Justice for Roosting Chickens - Ward Churchill Fired at Last
As you might guess from this old commentary of mine, I'm not what you would call Ward Churchill's biggest fan. I think he's a pompous, lying blowhard who understands academic honesty about as well as I understand rocket science.
So I'm glad that, after a investigation that's taken far, far too long, the University of Colorado has finally decided to fire him from his post. He has, of course, elected to sue them for violating his free speech rights... even if they didn't.
Of course, the Use America Right has been gleefully engaging in a back-slapping frenzy over this. David Horowitz has been particularly pleased, seeing as how he's been trotting Mr. Churchill (and isn't it nice not to have to call him Professor, anymore?) out as a prime example of how American academia has been taken over by tenured, know-nothing radicals whose only intention is to brainwash our youth with Leftist ideas.
It goes without saying they'd have demanded his head after the "Little Eichmanns" matter, but the fact that Churchill was such a shoddy researcher only added fuel to their fire. And that's what's really unfortunate here: even if their true motives are suspect - Horowitz has moved the goalposts on at least once occasion - the fact is that the only thing Ward Churchill should have been doing for the University of Colorado is attending classes, and hopefully being flunked for plagiarism and falsifying sources.
Considering how damned galling it is to see the whackjobs get their day - especially considering how shoddy some of Horowitz's own research is - it's no wonder not many Leftists are standing up for principles and calling the firing a good thing. I've seen some pretty silly attempts to claim censorship and repression, and yes, it's true that if he'd been sensible and just kept his mouth shut after 9/11, Ward Churchill would probably still have all his jobs.
But while his acerbic - and way out of line - comments were what drew attention to him, they weren't what got him axed. As UC President Hank Brown put it at the Wall Street Journal:
If you are a responsible faculty member, you don't falsify research, you don't plagiarize the work of others, you don't fabricate historical events and you don't thumb your nose at the standards of the profession. More than 20 of Mr. Churchill's faculty peers from Colorado and other universities found that he committed those acts. That's what got him fired.
And about damn time.
But you know what? Two can play this game.
Academic dishonesty is a bipartisan matter. And as much as David Horowitz and his ilk would like to pretend that outrageous professorial antics come from the Left alone, I'm willing to bet there's almost as many "dangerous" profs on the right who are just as guilty of the sins of Ward Churchill, and just as deserving of getting the boot.
They just haven't been caught yet.
So what's stopping us from doing some digging of our own, finding the 101 most "dangerous" conservative profs in America, and seeing if there's any skeletons in their closets, too? Consider it payback for having to swallow hard, cough a few times, and admit that Dr. Ho and his Hate Show Brigade were right, for once.
And let's do it before they wind up being right again.
So I'm glad that, after a investigation that's taken far, far too long, the University of Colorado has finally decided to fire him from his post. He has, of course, elected to sue them for violating his free speech rights... even if they didn't.
Of course, the Use America Right has been gleefully engaging in a back-slapping frenzy over this. David Horowitz has been particularly pleased, seeing as how he's been trotting Mr. Churchill (and isn't it nice not to have to call him Professor, anymore?) out as a prime example of how American academia has been taken over by tenured, know-nothing radicals whose only intention is to brainwash our youth with Leftist ideas.
It goes without saying they'd have demanded his head after the "Little Eichmanns" matter, but the fact that Churchill was such a shoddy researcher only added fuel to their fire. And that's what's really unfortunate here: even if their true motives are suspect - Horowitz has moved the goalposts on at least once occasion - the fact is that the only thing Ward Churchill should have been doing for the University of Colorado is attending classes, and hopefully being flunked for plagiarism and falsifying sources.
Considering how damned galling it is to see the whackjobs get their day - especially considering how shoddy some of Horowitz's own research is - it's no wonder not many Leftists are standing up for principles and calling the firing a good thing. I've seen some pretty silly attempts to claim censorship and repression, and yes, it's true that if he'd been sensible and just kept his mouth shut after 9/11, Ward Churchill would probably still have all his jobs.
But while his acerbic - and way out of line - comments were what drew attention to him, they weren't what got him axed. As UC President Hank Brown put it at the Wall Street Journal:
If you are a responsible faculty member, you don't falsify research, you don't plagiarize the work of others, you don't fabricate historical events and you don't thumb your nose at the standards of the profession. More than 20 of Mr. Churchill's faculty peers from Colorado and other universities found that he committed those acts. That's what got him fired.
And about damn time.
But you know what? Two can play this game.
Academic dishonesty is a bipartisan matter. And as much as David Horowitz and his ilk would like to pretend that outrageous professorial antics come from the Left alone, I'm willing to bet there's almost as many "dangerous" profs on the right who are just as guilty of the sins of Ward Churchill, and just as deserving of getting the boot.
They just haven't been caught yet.
So what's stopping us from doing some digging of our own, finding the 101 most "dangerous" conservative profs in America, and seeing if there's any skeletons in their closets, too? Consider it payback for having to swallow hard, cough a few times, and admit that Dr. Ho and his Hate Show Brigade were right, for once.
And let's do it before they wind up being right again.
posted by J. Edward Tremlett at 7:46 PM
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