Higher Education

Another Gaffe Ignored: Sanders Doesn't Understand Why Mortgage Interest Rates Are Lower Than Student Loan Rates
By Tom Blumer | December 28, 2015 | 2:06 PM EST

While the establishment press lies in wait for Republican and conservative candidates to make some kind of off-color or foolish statement — or one that can be twisted to become one, even if it originally wasn't — it consistently ignores howlers made by leftists and liberals. The list of President Barack Obama's gaffes alone, all totally or almost completely ignored by the press when they were made, is quite long.

The most telling gaffe is the kind made in all seriousness by its deliverer which betrays a level of cluelessness not thought humanly possible from a supposedly educated and informed adult. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders committed one such gaffe in a Saturday morning tweet.

MSNBC's Russert Frets 'Hope and Change' Did Not 'Carry the Day,' Invokes George Wallace
By Brad Wilmouth | December 22, 2015 | 3:56 PM EST

As MSNBC's Chris Matthews appeared on Tuesday's Andrea Mitchell Reports to promote his special on Donald Trump's life, substitute MSNBC host Luke Russert wondered why the "divisions that had ravaged the country" did not go away after President Barack Obama's election because "everybody thought that we were now coming into a post-racial society, that 'hope and change' was going to carry the day."

A bit later, he brought up segregationist Alabama Democratic governor and former presidential candidate George Wallace as he wondered whether Trump was more like Wallace or Ross Perot.

On CNN, John McWhorter Scolds Campus Left Over Its 'Bullying' on Race
By Matthew Balan | December 22, 2015 | 3:04 PM EST

On Monday's CNN Tonight, John McWhorter rebuked left-wing activists for suppressing free speech on many college campuses. McWhorter contended that they are "proposing that racism, and that which offends me, is the same sort of thing...and, therefore, they feel like they're in the right to shut down any kind of discussion." McWhorter later underlined that "you [can] get to the point that you can define just about anything a white person does or says as a micro-aggression."

Press Yawns As Univ. of Louisville Advertises Asst. Prof Position For Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans Only
By Tom Blumer | December 21, 2015 | 10:55 PM EST

Did you hear about the university which advertised for "a tenure-track Assistant Professor position that will be filled by a White American or Asian American"? Of course you didn't, because it didn't happen. But it's not difficult to imagine the outrage which would justifiably ensue if such an ad were ever placed.

Well, last week it became widely known that the University of Louisville placed an ad for a "tenure-track Assistant Professor position" which specified the racial/ethnic makeup of who would be considered eligible. It was removed after appearing for almost two months. Thanks to the wonders of Google cache, readers can see the relevant portion below (HT Progressives Today):

NBC Plays Up 'Gasps' in Supreme Court After Scalia's Affirmative Action Remarks
By Matthew Balan | December 11, 2015 | 11:53 PM EST

NBC Nightly News was the sole Big Three network evening newscast on Friday to cover the controversy surrounding Justice Antonin Scalia's comments during oral arguments in an affirmative action case. Both Lester Holt and Pete Williams spotlighted how "gasps were heard inside the Supreme Court this week over something said by Justice Antonin Scalia." Williams zeroed in how "some called the comments racist. Others said, he was just plain wrong."

Seth Meyers Compares Justice Scalia to KKK Members Following Affirmative Action Comments
By Curtis Houck | December 11, 2015 | 8:02 AM EST

Moments before bringing on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for two casual segments of softball questions, Late Night host Seth Meyers took a shot at Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his monologue by comparing him to members of the KKK following Scalia’s comments on Wednesday about affirmative action.

CNN Panel: Scalia 'Disturbing' and 'Offensive' on Race, 'Sounded Nutty'
By Brad Wilmouth | December 10, 2015 | 11:46 PM EST

On Thursday's Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield on CNN, host Banfield joined CNN legal analyst Paul Callan and Joey Jackson of HLN -- sister network to CNN -- in deriding conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia for recently referencing an argument against affirmative action in higher education admissions.

As HLN legal analyst Jackson called Justice Scalia's remarks "disturbing" and "offensive," Callan asserted that the conservative justice "sounded a little nutty," and Banfield declared that "I cannot believe I'm hearing those words from a Supreme Court justice."

NBC, ABC Gush Over First Lady Rapping; Ignore Obama ISIS Strategy
By Kyle Drennen | December 10, 2015 | 11:55 AM EST

While both NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America found the time on Thursday to devote minute-long segments to First Lady Michelle Obama rapping about kids going to college, neither morning show bothered to mention President Obama’s strategy or lack thereof to combat radical Islamic terrorism in the wake of the San Bernardino attacks.

MSNBC Guest Suggests Justice Scalia Believes Blacks 'Genetically Inferior'
By Brad Wilmouth | December 10, 2015 | 12:41 AM EST

Appearing as a guest on the 6:00 p.m. hour of Wednesday's MSNBC Live, Dorian Warren of the Roosevelt Institute -- a recurring MSNBC guest -- suggested that conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia believes blacks are "genetically inferior in terms of their brain power" as he gave his reactions to some of Justice Scalia's recent arguments against affirmative action in higher education admissions.

Only NBC Notices College President Blasting Political Correctness on Campus
By Kyle Drennen | December 2, 2015 | 11:47 AM EST

On Tuesday, only NBC’s Today covered Oklahoma Wesleyan University president Everett Piper slamming political correctness on college campuses. Co-host Matt Lauer informed viewers: “...a university president is getting a lot of attention for a surprising blog post that he aimed at students. His message to today's youth, ‘Grow up and stop being so self-absorbed and narcissistic.’”

UNC J-School Drops Post-Civil War History and Econ Course Requirements, Has No Idea Why They're Needed
By Tom Blumer | November 30, 2015 | 11:57 PM EST

If you think journalists' ignorance of American history and economic fundamentals is bad now, give it a few more years.

The University of North Carolina's School of Media and Journalism "has updated its curriculum requirements to give students more choice and flexibility in meeting the school’s graduation requirements. The change is in response to consistent feedback the school has received from students in its annual senior survey." You already know there's trouble if students who haven't been out in the real world yet are influencing the curriculum. Here's how much trouble:

Student in Custody Targeted 'White Devils': Will the Media Cover?
By Matthew Balan | November 30, 2015 | 4:19 PM EST

The media has been carrying water for pro-abortion activists since the Friday shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado in trying to hold the pro-life movement/conservatives, along with the Republican Party, responsible for the murders for their "fierce criticism" of the abortionist organization. However, a more recent incident of threatened violence leads one to wonder if the press will advance the same narrative with Black Lives Matter and other "racial justice" activists.