How much do the so-called defenders of free speech truly practice what they preach? How far are they willing to go to protect the rights of those with whom they disagree? The University of Colorado's record of campus free speech receives some needed close scrutiny from Jessica Corry in today's Rocky Mountain News. Read it. … [Read more...]

The Independence Institute's Amy Pryzgoda, who was familiar with Churchill's "scholarship" before the big brouhaha erupted, takes an in-depth look at his "warmed-over, 1960s revisionist historical narrative" that has long since morphed into a myopic, agenda-driven, hate-filled crusade. This essay is concise and pithy and well worth the perusal. For motives not altogether clear, Senator Peter Groff (D - Denver) was alone among the 100-member Colorado General Assembly in voting against a resolution condemning Churchill. The liberal editorial board of the Boulder Daily Camera has sought to stake out middle ground on the issue, writing the following: Gazing ever so briefly in the mirror, Churchill and his sycophants see no evil. … [Read more...]

Kudos to the University of Colorado Board of Regents for their handling of the Ward Churchill matter, for: 1. Their public apology on behalf of the university. 2. Opening up a 30-day public investigation into the matter of Churchill's future employment status. I hope that the investigation report will be made fully public in detail, so the people can judge fairly as well. Much ore pathetic are those who were arrested for disturbing a public meeting and those who came to show support for Churchill's views. At least those who defend his employment status on the basis of the First Amendment are just ignorant. … [Read more...]

The House of Representatives censures him. The Governor calls for his resignation. The CU Board of Regents hides behind tenure. Hamilton College in New York cancels his speaking appearance. Native American groups disagree whether he's an oppressed member of the victim class or a mere poseur. The whole affair has brought jerks out of the woodwork. The ignorant and uneducated - many graduates or current students of CU - believe that the First Amendment guarantees his job, no matter what he says. And yet, most still think he should be fired. In the current climate and under the current circumstances, I have to agree wholeheartedly. The case has been made repeatedly that Churchill is making his over-the-top … [Read more...]

You can argue that more Colorado public school teachers are aware of their rights and how the union uses money in politics now than a year ago. A new article in School Reform News, coincidentally written by the proprietor of this site, details the Independence Institute's recent efforts to inform teachers union members how some of their money is spent on politics and how they can get that portion back. This becomes more relevant when you consider that the Democrat-controlled legislature is following the union's lead in trying to roll back successful education reforms in Colorado. … [Read more...]

To almost no one's surprise, the Boulder Faculty Assembly has come forward with a statement supporting colleague Ward Churchill's right to free speech. According to the FOX News report, the statement read in part as follows: The lifeblood of any strong university is its diversity of ideas which allows for the environment necessary to educate and train young learners and advance the boundaries of knowledge. Debate is a fundamental characteristic of a university. In another unstartling development, Churchill's colleagues in the Ethnic Studies Department demonstrated why they teach "ethnic studies" and not law, politics, or constitutional history: Churchill failed to show up at a news conference scheduled Tuesday. Instead, four … [Read more...]

Clay has directed our attention to an important resolution scheduled to come before the Colorado House of Representatives tomorrow morning repudiating Ward Churchill's virulent essay on the 9/11 victims. Perhaps the legislature could also follow Governor Owens' lead and call on the professor to resign his tenured faculty position at the University of Colorado. We certainly need some more Campus Accountability! In other news... it's official! Mike Coffman is running for governor. But we already knew that was coming. … [Read more...]

In regards to the mushrooming Ward Churchill controversy, David Harsanyi's column in this morning's Post advocates market pressure from parents and students (let me add, taxpaying citizens) as a means of injecting massive doses of calcium into the backs of CU's administrators. Harsanyi certainly is doing his part to put on the pressure. Mike Rosen has been tackling the issue head-on during his morning 850 KOA program. This blog and others (especially Joshua's) have been adding their voices, as well. Even well-known highly liberal CU law professor Paul Campos makes the case for firing Churchill. Colorado citizens send their tax dollars, many of whom also send their children (and in many cases their children's tuition, as well) … [Read more...]

The case of CU Prof. Ward Churchill has begun to highlight an interesting question: how will the radical fringes of American academia survive and adapt to an intense popular scrutiny, enhanced by the vast connections and lightning reactions of a less-than-sympathetic new media? The CU Board of Regents has called a meeting on the issue, which at this point probably translates to a lot of talk and a hope that the issue will just fade away. Meanwhile, the campus College Republicans hold a petition drive calling for Churchill's resignation. And Joshua interviews a CU history professor who places the blame for the university's inaction on the tenure system. Regardless of what happens specifically in the Churchill case, universities … [Read more...]