http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/4179174/detail.html
“I do not work for the taxpayers of the state of Colorado. I do not work for Bill Owens. I work for you,” [Churchill] said.
Until today, I was fairly ambivalent about the whole controversy surrounding Ward Churchill, the embattled professor of the University of Colorado. Whether or not I agree with his statements, and anyone who has read anything he has said will immediately realize that, in spite of the fiery rhetorical statements he has made about 9/11 and the Nazis, he has some truly thought provoking things to say. While I ultimately do not agree with him on nearly all of the issues he speaks about, I also believe that anyone has the right to speak their minds even when that speech is controversial because that is the principle our nation is founded on and the reason our military men and women risk their lives.
However, today Churchill crossed a line for me that many do not see. During his defense of his actions he made the statement: “I do not work for the taxpayers of the state of Colorado. I do not work for Bill Owens. I work for you.”. The who he was referring to was the gathered crowd of supporters, many of who are American Indian separatists who seek, in some cases, a violent succession from the American government.
That simple statement rendered everything else Churchill said about the freedom to speak, to think, and to have an opinion invalid. By that statement, Churchill placed himself above the terms of his contract with the University of Colorado, the control of the people who run the university, the government of the state of Colorado, and ultimately the people of the state of Colorado who do in fact pay Churchill’s salary to teach either by tuition or by taxes.
Therein lies the invalidation of Churchill’s rational for his freedom. Everyone is beholden first to the community in which they live; the community they support and who supports them. While some may argue that the supporters gathered to hear his defense represent that community, the truth is that those supporters are not the ones paying the bills, and it is that community that Churchill really owes something too. From all appearances, that community does not like a thing Churchill said.
The reality is that the courts will probably prevent Churchill from being fired, but then they too consider themselves above the community that supports them, so there is really no surprise. Perhaps it is time for the taxpayers, who bear the burden of such people who consider themselves above us, to do something about all of this.
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,146987,00.html
Quoted from ‘The Political Grapevine’ on Foxnews.com:
“Identity Issues?
Controversial University of Colorado Professor Ward Churchill (search), who compared victims of the 9/11 attacks to Nazis says he’s “not backing up an inch,” insisting, “I owe no one an apology.” Speaking at his university last night, Churchill said he not only had the right, but “indeed the obligation” to make the comparison. Meanwhile, questions are mounting about who Churchill actually is. He’s built a career in part on his claimed Native American heritage (search), but a genealogical study by the Rocky Mountain News has found no Native American ancestors in his family. And a fellow researcher has looked into questions about Churchill’s claim — in a book and other works — that a deadly smallpox outbreak among Native Americans in the 19th Century was started by the U.S. Army. According to Lamar University Assistant professor Thomas Brown, none of the sources Churchill cites said anything of the kind.”
Imagine, a leftwing bomb thrower can’t backup his sources or his credentials. I wonder if he helped invent the internet too.
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