the.Hillsdale.
Forum
Dreaming of Dolls:
MATT COLE
seniOR WRITER
Ladies and gentlemen, allow
me to introduce Dara and Sara:
two delightful eight-year-old
Middle-Eastern children
who enjoy dressing
modestly and asking
their wise parents for
advice.
In 2002, the Iranian
government adamantly
requested the creation
of these 18-inch lovable
little ones, and since
VOlume IX, Issue III
OCTOBER 2008
their release the dolls have
Why Iran’s nightmares include Barbie and Ken
--and what it’s doing about it.
government-aided confiscation importation of toys, has been put
sOUND bITES
Speaking to reporters
before his Clinton Global
flooded the Iranian market in an of the dolls, threats of violence at risk and caused irreparable Initiative meeting in New
attempt to discourage Iranian against toy sellers, and intense damage.” York last month, former
children from assimilating into promotion of alternative dolls The real problem with Barbie
such as Dara and Sara. is that she boasts a large bosom, President Bill Clinton
American culture.
It is technically not illegal to Iranian prosecutor, Ghorban an unnaturally small waistline, described Sarah Palin’s
sell Barbie or Barbie Ali Dori Najafabadi, said that blond hair and blue eyes. appeal:
related products in Barbie is a “danger that needs Fortunately, Sara has come to
Iran. to be stopped. Undoubtedly, the the rescue as she is modestly
However, with personality and identity of the endowed, has a more realistic “People look at her, and
record sales in new generation of waistline, and sports black hair they say, ‘All those kids.
the region, Iran our children, Something that happens
has taken measures as a result of CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 in everybody’s family. I’m
to highly discourage unrestricted
glad she loves her daugh-
the sale of Barbie. Such
measures include
ter and she’s not ashamed
of her. Glad that girl’s go-
ing around with her boy-
friend. Glad they’re going
to get married...I like that
little Down syndrome kid.
One of them lives down
the street. They’re wonder-
ful children. They’re won-
derful people. And I like
the idea that this guy does
those long-distance races.
Stayed in the race for 500
miles with a broken arm.
My kind of guy.’”
in.this.ISSUE
=
Real Hillsdalians
of Genius
PAGE 11
=
Chavez is Scary: One
Hillsdale Student
Shares Her Views
Firsthand
PAGE 2
=
The YouTube Effect
PAGE 10
=
Is Detroit Done For?
PAGE 8
=

news
The People’s President?
Chavez’s empty promises leave Venezuela unfulfilled
CATHERINE SIMMERER
STAFF WRITER
“It’s hard to take the chatty
dictator seriously as an evil
genius,” Wall Street Journal
columnist Mary O’Grady
wrote, referring not to Russian
president Vladimir Putin or
Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
but Venezuela’s dictator-
in-residence, Hugo Chavez.
The word communism usually
incites references to Russia
or the Red Scare of the 1950s.
However, communism is
not just a word or political
philosophy in today’s world,
but a thriving institution in a
South American country sitting
in North America’s backyard.
It is hard to tell how much
of a “genius” Chavez is, but
“evil” is quickly becoming
an all-too suitable label.
His blatant hatred of the U.S. and
its government is obvious, with
his harangues on the American
“empire” and similar outbursts.
Chavez has welcomed
Russia’s military planes and
ships into Venezuela for
“exercises” and says that “the
Yankee homogeny is finished.”
He went on to tell Russia’s
Vesti24 television, “Not only
Venezuela, but Latin America
as a whole, needs friends like
De Soto Charms at Hillsdale Free Market Forum
JAMES NESBITT
SeniOR WRITER
The 2008 Free Market Forum,
which took place Sept. 25-27
in Dearborn, Mich., concluded
on a high note with a Saturday
evening address by Peruvian
economist Hernando de Soto.
The forum, which has been
hosted annually by Hillsdale
College since 2006, seeks to
encourage the study of free
enterprise.
Donors and friends of
the college mingled with
students and faculty over
hors d’oeuvres and cocktails
in the spacious gallery of the
Russia now, as we are shedding knowledge, are easily swayed
this [U.S.] domination.” by promises of homes and food.
Freshman Candice Rodriguez, However, the financially well-
off and well-educated people of
a Venezuela native, said that
Chavez is known in Venezuela Venezuela know better than to
for his lack of honesty. trust Chavez, especially as they
According to Rodriguez, he is recognize his deceitfulness.
Those who dare defy and
speak against him are met
with injustice and intolerance.
Radio Caracas Television
openly opposed Chavez’s
regime, and then the 40-year-
old television station’s license
happened to expire in May
2007. Chavez gave his reason for
letting the network die: “Forget
about renewal. What you should
accept is a fact that is quite
clear: the license is expiring.”
In 2003, three soldiers and
a woman were tortured and
photo via Globovision killed in Venezuela after leading
Hugo Chavez is not happy, espe- anti-government protests.
cially now that America is taking In 2007, tear gas was used on
note of his benevolent treatment students protesting Chavez.
of the Venezuelan people. Even in this past month,
Raul Isaias Baduel, a Chavez
constantly stealing money from confidant-turned-critic, has
the government, and the country been arrested and forbidden
suffers, lacking necessities from leaving Venezuela.
such as milk, eggs, petroleum, It seemed for a while that
and even toilet paper because these activities might confine
of his bartering with Cuba. themselves to the Latino
Rodriguez went on to explain country. However, Russia has
how Venezuela’s impoverished stepped up to plate as a military
population, usually ignorant
and innocent by lack of outside CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
Ford Conference & Event and others who exemplify
Center Saturday evening, and defend the principles of
exchanging business cards, American constitutionalism
stories, and an appreciation and free enterprise. Past
of limited government recipients include Ronald
and unfettered markets. Reagan, William F. Buckley
Following dinner, Hillsdale Jr., Thomas Sowell, Steve
College President Larry Forbes, and Milton Friedman.
Arnn presented de Soto, De Soto delivered an address
internationally recognized for regarding the importance of
his advocacy of property rights property rights, and engaging
and author of two best-selling audience members with his
books that argue his case, witty style, he drew laughter
with the Adam Smith Award. from guests with several jokes,
Since 1990 Hillsdale including a comparison of the
College has presented Federal Reserve to Scrooge
the award to statesmen, McDuck.
scholars, businessmen, This year’s forum included
philanthropists, journalists evening speeches by Karl Rove
THE CRAWLER
Christopher Buckley has
left National Review after
endorsing Obama in Tina
Brown’s latest endeavor,
online publication The Daily
Beast, saying “So, to para-
phrase a real conservative,
Ronald Reagan: I haven’t
left the Republican Party. It
left me.”
* *
Scientists are considering
using electron bombard-
ment as a replacement for
herbicides. The electrons
break the molecular bonds
of the fungal spores that
kill seedlings, but the bom-
bardment must be precisely
calculated so as not to kill
the seedling itself.
* toward the Pacific Ocean.
Standing alongside ACORN
officials Rapaport said the
“actual instances of [voter
fraud] is [sic] so small”
and it would be wrong “to
use it as an excuse to try
to discourage people from
registering, to set up barri-
ers with a draconian a voter
identification provisions.”
and Jonah Goldberg in addition
to the events during the day.
In previous years, the Free
Market Forum has been
hosted on Hillsdale College’s
campus. However, the event
has grown significantly in the
last two years, with attendance
ballooning from a little over 50
in 2006 to about 400 this year.
The larger turnout created a
necessity for a bigger venue,
and organizers decided to
move the event to the Ford
Conference & Event Center in
Dearborn.
“Hillsdale does not have enough
hotel rooms nor does the Dow
Center have banquet space
2
OCTOBER 2008
As the third presidential
debate draws near, Obama
leads McCain by 14 points.
One week ago, he was only
leading by three points.
The change of heart? 21
percent of poll voters said
it was because of McCain’s
attacks on Obama and his
VP choice of Sarah Palin.
Two fires have killed two
people and destroyed doz-
ens of home in California’s
San Fernando Valley, and
a third has broken out near
Camp Pendleton, a US
Marine base, burning 3,000
acres. Over 2,000 firefight-
ers have been battling the
flames in an attempt to
stop the fires from moving
*
The cost of a barrel of
liquid gold dropped below
$80 for the first time since
September 2007, dropping
to $78.61/barrel, a drop
of $6.98 from the previ-
ous day’s level. OPEC has
called an emergency meet-
ing in Vienna on Nov. 18 to
discuss the drop.
for 400 [guests],” said Anita
Folsom, Director of Special
Programs at Hillsdale College.
Additionally, the event draws
faculty members and state
policy leaders from across the
country and from Canada. The
Dearborn location is much
closer to the airport, making
travel arrangements easier for
many guests.
Folsom said, “Quite a number
of friends of the College were
there this year; some supporters
of Hillsdale College flew in
from California, Washington
state, Florida, and other parts
of the country,” HF
3
OCTOBER 2008 NEWS
the PALIN’S POWER STATEHOUSE

AK Govenor Keeps Conservatives Interested
Hillsdale Forum CHristina Miller reasons.”
Still, conservatives on the whole are
staff SeniOR WRITER optimistic about Palin. GOPUSA
Eagle and other grassroots
In general, Republicans are not
happy with John McCain. They
Emilia Huneke-Bergquist
do not like that every piece of
Julie Robison legislation he has authored has a
EditOrs in Chief Democrat’s name attached to it.
Nor do they like his immigration
plan, with some dubbing him
Dave Wasmer “Juan McAmnesty.” And they
AssOciate EditOr really, really do not like that he
almost chose Joe Lieberman to be
his running mate.
Matt Kownacki
But he did not. Instead, McCain
Heather Shell chose Alaska governor Sarah Palin
COpy EditOrs to be his Vice-President. Palin
is everything Republicans wish
McCain was—a conservative.
Nate Anderson
After Palin’s selection and
Matt Cole convention speech, the Republican
Calvin Freiburger base was energized. McCain was
still McCain, but Sarah Palin made
Martin Kraegel III the ticket bearable.
Christina Miller She certainly sent the media
into a frenzy. Within days of
James Nesbitt
the announcement, the Daily
Scott Rozell Kos accused Palin of faking her
SeniOR Writers own pregnancy to cover for her
daughter Bristol. Feminists—who
for years have cajoled mothers
Kate Martin to work rather than stay home—
DC COrrespOndent
now claim that Palin should be at
home with her family instead of
campaigning. Whatever dirt they
Guided by the
could grab on Palin, they grabbed.
principles of liberty,
And if they couldn’t find any, they
freedom, and justice, invented some.
The.Hillsdale.Forum Still, the question is: In a year
where Republicans have no
is a monthly student-
business winning a lottery, let
run publication of alone the election, does Sarah Palin
Hillsdale College help John McCain’s candidacy?
striving to inform and After the convention, McCain
pulled ahead by several points,
educate its readers
but following Palin’s network
about today’s ever-
interviews the lead diminished
changing Conservative slightly. Rasmussen, which had
political climate. McCain at +2 in New Hampshire
just a week ago, now has Obama
at +10 Other battleground states,
viA E-MAIL AT including the key state of Ohio,
have also seen Obama pulling
HILLSDALEFORUM@ ahead.
GMAIL.COM The slide in poll numbers has
even prompted Kathleen Parker,
a conservative columnist, to call
visit us Online for Palin to step aside from the
ticket. Parker deemed that Palin
was “out of her league” and “a
THEHILLSDALEFORUM.
problem.” Parker said that Palin
BLOGSPOT.COM
should “bow out for personal
EYE ON THE
organizations claimed that Palin
won the debate against Biden.
Sophomore Jessica Wasson
said that she thinks Palin has
been a beneficial addition to the
ticket. “I would say she has met
expectations and that people are
really excited about it. So far, she
seems to have a much more solid
conservative base than McCain
might have.”
She does not believe Palin is
merely the Republicans’ Barack
Obama as some have claimed.
“She does have more experience
than Obama…People were so
pleasantly surprised that they
could get some fresh blood in
there that was still qualified.”
Wasson also said she thinks it
would be a bad idea for Palin to
step aside as Parker called for.
“If you’re not gonna stick by the
candidate you picked, that just
shows indecisiveness.”
In addition, Wasson believes the
McCain campaign has “put a leash
on [Palin].” She thinks McCain
needs to let Palin be a pit bull and
not try to make her “cutesy.”
Senior Alisson Veldhuis, who
describes herself as a libertarian,
says she doesn’t know why
McCain picked Palin, but she
still believes the Alaska governor
is a gain for the McCain camp.
“From what I’ve heard she’s well-
educated and she’s passionate and
she says what she thinks. Obama
just kind of beats around the bush
and never actually says anything. I
think she’s a very strong candidate
to pick.”
Despite Palin’s strengths,
Veldhuis still plans to vote for
libertarian candidate Bob Barr in
November.
Sarah Palin may still have
strong support overall from
conservatives, but in order for
McCain to win the election he
will need to increase his support
among swing voters. “Sarah
Barracuda” is seen as someone
who can pull those swing voters
toward the Republicans, but she is
only as good as McCain will allow
her to be. HF
James nesbitt
SENIOR writer
In the spirit of transparency and accountability that makes
this country free and its elections fair, this edition of Eye on the
Statehouse examines the campaign finance of the candidates
for the 58th district of the Michigan legislature (which contains
Hillsdale and Branch Counties).
Note: the current representative for the 58th district is Republi-
can Bruce Caswell. Caswell cannot seek re-election due to term
limits.
Kenneth Kurtz, Republican Candidate
Total Contributions (as of 8/25/2008): $39,919.48
Total Expenditures (as of 8/25/2008): $28,537.18
Top campaign contributors:
Kenneth Kurtz-- $20,167.84
Michigan Funeral Director’s Association PAC*-- $4,750.00
Michigan Chamber of Commerce PAC-- $1,000.00
Top expenditures:
Dealer Supply Network—$6,602.38 for brochures, signs, and
other materials
Jared Burkhart—$4,153.84 for consulting fees
Arrow Swift Printing—$1,676.49 for printing
Western American Mailers Inc—$1,542.56 for mailer
WCSR—$1,435.10 for advertisements
*Kenneth Kurtz operates a funeral home by trade.
Jean Anne Kennedy-Windsor, Democrat Candidate
Her campaign committee does not expect to receive or expend
more than $1,000 in this campaign, and thus is exempted from
Michigan disclosure requirements.
The maximum contribution an individual can make to any one
candidate for state representative is $500.
Unsatisfied with the current presidential picks?
Explore the other contenders for the
White House this November!
--On the Left-- --On the Right--
Barack Obama John McCain
Democratic Party Republican Party
Ralph Nader Alan Keyes
Independent Party American Independent
Gloria La Riva Chuck Baldwin
Party for Socialism Constitution Party
and Liberation Frank McEnulty
Brian Moore
Socialist
New American
Independent Party
Cynthia McKinney Bob Barr
Green Party Libertarian

the rOundTable
Nate AndersON
seniOR WRITER
If you can’t beat them,
convince them that they’ve
already won. This is a common
Protestant interpretation of
the rise of Christianity and the
worldly rendering of Christ that
took place in the 4th century.
However, home
advocate Frank Viola indicts
church
not only Constantine and
Catholicism for the blemishing
of the Bride, but virtually all
of the Church Fathers, as well
as the insufficient efforts of the
Reformers. Pagan Christianity
and Reimagining Church,
respectively released in January
and August of this year, serve
a complementary role in
deconstructing the institutional
church and “reimagining” the
“organic” church described in
the New Testament.
Viola chalks up everything from
the sobering wafer and thimble
style communion, ecclesiastical
garb, liturgical progressions,
the sermon, the pastoral office,
distinctions between the clergy
and laity as well as the sacred
and secular, to the influence
of pagan theology. Christian
pollster, George Barna, who
contributes to Pagan Christianity,
argues, “contemporary church
thought and practice have been
influenced far more by post-
biblical historical events than by
New Testament imperatives
and examples. Yet most
Christians are not
conscious of this
influence. Nor
are they aware
that it has created
a slew of cherished,
calcified, humanly
devised traditions.”
Those interested in Viola’s
and Barna’s research will
have to delve into the books
themselves. However, their
arguments are substantial
enough to make denying the
occurrence of a syncretistic
blend of old Gentile and new
Christian ideas challenging at
best.
Viola is highly suspicious
of tradition in general.
Contemplating the reality of
over 1,700 years of hierocratic,
building-based worship, he
looks to the New Testament
for the justification of every
church practice and comes
up nearly empty-handed.
Instead of accepting the first
century church as a primitive
stage in the development of a
politically oppressed sect, Viola
contends that the Bible presents
a portrait of a developed bride.
The church, described as “the
earthly image of the triune
God,” is nothing more than the
natural outgrowth of fellow
Christians expressing their Holy
Spirit-driven love for the Lord.
Any form of definite hierarchy
or official position is absolutely
unbiblical. In one sense, Christ’s
statement that “where two
or three come together in my
name, there am I with them,”
stands as the definitive, and
more importantly, complete
definition of church (Mthw.
18:20).
The Church consists of an
egalitarian brotherhood, or
in other words, a functional
“priesthood of all believers.” For
Viola, Christ must have a nearly
palpable presence in order for
church members to assemble in
true obedience,
CONTINUED
ON PAGE
8 Frank Viola’s Pagan
PHIL DAVIGnON
Guest WRITER
The way in which Christianity
is practiced is important, but
it is not as important as the
Why the truth of Christianity. In his
book Reimagining Church, Frank
Viola chooses to criticize the
White less important aspect of the
institutional church, its practice,
while almost completely
Steeple ignoring the issue of truth.
Christianity is a religion that
is based on the truth claim that
Casts Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
However, since the early days
of Christianity, Christians have
Such a always had great difficulty in
defining exactly what the truth
is and how it should pertain
Dark to our lives. Both Christians of
the early church and Christians
today need an institutional
Shadow: church in order to define what
the truth is, and to prevent
heresy from corrupting the
truths of Christianity.
But for just a minute let’s
take Frank Viola’s advice and
reimagine what the church
would be like today if it weren’t
for the institutional church of
history. There would be Arian
Christians who would
believe that Jesus
is not fully
Two students review divine,
Christianity and
Reimagining
Church
4
OCTOBER 2008
Gnostic Christians who would
believe that people are saved
through the knowledge that
the material world is evil, and
Docetist Christians who would
believe that Jesus’ physical body
and crucifixion were merely
illusions. Even something
as taken for granted as the
canon of scripture was bitterly
argued over by Christians in
the 4th century. Yet all of these
issues have been resolved for
today’s Christians because the
institutional church of history
exercised the authority to define
heresy, while proclaiming
and defending the truth of
Christianity.
Frank Viola does not even
mention this fundamentally
important role of the church
when he talks about the nature
of the church. Instead, he claims
that pastors hinder people from
knowing Christ, and that Christ
never intended for anyone to
have the responsibility and
power of modern day pastors.
However, Jesus himself gave
the Apostle Peter the keys to
the kingdom of Heaven, and
the Apostles invoked their own
authority (which was given to
them by God) at the Jerusalem
Council of Acts 15 when they
authoritatively told people from
another congregation to abstain
from eating meat offered to
idols. Even in the early church,
authority was exercised by the
Apostles in order to protect
the truth that Christ
had given them.
This method of
authoritatively
defining the
truth is starkly in
contrast to Frank
Viola’s beliefs about
how the truth should be
determined in individual
house churches. Viola
believes that Christians
should be able to know
the truth and settle disputes
through consensus (194), and
that whatever Christians come
to prayerful agreement on is
true. History has taught us that
prayerful Christians could not
even agree on who Jesus was or
what books were in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
5
OCTOBER 2008
Do they know anything about Islam?
TRAVIS kAVULLA
GUEST COLUMNIST
I was in Cambridge, Mass.,
in February of last year when
I heard the latest news out of
Iraq: The al-Askari Mosque, the
so-called “Golden Mosque” of
Samarra, had been nearly leveled
in a devastating explosion.
It was a Wednesday, and
that night I attended my
weekly seminar on Cambridge
authors, led by James Russell, a
prodigious member of Harvard’s
Near Eastern Languages and
Civilizations department. He
arrived late to class, and was
not in the mood to talk about T.
S. Eliot when he did. “Do any
of you know what the Golden
Mosque is?” he asked. Blank
stares followed. Smart though
they reputedly are, few Harvard
undergraduates had heard of
the mosque, or knew that it is
one of Shiite Islam’s most holy
sites.
Professor Russell sighed, and
his voice took on a mournful
tone. “This war is something
completely different than it was
yesterday. The violence this is
going to unleash will make the
last few months look positively
tranquil.”
His warnings were prescient,
but should not have seemed
so gilded by expertise: Only
the most cursory bits of
knowledge about Islam and its
sects were necessary to deduce
the gravity of the crime and
the reprisals it would inspire.
But how many students had
even this basic knowledge?
The answer is a sad one,
especially for a university such
as Harvard, which routinely
trumpets its “international”
character and insists its students
are “generally educated”:
instructed not to be pre-
packaged professionals, but
to obtain a broad education
that, supposedly, helps one
understand our “global
society.”
Yet until the New York Times
and The Economist told them
otherwise, the attack on the
Golden Mosque seemed a
Rights and wrongs of multicultural education
pedestrian event to my friends:
one bombing in a troubled
place where bombings are
mundane. In the weeks after, I
gently quizzed my friends and
acquaintances. Did they know:
* The major theological
differences between Sunnis and
Shiites?
* The countries in the region
with Sunni majorities?
* Those with Shiite majorities?
* Some of the main pilgrimage
sites in the Muslim world?
* Whether al-Qaeda was Sunni
or Shiite?
This is a basic quiz, and its
answers are highly pertinent
to our modern world. But the
results, while informal, spoke
to an ignorance so grand as to
render meaningless concerns
over the margin of error. (And
it is not just Harvard students
who disappoint. The al-Qaeda
question was posed last year
to Silvestre Reyes, the Texas
Democrat who now heads the
House Intelligence Committee;
he answered incorrectly.)
It is an oft-repeated criticism that
schools have stopped teaching
facts per se, touting instead
grand theories that organize
facts in a manner convenient
to theorists’ work. Nowhere is
this truer than in “postcolonial”
studies of the Middle East
(as well as Africa and Latin
America). In a college course
on Islam, a student is more
likely to be assigned Edward
Said’s historiography, as the
theory and method of writing
history is known, than an actual
history textbook. Rarely will a
student be held accountable for
definitional knowledge--you
don’t need to know why Shiite
Iranians call their religious
leaders “ayatollahs,” or even
when Muhammad lived, but
you had better understand
how the emergence of Islam
reshaped the gender structure
of Arab society. There is a good
case to be made for knowing
all of that, but without the bare
facts of people, places, and the
dates they intersected, a critical
analysis of same is useless.
Learning this way is like
wearing jeans with a button and
a zipper, but no denim: quite
impossible.
At times, the grandiose
theorizing of academics is
harmless, even amusing. But
vis-a-vis Islam, students’
ignorance is tragic, because,
like it or not, we really do live
in that much-prophesied global,
interconnected world: What
happens to a mosque, especially
one in Iraq, may well have an
impact on us and our cause.
For as long a time as that is
true, understanding cultures
outside our own will be one
of the foremost intellectual
necessities.
This sounds flaky in the extreme
to a good many conservatives.
Indeed, their suspicion is well-
placed--a true understanding of
another culture is very different
from the “understanding”
fostered in higher education.
These days, to “understand” is
rarely about obtaining specific
knowledge about a foreign
culture through patient study;
usually, to “understand” is
to excuse, or to change the
subject. An example: One week
at Harvard, not so long ago,
there were no fewer than five
panels bemoaning American
“militarization,” “imperialism,”
and supposed human-rights
abuses. This, as it happened,
was the same week when riots
exploded across the globe
in response to the Danish
newspaper Jyllands-Posten’s
publication of several cartoons
depicting Muhammad. But a
student would have tried in
vain to find a panel addressing
the question that obviously
needed to be asked: Why was
the Muslim world burning over
a few cartoons, printed in an
obscure source?
Apart from extracurricular
panels, there is the question of
coursework. Or, rather, there’s
not the question, at least for most
students. Add Islam and Muslim
society to the long list of subjects,
from Shakespeare to American
history, that Ivy Leaguers from
Yale to Princeton to Harvard
can avoid ever encountering
SPOTLIGHT
in their academic careers.
Although schools have moved
to embrace “internationalism,”
this pedagogical vogue exists
in portions so small as to be
useless. In Harvard’s latest
curricular review, for instance,
it is claimed to be a “serious
commitment” to our “global
society” that the university
requires its students to take one
year of a foreign language. Not
enough to have a conversation
or read a newspaper, but
perhaps graduates will be able
to order falafel at their nearest
Lebanese restaurant.
Harvard undergraduates are
also required to take one class
chosen from a small but schizoid
list of “Foreign Cultures”
offerings. Incredibly, in the
2007-08 academic year, none of
the “Foreign Cultures” courses
concerns Islam or the Middle
East. If a student does want to
learn something about Islam
and have it count for credit, he’ll
have to wait until next year.
And then, he’ll be faced with
a choice between two. Will he
take “Gendered Communities:
Women, Islam, and Nationalism
in the Middle East and North
Africa,” taught by the chairman
of the department of Women,
Gender, and Sexuality? Or will
he select “Understanding Islam
and Contemporary Muslim
Societies”?
He would do well to choose
neither. As comprehensive as
“Understanding Islam” sounds,
it hardly lives up to its grand
name, digressing in pursuit of
the professor’s own passion.
That would be Sufi mysticism in
India and Africa, a topic that is
as obscure as it is exculpatory of
Islam’s lately radical tendency.
(Sufis are to Islam what Quakers
are to Christianity.) In any case,
Sufism has little to do with
why, in the decade in which
we live, a student would sign
himself up for a course called
“Understanding Islam.”
Despite the pretense of
“understanding” other
cultures, or “respecting” or
“being sensitive to” them,
few universities have moved
beyond the platitudinous.
A real sensitivity for other
cultures entails discerning their
differences, perhaps even more
than finding their common
ground. What is not respectful
of Islam would be to assume
that those of its adherents who
brook no separation of civil and
religious authority would be
motivated by the same, largely
secular incentives that motivate
us in the West. A person who
truly understands Shiite Islam
will be able to comprehend
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s
millennial behavior and
appreciate that he is perfectly
serious in his belief that the
twelfth Imam, whom God is
said to have hidden from human
view in the 9th century, will be
reappearing soon to redeem the
world for Islam.
For reasons that are even more
obvious today than they were
a century ago, learning the
fundamentals of world religions
still should be a pillar of a liberal
education. A just-the-facts
approach may seem pedantic
and arcane to students who are
themselves mostly agnostic.
But in our time, it is not too
much to ask that anyone who
graduates from a prestigious
American university have at
least a functional knowledge of
Islam and the Muslim world.
This is the least effortful and
most practical civic duty we can
ask universities to bear. And if
such a simple calling cannot be
fulfilled, then American higher
education will have further
endangered its reputation as a
useful institution.
Travis Kavulla, a former associate
editor of National Review, is a
Gates Scholar in History at Cam-
bridge University, a 2008 Phillips
Foundation journalism fellow,
and a recent graduate of Harvard.
This article originally appeared
on October 8, 2007 issue of
National Review.
It is reprinted here with
permission.
6 7
OCTOBER 2008 Open Forum OCTOBER 2008
EHB, JR, DW
Sarah Palin ma the Rev. Jeremiah Wright
a r a c k Oba
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October 31 is right around the corner;

have you found your Halloween costume?
*
Don’t tell us you were planning on being
a cowboy/secretary again!
*
“Tow
Fear not fellow Hillsdalians,
nies
The.Hillsdale.Forum
has a better solution.
”
*
Welcome to our drawing board, where we’ve carefully
compiled all kinds of possibilities true to The Dale. Our list
has it all: a princess, an evil witch, a religious radical, the
token black guy, and real American heroes.
*
You can thank us later. he
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 8
OPINION OCTOBER 2008
Can anyone restart the Motor City? the
hf CONTACT US
Submissions to The Hillsdale Forum are encouraged but are
subject to editorial changes in regards to both length and
content. Authors will recieve notification of all edits prior
to printing, and submissions are published at the discretion
of the editorial staff. Letters to the Editor must be signed,
and all items become property of The Hillsdale Forum once
to a downtown cultural appeal, as privatizing trash collection
submitted.
JAMES MARKMAN but as with Ford Field, it failed and road work would serve to PO BOX 122
Staff WRITER

E-MAIL:
to provide any meaningful both offer a surge of revenue

Now the tarnished buckle
of the rust belt, Detroit was
once the 4th largest city in
the nation. Today, it is half
that size, and questioning
the likelihood of recovering
from a quarter century of
dreadful public policy.
Kwame Kilpatrick’s recent
sex scandal and text messaging
fiasco has brought unwanted
attention to Detroit, but the
city’s economic climate has
been deteriorating for the
last quarter of a century due
to a remarkable amount
of poor leadership and
mismanagement. Kilpatrick
merely served as the final
nail for this painful quarter
century in Detroit’s history.
Motown’s rapid deterioration
began in 1974 when Coleman
Young began his five-term
reign over the already ailing
Detroit. A former union
agitator, Young set the
standard for bad policy that
has come to epitomize Detroit.
He tripled the commuter tax
for those working downtown
and ensured, by increasing the
city income tax 50 percent, that
no wage-earning soul would
choose to live in the city.
The second half of the nineties
brought the former Michigan
Supreme Court Justice Dennis
Archer, who chose to invest
heavily in several high-
profile projects downtown.
Amongst these projects
was the construction of Ford
Field, which proved to be as
much of a disappointment
as the team it houses.
Another, the renovation of
the Fox Theater, doubtlessly
contributed in some small way
stimulus for the city.
Kilpatrick, 31, the self-
described “Hip-Hop Mayor”
brought with him a vigor and
energy that some hoped might
turn around a weary city.
“I underestimated the
dilapidated, horrific condition
our city was in,” he said as
began his first term in office.
Kilpatrick eagerly touted
his efforts to balance the city
budget, an achievement that
relied heavily upon casino
revenues and increased
property and retail taxes.
Once the effect of these tax
increases comes full circle,
the resulting deficit will once
again rear its ugly head, and
as Kilpatrick spends the next
four months in some isolated
Wayne County custody
cell, the curse of his public
policy is certain to live on.
The new mayor of Detroit will
be elected early next year from
a roster of 24 hopefuls, each
with an undoubtedly different
plan for the city’s turnaround.
Once elected, the new mayor
will have the opportunity to
untangle the web of botched
policies left by Kilpatrick
and his predecessors.
Unlike previous mayors who
dutifully bowed to the Detroit
teacher unions, the new mayor
must consider charter school
funding. This issue seems to
be widely debated in every
region of the country except the
stubborn corridors of Detroit’s
City Hall. The potential
benefits of competition and
accountability can apply to
most of the city’s public utilities
and services. Selling the water
and electricity utilities as well
to correct budget deficiencies,
as well as to create the type of
competitive environment that
is bound to increase efficiency.
The new mayor must put
a stop to the hand-in-glove
relationship between city
officials and union leaders. The
mayor’s office is responsible
for negotiating the best deal
for the taxpayer – period.
Reckless contracts with city
employee unions have made
the city government perhaps
the most inefficient in the
nation with an appalling ratio
of one employee for every 50
city residents. Comparatively,
cities such as Houston,
Indianapolis and Chicago have
one employee per 200 residents.
The new mayor will have
a chance to alter the hostile
business climate of Detroit. The
current city tax and regulatory
codes could hardly be any more
unfriendly to entrepreneurs and
established companies alike.
If something is taxed, there is
bound to be less of it – and this
classic economic adage couldn’t
fit any more squarely to the
business climate of Detroit.
By acknowledging these
problems, citizens can vote to
turn around their dispirited city.
The removal of Kwame
Kilpatrick will not solely
remedy the Motor City’s
deficiencies. Rather, by
electing a new mayor who
bears a firm grasp on economic
principles and an intimate
understanding of the faults of
his predecessors, Detroiters
may have the chance to turn
a corner and begin the rise to
the productive and proud city
it once was. HF
HILLSDALEFORUM@GMAIL.COM
ANDERSON FROM PG. 4
not calling “anyone on earth
father... nor... teacher,” as Jesus
uncompromisingly demanded
(Mthw 23:8). “Every member
of a church freely supplies
that aspect of the Lord that he
or she has received...The Lord
Jesus cannot be fully disclosed
through only one member. He
is far too rich for that.”
Before Viola can claim a
Biblical victory he must
confront the reality of words
such as church, pastors and
elders in the New Testament.
Viola points out that not only
did many believers assemble
in homes, but the Greek
word ekklesia, simply means
“assembly.” It is entirely free
of the cultural baggage that
a modern mind naturally
associates with it. Poimen,
interpreted as both “shepherd”
and “pastor” occurs just once
in the New Testament in
reference to anyone but Christ,
and it is plural (Eph. 4:11).
More common is presbuteros, or
elders, but, far from denoting
any official role, Viola believes
that the word describes one
who is simply more seasoned
in the faith. Paul and his fellow
apostles could have chosen
from dozens of contemporary
terms that denoted hierarchical
offices or sanctioned slots. Such
words were cast aside because
leadership in the various
sacerdotal areas can only arise
naturally, and by the mutual
consent of the members.
Viola’s books present one
WRITE:
Hillsdale, MI
49242
more particularly potent
argument against the
church building and official
pastorate, namely that their
very design promotes a
docile flock. Remarkably
like a movie theater, the
pews promote passivity and
discourage participation.
The reformation offered little
relief from this inoculating
routine, as it was Luther who
wrote, “the ears alone are
the organs of a Christian.” In
regularly stepping up to the
lectern, the pastor ignorantly
wrests command of the
church from Christ, taking on
a responsibility that man was
not made for.
Viola clearly opens himself up
to accusations of utopianism
and anarchism by men of
the cloth. In the face of such
obvious labels, it is important
to remember that though the
Church is made of men, it is
not a man made institution.
While a political body such
as America requires an
executive decision maker
vested with the prerogative
power in order to preserve a
modicum of ordered freedom,
among the body of Christ all
earthly headships bear some
resemblance to Medusa. Even
though the pagan gorgon is
not impervious to Christian
interpretation, those who
stare into her face still change
into immobile stones, utterly
unlike the “living stones”
envisioned by Cephas. (1
Peter 2:5) HF
9
OCTOBER 2008
photos courtesy of Islam for Today
Meet Dara and Sara, they’re harmless and helpful!
American doll anyway.
Barbie FROM Pg. 1 Toy seller Mehdi
Hedayat noted, “Dara
and brown eyes. and Sara are strategic
Barbie is also a products to preserve our
cell phone carrying, national identity.” He has,
swim-suit wearing however, also observed
independent woman. Iranian children’s clear
In response Sara is preference for Barbie,
armed with a burka, and therefore continues
shawl, and the dream of to sell the American doll.
becoming a teacher or Barbie must be pleased
housewife. Barbie may with her commercial
cruise the town in a pink dominance over Dara and
convertible, but Sara has Sara, but the real winner
a sturdy pair of sandals in all of this is America.
and a determined walk. The fact that foreign
Sara’s twin brother Dara governments have
also wears traditional designed their own dolls
Iranian dress and enjoys for fear of the continued
studying hard in order spread of western
to become an astronaut culture is a comforting
or an archaeologist. sign, especially as
Sorry Ken, beach-blonde military tensions with
hair and washboard Iran continue to rise.
abs won’t get you into If an American
space. military invasion does
Both children love not conquer Iran, then
to pray and spend perhaps the American
time with their stay- cultural invasion will
at-home mother and win the war, one eight-
hardworking father: year-old at a time.
a prominent member Why take the lives of
of an Iranian Cultural children wielding AK-
Heritage Organization. 47s when it is far easier
But despite Dara to take the market
and Sara’s cultural shares of children
correctness, sales cuddling Barbie?
have been rather The creation of Dara and
pathetic while Barbie Sara is a clever idea, but
remains a hot seller. so long as Barbie is queen,
Iranian toy sellers American culture will
recognize that Barbie continue to prevail. Toy
hurts Islamic culture seller Masoumeh Rahimi
and is a moral danger, has sensibly observed, “I
but Barbie sells so well think every Barbie doll
that most toy stores is more harmful than an
decide to carry the American missile.” HF
OPINiON
DEBIT OR CREDIT? JAMES NESBITT
SENIOR WRITER
Your parents taught you to When you make a purchase with a credit card, you are not actually pay-
read, tie your shoes, blow your ing for your purchase, your credit card company is. That is why you
must have good credit to get one, as the credit card company needs a
nose, and drive a car. But did
reasonable assurance you can repay them for the purchase.
they teach you about those
plastic cards in your wallet? THE GOOD THE BAD
•You can make interest on money •Credit card companies have to
Probably not, because if they pay for those rewards somehow.
in your bank account between the
are like most Americans, they time you make the purchase and Spending limits on a credit card are
don’t know much about them. the time you must repay the credit not tied to how much money you
As your professors will soon card company. actually have. If you are not able
begin pounding into your •Federal law limits your liability to pay your credit card bill by the
if your credit card is stolen and due date, you will be hit with high
head during the week day, interest rates, making it difficult
used without your consent to fifty
knowledge is crucial for inde- dollars. Many credit cards waive to pay off your debt. Credit card
pendence. As Hollywood will your liability entirely. Further- companies make enough on these
teach you on the weekends, more, any illegitimate charges high interest rates to offer rewards,
made are not deducted from your stay in business, and even make a
knowledge is good. Either healthy profit. So, if you’re lured
bank account but charged to the
way, it’s time to start learning. credit card company, positioning to Gucci purses and designer jeans
Fortunately for you, under- you better in dispute resolution. like a moth to a light bulb, a credit
standing how “plastic” works •You can actually make money card might not be the best option
isn’t as hard as it seems. by using a credit card! Many cards for you.
offer rewards points or a certain •A credit card adds yet another
If you hail from Detroit, you bill to be paid, which increases the
percentage of the amount you pur-
may be accustomed to taking chase as cash back. complexity of your finances more
whatever you want from any- than a debit card connected to a
one who has a smaller caliber pre-existing bank account does.
weapon than you. But every- A debit card deducts money directly from your account. When you make
where else, it is expected that a purchase, money from your account is immediately withdrawn to pay
you sacrifice your hard-earned for it.
money to obtain your desires. THE GOOD THE BAD
There are two widely prac- •Remember all those library books •Since money is directly debited
ticed rituals for this painful ex- you “forgot” to return? Many from your account at the time of
transactions that rely on good faith transaction, you can’t make any in-
perience. You can carry cash, terest on it. It may be a pittance, but
actions of the future can affect your
but this exposes you to the risk credit score, even the failure to re- the principle is still there. Or isn’t,
of a stickup even outside the turn library books. And a bad cred- if you know your finance terms.
confines of tranquil Detroit. it score means no credit card. How- •If you card is stolen or lost, your
On the upside, cash transac- ever, you can still forgo hauling liability is not limited by law to fif-
around your piggy bank to make ty dollars (as it is with a credit card)
tions can’t be tracked by your purchases, thanks to the debit card. but instead to the amount charged
bank, the NSA, and home- Since debit cards are directly tied before you report the loss of your
land security like your plastic to your account, good credit is not card. Additionally, the money is
deducted directly from your ac-
transactions can be (and are). required to get one.
•Gucci lovers, the amount you count. So if you’re the ditzy Doro-
So if you’re planning to buy thy type, a debit card might not be
can spend with your card is tied to
antitank missiles in the future, the amount of money you have in the best option for you.
stick with cash. your account, so you won’t rack up •Debit cards offer similar rewards
Next option: plastic. It’s more massive debt with high interest if programs to credit cards, but their
convenient, can carry less risk you try to buy out the whole store rates tend to be lower than those of
because you just couldn’t decide credit cards
for the user (if used responsi- (although those crafty bankers are
bly), and offers greater access increasingly using misleading over-
to products (buying cheap draft protection to charge hefty fees
crap on eBay, for example). if you overdraw your account).
If you’ve been inspired to pick out a card and start swiping away,
there are a few important points you should consider first:
•Because most American consumers use credit cards unwisely, Annual Percentage Rates (APR) is heavily adver-
tised. Unless you are planning to use your card unwisely (not recommended), APR should be rather unimport-
ant in your decision process. There are much better loan options available, for instance, the local bookie. At least
he only breaks your kneecaps/neck.
•Is your dream vacation a trip to Topeka? With certain rewards programs, that’ll be the only destination for
which your rewards are redeemable. Make sure the rewards program for your card is actually worthwhile.
•Make sure your card doesn’t have an annual fee. Sometimes banks will attract you to a certain card with high
rewards, but they recoup their losses by charging an annual membership or renewal fee for the card. On the
upside, you usually get a platinum membership. Sure sounds fancy!
 10
Arts&Entertainment OCTOBER 2008
Viral Video: America’s got the fever
campaigning volte-face in the
ANNA SCHEITHAUER wake of the new technological
STAFF WRITER advancements, giving the can-
Remember when you tripped didates more face-time with the
over the bridesmaid’s dress at common man.
the wedding you were at last Interviews are available to
year? Or what about that stunt watch over and over again on
you pulled on your bike that YouTube, and thousands of or-
landed you in the hospital? dinary people can let their voice
You might have conveniently be heard through homemade
forgotten about those epi- video clips. During the latest
sodes, but thousands of people presidential election primaries,
who visit YouTube every day CNN and YouTube hosted de-
haven’t. bates, featuring questions sub-
Four years ago, You-
Tube didn’t exist. It has
now become a com-
The Best of Political YouTube
mon noun. Through “Barack Obama Gets ‘Rick Rolled’”
YouTube, moments
captured forever by a www.singforchange.com
“Howard Stern Quizzes Voters”
single camera can be One of few grainy photos available before the “Sing for Change” website disappeared
uploaded for millions “I’m Voting Democrat Because...” from the internet.
to view. What started
as an idea and a small
company founded by
“Karl Rove Raps” Sing for Change, Sing for Socialism
of NBC, who helped film and president. These children still
three men in 2005 has
evolved into a site re-
Julie ROBISON promote the event with the help have at least six years before
See all of these and more! Online at: EDITOR IN CHIEF they can even register to vote,
cently sold to Google of other influential colleagues.
www.thehillsdaleforum.blogspot.com and yet they sing songs about
for 1.65 billion dollars. As Election Day claws The first part of the performance
About 80 to 90 million its way closer day was written and performed by a man they do not wholly
videos call YouTube by day, the reminder Lily Campbell, age 9, and was understand.
home as of last April. that the Republican- called “We’re Gonna Change There has been great
The videos range from controlled White the World.” She sang “We’re controversy in past years over
clips of children singing popu- mitted by users. YouTube has House may be overtaken just gonna spread happiness/ the treatment of children in
lar songs to how-to videos. given a voice to ordinary peo- as Congress was in 2006 looms We’re gonna spread freedom/ the U.S. and abroad. With the
YouTube has made entertain- ple; otherwise, unless debates ominously overhead American Obama’s gonna change it/ travesties occurring in Africa,
ment by the people and for the take place in some sort of pub- markets and minds. Yet, Obama’s gonna lead ’em/ and UN promises to ‘fix’ the
people possible. It’s not just for lic forum, citizens don’t get the despite the nation’s problems, We’re gonna change it/ And re- problem, one must remember
silly videos either; there are chance to ask questions. This the show goes on, with politics arrange it/ We’re gonna change the children back home: the
countless commentaries, rants, year there were 4,927 videos giving their musical regards to the world.” It was immediately children who are not held in
and documentaries uploaded submitted for the Republican the country. From the political followed by another song bondage physically, but whose
every day. A search using the candidates, and 2,989 submit- satire song “Barack the Magic written by Sawada, called “Sing mental capacities for a truly
key words “presidential elec- ted for the Democratic candi- Negro,” first featured on Rush for Change,” which had the liberal mind are being short-
tion 2008” yields 13,100 videos. dates, and even though that Limbaugh’s show in March children “sing for vision, sing circuited by teachers who teach
The best part is that anyone event was broadcast months 2007, to the catchy and celebrity- for unity” with corresponding history by Howard Zinn and
with an Internet connection can ago, the footage is still available endorsed “Yes We Can” by Will. hand motions. politics according to their own
tune in. A person no longer has on YouTube. I.Am., politically-fueled songs While the thought of children opinions. It is citizenry like this
to wait to see it on the news if are sending a strong message to singing does not usually strike that leads future generations
Each minute, another thirteen
it’s made available online first. hours of YouTube footage is Americans. a chord into the hearts of grown to make uneducated decisions
Freshman Joe Hersey watches uploaded. YouTube is growing Most recently, the Obama- men and women, these children about public political figures
“around twenty” videos on constantly and has already in- Biden supporters seem to be have been dubbed by many as by indoctrinating them with
YouTube per week, and says tegrated itself into popular cul- humming to their own tune. “Obama Youth,” and have been songs praising someone who
that “about half of them” are ture. While it has yet to be seen “Sing for Change” is an Obama compared to Hitler Youth and has yet to even be officially
related to the upcoming elec- how much of an effect this will grassroots coalition started by the children in North Korea elected. If these people truly
tion. music teacher Kathy Sawada and who sing songs to their “Dear believe that electing a person
have on the 2008 Presidential
This will be the first presiden- Election, it is definite to say that 22 children ages 5-12 in Venice, Leader.” This use of children who upholds a belief system
tial election during the age of YouTube has made its mark in California. They performed as political propaganda is wrapped in vague vocabulary
YouTube, blogging, and social- politics and will continue to their original songs one Sunday contemptible, and even though words will be the answer to
networking. It won’t just be an broadcast information, politi- afternoon in a neighbor’s house, this is a grassroots organization national predicaments, it may
historic event because there’s cal and otherwise, by “we the well-attended by both parents not directly connected with the take a president like Obama to
a woman and a black man on people.” HF and other area residents. The campaign, it still reflects a belief have them soon clapping to a
presidential tickets, but because audience also included Jeff that the ends justify the means, different beat. HF
YouTube has helped cause a Zucker, President and CEO the end being Obama elected as
11
OCTOBER 2008
Biden’s Greatest Hits:
A condensed collection of the Vice Presidential nominee’s blunders and boo-boos
Calvin FreiBurger
SENIOR WRITER
No sooner did John McCain
announce Alaska Gov. Sarah
Palin as his running mate then
Democrats began suggesting
that the McCain campaign
didn’t bother to properly
examine the would-be vice
president’s background.
If only Democrats were
half as concerned about the
thought that went into the
selection of Delaware
Senator (and perpetual
embarrassment) Joe Biden,
the VP candidate who,
by several accounts, has
“ I DON’T KNOW THAT HE IS
only a casual acquaintance
with the truth.
In the 1988 presidential
race, Biden made a series of
false claims about his academic
background: that he got a full
academic scholarship to law
school (nope, only a partial
scholarship), that he earned
three degrees (in reality a
single double-major) and that
he graduated in the top half
of his class (actually, he was
76 out of 85).
This was in the course of
explaining to a reporter why
“I probably have a much
higher IQ than you do.”
His defense? “I exaggerate
when I’m angry.”
Chavez FROM PG. 2
support and ally to Chavez.
This can only embolden the
dictator further, resulting
in escalated proportions
of communist action.
Venezuela allied with Russia
poses a threat to the American
way of life and freedom as
Americans know it. Chavez’s
promotion of communism
is a nearby danger which
can affect the politics of the
world, including those of the
United States. Hugo Chavez
should be regarded as a threat
to the Free World and not
left to dictate his policies to
the world, lest they turn into
something far worse than
heightened gas prices. HF
During that campaign
he also was found to have
plagiarized a speech by Neil
Kinnock, then-leader of the
British Labor Party.
Maybe it’s Biden’s ability
to cross partisan divides that
caught Barack Obama’s eye.
During the CNN/YouTube
primary debate, responding
to a gun owner who asked
about the safety of his “baby,”
a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle,
Biden said, “I don’t know
MENTALLY QUALIFIED TO
OWN THAT GUN
-JOE BIDEN
that he is mentally qualified
to own that gun.”
He has told America “it’s
time to be patriotic” and
support higher taxes.
Even the foreign policy
gravitas Biden supposedly
brings to Obama’s
campaign is a joke.
As the New Republic reported
in October 2001, Biden had a
brilliant idea for winning Arab
goodwill in the wake of 9/11:
“Seems to me this would be a
good time to send, no strings
attached, a check for $200
PC versus Mac... the nerd equivalent of Michigan v. Ohio State
Catherine sims
staff WRITER
Before you headed out to
college this fall, odds are that you
spent no small amount of time
looking for the perfect laptop
to get you through the school
year. And that means
you had to decide
between getting a PC
(personal computer)
or a Mac (Macintosh).
What you might not
have known is while
Apple seems to be
giving Microsoft a
good run for its money
these days, it was close
ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
million to Iran.” Yes, that Iran.
As the author of the plan
to partition Iraq into three
separate regions, Biden
has earned the united
disapproval of Iraq’s Sunni,
Shi’ite, and Kurdish factions.
“Dividing the communities
and land in such a way
would only lead to new
fighting between people over
resources and borders,” Salih
al-Mutlaq, head of Sunni
parliamentary bloc National
Dialogue, told Reuters on
August 23. “Iraq cannot
survive unless it is unified,
and dividing it would keep
the problems alive for a
” long time.”
Biden even seems
confused about the
merits of his own ticket.
Team McCain wasted no
time in making an ad out
of Biden’s primary-season
contentions that Barack
Obama wasn’t ready for the
presidency (apparently he
has improved in record time)
and that he’d be “honored
to run with or against John
McCain.”
Once on the campaign trail,
Biden even went as far as
saying that Hillary Clinton
might have been a better VP
pick. Well, maybe he is right
about something. HF
to collapse a mere decade ago.
Oddly enough, Microsoft
was the one that saved Apple
from financial disaster in 1997
by purchasing $150 million
of stock in Apple. Since then,
Apple has seen a dramatic
turnaround in its fortunes, using an overweight, balding, and
photo by Schleue
the hillsdale forum presents...
Real Hillsdalians
of Genius
Here’s to you, Mr. Library Schmoozer. You enter Mossey
with the genuine intention to study, but the allure of
acknowledging every person you’ve ever met is too strong to
resist. You soon find yourself making the rounds.
Stalking between the bookshelves, you look for a quiet nook
to call your own but, it’s a full house tonight and that friend
you haven’t seen in weeks is sitting two feet away. Besides—its
time for a study break, right? The sound of your kibitzing fills
the entire floor, and it’s only your oblivious nature that
protects you from fellow student’s death glares.
So now, thanks to you—we’re distracted, and doncha know—
headphones in the ears are the international sign for “I’m busy!”
So sit back and catch up on your Cicero and French verbs
instead of what happened last weekend, after all, it is not like you
came here to study in the first place. –JR
DAVIGNON FROM PG. 4
the Bible. If the truth is true, it should be universal, yet Frank
Viola’s method of knowing and defining the truth could never
produce consensus on a universal level.
But if the truth is not determined through consensus, how then
can we know the truth? The Bible says that the Spirit will lead
us into all truth (Jn. 16:13), and that the church is the “pillar of
truth” (1 Tim. 3:15), but the church cannot be the pillar of truth if
it consists merely in the form of independent house churches, as
Frank Viola proposes. The truth is not subjective, and it should
not be subject to the whim of every individual house church. In
order for the church to be the “pillar of truth,” it must be united
in its witness to the truth of Christianity, and this can only occur
through an authoritative institutional church that has the power
to define and defend the truth. HF
innovative and user-friendly “Mac” is always kind,
products to gain an edge in understanding, and inevitably
the PC-dominated market. more attractive and proficient.
Macintosh’s creative These ads rely on the
advertising has been another viewer associating PCs with
asset in its struggle upwards. businessmen and unfriendly
Today’s Mac ads pit “PC,” environments whereas Mac
is a friend who will make
bespectacled man in a the entire process of owning
bad suit, against “Mac,” and using a computer much
a bright young thing simpler and more fun.
in a casual but trendy Just lately, Microsoft has
T-shirt and jeans. come out with a new ad
While the PC character campaign, ostensibly criticizing
runs into a spectrum of Macintosh for typecasting
problems from freezing fat people who wear glasses
up to the ultimate as boring and inefficient.
horror of being tedious
and unappealing, CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
 12
the.Last.Laugh OCTOBER 2008

WW PC & MAC FROM PG. 11

--Heard Up the Hill----------

“Yeah... Zeus is a cheater. likes about her Mac, she

W
You know that TV show Cheaters? as boring and inefficient. said, “It’s beautiful. It’s
Zeus would be on it. Every week.” Taking the viewer on a tour simple. And it never gets
of the world, Microsoft shows viruses. That’s about it.”
--Dr. Hutchinson
how people from every On the PC side, freshman
country and background, Przemek Grzesiak points out
“I’m going to use an ‘R’ rated expression (dot) businessmen and cool that, “Macs don’t get viruses
here: it’s like my Dad used to always say, people alike, use PCs. simply because they’re such a
‘Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.’”
--Dr. Wolfram
TheHIllsdaleForum The genius of this ad lies in
its sophisticated approach to
small part of the market. This,
coupled with the fact that PCs
(dot) tackling the Mac accusations. have much more software
It presents a cosmopolitan available for their users tend
“I like the enthusiasm... It’s that go get ‘em
attitude that made America great!”
BLOGSPOT outlook on the world of
PC users, demonstrating
to make PCs more compelling
targets for hackers.” And

CO
that its users are diverse he says that he likes his PC
--Dr. Garnjobst (dot) in appearance and beliefs, because, “PCs have been
encompassing the practical around the block. After years
“Disco, discimus--

M
business world as well as of being targeted by spy ware,
we dance in polyester.” musical and artistic venues. viruses, trojans and whatnot,
--Dr. Jones On campus, the competition they are better-equipped
between the opposing camps to protect your computer.”
In reference to the financial bailout: tends toward the fanatical While the debate is ongoing, it
side. Mac users typically continues to heat up as Apple
“It is equivalent to spending $1 million per day extol the virtues of their gains more of a foothold in
for the past 2000 years. That is a million bucks. operating system until told college bound students. It
Per day. SINCE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. to stop; although, freshman remains to be seen whether
Your life is now mortgaged. Online At: Serena Howe expressed her Microsoft’s new advertising
Have a great afternoon!” www.thehillsdaleforum. feelings quite succinctly. will give the PC new impetus
When asked what she among the young. HF
--Dr. Wenzel blogspot.com

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