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USI is No 'Dud' when it comes to a Nationwide, Week-long Empty Holster Protest
USI College Republicans to Organize Students at USI in Peaceful Protest of Incredibly Dangerous, Life-threatening Restrictions on Firearms on Campus(es)
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007

For the next week from Mon., Oct. 22 thru Fri., Oct. 26, at USI and many other campuses around the country, students will make a sensible statement that they should be able to carry firearms for the protection of themselves and others on campuses, from the likes of Seung-Hui Cho (Virginia Tech mass murderer).

Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) recently announced their intention to hold a nationwide, week-long "Empty Holster Protest" -- to make it known that something productive must be done to counter the incredibly deadly attacks at Virginia Tech last year, among others in our history. Something must be done to return campuses to the safer place they were considered before rampent gun restrictions hamstrung hard-working, decent people from carrying firearms on campuses. It's widely known, and most university officials even admit, that text messages, website announcements, increased security patrols, cameras, or other "security" devices cannot stop a slaughter like witnessed with the Virginia Tech Massacre (where 32 people died in Virginia in 2006 in the matter of minutes) and Luby's Massacre (where 24 people died in Texas in 1991 in the matter of minutes). Some of the least safe places currently in America are schools, as can easily be assessed by the trajedies at Virginia Tech, Columbine, and others.

This effort also comes on the heels of the decision by the Utah Supreme Court to approve of a state law granting students to carry weapons on campus. That law, now in effect since 2004, has not caused students to kill people randomly as many people ignorantly speculate. For a list of responses to arguments about guns on campus, view the SCCC Arguments page.

The best answer truly is to trust the high caliber, law-abiding citizens, as most of us are, with the ability to perform these duties, as we ably do with many areas of our lives everyday. There are good people willing to protect themselves and others -- but they are being told not to -- and they are abiding by that. That's what produces massacres like Virginia Tech, Luby's, Columbine. This is detrimental to all of us and it needs to change.

Thanks to the similar efforts of a group just a few miles from our campus, the 2nd Amendment Patriots, the first ever lifetime conceal carry permit was passed and signed into law in Indiana. Governor Daniels recently reinstated state parks as firearm-friendly places within the state, as well. In an effort to continue this trend toward liberty in our state, our universities and other public ground should remove restrictions on legal permit holders to protect themselves. After all, Article I, Section 32 of the Indiana Constitution reads:

"The people shall have a right to bear arms, for the defense of themselves and the State." Indiana Constitution, Article I, Section 32

A "right" has no small meaning in American jurisprudence. Dictionary.com mentions that a "right" is something "that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees" and until the Indiana Constitution is replaced or that section amended, as the governing document that applies to all state activities, including the University, that right should not be contravened. The Indiana Constitution clearly implies the right has full range of motion, and that the USI College Republicans in coordination with SCCC are right to request an abidement of our Constitutionally-guaranteed rights.

For more on the upcoming week's event, check out www.concealedcampus.org for more information, the online home of national sponsors of the event, Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC). Chris Brown, a Texas political science student said he founded SCCC because:

"As a college student and a concealed handgun licence holder, when I step onto campus I am left unable to defend myself. My state allows me to carry a handgun in public, but there is some imaginary line drawn around college campuses for silly reasons. And those silly reasons are getting people killed, raped and robbed." SCCC Founder, Chris Brown

We encourage students and others on the USI campus between Oct. 22 and 26, 2007 to wear empty holsters to peacefully lodge a complaint with university officials and state officials, in the spirit of civil disobedience handed down to us originally by our Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Mason, Patrick Henry, and other patriots who would undoubtedly stand with us in this if still here, but will have to be on campus with us in spirit.

"No free man shall ever be de-barred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government." - Thomas Jefferson

"(The Constitution preserves) the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation... (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." --James Madison

"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." --Alexander Hamilton

"To disarm the people (is) the best and most effectual way to enslave them..." -- George Mason

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined...The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun. --Patrick Henry

"Tell the American people never to lose their guns. As long as they keep their guns in their hands, what's happened here will never happen there." - A dying Chinese Citizen shot in Beijing

We hope to see many of you wearing your empty holsters this coming week!

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Covering the First Televised Republican Presidential Candidate Debate
Ten sensible candidates vieing for the position
Thursday, May 3, 2007

In contrast to Senator Gravel last week saying during the Democrat debate that "many of the candidates on (that) stage freightened (him)," this week we saw comradery among the Republicans and Senator Sam Brownback even said that "these are a set of quality candidates" regarding fellow Presidential hopefuls. That was one of the significant differences between the two debates.

Ten official candidates were featured at the debate, including: Senator Sam Brownback, Governor Jim Gilmore, Mayor Rudy Guiliani, Governor Mike Huckabee, Congressman Duncan Hunter, Senator John McCain, Governor Mitt Romney, Congressman Ron Paul, Congressman Tom Tancredo, and Governor Tommy Thompson. It was held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California and televised through MSNBC, with Chris Matthews moderating. Just as last week's answers by the Democrats peaked our interest (or disturbed us, more like), this debate was an interesting exposé.

Sam Brownback

When asked about the Roe v. Wade case whereby the U.S. Supreme Court essentially legalized abortion, Brownback said it would be a "glorious day" when it was overturned. He said, "I believe life is one of the central issues of our day, I believe that every life is unique...the child of a living God."

Regarding faith and the family he stated that "we've had 50 years of people trying to run faith out of the public square...we shouldn't be running it out, we should invite (faith) in and celebrate it" He also said that we should "build stronger families and a stronger culture...rebuild the family structure."

In regards to whether embryonic stem cell research would be necessary, Brownback said, "it will not...we are doing so with adult stem cells."

Regarding the Republican Party and 2008, Brownback said "we win as a party when we talk about ideas...that's why we will in 2008 because we value ideas."

When asked about the Terri Schiavo case, Brownback was one of the candidates that supported that effort by the U.S Congress -- "it gave her and her family the right to make an appeal" and when asked whether another Clinton in the Whitehouse was a good idea, he said "raising taxes, not standing up for life or marriage" are just a few reasons to keep that from happening.

Regarding terrorism and foreign policy Brownback asserted "we will have a very strong aggressive foreign policy" and said "Iran is the terrorism sponsor of the world, we have to be agressive and confrontational with them."


Rudy Giuliani

Mayor Rudy Giuliani started the debate by saying "what we can borrow from Reagan, considering we are in his library, is his sense of optimism"

In regards to one of the issues many Republicans agree with Giuliani, terrorism, he stated that "we should never retreat in the face of terrorism -- a terrible mistake." When asked about a way to identify potential terrorists, he is on record saying "every person who comes in to our country...should have a tamper proof card."

With an amazingly unemphatic answer, Giuliani replied "it will be OK" when asked about repealing Roe v. Wade -- he said that the "states should decide" their own answers to the abortion question. Giuliani reaffirmed his personal feelings abortion by saying that "I hate abortion" but he qualified it by saying "you have to respect a woman's right to choose, different than my own conscience."

Matthews asked a strange question as to whether the increase in Christian conservatives within the Republican Party has been a good thing and Giuliani said in an almost unconvinced fashion "sure." Talking about how he reduced the welfare rolls by about 660,000 people in New York City, Giuliani said "I ran one of the most conservative governments in New York City."

Regarding taxes, Giuliani proposed that "we have to repeal the death tax" and that it's important to "regularize the rates" of taxes for all people. He didn't specify if this would be in an income or consumption-based tax system within his proposal.

On the charged issue of the starvation and dehydration of Terri Schiavo, he said that it would have been better to leave Congress out of the issue. He went so far as to say that it would have been "much fairer -- in front of court." As a reminder, an inhumane court-ordered death was the reason that the case was brought before the U.S. Congress in the first place -- to be able to allow the family to bring the case before a federal judge.


(More coverage on this will be posted within the next few days)


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Faculty Contracts Not Renewed, Chairmanships Revoked at USI
The faculty advisor of The Aerie magazine during its release of soft core porn was not retained
Friday, April 27, 2007

To make an interesting story at USI that we reported on last year even more intriguing, the university has decided not to renew the contract for Dr. James McGarrah, an english professor at USI and faculty advisor of The Aerie magazine. It is now clear that by commenting on McGarrah, Michael Kearns has lost his position as English department chair. USI's policy is strict on fellow university officials commenting on personnel maters.

The controversy surrounding The Aerie magazine occurred just this past September and October. Some of McGarrah's most ardent supporters are saying they think it has something to do with the move to include a nude photo of two women in bed together, touching and one stimulating the other. News 25's story on Thursday, April 26, 2007 speculated that the incident is likely to have had a "hand" in the non-renewed contract for McGarrah. Sarah Cornell, reporting for News 25 was seen holding a copy of The Shield student newspaper which featured the photo originally printed by The Aerie.

What gets lost in the story about The Aerie and the nude lesbians in bed together is that considerable taxpayer and student funds were used in the production of the magazine. This is the original reason that some on campus were offended -- that everyday state taxpayers and students could have inadvertantly played a role in publishing porn.

Of course, this all comes on the heals of a story of an Evansville west-sider just beyond the USI campus, Gordon Wright, who has been charged with two misdemeanors by "littering" the area with pornographic photos.


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Covering the First Televised Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate
Delirious, Rabid Liberalism on Display
Friday, April 27, 2007

The first televised debate to usher in the Presidential Race of 2008 featured the eight Democratic candidates currently in the running: Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Joe Biden, Senator Chris Dodd, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and Senator Mike Gravel. It was held in South Carolina and televised through NBC and MSNBC, with Brian Williams moderating. Some of the answers peaked our interest, so we thought clueing you in on the details of how they would run the country, if God forbid they were elected.

Hillary Clinton

About "Hillarycare" Clinton said "the mistakes I made about healthcare a few years ago (were) deeply troubling to me" -- and they were to all of the rest of us. A portion of her healthcare agenda included coercion upon the American people. The idea that someone who is desperate and needs medical care would be charged $25,000 per incident if they received medical care outside of her system is nothing short of insane public policy and Soviet-style healthcare. She also said she wanted to "control and decrease costs for everyone," which any reasoned person knows is a formula for disaster.

When Brian Williams asked what she would do if two cities were nuked simultaneously she responded, "having been a senator during 911, I understand how important it is." Then she added an amazing statement: "That doesn't mean I would be looking for other fights." So, you really wouldn't care of thousands of Americans died, Senator Clinton? You would be more concerned about "how the international community views the United States" as many liberals cite.

Barack Hussein Obama

The question was asked of Obama of a time he could remember when he made a mistake or mistakes and he cited the effort by Congress to save Terri Schiavo's life, to him a time when the "government got more involved than it should have." Schiavo was starved and dehydrated for nearly 14 days based on very shaky testimony that she wanted to die by a man that had already left her for another woman. This is not to mention Schiavo's reason for entering into her vegetative state was very suspect.

Williams asked if Obama was willing to stand by a statement that he made recently noting, "nobody has suffered more than the Palestinian people," and Obama did reinforced the statement to then qualify it as referring to the fact that their leaders were much of the cause of it.

In a weak presence on security issues, Obama commented that he "would have effective emergency response" if two cities were destroyed by a nuclear bomb and that he "would find out who carried it out." Is this all of the reassurance that we can expect from Obama and Democrats if two cities were leveled and thousands or even millions of our fellow citizens were systematically slaughtered?

(More coverage on this will be posted within the next few days)


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USI Denies Animal Rights Extremist
Gary Yourofsky Stopped from Promoting Inhumane Propaganda on Campus
Friday, April 26, 2007

After becoming aware of his incredibly disturbing website, USI officials had no choice but to cancel the upcoming speaking engagement for Gary Yourofsky slated for Monday, April 2, 2007. Among other insane rantings, Yourofsky actually actually said that he would not be against harming humans and burning down buildings for the sake of animals.

The incredible part of the story is that USI was gearing up to host Yourofsky except for the fact that Dr. Glen Kissel, USI engineering professor and faculty advisor of the USI College Republicans, noticed a link to Yourofsky's organization ADAPTT website from the official USI Press Release, which is not customary. The USI News Office must not have done their homework, and if they did then they should be ashamed, because Yourofsky's website stated quite clearly to the casual viewer on introductory website pages that he supported nonviolent and violent actions for the sake of animals. As listed in the USI Handbook, this advocacy to break federal and/or state law by Yourofsky disqualified him from being an elligible campus speaker.

FrontpageMagazine, a national magazine dedicated to academic freedom, ran a full-length article on April 19, 2007 regarding Dr. Kissel's work to bring awareness to this issue.

Here are just a few statements straight from Gary Yourofsky's ADAPTT website as of March 29, 2007 -- what may seem like "rantings of a madman." As is noted on the website by Yourofsky himself, some of the below quotes are as recent as from 2005:

• "The time has come to forcibly free our family members [pets, animals] from their captors, even if that means injuring or killing someone in the process." (emphasis added) http://www.adaptt.org/animalrights.php# and click "What's Wrong with Violence?"
  
  
• "However, since violence is an essential part of activism, even if an abuser of animals perished during a fire or other form of direct action, I would unequivocally support that, too." http://www.adaptt.org/animalrights.php# and click "What's Wrong with Violence?"
  
  
• "Given the choice of apathy or someone liberating mink, burning down a research torture-laboratory, or killing a vivisectionist or other DIRECT murderer of animals, I will choose the aforesaid actions over apathy any day of the week." (emphasis added) http://www.adaptt.org/animalrights.php# and click "What's Wrong with Violence?"

If that isn't enough, Yourofsky has the following views about procreation:

• "In fact, I think human breeding should be illegal (emphasis added) as well until all the UNLOVED, UNWANTED, HOMELESS children are adopted." http://www.adaptt.org/animalrights.php# and click on "Dogs and Cats"
  

He goes even further on other topics, including a belief that humane societies are slaughterhouses:

• "We love them so much, we breed them, and breed them again, and breed more of them, and then breed even more of them until we end up murdering every year 10-18 million UNLOVED, UNWANTED, HOMELESS dogs and cats in those slaughterhouses that we euphemistically refer to as shelters or humane societies (emphasis added)." http://www.adaptt.org/animalrights.php# and click on "Dogs and Cats"
  
  
• "There are a myriad of problems with having companion animals...I wish I could take away the domestication of dogs and cats from thousands of years ago. It was a bad idea to take them out of their natural environments." http://www.adaptt.org/animalrights.php# and click on "Dogs and Cats"
  
  
• "Stop donating to ineffective, welfare-based animal rights corporations like PETA and HSUS"
  http://www.adaptt.org/about.php
  

Even though officials chose the logical action by cancelling Gary Yourofsky's speaking engagement at USI, one must wonder about the circumstances in which the professor or instructor who invited the speaker would actually think Gary Yourofsky is a good influence on or had a positive message for the students. Dr. Maurice Hammington, an ethics professor at USI, reportedly had much to do with Yourofsky's scheduled speech. In fact, apparently Yourofsky has spoken to his class three times in the past.

Yourofsky has spoken nearly 1200 times at high schools and universities with his perverse form of veganism, highlighting human suffering as an acceptable means to protect animals. This is apparently not his first cancellation, as a violent outburst by Yourofsky at East Tennessee State University in 2003 is chronicled in an article from the Johnson City Press. He was driven over the edge by a professor that had provided a cart of documents citing some of the benefits of animal research science. It led him to erupt in anger to the faculty sponsor that invited Yourofsky to speak and he became abusive toward her, going so far as to relate her by analogy to the Ku Klux Klan.

Thankfully, due to the efforts of those who are concerned about the status of our college campuses, Gary Yourofsky will no longer be spreading propaganda at USI. When considering statements that may remind some of the situation after the Virginia Tech shooting involving 32 dead students and professors and 28 wounded, Yourofsky may have even more difficulty when he attempts to schedule talks at other high schools and universities.

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Soft-corn Porn Published at USI at Taxpayer and Student Expense
Does the idea of a taxpayer-funded porn operation at USI bother you?
Friday, September 29, 2006

The fall edition of The Aerie magazine featured soft core porn funded substantially with taxpayer and student money. The type of material typically featured in The Aerie is creative writings and photos. It just so happened that one of those photos showed two women lying nude together in bed, touching and stimulating each other. Some Evansville lawyers commented that this constitutes soft core porn.

The real problem in this story is that taxpayers and students were forced to be underwriters of porn. A total of $844 Indiana government money was used to produce The Aerie. Student tuition dollars amounting to under $656 and student activity fees of $500 were additional monies used in the printing of The Aerie. Also contained within The Aerie magazine was a picture of a topless woman in the woods.

The Shield student newspaper subsequently ran a story on the issue, wherein their own faculty advisor, Patricia Ferrier, opposed the inclusion of the photograph in their print edition. It was still published, and many copies of The Shield's first printing were stolen.

Interestingly, television stations when reporting the story have had to blur the image of the two women in bed together. That combined with Patricia Ferrier's opposition to publishing it in the student newspaper begs the question: Why is it in any way appropriate to include soft core porn in The Aerie at taxpayer and student expense?


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New Blog at Townhall.com
The Eagle's Quill Flies in to the Rescue
Monday, August 21, 2006

Townhall.com, a blog famous for hosting renowned columnists including Michelle Malkin, Dennis Prager, Charles Krauthammer and others, welcomes a new face..err.."beak" to the mix: Eagle's Quill.

Available at http://eaglesquill.townhall.com, the new project is managed by Dr. Glen Kissel in cooperation with the USI College Republicans. The blog is updated daily and designed to offer a platform for Dr. Kissel and the College Republicans to candidly and intelligently discuss current events. Please read and let us know what you think.

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Putting the 'ISM' in TerrorISM
USI to host speaker trained by International Solidarity Movement
Thursday, February 23, 2006

A February 14 press release[article] from USI announces the presentation “Life in Occupied Palestine" which is to be delivered February 27 by Anna Baltzer[website], a Jewish American member of the International Women’s Peace Service. The speech, which is to be held in Carter Hall D, is designed to outline Ms. Baltzer's activities in the Middle East including "information about checkpoints, settlements, environmental issues, the olive harvest, Israeli activism, the Separation Wall, and the growing Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent resistance movement against the Occupation."

Further investigation by USI College Republican faculy sponsor, Dr. Glen Kissel revealed some disturbing facts about Ms. Baltzer.

• In Ms. Baltzer's blogs dated 11/18/03 and 5/20/05, it is mentioned that she was trained by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The ISM is characterized by Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz as "active supporters and facilitators of Palestinian terrorism" (The Case for Israel, pp.170-171). Dershowitz further outlines that the ISM has recieved "'funds from both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas...."

• Based on an interview with terrorism expert Steve Emerson, the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles[article] concludes that "The ISM collects information for terrorist groups to use." It further quotes Prof. Dershowitz that "The ISM provides legitimacy to terrorists...."

• The Anti-Defamation League[article] reports that "The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned that ISM activity 'at time' is 'under the auspices of Palestinian terrorist organizations.'"

Media coverage. . .
Mideast conflict 'not a war about religion at all' - Evansville Courier & Press
Israeli critic to speak at USI - Evansville Courier & Press
Speaker at USI Stirs Skepticism - News 25

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"While government economic planning may sound attractive, it is fundamental that in order for a government social program to work we all must be fitted into it. Those who will not fit voluntarily are coerced. That's why they must build walls around socialist countries to keep people in to enjoy the benefits." - Former Republican Ohio Congressman Bob McEwen

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USICR Testimonials: How you feel about USICR

"I've never been more mentally stimulated than at CR, even in all my classes." Jason LaMar

"There's only one way to escape the liberal garbage at USI, that's USICR." Ryan Monar

Let us know how YOU feel!

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"They are young, intelligent, involved and have a good sense of humor. And whether you agree with their politics, one thing is certain: We need more of them in the community." - The Evansville Courier on the USI College Republicans, July 8, 2003 [for the original article] or [on our site]

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Nothing at this time.

Nothing at this time.