The appointment of former Sec.Def. Donald Rumsfeld as a Fellow at the Hoover Instute is being vehemently protested at Stanford. The faculty at the University do not think that his appointment is compatible with the goals and standards of the University. Frankly, I don't blame them.
more below the fold
The story in the New York Times states that the faculty have an online petition that says
"We view the appointment as fundamentally incompatible with the ethical values of truthfulness, tolerance, disinterested enquiry, respect for national and international laws and care for the opinions, property and lives of others to which Stanford is inalienably committed," the petition reads.
The petition has already been signed by 2,100 faculty, students and alumni.
A professor emeritus who has run studies on how easy it is to get people to torture other people said
"It is unacceptable to have someone who represents the values that Rumsfeld has portrayed, in an academic setting," Dr. Zimbardo said.
The director of the Hoover Institute said..
"I appointed him because he has three decades of experience, of incredible public service, especially in recent years as it relates to this question of ideology and terror," Mr. Raisian said. Mr. Raisian said Mr. Rumsfeld had accepted the appointment, which would last one year.
Well, if they want an expert in how to terrorize a country, this one and Iraq, Rumsfeld is the right person to ask. He certainly has had experience in terrorizing the Iraqis, and helping Butcher Bush scare people in the US into going along with their policies.
Not only is Rumsfeld not welcome at Stanford, apparently some of them don't want Condoleeza Rice back either..
Ms. Rice, who is on leave from a tenured faculty position, has said she would be interested in returning to Stanford after leaving the Bush administration. In a letter to Stanford’s undergraduate newspaper in May, a professor wrote that she should not be welcomed back.
So, Stanford is standing up to the Bushies, and they don't want the country to think they are a refuge for these sorts of people.
"It’s extremely important for the Hoover to know that their appointments are not in the mainstream of the Stanford community," Professor Lee said, "as well as to send a very clear signal to the country that this is not what Stanford is about."
If there are any Kossacks who are Stanford grads, they should get to the online petition and sign it..and perhaps go out and demonstrate when the protests start. They are starting them next week, so there is plenty of time to schedule it.
When I read this article I was chuckling..Poor Rummy..no one wants him. Maybe he can get a job as the librarian at the Butcher Bush Presidential library, if Laura doesn't already have dibs on the job.