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The Dohrn Connection
National Review Online ^ | May 7, 2012 | Robert VerBruggen

Posted on 05/07/2012 10:32:00 AM PDT by neverdem

Bernardine Dohrn has a history with the Justice Department. More specifically, in the early 1970s, she was one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives because of her actions with the Weather Underground, a violent radical organization.

Times have changed. In 2010 and 2011, the Justice Department saw fit to give $400,000 in grants to an organization that lists Dohrn as a member of its board of directors: a $150,000 grant in September of 2010 and a $250,000 grant a year later.

The organization that received the grants is the W. Haywood Burns Institute, and the project that brought in the money is the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. JDAI aims to keep juvenile criminals out of “secure confinement” and to reduce racial disparities in the juvenile justice system.

As a prominent figure in the Weather Underground — which was initially known as simply “Weatherman” — Dohrn helped lead the “Days of Rage” Chicago riot, and during her tenure the group was responsible for numerous bombings of government buildings. Although Dohrn has never renounced her past, her various legal troubles are behind her: She served some probation, several charges were dismissed, and she spent some time in jail for refusing to cooperate with an investigation. She’s now a law professor at Northwestern University, and her husband, fellow Weather Underground co-founder William Ayers, is a retired education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The Burns Institute’s name comes from a man who himself exemplified the blend of civil-rights activism, academic prestige, and radical politics that defines the group today. W. Haywood Burns worked with Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil-rights movement and eventually became the dean of the law school at Queens College. He also was married to Bernardine Dohrn’s sister, Jennifer, and he “represented the black radical Angela Davis against charges of kidnapping and murder, and coordinated the defense for inmates indicted in the Attica prison riot,” as the New York Times noted in his 1996 obituary.

The Institute’s biography of Burns refers to the 1971 Attica rioters as “people struggling for self-determination.” The rioters protested poor conditions by taking their guards hostage until police launched a full assault on the prison. One of the group’s leaders was Sam Melville, who had bombed numerous government and business buildings shortly before the Weather Underground began doing the same thing. After the horribly managed police assault left 39 dead — in addition to an officer who was killed by the rioters at the outset of the incident, as well as several inmates who were killed by other prisoners during the chaos — the Weather Underground bombed a New York Department of Corrections facility in retaliation. Virtually everyone involved in the Attica riots and their aftermath acted poorly, and yet, as Patrick Brennan has noted on NRO before, a certain group of aging radicals seems to see the incident as some kind of triumph.

Meanwhile, JDAI, the project that earned the Burns Institute its Justice grants, is spearheaded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In 2010 the federal government agreed to help the Casey Foundation fund training and other consulting services while it expands the program to new sites, and it was through this agreement that the Burns Institute secured its grants. During the grant-application process, the Justice Department does not typically require groups to provide lists of their directors.

The Burns Institute’s primary goal is to reduce racial disparities in juvenile justice, a problem it attributes primarily to discrimination rather than disproportionate misbehavior. The Institute aims to get the U.N. to take a role in American juvenile justice, and it also works with local governments (for a fee) to address the issue. The organization’s process involves bringing together various stakeholders — police, parents, prosecutors, etc. — to discuss policy changes. The group says that this helps decrease juvenile confinement without sacrificing public safety.

If that’s true, it’s good. But there are plenty of charities that do good work without including Weather Underground co-founders on their boards of directors and openly praising prison rioters on their websites. Presidential administrations have considerable discretion when it comes to federal grants. But it is not too much to ask that the Justice Department avoid giving money to groups with ties to violent radicals.

The Burns Institute did not provide a comment in time for publication, Dohrn did not reply to several attempts to contact her, and the Office of Justice Programs declined to provide a quote for attribution.

— Robert VerBruggen is a deputy managing editor of National Review. 



TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bernardinedohrn; dohrn; doj; jdai; nationalreview; robertverbruggen
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1 posted on 05/07/2012 10:32:04 AM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

I guess she was Bill Ayres’ second heart-throb - after the rich chick who blew herself up when she was making bombs in her daddy’s Greenwich Village townhouse...and who is obviously the model for Obama’s composite girlfriend that appears in the “autobiography” Ayres wrote for Bambi.


2 posted on 05/07/2012 10:43:37 AM PDT by livius
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To: neverdem


3 posted on 05/07/2012 10:48:06 AM PDT by Iron Munro (If Repub's paid as much attention to Rush Limbaugh as the Dem's do, we wouldn't be in this mess)
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To: neverdem

The Justice Department has way way too much money..

Where do they get $400,000 dollars to throw around?..
Where do they get ANY money to allocate?..

Remember; The Justice has zero dollars not allocated by a republican Congress..
Somebody seems to be asleep at “the Switch”.. this is a real Boener..


4 posted on 05/07/2012 10:54:12 AM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole...)
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To: hosepipe

“Remember; The Justice has zero dollars not allocated by a republican Congress..”

THIS is what scares me to death and causes a lot of us to lose sleep at night. AND some may wonder why We The People are trying to dump oldsters like Lugar and Hatch. OHIO are you paying attention to anything?

DUMP Boehner for cryin out loud. DO something, please.


5 posted on 05/07/2012 11:07:39 AM PDT by WaterWeWaitinFor (If we don't help make a change, then who will? It starts with us.)
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To: wardaddy; Joe Brower; Cannoneer No. 4; Criminal Number 18F; Dan from Michigan; Eaker; Jeff Head; ...
Composite Americans (Mark Steyn) "I laughed til I cried."

Whoa There! Some Greenland Glaciers Slowing Down

Allen West and His Critics: About those "78 to 81" congressional Democrats who are "communists."

Vote in French presidential election should be a warning for America

Some noteworthy articles about politics, foreign or military affairs, IMHO, FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.

6 posted on 05/07/2012 11:31:19 AM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: neverdem
She’s now a law professor at Northwestern University...

Of course she is.

Like a lawyer I knew who became a mediator based on her high ethics.

Name o' da game.

As far as it goes...

7 posted on 05/07/2012 11:55:28 AM PDT by Talisker (He who commands, must obey.)
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To: WaterWeWaitinFor
How did we settle on Boehner as a fall guy?

And Lugar is the epitome of a RINO,...One World supporter.

8 posted on 05/07/2012 12:23:26 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: hosepipe

The house can’t cut DOJs budget if the Senate doesn’t approve a budget. That’s why the EPA is getting away with their crap. The Senate has road blocked any control the House may have to cut spending in any agency.


9 posted on 05/07/2012 1:05:47 PM PDT by meatloaf (Support House Bill 1380 to eliminate oil slavery.)
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To: neverdem

I most remember Dorhn from those days. The others kind of avoided television. Never even saw a pic of Oughton till she blew herself up. But we all thought Bernadine was hot. She never, on camera, gave the appearance of a drudge.In fact a lot of guys showed up to SDS events in the hope of getting lucky.


10 posted on 05/07/2012 2:18:07 PM PDT by xkaydet65
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To: maggief; STARWISE; 2ndDivisionVet; Cboldt; kristinn; Interesting Times; little jeremiah; LucyT

Just read LT Frmail and while reading this the thought: “How does the ZImmerman case fit it to their plan?” Kept popping into my mind. Should I get out the role of AL foil?


11 posted on 05/07/2012 3:39:46 PM PDT by hoosiermama
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To: Iron Munro
I saw that FBI poster hanging in the little old post office in Governor's Harbour on the island of Eleuthera, in the Bahamas, in 1970. Kind of a surprise to see it there -- the FBI was really determined to catch them.
12 posted on 05/07/2012 4:02:56 PM PDT by lentulusgracchus
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To: WaterWeWaitinFor; tomdavidd; Freeper; Gvl_M3; Flotsam_Jetsome; Berlin_Freeper; Hotlanta Mike; ...
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Bernardine Dohrn has a history with the Justice Department. More specifically, in the early 1970s, she was one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives because of her actions with the Weather Underground, a violent radical organization.

Times have changed. In 2010 and 2011, the Justice Department saw fit to give $400,000 in grants to an organization that lists Dohrn as a member of its board of directors: a $150,000 grant in September of 2010 and a $250,000 grant a year later.

[snip]

As a prominent figure in the Weather Underground — which was initially known as simply “Weatherman” — Dohrn helped lead the “Days of Rage” Chicago riot, and during her tenure the group was responsible for numerous bombings of government buildings. Although Dohrn has never renounced her past, her various legal troubles are behind her: She served some probation, several charges were dismissed, and she spent some time in jail for refusing to cooperate with an investigation.

She’s now a law professor at Northwestern University, and her husband, fellow Weather Underground co-founder William Ayers, is a retired education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

WaterWeWaitinFor wrote:

“Remember; The Justice has zero dollars not allocated by a republican Congress..”

THIS is what scares me to death and causes a lot of us to lose sleep at night.

Article and comments; don't miss # 11.

Thanks, hoosiermama. Didcha' ever wonder who masterminded the 1981 Brinks robbery?

13 posted on 05/07/2012 4:37:09 PM PDT by LucyT
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To: hoosiermama; All

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2880636/posts?page=19#19

Ping to an outstanding piece of research into the Trayvon money machine.

19 posted on Sunday, May 06, 2012 7:00:40 PM by Interesting Times


14 posted on 05/07/2012 4:46:53 PM PDT by Whenifhow
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To: lentulusgracchus

They’re just a couple of people who happened to live down the street from a Chicago community rabble rouser named Obama.


15 posted on 05/07/2012 5:07:56 PM PDT by Iron Munro (If Repub's paid as much attention to Rush Limbaugh as the Dem's do, we wouldn't be in this mess)
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To: LucyT; meatloaf
Notice meatloaf's comment:

The house can’t cut DOJs budget if the Senate doesn’t approve a budget. That’s why the EPA is getting away with their crap. The Senate has road blocked any control the House may have to cut spending in any agency

Sounds as though the Dem controlled Senate (not that many of the Senate Rs are of any use) are basically removing the House's ability to cut any monies out of the budget.

16 posted on 05/07/2012 5:44:09 PM PDT by little jeremiah
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To: neverdem

I think her real first name is Burnherdown.


17 posted on 05/07/2012 6:28:33 PM PDT by RipSawyer
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To: xkaydet65

“In fact a lot of guys showed up to SDS events in the hope of getting lucky.”
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Talk about dancing with the Devil!


18 posted on 05/07/2012 6:31:53 PM PDT by RipSawyer
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To: neverdem
I began to read this article without looking at the source and was sure it was Breitbart. Imagine my surprise to see it was NR. I hope this is a sign that the vetting is no longer confined to Breitbart and a handful of bloggers.

As far as BD and the JD goes, I agree with another poster; the JD has too much money and Congress is asleep at the wheel. They shouldn't have any extra cash that they can end run Congress with. This is not how the Republic is supposed to operate.

19 posted on 05/07/2012 6:37:05 PM PDT by liberalh8ter (If Barack has a memory like a steel trap, why can't he remember what the Constitution says?)
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To: little jeremiah
Sounds as though the Dem controlled Senate (not that many of the Senate Rs are of any use) are basically removing the House's ability to cut any monies out of the budget.

Exactly. So long as the Senate refuses to pass (or even votre on) any of the House's departmental budget bills, or pass a budget of their own, spending is controlled by the baseline budget and the debt ceiling.

In other words, Justice has last year's spending -- plus a certain percentage increase for inflation -- as a budget. And there is nothing the House can do to change it.

The only control the House has on overall spending is the debt ceiling negotiations -- where Boehner hasn't shown himself to be much of a negotiator.

Of course, it doesn't help that Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell cuts the legs out from under Boehner whenever he seems to be gaining an advantage.

20 posted on 05/07/2012 7:05:11 PM PDT by okie01
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