Archived: Dec 03, 2007

> Editorial

Cheers and Jeers

By Amanda Moucha

Jeers to the Muslim Student Association for its attempts to cancel former Palestinian Liberation Organization member Walid Shoebat’s speech on “Why I Left Jihad” scheduled for tomorrow. Bigger jeers to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee administration for briefly folding under pressure and taking down the banner advertising the event and creating monetary obstacles for the UWM Conservative Union in attempt to stifle the event.
Cheers to five legal Spanish-speaking workers at a sheet metal plant in Connecticut who took their company to court. The plant ordered its employees to speak only English because of safety concerns. The workers argue the rule creates discrimination and makes the work environment more hazardous.
Jeers to the wife of millionaire Steve Fossett, who wants to declare her husband legally dead after he disappeared in September while flying his plane in the West. The request was necessary in resolving Mrs. Fossett’s legal share of the estate, liquid assets amounting in eight figures, and other entities.
Cheers to a 7-year-old Sudanese boy who is defending British teacher Gilliam Gibbons who was accused of insulting Islam by letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad. The boy named the stuffed animal after himself, and not after the chief Islamic Prophet. Gibbons was arrested and is being questioned on suspicion of abuse of religion - a charge punishable by up to six months in prison, a fine or a flogging up to 40 lashes.
Jeers to an FDA regulation that prohibits homosexual men from donating blood.
Cheers to the Gates Foundation and Rotary International for donating $200 million to eradicate polio. The sum will be paid for the next three years and will go primarily to immunization campaigns, surveillance and public education programs.
Jeers to promoters and makeup artists of rival contestants for attempted sabotage to Ingrid Marie Rivera’s bid for the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant. Her clothing was soaked in a chemical solution similar to pepper spray and her makeup was spiked with pepper gas. Rivera took home the crown.
Cheers to Timothy Elliot for not being allowed to claim his $1 million lottery ticket in Massachusetts. Elliot was convicted October 2006 of robbing a bank and is not supposed to gamble. He bought his ticket at a supermarket while violating probation.
Cheers to Milwaukee’s mayor Tom Barrett for appealing to the state Capitol to stop paying Milwaukee’s police officers if officers have been fired and charged with a crime. Milwaukee is the only Wisconsin city that continues to pay officers until they are actually convicted, sentenced or their appeals come to a close.
Jeers to the Milwaukee Public School District for proposing a plan that would extend health care benefits to domestic partners.
Cheers to the court-ordered deportation of John Demjanjuk, an alleged Nazi death camp guard. The Justice Department first brought charges to revoke Demjanjuk’s citizenship for falsifying information on his U.S. entrance papers in 1952.

> Comments

Jeeves on Dec 04, 2007 at 05:47 PM:

Jeers to you for not looking a bit more into Walid Shoebat. Jeers to the Conservative Union for spending student money to bring that racist, Islamophobic, quite possibly completely fabricated hate speech to our campus.

Benjamin J. Clark on Dec 05, 2007 at 04:51 PM:

Shoebat is racist? I know he is a bigoted asshole, but I have yet to see evidence of his prejudice based in race. I have noted that he has been accused of being "racist" toward "Islam," but that is impossible considering that Islam is not a race, but a religion. I also believe that Islam deserves serious criticism, but not from Christian supremist hyppocrits like Shoebat, who's own beliefs need criticism. Anyhow, the school should be jeered for putting blockades to Shoebat's appearance. What you call "hate speech" (and it basically is) is protected as freedom of speech by the US Constitution. As I noted in another comment, freedom of speech only works when unpopular and offensive speech are tolerated. Let me quote Noam Chomsky: "If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don't like. Goebbels was in favor of freedom of speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're in favor of freedom of speech, that means you're in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise."

Benjamin J. Clark on Dec 05, 2007 at 04:52 PM:

AJ Piwarun on Dec 06, 2007 at 07:18 PM:

Hey Mranonymousposter, get YOUR facts straight. We did NOT use ANY segregated fees to bring in Walid. We did something all student groups on campus should do a little bit more of: fundraising.

And please, if you got something to say, please say it with your name attached. Anonymous postings are for highschool kids

Adolf Hitler on Dec 07, 2007 at 08:41 AM:

I am agreeing with Ms. Moucha in her 'jeers' to MPS for giving healthcare to domestic partners. Homosexuals are a blight on ze Milwaukee Reich and they must be dealt with in a final solution sort of way!

Vote Giuliani 2008

Faja Klaus on Dec 07, 2007 at 10:20 AM:

Mein fuhrer (aka George W. Bush), how have you found time in your busy schedule to weigh in on Milwaukee politics? HEALTHCARE FOR ALL! FUCK SOCIALISTIC PARANOIA!