Khatem visit

Harvard, like the New York Times, is now a public joke.

Former Iranian "President" Mohammad Khatami's visit to Harvard  was marked by civility, according to,the school's newsapaper ["Khatami Slams ‘Imperial’ U.S."] . ...   inside the forum, Khatami faced a relatively polite audience, a marked contrast to previous controversial visitors. Those previous controversial visitors being the likes of  David Horowitz and Ann Coulter.  Shawn Macomber ["Show Me the Money (Quote), Khatami!"] was privilged to witness this exchange ... "It's so exciting to have a chance to hear a moderate, democratic Islamic voice from the Middle East," a young female reporter with an NPR knapsack gushed. "Our government's got everybody convinced they don't exist." "Well, an Iranian liberal is probably isn't all that democratic or moderate," a middle-aged male reporter responded with a sheepish smile, as if he'd just broken some taboo. "Go to Canada and they'll say the same thing about America," she snapped back, her own smile quickly fading, annoyed that the good vibes train had come to a halt. "And they wouldn't be totally off base, either." That sounds like something Nina Totenberg might say .. is she still with NPR?  Whomever, here's her "voice of moderation": "Homosexuality is a crime in Islam and crimes are punishable," Khatami said. "And the fact that a crime could be punished by execution is debatable." No boos, no cries of "Oh the humanity" from these tiny minded leftist twats. Politics is what matters to these creeps.  It's why Bob Packwood can be driven from the Senate for kissing a woman on an elevator, while Bill Clinton's, or Ted Kennedy's  sexual assuaults on women are met with silence. Khatami, who was at Iran's helm when 9-11 occurred, and who has had people executed for being gay, for not being Muslim, for not supporting the right governments is treated politely because he, like them, hates George Bush. Here's a letter in  this morning's Crimson from one guy who gets it.

Last night I watched Iran’s “moderate” former president, Mohammad Khatami, speak to the Tolerant and the Enlightened at Harvard. At the end of the speech, during the question and answer session, a young man asked about the Islamic law that calls for the death penalty for homosexuals. The young questioner wanted to know if Khatami approved of this particular Islamic Law. The “moderate” Khatami artfully dodged, pivoted, and twirled around the issue, but in final analysis said that every country has its laws and…well…in some cases putting the homosexual to death may indeed be called for. In some cultures, he said, the death sentence for gays may be appropriate. There were no boos. There were no catcalls. There were no protests, angry slurs, no rotten tomatoes, no obscene placards, no cursing, no contorted red faces or shaking fists held high. There was only polite and tolerant silence from the entranced crowd seated in the presence of the calm, serene spokesperson from Persia. - Tom Graffagnino letter to the Harvard Crimson