Many good speakers come to Duke, but we're on a bad streak lately. First, we had Harry Belafonte spouting leftist nonsense on Martin Luther King Day:
The controversial musician, actor and activist did not shy away from contentious issues during his speech.
Belafonte spoke against President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq, particularly the alleged prisoner abuse. He likened the president to the Sept. 11, 2001 hijackers, saying that both parties caused the sacrifice of innocent lives. "Bush has led us into a dishonorable war that has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people," he said. "What is the difference between that terrorist and other terrorists?"
Belafonte previously had called Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" during a Jan. 8 speech in Venezuela, setting off a firestorm of criticism.
And tonight we're getting Gary Aldrich, anti-Clinton nutjob:
The most infamous of the Regnery titles is undoubtedly Gary Aldrich's Unlimited Access, which included such "revelations" as lesbian encounters in the White House's basement showers, Hillary Clinton ordering miniature crack pipes to hang on the White House Christmas tree, and the claim--backed by anonymous sources--that Clinton made frequent trips to the nearby Marriott to shack up with a mistress "who may be a celebrity." That last bit helped catapult Unlimited Access to the top of The New York Times's best-seller list, though Aldrich soon revealed to The New Yorker's Jane Mayer that the Marriott story was "not quite solid" and, indeed, was "hypothetical." But according to Aldrich, it was Regnery editor Richard Vigilante who had moved the Marriott bit out of the epilogue (where it had been presented as a "mock investigation") and into the middle of the book (where it was presented as an actual occurrence). Vigilante, Aldrich told Mayer, threatened not to publish the book if Aldrich didn't agree to the changes.
Obviously, Duke does not endorse the views of these speakers, but I'm still embarrassed for the institution. Can't we do better?
Update 1/25 -- Here's what Aldrich said about the Clinton administration last night:
His negative experiences with the Clinton administration eventually led him to write his book, Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House, which topped The New York Times bestsellers list. In the book, he discusses unprofessional behavior in the Clinton White House.
Aldrich told the audience that members of the Clinton staff used drugs, wore scandalous clothing, stole from their offices and were typically very unqualified for their positions. "One staffer told me he did drugs during the Presidential Inauguration -- he said it was to 'enjoy the experience' -- and this is the crop of the Democratic party," Aldrich said.
What about the crack pipes on the Christmas tree?
why waste money on good speakers during basketball season?
Posted by: tof | January 25, 2006 at 09:53 AM