Ward Churchill Solidarity Network

Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente Announce Their Participation in Anti-war, Anti-human rights Abuse Events Before the DNC

. . . . Rosa and I are proud to join with others who are sick and tired of war, occupation, human rights abuses, and the continued incarceration of our political prisoners. We are proud to join with others who are willing to do something about it. We are proud to join with others who are willing to do something about it. In the context of activities in Denver, that means cooperating with some organizations new to us and others with which Rosa and I have had a long-standing relationship. Let me explain some of those relationships. . . .

Read Cynthia McKinney’s full statement after the break:

Continue reading Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente Announce Their Participation in Anti-war, Anti-human rights Abuse Events Before the DNC…

Ward Churchill to Speak at Rally to End Occupations in Denver August 24

Details here.

Update from the WCSN

Ward Churchill’s case continues to be emblematic of the ongoing attacks on those who teach and write about “unpopular” truths, insist that the histories of Indigenous peoples and peoples of color be made accessible, and resist U.S. violations of human rights and international law.

To bring you updated information on such struggles, to keep you informed of developments in Ward Churchill’s lawsuit against the University of Colorado (scheduled for trial in March 2009), and to better respond to your queries, we’re launching a new website (right here) in late August.

We’ll be featuring a column written by Ward, blogs, an updated calendar, news, and easier access to documents about CU and their corporate cronies.

Stay tuned.  As always, you can contact us at wcsn@wardchurchill.net.

Senate Moves Forward on Orwellian “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act”

by Tom Burghardt / May 15th, 2008

In the wake of Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins’ (R-ME) alarmist report, “Violent Islamist Extremism, the Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorism Threat,” the Senate may be moving towards passage of the Orwellian “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007″ (S. 1959).

A companion piece of legislative flotsam to the House bill, “The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007″ (H.R. 1955), the Democrat-controlled Congress seems ready to jettison Constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly. The bill passed the House by a 404-6 vote in October. Twenty-three congress members abstained, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers.Under cover of studying “violent radicalization,” both bills would broaden the already-fluid definition of “terrorism” to encompass political activity and protest by dissident groups, effectively criminalizing civil disobedience and non-violent direct action by developing policies for “prevention, disruption and mitigation.” . . . .    click here to read the rest of the story.

Naomi Wolf Provides Context for Some Familiar Events

After a sampling of 2006 news headlines about war, torture, and the repression of political dissent, Naomi Wolf reflects:

“I began to think of these examples as ‘historical echoes’ – not proof that someone influential in the administration had studied the details of mid-twentieth-century fascism and totalitarianism, but certainly suggestive.

What was it about the image of a mob of young men dressed in identical shirts, shouting at poll workers outside of a voting center in Florida during the 2000 recount, that looked familiar? What resonated about the reports that Bush supporters in the South were holding organized public events to burn CDs by the Dixie Chicks? (CDs are actually quite hard to burn and produce toxic fumes.) What seemed so familiar about an organized ideological group shaming an academic for saying something unpopular—and then pressuring the state government to get the university president to fire that professor? . . .

These events may seem to have historical echoes because they actually are mirrored in history.

No one can deny the skill of fascists at forming public opinion.”

Naomi Wolf, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot (2007).

Arizona Legislature Considers Bill to Ban Teaching Truths that “Encourage Dissent” from the “Values of Western Civilization”

No, we didn’t make this up.  On April 17, a bill emerged from an Arizona legislative committee that would prohibit the “denigration, disparagement or encouragement of dissent from values of American democracy and western civilization” in any publicly funded educational institutions.

Courses or school-sponsored activities that “assert as truth or feature as an exclusive focus any political religious, ideological or cultural beliefs of values” said to do so would be banned.  Also prohibited would be campus organizations “based in whole or in part on race-based criteria.”

Click here to read the entire bill.

The Longest Walk Comes To Denver

Click here and here for more.

Aftershocks ….

Ward Churchill’s case is of national significance because it illustrates the lengths to which the right-wing will go in attempting to discredit professors who challenge the status quo.

Even Nobel peace prize winner Desmond Tutu isn’t immune, as this illustrates:

“Profs shy away from controversial issues . . . .
by Jon Collins, Minnesota Daily

last year, South African civil-rights leader Desmond Tutu was scheduled to speak at the University of St. Thomas to high school students about “turning enemies into friends.” Wanting to avoid controversy from a 2002 statement Tutu made against Israeli occupation of Palestine, the St. Thomas administration revoked the invitation.

When St. Thomas political science professor Cris Toffolo registered her discontent with the administration’s decision, she was dismissed as director of the Justice and Peace Studies program.

Because of this and other cases around the country, Toffolo and others said academics might feel pressured not to talk about potentially controversial issues, whether as private citizens or as professors, for fear of attracting negative attention that may threaten their jobs or tenure. . . .  read more.

Stanley Fish on the CU President Search

“Wanted: Someone Who Knows Nothing About the Job”

New York Times Op-Ed Feb. 24, 2008

In one of those ironies that make life interesting, the University of Colorado, which dismissed controversial professor Ward Churchill because of doubts about his academic qualifications, has appointed a president who doesn’t have any. . . .

click here to read the entire article.

Oilman Bruce Benson: New CU President

February 20, 2007 – the Regents of the University of Colorado voted to approve Hank Brown’s hand-picked successor Bruce Benson as President.

As you may remember, CU President Betsy Hoffman announced her resignation a few days after warning the faculty about the “new McCarthyism” attending Ward Churchill’s case.  She was replaced by Hank Brown, one of the founding members of Lynne Cheney’s American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA).  ACTA issued its “How Many Ward Churchills?” report in the midst of the Churchill investigation.  Brown announced his plans to retire almost immediately after ensuring that Ward Churchill was fired.

Benson’s qualifications?

* A member of ACTA’s Trustee’s Council (click here for more on the ACTA connection to Ward Churchill’s case)

• Multi-millionaire oil and gas executive
• Has a BA in geology; apparently believes we don’t really need to worry about climate change (since people and plants emit CO2)
• As president of the trustees at Metropolitan State, had the rules rewritten to eliminate tenured faculty and replace them with cheaper help  (otherwise known as the Wal-Mart approach)

But don’t worry about academic freedom, he has assured CU that he’ll promote “sensible” research and professors who teach “what they are supposed to teach.”

For more background on Benson, see statement of CU-Boulder’s AAUP chair.

Finally, for those who haven’t been paying attention, apparently being university president isn’t about academia anyway.  As former Colorado state supreme court justice Kourlis says, “To know Bruce Benson is to love him.  If he tells you he will stay out of academia, he will stay out of academia.”  (Rocky Mountain News, Feb. 21, 2007.)