Take Back Academia

The reason you are unfamiliar with the name Joseph A. Palermo is not a failure on your part. It is because of Palermo’s failings to rise up in the liberal ranks to make a name for himself. But believe me when I say this race-baiter has done everything imaginable to be recognized by the delusional left, and the public in general.

This is from his Huffington Post bio:

“Associate Professor, History, CSU, Sacramento. Bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz, Master’s degree in History from San Jose State University, Master’s degree and Doctorate in American History from Cornell University. Expertise includes political history, presidential politics, presidential war powers, social movements of the 20th century, movements of the 1960s, civil rights, and foreign policy history.”

I actually had the displeasure of experiencing Palermo’s preaching my sophomore year at California State University, Sacramento. It wasn’t the fact that Palermo was saying things I’d never heard before, but his zeal and brazenness that made him stand out among the other patchouli loving professors. In the ideological monopoly known as College, Palermo stood out as a Chief Executive Officer… or at the least a store manager. Palermo is a perfect product of academia: A non-thinking person plagued with the disease of Marxist regurgitation.

By taking a look at an article recently written by Palermo, I will try and make sense of his reasoning, while pointing out the obvious reasons his arguments are so juvenile and underdeveloped.

In this article, Palermo says “The Beck vs. Jones saga illustrates that even with the Republicans out of power their control over a propaganda ministry called Fox News, combined with their domination of the AM radio dial, still allows them to frame the debates within our wider political discourse.”

In Palermo’s disturbing universe, Van Jones was simply a victim of a “smear campaign” led by Glenn Beck. What makes this argument so humorous is the fact Glenn Beck merely reported Van Jones history, and then posed the questions “Is this Marxism? Is this socialism? Is this racism? Is this freedom of speech? Is this mainstream? What is this, America?”

But people like Palermo don’t realize the reason Van Jones had to get as far away from Barack Obama as possible is because the ideas held by Van Jones are NOT mainstream. Americans do not hold the same Marxist, radical communist beliefs Van Jones believes in. Obama understood the danger in having a self-avowed communist advising him in the Whitehouse; Obama’s image would be tarnished, and questions of his own radical beliefs would once again come to the surface. This is not the first time people have wondered why so many radicals seem to find their way to the president.

On September 1, 2009, Glenn Beck Said this on his radio program:

“Then let me rephrase this. How. How, America. I ask this sincerely. Show me where I have it wrong. I want to be wrong, but I can’t find any other way to explain this. The president is wearing a mask. He has surrounded himself with radicals and revolutionaries. He has surrounded himself his whole life with radicals and revolutionaries. How? How? Please, help me. Read it another way. Show me the error of my ways. If you can’t do that, show me how I can get this word out to more people. How do we wake people up? How do we wake Democrats up? Democrats, is that who you are? Are you this person? Do you believe those things? If you do, we’re in much bigger trouble than I thought. I don’t believe that’s who the American people are. There are Democrats that I vehemently disagree with. I don’t believe they think those things. He’s not the only guy in this administration that feels this way!”

Glenn Beck reported the Van Jones story, and posed questions many Americans wanted answers too. Why did the president believe Van Jones was a good choice for any position of power? Is it because the president ascribes to the same belief system as Van Jones?
But these questions are of no interest to people like Palermo. In his article, Palermo says

“What I find interesting about the hyperventilating and shrill denunciations of Jones’ mild past remarks coming from Beck and his legions of aggrieved white men is that President George W. Bush had surrounded himself for eight years with a stunning collection of political hacks and charlatans who had said things in the past that would make Minnesota Representative Michelle Bachmann sound cool and rational.”

This quote is typical of progressive speech; it is so jaw-droppingly stupid you don’t know whether to be infuriated or to cry. Where do I start? I will talk briefly about why Van Jones’ remarks are “mild” to Palermo, and then about Palermo’s comment concerning “aggrieved white men”.

To Palermo and like minded people, Michelle Bachmann is more concerning than self described communist, Black Panther book bag toting, Rodney King rioting, STORM founding and twice arrested Van Jones. Like Palermo, Van Jones also fell victim to the world of academia. Both men absorbed and continue to regurgitate the Marxist nonsense they were taught during the course of their education. Why would Van Jones’ comments be surprising to Palermo? Not only did they hear the same nonsense while attending university, but undoubtedly ascribe to a similar belief-system.  To better understand the effect college had on Van Jones, as well as his radical views, please watch this short clip of Glenn Beck explaining Jones’ radical doings:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgmwyfKuL8]

Like all good college professors, Palermo sees “white men” as the epitome of evil. It was not Van Jones’ communistic belief system and out of the mainstream views that drove him out of a position of power, but rather the hoards of angry “white men” who forced Van Jones to leave because of the color of his skin. Unlike many liberals who use this argument as a straw man, Palmero and the likes actually believe uneducated, racist white men are to blame for Van Jones’ resignation. Can you imagine what the world looks like through Palermo’s eyes? Everyone is a color, not a person. People are not concerned about a self-avowed communist in the Whitehouse, they just hate a black man holding a position of power.

At first, you may wonder how on earth a person in the 21^st century could think like this. But if we take a moment to think, it is not hard to understand the reason Palermo and people like him believe there are huge numbers of racist white males whose sole mission is to lynch the president and Van Jones. Through their entire academic journey, Palermo and Van Jones have been told “white men” are the enemy. Palermo and Van Jones were taught by professors who experienced and saw REAL racism first hand. These professors had a tremendous impact on Palermo and Jones, and understandably so. But the problem Palermo and most other professors today have is the fact they are teaching their students about the 1960s world they were taught. The curriculum being taught to students today in areas like sociology is EXACTLY the same as the curriculum that was taught in 1965.
Palermo and professors like him are stuck in the past. There is an enormous disconnect between students and professors when it comes to the discussion of race. While Palermo is giving the same lecture one of his professors gave him back when he was at university, his students are scratching their heads and wondering what Palermo is going on about. Palermo and party need to understand that to the 25 years and younger crowd, racism is largely defeated. And even then, older people are not falling for the race-baiting antics routinely used by the left to create a racial divide or defend a failing president.

Speaking of the president, even Obama says anger over a healthcare overhaul and other issues are not motivated by his race.

Get with the times Palermo! Ideas are transcending skin color, and even better than that, most people can see right through the “you are a racist” straw man argument. You are only hurting the President by calling people who disagree with him and his advisors “racists”. Your behavior undermines the real progress we have made as Americans to defeat racism. You and Former President Carter are the same in the way that your ideas are as old as the dinosaurs.

I am excited for the day when the left lets go of the stranglehold they have on the black community. Progressive policies have done nothing but keep black Americans poor and dependant on Uncle Sam for survival. I hope to cover that problem in another article in the future. Until then, I recommend that Professors like Palermo put down the book “White Privilege”, and pick up something that works to unite the races…not divide them.

(Cross Posted from Harringtonreport.com)

Academia is a grand place, a place where inquisitive young minds are shaped and molded by hallowed, wise teachers.  The bald-headed, horn-rimmed professors cultivate the ideas of America’s tomorrow.  Socratic in their ways, they pull the existing knowledge out and expand the intellect of the pupils in their care.

Academia truly is the free transfer of ideas.

Right.

That may have been true at some time long past; but in recent memory, it has degenerated into what we have now, a place where deadbeat minds go to earn an expensive sheet of paper that shows they showed up with minimal brain activity.

These deadbeat minds are spoken to by teachers who are either trying to reach tenure, or have already attained their Enlightened and Untouchable status and are waiting to retire…or die…

The professors may be bald-headed and wear glasses, but they hardly cultivate the ideas of America’s tomorrow. And they weren’t born bald-headed.  Just 40 years ago, they were the long-haired freaky people of the Free Speech Movement.  They fought for their rights on campuses across the nation.  While they were justified in doing so, they have since forgotten their roots.

Mario Savio, an outspoken leader of the Free Speech Movement gave a speech on December 3, 1964 which included the following:

“‘Would you ever imagine the manager of a firm making a statement publicly in opposition to his board of directors?’ That’s the answer! Now, I ask you to consider: if this is a firm. . .the faculty are a bunch of employees, and we’re the raw material! But we’re a bunch of raw materials that don’t mean to have any process upon us, don’t mean to be made into any product, don’t mean to end up being bought by some clients of the University. . .We’re human beings!”

What has happened, is that they forgot what they were fighting for, student rights…unless they were fighting for an ideology, which would explain the current situation quite clearly.”

They have become the professors.

Modern-Sophistic in their ways, they pour their knowledge from their pulpit into the minds of their students, empty and devoid of free thought.
That being said, there comes a time when the students must make a decision: to continue to put up with the race-baiting, the insults, the socialism, or to fight.

It’s the eleventh hour.  It’s decision time.  Savio went on to say:

“There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes     you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part; you can’t even passively take part,     and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the     levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop. And you’ve got to     indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re     free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!”

In a stunning example of the fight against unions in America, a Rhode Island school superintendent fired everyone at one of the worst performing schools in the state.

Central Falls High School has a graduation rate of 50%.

Central Falls’ median household income is $22k.

The teachers of the Central Falls Teachers’ Union make upwards of $70,000.

Now, probably by the end of the week, the liberals screaming victim-hood will be out in full force.  I’m sure they will say that the superintendent acted with blatant disregard of the good that the union does for the community…

The actions of the superintendent were justified, because the union wasn’t willing to do any more good.

The radical proposal Superintendent Frances Gallo proposed would have extended the teachers’ work day by 25 minutes.

In addition to extending the work day, teachers would be required to do other crazy things like, attend two weeks of training in the summer, weekly after-school planning meetings, more rigorous evaluations, eating lunch with the students once a week, and providing tutoring on a rotating schedule…

Read

Look, I totally understand paying teachers enough money to have good teachers, but when teachers refuse to do something extra to help the students, something needs to be done.

I was a terrible student, but, because I ate lunch with a teacher in high school, I was able to pull through.  When teachers are in the business of teaching for the benefit of their students, the students can potentially escape from Central Falls Rhode Island…

Cross-posted from the Harrington Report

Academia: The institutional monopoly dedicated to advancing the leftist agenda of the likes of  Bill Ayres, Saul Alinsky, and Noam Chomsky.

When I think of Academia, I picture brick buildings with ivy and leagues and whatnot, with green blackboards, corduroy sport coats with leather on the elbows, and the air of liberal progressivism.  But, in all honesty, the last of the list is apparent in all institutes of learning.  I can only provide my experience, which has occurred at California State University Chico and CSU Sacramento.  I won’t go into Chico in much detail because it has been covered over at the Harrington Report.  Let’s just say I left Chico because I didn’t want to be around all the communists in the dorms.

Now, in Sacramento, I’m around them just as much.  And I’m pissed.

Basically, what I want to do with this website is provide a forum for students to share their story, parents to share their frustrations, and teachers to show their support for a return to academic integrity.

Here is my story.

Read the rest of this entry →

Take Back Academia is still under construction.

Take Back Academia is brought to you by The Harrington Report.