Disqus - Latest Comments for saracen

Re: Rebuffing Calls to Resign, Penny Pritzker ’81 Will Stay in Top Harvard Corporation Post

saracen — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 16:43:30 -0000

You know the old expression, "The Buck Stops Here"? Well in this case the buck stops on Penny Pritzker's desk. Leadership involves taking responsibility for mistakes and if necessary stepping back and/or down because of those mistakes. So, big mistake equals big responsibility. To refuse to step down is to leave your constituency on tenterhooks expecting you will make another big mistake. Plus, that waiting for the next shoe to hit the floor interferes with day to day operations because no is sure about anything that comes out of the board.

Re: In Gay’s Fall, a McCarthyist Tragedy | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

saracen — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 16:34:42 -0000

Remember that although he got some of the names wrong McCarthy was right. The USG was penetrated by Soviet Spies and useful idiots. You need only check the result of the Venona project where U.S. signals intelligence broke the Soviet WWII diplomatic and KGB codes. They identified more than 349 Soviet Spies in the U.S. and that was only from a small number of cables which were broken.
Yes, Joseph McCarthy was easy to dislike. He was a bumbling, overweight alcoholic, but in the case of the Soviet spies he had it right. So, in truth, when you invoke McCarthy's name you're saying that an unpleasant person is telling you the truth.

Re: US wordpresscom

saracen — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 09:34:50 -0000

My page keeps disappearing into a white screen and never fully opens. I have a draft that has disappeared as well.

Re: Comaroff Controversy Reignites Union Calls for Sexual Misconduct Recourse

saracen — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 13:03:51 -0000

"In terms of our demands from this campaign, we're really trying to focus on the whole campus community and not just ourselves,” they said. It appears the operative term here is "demands." The union wants to run the University and the University doesn't want to be run by the union. If the union truly wants third party arbitration on sexual assault and harassment then have its members report their complaints to the Cambridge police department. Both of these complaints are crimes under state law and can be investigated by impartial experienced detectives who will make their reports to the Cambridge District Attorney, who will determine if there is sufficient evidence to go forward with a criminal complaint. Whether a criminal complaint is filed or no the complainant still has the option of a civil law suit. There is no reason to establish other mechanisms that just further complicate the administration of the university, unless you're doing it in an attempt to gain authority inside the administrative practices of the university. Words like "demands" make it seem that is the case rather than a true concern for the union members and the students of the university.

Re: Harvard Not Required To Pay Charles Lieber’s Legal Fees, Court Rules

saracen — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 19:39:57 -0000

Consider this possibility: Harvard sues Lieber claiming his illegal activities brought disrepute to the Harvard brand. While unlikely, it is a possibility if Lieber continues in his quest for legal fees from the university. Countersuits, with legitimate grounds, are always good tactics since they force the litigant to defend himself at his own expense.
The other item upon which no-one has touched is the taxes and penalties Lieber owes the IRS for his unreported income in addition to the fine he will face for an unreported foreign bank account. One would assume these taxes, penalties and fines will be no small sum.

Re: Harvard Professor Charles Lieber Found Guilty of Lying About China Ties

saracen — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 11:25:26 -0000

Hmmm... Looks like The Crimson deleted my comment. I wonder what protocol I might have violated.

Re: We Should Probably Be Paying Attention to Chris Simms’ Draft QB Rankings

saracen — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 16:39:48 -0000

I think Simms, as a former quarterback, is much better at evaluating QBs than the ESPN I never played the game "Experts" are. Of course the real problem for high performing QBs is they always go to under-performing teams who seldom have the receivers or O-line to support a good QB and we never get to see what they can really do with quality players around them.

Re: Georgia election law prevents African American, Latinx, others from exercising the right to vote

saracen — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 12:18:04 -0000

Can you please provide an example of how the changes in the law will prevent even a single person of color from voting? Aren't requirements across the board regardless of color?

Re: A Call to the Administration: A Student Perspective on Next Semester

saracen — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 08:53:13 -0000

Don't be. The real reason is I got tired of hearing privileged children whine about perceived injustices. I would have been working on the other things anyway.

Re: A Call to the Administration: A Student Perspective on Next Semester

saracen — Sun, 28 Mar 2021 13:29:49 -0000

Been busy creating original content on my blog; publishing a number of short stories and working on my latest novel.

Re: In Condemnation of the Great Barrington Declaration

saracen — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 12:06:37 -0000

Enough "scientific evidence" re mutation for you now? Re your assertion that SARS viruses mutate slowly, how's four in thirteen months? As for the changes in transmission rate some of the mutations are more virulent than the original and some seem more deadly. Certainly the South African strain seems drug resistant. Just thought I'd follow up.

Re: Harvard Law School Organizations Petition to Denounce Professor Adrian Vermeule’s ‘Highly Offensive’ Online Rhetoric

saracen — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 20:03:34 -0000

Ha! Ha! WWWWHW; that's what reporting is. There are several instances in this story that are simply unproven opinion on the part of the reporter. If they were accepted fact the reporter is required to cite the source. In fact if you have your name on a story its pretty much opinion writing. In the Hey days of journalism the only place you saw names was on the Op Ed page and the banner of ownership and publishing.

Re: Harvard Law School Organizations Petition to Denounce Professor Adrian Vermeule’s ‘Highly Offensive’ Online Rhetoric

saracen — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 11:32:48 -0000

"In several tweets since the election, Vermeule has thrown weight behind President Donald J. Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud, according to the screenshots." This is the comment of the writer not one of the sources thus making this not a news article but an opinion piece. What happened to journalism? Can't a Crimson reporter "report" instead of editorializing?

Re: Harvard Law School Organizations Petition to Denounce Professor Adrian Vermeule’s ‘Highly Offensive’ Online Rhetoric

saracen — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 11:30:49 -0000

Your comment makes no sense. Perhaps an edit is in order.

Re: Government Professor Calls on Harvard to Adopt ‘Minimum Standards’ for Affiliation Following Capitol Riots

saracen — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 10:32:59 -0000

This would preclude inviting VP elect Kamala Harris who not only encouraged BLM riots but actively raised money to fund bail for the participants. This would preclude any of the Democratic protestors who occupied the Wisconsin state house as well as any with ties to Antifa or any who participated in the riots in Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis the District of Columbia, Atlanta and other cities. The problem is this, one person's riot is another person's peaceful demonstration. If you're on the winning side you get to make the determination rather than having one standard for all.

Once again this is an academic trying to protect the fiefdom from unwanted intrusion by thoughts from the other side of the question.

Re: Cruz, Mast, Stefanik: All We Should Not Be | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

saracen — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 15:10:05 -0000

"And Brutus is an honorable man."

Re: Harvard Law School Clinic Sues Trump Administration Over Sweeping Asylum Rule

saracen — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 12:52:17 -0000

Shadrach, been missing your cogent comments Bubba. Did you catch the COVID?

Re: Harvard Law School Clinic Sues Trump Administration Over Sweeping Asylum Rule

saracen — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 09:11:41 -0000

Asylum seekers are required by international accords to seek asylum in the first nation they enter. Thus, any Central or South American or other nationality who enters the US at the Southern Border much first have sought asylum in Mexico. If they have not they are not entitled to seek asylum in the US. This accord applies regardless of the reason asylum is sought. If Harvard Law really wants to do some good they should be producing graduates who are willing to step up and fight for the rights of these people within their countries and to help effect change at the source of the alleged abuse rather than seeking to incumber others with the care and feeding of people who, if they were properly led and supported might change the situation for all their compatriots and not just those lucky enough to escape the borders. Don't treat the symptoms, cure the disease.

Re: Divest Harvard Activists Meet with Bacow, Harvard Corporation Committee for First Time in Over a Year

saracen — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 17:12:52 -0000

If the behavior is that of a person or implied to be that of a person then it is an ad hominem usage. Would you not have been better off using egregious as a modifier for behavior vice antics since the latter has more a comedic usage in general English?

Re: Divest Harvard Activists Meet with Bacow, Harvard Corporation Committee for First Time in Over a Year

saracen — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 16:53:20 -0000

Ad hominem simply means directed against a person. While most ad hominem comments are explicit there are those that are implicit, like mentioning family or individual thought processes a person uses to reach a decision. Others include denigration of background by attacking a school, age, position or such, without specifically mentioning the person but implying that because of xyz the person is unsound in thought or character. BTW, antic meaning grotesque or bizarre is generally used in a comedic manner like a Punch and Judy show or a slapstick physical comedy sketch. To describe Nancy's remarks as antics supposes a comedic touch to the proceeding when I expect you meant to convey a more sinister, hurtful type of action. It's like the difference in the appellations Scamp and Scoundrel or Rapscallion and Reprobate.

Re: Divest Harvard Activists Meet with Bacow, Harvard Corporation Committee for First Time in Over a Year

saracen — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 15:52:25 -0000

Now you are simply defending your remarks by offering a rationalization. I do note, however, that you haven't offered to defend any of the politicians or media types which speaks to good judgement on that subject.

Re: Divest Harvard Activists Meet with Bacow, Harvard Corporation Committee for First Time in Over a Year

saracen — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 12:58:58 -0000

"There can be few humans so consistently unpleasant in prose production on every possible subject. Perhaps you at least share the same household - what a fun place that would be. "Goodbye" is so much so not bittersweet sorrow," is but one example. If we were to parse your back and forths with ShadracSmith, Nancy Morris or others they are numerous. In fact every time you denigrate a commenter's reasoning process you are using an ad hominem approach.

Re: Divest Harvard Activists Meet with Bacow, Harvard Corporation Committee for First Time in Over a Year

saracen — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 10:56:01 -0000

If ad hominem usage as a tool of rhetorical fencing is indicative of a personality disorder then all politicians, most of the media should be seeking treatment. Even you are given to ad hominem outbursts, so what should we make of that?

Re: Divest Harvard Activists Meet with Bacow, Harvard Corporation Committee for First Time in Over a Year

saracen — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 10:27:25 -0000

Please provide statistics for your claim re clean energy being cheaper. I can find no such information. If coal is in global decline why do the Chinese continue to build coal-fired electricity plants? (Eight in the past decade). Are you aware that the lifetime cost of a wind turbine far exceeds the value of the electricity it provides? Additionally, those turbines require lubricants to operate and the material of the blades is not recyclable. Are you aware of the rare metals needed to produce solar panels and other "Clean" energy producers. These metals must be mined from the earth just as gas and petroleum are produced and the machinery used to do so requires significant petroleum products. Are you aware that plastic, the most ubiquitous manufacturing product in the world is made from petroleum? If we don't use plastic then costs of products will rise dramatically which will disproportionately affect the lower end of the income spectrum making the poor even poorer. Sorry, don't see how divesting from POL stocks is going to help the world.

Re: Bacow Asks Biden to ‘Act Without Delay’ to Grant Visa Leniency to International Students

saracen — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 13:15:30 -0000

Once again parochial interests are inserted into a national security issue.