Mini-U, 2024 (Part 2)

June 30

No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking. ~ Voltaire

The Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. ~ Voltaire

It is called Mini-University for a reason. It was now time to go to class. ~ Me

In the case of news, we should always wait for the sacrament of confirmation. ~ Voltaire

June 10

When it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion. ~ Voltaire

[The Biddies, sitting in line, for breakfast on the first day of class . . . ]

All the reasonings of men are not worth one sentiment of women. ~ Voltaire

[The Biddies breakfasting on that beautiful morning on the Solatium patio . . . ]

Let us read and let us dance – two amusements that will never do any harm to the world. ~ Voltaire

[Our classmates also breakfasting on the patio . . . ]

The best government is a benevolent tyranny tempered by an occasional assassination. ~ Voltaire

[Welcome, in Alumni Hall!]

Everything’s fine today, that is our illusion. ~ Voltaire

[Our hosts with opening greetings . . . ]

I have lived eighty years of life and know nothing for it, but to be resigned and tell myself that flies are born to be eaten by spiders and man to be devoured by sorrow. ~ Voltaire

[Anne Schertz, annually the event’s professional photographer . . . ]

History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes. ~ Voltaire

[Alumni Hall, in its elegance . . . ]

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. ~ Winston Churchill

LET (MY) CLASSES BEGIN

Mini University 2024 – Class Selection Form
June 10, 2024 to June 14, 2024
Thomas Obert

Monday
Session One 9:45—11 A.M.
Free Speech ‘Hate Speech’ and Campus Culture War
Session Two 1—2:15 P.M.
3 Billion Missing Birds
Session Three 2:45—4 P.M.
Why Is Socialism Still a Bad Word in America?: American Christianity and the Labor Movement

Tuesday
Session One 9—11 A.M.
How and Why Birds Sing
Session Two 1—2:15 P.M.
Russia-Ukraine War: Update and Prospects for Resolution
Session Three 2:45—4 P.M.
Update on the US Supreme Court

Wednesday
Session One 9—11 A.M.
Literature of the Sea
Session Two 1—2:15 P.M.
How Can a Book Help Us Lead Better Lives: Marilynne Robinson’s ‘Gilead’
Session Three 2:45—4 P.M.
Doctor My Eyes (Have Seen the Years)

Thursday
Session One 9—11 A.M.
The Coming World ‘Baby Bust’ and Its Implications
Session Two 1—2:15 P.M.
Tanzania: Steward of Biodiversity and Human Evolution
Session Three 2:45—4 P.M.
Exploring the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope
Evening Events
The Upcoming 2024 Election: What to Expect

Friday
Session One 9—10:15 A.M.
Leonard Bernstein’s Music and Social Change

Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another. ~ Voltaire

[I had Carl for a class last year. I found him equally delicious this time . . . ]

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too. ~ Voltaire

[For those keeping score at home, this is the Georgian Room (I had several classes here) . . . ]

Of all religions, the Christian should of course inspire the most tolerance, but until now Christians have been the most intolerant of all men. ~ Voltaire

To the wicked, everything serves as pretext. ~ Voltaire

[The introduction of Professor Weinberg . . . ]

Chance is a word void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause. ~ Voltaire

[Yes, IU did have “Middle East protest camps” on campus . . . ]

To hold a pen is to be at war. ~ Voltaire

[This is Professor James Madison. I had him for a class last year, so I do remember stuff from year-to-year. I could have had him for “My Heroes in the Struggle for Racial Justice,” but I opted for finding out what happened to “3 Billion Missing Birds.”]

Tyrants have always some slight shade of virtue; they support the laws before destroying them. ~ Voltaire

[Next class . . . ]

It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one. ~ Voltaire

[Again, in the Georgian room . . . ]

Satire lies about literary men while they live and eulogy lies about them when they die. ~ Voltaire

History is only the register of crimes and misfortunes. ~ Voltaire

[The first question from Professor Drake was about the impact of socialism on our lives. I leapt into fray first and noted that we have roads . . . ]

It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce. ~ Voltaire

The opportunity for doing mischief is found a hundred times a day, and of doing good once in a year. ~ Voltaire

[Here comes that religion thing again . . . ]

The safest course is to do nothing against one’s conscience. With this secret, we can enjoy life and have no fear from death. ~ Voltaire

[So, the current trend is not new . . . ]

The superfluous, a very necessary thing. ~ Voltaire

In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to another. ~ Voltaire

[The university made arrangements with local restaurants to feed us one night . . . ]

Time, which alone makes the reputation of men, ends by making their defects respectable. ~ Voltaire

[A bus ride to Lennie’s, hard by the IU campus. Greeted by the previously referenced photographer, Anne Schertz, and locals appreciating elderly students . . . ]

What most persons consider as virtue, after the age of 40 is simply a loss of energy. ~ Voltaire

Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers. ~ Voltaire

[Inside Lennie’s . . . ]

Use, do not abuse… neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy. ~ Voltaire

[Under the auspices of Mini-U, I took 4 co-eds out to dinner that night . . . ]

We cannot always oblige; but we can always speak obligingly. ~ Voltaire

The multitude of books is making us ignorant. ~ Voltaire

[The soups were black bean and split pea with ham, my two favorites. So I ordered both and reached nirvana . . . ]

Froth at the top, dregs at bottom, but the middle excellent. ~ Voltaire

Ice-cream is exquisite – what a pity it isn’t illegal. ~ Voltaire

[Leaving Lennie’s . . . ]

I know many books which have bored their readers, but I know of none which has done real evil. ~ Voltaire

[Looking up the street from Lennie’s, the Sample Gates entry to the IU campus . . . ]

The public is a ferocious beast; one must either chain it or flee from it. ~ Voltaire

He is a hard man who is only just, and a sad one who is only wise. ~ Voltaire

[IU campus model . . . ]

June 11

Let us work without theorizing, tis the only way to make life endurable. ~ Voltaire

Love has features which pierce all hearts, he wears a bandage which conceals the faults of those beloved. He has wings, he comes quickly and flies away the same. ~ Voltaire

It is one of the superstitions of the human mind to have imagined that virginity could be a virtue. ~ Voltaire

Society therefore is as ancient as the world. ~ Voltaire

To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. ~ Voltaire

[Ruthie leads the march into the Whittenberger room because this was the class that should have been streamed on all carriers of such . . . ]

Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes. ~ Voltaire

[Professor Kravchuk laid out a scenario that made one wish one was wearing Depends . . . ]

To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. ~ Voltaire

[And now SCOTUS has thrown this open to a totally autocratic endeavor . . . ]

Is there anyone so wise as to learn by the experience of others? ~ Voltaire

It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. ~ Voltaire

Prejudices are what fools use for reason. ~ Voltaire

[I’d like to take this class again – NOW!]

He was a great patriot, a humanitarian, a loyal friend; provided, of course, he really is dead. ~ Voltaire

[The professor presented in a dry and a fact-laced performance. I wonder how he would present this today?]

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be. ~ Voltaire

[In the early United States most judges did not wear robes, except for the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Judicial robes reminded the founders of being ruled by England, since English judges wore robes and wigs in court and for other ceremonies. At the beginning of the 20th century, judges across the U.S. began to change their minds. They started to think of the robe as an important symbol of justice. By 1909 justices of the Michigan Supreme Court wore judicial robes when they met in the courtroom at the State Capitol in Lansing. It took many years before all trial court judges wore robes in court. Many preferred to wear business suits instead of judicial robes. Some said that robes were too hot in summer. Others thought that wearing a robe did not automatically make a person a good judge. Over time, more and more judges believed that robes added dignity to the courtroom. In 1973 a court rule was adopted that said all judges and justices must wear a judicial robe while on the bench. There is a similar rule today content.govdelivery.com/)]

Clever tyrants are never punished. ~ Voltaire

[Yes, it is my opinion that judicial robes have endowed the wearers with a grandeur far beyond that anticipated for an allegedly egalitarian society . . . ]

All styles are good except the tiresome kind. ~ Voltaire

[A lovely night for fine dining with friends we have known for many years through the IU alumni camp, Camp Brosius . . . ]

Men use thought only as authority for their injustice, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts. ~ Voltaire

[The gorgeous setting of their backyard. I seem to recall 47 varieties of Japanese maples . . . ]

A witty saying proves nothing. ~ Voltaire

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease. ~ Voltaire

Up Next: Mini-U (Part 3)