No, not like “remember the Alamo”. I’m asking, remember the taliban? As in the taliban that Yale admitted to a non-degree progam? Well, hotair.com has an update on it all; as does the NY Times.

At the time of my prior post, Mr. Hashemi was asking to be moved into the full-degree program* w/ a sophomore status (since he had already completed one year there). Well, now it’s been decided that he may be back for one more semester in the fall, but he will not be graduating. I know it really shouldn’t be such a big deal; but it is to me. Yes, everyone deserves an education; & I will be the 1st to give someone a second chance, & I truly believe that people can reform. I did a dissertation on the rehabilitation of prisoners in college, & most ppl can reform if endowed with w/ the ambition & the means**.

But here’s my beef w/ the situation. Yale does not allow the ROTC to train on campus, they would not allow intelligent Afghan women to study there; but they’re ok w/ this top-level Taliban official being there? I think that part is wrong. At least the Afghan women were well-qualified, & likely to succeed in a high-caliber institution; but Mr. Hashemi only completed a 4th grade education, & a high school equivalency certificate. Not only that, but I don’t believe he’s reformed, or that he regrets any of his past doings. He was doing horribly in his “Terrorism: Past, Present and Future” class, arguing the textbooks were labeling the wrong ppl as the bad guys. He said that public executions in a soccer stadium in Kabul (pic to the left) were akin to the executions that take place in Texas***. I can’t agree w/ that. Um, btw, the ppl that were executed in that very public (see the tons of ppl in the background watching) stadium were missionaries.

*This is very common for international students to be admitted into a non-degree program, & be “shifted” into the full-degree program after a year (pending grades/courses, & approval by a dean). Of course, they need to formally petition this change (either by re-applying or simply writing a letter of appeal/petition to the dean & admission committee).

**I did find exceptions (as usual). It seems that some types of criminals have a chemical imbalance in their brains that actually propels them to do what they do. However, some of those crimes are not considered deviant in other countries. We as a society have deemed their actions as deviant behavior & so we persecute them. We are either fortunate to live in a country where we are so protected; or they are unfortunate to live in such a narrow-minded society that is not willing to accept their behavior. It depends on exactly how liberal you’re willing to go. I’m not quite that open-minded & liberal.

***I really did not mean to start up a topic on capital punishment. I know that the ppl who are executed in Texas are convicted murderers & rapists. I also know that a lot of ppl who have been on death row had subsequently been found innocent (via testimonials, dna, whatev); some before they were executed, & some unfortunately after. And I know that the anesthetic injection they give to paralyze the individual before they actually inject the super-painful poison that destroys the person’s insides doesn’t always work right; & there’s evidence that the person goes through the most jarring, wrenching pain possible before they actually die, but they can’t communicate it b/c they have been paralyzed. That all being said, I’d love to hear any thoughts anyone has on this. You can leave an anonymous comment.