Posted on 02/23/2005 12:49:23 PM PST by Pikamax
Churchill attacks essay’s critics University of Colorado president calls for calm
By Craig Gima cgima@starbulletin.com Ward Churchill, the outspoken Colorado professor who created a national uproar by comparing 9/11 victims to Nazis, told an overflow crowd at the University of Hawaii last night that he is the target of a right-wing strategy to attack academia.
"I was targeted because they thought I would be an easy target," Churchill told the crowd of about 800. "That was a mistake.
"It's not just an attempt to purge me," he said. "It's a purge of the academy."
The crowd was mostly sympathetic to Churchill, a University of Colorado ethnic studies professor. He was applauded more than a dozen times and was greeted at least three times with standing ovations.
Before the speech began, about a dozen members of a UH college Republican group protested.
"I never wanted to be a poster boy for academic freedom," Churchill said. "You can't give an inch. If you let this one down, you've lost it all."
Much of Churchill's speech was devoted to explaining and expanding on his essay written on Sept. 11, 2001, that called 9/11 victims "little Eichmanns."
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LUCY PEMONI / STAR-BULLETIN University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill drew about 800 people to his speech at UH-Manoa last night -- plus a dozen protesters like these.
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He said the theme of his essay and a later book was that the United States has been involved in violating international law and killing innocents and should not be surprised that some people would want to kill Americans -- the "chickens coming home to roost," as his essay is titled. He argued that the World Trade Center could be considered a legitimate target because it is a symbol of the financial power that allows the United States to flex its military might.
He said if you read his essay, he called the "technicians" in the World Trade Center "little Eichmanns," a reference to Adolf Eichmann, who actually did not kill any Jews but made it possible for the trains to run on time and for the Holocaust to take place.
It's obvious, Churchill said, that he did not mean to say children, janitors, firefighters and innocent bystanders were part of that group. Instead, he said, he was referring to investment bankers and others who make the killing of innocents by the U.S. military and U.S. policy possible.
Churchill did address the issue of his ethnicity, admitting that he is not Native American.
"Is he an Indian? Do we really care?" he said, quoting those he called his "white Republican" critics.
"Let's cut to the chase; I am not," he said.
His pedigree is "not important," Churchill said: "The issue is the substance of what is said."
He went on to explain that the issue of whether he is Native American has been blown up by sloppy reporting and reporters quoting other reporters.
His speech drew mostly positive reaction from those who attended. But Tyrone Hogenauer said he was disappointed.
"I thought he was going to talk on free speech," Hogenauer said.
Instead, Churchill talked about himself and attacked his critics the way they are attacking him, Hogenauer said: "It's a sad thing."
UH student Kirsten Chong said her professors assigned her to listen to the speech.
"He was humorous and he certainly didn't pull any punches," she said, adding that because she is native Hawaiian, she agrees with much of what he said.
Sounds like a good "target" to me.
In the liberals own words, his utterings sounds like "hate speech", doesn't it?
What a putz!
Caligula also kept his favourite racehorse, Incitatus, inside the palace in a stable box of carved ivory, dressed in purple blankets and collars of precious stones. Dinner guests were invited to the palace in the horse's name. And the horse, too, was invited to dine with the emperor. Caligula was even said to have made the horse Consul.
While his goose may be cooked as far as being a 'Professor' don't forget that this POS has been making a lot of money and he does have a following that will pay to hear him rant and froth. He will become a 'victim' of the right and while he said he doesn't want to be the poster child, that is exactly what he does want knowing full well his academic career is over. We haven't heard the last of him.
So what percentage is she native Hawaiian? Very few pure blood family's in Hawaii.
WHINE "But I'm not just an ordinary Liar... My lies have SUBSTANCE..." /WHINE
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In his books and articles, Churchill has described himself as a member of the Keetoowah Cherokee tribe in Oklahoma. In past interviews, he's claimed to be one-sixteenth Cherokee.
But the Keetoowah say that's not true.
Attempts to contact Churchill for comment Wednesday on his background were unsuccessful. But Churchill's claim to American Indian roots has been challenged repeatedly by people in that community.
One Montana woman has an especially personal tale of confronting Churchill on his claim to American Indian heritage. She was taking one of Churchill's classes at CU in 1994 when she wrote an article for the Colorado Daily newspaper, saying there was no evidence he had any American Indian background.
"For so long it was whispered on campus that he really isn't an Indian," said Jodi Rave, who studied journalism at CU. "Here you had the director of the Indian studies program and he's not an Indian."
In my opinion, it is done to make the speaker appear superior. I have noticed this sort of behavior since grammar school. It allows someone to claim to rise above his or her peers. For instance, an American who characterized our lack of readiness at Pearl Harbor...I've heard this provided as an example of how lazy/stupid/insert derogatory word here we were. It was generally practiced by people I felt were a bit self-righteous.
Again, just my opinion.
Weigh it in the balance. On one side, all the liberal faculty and media will scream. On the other side, the university risks trashing its reputation and offending a lot of rich alumni.
They will do whichever involves taking the least heat. At this point, I think that means firing him, for lying on his job application, bad scholarship, and plagiarism.
I just looked at your about page... love the pics.
"His pedigree is 'not important', Churchill said"
Really ..?? It is "important" when your application to run a college department is based on the fact being an American Indian is a LIE!!
The guy's a fraud.
Yes Sir that is a genuine Ferrari. Well actually it is a Yugo but hey it's not that it's not like its a Ferrari. I mean it has four wheels and moves like one. Look you are just a Right Wing Wacko for pointing this out. And yes the $100,000 price tag is a fair price.
"Do we really care?"
What you mean, 'we', white man?
The Lone Ranger & Tonto, surrounded by Apache, as Tonto readies to 'book'.
The public universities are run by like minded indivduals such as Ward Churchill.
It will be interesting to see how this developes.
Maybe he wouldn't have been hired and tenured if he hadn't pretended to be Indian...but can the university openly admit they were using racial categories as a basis for hiring? They may have to claim that his supposed ethnicity had nothing to do with their decision (even if they are obviously lying).
dUH spokesperson Ms Smith (a Northern Californian-American) exclaimed today at a dUH sponsored rally for Global Cooling that "Peter Jennings will once and for all put Dr Churchill's heritage to rest in his UFO special on ABC tomorrow".
Dr Churchill could not be reached for his/its comment.
/sarcasm
Wonder how much CU got in tax credits/grants employing the phoney minority Professor Chief Wannabe Churchill
Well this was in the Boulder newspaper:
Documents released Friday from his personnel files also suggest that the tenured position Churchill took in 1991 — without a Ph.D. or having been on the customary "tenure track" — was designated for someone who would add diversity to the faculty.
The spot was a "special opportunity position." What that meant in 1991 is not clear, but a modern policy describes the program as a source of money to help "recruit and hire a more diverse faculty."
Well this was in the Boulder newspaper:
Documents released Friday from his personnel files also suggest that the tenured position Churchill took in 1991 — without a Ph.D. or having been on the customary "tenure track" — was designated for someone who would add diversity to the faculty.
The spot was a "special opportunity position." What that meant in 1991 is not clear, but a modern policy describes the program as a source of money to help "recruit and hire a more diverse faculty."
Lets cut to the chase..he's one sorry POS that needs a good scalping ...(figuratively speaking of course)
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