<p>Many amongst you are too young to appreciate Star Wars the way I do. But I was recently reminded of how much that movie was impacted by Wolverines, from the voice of Darth Vador (James Earl Jones) to the script writer (Kasdan) of the Empire Strikes Back (arguably the best Science Fiction movie ever made). </p>
<p>Recently, Walt Disney purchased the rights to Star Wars from George Lucas and have announced the making of three additional movies. Once more, Kasdan will play a role in bringing my childhood favourite movie to the big screen!</p>
<p>Ted and Ann are awesome, but they only did their graduate studies at Michigan. Those two fine specimen own their formative development to Harvard and Cornell respectively! ;)</p>
<p>bearcats, Ann Coulter is an embarrassment to the University of Michigan, not so much for her clueless take on economics and humanity (if we had it her way, the US would have a far worse crime rate, a much higher poverty rate and a similar disparity in standards of living as Brazil or perhaps even India), but for her classless and boorish comportment. A person can present their views without resorting to belittling others. I guess every village has its idiot, and she is ours! ;)</p>
<p>By the way, I have no trouble with well-read conservative economic and political thinking, as long as they factor in societal needs and the need for the wealthy to take care of the poor (in other words, those who benefit from society, must pay their dues). Gerald Ford represented Michigan very well indeed.</p>
<p>Back on topic: Last year marked the 30th consecutive year that the Kasdans have awarded the Kasdan Scholarship for Creative Writing to a deserving Michigan student - last year’s award was $5,500. A great example of giving back and promoting excellence.
Just one of many awards under the Hopwood Program (Arthur Miller Award is another.)</p>
<p>Ann Coulter doesn’t have the right political mindset; she has the far right political mindset. Notwithstanding her boorish comportment, I find her observations to be interesting. My personal favorite is when she commented that liberals think it is good thing that the President’s middle name is Hussein She is more of an entertainer than a scholar or strategist and she would not be happy if everything went her way because she would be left speechless! She thrives on providing shock value much in the way of a Howard Stern.</p>
<p>I don’t want this to become a discussion of just Ann Coulter … but despite my better judgment, I can’t resist commenting. She is an ideologue in the worst sense of the word: Her priors are so strong – or, perhaps more accurately, her schtick is so tied to her popularity – that she seems unwilling to be convinced by evidence. I consider myself a classical liberal and worked at the Review while at UM, but I find her venomous, reactionary (and decidedly unlibertarian) tirades impossible to watch. And her frequent use of the word “■■■■■■” – and near constant defense of that practice – is offensive in the extreme.</p>