Also, see Jon Stewart's take on this same subject. Hilarious AND pathetic at the same time.
Classic quote by Bill Maher: "And where better to find people dumb enough to believe in George Bush than Pat Robertson's law school." Ah, the truth hurts! :)
Comments
Some Regent stats (PM - 4/28/2007 1:05:56 PM)
This is excerpted from a comment of mine back in February.
Regent University Law School is ranked in the fourth tier by U.S News & World Report. It is ranked 170th (out of 181 surveyed) for percentage of people passing the bar, using a four year average. It does a little better in the category of graduates who have jobs 9 months after graduating - it's 167th out of 181 (four yr. average). Its acceptance rate is 172nd out of 181 (meaning it accepts anyone with opposable thumbs). LSAT scores? It ranks 160th.
And this is the law school our state AG graduated from.
"And this is the law school our state AG graduated from" (Lowell - 4/28/2007 1:38:34 PM)
That says it all right there.
When I was on hiring committees (PM - 4/28/2007 1:42:42 PM)
In the federal government we would not even look at graduates from a law school like Regent (unless, maybe, the person was #1 in the class). And that's for a GS-11 staff job.
Regent Law wasn't even approved by the ABA (Lowell - 4/28/2007 4:42:53 PM)
until 1989, the year Bob McDonnell graduated from the school. And Regent Law received full accreditation only in 1996. That's right, our Attorney General graduated from an unaccredted Law School that wasn't even approved by the ABA when he enrolled. In contrast, McDonnell's opponent in 2005, Creigh Deeds, graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1984. Wake Forest is ranked the 36th best law school in the country by US News and World Report.
Attention potential opponents of McDonnell.... (Dianne - 4/30/2007 6:56:25 AM)
if you don't choose to use this disturbing information to distinguish yourself from Mr. McDonnell, don't bother to run.
The Shame of It Is (Susan P. - 4/28/2007 5:40:21 PM)
that we have so many excellent law schools in Virginia. Why choose Regent, which is unquestionably the worst?
It's now official: The GOP has morphed itself into a religious cult... (FMArouet - 4/28/2007 8:12:35 PM)
very much like Jonestown, the Waco Branch Davidians, and Heaven's Gate.
Hmmm.
That thought might be worth a short diary one of these days.
...that have convinced me your kool-aid is definitely unsweetened.
Sorry to say, but... (Lowell - 4/28/2007 10:18:11 PM)
...you're drinking the strongest koolaid around these parts! :)
Unfortunately, the GOP that I grew up with (Lowell - 4/28/2007 10:20:03 PM)
was taken over, to a large extent, by the "religious right" back in 1980. It got better for a little while under Bush 41, but has gotten worse again under Bush 43. Of course, the Bushies have nothing but contempt for their fundamentalist base, but they are happy to take their votes, their money, and their volunteer sweat.
COMMENT HIDDEN (Detcord - 4/29/2007 12:11:03 AM)
Read my article on Charles Taylor (PM - 4/29/2007 12:34:18 AM)
And your friend Mr. Robertson.
I call 'em as I see 'em.
If there is an afterlife, I sure don't want to be sharing it with the likes of you. I'll gladly go to the other door.
Nice try with the new pseudonym. Both you and he spell the same way.
That's my last response to you on this blog.
I'm not real clear... (Detcord - 4/29/2007 9:48:36 AM)
...on exactly what it was I said that had anything to do with mr. Robertson. Wow, and people say I can't stay on point.
If that was suppose to be an effort to convince me that my point of view was wrong, it missed the mark wildly but you're free to try again. Oops, forgot, the "last response" thing...too bad.
Typical right wing nonsense. (Lowell - 4/29/2007 6:38:17 AM)
You guys spend 24/7 tearing down the Democrats in the most vile ways (e.g., Rush's "Barack the Magic Negro"), but we can't make fun of a Republican who said he found his law school - objectively speaking, one of the worst in the nation - by watching Pat Robertson, a certifiable bigot (see his many, many anti-Semitic, homophobic, and other offensive comments) and extremist (again, see his many, many comments that advocate assassinating people, blame 9/11 on liberals, etc., etc.).
By the way, the main purpose of RK is to provide a forum for progressives. If you want to state your conservative views, you won't be banned for that. However, if you or "Not Ron" or anyone else plan to come on here just to lob outrageous charges and constantly insult people, you will be banned as trolls.
Last warning.
"People of Faith?" (Susan P. - 4/29/2007 7:50:50 AM)
I do not understand how anyone can call Pat Robertson one of the "people of faith." Faith in power, maybe. Faith in money, certainly. Faith in his ability to mislead, distort, and inflame, definitely. Regent is the worst law school in Virginia, and one of the worst law schools in the nation, religion notwithstanding. One of its most prominent graduates is about to be granted immunity based on a dubious assertion of the Fifth Amendment in the U.S. Attorney's scandal, with doubtless more to follow. In contrast, Duke and Georgetown are excellent schools with strong religious foundations. These schools are dedicated to teaching qualified students to practice law, not to promoting the narrow-minded views of a bigoted religious huckster and failed political aspirant. "By their fruits you shall know them."
I totally agree. (Lowell - 4/29/2007 8:25:32 AM)
People like Pat Robertson and Bob McDonnell, plus the "feeder school" (Regent) that they've set up to stock Republican administrations and promote their vision of a "Christian" nation, represent everything that is wrong with today's Republican Party. It's also very telling that the response to this by people like "Detcord" and "Not Ron" is completely off-point and absurd, that we terrible liberals are somehow attacking Catholicism or whatever. That's laughable. Can you imagine what they'd be saying if one of OUR candidates admitted to having chosen their law school by watching Oprah or whatever? Especially if that school had some "atheists" at it or "far left wingers" or whatever.
Of course, it's ok for them to do that, or to blame the victims of Virginia Tech, or to play "Barack the Magic Negro" over and over again, or to ridicule Hillary Clinton in the most vile and misogynistic ways, but it's not ok for us to point out the absurdities and craziness of Pat Robertson and others of his ilk? That's their totalitarian nightmare vision of America, but fortunately, the American people appear to have woken up to it big time, at least if you believe the polls that show them siding with Democrats on pretty much everything, and by wide margins at that.
Totalitarians in our midst (PM - 4/29/2007 9:04:07 AM)
It seems shocking to some, but every society has them. If you look at cultures down through history, you can see movements within them that are similar to the ones we know so well from the 20th century. And as we know from the 1930s especially, it is important to stand up to them, call their bullshit, and work to keep them out of power.
Right, and we've got two of them right here (Lowell - 4/29/2007 9:08:33 AM)
at RK. So what do we do about them? Is the answer to totalitarians to engage with them or not?
Or should I say, "try to engage with them" (Lowell - 4/29/2007 9:09:54 AM)
...because they never, ever truly listen. They SAY they're listening, such as with Detcord's absurd "the coffee's always hot" line, but really they're just f***ing with people.
COMMENT HIDDEN (Detcord - 4/29/2007 9:25:14 AM)
The link for those... (Detcord - 4/29/2007 9:26:42 AM)
Three Feeder Schools (KathyinBlacksburg - 4/30/2007 11:42:58 AM)
When you throw Patrick Henry College and Liberty into the mix, there are three feeder schools all focused on taking over key positions in government. It all happened while we were sleeping.
But we're wide awake now (PM - 4/30/2007 12:52:47 PM)
One of the great things about the internet is that now we have the informational tools to out scoundrels like Robertson.
Personally, I can't wait to see McDonnell try to run.
Lots of excellent religious based schools (PM - 4/29/2007 9:16:19 AM)
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Emory, Duke and SMU, just to name a few, have famous divinity schools attached to them. They all have excellent law schools. There's quite a list of schools with religious foundations. Boston College, which has a very good law school. Lots of small colleges in the Midwest.
When I went to Georgetown undergrad, we had to take six theology courses. They were intellectual looks at religion (like Problem of God). What did the great European theologians think about God? What about the nihilists? How about a detailed study of another religion? (I chose Judaism.) Of course that was the strong Jesuit tradition of academics -- which meant to think about religion and God -- not just sit in a high chair and be fed pablum.
The pablum approach was advocated by the writers of the Garden of Eden allegory. "Don't eat from the Tree of Knowledge! Just do as you're told!" The fight between free thinking religious people and totalitarian religious thinkers has been going on through recorded history.
Thanks, P.M. (Susan P. - 4/29/2007 12:32:05 PM)
Detcord, thanks, I just got back from church. Of course, it took longer than usual, what with all the goose-stepping gay Nazis at Kempsville and Centreville Road, hunting down Pat Robertson and Bob McDonnell and trying to arrest little children for praying. Really, what a persecuted minority! Far worse than the Diaspora, pogroms, the persecution of the Roman Empire, the Holocaust, the Spanish Inquisition, the treatment of Native Americans, slavery, Jim Crow .....
Hey, Susan, Speaking of Protests (PM - 4/29/2007 2:07:16 PM)
Some protesters got into the Harvard Law reunion, and Raw Story has the pictures: http://rawstory.com/...
Gonzales apparently arrived unannounced. Students met him and his fellow classmates outside the law library where the class of 1982 had posed for a photo.
As the photographer said cheese, the group said students yelled that "torture," "resign" or "I don't recall" might be more appropriate.*** "When I heard he was on campus, I was stuffing envelopes with letters to Congress in an office two floors above," said Deborah Popowski, a second-year law student, according to the release. "I dropped everything. Gonzales needs to know that after approving poorly-reasoned memos that distort the rule of law and justify torture, he is simply not welcome here."
According the the group, Popowski slipped though the law library's front doors and approached Gonzales from behind as the Attorney General's security detail kept protesters at bay.
"On behalf of many other Harvard Law students," she said, "I'd like to tell you that we are ashamed to have you as an alumnus of this school. And we're glad you're here to be able to tell you that."
Bush also was protested at Miam1-Dade College. Recall that Cheney was booed last week at GW hospital? The temperature is rising.
Thanks, PM (Susan P. - 4/29/2007 2:26:47 PM)
Too perfect! Proof that MOST of the people from Harvard are just smarter.
It's safe to say (KathyinBlacksburg - 4/30/2007 11:47:36 AM)
It is safe to say that most people who blog here are persons of faith. And the preposterous assertion that faith is under attack by us or anyone else is just so much propagandistic rubbish.
Kathy, some people think (Peace - 4/30/2007 12:22:25 PM)
"of faith" means "their faith" and only their faith, right?
God made "in his/her own image" black people, brown people, tan people, white people -- all different head and body shapes and hair color and eye color and blood types -- and different political beliefs, different skills, different favorite sports teams, different intelligence levels, different cultural beliefs .... and somehow, according to the right-wangers, God thought everybody should hold to the same dogma.
And those who don't -- hellfire! Yeah -- all those Pacific islanders and New Guinea tribes and billions of people in China and India -- all damned because they don't have access to CBN on cable TV!
(Because it's frowned upon, a lot of right wangers won't let their inner beliefs show -- but in my conversations with them they're always letting stuff slip out verbally which shows they really don't like people who are a different color, or from a different religion, etc. and etc.)
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. (Or, just to love is allright too.)
Before making statements, know the truth (perussell - 4/30/2007 12:11:15 AM)
I went to Regent University and it was an excellent school. Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. Many of the laws throughout the country are based on the Old Testament. Regent professors never preached, but there was an occasional discussion regarding the Old Testament laws. Take a look at Regents Moot Court and other awards students have won, beating the "first tier" schools. Also, check to see where many of their teachers graduated from. You may be surprised. To attack Regent students is unfair. Al Gore couldn't even make it through law school. Joe Biden was a plagarist. Hilary Clinton couldn't remember where she put the Rose Law firm files. Bill Clinton couldn't tell the truth, lied under oath, was disbarred and lacked morality. I could go on and on, but I would rather be on the "right" wing than your left.
The Truth (Susan P. - 4/30/2007 6:11:11 AM)
Four year average Virginia state bar exam pass rates:
U.Va. 90.68%
William and Mary 82.48%
Richmond 74.32%
George Mason 72.95%
Regent 51.45%
AVERAGE 73%
Only Regent is below average, and it is substantially below average.
I don't know what that has to do with Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, or how these irrefutable facts could constitute anything but the sad truth.
Your "truth" is uncited (jrunner - 5/2/2007 12:10:19 PM)
Please cite your sources, Susan. Here's some current data:
First time bar passage rate for all graduates of Regent Law (1987-2005)
LSAT > 150 = 76%
LSAT > 155 = 82%
LSAT > 160 = 89%
The entire GOP is equated to the Branch Dividians and they get a pass but I said was outrageous? You're beginning to lose credibility with reasoning like that.
Robertson even being dissed by religious broadcasters (Peace - 4/30/2007 12:10:24 PM)
Does anyone remember this story? Back in 2006, Pat Robertson was one of 38 candidates running for 33 spots on the board of the National Religious Broadcasters board. He lost.
Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson, criticized by some evangelicals for comments about Venezuela's president and Israel's prime minister, lost a bid for re-election to the National Religious Broadcasters' board of directors.
Robertson, founder of the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network, was one of 38 candidates for 33 board seats during the NRB's recent convention. The group represents mostly evangelical radio and TV broadcasters.
NRB President Frank Wright said there was no broad effort to distance the group from Robertson. But "there was broad dismay with some of Pat's comments and a feeling they were not helpful to Christian broadcasters in general," he said in Wednesday's Washington Post.
Charles Taylor/al Qaeda Reference (PM - 4/30/2007 4:16:23 PM)
I'm just referencing the Charles Taylor diary I wrote because it also is on Robertson's immoral behavior. http://www.raisingka... This thread should prove useful when our lamentable AG carries on with his political future.
The ties of former Liberian president Charles Taylor to al Qaeda have been corroborated by the FBI and the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.
I hope the graduates of Regent are proud of Robertson's association with Taylor:
In 2000, among those operating simultaneously in Liberia under Taylor were: senior al Qaeda operatives; Hezbollah financiers; Victor Bout, an arms merchant who was supplying weapons across Africa and to both the Taliban and the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan; Leonid Minin, a Ukrainian-Israeli drug dealer and arms merchant; and Aziz Nassour, the onetime bagman for Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire and middleman for al Qaeda and Hezbollah.
Id.
It will also be helpful to remember Robertson's ties to the Zaire dictator. Robertson's Operation Blessing planes were transporting diamond-mining equipment for his African Development Corporation, a venture he had established in cooperation with Zaire's dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, whom Robertson had befriended earlier in 1993.
I wonder why the State Department didn't want Mobutu Sese Seko to come to the U.S.?
