The Best Reason EVER To NEVER Overturn 'Don't Ask-Don't Tell'

HT Inside Higher Ed.

The President of Harvard University assures us that ROTC will be welcomed on campus once the military abandons 'Don't Ask-Don't Tell'.

Harvard University, which expelled ROTC four decades ago, will welcome the military training program back to campus only when the ban on openly gay and lesbian service members is repealed, the university’s president said yesterday.

Harvard’s president, Drew Gilpin Faust, speaking the day after the US Senate declined to take up a measure that would have repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy, said vestiges of antimilitarism on campus dating to the Vietnam War are largely gone and she would now welcome the opportunity to “regularize our relationship’’ with the armed forces.

“We are very much looking forward to the end of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ ’’ Faust said. “It will be a very important moment to us when that happens.’’

Let's think about this, ya'll! Harvard has contributed geniuses like Obama, Larry Summers, Elena Kagan--just to name a few recent stellar examples--to the current leadership of our fair country. Do we really really really desire the injection of Harvard ROTC grads into the officer corps of our military?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Please.

Well, That Worked Out Well! Larry Summers Heads Back To Harvard

Now only TurboTax Timmy is left of the original quartet of Romer, Orzag, Summers and TT.

Wasn't it about eighteen months ago that anyone who raised his hand and said, 'Maybe it's unwise to double the federal deficit in one year--just sayin'...' was considered a lower life-form, not worthy of consideration. You know, one of those creatures who watches that NewsNetworkThatWe'llJustPretendDoesn'tExist. One of them.

Things have not worked out well in the interim. The banksters got bailed out. The UAW got bailed out. Everybody else (and old fashioned ideas like the Rule of Law) pretty well got hosed.

So, Larry, This Bud's For You. You can head back to the ultimate academic bubble of Cambridge, MA, write your book about why it was all Bush's fault, do some consulting, pretend to read grad student dissertations, and generally be a Pooh-Bah.

You'll be amongst friends, fellow Citizens of the Bubble, like the guys who declared that the Great Recession is officially over.

Whew! That was close! You get to leave on a high note. Real unemployment's about 20%, one in seven are on public assistance, and no one in his right mind will even think about launching a small business.

But, that's OK. You saved the country from recession.

Unless That Narrative Changes

Ah, what a difference a day makes!

I enjoy reading the 'Inside Higher Ed' blogs, as they give insight into an often obscure corner of the culture, life inside the university walls. It is a different world, operating by its own rules, and affects us all.

Yesterday, an inspiring article about Dr. John Wilson, whose job is to assist historically black colleges and universities move forward and thrive.

His core message: Change the narrative that always places Black America as the victim in every transaction. Unless that narrative changes, nothing gets done.

So today, we are greeted with the story of Prof. Louis Henry Gates, arrested on his front porch in Cambridge, MA. Too long to recount here, but it seems the esteemed professor was more interested in berating the cops about being racists than offering his ID that established his identity and verified his residence.

He ends up arrested(you can see the arrest report at the article), and once all is sorted out, both sides decide it might be best to drop the matter, issue a joint statement, and move on.

(It's not hard to imagine that an attorney dispatched from Harvard had the quiet conversation with the esteemed professor, saying 'Henry, drop this. You don't want to do this, and we don't want you to do this either. There are donors who don't wish to be embarrassed by this sort of thing. And, a lawyer from the City of Cambridge probably had a similar conversation with the police and prosecutor. Notice how beautifully crafted that joint statement is. Someone spent some real coin on this one!)


But, there is always a silver lining to every cloud...

There are interviews to grant, apologies to demand, book deals to make, lectures to deliver!

HellsBells, Dr. Gates! You ought to send your arresting officer a case of single malt for Christmas!

So much for 'Changing the narrative'...

Here's hoping that:

1. While on lecture tour, his house really is burgled by black gang members, and

2. The neighbors, whose good-hearted concern prompted them to call the police, don't bother the next time.