Archive for the ‘Rand Paul’ Category

Rand Paul To Teach Class At George Washington University | The … – The Daily Caller

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WASHINGTON Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is teaching a class at The George Washington University in D.C. this fall, and some members of the faculty are not pleased.

According to the GW Hatchet, Pauls class, called Dystopian Visions, will focus on dystopian novels and thought written about by authors like Ayn Rand. 33 students will be a part of a unique opportunity to learn from a sitting U.S. senator.

Rand Paul told Vice in a 2013 interview that he wanted to teach a class on the subject, saying, I think dystopian novels are a discussion of politics, and sort of what happens if you let a government accumulate too much power.

While the class quickly filled up with students, including many from the universitys Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) and College Republicans organizations, not everyone is thrilled about the class.

English professor Robert McRuer questioned the conservative senators qualifications, noting how professors in his department must have a Masters or Ph.D. in the subject to teach.

McRuer told the Hatchet: Were trained to do this, so the fact that a celebrity could potentially teach a course that was listed as a novel course is a bit troubling.

Other faculty including Elizabeth Anker, a professor of political science, agreed with McRuer.

Anker noted that the investment in having Rand Paul to brand the University really comes at the expense of the reputation of the school, in terms of the intellectual offerings and the type of education we provide to our students.

Anker also accused Paul of trying to hide a political ideology class by disguising it as a literature course. Another professor said that such a course requires an instructor trained in that aesthetic tradition.

The English department went so far as to release a statement about the class, making it clear that it does not count toward a degree in English. The university also put out a general press release regarding the course.

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Rand Paul: Nobody wants war with North Korea – The Messenger (subscription)

During a visit to Louisville on Friday, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said he doesn't think President Donald Trump's administration wants a military confrontation with North Korea because "millions of people would die."

Trump recently said a "major, major conflict" with North Korea over its nuclear program is possible. In downtown Louisville Friday, Paul told reporters the American government wants a peaceful solution.

"There is no good outcome to a military confrontation. We, of course, have the most dominant military in the world and I think without question ... we would come out, you know, successful in a military campaign," Paul said. "But millions of people would die, so nobody wants that."

Nobody wants a country recklessly saying they plan to develop nuclear weapons and point them at the U.S. either, the Kentucky senator explained.

"(It would) be nice if North Korea understood that launching a nuclear weapon at us would be catastrophic," he said. "It would be the end of North Korea."

Paul discussed North Korea after he wrapped up a roundtable discussion on health care with representatives of Sterling G. Thompson Co., a locally based insurance business.

He suggested Kentucky could play a role in resolving the nation's health care challenges. Patrick O'Connor of the state Department of Insurance attended Friday's discussion and said all options are on the table.

"The end goal is to try to make health insurance more affordable for Kentuckians," O'Connor said.

Regarding the Republican proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Paul said he still dislikes provisions that would give insurance companies "hundreds of billions of dollars."

"Look, I believe in capitalism," he said. "But I don't think the taxpayers should be subsidizing the losses of insurance companies."

On a lighter note, Paul discussed his plans for a "dystopian visions" class that he'll teach at George Washington University this fall.

Paul said his students will tackle "Notes From Underground" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky as well as George Orwell's "1984."

Ayn Rand's "Anthem" will make the booklist for Paul's class, but he indicated that Margaret Atwood's feminist novel "The Handmaid's Tale" which was adapted into a TV show that debuted this week probably won't.

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Rand Paul: Nobody wants war with North Korea - The Messenger (subscription)

Rand Paul Will Teach DC College Students About Dystopias – TIME

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) participates in a discussion about legislation to halt the sale of some weapons to Saudi Arabia at the Center for the National Interest on Sept. 19, 2016 in Washington, D.C.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Sen. Rand Paul will teach students at George Washington University about dystopias next fall.

The Kentucky Republican's course will focus on "history of dystopian attitudes and how they relate to current events and political debates," according to the college's student newspaper, The Hatchet .

I am thrilled to have an opportunity to join the faculty and students at the George Washington University for the upcoming fall semester, Paul said through a spokesperson for the University, The Hatchet reports. The George Washington University is one of our nations leading higher education institutions and I look forward to my time in Foggy Bottom.

MORE: Rand Paul Says Donald Trump Is Gollum

The course will be called "Dystopian Visions," according to the George Washington course schedule. No books have been assigned yet, but Paul quoted from George Orwell's 1984 in his Senate filibuster on targeted killing of Americans on U.S. soil in 2013 and he told VICE that same year that he has long wanted to teach a class on the dystopian novels.

"I've talked about it, but unfortunately I keep developing other projects that get in the way," he told VICE. "I would like to do it someday. I think dystopian novels are a discussion of politics, and sort of what happens if you let a government accumulate too much power."

He picked a good time for the course. Since the election, sales of dystopian novels such as 1984 have spiked, with Hulu's adaption of The Handmaid's Tale driving renewed interest as well.

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Rand Paul Will Teach DC College Students About Dystopias - TIME

Sen. Rand Paul Comes Out In Favor Of President Trump’s Tax Plan – The Liberty Conservative


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Sen. Rand Paul Comes Out In Favor Of President Trump's Tax Plan - The Liberty Conservative

Why some think dystopia looks good these days – Chicago Tribune – Chicago Tribune

On the day before President Donald Trump hit his first 100 days, I woke up to a CNN headline that "we could end up having a major, major confrontation with North Korea."

I was tempted to go back to bed, but I persisted.

The news didn't make persistence easier. In another 100-days interview, this time with Reuters, the president wistfully lamented that his new job is "more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier." Now he tells us.

I could not help but draw a connection between this news and another story I was working on, an announcement by George Washington University that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., will be teaching a class in the fall. The name of the class? "Dystopian Visions."

Is that an appropriate topic for these times or what?

In the relentless crush of daily news, I am not surprised by the notion that many readers would seek refuge in the works of writers whose perspective is not limited to the factual world.

Think of dystopia as the opposite of utopia, a very unpleasant place where people lead dehumanized lives under the heel of autocratic elites who profess to be creating a utopia.

After Trump's election to the White House, booksellers reported a surge in sales of such perennial favorites as "1984," "Brave New World" and "The Handmaid's Tale" a miniseries version of which has been streaming on Hulu. Recent years have seen a wave of new dystopian fiction, such as "The Giver," "The Hunger Games" series and the "Divergent" series in the young adult book and movie markets. Novelist Junot Diaz calls dystopia "the default narrative of the generation."

Yet the dystopian wave began long before Trump's election. As John Feffer, author of the dystopian novel "Splinterlands," recently wrote in The Nation, there was an apocalyptic mindset on both sides of the recent presidential election. On one side, Trump "tapped into the end-of-days impulses of Christian evangelicals, anti-globalists and white power enthusiasts." On the other side, Hillary Clinton supporters warned of a "Trumpocalypse" with more severe climate change, economic collapse and the outbreak of race wars.

But Sen. Paul's interest started well before the recent presidential race.

In a 2013 VICE interview he revealed, "I think dystopian novels are a discussion of politics, and sort of what happens if you let a government accumulate too much power." New presidents or kings think they're too good and smart to abuse their power, Paul said, offering President Barack Obama's early stand against indefinite detention for prisoners in Guantanamo Bay as an example. Obama reduced their numbers, but politics prevented him from closing the place down as he had promised.

Good intentions, Paul said, are "not good enough. It's like when (President James) Madison said, "If government were comprised of angels, we wouldn't have to worry about how much power to give the government."

Having been immersed in reports of widespread intolerance for conservative speakers on campus, I feared that the announcement of Paul's new teaching gig would send angry letters and petitions flying like snowflakes. But initial reaction, at least, was quite the opposite. Available seats went quickly, despite its 8 a.m. time slot, which touched off unconfirmed reports of left-out Paul fans offering cash bribes to would-be seat scalpers.

The genre's appeal to the libertarian-minded Paul is easy to see. Dystopian fiction tends to cast bold, courageous individuals against big government, glorifying the smarts, skills and tenacity of its heroes and heroines. Its anti-authoritarian sentiments have instant appeal to rebellious teenagers whose central theme in life is the oppression imposed on them by their elders.

With that in mind, it is not surprising that Paul is quite popular among students, as his father, former Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas libertarian Republican, also was.

Yet we also need to be cautious about which lessons to take away from dystopian narratives. They often turn on the savior who steps up and leads the masses in Messianic fashion out of a crisis. Real life usually doesn't work out that easily.

Many of the same people who support Trump today ridiculed Obama supporters for following a "savior," until they had one of their own. Democracy calls for an electorate that remains conscientiously involved and refuses to pass the buck to others. Otherwise, just when you think "it's not the end of the world," it is.

Clarence Page, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at http://www.chicagotribune.com/pagespage.

cpage@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @cptime

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Why some think dystopia looks good these days - Chicago Tribune - Chicago Tribune