Democrats Jettison Free Speech, Free Press and Free Inquiry

Matt Taibbi has committed cardinal sins in the eyes of the Democrat Party and contemporary corporate liberalism: Journalism.

Taibbi penned a report entitled The Great Covid-19 Lie Machine: Stanford, the Virality Project, and the Censorship of “True Stories.”

Taibbi reported Twitter emails detailing efforts of the American intelligence and public health communities plotting how to censor and marginalize speech and other information deemed too dangerous for Americans to read.

Some speech even, such as the release of liberal-favorite Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Spring 2020 emails was "used to exacerbate distrust in Dr. Fauci."

In liberal circles, this distrust of Fauci is considered heresy, so must be stopped.

Read Taibbi's work to see how far our country's Democrat Party has drifted from cherished notions such as free speech and free press.

“The Vitality Project however is just part of a broader cultural shift that reverses long standing liberal/left commitments to free expression and allows censorship in the name of protection and safety.” ⁦@NAffects⁩ https://t.co/CWJGENs3pi

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) March 19, 2023

Wokists Want Cheating for Black Students at UCLA, Prof Who Said No, Suing for his Suspension and Banning

Just when one thinks cancel culture and wokism cannot become more deranged, news comes a UCLA professor, Gordon Klein, is fighting back against his past suspension and banning for his refusal to help black students cheat, (see Common Sense with Bari Weiss).

Reports Newsweek:

A University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) professor who was suspended and later reinstated for refusing to give Black students leniency on their final exams following the death of George Floyd has filed a lawsuit against the school.

Gordon Klein, who teaches financial analysis, law, and public policy at UCLA,filed a lawsuit Monday claiming that he suffered financially and emotionally because of the incident. Although he retained his position, Klein alleged he was dropped from consulting jobs at law firms and other corporations and that his reputation was tarnished as a result.

Klein discussed his reasons for suing the school with a post on the website 'Common Sense with Bari Weiss' and said he was seeking unspecified damages 'not only to correct the tortures he had endured but also to protect academic freedom.'

A group of UCLA students had targeted 80 professors and demanded black UCLA students' performance on final exams be treated with "leniency," if poor grades resulted, specifying that the grades be registered only if black students did well.

This "no harm" grading system for black students only was demanded following the George Floyd murder.

Klein refused, and was summarily suspended and banned from the UCLA campus, (see Common Sense with Bari Weiss) before being reinstated in Oct 2020. 

Now, Klein is suing the University of California system, (Reason).

Writes Klein: "As I noted in my legal complaint, the student clarified, in a subsequent conversation with a university investigator, that he 'intended that the requested adjustments apply to Black students and not the class generally.'"

Klein had sent a reply to the student claiming to speak for all black students, and was met with a shower of invective; "One email, dated June 11, read: 'You are a typical bigoted, prejudiced and racist dirty, filthy, crooked, arrogant Jew kike mother f**ker! Too bad Hitler and the Nazis are not around to give you a much needed Zyklon B shower.'"

This is the mentality of wokes who would judge people by skin color, disregarding character and all other qualities and commitment, as they sink into old-school anti-Semitism.

Scott Walker Blasted by Conservative UW Profs for Attacks on University

Sifting and Winnowing Plaque on Bascom Hill
Photo by UW-Madison, University Communications

Scott Walker and the long, sinister shadow on the University

Writing in a national political journal, two conservative and long-tenured UW-Madison professors blasted Scott Walker's continued assault on the University of Wisconsin System, singling out Walker's move to eliminate tenure protections from Wisconsin state statutes and the consequences of imperiling academic freedom.

"[W]e’re increasingly worried that in trying to take up another conservative crusade, our governor, Scott Walker, is going to silence the very voices he claims to support," write Donald Downs, professor of political science at UW-Madison and John Sharpless, professor of history UW-Madison write in The Politico.

Downs and Sharpless say, "We harbor strong concerns about Walker’s proposed tenure revisions. Without tenure protections, professors like us who fight for free speech and liberty—values Walker himself espouses—could be even more at risk of being targeted on college campuses for our beliefs ...  As leaders of a free speech and liberty movement at UW-Madison that has enjoyed considerable success over the course of the past 20 years, we can attest to the positive effects of tenure for those with conservative and libertarian beliefs."

Conclude Downs and Sharpless: "Standing in front of [the "sifting and winnowing"] Plaque [on Bascom Hill], one can see the state capitol dome less than a mile to the east. But today that very dome casts a long, sinister shadow on the university."

In Defense of Academic Freedom, Audio Links

As academic freedom comes under increasing attack in America during the Bush/authoritarians' reign, a conference was held last week addressing this problem endemic to all authoritarian societies.

Chicago IndyMedia recorded the In Defense of Academic Freedom conference held in Chicago on Oct. 12, 2007 at the Rockefeller Chapel, University of Chicago.

Conference speakers and links to speakers' comments made at the conference are below.

- Tariq Ali, Editor of the New Left Review and Verso Books - Listen now to Tariq Ali.

- Dr. Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor & Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus), Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Listen now to Noam Chomsky.

- Dr. Akeel Bilgrami, Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy and Director of The Heyman Center, Columbia University - Listen now to Akeel Bilgrami.

- Dr. Tony Judt, University Professor and Director of the Remarque Institute, New York University - Listen now to Tony Judt.

- Dr. John Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago - Listen now to John Mearsheimer.

- Question and Answer period - Listen now to Q & A.

- Mr. Evan Lorendo, Academic Freedom Committee, DePaul University - Listen now to Evan Lorendo.

- Dr. Mehrene Larudee, International Studies Program, DePaul University- Listen now to Mehrene Larudee.

- Dr. Neve Gordon, Professor, Department of Politics and Government, Ben-Gurion University - Listen now to Neve Gordon.

- Dr. Norman Finkelstein, author of Image and Reality of the Israel Palestine Conflict, The Holocaust Industry and Beyond Chutzpah - Listen now to Norman Finkelstein.

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Finkelstein Resigns, Settles with DePaul.

Breaking - DePaul U. ends its disgrace in part; admitting no guilt.

Finkelstein resigns, settles with DePaul.

Well, Alan Dershowitz's campaign to prevent the publication of Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History failed, but his campaign to deny Finkelstein tenure succeeded.

No matter it's a big world, and the lies and militarism of Dershowitz and company are more clear than ever thanks to Finkelstein's work.

Smearing, the time-honored tactic of militarists, censors, and torture advocates ultimately dissipates in the light of truth.

Details coming at Norman Finkelstein.

From the International Herald Tribune:

Finkelstein, who is the son of Holocaust survivors, was denied tenure in June after spending six years on DePaul's faculty.

His remaining class was cut by DePaul last month.

His most recent book, "Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History," is largely an attack on Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz's "The Case for Israel."

In his book, Finkelstein argues that Israel uses perceived anti-Semitism as a weapon to stifle criticism.Dershowitz, who threatened to sue Finkelstein's publisher for libel, urged DePaul officials to reject Finkelstein's tenure bid.

Finkelstein said in the statement that he believes the tenure decision was "tainted" by external pressures, but praised the university's "honorable role of providing a scholarly haven for me the past six years."

Joint statement of Norman Finkelstein and DePaul University

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Finkelstein Fights on for Academic Freedom

Update: Finkelstein resigns, settles with DePaul.

Details coming at Norman Finkelstein.

DePaul University Professor Norman Finkelstein’s fight for academic freedom is far from over, though he was denied tenure this spring for his vociferous objections to Israeli and American militarism, among other published work.

A man dedicated to peace and precision in scholarship, who took on Israeli and American militarism met a Karl-Rovesque slime machine.

Finkelstein was denied tenure at DePaul this spring after Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz and supporters of Israeli militarism organized a campaign against Finkelstein's tenure appointment, supported in part by Madison’s The Progressive magazine’s editors, Matt Rothschild and Ruth Conniff, who ludicrously called Finkestein a Holocaust minimizer, though both of Finkelstein's parents are concentration camp survivors.

Dershowitz, a long-time supporter of Israeli militarism, maintains a special enmity with Finkelstein, not helped after Finkelstein exposed Dershowitz’ plagiarism.

Finkelstein’s supporters are legion, including Noam Chomsky and the late Raul Hilberg, respected as the dean of Holocaust historians and author of the classic The Destruction of the European Jews.

The Chicagotribune.com reports that Finkelstein and supporting students may “engage in civil disobedience at the start of the fall term Wednesday … “

"I am morally, mentally and emotionally depleted right now. But I will find the resources to fight this next battle. … It is rather regrettable that DePaul is carrying on the spirit of Chicago's Al Capone rather than St. Vincent de Paul," Finkelstein said in an interview with the Trib. "One of my heroes is Paul Robeson, who said, 'I will not retreat one-thousandth part of one inch. And I won't either."

As reported in Chicago Indymedia, DePaul took the unprecedented step of canceling Finkelstein's last year of classes and locking him out of his office. Professors who are denied tenure are traditionally given one more year to teach while they seek other employment.

Hilberg, before he passed away in early August, said in the Logos journal, “Well Finkelstein is now maligned all over the place. There were obviously lobbies who tried to dislodge him from his position.”

And Hilberg had expressed dismay about the ad hominem attacks against Finkelstein as a blow to academic freedom.

First-rate scholar, popular teacher, and prolific author, I doubt a man of Finkelstein’s contributions to humanity will have much problem finding a position befitting his stature, though his case illustrates perfectly how difficult it is for critics of Israeli militarism to survive in the American academy.

Such is the ideology in America, but were he working in Israel or England; Finkelstein would still be a controversial figure, but would also be widely perceived as heroic and righteous, provoking a needed debate of the ethics of American-Israeli militarism.

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Finkelstein Draws Flood of Support in Wake of Tenure Denial

Madison, Wisconsin—In the wake of the rejection of tenure at DePaul University (Chicago) for Norman Finkelstein who teaches political theory, Finkelstein has drawn a flood of support.

Finkelstein, the son of Holocaust survivors, drew praise from his academic department and a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences tenure committee, but his tenure was denied as the result of political pressure, mostly from Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz—a rightwing scholar who infamously supported legalizing torture, is working with Robert Bork on overturning the conviction of Lewis Scooter Libby, and tried unsuccessfully to block publication of Finkelstein’s Beyond Chutzpah (University of California Press, 2005) which exposed substantial plagiarism committed by Dershowitz.

Writes Finkelstein: “An appendix to Beyond Chutzpah irrefutably demonstrates that Dershowitz not only massively lifted information and ideas from another author, Joan Peters, without attribution, but that he did so from a book, Peters' From Time Immemorial, universally dismissed as a fraud.”

The tenure was vetoed by DePaul president, President Dennis Holtschneider, who is facing a vote of no confidence from the DePaul faculty for a nakedly political decision.

Finkelstein has drawn condemnation for his razor-sharp criticism of American and Israeli militarism and what he contends are the misuses by some of the Holocaust that almost killed his parents.

But the sheer political nature of the tenure denial has enraged many. As reported in the Chicago Sun Times:

Clutching blankets, pop bottles and signs saying "Just Grant It,'' two dozen students protesting the tenure denial of a popular but controversial professor were forced to leave a 22nd-floor conference room outside DePaul President Dennis Holtschneider's office Wednesday.

The students were threatened with penalties including expulsion if they didn't leave after they spent nearly three days in the room.

"This is going to be a long battle,'' said student Evan Lorendo, 22. "DePaul will be embarrassed by this activity.''

Finkelstein has drawn praise from Raul Hilberg, considered the dean of Holocaust studies, Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman and Sara Roy.

Writes Finkelstein in his website:

I am currently being inundated with letters of support. Please be certain that I have read everyone of them. Because it's simply impossible to answer each of them personally, I have decided instead to post the letters because many are so intelligent, witty, incisive and heartfelt. I am deeply in your debt and will do my best to continue to earn the praise and support I have received. To avoid any retaliation, I have taken the liberty of removing the names.

A student studying at DePaul e-mailed that Finkelstein is "all packed up and ready to go... if you call his office, his voicemail says: 'you have reached the office of Norman Finkelstein... I will be leaving DePaul on June 16 ... '"

What a tragedy in the cause for justice and unwavering commitment to truth, and what a loss for DePaul University.
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