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Professor Mirecki blasts KU, sheriff’s investigation: Alleged beating by "Christians" a hoax?
Lawrence Journal - World ^ | Saturday, December 10, 2005 | Sophia Maines

Posted on 12/10/2005 9:13:23 AM PST by rface

Kansas University professor Paul Mirecki said he’s hired an attorney and is ready to go to the mat with KU and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

“If I have to sue, I will,” he said.

[ see following FR posts for some history ]
Professor Mirecki now mum on alleged beating: Alleged beating by "Christians" a hoax?

WHAT HAPPENED TO PAUL MIRECKI? (Phony Hate Crime Alert) by Michelle Malkin ^

.

Mirecki said he’s angry because KU didn’t back him after religious conservatives attacked him for his plan to teach a course dealing with intelligent design.

Mirecki became a political lightning rod after his new course was announced and his derisive comments on an Internet message board about conservative Christians and Catholics were later widely distributed.

His planned spring course was canceled. Still, some legislators said they would call Mirecki and KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway on the carpet for a public hearing.

On Wednesday the university announced Mirecki had resigned as chairman of the religious studies department. But Friday, Mirecki told the Journal-World he was forced to step down. Kansas University religious studies professor Paul Mirecki displays on Friday the bruises that he says came from a beating two men gave him early Monday. He says the university has not been supportive of him through his ordeal.

Photo by Richard Gwin

Kansas University religious studies professor Paul Mirecki displays on Friday the bruises that he says came from a beating two men gave him early Monday. He says the university has not been supportive of him through his ordeal.

“The University penalized me and denied me my Constitutionally protected right to speak and express my mind,” he wrote in a statement prepared for the newspaper. “I’ve become radioactive and the University’s administrators won’t support me.”

Mirecki said his career was ruined and that “speaking engagements that I had lined up now have been canceled.”

On Friday, he displayed two black eyes and a bruise on his arm that he said came from a beating administered early Monday by two unknown men who had followed him in a pickup truck as he drove to breakfast. He said his attackers mentioned the controversy.

He said he was not pleased with the sheriff’s investigation because he had been “treated more like a criminal than a victim.”

He said he was interviewed by officers several times, “once for five hours straight. They keep asking me the same things over and over. They seized my car; they entered my office and seized my computer. They said they need them for their investigation but it didn’t make any sense to me.”

Lt. Kari Wempe, a spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, released a statement Friday night that said the sheriff’s office had not seen a copy of Mirecki’s prepared statement to the media.

Click here to access the link to the following:

Evolution in Kansas: Recent coverage

* 6News video: Mirecki hires lawyer to look into resignation (12-09-05) * Mirecki press release (.pdf) * Professor blasts KU, sheriff’s investigation (12-10-05) * Embattled KU professor has long history with religion (12-10-05) * Conservative made postings public (12-10-05) * KU provost says ID course needed (12-09-05) * Pastors condemn attack (12-08-05) * 6News video: Mirecki resigns from KU department post (11-30-05) * Mirecki resigns leadership position (12-08-05) * Kansas ranks last in science (12-08-05) * Police report (.pdf) * 6News video: More information released in alleged Mirecki attack (12-06-05) * Mirecki mum on details of beating (12-07-05) * 6News video: Mirecki hospitalized after beating (12-05-05) * Mirecki treated after roadside beating (12-06-05) * K-State, others tackling intelligent design in classroom (12-04-05) * KU could face heat in Topeka (12-03-05) * Conservative critic known for inflammatory speech (12-03-05) * 6News video: KU professors make statement about academic freedom (12-02-05) * Intelligent design course canceled (12-02-05) * 6News video: Intelligent design class at KU canceled (12-01-05) * Several of Mirecki's Yahoo! group posts (3.3 MB PDF) * More coverage * RSS LJWorld.com's Evolution in Kansas coverage

“Until we are provided with a document from Mr. Mirecki, we are not able to comment on it. Our agency continues to thoroughly investigate this crime against Mr. Mirecki,” Wempe said.

Mirecki said he has hired Lawrence attorney David Brown to represent him.

Hemenway said he had been told by other administrators that Mirecki stepped down from his chairman’s post. He said KU has supported Mirecki.

“Professor Mirecki still has a job at the University of Kansas,” Hemenway said. “That would appear to be support for his rights to his tenured position and his rights to free speech ... The university deplores the fact that he was apparently attacked. We’ve said so.”

Hemenway also said he had been told that KU police called Mirecki to see how they might help him.

But Mirecki said the university had done little to back him and that he was fired as department chairman because he had the “temerity to challenge the power of the religious right in Kansas and the university capitulated to demands of the conservative minority.”

He said he felt let down by the administration and colleagues who sought his resignation Tuesday.

He said he had no choice but to sign the resignation letter, which was typed on stationery from the office of Barbara Romzek, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Mirecki said he lived under threat of another attack.

“If the University doesn’t support me, I could be in more physical danger because the University is not standing up to the religious extremists,” he said.

He said the number of threatening letters and e-mails has increased since the chancellor called Mirecki’s online comments “repugnant and vile” in a public statement.

He said he also had received more than 2,500 e-mails and letters from academics around the world supporting him.

“The University has a duty, as a protector of intellectual honesty and debate, to support its teaching staff when controversial issues are raised,” Mirecki said. “Now those on the right are emboldened and feel they can take this a step higher.

“At this point, I just want this to be over.” Comments


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Kansas
KEYWORDS: assault; ku; mirecki
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To: bahblahbah

You know, I'm looking at those black eyes and very minor bruise on his arm, and thinking about this:

Ever see the MASH episode where Frank Burns brings a court-martial against Hawkeye and Trapper John?

He says he was run off the road by people looking to attack him. He says he happened to have foolishly gotten out of his car, but if they had stalked him, they must have intended to force him out of his car, right? And if he wasn't a random victim, and was attacked at six in the morning, they must have staked him out, right?

OK, suppose there's some violent, rage-filled goon. He stakes Mirecki out all night, forces him off the road, heads over to smash his way into the car, but lucky Mirecki pops out. Now you let him have it. You gently poke him in the arm, push in his glasses and drive off. Right?

Of course not! No wonder the DailyKOS people presumed he was beaten to within inches of his life! If his version of the story were true, certainly the beating would have been bad enough that the spinners at KOS would at least be reasonable in SAYING it was to within inches of his life; certainly we would forgive a slight bit of hyerbole or miscommunication. Imagine the egg on their faces when they saw this silly picture.

Now picture this:

Talk about a bad day! A religion professor just got exposed to the entire world as the vicious hate-mongerer he is. And he got fired. He's driving to breakfast and some guy cuts him off. Perfect set up for road rage. He slams on the horn, and the guy who cut him off pulls over and gets out of his car.

Mirecki is so blind with rage, he jumps out of his car seat, and wangs his arm on the door just before slamming it shut. He barrels over in a head of steam to the other drivers, head down, sleeves up. Two guys get out of the car, and as Mirecki plows at one of them, that man shoves Mirecki's head out of the way, catching his eyeglasses with the base of his palm. Mirecki falls to the ground, realizes the very dangerous circumstance he has placed himself in, and scampers off.

Notice Mirecki never claimed they said anything to connect him to his hate rants; The media and the like just highlighted that aspect of the circumstances. But what else was happening to Mirecki? Isn't it just as possible that someone in Mirecki's circumstance could bring trouble onto himself?


21 posted on 12/10/2005 10:18:28 AM PST by dangus
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To: rface

Right to free speech does not mean a right to be free from criticism.

If he was physically attacked, that's wrong. But criticism of what he has said and written is just free speech countering free speech.


22 posted on 12/10/2005 10:18:54 AM PST by Lorianne
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To: Baynative

Nice mug shot. Someone should start a collection of those. I doubt if the liberals at "The Smoking Gun" have that photo in their gallery.


23 posted on 12/10/2005 10:19:16 AM PST by Dan Evans
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To: rface
He says the university has not been supportive of him through his ordeal.

Poor baby needs a hug.

24 posted on 12/10/2005 10:31:37 AM PST by Mind-numbed Robot (Not all that needs to be done needs to be done by the government.)
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To: rface
Mirecki said he has hired Lawrence attorney David Brown to represent him.

"Lawyered up"

You don't have to watch "Law And Order" to know this is a sign
that Mirecki is hunkerin' down for some "incoming".
Like filing a false report, etc.
25 posted on 12/10/2005 10:40:33 AM PST by VOA
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To: rface
He says the university has not been supportive of him through his ordeal.

Huh? The university has been and will continue to pay his tenured
salary! That's the real hallmark of support!

I still think he had a "hit" put out on him by his fellow department
members.
For exposing them as being atheists and agnostics.

And for letting the light of day shine on the STATE-FUNDED
Atheist Missionary operation know as the Department of Religion at KU.
But we won't hear in the press about this obvious violation
of "separation of (atheist) church and state".
26 posted on 12/10/2005 10:46:14 AM PST by VOA
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To: rface
He just gets himself deeper.

Knowing a bit about academia, he is lying here. It is very unlikely that the course was pulled from him. If he was pressured to pull it, well that's his own lack of courage. Ditto with resignation as chair. He could have simply refused to resign. Having read a previous story about this, it was his colleagues that pushed the resignation. But still, if he'd had even the smallest amount of courage, he would have stayed.

He's got all the earmarks of a hoaxer: Indignant that the police ask him questions about the event and assuming that they're questioning his story. Paranoid that everybody's against him. Blaming the "right wing" and not his attackers. No word about the attackers in this story.

He wants out of Larrytown and he wants KU to give him a big chunk of money to go away. The fact is that KU has defended his academic freedom publicly even though they can't be too happy that such a bigot sits in the department chair of religious studies.

BTW, in an earlier story, it was mentioned that he had a broken tooth. No mention of it here and he didn't show it off in the photo. Hmmm...

27 posted on 12/10/2005 10:47:48 AM PST by AmishDude (Your corporate slogan could be here! FReepmail me for my confiscatory rates.)
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To: atomicpossum
He doesn't understand that there are consequences and responsibilities that go along with that.

Yes, to the extent that those consequences involve public ridicule and possible sanctions taken by one's employer.

28 posted on 12/10/2005 10:49:52 AM PST by AmishDude (Your corporate slogan could be here! FReepmail me for my confiscatory rates.)
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To: GSlob

either does the word Mirecki, but it helps everyone understand the story. If anyone does a word search for the title of the original article, they will find this post


29 posted on 12/10/2005 10:51:10 AM PST by rface ("...the most schizoid freeper I've ever seen" - New Bloomfield, Missouri)
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To: Volunteer

Actually, tenure gives him the right to deny and denigrate the beliefs of others and not get fired. It will lose him the chairmanship of the department, choice of teaching assignment and other perks he might find desirable.


30 posted on 12/10/2005 10:51:47 AM PST by AmishDude (Your corporate slogan could be here! FReepmail me for my confiscatory rates.)
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To: bahblahbah
There was premeditated intelligent design in his injuries.

He's alleging that he's a victim of natural selection.

31 posted on 12/10/2005 10:53:34 AM PST by AmishDude (Your corporate slogan could be here! FReepmail me for my confiscatory rates.)
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To: VOA

I think the lawyer is to handle the negotiations for his severance package.


32 posted on 12/10/2005 10:54:31 AM PST by AmishDude (Your corporate slogan could be here! FReepmail me for my confiscatory rates.)
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To: AmishDude
Another page in the play book of Nero, the Reichstag Fire and Ward Churchill. It is getting pretty pathetic if you ask me.
33 posted on 12/10/2005 10:55:42 AM PST by rollo tomasi (Working hard to pay for deadbeats and corrupt politicians.)
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To: rface

HA ha...
34 posted on 12/10/2005 11:14:35 AM PST by Chode (American Hedonist ©®)
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To: rface

I have had many a black eye, and I've seen even more. Everyone I have seen the white of the eye is always extremely bloodshot. I don't see that in these pictures.


35 posted on 12/10/2005 12:41:14 PM PST by GarySpFc (De Oppresso Liber)
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To: rface

This just gets better and better. I'm surprised the folks displaying the mock outrage a few days ago haven't shown up to defend this.


36 posted on 12/10/2005 12:46:45 PM PST by Tench_Coxe
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To: GarySpFc
I have had many a black eye, and I've seen even more. Everyone I have seen the white of the eye is always extremely bloodshot. I don't see that in these pictures.

I saw no signs of any swelling, shouldn't there be at least some swelling with two black eyes?

37 posted on 12/10/2005 1:15:11 PM PST by RJL
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To: dangus

38 posted on 12/10/2005 1:25:19 PM PST by Petronski (I love Cyborg!)
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To: rface

Gee, what if...

...a rival atheist assistant or associate professor hired thugs to pose as rednecks, to frame Mirecki as a hate-crime faker, as part of an evil plot to get his job as full professor?

Nah; that is TOO far fetched...or, is it?


39 posted on 12/10/2005 1:41:29 PM PST by ApplegateRanch (Islam: a Satanically Transmitted Disease, spread by unprotected intimate contact with the Koranus.)
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To: RJL

Yes


40 posted on 12/10/2005 2:13:16 PM PST by GarySpFc (De Oppresso Liber)
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