Posted on 02/13/2005 7:03:02 PM PST by Jay777
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 8, 2005
The First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution protects Ward Churchill's right to speak or write his opinions and it protects the rights of his detractors to say they do not like what he wrote or said. The ACLU of Colorado stands firmly for these rights of free speech.
The ACLU of Colorado calls upon the Regents, legislators and the Governor to stop threatening Mr. Churchill's job because of the content of his opinions. This governmental interference with the content of Mr. Churchill's constitutionally protected opinions tramples on fundamental American values.
The Regents should take care that the Chancellor's investigation of Mr. Churchill's competence is not a fishing expedition to find something - anything - to use as an excuse to fire him. If that happens, their action will be subjected to a high level of scrutiny to determine if it is really a guise to fire him for the content of his writing. As Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "[t]he First Amendment is often inconvenient. But that is beside the point. Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation to tolerate speech."
Free speech means we may hear something we do not want to hear. However, that does not give anyone the right to stifle dissent, especially on a university campus. After World War I, when the United States was gripped with fear over the first red scare, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes urged Americans to tolerate even opinions "that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death." It is understandable that people found Mr. Churchill's comment offensive. His language was harsh and he pointed his finger of blame for the attacks at the U.S. government, not at the zealots who flew the planes....
(Excerpt) Read more at aclu-co.org ...
I wonder how Ward Churchill would like this idea. Since many black activists have been agitating for reparations, I say we embrace the reparations idea. Keeping in mind that reparations has the word "repair" as it's root, lets repair the problem and send those back to Africa who wish to go. Likewise, since the left feels that reparations for misdeeds of over a hundred years ago should be accounted for now, then whites should sue native Americans for reparations for all the deaths and medical expenses that result from the use of tobacco, which natives introduced to white men. The results of tobacco addiction has cost FAR more lives than all of the diseases and bullets that killed natives... and does so right up to the present day.
Personally, being 1/4 native, I think I will make out pretty good, since maybe for every dollar I have to pay in reparations as a native, my white 3/4 will get 3?
Funny thing about the tobacco is that Phillip Morris donates to the ACLU, so they'd probably make money on the case where the whites sue the natives. The ACLU would defend the natives, and the money would be going around in all kinds of circles.
Yeah.. a trial lawyers wet dream.
I'm 1/3 Cherokee. What are you?
Speaking of trial lawyers, my sister is married to one. She is 27 and married to a man the same age as her father, 53. He has brainwashed her into a democrat. Sad, but they have a new baby, and I'm happy for them. A lot of times kids will change your views on things. I'm hopeful!
1/4 Cherokee.
I wouldn't say its OK to threaten him, but fire him from his tenured teaching position? Absolutely.
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