ipfw.edu is, of course, the Fort Wayne campus of Indiana University/Purdue University. Now, I am not saying that Bert Chapman posted that comment. In reality, it’s very unlikely. He (as far as I know) works on the Purdue campus in West Lafayette. But still, it makes me giggle.

Even though this organization seems to publish only white papers that deal with same-sex relationships, which is really strange given that no indication of that mission is given in the mysterious firm’s name, this is an article I think I can refer to in the future to support the economic rationale for recognizing same-sex marriage! It’s true that co-habitation is different than marriage and that if co-habitators seldom take advantage of domestic partner benefits, then equal recognition of marriage for all adult couples seems to be the solution!

Thanks for sharing that. Have you contacted the learned professor so he can update his article? It seems strange that a government documents librarian would mess up the name of an organization that sounds so government-y.

Which gets me to thinking… do you know anything about the Corporate Resource Council? Sounds really official, dosn’t it, like the “Better Business Bureau?” Well, the web site lists no contact information or affiliation, but a search on the WHOIS information for the domain indicates it was registered by Gary Russo of the Alliance Defense Fund. He even lists ADF as the organization that owns the domain name.

Do you know what the ADF is?

ADF is classified as a 501(c)(3) public charity. According to the ADF website, the group is “a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.” ADF defines this “Truth” according to a conservative Christian template, characterizing itself as “a servant organization that provides the resources that will keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel through the legal defense and advocacy of religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and traditional family values.”

(via mediamatters.org)

Hardly seems like an unbiased organization, and certainly not one I’d cite if I were trying to “articulate why our nation cannot afford the extremely high financial costs of this lifestyle at a time when we are confronting dangerously high budget deficits, national debt, and personal debt.”

Oh, and their CEO, Alan E. Sears, is also a regular columnist on townhall.com, so that sort of throws any credibility out the window. Circular citations don’t get you far in librarianship.

Don’t mess with a librarian (a real one), buddy.

When I become president, you will be my speech writer.

Opinions & Facts (For Adriana & Others)
Many people have stated that this blog post is an opinion, and as such doesn’t need to be backed up with facts and citations. But its headline clearly lays it out as an argument designed to persuade, and persuasive arguments MUST be built on testable truths and logic. Otherwise we have nothing but bare, baseless assertions backed by nothing. It’s the intellectual equivalent of writing bad checks.

As for whether this blog has anything to do with Mr. Chapman’s position at Perdue, it seems to me that he’s using his professional title in order to enhance his credibility. Which is fine! Really! But if he’s going to do that, he should expect to be held to the professional standards that go with being a librarian. That includes backing up your assertions with facts, and citing sources to back up your facts. Period. You can’t have it both ways.

I personally wouldn’t call for ANYONE to be fired for publishing his opinion, including Mr. Chapman. But I might consider whether someone who considers this post to be intellectually rigorous is qualified to be a librarian, so maybe I’d fire him for being unfit for the job.

If Mr. Chapman chooses to have his posts evaluated using a different standard, that’s fine. But in that case he should remove the word “Librarian” from the title of his blog.