Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
That’s up to the House of Representatives.The impeachment of President Clinton in 1998 was voted on by the House after a recommendation by the House Judiciary Committee, so the Wall would watch for developments there and for statements by its members. Here’s the list: bit.ly/bc-house-judiciary. If you’re interested in the details of how it has worked with prior presidential impeachments, our Hein Online database has a nice collection of documents: bit.ly/bc-impeach
Sigh… I’m not really in the prognostication game, though I wish I had that kind of foresight. You might consult the prognosticators at FiveThirtyEight.com (bit.ly/45-approval), keeping in mind that their bets on the 2016 election were off the mark. You might do just as well with the online Magic 8-ball: www.indra.com/8ball. (BTW, walls don’t get to vote. Can you do something about that before this November?)
š Venezuela certainly seems to be having a tough time of it right now. Unfortunately, the US doesn’t have the best reputation for “helping” in Latin and South American countries. If you want to help, Buzzfeed (of all sites) has put together a list of organizations you can donate to: bit.ly/helpVenezuela
Whoever wins a majority of the Electoral College votes.
Marijuana contains a psychoactive chemical that alters how the user perceives the world. Some people may not like how marijuana affects a user’s behavior, or they may fear that use will escalate to more addictive substances. Regardless of how valid or subjective these concerns are, people will always have opinions about any substance that alters the user’s behavior. Scientific research has been difficult due to federal regulations, but now that marijuana is legal in more areas, we should expect to see more facts and fewer opinions on the matter.
The invitation to B.o.B. to perform at BC (reported recently in The Heights: bit.ly/BC-BoB-heights) has created notable controversy, as reported in the Boston Herald (bit.ly/herald-BoB). A group of faculty sent a letter on the morning of 4/30 (bit.ly/BC-faculty-BoB) with 174 faculty signatures to the BC administration requesting that BC issue a response āreinforcing Boston Collegeās mission to live out the social justice imperatives inherent in its Catholic and Jesuit heritage and disavowing B.o.B.ās conspiracy theories and anti-science and anti-Semitic proclamations.ā Clearly, anti-Semitism is not a Jesuit value. C.A.B. has defended its choice by drawing a distinction between his talent and his personal views, and added that they are āhappy to meet with and listen to the concerns of those students who may be offended by our selection.ā Though Iām always here to listen & respond, I suggest that making concerns known to the C.A.B. directly (bostoncollegecab@gmail.com) has a better chance of creating results than telling me, a mere Wall.
The invitation to B.o.B. to perform at BC (reported recently in The Heights: bit.ly/BC-BoB-heights) has created notable controversy, as reported in the Boston Herald (bit.ly/herald-BoB). A group of faculty sent a letter on the morning of 4/30 (bit.ly/BC-faculty-BoB) with 174 faculty signatures to the BC administration requesting that BC issue a response āreinforcing Boston Collegeās mission to live out the social justice imperatives inherent in its Catholic and Jesuit heritage and disavowing B.o.B.ās conspiracy theories and anti-science and anti-Semitic proclamations.ā Clearly, anti-Semitism is not a Jesuit value. C.A.B. has defended its choice by drawing a distinction between his talent and his personal views, and added that they are āhappy to meet with and listen to the concerns of those students who may be offended by our selection.ā Though Iām always here to listen & respond, I suggest that making concerns known to the C.A.B. directly (bostoncollegecab@gmail.com) has a better chance of creating results than telling me, a mere Wall.
There are several reasons; the American Association of University Women (AAUW) mentions gender bias, discrimination, job tenure, education level, work experience, hours worked, college major, geographical region, and race and ethnicity as some of the factors that account for the gender pay gap. (bit.ly/AAUW-pay-gap) The referenced page has FAQs on the subject; for more details look for the link to āThe Simple Truth to the Gender Pay Gap.ā
Is there a line “between” religious freedom and discrimination? It seems to this Wall that many expressions of religious freedom – such as Dr. King’s – were also expressions *against* discrimination. If you’re referring Hobby Lobby & similar legal cases, then you might be interested in these books in BC Libraries: bit.ly/BC-hobbylobby.
I get the impression from this article in the Boston Herald (bit.ly/herald-BoB) that the C.A.B. has justified B.o.B.’s appearance here by drawing a line between his beliefs and his art. The lyrics of “Flatline” reference the holocaust denier David Irving: “Do your research on David Irving/ Stalin was way worse than Hitler”. B.o.B. didn’t do his research with this book: Telling lies about Hitler : the Holocaust, history and the David Irving trial, by Richard Evans, O’Neill Library KD379.5.I78 E95 2002. There are also a few books by Irving in our collection, from an era before he engaged in holocaust denial. BTW, B.o.B. is a flat-earther, too, and though I like flat–I’m a wall, you know–, there aren’t many sources within my walls that support that pre-Copernican view of the cosmos.
Cubans are very proud people, and rightfully so in many ways. Many would bristle a bit at the idea of “needing help” from Americans. However, you can always write your Senator or Congress and ask them to support ending the Cuban embargo. Allowing Cubans access to the world economy would provide a lot of benefit for the country as a whole. If you’re interested in learning more about Cuba, you can read about its history (F1776 .G87 2010).
In response to a 2015 student march, a spokesman for the university stated that the endowment exists to serve academics, financial aid, and student formation, not to serve any social justice purpose. More coverage in the Heights: bit.ly/bc-fossil-fuels. This is a perennial question–I got one like this last year around Earth Day, too.
1) Tip O’Neill collected donkey statues throughout his career. You can view some in the Tip O’Neill exhibit room on floor 2. 2) The nickname “Tip” came from a Canadian baseball player named James “Tip” O’Neill. The origin story is murky. 3) He graduated from Boston College in 1936. Read more about Tip in his memoirs, Man of the House: the life and political memoirs of Speaker Tip O’Neill: E840.8.O54 A3 1987.
Chance 2020.
This is a complicated story that involves more than one overly-large ego. Post-it note version: When Castro came to power, the US government was at the height of anti-communist fever and felt threatened. It enacted an embargo and a failed invasion to topple Castro. Castro didn’t do any favors by forcing a mix of criminals, pro-democracy political prisoners, and former wealthy elites to the US, where they settled in Florida. Florida then became a swing state necessary to winning presidential elections, which made angering the substantial anti-Castro Cuban population there politically impossible, thus making any opening with Cuba (like with Vietnam and China) a non-starter. Here are 400 items on the topic in BC Libraries:Ā bit.ly/bclib-us-cuba.
Wars have been fought in the name of religions, political systems, economic systems, kings and queens who took offense, a beautiful woman… if you can think of a reason, it’s been used for wars. So… yes, but perhaps only to the extent that any other -ism is naturally disposed to violence. Alternative answer: how many people part with their riches without a struggle? You could also read Marx’s Communist Manifesto and come to your own conclusions: O’Neill Library HX39.5 .A5122 1998
The Wall was genuinely surprised how hands-off he appears to be about how his company’s product works and makes money. Here are a few responses to the testimony worth reading: The Washington Post checked out his claims: bit.ly/bc-zuck1. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is dubious about his claims about artificial intelligence. bit.ly/bc-zuck2. Wired made a list of everything he said he’d follow up on. bit.ly/bc-zuck3. And the stock market apparently feels Facebook will be able to continue making money. bit.ly/bc-zuck4. And oh, the memes… bit.ly/bc-zuck5.
There’s some controversy on the answer to that question. In a last warning to Iraq on March 17, 2003, President Bush argued that Iraq’s program to create weapons of mass destruction was an unacceptable risk and that peaceful efforts to remove it had failed: bit.ly/bc-bush-speech. The Senate Intelligence Committee later determined that pre-war intelligence reports about the Iraqi program were either overstated or wrong: bit.ly/bc-senate-report. BC has a large collection of books and other materials on the war, and the Wall suggests reading a few different viewpoints, including Iraqi ones: bit.ly/bc-iraq-causes
The US has sufficient power to negotiate with just about any state or non-state actor. Negotiating with non-state actors can be challenging, since the usual terms of leverage (trade & security deals, sovereignty, etc.) aren’t present, and leadership can be fluid and unpredictable. Seeing as the US helped the Taliban build power by arming them in the 1980’s to resist the Soviet military invasion, the US ought to be able to achieve some influence now as well. Here are 79 books and government docs on the US and the Taliban: bit.ly/BC-taliban-us. Materials on the subject are bound to be partisan, so caution is advised.
The Wall has seen lots of Presidents, but can’t think of one with a scandal quite like this…which is not to say presidential sex scandals are new: here’s a history of them from 1789 to 1900. bit.ly/bc-affairs. It’s hard to say how the politics will play out, but the Wall will be watching the defamation lawsuit Daniels has brought very closely.
