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Evil Koch Bros FGCU v. The Good Florida Gators

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Off Topic
Posted on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 03:37:56 PM EST
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So you were tempted to root for Florida Gulf Coast over Florida were you? Nevermind, the 1%er coach, you thought, it is still a heartwarming Cinderella story.

Well think again:

It’s a great story: the virtually unknown, 15th seeded Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), has made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. But there’s something you might not know about FGCU: its economics department is, as a consequence of grants from Randian businessman John Allison and the Charles G. Koch Foundation[.]

Rooting for the Cinderella Eagles is rooting for the Koch Brothers.

Do the right thing, root for the land grant public university established by Abraham Lincoln:

Go Gators!!!

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    Evil Koch Bros FGCU v. The Good Florida Gators | 51 comments (51 topical)

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    Not tempted at all. (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 03:51:11 PM EST
    I need the land grant school to win so I can win big money.  

    My wallet sez Oregon (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 03:55:29 PM EST
    Got them at 300-1.

    Parent
    A more interesting question might be (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:02:11 PM EST
    how many university economics departments around the country are dominated by the thinking of free market fundamentalist, consultant/professors?

    A surprising number, I'd wager.

    Parent

    True dat (none / 0) (#5)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:05:04 PM EST
    Koch Bros bought the FSU economics department also.

    Parent
    Not to mention part of Lincoln Center. (none / 0) (#22)
    by oculus on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 06:06:16 PM EST


    Parent
    I couldn't say. (none / 0) (#29)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 08:02:56 PM EST
    What I DO remember is that my very first college class EVAH!! at the University of Washington was ECON 110 with Professor J.R. Huber, at 9:00 a.m. in Smith Hall, Room 201, on Monday, September 24, 1979.

    I was ready to drop out of school after the very first hour.

    Parent

    I don't believe it. (none / 0) (#31)
    by unitron on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 09:16:56 PM EST
    Back then incoming freshmen always got 8:00 am classes.

    5 per week minimum.

    Parent

    My back then was farther back (none / 0) (#32)
    by cal1942 on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 09:52:12 PM EST
    Two 10 AM classes (Tuesday and Thursday).  Two 2 PM classes (Monday and Wednesday).  No classes on Friday.

    Biggest problem was the 7-10 PM class on Tuesday and Thursday and the packed schedule after 3 PM on Monday and Wednesday.

    Parent

    Wow. And I thought my 3-hr. gap ... (none / 0) (#39)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 01:57:37 AM EST
    ... between claases was bad! Honestly, when I was at UW, I never heard of a policy that mandated 8:00 a.m. classes for freshmen. Back then, the biggest hurdle we faced in scheduling was the fact that we registered last behind all the upperclassmen, which is how I ended up with three late afternoon classes between 3:00 and 6:30 p.m. Those were the only open sections left of the classes I needed that quarter.

    And when Winter Quarter began and I had baseball practice in the afternoons from 3:00-5:00 p.m. -- I was on a full-ride scholarship at the time -- I had to take ENG 150 (Expository Writing) at 7:00 a.m. daily, followed by SPAN 202 at 8:00 a.m. And on Tuesday and Thursday nights, I had ZOOL 101 (Intro. to Zoology) from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with the accompanying lab on Wednesday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

    Parent

    Registration (none / 0) (#44)
    by cal1942 on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 10:29:13 AM EST
    place (alphabetic) was how I was stuck with the evening class.  I'd have preferred a morning class.  The class, Nat Sci, was a requirement for Freshmen.

    I remember being worried as the classes filled up because I had to work nights.  Fortunately the Tuesday/Thursday class didn't interfere with my M,W,F evening work schedule.  No work, no school.


    Parent

    Nope. Not for me. (none / 0) (#35)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 10:40:30 PM EST
    My primary scheduling problem as a freshman that first Fall quarter was that I had a 3-hour gap between my last class in the morning and my first class in the afternoon. And my MATH 125 class, which met only three times weekly, started at 5:00 p.m. and didn't let out until 6:30 p.m., which meant 90 straight minutes of calculus.

    Parent
    Interesting. My very first class was probably (none / 0) (#42)
    by observed on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 09:56:13 AM EST
    at exactly the same time, same date, same year, at UW. It was English composition, IIRC.

    Parent
    GO, DUCKS!! (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by caseyOR on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:40:28 PM EST
    Hope they pay off for you, BTD.

    Parent
    GO DUCKS!!!! In Basketball, I root for the Ducks (none / 0) (#47)
    by Cashmere on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 12:30:15 PM EST
    eom

    Parent
    I see your heart sez UF... (none / 0) (#49)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 02:11:38 PM EST
    in the LGM pool.  And the only one in the top 15 with that bold choice.

    Parent
    Curious (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by CoralGables on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:03:28 PM EST
    whether a copy of Atlas Shrugged in every economics major's stocking is for real.

    As if the study of economics (none / 0) (#6)
    by jondee on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:14:16 PM EST
    weren't enough of a chinese-water-torture-in-print experience in itself, without adding Atlas Shrugged to it..

     

    Parent

    For example: (none / 0) (#25)
    by oculus on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 06:12:46 PM EST
    Krugman blog

    Parent
    OK. I give up (none / 0) (#33)
    by cal1942 on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 09:56:32 PM EST
    I thought the Krugman post was very good.  Did I miss something?

    Parent
    No, but I did. Econ 101. (none / 0) (#36)
    by oculus on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 11:31:12 PM EST


    Parent
    Well, you could've joined me daily at 9AM ... (none / 0) (#38)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 01:34:33 AM EST
    ... in Smith Hall, Room 201 back in the fall of 1979 for ECON 110, anf listened to 50 minutes of lecture on the joys of macro- and microeconomics from Prof. J.R. Huber.

    And if you had joined my roommate and me a half-hour earlier back in our dorm, you could've also smoked a joint that would've enabled you to endure that 50 minutes.
    ;-)

    Parent

    Fall of 1960 (none / 0) (#45)
    by cal1942 on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 10:31:48 AM EST
    weed hadn't reached my part of the country.  As far as I knew anyway.

    Parent
    Andy Enfield probably loves the Kochs, too (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by Dadler on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:17:45 PM EST
    Sigh. Why you gotta be such a bummer, Tent?  The Wall Street stuff alone was making it hard for me to stay outta denial with Enfield, now the Kochs.

    Go, ahem, Gators.

    Can't even root for a Cinderella no more, what's this world coming to?

    Before Billy the Kid (none / 0) (#8)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:21:47 PM EST
    Gators rarely had winning season in basketball, much less NCAA teams.

    Parent
    Billy Donovan to UCLA!!! (none / 0) (#11)
    by Dadler on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:40:17 PM EST
    Like he'd want that headache OR the sh*tty commute.

    Parent
    I think the only place he'd go (none / 0) (#13)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:46:42 PM EST
    is the NBA.

    Billy D. to the Lakers is the more likely scenario.

    Parent

    The Lakers could certainly do worse (none / 0) (#17)
    by Dadler on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:58:31 PM EST
    As they are now.

    Parent
    Yeah! Mike D'Antoni to UCLA! (none / 0) (#20)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 05:50:47 PM EST
    Okay, everyone. BTD and I have already settled everything. Move along, nothing to see here ...

    ;-D

    Parent

    If Donovan is smart (none / 0) (#34)
    by cal1942 on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 10:06:21 PM EST
    he'll stay in Gainesville.

    Parent
    It's only a sh*tty communte ... (none / 0) (#23)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 06:08:35 PM EST
    ... if you inexplicably choose to live on the other side of Mullholland Drive in the communities of West Galleria, Suburbank and Tierra del Porno. Then it's like, barf out, gag me with a spoon, y'know? But if you live in the really good part of Encino, it's like, ohmigawd, so bitchen, I'm sure -- totally.

    Parent
    Hey, Moon Zappa... (none / 0) (#26)
    by Dadler on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 06:37:31 PM EST
    Speaking of UCLA and commutes, is there a worse intersection in LA than Wilshire and the 405/Westwood Blvd? Twenty lanes of gridlocked traffic right there it seems like, and I'm talking on the STREET?  And the airport, forget it, I literally get depressed just thinking about the drive from LAX to anywhere I have to go in L.A., and then depressed again thinking about the drive back to return home.

    Sing it, Randy Newman.

    Parent

    Yes, there is. (none / 0) (#27)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 07:39:45 PM EST
    Dadler: "Speaking of UCLA and commutes, is there a worse intersection in LA than Wilshire and the 405/Westwood Blvd?"

    Try going south on N. Hill St. toward downtown L.A. after you exit the 110-S during daylight or early evening hours.

    First, you'll often experience the equivalent of a walking tour on wheels through Chinatown, where dozens of denizens will think nothing of jaywalking right in front of you, just like they did back in the old country.

    (I know I'm stereotyping viciously here, but Chinese people -- especially the elderly -- have got to be some of the most oblivious pedestrians on the face of the earth.)

    By the time you finally get down toward Hill and 1st Ave., you'll swear that there must be some clown standing in the middle of the road somewhere just ahead, inciting a crowd to block traffic with calls of "Attica! Attica!"

    And Heaven forbid if there's a film crew at work that day.

    Parent

    And speaking of Moon Zappa & Westwood, ... (none / 0) (#30)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 08:21:29 PM EST
    ... did you know that Frank Zappa is buried in an unmarked grave in Westwood Memorial Park at Wilshire and Glendon Ave.? That's the same cemetery where Marilyn Monroe is also at rest for eternity.

    Hmmmm -- first Marilyn Monroe, then Frank Zappa.

    Coincidence, perhaps -- OR IS IT ?!!??

    Parent

    Ah, Westwood Memorial Park (none / 0) (#40)
    by brodie on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 08:21:04 AM EST
    -- brings back some interesting memories from ma jeunesse in the 70s when I dated a former teacher and native Angeleno who turned me on to Marilyn's resting place, tucked away behind a few corporate high rises off Wilshire Blvd.  

    Oddly, I discovered, this older woman seemed rather turned on herself, the several times we visited, seemingly alone in the park.  Was it some quirky cemetery thing or the fact we thought we were alone in a public place, or what?  

    38 years ago.  That was when Wilshire in Westwood still had some charming one- and two-story apartment complexes for middle-income folks and students, probably dating from the 1930s and 40s, now gone to make way for very expensive high-rise condos and 50% more car traffic.

    Parent

    Lousy Commute??? (none / 0) (#37)
    by bmaz on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 12:42:53 AM EST
    Are you kidding? Within well less than 10 miles in a given direction, he could live in Brentwood or Pacific Palisades or Beverly Hills. That is not exactly lousy living.

    Parent
    Ten miles in LA is an HOUR in traffic (none / 0) (#43)
    by Dadler on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 10:02:17 AM EST
    If you're lucky. But I was being, you know, kind of flip. Frankly, tho, there isn't anywhere in LA you can live and not deal with traffic that makes you want to shoot yourself.

    Parent
    I've lived in Santa Monica (none / 0) (#46)
    by bmaz on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 12:25:34 PM EST
    It is a piece of cake between Westwood and Brentwood/Palisades.

    Parent
    I've lived there, too (none / 0) (#48)
    by Dadler on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 01:36:34 PM EST
    Never had a drive longer than a mile that wasn't a royal pain in the ace ANYwhere in LA County, east or west. If you live and work on the westside tho, obviously, life is much easier for you...in many ways. ;-)

    Parent
    There's always my ol' IU (none / 0) (#10)
    by christinep on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:24:10 PM EST


    Parent
    I think Koch Brothers (5.00 / 1) (#28)
    by jeffinalabama on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 07:44:59 PM EST
    equals Austrian Economics-- the Ludwig von Mises type.

    In other words, Ayn Rand's version of economics.

    Florida just picked up another booster, Jeffinalabama.

    it's everywhere (none / 0) (#9)
    by P3P3P3P3 on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:22:46 PM EST
    Evil Koch Bros in College class rooms
    Evil Coke Bros in College frat houses

    >>>>>>>temptation<<<<<<<

    So you admit to rooting for the Koch Brothers (none / 0) (#14)
    by me only on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:46:48 PM EST
    Warning. Link to pdf from Koch Foundation below.

    Colleges and Universities with Programs Supported by the Charles Koch Foundation

    ....
    University of Florida
    ...

    Nah (none / 0) (#15)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:48:40 PM EST
    There's donating and then there's owning.

    The Kochs don't own Harvard or Florida.

    They seem to own the FGCU economics dept.

    Parent

    Seriously, (none / 0) (#19)
    by me only on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 05:16:45 PM EST
    You think because 3 out 4 of the professors have association with CATO that equates to,

    oh wait.  Er, um.

    Doesn't matter.  Rooting for the Gators is like rooting for Stalin.

    Parent

    A little over the top, don'tcha think? (none / 0) (#21)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 05:58:04 PM EST
    I mean, were I to choose a ruthless dictator as an analogy, it would probably be Nicolae Ceausescu -- 'cause come this weekend, the Gators are going to be found guilty and summarily executed.

    ;-D

    Parent

    do they only teach "austrian-style"? (none / 0) (#16)
    by cpinva on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 04:53:31 PM EST
    its economics department is, as a consequence of grants from Randian businessman John Allison and the Charles G. Koch Foundation

    given the shallowness of rand (emotionally & intellectually), a major in her version would consist of repeating the same stupid things, over and over, for four years. even the most desperate of students would probably switch majors, after the first couple of semesters.

    i hope they play to tie.

    I don't care. (none / 0) (#18)
    by DebFrmHell on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 05:03:06 PM EST
    I am rooting for the Eagles.  

    Just wait til Michigan beats. KU. (none / 0) (#24)
    by oculus on Thu Mar 28, 2013 at 06:09:19 PM EST


    Koch the Whiner... (none / 0) (#41)
    by kdog on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 09:25:41 AM EST
    For a let the buyer beware billionaire free-markeeter, dude can't buy some wine without crying rip-off and running to the courts to protect him from his own stupidity.

    A quick google and you'll see it's a recurring event with this clown.

    Koch is living proof (none / 0) (#50)
    by jondee on Fri Mar 29, 2013 at 03:54:31 PM EST
    of the fact that even the rarest, most ethereal wine is wasted on an as*hole.

    Parent
    Good. glad they lost (none / 0) (#51)
    by Jack203 on Sat Mar 30, 2013 at 07:48:14 PM EST
    I would have been rooting for FGCU otherwise.

    Evil Koch Bros FGCU v. The Good Florida Gators | 51 comments (51 topical)

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