Flap’s Links and Comments for May 12th on 10:28

These are my links for May 12th from 10:28 to 10:33:

• Kochs Get Slammed for Donating Money to Education – Have you heard the news? First the nefarious Koch brothers were trying to end education for kids in Wisconsin (well, until they weren’t actually). And, now, if you can believe it, the news is that the Koch brothers are trying to promote education! Some nerve…The phony outrage this time is over a $1.5 million donation that the Koch Foundation gave to Florida State University (FSU) to hire new professors and implement a program that promotes political economy and free enterprise. The agreement was made in 2008 with FSU, and though it was transparent at the time, it went largely unnoticed—that is, until just recently.

  Here’s how an article in the St. Petersburg Times describes the agreement between the Koch Foundation and FSU:

  Under the agreement with the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, however, faculty only retain the illusion of control. The contract specifies that an advisory committee appointed by Koch decides which candidates should be considered. The foundation can also withdraw its funding if it’s not happy with the faculty’s choice or if the hires don’t meet ‘objectives’ set by Koch during annual evaluations.

  So while it gives the impression that the hiring is done by the Kochs, it’s actually highly misleading. But that hasn’t stopped the left, who have created something of bogeymen out of David and Charles Koch, from claiming that this program compromises the academic integrity of the university by allowing for outside sources to dictate to the university which professors can—and cannot—be hired.

  ======

  Read it all.

  More Koch Derangement Syndrome

• Unlikely Cheri Daniels Will Mention 2012 in Speech Tonight – Indiana first lady Cheri Daniels will be delivering the keynote address at an Indiana GOP dinner tonight. Right before she speaks, Mitch Daniels will deliver brief remarks. Neither the governor or the first lady is expected to mention 2012, according to Indiana GOP insiders.“If Cheri is going to make any headlines tonight, that has been one of the best kept secrets in politics,” a former George W. Bush administration colleague of Mitch Daniels’s tells National Review Online.

  The source adds that Daniels is still interested in a 2012 run, saying, “Given how politically astute he is, I have a hard time believing he’d be doing what he’s been doing lately if he weren’t serious about it.”

  ======

  Agreed but her speech and Mitch’s remarks will be scrutinized. Daniels will announce by Memorial Day.