Monday, March 13, 2017

Harvard going Orwell, protecting students from conservative websites - Thomas Lifson




by Thomas Lifson

Thus, we have the spectacle of Harvard librarians rating political websites and warning away students and faculty, lest their minds become confused by viewpoints that might disturb the liberal mindset.

As someone who spent almost two decades at Harvard, first as a student and then as a member of the faculty, I am ashamed at how far an institution that proclaims “Truth” (“Veritas” in Latin) as its motto has fallen away from that mission. The Harvard University library system is now in the business of rating political publications and warning away students from polluting their minds with dissident information that might raise uncomfortable questions in Liberalville. Can’t have the youngsters questioning the orthodoxy of the Left!

Thus, we have the spectacle of Harvard librarians rating political websites and warning away students and faculty, lest their minds become confused by viewpoints that might disturb the liberal mindset. (For instance, remembering that when Bill Clinton fired all the US Attorneys, it was a normal “replacement,” but when Donald Trump did the same thing, it was an outrageous “ousting” of dedicated crime-fighters. Harvard undergraduates, too young to remember the Clinton firing, must be protected from viewpoints that might confuse them.)

This graphic published by the librarians ought to be a matter of shame for the university:

“When in doubt, ask a librarian”
…because librarians are sophisticated consumers of political news, and because they have exhaustively researched each of the hundreds of websites they “rate”?

I am sorry, but this is dangerous nonsense. I was very grateful for the help that the staffs of several Harvard libraries (there are dozens of libraries at Harvard) gave me in my years there. They knew what their collections contained, and how to get ahold of even the most obscure items. But they always knew that they were in a service role, not in the role of determining what sources I should rely on. That was my job!

How about, when in doubt, read what they have to say, read others, and make up your mind? That was what I always did.

Consider this: the Harvard librarians do not trust students to make up their own minds. Instead, they find certain viewpoints dangerous, and want to make sure that youngsters are warned away from viewpoints dissenting from liberal orthodoxy.

In actuality, it is the job of librarians to collect, organize, and store source materials for students and scholars to use in their work. It is the job of scholars and students (not librarians) to evaluate those sources, and appropriately draw on them in their research and writing. At the mammoth Harvard University Library system, they seem to have forgotten this role distinction. In the age of Trump, the dangers of exposing bright young minds to information incompatible with the worldview of leftists is so great that the librarians took it upon themselves to warn away students before those viewpoints ever reach their eyes.

One of the websites the Harvard Librarians ban as “biased” is American Thinker. We have plenty of company on the right, much less on the Left. Doug Ross has collected the ratings for us and a number of our colleagues:


Site Harvard Labels Real Description
americanthinker.com bias

Political news and opinion liberals hate
AmmoLand.com bias

Firearm news liberals hate
barenakedislam.com hate

News about Isamic terror that liberals hate
breitbart.com political unreliable bias Political news and opinion liberals hate
canadafreepress.com conspiracy bias
Political news and opinion liberals hate
centerforsecuritypolicy.org bias conspiracy
News about Isamic terror that liberals hate
citizensunited.org bias

Pro-free speech group that liberals hate
city-journal.org political

Urban news that liberals hate
CNSNews.com unreliable bias
Political news and opinion liberals hate
commentarymagazine.com political

Political opinions that liberals hate
conservativereview.com political

Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate
counterjihad.com bias

News about Isamic terror that liberals hate
dailycaller.com political clickbait unreliable Political news and opinion liberals hate
dailysignal.com bias

Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate
drudgereport.com political bias
Political news and opinion liberals hate
familysecuritymatters.org conspiracy bias
News about Isamic terror that liberals hate
FreeBeacon.com bias

Political news and opinion liberals hate
freedomworks.org political

Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate
frontpagemag.com bias hate
News about Isamic terror that liberals hate
gatesofvienna.net hate conspiracy
News about Isamic terror that liberals hate
heartland.org bias

Pro-business group that liberals hate
heritage.org unknown

Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate
jihadwatch.org unknown

News about Isamic terror that liberals hate
judicialwatch.org unknown

Pro-Constitution articles that liberals hate
lifenews.com bias clickbait
Pro-Life articles that liberals hate
lifezette.com clickbait

Pro-Life articles that liberals hate
nationalreview.com unknown

Political news and opinion liberals hate
pamelageller.com conspiracy fake bias News about Isamic terror that liberals hate
PeakProsperity.com unknown

Economic facts that liberals despise
pjmedia.com unknown

Political news and opinion liberals hate
powerlineblog.com unknown

Political news and opinion liberals hate
rightwingnews.com bias unreliable
Political news and opinion liberals hate
ShadowStats.com unknown

Economic facts that liberals despise
SteveQuayle.com unknown

Political news and opinion liberals hate
theamericanmirror.com unknown

Political news and opinion liberals hate
TheBurningPlatform.com unknown

Economic facts that liberals despise
theconservativetreehouse.com unknown

Political news and opinion liberals hate
theduran.com unreliable

Political news and opinion liberals hate
thegatewaypundit.com bias conspiracy unreliable Political news and opinion liberals hate
theintercept.com unknown

Political news and opinion liberals hate
therightscoop.com fake clickbait
Videos of news shows that liberals hate
truepundit.com bias clickbait
Political news and opinion liberals hate
twitchy.com clickbait rumor
Tweets that liberals hate
unz.com unknown

Politically incorrect articles that liberals hate
weaselzippers.us unreliable bias
Political news and opinion liberals hate
weeklystandard.com political bias
Political news and opinion liberals hate
westernjournalism.com bias clickbait
Political news and opinion liberals hate
wikileaks.org unknown

Government documents that liberals hate
wnd.com bias clickbait unreliable Political news and opinion liberals hate
zerohedge.com conspiracy

Political news and opinion liberals hate

Missing from any hints of bias are the New York Times, NBC News, and pretty much everyone in the MSM.


Thomas Lifson

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/03/harvard_going_orwell_protecting_students_from_conservative_websites.html

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