MITT’S MONEY; OBAMA’S CHALLENGE ON THE HIGH COST OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION
On this week’s show the Ivory Tower panelists address whether the country’s view of wealth (and how it is earned and taxed) has changed significantly over the last year because of the deep recession, the crimes of Wall Street, the Occupy Wall Street movement, income disparity, and the clumsy Romney campaign, which has done the image of the wealthy no favors. Then the panelists acknowledge President Obama’s challenge in the State of the Union address to the nation’s college presidents that they get the cost of tuition under control…or else. We discuss the kinds of cuts that could and should be made on our campuses to bring down the cost of higher education. Join in the conversation by posting a comment about what you heard on our blog.2 Comments to “MITT’S MONEY; OBAMA’S CHALLENGE ON THE HIGH COST OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION”
Add Comments (+)-
I was appalled by Kristi Andersen’s comments regarding Mitt Romney and his wife for posthumously baptizing Mrs. Romney’s father. I have to give her, and the audience members who applauded her comments, the benefit of the doubt and consider that her comments were a result of ignorance rather than prejudice.
I am not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but I have friends who are and, through genealogical research, I have come to know the religion well enough to know that what the Romneys did is in accordance with a doctrine of the Mormon Faith. Baptism is a ritual known as an “ Ordinance” and is a prerequisite for entry into Heaven. Baptism for the Dead is another such Ordinance. It is performed to give those who have died without having been baptized, as Mrs. Romney’s atheist father must not have, the opportunity to receive baptism by proxy and therefore entry into Heaven. It should be noted that the person posthumously baptized has the option to accept or reject the opportunity. This is a basis for the interest on the part of the Mormon Church in genealogy. I have been surprised to learn that several of my own ancestors have been baptized in the Mormon Church even though I don’t believe they ever even met a Mormon and in some cases they died before the advent of the Mormon religion. Contrary to Ms. Andersen’s characterization, this act was, in my view, far more selfless than the act of a Catholic who goes to Confession in order to avoid his or her own eternal damnation.
I think it was highly inappropriate for Ms. Andersen to make derogatory comments about the beliefs of another and for the members of the audience to applaud her. At the very least, she should publically appologize to the Romneys and to the many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for her ignorance and seeming intolerance. If her remarks were based in prejudice, she should be removed from the panel.
I like the idea of David assigning positions and panelists supporting that position, rather than the panelist simply supporting their own personal positions over and over. By now I think everyone knows Lisa’s, Tara’s, and Bob Greene’s positions on the Obama administration or Occupy WS. Thanks to David and Mr. Pluff for their volunteering to Syracuse’s programming.