May 8, 2013

Always classy - Political Science Professor Richard Dekmejian

Talk about bias -- from the Campus Reform website:
�Serious intellectual & mental problems�: Another USC prof caught on video slamming Bush, berating conservatives
A second professor at the University of Southern California (USC) has been caught on video using his political science class as a platform for bashing conservatives.

In the video, Political Science Professor Richard Dekmejian claims former President George W. Bush suffered from mental instability and stupidity during his time in office.

Bush was bound by �serious intellectual and mental problems,� he said before going on to claim Bush must have been �stupid or lying� to initiate Operation Iraqi Freedom for the reason of promoting democracy.

Dekmejian also alleges Bush dodged the draft when he was a young man because he was busy �getting drunk and high� and was �lazy for the first several months when he came into the presidency until 9/11.�

In the 20-minute secret recording, captured by student Tyler Talgo, during the Fall 2012 semester, Dekmejian also leveled a number of derogatory comments against members of the Bush administration, alleging both Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice �lied� to the American people during their service.

�You have to use that term [lying] people,� he reflected. �Don�t use that term mislead.�
And USCs response?
�The freedom to take unpopular positions and the freedom to express those positions publicly are at the foundation of what it means to be a faculty member of a university,� she added. �One of the most important principles of an academic community has been that academic inquiry and discussion be free from censorship or undue outside control.�

Garrett, however, noted USC�s student code of conduct �expressly prohibits� students from videotaping their professors in the classroom. She declined to say whether Talgo would be disciplined for releasing these videos to the public.
There is a huge difference between academic inquiry and a vitriolic spew like this. These are people who are teaching their students and it is their responsibility to present a balanced vision, not a spittle-flecked list of Progressive talking points. And as for the student being disciplined for videoing this asshat, what is USC afraid of? Don't want their choice of 'professors' to be brought to daylight? I really hope that Dekmejian isn't getting any federal money... Posted by DaveH at May 8, 2013 9:17 AM