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Bristol Palin Gets The Boot Due To Student Outrage Over $20,000 Fee
Bristol Palin was reported to be scheduled to speak at Washington University next month as the keynote speaker at the college’s Sexual Responsibility Week. That plan is now off, due to massive student outrage that led to protests.
Unwed mother and daughter of Republican reality TV star Sarah Palin, Bristol Palin has marketed herself as an “abstinence only” spokesperson to Candies as well as commanding speaking fees from 15-30,000 for her “don’t do what I did” speech.
If Bristol were not marketing herself as a celebrity in her own right, she would be off-limits as far as a politician’s daughter goes. But Bristol spent the fall politicizing Dancing with the Stars and telling America that if she won it would be a great f-u to the “haters’ out there. At 20 years of age, she’s no different from the daughter of any other celebrity who is also trying to achieve fame except that her mother has been claiming no one can write or talk about Bristol in any fashion other than worship and adoration because it would be picking on her “kids”. If you do write about Bristol or make a joke about her, you are a pedophile (hello, David Letterman).
These tiresome shenanigans are wearing thin on Americans who just sent Bristol Palin packing from her speaking engagement at Washington University, where she was set keynote speak on an abstinence only panel. The panel is also including representatives from the Catholic Student Center on campus, Missouri Right to Life, and Planned Parenthood, said Scott Elman, president of the Student Health Advisory Committee at Washington University.
She was reportedly going to be paid $20,000 – a number that got the students in an uproar due to the school’s budgetary cuts in other departments. One wonders if Planned Parenthood speaker is getting $20,000 to speak about birth control or the Right to Life spokesperson is getting paid $20,000 to speak about not having an abortion. Most likely not, as they aren’t brand names.
According to stltoday, “A Facebook petition to compel the school to nix Palin’s appearance had hundreds of signatures Thursday evening. “It’s not necessarily in opposition to the ideas that are being presented,” explained Philip Thomas, the Washington U. student who initiated the petition.”People are getting so angry because of the opposition to Palin’s lack of expertise and the high cost she is charging,” especially in light of budget cuts that have adversely affected other student activities.”
Palin had not signed a contract for the event.
This rejection will, of course, be interpreted as rejecting her message and the university should prepare for the usual descent of angry Palin fans (see Senator Yee, Andree McLeod, TLC suggesting they might need extra security if they allow anyone to criticize Palin’s show, etc.). It will escape Sarah Palin’s notice that the university wasn’t the first to reject Palin’s message; Bristol herself rejected it more than once. However, the university clearly stated their reasons as being student outcry over the expensive speaker’s fee, not Bristol’s message.
Abstinence only is a proven failure, however, I have no problem with it being taught along side other more effective ways of preventing teen pregnancy. But to pay someone who didn’t heed the message and who makes a lot of money to tell kids not to do what she did is more than disingenuous. In this economy, it’s a darn right shame. There are, after all, adoption agencies, hungry children and sick children who could use $20,000 donated to their cause.
Bristol Palin wasn’t a good dancer, she isn’t a good speaker, she sounds half asleep on the radio – basically, she doesn’t have her mother’s skill set in the celebrity department. She lacks Sarah’s charm and charisma. So when someone chooses to pay her $20,000 or so to talk for a few minutes about what a mistake she made by not being abstinent, they are paying for the Palin brand and nothing else. And there is no more politicized and divisive brand in America other than the Palin brand. It turns out, it’s not fiscally responsible to pay a brand name that causes more drama than it’s worth.
No matter how the Palins spin this (and they will), you can be sure of two things: They will paint themselves as victims of the liberal elite and they will never admit that being as hateful and toxic as they have been on our country’s dialogue has consequences. A lot of people aren’t going to want you around when you call half the population un-American haters.
This rejection is a result of all of the things Sarah Palin says she stands for: fiscal responsibility, independence, free speech, and healthy, strong competition driving the free market. Welcome to the free market of competition, Palin family. You lost this round.
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61 Responses to Bristol Palin Gets The Boot Due To Student Outrage Over $20,000 Fee
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Janet Carter
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
It’s high time that people stop paying these Palin grifters for absolutely nothing. Bristol is currently shacking up with yet another boyfriend, has shacked up from time to time with Levi, and has an illegimate kid to boot. What in the hell could she possibly have to offer along the lines of “abstinence” except to say that she has never in her life practiced it? And pay her $17,500 to say it? Please!
AKRNC
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Considering her last speech was only ten minutes long, anything over $5 is too much money for Bristol to be paid!
Ignia
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Go, WashU!
Proud to be a Missourian, where at least my ass is free… (pardon the punning!)
Brian Daniels
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Bristol’s “ass” is also free. It’s the talking part you have to pay for.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Brian thats unnecessary
Ignia
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 10:46 pm
Technically, I was speaking of my state animal…
Although that interpretation is also accurate!
Welcome to the Bible Belt!
Ignia
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
(And if you really want to be technical, it would be half of my ass is free, because mules are only half asses…. then again, so are most… I’ll stop there. Civility and all.)
Ignia
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 10:50 pm
Dangit; just ignore me. I’m tired and can’t seem to remove the appendages I use for walking out the orifice I use for talking.
It’s only after I hit “post comment” that I read how many ways my comments can sometimes be taken!
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Hehehe
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
I have a feeling that just like the beauty queen’s mother, Sarah is pushing her daughter. There is little doubt in my mind that Sarah herself set the speaking fees
I don’t have any problem with Bristol her self. I have no idea how much he wants to get out and do the stuff.
Jtl
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 10:28 am
Our youth are very focused on the ‘celebrity’ of some in the public eye! this young girl with others that have had National facetime are not role models!
Abstinence only is a total fail…She is the poster child of that fail! Good for the students that see her contribution to be of less value than the needs of the people paying tuition and getting their education!
I pity her her parentage but see no value to the leessons she appears not to have learned..Go back to school and kick the new boyfriend to the curb—you have a child to support and nuture as a result of your choice!
Reynardine
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 4:13 pm
I can recall my first day in high school in the Florida Redlands, where maybe a third of the girl’s names called were answered by someone saying: “She dropped out. She’s married.” Of course, we all knew why. They anyway did get married, and none of them demanded twenty grand to tell other people not to do what they did. In Bristol’s case, she’s demanding that sum to tell them not to do what she’s doing again. One can only hope it doesn’t have the same result, because it’s damn bad for the human genome.
Cleo17
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Good..now maybe young girls won’t think its so glamorous to bring boys to their room..see what happens? Of course..THEY will NEVER make money like this one. She got luckier than lucky. They sent the wrong message when they rewarded her too. AS IF. Has nothing to do with wisdom and earning her financial status. Its maddening when you see other younger girls really trying hard to make it on their own and no TV offers them a slot of money. And they have no monstrous grizzly lying mother to help. I’m so glad the students spoke up. This is flat out rediculous. All those students are more educated than Bristol which would be an insult to their integrity. This one thinks she can talk to college level students with an earned college level of intelligence? With her elementary mentality? I think not. The world is not stupid. Our students in college are not stupid. Thank you Bristol but no thanks.
Anne
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
The biggest problem with Bristol Palin as a spokesperson is that her experience as a teen mother is atypical due to her mother’s financial resources. That alone undermines any credibility she has in telling prospective young parents that life can be very difficult. Then there’s the very real fact that she is a high school dropout who was set to lecture other young people who are furthering their own education with an eye toward futures as gainfully employed adults. But most ironic of all is that she comes from a household in which other avenues in addition to abstinence were not emphasized–namely, birth control and protected sex. Although I don’t like her mother, my best advice to Bristol Palin would be to work on forging her own path independently of her mother’s celebrity status or her own, since celebrity is very short-lived. That means furthering her education, but the Palin clan doesn’t seem big on that.
AKRNC
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
When I first read about her appearance being scheduled, it said she would be on the panel with “other educated people” speaking on the same subject. To consider Bristol educated is a joke! She barely made it through high school and yet she’s going to speak to young men and women in college, telling them what to do and what not to do?? I’m so happy to hear that they had her removed from speaking. It was an insult to the student body and they let themselves be heard. I hope they are ready for the onslaught of emails from the Palinbots claiming that the Palin family is being abused by the media.
craigtamy
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
When you have a family supposedly touting family values and the teenage girl gets pregnant, it’s a slip up. When the girl not only doesn’t get married, she breaks up with the father and then shacks up with another guy and still is not married, these are not family values. This is what the so-called religious right would call living in sin.
And Anne, you brought up something I had been wondering about. Why is this girl not using protection. Has no one explained the risk of STD’s and/or AIDS to her, if not proper birth control? This family is seriously messed up.
I haven’t heard any of those self-righteous so-and-so’s calling her out for this. I guess it only applies to some people and not others. Hypocritcal bunch they are.
Anne
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
The hypocrisy you describe seriously undermines their claims to be “pro-life,” which goes way beyond simply being anti-abortion. These same folks would never in a million years consider implementing the kind of comprehensive sex education that not only would radically reduce the demand for abortions, but would also result in a lot fewer teen pregnancies. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that if it happened to one of the Obama girls, these same self-righteous so-and-so’s who are so willing to give the Palins a pass would not extend the pass to the Obama family.
craigtamy
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
You are 100% correct. I especially agree with you about the comprehensive sex education. If these girls don’t get pregnant they won’t need abortions. Simple, simple, simple.
Thankfully, our President and Mrs. Obama have class and dignity, and a great love of their daughters. They will of course raise these girls to reach their ultimate potential! I fall in love with these girls everytime I see them.
25thcenturygirl
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 1:30 am
Didn’t Bristol tell Oprah that she was going to be abstinent until marriage? So she’s living with a man and there’s no sex going on?
I call bollocks.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0...
crystalwolfakacaligrl
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Craig-
She just did a PSA with “The Stitch” for using condoms! And to make matters worse some people think she was/is preggo during DWTS or maybe she gave birth already. She certainly doesn’t practice what she preaches and her last “SPEECH”/”Talk was for TEN Mins! Can you imagine 10 mins of her telling people how “it sucks” to be a teen aged mom and her saying having to deal with “Haters” and how her and her mother don’t retreat but reload, & awesome, its sucks again and its over…. gimme 10K?
craigtamy
Jan. 30th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
I am among those who thought she was pregnant on DWTS. How in the world can you GAIN weight when you are supposedly dancing hours a day? Either she was pregnant and tried to hide it, or she was lazy and ate enormous amounts of food. Either way, it doesn’t look good. I assume she had the baby already and is trying to figure out a way to “announce” its arrival.
Scott Rose
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 5:28 pm
www.monstersandcritics.co...
Bristol Palin’s ex-boyfriend Levi Johnston is refusing to ‘stoop to this level’ and react to his former girlfriend’s comments about their son.
Bristol, 20, recently said in an interview that Levi, also 20, has ‘seen [his son] at most three times’ since the end of Dancing With The Stars last year.
However Levi’s manager Tank Johnson has dismissed Bristol’s claims about how often he sees his little boy Tripp.
He said to RadarOnline.com: ‘The Palins need to take the high road. There’s a child involved in this and Levi is not going to stoop to this level. The Palins like to fight.
‘They can say whatever they want to say. But Levi is not going to dignify their comments with a response.’
la Zingaro
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Good for him. The Palins not only like to fight, they like to fight in public. Like those drunk couples who go out and get drunk and have drunken hillbilly knock down drag outs at the pool hall next to the jukebox and then make up when Nazarath’s Love Hurts begins to play and then they spit on the bartender and cold clock the bouncers who are trying to throw them out. “If we’re miserable, we’re takin’ erebody with us.”
And they are a miserable bunch, those Palins.
Eykis
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 11:39 am
According the Gryphen at the Immoral Minority and Mudflats, Bristol has refused to allow Levi to see the kid and has now removed the kid from Alaska W/O the court’s approval. Levi needs to take Barstool to court and get his rights enforced. Barstool also wants Levi to give up his parental rights and change the kid’s name to PayMe in exchange for no child support. Funny, it does not work that in the other 49 states where Child Support does not go away.
Grifters, one and all. They commit civil and criminal crimes and never pay. They intimidate people and should be tossed out of normal society. Let them stay in their McMansion in Wasilly and leave the rest of us alone.
Abstinence Only…………….brings babies………..unwanted……babies.
Fenriq
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Bristol Palin’s star was tarnished to begin with and now its starting to fizzle and flame out. Which is good really, what she is is not what America needs.
caroline
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
What the Palins have learned is how to steal from the people. They’ve also learned how gullible people are and how to manipulate the media to help them fain being picked on for nothing. Someone suggested that we libs don’t like Palin because she is so charming and gorgeous and she loves her family so much, and I haven’t stop laughing since. There is so much of substance to not like the Palins that we could write volumes, without even touching on the surface stuff.
Paying $20T to Bristol to speak on a subject she has no experience with is really a joke!
Good for the students at WA U.
Smarg
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Why do liberals hate Palin and her family so?
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Why does Beck and Limbaugh pick on the 2 Obama girls?
la Zingaro
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Drive bys are weak.
wilson201
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
She definitely lacks expertise in abstinence!
la Zingaro
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
I will teach a class on Space and Time Travel for HALF that.
Baldrz
Jan. 28th, 2011 at 11:24 pm
New rule: You don’t get paid to speak at a university unless you could reasonably expect to graduate from said university.
PalinHypocrisyOverload
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 12:43 am
While I have read and loved politicususa for months, this is my first post.
Bristol’s role as an abstinence-only advocate infuriates me for a number of reasons.
1. If she was truly serious about her message, she would make these speeches for free. The only time that she has ever promoted abstinence, is when she is being paid for it, which is sickening. In other words, if you are willing to pay Bristol Palin to give a speech, whatever the topic is, she’ll give it and pretend that she believes it.
2. I am a 26 year old virgin. This is not something that I talk about, because I don’t really believe it is anyone’s business, but unlike BP who claims to be an abstinence “spokesperson”, I graduated from both high school and college, with my virginity. I am a liberal progressive (registered with the Democratic party), who not only grew up in church, including a stint as a Sunday school teacher, but someone who votes. While there are differences between myself and friends my age, they are most notably that my beliefs are much more progressive than most, not my religious beliefs or abstinence. I know a few other people who maintained their virginity at my age, however I don’t know anyone who is abstinent for religious or moral reasons, rather for personal reasons.
3. If someone who had received fame and fortune by virtue of a planned teen pregnancy was scheduled to be paid to speak at my University, high school, church or any other group that I’ve been a part of, I would be furious. While I can appreciate that Bristol could have learned a lesson from her pregnancy, the fact that she has chosen to profit from the pregnancy and said “lesson” is incredibly offensive to me. If she wants to be taken seriously she needs to either stop profiting from her pregnancy or stop preaching abstinence, because giving speeches about the difficulties of teen pregnancy and need for abstinence, when we know she has made at least several hundred thousand dollars from said pregnancy, is nauseating.
4. I have one last comment about Bristol and her “fame”. While I have admittedly never watched or listened to one of her interviews and don’t watch Dancing with the Stars, I have heard that she felt a victim of the media, when she was made an example of teen pregnancy, because her mother was running for VP and promoting abstinence. Since her mother decided to run for VP, knowing her daughter was pregnant and then announced said pregnancy within two or three days of joining the ticket, I have a hard time seeing her as a victim of the media. I don’t understand why she didn’t just stay away from the RNC and the campaign trail. While I’ve never been apart of any campaign, I have dodged cameras throughout my life and remember the Bush girls being absent from their father’s campaigns without any consequences. While the media was admittedly hungry for information about Sarah Palin, I seriously doubt that they would have announced the pregnancy of her minor daughter, if the press release had not come from the McCain/Palin campaign, so I wish she would stop blaming the media for something her mother chose to announce, after she chose to put herself and her family, in the limelight.
It is hard for me to see Bristol as anything other than a hypocritical, self-centered mean girl, but I choose to pity her for being raised to be a constant victim(who has coincidentally made close to a million dollars through her “mistake”), without any self awareness or concern for anyone other than herself. I can’t imagine that she is very happy, since she spends so much of her time badmouthing the father of her child, the media and “the haters”. If Bristol genuinely believes in abstinence-only education then she should start giving those speeches for free and stop profiting from her pregnancy and I hope that she can stop spending so much time complaining about and focusing on everyone who is wronging her, for no other reason, then to give her son a healthy life.
Sarah Jones
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 7:12 am
Excellent comment! If you haven’t read “red state blue state” yet you might want to pick it up. Your discussion of personal values is touched on in that book – basically that “blue states” tend to have an internal/personal set of values and parents who value personal responsibility. It’s fascinating. On a personal level, it distresses me to imagine what message Bristol’s son will get finding out his mother went around the country preaching about abstinence only after she gave birth to him, portraying him as a mistake in a sense. I can’t imagine that will be a self-esteem booster.
Diane
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 9:53 am
What an incredible, well written comment!
I felt strongly at the time that she should have stayed in school, while pregnant, instead of being on the campaign trail. That would have been setting an example.
But for her, having sex and getting pregnant has been very very profitable.
Why should they believe her and why is she talking at a college when she has not attended on and does not have a steady job.
given her conservative, christian background, I would have thought that sarah palin would have passed on the VP nomination to stay at home and take care of her family. She had a handicapped Baby and a pregnant unwed daughter. While her daughter was raising her child, mom, was on the road pushing her book, traveling all over the US.
What kind of example is that for other families?
Anne
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 11:08 am
The fact that she has not only profited financially (unlike the vast majority of teen moms) but is also placing herself in a position for another possible pregnancy out of wedlock completely negates her as a credible spokesperson for abstinence. In fact, some impressionable girl could look at her as an example as proof that teen pregnancy is a good thing, since she has obviously used it to benefit financially. Another thing that undermines her credibility is that she represents herself as this put-upon martyr with a child whose father is not interested in the child. The Palins seem not to want Levi in Tripp’s life.
The decision to have sex or not before marriage is a highly personal one, and we all need to respect each other’s right to whatever decision we make. Whichever decision we do make, we need to be honest about it and not pretend to be something we are not. Your post is a well-written and honest one from another perspective, and makes it quite clear that this is a responsible, adult decision. So many people deride adult virgins without considering that simply being sexually active does not automatically confer adulthood upon them. Regardless of one’s decision, it is about being honest
and responsible in one’s actions. I have immense respect for you, because you have managed to cut through all the bull from the Palins and demonstrate how you embody what Bristol and her mother only pretend Bristol is.
Nasty Liberal
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 11:50 am
Thank you, PalinHyprocrisyOverload, for, ah…
Well, I’m gonna’ say it the way I thought it:
keeping your powder dry and then shooting true!
Man oh man, using that sort of expression wouldn’t have been ruined but for the endlessly loose mindlessness emanating from Wasilla. Straight shooter, my feathered rump!
Nasty Liberal
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Gawd, I gotta’ start thinking twice before I speak.
Maybe, I should try silence, actually…
Beings’ how I just realized the double entendre implicit in powder dry.
Kudos, all the same and on all counts, with my apologies.
majii
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
Kudos to you, PHO,
I have a 29 year old daughter who is also still a virgin. She’s been dating a guy for over 4 years, and they plan to marry sometime within the next 2 years. I recall her asking me about how to approach him to discuss not wanting to be sexually active until she is married. I encouraged her to approach the issue head on and just let him know how she felt. She did, he understood what she wanted, and agreed to it. It helps that they’re both Christians, too. Bristol didn’t have to get pregnant. I believe she got pregnant because she didn’t have enough information and resources available to her to avoid getting pregnant. I do believe that you, my daughter, and other young women like you would be better spokespersons for abstinence than someone who has a child and discovers the value of abstinence after the fact.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 1:04 pm
I think she got pregnant because she was a teenager and followed her instincts like all that age do. She just wasn’t smart enough to practice safe abstinence.
Darklady
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
There’s been some talk among Alaskans that Bristol got pregnant on purpose.
Archivist1000
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Very interesting comment; just want to clarify one small point though.
You said: Since her mother decided to run for VP, knowing her daughter was pregnant and then announced said pregnancy within two or three days of joining the ticket, I have a hard time seeing her as a victim of the media. I don’t understand why she didn’t just stay away from the RNC and the campaign trail.
You may not remember, this, but the reason Sarah announced the pregnancy as she did, so soon, was because there was a lot of chatter that Trig was actually Bristol’s son, that Sarah had faked the pregnancy. So, revealing that Bristol was 5 months pregnant (or whatever ) was Sarah’s way of disproving the rumours that had been circulating for a long time in Alaska, then found their way to the Lower 48 once McCain put Palin & Family in the spotlight.
On many levels, there are legitimate reasons to question Sarah’s pregnancy and birth story about Trig, but this isn’t the place to do it, so I’ll just leave it at that.
Jtl
Jan. 30th, 2011 at 9:23 am
Well put , HypocrisyOverland! It is good to get the perspective of our youth!
I see the girl as a victim of her mothers’ audacity and vacuous vanity! Pity the child!
F Joy
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 2:28 am
For the most part, I believe that kids of political figures are off limits to criticism or ridicule, but Bristol Palin goes a little too far. I assume that she is directed and guided by her mom Sarah Palin because she has the same pattern,…. attack and then play victim, then profit, and then laugh all the way to the bank! Bristol Palin criticized the father of her son by calling him a fame “—–” when her actions have far exceeded his in seeking fame and fortune. I applaud someone who admits to making a misstep and then taking responsibility for doing so. She continues to bad mouth Mr Johnston. She recently stated that because he does not spend enough time with their son or pay enough child support, then her son should not even carry his name. She wants her son to be a Palin. In my opinion, his life in battling the Palins must be a nightmare. He has expressed to the public nothing but love for his son. She spent time in another state during “Dancing with the Stars” and then moved to Arizona after that. Mr Johnston is not making the revenue that Bristol Palin is and he does not have the benefit of a family who makes millions. This is not your typical teenage unwed pregnancy in modern times. When I saw the heading of this article, I thought bravo for the students! It would be different if Bristol or Sarah Palin promoted the benefits of higher education along with pro life and abstinence. What our young people need is to be more skilled and educated to be the leaders of the future. That doesn’t seem to be of value to the Palin family. It’s about time that America begins to see the manipulation of the Palin brand that is opportunistic while offering no real or genuine substance. Anyone can make a mistake and turn it into a positive for themselves and that should be applauded. But I question when teenage pregnancy is promoted as a way to make lots of money when you play your cards right. But even with the support of millionaire parents and revenue paid for having no skills, you don’t find higher education and knowledge as a value system.
Many young unwed moms wish they had the money, time, family support, opportunity and luxury of finishing school or going on to college. This is a difficult time period to be young in America and have to deal with the complex pressures of sex. Sex is promoted through film and television and the internet in every way. Peer pressure is high. Commitment is low. Bristol Palin is not the typical experience of a teenage unwed pregnancy. The Sarah Palin brand is excellent at making money off of very little. I salute the students!
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 11:22 am
I have to think of a great deal of this comes from her mother pushing her. Get out there and get us some publicity
Nasty Liberal
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
It would be good if folk would learn that the Sexual Revolution had rather little to do with sexuality and nothing at all to do with promiscuity. Oh, history.
Umesh Singh
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Many many many many … many people cannot be bothered with spending a little more time than reading the headlines and the bumper stickers and jumping to conclusions based on no other knowledge.
1. Many people still think Evolution means that humans descended from monkeys.
2. Many people still think Global Warming is about warmer weather.
3. Many people still think Big Bang is about a huge explosion.
4. There are clueless idiots everywhere who believe that there should not be a separation of church and state because the words “separation of church and state” is not in the Constitution. (Hint: Neither is “woman” or “women”.)
And, yes, many people still think the Sexual Revolution was about having more sex.
Marie
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 2:55 am
These students exercised their freedom to choose and they chose not spend their money on a speaker who could not bring value to discussion. Wise decision.
Zac
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 3:47 am
Why does a university even have an inkling to consider even paying someone like Palin to speak is just astounding. Whoever made this decision in the university should stripped of his/her qualification, told to go into the real world and learn some basic judgement.
C-wizzle
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 4:07 am
the palins impart no knowledge onto the collegiate community, and thus should have no part of it. If they even tried to speak at a school in a moderate state, they would be shunned for their stupidity and would not be welcomed. It’s high time we examined where our money is being spent and if we agree that it should be spent in such fashions.
brianmikel
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 7:15 am
All the palins, becks, oreillys are all for just shock value, they get replayed in this 24 hour newscycles, it give something to another post on the wagon wheels of time. Its just like what reagan said to the horse in that movie with the brown dog. But anywhoo, thanks for reading this last sentence.
Umesh Singh
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 1:05 pm
“they will never admit that being as hateful and toxic”
Dude, this is liberal BS. Just as “liberal” is a word the right wing nuts re-marketted as a 4-letter word, so is “hate” from the left wing nuts. Few, if any of these people “hate” you. It’s the politics you represent that they can’t stand.
I am fairly liberal. I don’t “hate” Palin (both of them). I also can’t understand when somebody says they “hate” Hillary. Did they ever meet her? And what happened? She cheated at Scrabble? These foaming mouth idiots never met Hillary, and Hillary never did anything personally against them. They probably cannot cite a single reason how Hillary messed up their lives.
Same thing with me. I can’t cite a single reason why either Palin has messed up my life.
They are both funny to watch because their ignorance is just astounding. Really? Which magazines do you read? “All of them?” You were a what? “Journalism” major? And you can see Putin from you kitchen window? That’s your “foreign policy” experience? And “Lil’ Palin” is now making ads about abstinence with The Situation? That sh.t is TOO FUNNY! But on a serious note. Mama Grizzly ain’t never gonna get my vote for anything, and Lil’ Grizzly ain’t gonna get my daughter’s ear about sex ed.
I don’t hate either one. I’ll gladly be their neighbor and friend. I’m calling them stupid and ignorant because the facts speak for themselves. I don’t have to spell THAT out for anyone.
Shiva (Moderator)
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 1:22 pm
“Dude, this is liberal BS”
Actually its liberal AND conservative BS.
Andrew
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Umesh, I was slightly annoyed at your post at the beginning, but I think you’re spot on in what you say, in the main. However, anyone who accuses me of hating America, or being a lesser citizen because I’m liberal, is worthy of my hatred.
But “hate” is not the staple of liberals, it is the staple of humans. Remember, it isn’t the leftist loons who claim that NeoCons hate America, it is NeoCons saying that anyone who doesn’t agree with their narrow beliefs, often incongruous and inconsistent, and at many times at odds with their other beliefs, hates America.
Let’s be honest and admit where this has come from: the likes of Palin and her Tea Party, the Glenn Becks, the conservatives, and Fox News. They have done more than anyone to unhinge America, they will continue to do so, and their beliefs are absent any morality, they just want money, and they will not stop at complete civil war, because business is boomin’!
Dan Skinner
Jan. 29th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
She can always get that job waitressing at Rally’s where she’s aptly qualified.
Skippydoodle
Jan. 30th, 2011 at 3:58 pm
As an alum I am disgusted that anyone at Wash U would even consider booking her for any amount. Wash U has an endowment that rivals Saudi royalty riches, and it does throw away a lot of money on big dollar events, but usually it is for something of value. It’s speaker series is usually packed with heads of state, controversial persons of some importance and at least moderately interesting people.
Skippydoodle
Jan. 30th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
“It’s” s/b “Its.” Arrgh! If I’m going to mention anything about education the least I can do is get the grammar and spelling right.
Mark
Jan. 31st, 2011 at 2:29 am
public’ money for a speaker? Fine, if that speaker can bring something that is worth the amount that is offered. What do you think Bristol can bring as a speaker that is worth $20,000? How to tell the world your mum is pregnant and get your baby for you?
Nicole
Jan. 31st, 2011 at 2:29 am
no one ever argued that she doesn’t have an opinion on the subject. only that her opinion isn’t worth 20,000 more than any teen mom’s
she can have any opinion she wants, she just cant force anyone to pay for that opinion. maybe someone who gives a f**k what she has to say will pay her.
Anne
Jan. 31st, 2011 at 6:42 pm
One thing is certain. As time goes on, one’s young age at bearing one’s child becomes less and less important while what one does to raise a child to healthy, law-abiding, productive adulthood becomes more and more important. Bristol Palin has all these resources at her hand, thanks to her mother, and she needs to utilize them toward something other than to give hypocritical speeches in order to earn a living–such as a good education. Even if she were a credible messenger for abstinence, she is no longer a teen mom at this point and it’s time she started working toward a life that doesn’t involve dependency on her parents–especially her mother.