Free Republic

The tenure system gives university professors lifetime job security. It is also a way to get rid of professors. Typically, new faculty members are hired for a several-year probationary period. Then they marshal their publications, teaching evaluations, and other accomplishments, and apply for tenure. If they do not get it, they have to leave. So it came as a surprise that Baylor denied tenure to Francis Beckwith, one of its best-known Christian scholars—despite his 11 books, 28 scholarly articles, a raft of teaching awards, and election as president of the Evangelical Theological Society. Baylor's previous president Robert Sloan had put...

Col. Charles Beckwith, founder of the Delta Force, tells a story about White House planning in April 1980 for the mission to rescue our 53 hostages in Tehran. Beckwith had visited the White House Situation Room to brief President Carter. In the meeting, according to one writer, "Charlie mentioned that his Delta shooters would 'take out' the hostage guards. "Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher looked over at Charlie, eyebrows raised. 'Take them out,' Colonel?" Beckwith replied: "Yes, Mister Deputy Secretary. We're going to double-tap 'em. Shoot 'em each in the head — twice." Christopher protested: "Couldn't you just shoot...

WASHINGTON - It was a quarter-century ago this month, April 24, 1980, that the secret American raid into Iran to rescue 53 hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran collapsed in disaster on a make-shift airstrip in the middle of the Iranian desert. The embarrassingly public failure of the raid, code-named Operation Eagle Claw, was a low-water mark for the Carter administration and for our military as well, still struggling to get back on its feet in the wake of the debacle in Vietnam just five years before. Eight American servicemen died when the raid came apart with the fiery...