Personally, I strongly disagree with the use of donated private funds for supporting any aspect of the active armed forces. The U. S. military and naval services are the property of all Americans and because of their unique role in our society need to be like Caesar’s wife ‘beyond reproach’. Tom Ricks is right if I am reading him correctly in casting a jaundiced eye towards such goings on. The last thing the armed forces need is a backdoor channel of funds to promote some political or philosophical agenda merely because the guy is awash in cash and can buy access.

If there are people out there like Perot who have money burning a hole in their pocket it would be easy for them and more appropriate to fund non-governmental programs for veterans particularly those wounded in battle. Additionally, there are plenty of families who have lost a loved one in the service of their country who could use assistance for such things as education support for their children.

I agree completely. The service schools should not be accepting outside funds for any reason. What next, can I donate money to my son's unit to buy additional equipment, give them extra classes, whatever?

Navy Relief Society and the other Services' analogues would be a marvelous place to plop a pile money. Ditto the American Red Cross.

This does smack of back-channel proselytizing for some Perot cause: Dear Lord, please save us from wingnuts with money...

Just not a good idea, for the reasons already advanced.

And one must note that although he caveats it somewhat, Mr. Ricks has given this wrongheaded idea a stamp of approval. Want to rethink that one, Mr. Ricks?

I'd rather see the hypothetical congressional staffer write up a bill for his boss to introduce outlawing such schemes.

While I understand the comments of others (and they were my initial thoughts as well), I'm not so sure that this is so out of the controversial. Many private individuals (including myself) donate money to public universities. In many of these cases the money is earmarked for certain things (potentially ideological) and society as a whole doesn't oppose these donations. How is this so different?

One case that can be made is that this is the Military, not just any old college, so the standard of what is taught is different. But I would contend that the education of the larger public society in the area of Civics is almost *more* important than that of those joining the military - both in terms of the total number affected and the education of the future civilian leaders of our country. It seems to me that if the Military shouldn't get private donations for education, our public universities shouldn't either for the same reasons...

Money with strings attached is better than no money.

Since when has the military been neutral? I wasn't aware the speakers that I am forced to go see (as a midshipman) were picked by a carefully picked bipartisan committee.

Maybe the focus should be first upon the intent of the solicitor of the donation. If it is using the outsourcing of humanity subjects i.e. ethics, leadership by a college as a veneer to cover a larger intent such as Class 1A championship football program then I believe the solicitor is peddling the value of the subject strictly for cash flow. It will build an organization that feeds itself with the principle that cash flow is of the higher value. In the immediate world one victory in the top BCS will gain a great deal in getting cash, legislative and political support this fiscal year.

For a4dy, this may be the motivation of the speaker selection.

It all is a bit like either the pre-Reformation or the post class action damaged Catholic Church selling indulgences for cash but not really for God.

For Leavenworth, though, there has been a great deal of vitality in thought from there and they don't have a football team to support.

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