The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.
Out on a Limb
“Just about any analysis of the 2012 presidential election should start with words to the effect that this is a very close race, that close races can go either way, and that many different factors—convention speeches, debates, verbal miscues, overseas conflicts—can change the trajectory of such a race. . . . As I said, Romney may still win this election. It’s awfully close.”–Charlie Cook, NationalJournal.com, Aug. 23
Would You Remind Us What You Do for a Living?
“I feel like I am, as a reporter in the Capitol, lied to every day, all day. There is so little genuine discussion going on with the reporters. . . . To me, as a reporter, everything is spin.”–former NPR reporter Andrea Seabrook, quoted by Politico.com, Aug. 22
“Why Can’t We Spell English Words Phonetically?”–headline, io9.com, Aug. 22
“University of Colorado Chancellor Phil DiStefano notified the Boulder campus faculty Tuesday afternoon that professors ‘do not have the right to shut down a class or refuse to teach’ should they learn that one of their students is lawfully carrying a gun under a concealed-carry permit,” reports Boulder’s Daily Camera:
Professor Jerry Peterson, chairman of the Boulder Faculty Assembly, told the Daily Camera that, under his own “personal policy,” he plans to cancel class if he ever learns any of his students are carrying firearms. A Colorado Supreme Court ruling this spring overturned CU’s Boulder campus gun ban, and university officials say that students with conceal-carry permits are allowed to bring guns into classrooms and labs. . . .
Peterson stood by his classroom policy Tuesday and said he’s never had to cancel a class. The physics professor–who has said he simply wants his students to feel safe to engage in discussions that could become controversial–reiterated that the presence of guns in his classroom “would destroy the learning environment.”
What in the world are they talking about that is so controversial it would lead to gunfire in a physics class?
For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”
