Posted on 03/10/2006 10:06:29 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Lawyer: Teacher Disciplined Over Bush Comments Wishes He'd "Picked Different Dictator"
POSTED: 9:55 am EST March 10, 2006 UPDATED: 12:08 pm EST March 10, 2006
DENVER -- A high school social studies teacher who was disciplined for comparing speeches by President Bush and Adolf Hitler stands by his lecture but wishes "he'd picked a different dictator," his lawyer said.
Teacher Jay Bennish also promised school district administrators that he would make sure future classroom talks immediately offered opposing points of view, his lawyer David Lane told KHOW-AM radio in Denver.
Lane did not return a telephone call from The Associated Press.
Bennish has been on leave from Overland High School in suburban Aurora since March 1 while Cherry Creek School District determines whether his lesson likening Bush's State of the Union address to talks by Hitler violated a district policy requiring teachers to present balancing viewpoints.
After meeting with school administrators Thursday, Lane said the teacher was "not ashamed of what he said. If you want to tape him, tape him. He wished he'd picked a different dictator."
The investigation began after a student recorded part of a Feb. 1 lecture in which Bennish said some of Bush's State of the Union address "sounds a lot like the things that Adolf Hitler used to say."
Bennish has since said he was trying to stimulate his students to think critically and that other parts of the 50-minute lecture balanced his comments about Bush. He has also said he did not necessarily believe that Bush and Hitler had made similar comments but was trying to encourage discussion and thought.
(Excerpt) Read more at wftv.com ...
That doesn't sound like much of an apology.
I saw him on TV this morning .... huge stupid grin.
In other words, next time he'll say, "Bush is like Hitler. But I hasten to add, that the goose-stepping bush-bots say otherwise."
Like Rush said...just another sleazy liberal
That's a bit of a stretch but David Lane is prone to exaggeration. Paid administrative leave isn't much of a disciplinary action. The school district will announce this afternoon what, if any, "discipline" Bennish will receive.
Unfortunately, this creep got his 15 minutes of fame...which he wanted...in the first place
Hey, Bennish. If you voted against Bush, that proves he's not a dictator. BTW, you voted for a real would-be dictator whose hero is Stalin. Like yours.
And a haircut.
Obviously he hasn't yet gathered a clue out of all of this.
>A high school social studies teacher who was disciplined for comparing speeches by President Bush and Adolf Hitler stands by his lecture but wishes "he'd picked a different dictator," his lawyer said.
-------
Who is he going to compare Bush to now? Mao, Stalin or someone else.
"He has also said he did not necessarily believe that Bush and Hitler had made similar comments but was trying to encourage discussion and thought."
Bull$h!t - he was trying to ram his political agenda down the throats of his students and a lot of them willingly swallowed it.
If he really wants to encourage thought he would have presented more than one side...
This guy is still an idiot.
Such as Abraham Lincoln? Yeah, that's the ticket...
Smarmy little bastard....
It isn't.
...I think the school district needs to hire a teacher that knows what a dictator is.
Idiots
He has also said he did not necessarily believe that Bush and Hitler had made similar comments.
OK - is it just me or are these two statments a bit contradictory? Do these people think that their statements just vanish after they've made them?
Why did I just ask that? We all know the answer.
No, if he really wanted to encourage discussion, he would have asked QUESTIONS and not made statements.
How about a debate between HIM and Ann Coulter.. I'd pay good money to see that..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.