic priest, has spent five years preaching to GWU students.The former Newman Center members are creating a video with testimony from 10 other Catholic students, who cite Shaffer as the reason they left the chapel, hoping to inflame a largely liberal campus and force University administrators to act. Legacy and Bergen also plan to...

Catholic students at George Washington University are rallying to the support of their beloved priest after two gay seniors launched a campaign to kick him out of his post at the university’s Newman Center for preaching that homosexuality and abortion are sinful. The GW Hatchet, a campus newspaper, reported this week that seniors Damian Legacy and Blake Bergen are spearheading the campaign. The story has since been picked up by numerous other news outlets. Fr. Greg Shaffer The students say that they will file a formal complaint with the university, release a video featuring ten other students who share their...

Religious liberty groups are mobilizing to defend the chaplain of George Washington University’s Newman Center after gay students launched an effort to have the priest fired because he preaches against homosexuality and abortion. “It’s discrimination against Catholics,” said Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society. “Secular colleges are fast becoming a very unsafe place for Catholics who hold true to their faith. This is a very, very sad situation.” Damian Legacy and Blake Bergen said they want the university’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion to investigate the priest and they are calling for the student government association to defund...

If students want to pass John Banzhaf’s law class, they’ll have to fight for increased government regulation in the food and beverages industry.Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University, will require his students to lobby state and local governments to ban sugary beverages, according to a press release. The release was put out by Banzhaf himself, who summarized the objective as “Undergrads Required to Lobby for Obama Policy.”“Some 200 undergrads will be asked to contact legislators in their home cities, counties, or states asking them to adopt legislation similar to that already adopted in New York City … banning...

If national elections were held exclusively on college campuses, America truly would become a one-party state. “While conservatives have always had to go up against a much smaller number of liberals, it is the influence of the progressives and their strategic location—in such power centers as the media and academia—that gives them the strategic advantage,” Accuracy in Media editor Cliff Kincaid writes. “Now, with their power in the Democratic Party more concentrated than ever, they are relishing a fight they think they can win.” In fact, “A new Young America’s Foundation [YAF] study reveals that the nation’s top ten colleges...

George Washington University is actually bringing a one-time Republican officeholder to its’ Foggy Bottom campus, of course, he is no longer a member of the GOP. “New York City Mayor and well-known philanthropist Michael Bloomberg will serve as the keynote speaker for the University-wide Commencement in May, where he will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service, University President Steven Knapp announced Friday,” Shaeera Tariq reported in The GW Hatchet. “Knapp made the announcement on Bloomberg’s turf in Manhattan, N.Y., at the second annual GW Global Forum, which brings together global leaders and GW alumni to discuss worldwide economic issues.”...

In his recent foray to George Washington University, the president and his hosts pretty much dropped all pretexts of above-the-fray statesmanship and detached scholarship. “We’ve got a whole lot more work to do,” he told the crowd. “If you can muster and sustain that sort of energy, I’m absolutely confident we will do well, we will win all across the country.” “The 20 GW students and faculty members selected to attend the DNC event were either first-time voters from the GW Guide to Personal Success program, or professors in the political science department,” Madeiline Morgenstern reported in the GW Hatchet....

The danger of exposing academia and government to free enterprise is that the former will corrupt the latter. “Working with Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, Ford is continuing to develop innovative processes that will enable the company to maintain its commitment to reducing global water usage,” PR Newswire reports. “From 2000 to 2008, Ford reduced its global water use by 56 percent – or 9.5 billion gallons – as part of its goal to minimize the environmental impact of its facilities around the world.” “Economic development experts have stressed that water scarcity is quickly becoming a high-priority...

Apparently, the president is having such a hard time of it politically that he is even losing faith in part of his base—academia. In a recent campus appearance, his handlers evidently felt the need to salt the crowd with a few ringers. The event took place just a few blocks up the street from the White House, in the heart of Obama country. “George Washington University students were dismayed Tuesday that they never got to see the man they helped elect president in 2008,” Ben Giles reported in The Washington Examiner on October 13, 2010. “President Obama, whose election was...

In an otherwise serious poll from Politico and George Washington University, the survey also asks respondents which cable-news network they access most for political news. The results aren’t terribly surprising, as they more or less mirror the ratings, but are still noteworthy for one network’s almost-total marginalization. While Fox News Channel sailed to an impressive 42% and CNN got a substantial if unimpressive 30%, MSNBC got … More people are getting their news about the upcoming election from cable television than any other source, and from Fox News more than any other cable channel, according to a POLITICO/George Washington University...

SNIPPET: "The oldest son of two Russian spies bagged in a summer sweep of undercover moles may have known his folks were working for the other side while they all lived the good life in Cambridge. “I’d say it’s logical to presume, and we suspect that he knew something, yes, toward the end,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers said yesterday. The feds believe the Cambridge couple - going by the names Donald Howard Heathfield and Tracey Foley - hid their secret life from their two boys, 16 and 20 years old. The oldest, however, may have caught on...

Ugh. What a depressing woman. Michelle Obama brought down the house literally at George Washington University’s graduation. The First Lady gave one of the most depressing speeches on record. What a downer. Good luck finding a job, kids!(Video at link)

GW Embarrassment Bethany Stotts, May 11, 2010 George Washington University (GW) Hatchet writers are “embarrassed” that their school didn’t make it into the Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges due to a miscommunication. “Over the last two years, the University has increasingly emphasized its desire to be a sustainable college, but because GW failed to fill out a survey provided by the Princeton Review, GW was not recognized on the list of most sustainable colleges,” states the May 10 GW Hatchet staff editorial. “This absence is an embarrassment for GW, and is also an indicator of the need for...

Hot Issue Cool Brains Malcolm A. Kline, April 14, 2010 Apparently university administrators are so busy fighting global warming that they can’t take the time to read the Climategate e-mails that show that the science behind the theory is corrupt. At George Washington University, for example, “The Office of Sustainability and Climate Action Plan implementation teams are on schedule to complete the promised road map to make GW carbon neutral by its deadline of May 15, a University administrator said this week,” Michelle Brown reported in the GW Hatchet online on April 8, 2010. “Sophie Waskow, the stakeholder engagement coordinator...

Revolving Door Support Network Malcolm A. Kline, April 6, 2010 It’s probably a natural for the two institutions in which bias is most marked and documented—the media and academia—to come together in a time of stress, namely, the loss of support engendered by exposure of the above malady. This may happen here in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood in our nation’s capital at George Washington University. “Given the 40 percent drop in prime-time viewers since 2009 for CNN, and the palpable need for programs similar to Crossfire, the School of Media and Public Affairs has an opportunity it cannot ignore,” an...

Meghan Goes to College Malcolm A. Kline, March 30, 2010 We have devoted ample space to the paucity of Republicans welcomed in academia. What is almost as instructive is a look at the representatives of the Grand Old Party who are embraced in academe. Consider Meghan McCain’s recent appearance at George Washington University. “Meghan McCain voiced her support for marriage equality in a speech at the Jack Morton Auditorium Thursday night, calling the gay rights movement ‘this generation’s civil rights movement’ and urging like-minded ‘progressive Republicans’ to start speaking out,” Madeleine Morgenstern reported in the GW Hatchet Online on March...

(snip) Her mission? To “redefine” Republicanism, to make room in the party for diverse viewpoints and ideological differences. “I’m saying make room for all Republicans,” she said. “Not tomorrow. Today….We evolve or we die.” (snip) For someone who grew up in a house with elephant wallpaper in the bathroom, McCain took a circuitous route to Republicanism, registering as an independent voter at age 18 and even voting for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004. But “sometimes love sneaks up on you in weird ways,” McCain explained, noting that her experience on the campaign trail changed her mind, leading her...

Academic Supply & Demand Malcolm A. Kline, February 23, 2010 In the real world, businesses expand when profits do. In academia, colleges and universities, such as George Washington University, just expand. “In an effort to improve its widely criticized academic advising system, the University announced plans Friday to double the number of undergraduate advising staff in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences; create an advising committee with representation from all undergraduate schools; and speed up the implementation of a degree auditing system,” Matt Rist reported in The GW Hatchet Online. “The changes will cost a total of $700,000, Executive...

Meghan McCain’s scheduled GW appearance is the latest to fall victim to “Snowmageddon.” McCain’s speech at the Jack Morton Auditorium Tuesday night has been postponed due to the “blizzard-like conditions” predicted this week for the D.C. area, one of the event’s sponsors said Monday night. The event will be rescheduled later this semester, according to a press release from the Graduate School of Political Management Student Association. It did not offer details about honoring tickets already distributed for Feb. 9th. McCain is the daughter of former Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain. Her appearance sparked controversy last month when the...

GWU Goes For It Malcolm A. Kline, February 5, 2010 Apparently George Washington University thinks it is too anonymous. On February 4, 2010, Drew Spence reported in the GW Hatchet Online that “Five new staff members have been hired to GW’s Office of Media Relations over the last six months in hopes of increasing the amount of media coverage the University receives.” Well, we’ve been doing our part. Accuracy in Academia has been profiling GWU for years. Spence goes on to report that “Two new media relations specialists, as well as new associate and executive directors for media relations and...

Much Ado About McCain Bethany Stotts, January 25, 2010 Meghan McCain, that is. She’s scheduled to speak at George Washington University (GWU) on February 9 as the keynote for “Marriage Equality Week” on the topic of “Redefining Republican: No Labels, No Boxes, No Stereotypes,” according to a January 14 GW Hatchet article. The event was originally co-sponsored by the GW College Republicans, but the group withdrew its support amid “claims that the Allied in Pride president was not forthcoming about the topic of McCain’s speech,” reported Madeleine Morgenstern for the GW Hatchet on January 19. The GW CR’s Jan. 19...

Speaker Series Slants Left Malcolm A. Kline, January 22, 2010 The roster of lectures at George Washington University is about as balanced as an MSNBC broadcast. This year, the university brought in: * William Jacobsen, advisor to Colin Powell during the Reagan years; * David Ploufle, campaign manager, Barack Obama for president-2008; and * New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Why not invite:...

The GW College Republicans have withdrawn their financial support from Meghan McCain's upcoming appearance at GW, after claims that the Allied in Pride president was not forthcoming about the topic of McCain's speech. Michael Komo, president of Allied in Pride, told The Hatchet last week that McCain would be appearing as the keynote speaker of their annual "Marriage Equality Week" in February, but the CR leadership claims they were not aware of this when they were asked for their financial support. McCain, an outspoken advocate for gay rights, is the daughter of former Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain. "Our...

Recession Finally Hits Faculty Malcolm A. Kline, January 11, 2010 The good news: George Washington University is laying off professors. The bad news: in the hard sciences. “The University is offering buyout packages to 39 full-time professors in the School of Engineering and Applied Science as part of a move to increase the school’s research presence, top-level University officials said in December,” Lauren French writes in the GWU Hatchet online. “All full-time faculty on active status were mailed letters on Oct. 22, and professors offered the package—those who joined the SEAS staff before 1994—have until Jan. 29 to accept the...

Last week a Department of State retiree and his wife were arrested and charged with spying for Cuba for thirty years. In this article I will sort out what we know, don't know and need to explore about this matter. Walter Kendall Myers, Jr .and his wife Gwendolyn Steingarber Myers

A picture of America, Obama gets cheered by the GWU fans as he attends game to root for the Oregon State team where his brother-in-law is the head coach...(Video)

Nidal Hasan was an advisor to Homeland Security team.  Look on page 29 of the Homeland Security Institute link below. Go to page number 29, scroll down toward the bottom on the Left Column He is listed under "THINKING ANEW- SECURITY PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION", as Nidal Hasan, Uniformed Services University School of Medicine (8TH DOWN ON LEFT COLUMN PAGE 29).  http://www.gwumc.edu/hspi/old/PTTF_ProceedingsReport_05.19.09.pdf  

Spending the better half of one day and one night searching the internet for information on the Ft. Hood Muslim shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, I have found this disturbing 2009 video from the online archives of C-Span in which the terrorist appears. There has been some reference to this video in US media but not widespread it seems. It is located HEREat C-Span.Nidal Malik Hasan was apparantly an invited guest to a public address in Washington by the Israeli Ambassador to the US, Sallai Meridor. Shooter Hasan took a seat in the second row nearly across from the...

Hasan is a U.S.-born Muslim of Palestinian descent whose parents came to the United States from the West Bank. He joined the military after high school and earned medical degrees as he rose through the ranks, family members said. 'snip' Hasan attended the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring and was "very devout," according to Faizul Khan, a former imam at the center. Khan said Hasan attended prayers at least once a day, seven days a week, often in his Army fatigues.

Check page 32. This was a task force called: Thinking Anew: Security Priorities for the next administration. It ran from April 2008-January 2009. http://www.gwumc.edu/hspi/old/PTTF_ProceedingsReport_05.19.09.pdf

In the Obama White House, the new adage “never let a crisis go to waste” has highlighted the President’s overwhelming domestic agenda. So much so, in fact, that it is clear the President is missing opportunities to make real changes, and is instead delivering empty promises, growing problems, and enlarging the national debt. Set against the backdrop of some $12 trillion in debt, the President is calling for even more spending in the form of health care reform, which the CBO estimates will cost upwards of $1 trillion. While health care reform is an important issue, the President has failed...

More Teachable Moments by: Malcolm A. Kline, September 09, 2009 The latest poll from the Chronicle of Higher Education shows that conservatives make up only 15 percent of faculty and staff at surveyed colleges and universities while most polls show that more Americans than ever before are identifying themselves as right-leaning. Given this dearth of Tories, it is hardly surprising that in the Washington Post outlook section on Sunday August 30, 2009, found two profs—One from Occidental College and the other from Harvard—who observed that “Ted Kennedy passed the liberal torch to Obama” and then urged “Let’s run with it.”...

Campus Peep Show by: Malcolm A. Kline, April 21, 2009 We don’t set out to cover the salacious but we’re on the education beat so what they do governs what we get to write about. Moreover, the prurient trend spills out into the popular culture. Hoyas Gone WildApparently, Georgetown University finds its Catholic in Name Only designation too restrictive. Even before the Jesuits that run it accommodated a visiting head of state by covering up a picture of Christ, the university observed Lent in a manner scarcely reminiscent of the original observance. Perhaps the denizens of Georgetown need to...

Scenes from the Class Struggle by: Malcolm A. Kline, April 09, 2009 The class struggle is alive and well on campus from kindergarten through college, in so many ways. Republicans Need Not ApplyPresident Barack Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel will deliver the commencement address at George Washington University. The commander-in-chief himself and his attorney general Eric Holder already spoke at GWU in March. You have to go back a long way to find a Bush Administration official given such easy access to the northwest Washington, D. C. campus. The neighborhood that the university is in is named, appropriately enough,...

Vandal defaces crosses from university pro-life display Washington DC, Feb 8, 2009 / 03:39 am (CNA).- The College Democrats at George Washington University have expelled one of their members after the unidentified student stole and defaced a number of crosses used in a Young America’s Foundation (YAF) pro-life display.On the evening of Jan. 26 members of the College Republicans found the crosses scattered around the office they share with the College Democrats, the campus newspaper The Hatchet reports.One cross was pinned upside down on a bulletin board and draped with a condom. Another featured a depiction of Jesus on the...

“Apparently to the College Democrats, making fun of Christianity, and specifically a memorial to aborted unborn children is humor. To me, it is flagrant, disrespectful and downright disgusting. The fact that these crosses remained displayed in the College Democrats’ office for over 24 hours just adds to the sheer lack of respect they have for Christians on campus.”- College Republican source, identity withheld for his protection pending investigationThis is a Pat Dollard.com exclusive.Back in October, The Washington Times reported on allegations of an ominous and potentially dangerous atmosphere of hostility and intolerance for campus Conservatives, free speech, and apparently now,...

No matter what the accusation, every man and woman in the United States has the right to due process and a fair trial. Rod Blagojevich included. Governor Blagojevich is fighting for his career and an indictment has yet to even be served. Support Blago and protest this unfair process! Be sure to visit http://supportblago.com/

GWU/Battleground Poll: 049, M46

GWU/Battleground Poll: 0Bama 49%, McCain 46% (+1 for McCain)

College conservatives say the excitement of a historic presidential election — which could send the first black American to the White House — has become clouded by an atmosphere of intimidation and hostility on campus. “People on campus who say they’re the most tolerant, they simply do not walk the walk,” said Brand Kroeger, chairman of the George Washington University College Republicans and head of the D.C. Federation of College Republicans. Mr. Kroeger said he has been flooded with calls from students who feel they cannot express their views in favor of Republicans for fear of being shouted down. GW...

Controversies Crop Up Around Commencement Speaker Selections by Jamal Watson May 5, 2008, 22:24 Earlier this year, NAACP chairman Julian Bond journeyed to the U.S. Supreme Court to interview Justice Clarence Thomas. The event was somewhat historic, in part because Bond — a staunch supporter of affirmative action and other social programs — has long been a critic of the policies and positions espoused by Thomas. But now, both of these historic figures in Black history are the subjects of much scrutiny as they prepare to deliver commencement speeches this month at two East Coast universities. A group of conservative...

The Collegiate Campaign Trail by: Malcolm A. Kline, March 25, 2008 As the presidential campaign heats up, the two Democratic contenders—Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are shoring up their base on college campuses, areas mostly off-limits for Republicans. With typical perception, activist and author Star Parker zeroes in on an aspect of the controversy involving the Illinois senator and his pastor that many media folk miss. “In my speaking tours at universities around the country, students tell me that they hear from many professors a worldview not much different from what we’re hearing on the footage of Wright’s sermons,”...

Many Are the Crimes by: Cliff Kincaid, March 03, 2008 Although the strict text of the U.S. Constitution includes the treaty clause as the only means by which the U.S. can enter into such international agreements, there's a growing body of mostly liberal-left "legal opinion" that holds that "congressional-executive agreements" like NAFTA can serve as substitutes for treaties.... The Bush Administration's support for the unconstitutional Clinton approach could easily backfire on conservatives if the Democrats take the White House and hold Congress in the fall elections. Citing NAFTA as a precedent, liberal Democrats could submit and pass treaties by a...

Hillary Clinton Schlepped Here by: Malcolm A. Kline, March 03, 2008 Apparently, George Washington University is a big stop for Democratic presidential candidates. This would go with the share of university employee political contributions that go to Democratic candidates. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have campaigned here. In something of a twilight zone is another honored guest—Ralph Nader. “Her supporters have not lost faith in the New York senator’s bid for the Democratic nomination,” Jennifer Easton reported in the GW Hatchet on February 28. “GW students and Clinton fans filled Lisner auditorium Monday evening [February 25], collectively raising $200,000,...

The Five Most Expensive Colleges * George Washington University * Kenyon College * Bucknell University * Vassar College * Sarah Lawrence College This may surprise you: The world’s most expensive universities are not haute institutions in the Swiss Alps or on the balmy shores of the Persian Gulf. Nor are they the Ivy League citadels of America’s elite like Harvard or Princeton, or ancient halls of learning like Cambridge or Oxford in the United Kingdom. No, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the most expensive four-year university in the U.S. (and most likely the world) is Washington, D.C.’s George...

Three GW law professors have endorsed Republican candidate Fred Thompson's campaign for the presidency, joining the Lawyers for Fred coalition. Professors John Fitzgerald Duffy, Orin Kerr and Michael Abramowicz are members of the Law Professors Committee within the coalition. "Sen. Thompson is proud of his experience working as a federal prosecutor," said Darrel Ng, a spokesperson for the Friends of Fred Thompson campaign. "That's why he decided to form something like that (coalition), because of his background." Ng said that having endorsement groups for presidential candidates is an important part of the campaign process. "In campaigns you try to find...

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell U by: Malcolm A. Kline, December 06, 2007 It looks like the university named after the father of our country has figured out a way to move gender studies to the next level. “Every Wednesday afternoon this past summer, a retired Army colonel named Jeff left his consulting job at a military base and headed to George Washington University,” Jennifer Ruark reported in the September 7, 2007 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. “But first he stopped at home to change into a skirt.” “By the time he arrived at the university’s Speech and Hearing...