Free Republic

The Harry Ransom Center is now the proud home to thousands of documents chronicling Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward's and Carl Bernstein's coverage of the Watergate scandal. Beginning today and for the first time ever, the public will have access to the work the two men compiled during the course of their four-year investigation into the Watergate Hotel break-in, subsequent scandal and ultimate resignation of former President Richard Nixon. Selected materials from the archive will be displayed on the first floor of the HRC through Sunday, Feb. 27. The materials include interviews with White House staff, Republican party leaders and...

har har. the Cal crybabies sure are showing how they got "shafted" by not being picked for the Rose Bowl. chumps

The media are too busy repackaging old Iraq news in an October offensive against President Bush's re-election to investigate truly startling evidence unearthed this week that the Communist Party may have been directing John Kerry's anti-war activities in the early 1970s. The evidence, contained in captured communist records on file at the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech University, shows a well-coordinated effort by the Communist Party to recruit U.S. servicemen to become part of the American anti-war movement. The objective was to organize high-profile activities to undermine support for the Vietnam War, including holding hearings on alleged war crimes, lobbying...

Newly discovered documents appear to link Vietnam Veterans Against the War to Vietnamese Communists. In an extensive article on the web site www.wintersoldier.com, writers Jerome R. Corsi and Scott Swett claim that two recently discovered documents captured from the Vietnamese communists during the Vietnam War strongly support the existence of a close link between the Hanoi regime and Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) -- all while John Kerry served as the group's leading national spokesman. Corsi and Swett say that the first document (web site) is a 1971 information sheet distributed by the Vietnamese communists within Vietnam. It discusses...

Tech adds to Vietnam Center collection By SEBASTIAN KITCHEN AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Texas Tech recently took delivery of two contrasting collections maintained by Kent State, the Ohio university where the shooting deaths of four student protesters 34 years ago galvanized the nation's anti-Vietnam War movement. Tech's Vietnam Center received the Social Movements Collection, which documents anti-war sentiment throughout the United States during various conflicts, including Vietnam. It also has guardianship of a collection from Voices in Vital America, an organization that sought information about POWs, MIAs and their families. It was during a campus anti-war rally on May 4, 1970, that student...

Leading the way Sen. Duncan tops list of influential people in city BY DOUG HENSLEY AVALANCHE-JOURNAL One thing is clear when it comes to identifying influential people in Lubbock: A majority view state Sen. Robert Duncan as a person who is effective at getting things done, regardless of the size and scope of the task. "Bob has delivered," said Texas Tech Chancellor David Smith. "Not only does he have the personality to do what he does in state and local forums, he has led by example and delivered. "He has a great understanding of human anatomy. We have two ears...

Pro-gay rally against LISD policy remains peaceful By RAY GLASS AVALANCHE-JOURNAL School officials and a federal judge drew criticism Thursday during a rally protesting school policy and a court ruling that have blocked a Gay Straight Alliance student group from meeting at Lubbock High School. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youngsters "are faced with hate not only from classmates, but here in Lubbock from school officials and federal judges," Megan Bauer said to about 50 people on a sidewalk outside the George H. Mahon Federal Building. Bauer is president of Lambda Law Students at Texas Tech and helped organize the...

Well, now we know who really runs Texas Tech University, don't we? Anything else, perhaps, that coach Bob Knight would like the administration to do? Wash his car? Buff his posterior? With an adoring ovation ringing in his ears, Knight was back on the Texas Tech sideline against Baylor on Tuesday night. Knight's original "five-day suspension" for verbally assaulting chancellor David Smith had lasted, at best, maybe four hours. "I regret that the situation turned out the way it did," Knight said in a statement released by the university. "I look forward to finishing this season in a strong fashion,...

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech coach Bob Knight got into a verbal spat with the university chancellor, David Smith, at a grocery store Monday, prompting a review by school officials. One eyewitness told the Lubbock Avalance-Journal that Knight raised his voice to Smith after the chancellor approached him at a salad bar to compliment the coach on his recent good behavior. The witness told the paper that Knight flew into a rage and accused Smith of being a liar, saying that there had been nothing wrong with his demeanor this year. Smith turned to leave the area, the Avalanche-Journal reported,...

Thomas Butler was a sought-after plague expert, with a clinical trial in Tanzania that promised important results for biodefense. Then he was charged with mishandling plague samples and lying to the FBI. This month, a jury convicted him of financial wrongdoing. Who is Thomas Butler, and what lessons do his trials hold? Sitting on an airplane preparing to take off from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, American microbiologist Thomas Butler had some time to reflect on his rising fortunes. Stowed in the plane's belly was a footlocker containing carefully packed specimens from more than 60 Tanzanian bubonic plague victims. His journal...

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - A jury on Tuesday found a researcher guilty of 47 of the 69 charges he faced after reporting samples of plague bacteria had been stolen from his Texas Tech University lab. Thomas Butler, 62, closed his eyes, shook his head and appeared to fight back tears as the verdicts were read after two days of deliberations. The charges stemmed from an investigation following his report to police Jan. 14 that 30 vials of the potentially deadly plague bacteria - the Black Death - were missing. The report sparked a bioterrorism scare in this west Texas city...

Newspaper: Tech professor carried plague on airlines 02/22/2003 The Associated Press LUBBOCK, Texas — The Texas Tech University researcher accused of lying to the FBI about missing plague vials has carried live samples of the bacteria aboard commercial airlines, a newspaper reported. The attorney for Thomas Butler said the professor's method of transporting specimens of the plague-causing organism yersinia pestis, or YP, was safe. Lawyer Floyd Holder said Butler secured the samples — taken from infected Tanzanians — in a plastic container in his luggage. "He described it to me that it would be impossible to break it with...

Husband still had love for Tech By JOHN FUQUAY AVALANCHE-JOURNAL While the space shuttle Columbia floated quietly in dark space, crew members had the peaceful songs of the Texas Tech University Choir to accompany them. The music was taken into orbit by former Tech choir member Rick Husband, who had a strong affection for song. Husband, the flight commander who was among those lost aboard the Columbia on Saturday, was a native of Amarillo and was choir president at Amarillo High School. His NASA biography lists singing ahead of all his other hobbies and interests. John Dickson, Tech's director of...

Tech professor's evolution policy prompts federal inquiry By SEBASTIAN KITCHEN AVALANCHE-JOURNAL The U.S. Justice Depart ment has opened an inquiry at Texas Tech in response to allegations of religious discrimination by the university and biology Professor Michael Dini. Tech received a letter from the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department on Jan. 21, stating it had received a written complaint against Dini. Involved in the complaint is the Liberty Legal Institute, a legal organization that specializes in the defense of religious freedoms, said institute staff attorney Hiram Sasser. Sasser said the institute received word Wednesday that the Justice Department...

Schmidly says work needed on diversity By SEBASTIAN KITCHEN AVALANCHE-JOURNAL Texas Tech President David Schmidly held court at the law school Thursday as he defended his record on diversity, admitted the school has room for improvement and ad dressed the concerns of 150 students and faculty members. "It has been impossible to ignore the untrue statements," Schmidly said, adding that he wanted to speak openly and factually with the students. He said he does not discriminate and has never threatened, retaliated against or harassed any member of the Tech community. He spoke in response to disparaging comments he allegedly made...

Tech deals with discrimination claim I ndependent investigator examines allegations by 11-year law professor By SEBASTIAN KITCHEN AVALANCHE-JOURNAL An independent investigator was at Texas Tech on Wednesday to explore allegations of discrimination made by law professor Daisy Floyd against university officials, including Tech President David Schmidly. Floyd said she wants Tech to acknowledge a pattern of discrimination, address the situation and improve it. At issue is the hiring of an interim dean of the school of law and a disparaging comment about women alleg edly made by Schmidly. Schmidly denied making the re mark. He and Chancellor David Smith also...

<p>BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Bob Knight is suing Indiana University over his firing after weeks of negotiations between his attorneys and the school collapsed.</p> <p>The lawsuit was filed in the Monroe County Circuit Court on Friday. The former Hoosiers coach had until Tuesday to take legal action against the school.</p>

On October 6, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal carried a story (which I could not access) regarding a Professor Dini, who will recommend to medical school only those pre-med students who express a "faith" in the Darwinian theory of evolution. Many have since written "Letters to the Editor" to dispute this professor. Here is the letter of October 19: Many read the plight of Tech student Micah Spradling disenfranchised by Professor Dini for refusing to "truthfully and forthrightly believe in" the theory of evolution. Why not require students to merely understand and intelligently discuss this theory? Must students "take the mark" by...

Gonzales certified as adult 17-year-old charged in Tech student's killing BY ELIZABETH LANGTON AVALANCHE-JOURNAL A teenager accused of robbing and killing a Texas Tech student will face a capital murder charge as an adult, a judge ruled Tuesday. Gabriel Gonzales was 16 on Aug. 14, when 21-year-old Colin Schafer was shot at an automated teller machine. Gonzales turned 17 — an adult under Texas criminal law — the day after his Aug. 22 arrest. The Criminal District Attorney's Office requested that a judge move Gonzales into the adult criminal justice system. "Any time you commit offenses under the age of...