No (subject to change if and when someone provides a cite for the implicit claim that specific agents were accused of making the visit).
If it were, the SDMB would be a very boring place.
yeah, lemme tell ya, i had to get my doctor to prescribe me some codine due to this one.
wait a minute, who did this hurt again?
as far as the dispute over whether a 22 year old is a “kid”, i AM 22 years old and i still call people around my age “kids”. i will admit that i am not now, nor have i yet been (if you doubt this, take a look at my pathetic posting history) totally rational.
in other words, give the kid a break.
you are making a mountain out of a mole hill.
in short, who cares, and why?
i forgot to add, what are you going to do with the students name anyways? send them a nasty letter? get over it, or don’t you have enough of your own real life, right in front of you , YOUR OWN BUSINESS issues to deal with?
Because this student was telling a lie in order to discredit somebody whose political opinions he disagreed with. It’s wrong when Anne Coulter does it; it’s wrong when Rush Limbaugh does it; and it’s wrong when Student X does it. Anyone who does this deserves some public censure.
Got some proof for that wild speculation? How do you KNOW his motives? Did Anne Coulter tell you what they were? Did Rush? Why are you assuming malice on the student’s part, when stupidity adequately explains his actions? Do you have a persecution complex?
I have to agree with those who say who cares what this guys name is. I understand the university’s position and it makes sense. If a newpaper (or other news outlet) knows the guy’s name, it’s up to them whether they out him or not. Had he actually broken the law that would be a different matter.
I don’t think stupidity adequately explains his actions. Frankly, I think it’s ridiculous, regardless of one’s political views, that someone could read of this particular fabrication and think it likely there was no political motivation.
But, you’re right. In terms of scientific proof, there is no real conclusion, nor can there be one regarding his motivations. I’ll assume that you’ll provide this benefit of the doubt regarding noble intentions to all politicians.
Of course, none of this changes the fact that a 22-year-old man lied, created public turmoil as a result of his lie, and he ought to be held accountable for it. And, BTW, whether it’s right or wrong, he’ll eventually be “outed.”
I guess I better backpedal on my backpedal :smack: . He deserves to be outed and fined for what he did. It doesn’t do anything for any one of us and does much to hurt us. But to change laws to penalize him would possibly be worse than not doing anything.
I agree. You can’t keep something like this a secret on a college campus. Word will get out eventually.
So we don’t know what really happened? Gee, maybe it would help if we knew more. Let’s ask the student why he did it … oh wait, we can’t, they’re concealing his name … I guess we’re forced to speculate.
Doesn’t your own argument prove my point?
Why? Is the answer so important to you that you need to make one up? It’s not as if not knowing all there is to know about the story leaves America at risk of a major city disappearing in a mushroom cloud now is it?
Because the nature of humanity is to seek understanding.
As others have asked, what book? If he should be expelled, what university policy did he violate, and how has the university treated other violations of the policy?
We Internet Warriors love to get all He-Man about every crime, peccadillo, and stupidity we hear about. But c’mon. The fact that his story blew up into an international incident should have no effect on whatever censure he receives.
As for knowing his name, I can tell you: it’s Loser with a capital L. Didja read the quotes from his professors, where they talk about how worried they are about him? Those aren’t the descriptions of Mr. Most Likely to Succeed. Those are the descriptions of the poorly-adjusted loner.
As such, his name is insignificant. This is not a guy who is ever going to effect the world stage again: he’s just experienced the most attention he’ll ever get in his life. Who cares what name his mom and pop call him?
Daniel
Basically, I’m assuming that this guy’s lie got some resources wasted. I think it’s more or less akin to falsely reporting a fire. He should pay; I don’t mean throwing him under the jail, but perhaps a few weekends of picking up trash along the roads or something.
If somebody gets their name in the paper for a DUI or writing a hot check (and this definitely happens in some places), so should he. Or maybe nobody should, I don’t honestly know. Aren’t there laws on the book for making false reports? I was operating under the assumption that there are.
This is idiotic. People can legitimately be assumed to intend the ordinary, forseeable results of their actions.
C’mon, Squink. What’s the most likely explanation for his motives?
Keep in mind this guy goes to Dartmouth, a school famous for its pranks. The professors have expressed worries about his emotional stability.
My guess as to the most likely explanation? Sure, he’s probably a liberal or a libertarian; he’s probably heard about the surveillance issue; and he thought this would be a funny bit of political satire in the Dartmouth pranking tradition. How it blew up in his face ought to have been predicted, but I’d also guess that he’s not especially canny.
Daniel
Mao’s little red book. Right in the forehead.
Obviously, The Little Red Book.
I guess I walked right into that one.
Daniel