Do We Need a National Collegiate Academic Association?

The disturbing case of Ward Churchill has me asking a question I ought not ask, but somehow feel compelled. The NCAA has an arcane, complicated, often brainless set of rules regarding recruitment and pampering of college athletes. The rules require major universities to hire folks just to deal with compliance. I hate bureaucracies like that.

But the system effectively reduces the ability of a college to buy great sports teams. Moreover, the system demands that members require minimum (though way too minimal) education standards for student athletes. This levels the playing field for both inter-collegiate athletics and intramural education. A student in a college on academic merit does not have to share pride in an alma mater with a dunce linebacker who cannot read the diploma he�s handed after ~~four~~ ~~five~~ six years. Or, so the theory goes.

Were such an organization around to police university hiring and tenure policies, Ward Churchill would be teaching graphic art at Red Rocks Community College and the world would have been spared his damaging lies.

How damaging? Very, if you�re a young American Indian girl who found in Churchill �truth.� To me she wrote:

After I listen[ed] to Ward Churchill once, I realized [sic] that his words are true. He may not be a native American, but he has the passion for native culture, and above all his he has facts. Cold, hard facts. Native Youth need a voice, someone to look up too. Someone who has the evidence to prove that we can make a diference[sic] and change what we deal with everyday in Indian country, and for a man with a voice(dosen’t [sic] matter the damn color of his skin) who sees the realities of the culture and life to speak up is a sense of knowing.

My immediate reaction was to ask the girl why Mr. Churchill, with his post-graduate degree, has failed to teach her about spelling, grammar, and run-on sentences. But that would be rude and counterproductive.

I replied:

I respect your words, but I encourage you to validate what you’re saying about [Churchill�s] facts. Mr. Churchill’s 3 major academic papers have been proven factually incorrect. Many parts were simply made up. (look around http://www.pirateballerina.com) .

Besides lying about his heritage, Mr. Churchill has lied about his military service, his educational background, and his career opportunities for personal gain. Further, he has repeatedly encouraged terrorism (http://www.michellemalkin.com)

Eventually, the evidence will convince you. No one will call you stupid if you explore the facts. But, for now, the facts simply don’t bear out your allegiance to Mr. Churchill.

Among Churchill�s facts, I�m sure this girl believes that the U.S. Army intentionally spread small pox among the Mandans in 1837, that the General Allotment Act requires one be �one-half or more degree Indian blood�, and that the only way to get justice for American Indians is to �get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see.�

I must ask the writer this: How have any of Ward Churchill�s words or actions helped you? You cannot spell the simplest of words, you cannot write a simple paragraph without butchered grammar, and you cannot parse historical reality from leftist propaganda. Wouldn�t Churchill have helped you more by passing along his knowledge of writing?

Instead, he has given you a rage. He has convinced you that your lot in life is even worse than it actually is. Contrary to your claim of providing hope, Churchill provides nothing but misery by convincing you it�s you against the world, and the world has a huge head start.

In all of this, the largest share of guilt lies with Ward Churchill himself. He told the lies upon which the fable of his life is built. But the University of Colorado, with an assist from Alfred State University in New York, gave his lies credence. They did so in a typically failed attempt at achieving artificial �diversity� through promoting unaccomplished and fraudulent �minorities� to powerful positions within the school.

The history of Churchill�s ascent points to a single factor in his chair and tenure: CU thought he was an Indian. In its zeal to boast of a rabid American Indian advocate in a chair, the university ignored Churchill�s criminal assaults, his failed academic papers, his intellectual property theft, his self-plagiarism, his ethnic frauds. The University of Colorado elevated fraud to a safe position from whence it cannot legally fall.

Were Colorado�s football team to achieve high ranking through such degrees of fraud, the NCAA sanctions would result in loss of most or all scholarships, forfeiture of at least one full season, denial of television revenue for at least two seasons, and prohibition from bowl play for up to five seasons. Yet academic fraud, encouraged and rewarded, earns CU nothing but a black eye that will soon heal. Clearly, major universities in America consider honesty and forthrightness and merit among athletes morally superior to the same among professors.

Again, I understand and acknowledge the NCAA�s flaws. Many of its rules are silly, and many rules are enforced with too much vigor. Still, such an organization, voluntarily joined, to police the academic policies of major research universities and their faculties would ensure that abrogation of responsibility such as witnessed at University of Colorado would earn real, financial punishments. In this case, I would advocate for denial of any federal or state funding for a period of two years. That would include research grants and fellowships.

Only by such public, painful, and expensive punishment will universities come to understand their decisions impact lives. How can we measure my e-mail correspondent�s pain when she finally realizes that Ward Churchill is a fraud? How can we measure the hatred Churchill encouraged by making up a story of genocide? How can we restore that piece of American history that Ward Churchill stole with the complicity of his University of Colorado managers?

The answer, as usual, is money. While Churchill�s lies supported his twisted, fantasy ideas, they directly benefited him financially. Lying about his heritage qualified him to run an ethnic studies department and to publish books about being a Native American. Passing off others� art work as his own put instant dollars into his pocket. Likewise, the University of Colorado gained financially by having his name on its faculty list.

The University of Colorado and Ward Churchill perpetrated a great fraud upon the United States, the University of Colorado students and alumni, the victims of September 11, and, most shamefully, the American Indians Churchill pretended to represent. While an organization for academic standards and Draconian fines against the school may not undo that damage, they will send a message to all major universities that promoting and tolerating academic fraud will cost the school dearly.

Steven Taylor explores more on Affirmative Action and Ward Churchill

You gotta like Boots and Sabers sentiments (via PirateBallerina)

Of course the left, like Kim Petersen, can’t discuss free speech without promoting terrorists. (via PirateBallerina)

The American Mind looking to organize protest for Churchill’s appointment in Wisconsin

An editorial on The New Criterion says it ain’t Churchill’s fault. Money quote:

The silver lining in the sordid affair of Ward Churchill will be fully revealed when attention shifts from Churchill to the Kirkland Project, and from the Kirkland Project to the repudiation of liberal learning, academic standards, and moral probity that informs so much of what infects cultural life, especially academic cultural life, today.

Ace of Spaces HQ updates on the Assault and Extortion stories.

UPDATE: Blogger News Network reports CU ready to fire Churchill.

UPDATE: Check out http://jefeandtheman.blogspot.com/2005/02/ncaa-for-professors.html and the Beltway Traffic Jam

UPDATE: Michell Malkin discusses CU Faculty rushing to Churchill’s defense. (You know they don’t want an NCAA for professors.) Thanks Jefe and the Man

My special thanks to Jim Paine at PirateBallerina for providing the best Churchill round-up on the web and for excellent editing and tips.

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February 27, 2005 · Filed Under Latest

Comment

DemocraticUnderground: Hypocrites With Zeal

The drooling juveniles on DemocraticUnderground took time out from praising terrorists, defending rapists, and seeking relief for child molesters to decry the White House�s use of a nine-year-old to promote Social Security Reform.

Here�s a sample of what the losers are saying:

1. exploiting children…yup, that’s family values, alright….

Why, pray tell is the mother allowing this? It is one thing to encourage your child to read and develop their own opinions, but to allow others to exploit those earliest opinions of childhood (which most of us may recall, DO change over time)….

3. This bumptious little brat needs a spanking

I won’t discuss what his parents need. I would get tombstoned for extreme obscenity.

Seriously, people who use their kids as propagandists are scum.

10. Awesome, I Wonder When…

we will be having a 9-year old out stumping for the death penalty. These people have no shame. NONE!

Jay

13. it’s pathetic to be exploited by one’s parents

And I seriously doubt “Mommy” in this case ever WAS a democrat.

23. The GOP have a 9 year old James Guckert/Jeff Gannon? How nice

of this childs parents. To let their offspring prostitute for the Bu$h family evil empire. Just when you think the GOP can`t sink any lower. They prop up some little boy from their evil abyss. Users and abusers sure defines the repukes well.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

Never mind that liberals have used children as political tools for years. (The Daisy commercial?) Never mind that liberals are systematically taking over the education industry for the purpose of indoctrinating young minds. Republicans are evil because they use a live 9�year-old to demonstrate mathematical facts.

How about a quick round up of recent commie-lib exploitation of kids:

JS Online: Voter drive using kids draws fire

Hundreds of public schoolchildren, some as young as 11, are taking time out of regular classes to canvass neighborhoods in Milwaukee, Madison and Racine in a get-out-the-vote effort organized by Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund - a group whose umbrella organization has endorsed John Kerry for president.

Environmentalists Exploit School Children

(CNSNews.com) - An environmental group dedicated to “protect[ing] the rainforest” is under attack for recruiting public elementary school students to protest the lending practices of a major U.S. bank in New York City.

Anti-War Leftists Exploit Children to Advance Cause

The Ithaca Catholic Worker, a communist offshoot of Ithaca�s local Catholic Church, put a shy pre-teen girl named Leah Grady Sayvets in front of a local television camera and began asking her questions about the war on terrorism. The exchange between a middle-aged female reporter and the little girl went as follows:

Reporter: “Let me make it easy. If someone does something violent to you, should you strike back at them?”

Leah: “No. I think you should talk to them and see what they think is wrong. What they have�what�s wrong…”

Reporter: “So you think it’s better to talk out problems?”

Leah: “Yeah.”

Reporter: “Do you think George Bush is acting like a bully on the playground.”

Leah: [Giggles] “Yeah.”

But it gets better. In this very thread in which liberals decry the use of a 9�year-old boy, they turn right around and look for a 9�year-old girl to counter-exploit.

7. So…Why don’t we Dems find a clever little 9 year old girl to challenge

Edited on Sun Feb-27-05 11:37 AM by KoKo01

the little brat to a debate? Otherwise this kid is going to be all over the airwaves and get huge attention…a Media Star for Bush.

Anyone have a bright 9 year old kid who would volunteer? I thought of a female, because it would have more PR value but any Dem 9 year old would be great.

19. I nominate that cute little Wexler girl who wanted to put Cheney on in

time out. I think she’s about twelve or thirteen, though.

21. Hey, she’d be perfect … give it that OLDER sister “beat me up”

whiny little brother image to their little snot nosed brat boy … yes, THIS IS GOOD!

Democratic “powers that be” - are you listening?!?

27. I could just picture two 9-year-olds in a debate

They’d just sound like the Republicans on the House floor!
Did not! Did too!

I know a clever 10-year-old boy who hates Bush with a passion. I have a mind to recruit him–he’s very argumentative and doesn’t lose many arguments–to counter this little brat!

Related: Blogs for Bush says DNC admits SS Problems

UPDATE: Another DU poster demonstrates that political correctness ends at the doors of the Democrat party:

Who said this little kid is smart? I think he’s a bit on the retarded

side because he wants to be pretzeldent when he grows up.
Anyone with an IQ of a chimp and plenty of money can do THAT, as
opposed to say a physicist.

UPDATE: You just knew that the Daily Kos would have to spew some lies about the kid. And Talking Points Memo continues its marathon against doing anything but sitting around in a catatonic freeze

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February 27, 2005 · Filed Under Latest

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NBC Ridicules Catholics

Michelle Malkin has much about a recent “Committed” episode on NBC in which the producers went out of their way to make a mockery of Catholicism. She makes an excellent point with a question:

Will NBC be as responsive to the complaints of Catholic viewers as FOX was to the Muslims who protested the hit drama 24?

Answer: Of course not. Muslims are now a protected group, while Catholics are still an undesirable minority for ripe the kind of social genocide liberals have advocated for years.

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February 27, 2005 · Filed Under Uncategorized

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Dennis Rader

The BTK killer’s name is Dennis Rader. He is the poison that grows on the bottom of a cesspool. He is the stuff that Hell considers too vile to abide. He is sin incarnate.

A brave, good neighbor of his called him out two days after another neighbor died. She was a good woman dying of cancer with a little dog. She would let the dog out to go potty, and Dennis Rader, Animal Control Officer, would give her a citation. He knew full well that she was too sick to go outside with the dog.

Dennis Rader wanted authority. He wanted power. The proper functioning of society prevented him from acquiring real power, so he seized the perverted, hateful, vengeful power he could. He used his pseudo-cop badge to bully women in his neighborhood, reporting uncut lawns to a neighborhood association resulting in $300 fines to the resident. He tried his level to best to make the aforementioned cancer patient’s final days a living hell.

If anyone knows how to contact inmate in Kansas’s penal system, I’d like to know. I want to make sure that every lifer knows the depths of this man’s evil. I want them to know the way he raped and hanged a little girl from the rafters of her basement after murdering her brother, mother, and father, leaving the horrid scene for the little girl’s 19-year-old brother to find. They may use the information as they deem fit, but every inmate in the Kansas penal system deserves to know the details of their new neighbor.