It seems that some politicians only read the parts of the U. S. Constitution that benefits them. In the article “Summary Box: UW clears instructor to teach course on Islam” from The Wisconsin Wire as well as “UW-Madison will allow controversial instructor to teach” from Associated Press is the story of a part-time instructor at the University of Wisconsin who believes U.S. government officials were involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack directly. (I’m still undecided if the conspiracy theories have any merit, though there are still plenty of unanswered questions.) Since this is still for the moment a country bound by the freedom of speech and opinion, I see no reason that Kevin Barrett, the referred to instructor, cannot express his opinion (one that is shared my many Muslims I might add) without reprisals from politicians and close-minded people. He has his right to his opinion just as the very people calling for his dismissal have such a right. I applaud UW-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell when he stated that “we cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas” which should be the stance of the politicians who complaining about it so fiercely.
Of course the politicians couldn’t leave well enough alone…
Gov. Jim Doyle spokesman Matt Canter said “the governor would have come to a different conclusion about this.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green, a U.S. congressman from Green Bay, said the case “should have been an easy call for UW officials.” “Mr. Barrett can dwell all he wants on the fringe left of society, but he should not be doing it under the banner of the University of Wisconsin,” he said. “Teaching students lies is not a Wisconsin value.”
State Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, a longtime critic of the UW System, said he would use the decision to push for cuts to the university’s budget when lawmakers reconvene next year.*
Would you like sour grapes with that, sir?
And the instructor is going out of his way to be fair…
Barrett, who earned a doctorate in African languages and literature and folklore from UW-Madison in 2004, has a part-time appointment as an associate lecturer for the course, “Islam: Religion and Culture.” He is scheduled to earn $8,247.
In an interview, Barrett said only one week of the course would deal with the war on terror. He said he would present 400 pages of readings that support the accepted version of the attacks while 75 pages of reading would implicitly question that version.*
I love this part….
Barrett invited Green, Doyle and Nass to attend his class, saying he could teach them “the ability to weigh different viewpoints, and think critically on the basis of available evidence without being shackled by preconceptions.”
“I don’t see why they should be concerned about the free speech activities of people who work for the university,” he said.*
With politicians like that, who needs terrorist to destroy democracy.
* From “UW-Madison will allow controversial instructor to teach” by Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press Writer, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WI_INSTRUCTOR_SEPT_11_WIOL-?SITE=WIKEN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=ap_content_popup.html
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