This case is probably just the beginning of a series of lawsuits against Duke University.RALEIGH, N.C. -- A former Duke University lacrosse player sued the university Thursday, alleging that one of his professors unfairly gave him a failing grade because he was a member of the team.
Kyle Dowd, 22, graduated in 2006, after the rape allegations set off a tumultuous few weeks in Durham, with almost daily protests by people who criticized lacrosse team members for a pattern of rowdy behavior.
...Dowd, who was not charged in the case, claims in his lawsuit that visiting professor Kim Curtis engaged in "outrageous and unethical conduct" when she gave him an F in a politics and literature class. The lawsuit claims he had earned C's on his assignments until that point.
The university later changed Dowd's grade to a D, citing a calculation error. But Dowd claims the incident nearly kept him from graduating.
Dowd and his parents are asking for the grade to be changed to a "P" for passing, and want $60,000 in damages.
"Kyle Dowd and his family feel very strongly that he was given a grade not based upon his performance, but rather upon the political agenda of the professor," said Dowd's lawyer, Joseph Zeszotarski Jr.
I don't know that I would award Dowd $60,000 in punitive and compensatory damages for the unfair grade.
But I'm glad that Dowd and his parents are suing Curtis and Duke University.
They should pay for their wrongdoing.
There should be a high price paid by Duke for rushing to judgment and harassing members of the Lacrosse team....Curtis was among 88 faculty members who signed their names in April to a full-page advertisement in Duke's student newspaper titled "What Does a Social Disaster Sound Like?"
"Regardless of the results of the police investigation, what is apparent everyday now is the anger and fear of many students who know themselves to be objects of racism and sexism," the ad read, in part.
The accuser is black. All but one member of last season's lacrosse team was white.
Why would Curtis and other faculty members do something so stupid?
There's nothing wrong with speaking out against racism and sexism, but it was wrong to connect their outrage to the alleged rape case.
It's shocking that the Duke faculty felt compelled to take out the ad and condemn the Lacrosse players as racist, sexual predators.
Given her opinions, could Curtis treat Dowd fairly? Would she allow her views to influence how she treated Dowd as a student?
I don't see how. It certainly wouldn't be very professional of her if she penalized Dowd by downgrading him just for being on the Lacrosse team.
It looks like that's exactly what Curtis did. She appears to have abused her position of authority to punish Dowd.
That's how it seems anyway, but I'm not going to jump to any conclusions about her.
That wouldn't be right.
Yes, Curtis should be considered innocent until the judicial system determines her to be guilty.
I'm sure Curtis would like her day in court before she's branded unethical.
Oh, why wait? Let's just assume that she's guilty and forget allowing her to defend herself against Dowd's charges.
Jesse Jackson should speak out against Curtis and act as an advocate for Dowd.Lacrosse players Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and Dave Evans still face charges of sexual offense and kidnapping in the case. Rape charges were dropped last month after the accuser wavered in her account of key details.
Duke said Wednesday it had extended an invitation to Finnerty and Seligmann to return to class and the lacrosse team, but that they could still be punished if they are ultimately convicted. They have not said if they plan to return.
What kind of invitation has Duke extended to Finnerty and Seligmann?
Whatever it is, I'd consider it way too little, way too late.
An "Oops! Never mind! You can come back now" doesn't cut it.
I wouldn't accept the "invitation" to return. No way.
Is being allowed to return to class supposed to undo all the damage that was done to Finnerty and Seligmann, as if that's enough?
That's nuts.
Duke needs to take responsibility for its role in royally screwing up the lives of these young men.
And so does Crystal Gail Mangum -- the accuser, the liar, the mother of three.
What a disgusting episode!
Duke University, Mike Nifong, Crystal Gail Mangum -- disgusting.Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of - for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.
--Socrates
REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES)Today, Nancy Pelosi takes the reins of the House.
She's the happiest girl in the whole USA. She's absolutely wallowing in the moment. Her ascension to Speaker of the House is becoming like a coronation run amok, or like a simple, intimate wedding morphing into a massive, extravagant affair.WASHINGTON -- Most Americans still don't know who Nancy Pelosi is, and this was her last chance to script an introduction before Congress convenes today and she becomes the first female speaker of the House.
So on Wednesday, Pelosi kicked off a three-day celebration of her ascension packed with more product placement than an infomercial.
The cannoli at the reception after the morning Mass were from the bakery on the street in Baltimore's Little Italy where she grew up. The white lilies on the altar were her favorite flower. The chapel belonged to Trinity University, the Roman Catholic women's college she graduated from in 1962.
Pelosi sat in the front row surrounded by five of her grandchildren. The sixth sounded off midservice and had to be walked around by his mother, reminding everyone that his grandmother ditched Washington seven weeks ago to sit at his crib side.
"We've waited over 200 years for this time," Pelosi said at an afternoon tea turned power rally. "America's working women, women working at home, whatever they choose to do, they have a friend in the Capitol of the United States."
Five hundred women wore Rosie the Riveter buttons with Pelosi's face superimposed, with pearl earrings, above the slogan: "A woman's place is in the House ... as Speaker."
Right.
That's just a tad over the top, don't you think?...The installation of a new speaker is the closest Congress comes to a presidential inauguration. Some critics accused her of putting on a "Nancy Fest," but supporters said the events were as much political roadmap as biography.
Pelosi can stage her goofy Nancy Fest, but it's that political roadmap that really is the problem.House Republicans grumbled that Pelosi planned to shut them out of the "First 100 Hours" agenda by refusing to allow hearings or amendments (which is what the GOP frequently did to Democrats, but Pelosi promised not to be like them).
The "First 100 Hours."
Straight out of the chute, Pelosi is going back on her promise.
From November 14, 2006:Presumed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, vowed to bring civility to the chamber and serve both sides of the aisle, in remarks to new House members Monday evening.
"We will restore civility to our debate," Pelosi told the new members. "As Speaker it will be my solemn duty to serve not just one party, but the whole House of Representatives. To that end, we will restore bipartisanship to the administration of the House, re-establish regular order for considering legislation, and ensure the rights of the minority - whichever party is in the minority. The voice of every American has a right to be heard, and that is what the American people expect and deserve."
BS.
Rights of the minority?
What a joke!
Civility?
Now, that's funny.
I bet even the tight skin Pelosi couldn't keep from cracking a smile over that one.
A woman doesn't have to lie and give up her dignity in order to be a strong, effective leader.
Too bad Pelosi lacks poise and integrity and class.
Just a few hours from now, Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, Dem of Minnesota, will use a Quran for his ceremonial swearing-in rite.
WHO CARES?
I could not care less what Ellison does.
I don't think his use of the Quran has any noteworthy significance whatsoever.
None.WASHINGTON -- The first Muslim elected to Congress says he will take his oath of office using a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson to make the point that "religious differences are nothing to be afraid of."
Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, D-Minn., decided to use the centuries-old Quran during his ceremonial swearing-in on Thursday after he learned that it is kept at the Library of Congress.
..."It demonstrates that from the very beginning of our country, we had people who were visionary, who were religiously tolerant, who believed that knowledge and wisdom could be gleaned from any number of sources, including the Quran," Ellison said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
"A visionary like Thomas Jefferson was not afraid of a different belief system," Ellison said. "This just shows that religious tolerance is the bedrock of our country, and religious differences are nothing to be afraid of."
Huh?
Ellison's use of a book that once belonged to Jefferson doesn't show any of that.
Perhaps the Library of Congress has a copy of Mein Kampf once owned by FDR.
Does that mean that FDR endorsed Hilter's ideology?
I'm not making any qualitative comparisons between Mein Kampf and the Quran. I'm saying that just because an individual possessed a book conclusions can't be drawn about that individual's opinions of it or why the individual owned it in the first place.
Ellison is taking tremendous liberties and making baseless assumptions about Jefferson based on the Quran being in his book collection.
Moreover, I thought libs worshipped Jefferson for his phrase "separation between church and state." They've used it to justify the purging of religious expression from the public square.
Now, Ellison is suggesting that Jefferson promoted religion, specifically Islam. The "visionary" embraced different belief systems according to Ellison and believed Americans should do the same.
Really? Jefferson was encouraging the state to accept Islam and eliminate that glorified separation?Hmmm.
Just because Jefferson had a Quran I don't think one can make leaps about what it meant to him.
I don't think Ellison's ceremony later today is a watershed moment in the nation's history.
Is it supposed to be viewed as some sort of defeat for the Bible?
I don't see it that way.
Ellison can use Green Eggs and Ham for his ceremonial swearing-in for all I care.
I knew The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel would highlight this lame survey, but I didn't think it would receive such prominence.Giving Wisconsin strong scores for both home life and school life, the authors of a report released Wednesday said children raised in the Badger State have the eighth best chance in the United States of succeeding in life.
I wrote about this yesterday.
No need to go into detail, repeating myself.
However, I will repeat the bottom line:
The fact is the odds of success aren't good if kids don't graduate from high school.
Only 55% of African-American Wisconsin kids graduate -- the SECOND-LOWEST rate in the U.S.
How does that spell success?The JS headline should read "State has right mix for success -- but not for African-American kids."I don't think Jim Doyle and his administration should be patting themselves on the back.
Is this the first school shooting of the year?
As far as I know, it is.
TACOMA, Wash. -- A student was shot to death at his high school as classes about to start Wednesday morning, and police were searching for the gunman, officials said.
The student's age and details of the 7:30 a.m. shooting at Foss High School were not immediately released, but police spokesman Mark Fulghum said no one else was believed to be injured. He said police were trying to determine what prompted the attack.
The suspect was believed to be another student, and school district spokeswoman Peggy Holmgren said there were witnesses to the attack.
According to Holmgren, the student was shot just outside a school door, though several students told televisions stations that the shooting was actually in a hallway.
"I thought it was fireworks, but it was probably three shots," Jacki Phongsavath, a junior at Foss, told KOMO-TV of Seattle. "I looked around the corner and saw someone laying on the ground and blood on the lockers."
...The school was locked down after the shooting. By about 8:30, police had secured the building and students were being sent home, Tacoma School District spokeswoman Pam Thompson said. Classes were canceled for the rest of the day.
What's worse?
An Iraqi official taunting the Butcher of Baghdad Saddam Hussein before his execution
OR
A Tacoma high school student being executed on school grounds before classes
Where's the outrage over these shootings???
The fact that Saddam had to endure a taunt before his death is a big deal. The lib media can't stop drooling over the shame of it.
Will this shooting get as much attention?
I guess it's just another day at an American high school. No big deal. Right?
WRONG!
This is weird.
Alan J. Borsuk writes:Children in Wisconsin have the eighth best chance in the U.S. of succeeding in life, at least based on a scoring system created for a national report on the state of education released today.
In a separate kindergarten through 12th grade "achievement index" in the report, Wisconsin rated 10th in the nation.
Both results were included in the annual "Quality Counts" report from Education Week, a weekly publication widely read among educators, released on Wednesday.
...The "chance of success" index was based on a comparative analysis of 13 factors affecting the lives of children in each state, including family income, educational attainment of parents, the percent of children in pre-school programs, the percent of parents who are fluent in English and the percent of adults who hold steady jobs.
This report, by Editorial Projects in Education and funded in part by the Pew Center for the States, presents a rosy picture.
I'd like to know what the chances of success are for Milwaukee kids.
From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:Milwaukee public high schools have one of the worst graduation rates in the country among large school districts, according to a new report that takes the unusual step of trying to make comparisons across large school districts as well as states.
Ninety-four of the 100 largest school districts in the country have higher graduation rates than Milwaukee, where the graduation rate is 45%, according to a study by the Manhattan Institute, a think tank in New York.
...The Manhattan Institute studies have repeatedly found that while Wisconsin has one of the highest graduation rates overall, it also has one of the worst graduation rates for African-American students. This year, Wisconsin came in third, with an overall graduation rate of 85%. For African-Americans, the statewide graduation rate was 55% - the second-lowest in the country. MPS was about 60% black in 2003, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
...In Milwaukee, the report puts the graduation rate for girls at 53%, compared with 39% for boys.
I hate these numbers games and these surveys.
The fact is the odds of success aren't good if kids don't graduate from high school.
Only 55% of African-American Wisconsin kids graduate -- the SECOND-LOWEST rate in the U.S.
How does that spell success?
I'm asking you, education braggart Jim Doyle, about to be sworn in for your second term as governor.
There's an enormous racial gap in Wisconsin.
That's nothing to be proud of.
REUTERS/John Gress
Early in the evening on New Year's Eve, I offered a few predictions for the coming year.
One was that Brett Favre would not retire in 2007.
I made that prediction before the final game of the Packers' 2006 season, a victory against the Bears.
Then came the post game interview. It's been replayed more times than the Zapruder film.
Favre choked up when reflecting on the end of his career.
SO WHAT?
Favre posed for photos and there were lots of hugs.
SO WHAT?
Suddenly, it was assumed that all the signs were there that the Favre era was over. We saw his last game.
What had been a festive mood for the last night of 2006 completely deflated -- not good on New Year's Eve, less than two hours before midnight.
So I spent the last moments of 2006 listening to how shocked everyone was at Favre's emotional display, supposedly an unquestionable indication that Favre would not be coming back. It caught people off guard I guess.
I certainly don't know what Favre will do. He and his wife have said the retirement decision hasn't been made yet and I believe them.
All the speculation is pointless. It's wasted energy.
One thing is certain -- Favre's career as an NFL player will end. His playing days are coming to an end. He's nearing the end of the road, if he's not already there. That's the reality.
I do hope Favre returns for another season. It will be tough to say goodbye when the time comes. Still, I don't see why SO much is being made out of his tears.
He got emotional thinking about leaving something he loves behind.
BIG DEAL!
Actually, I like that ironman Favre was moved emotionally. Tears aren't a sign of weakness. They're a sign of being human. Big boys do cry.
I'm not going to jump to any conclusions about Favre's future with the Packers just because he got choked up.
Favre's teammates aren't.
GREEN BAY -- Favre's would-be replacement, 2005 first-round draft pick Aaron Rodgers, warned Monday that Favre's emotional display isn't necessarily proof Favre is finished.
"I wouldn't read too much into that," Rodgers said. "Yeah, he's an emotional guy, but there really weren't any tears or anything in the locker room. Lot of laughs actually, a lot of storytelling like we usually do after the games. It was a good time. Everybody was on Cloud Nine."
Added veteran fullback William Henderson: "When I saw Brett (in the locker room), he was yapping it up with the boys. When I saw him on the bus and the plane, he was jovial, he was having fun, and he was enjoying himself."
Center Scott Wells agreed, pointing out Favre got similarly mushy in the locker room following last year's season-ending victory over Seattle at Lambeau Field.
"Last year when we played Seattle, when we got in here, he was pretty emotional," Wells said. "I don't know what he's going to do. We'll probably find out at the same time y'all do. He hasn't given any indication one way or another to anyone else. It was an emotional moment, just because I don't think he knows yet."
Also, don't try to find deeper meaning in Favre posing for a postgame photo with his offensive linemen - that was left tackle Chad Clifton's idea, not Favre's - or the fact the left ankle surgery Favre was supposed to have Monday was postponed, with no new date set, according to a club spokesman.
I was amazed by the intensity of the reaction to Favre's post game interview.
It snowballed into such a major story, putting everything else in the world on the back burner.
Forget that a former U.S. president is lying in repose in the Capitol Rotunda, Saddam Hussein has just been executed, and the Dems are about to storm Congress.
FAVRE CRIED!!!
The media and some fans need to get a grip, leave the guy alone, and quit guessing about Favre's future.
Yes, I did make a guess about what Favre would choose to do as one of my 2007 predictions; but it was a thought, one sentence. It wasn't a round the clock obsession with an analysis of every word uttered and move made by Favre.
A little perspective is in order.
