tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post7724020831538864333..comments2024-02-24T05:19:10.949-05:00Comments on Durham-in-Wonderland: Items in the Newskcjohnson9http://www.blogger.com/profile/09625813296986996867noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-59349022782830108432008-06-15T21:55:00.000-04:002008-06-15T21:55:00.000-04:00Where is KC?I want him back!Where is KC?<BR/><BR/>I want him back!Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-37663448173180052392008-06-15T21:19:00.000-04:002008-06-15T21:19:00.000-04:00Don't any of you ever talk trash about my man Obam...Don't any of you ever talk trash about <I>my man</I> Obama <A HREF="http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Vote2008/Story?id=5172580&page=1" REL="nofollow">ever again</A>.<BR/><BR/>Some are going to be very perplexed and surprised by what will transpire now until November.Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-90077962408481713862008-06-15T20:37:00.000-04:002008-06-15T20:37:00.000-04:00To 8:46 PM--I had no idea that Luke Russert had al...To 8:46 PM--<BR/><BR/>I had no idea that Luke Russert had already graduated university. I thought he was still a teen.<BR/><BR/>I've always enjoyed Tim Russert's fair and professional way of covering the news; however, I just never kept up with him that closely.<BR/><BR/>His wife, Maureen Orth, writes for <I>Vanity Fair</I> and is about 8 years his senior.<BR/><BR/>I find that interesting.<BR/><BR/>Most very intelligent men marry older women.Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-85822366097622914702008-06-15T16:02:00.000-04:002008-06-15T16:02:00.000-04:00Another Diva reply:LOL!!!“Probably Johnson has the...Another Diva reply:<BR/><BR/>LOL!!!<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>“Probably Johnson has the same intention, but he seems to be pretty much set in his ways.”<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>Nothing could be further from the truth.<BR/><BR/>KC is consistent……along with possessing a great mind.<BR/><BR/>Which is what makes him so sexy!</I>Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-20574096166248355642008-06-15T15:56:00.000-04:002008-06-15T15:56:00.000-04:00The Diva reply to one of "re:harmonizer's" comment...The Diva reply to one of "re:harmonizer's" commenters:<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>“……. the critique she hurled at Central could so easily be turned toward Duke.”<BR/><BR/>Ellah, I have no idea where you live; however, if you have lived in the Triangle more than a few years, then you know that this comment is not only false, it’s rather comical.<BR/><BR/>No other school in all my days on this earth has ever come out against anyone like a third-world lynch mob the way NCCU did—(and in most respects, still does, because its students and alumni continue to push the ugly fantasy that “something happened”)—in the Spring of 2006.<BR/><BR/>Their animalistic antics at an NCCU news conference were on the national news. My relatives in Seattle saw it. Friends living in Tokyo saw it.<BR/><BR/>You have not one leg to stand on. Just emotional bile designed to change the subject and “move on”……..criticizing people like KC simply because he is now recognized as the premiere voice of reason and the go-to analyst regarding this HOAX from the beginning.<BR/><BR/>“But Johnson’s inability (?) to address the logical failure of her argument makes it also sadly apparent that despite his being a professor, he could not bring himself to acknowledge the logical weakness of a (former) student’s column. He could have supported the thesis, but still pointed out the illogic of the argument and helped her along by refining it for her. His failure to do so is exactly the ‘tribalism effect,’ which you explain so clearly in this post.”<BR/><BR/>KC and none of us are obligated to alter Kristin Butler’s chronicling of reality……simply because she outlines and then details everything that took place. She was an honest journalist here when the ones who have been in the business for decades didn’t have the balls to tell the truth.<BR/><BR/>Butler gave a nod to civilization by telling the real story.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps you guys should make a detour and direct your energies toward those who really have serious issues and who employ double standards and choose to prop up a known prostitute…..attempting to “dress her up” as they downplay her criminality.<BR/><BR/>As if anyone who knows anything about this case would do anything but wince.<BR/><BR/>Keep trying.<BR/><BR/>However, I’m afraid that many inside the academy have already embarrassed themselves beyond rehabilitation.</I>Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-33023937227889962382008-06-15T14:26:00.000-04:002008-06-15T14:26:00.000-04:00Why has the Duke University psychology department ...Why has the Duke University psychology department not put something in writing about the behavior of the DukeGroup88? <BR/><BR/>This radical group have not acted in a rational way nor have its individual members acted in a way that adults might be expected to act. They are the grownup adult faculty members of a supposedly major university filled hopefully with people of great gravitas, discernment, and what now passes for maturity. <BR/><BR/>They should be willing to admit their mistakes, but instead, these people appear to be crazy as loons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-61537633726553390862008-06-15T13:07:00.000-04:002008-06-15T13:07:00.000-04:00According to "re:harmonizer", KC is the chief of ...According to "re:harmonizer", KC is the chief of his own <A HREF="http://reharmonized.an-earful.com/2008/06/the-trouble-with-tribalism/" REL="nofollow">tribe</A>.<BR/><BR/>Zimmerman refuses to acknowledge how all this started.<BR/><BR/>None of us inside <I>Wonderland</I> even knew or gave a damn about the Duke Gang of 88 or their fellow travelers.<BR/><BR/>They began this outrageous journey.<BR/><BR/>Some of the rest of us---led by a genuine scholar, KC---just responded to their shocking lifestyle and mindset.<BR/><BR/>Zimmerman can't bring himself to report the truth when attempting to "analyze" this case.<BR/><BR/>KC <B>IS</B> a <I>tribal chief</I> for those who respect justice......<BR/><BR/>.......and for those of us who adore a <I>beautiful mind</I>.Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-58954212833688571652008-06-14T20:46:00.000-04:002008-06-14T20:46:00.000-04:00I watched the youtube video of Luke Russert today,...I watched the youtube video of Luke Russert today, the line of "news" running across the video was about the lacrosse team, it is going to be popping up everywhere forever.<BR/>If Crystal's book comes out, maybe the same can happen to her.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-60978843042056748392008-06-14T17:52:00.000-04:002008-06-14T17:52:00.000-04:00This is part of a post that "re:harmonizer" left o...This is part of a post that "re:harmonizer" left on the Rev-elution blog.<BR/><BR/><BR/>************************************<BR/><BR/><I>"Sometimes there's the opposite problem, too--comment threads that turn into places where the true believers can stroke each others ignorance. Durham-in-Wonderland is a prime example."</I><BR/><BR/>************************************<BR/><BR/><BR/>Zimmerman can't seem to <I>get over</I> very well anywhere.<BR/><BR/>Obviously, he must resort to dissing the place where he always gets his posterior kicked.<BR/><BR/>He's also the same guy who told us on his blog that the "thug intellectual" was a better writer than KC.<BR/><BR/>LOL!!!<BR/><BR/>What a loon.Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-91120348823655036932008-06-14T09:16:00.000-04:002008-06-14T09:16:00.000-04:00Take a look at this everyone.Did we not predict th...Take a look at <A HREF="http://rev-elution.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">this</A> everyone.<BR/><BR/>Did we not predict that Kenny would go wild at this chance?<BR/><BR/>Of course, no one can know who left the designed-to-provoke post; however, Kenny and others were not answering or trying to defend their positions until this deliberately provocative post appeared.<BR/><BR/>It should be remembered how these things always play out. <BR/><BR/>No debate of the real issues.<BR/><BR/>Only diversion and descension into emotional bile.<BR/><BR/>It would not surprise me at all if the offensive post was written by one of those who now is supposedly <I>offended</I> to once again manufacture outrage........which lifts any responsibility for real debate.<BR/><BR/>It's a shame that posts like this cannot be traced to find the real offender.Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-91853108879123972462008-06-14T09:05:00.000-04:002008-06-14T09:05:00.000-04:00Lopez in the H-S:Jose L. Lopez Sr.: Reorganization...Lopez in the H-S:<BR/><BR/><BR/><I>Jose L. Lopez Sr.: Reorganization will help build a stronger Police Department<BR/><BR/>Jun 14, 2008<BR/><BR/>One of my main priorities when I became Durham's police chief last fall was to develop a long-range strategy for the department, which would include a facilities plan and departmental reorganization to enhance efficiency, accountability and community partnerships. I have attended numerous community meetings and spoken with hundreds of people to learn about the concerns of Durham residents and how we can better work together as partners in the fight against crime. <BR/><BR/>Ideally, we would like to build a Northside Neighborhood Policing Center, a Southside Neighborhood Policing Center and a main headquarters building to house all of our operations. This would allow us to build facilities designed specifically for law enforcement operations that would accommodate our personnel and communications needs and not spend millions of dollars to rent buildings that don't meet our needs. I reorganized the Police Department with this vision in mind. <BR/><BR/>Recruiting and retention <BR/><BR/>In order to make this vision happen, we must first address officer recruiting and retention concerns. A recent study done by the City of Raleigh shows that the Durham Police Department fares poorly in both starting pay and pay compression (time it takes to reach top pay) compared to other area law enforcement agencies. This has become a crucial concern for our department. In recent months we have lost experienced officers to the Morrisville Police Department, Raleigh Police Department, Wake Forest Police Department, North Carolina Highway Patrol and Wake County Sheriff's Office. <BR/><BR/>It is extremely frustrating for us to pay to train officers and then see other law enforcement agencies benefit from that training. If the pay issues are not addressed this fiscal year, we will continue to lose officers we can't afford to lose. We currently have 25 vacancies in our sworn ranks and approximately 40 additional officers are in some phase of academy or field training, which gives us almost 70 operational vacancies throughout the department. The pay issues are longstanding, but if we continue to ignore them we will not be able to fill our vacancies. <BR/><BR/>Reorganization has begun <BR/><BR/>We started our reorganization process earlier this year. One of the first steps was to divide the Police Department into an operations command and an operations support command with deputy chiefs in charge. I believe this will promote increased efficiency in departmental functions. Operations Deputy Chief B.J. Council oversees Northside and Southside operations as well as Investigative Services. Operations Support Deputy Chief Ron Hodge oversees operations support (Administrative Services) and the Community Services Division. <BR/><BR/>The next step was to establish Northside and Southside operations. Northside Operations includes Districts 1, 2 and 5 and is under the command of Assistant Chief Jim Bjurstrom. Southside Operations includes Districts 3 and 4 under the command of Assistant Chief Lee Russ. By creating these operations divisions, the department will still be able to maintain beat and district integrity while allowing for increased accountability and more flexible sharing and use of personnel and equipment. <BR/><BR/>Bringing the HEAT <BR/><BR/>In April, we created four new decentralized district problem-solving squads called High Enforcement Abatement Teams to target problem areas, persons and crime trends as well as to enhance accountability to you as a community. These four teams are made up of officers from the former park police, public housing unit and Gang Units, which gives the HEAT squads a wealth of expertise and experience. I expect my district commanders to use their HEAT officers to handle crime "hot spots" as well as quality of life issues such as street-level drug sales, prostitution and loitering. <BR/><BR/>I want to assure the community that disbanding our centralized Gang Units does not mean that we will focus any less on gang activity. Gang activity, along with violent crimes, drugs and firearms, is a priority for our department and we will continue to track gang crime and document gang members through GangNet. <BR/><BR/>Our GREAT (Gang Resistance Education And Training) officers teach students in our elementary and middle schools how to resist joining a gang and how to handle peer pressure. We are working with Durham's anti-gang coordinator and are using part of a $1.25 million federal grant to enhance our gang enforcement and prevention strategies. <BR/><BR/>I am impressed by the work done by the HEAT squads during their first three weeks of operation. HEAT officers spent more than 200 hours working in public housing communities. They confiscated more than a dozen guns, documented dozens of gang members, made numerous drug arrests, served search warrants, conducted license check points and assisted patrol officers and investigators when necessary. <BR/><BR/>District 1 HEAT officers, along with patrol officers, the Major Crime Unit, the Selective Enforcement Team and the N.C. National Guard, conducted a two-day operation that netted guns and drugs as well as the arrest of 10 adults and three juveniles. Those arrested included six documented gang members. <BR/><BR/>The next phase of our reorganization will come in June when our downtown bicycle unit hits the streets. Downtown business owners and residents told us that they wanted to see more bicycle officers day and night. The City Council gave us additional sworn positions last year, which gave us the officers to expand this unit. This citizen-friendly unit, which consists of 16 officers and three supervisors, will be highly visible and able to quickly and easily navigate through downtown. We are using asset forfeiture funds to pay for equipment and uniforms for this unit, which will provide flexible and enhanced coverage of events at nights, during the day and on weekends. I think they will be a positive addition to Durham's downtown development. <BR/><BR/>New facilities needed <BR/><BR/>The Police Department is in critical need of new facilities and we must include this as part of our long-range planning efforts. We own our headquarters building, which is not practical for police functions, and two other facilities. Our remaining 16 buildings are leased, which can create problems such as ongoing maintenance concerns, rent increases and lack of space for expansion. Earlier this year we had to leave our District 1 substation on Holloway Street due to mold issues and lack of ADA compliance. Employees assigned to Station 1 are now squeezed into an already overcrowded police headquarters building while we negotiate for a new substation. We also recently lost one of our smaller facilities, causing us to have to move into an even smaller building with little notice. <BR/><BR/>There have been some concerns raised about the loss of the district substations, but patrol officers are seldom actually in the substations other than to change shifts in the morning and at night. They are usually out responding to calls and patrolling their beats and districts. The new Neighborhood Policing Centers will be built and designed for the needs of the agency and will include community rooms where residents will be encouraged to meet and hold events. <BR/><BR/>Our partnerships with the community are especially important as we continue to plan for the future. We want to make sure that we continue to serve the public as effectively and professionally as possible. I will continue to provide updates as we move ahead in our reorganization process. We believe that with the reorganization and the building of Neighborhood Policing Centers will enhance our commitment to community policing. <BR/><BR/>Jose Lopez is the Durham police chief.</I>Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-38890167081777905752008-06-13T22:02:00.000-04:002008-06-13T22:02:00.000-04:00Is Duke a land-grant/state-supported institution l...Is Duke a land-grant/state-supported institution like NCCU?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-34130611908878774882008-06-13T20:08:00.000-04:002008-06-13T20:08:00.000-04:00Ironically, George Leef has a son at Duke. I have...Ironically, George Leef has a son at Duke. I have written a number of book reviews for him at The Freeman, and he has followed this sorry affair at Duke very closely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-28146997953479497302008-06-13T18:43:00.000-04:002008-06-13T18:43:00.000-04:00Anonymous @12:38 PM said...Donating the net procee...Anonymous @12:38 PM said...<BR/><I>Donating the net proceeds of the suit to an urban battered women's shelter would solve any political problems.</I><BR/><BR/>No it wouldn't. It might even create another similar event. The DV industry is the source of much of the PC anti-male agit prop that got us into this mess in the first place.<BR/><BR/>A far more appropriate beneficiary would be the Innocence Project.<BR/><BR/>There were no abused women anywhere in this entire debacle. Only abused men.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-23785737323146665182008-06-13T18:02:00.000-04:002008-06-13T18:02:00.000-04:008:52Thanks for the review. Many of us in Wonderla...8:52<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the review. Many of us in Wonderland have no doubt of the veracity of Professor Lefkowitz' experiences. I just want to cry when I consider how the educational establishment (in general) has been so utterly perverted. I am simply unable to wrap my head around the appeal of political correctness in all its forms. There are always going to be whack jobs like Martin, but why oh why do administrations kow tow to them. I repeat...I just don't get it.<BR/><BR/>There's another subject that is strictly verbotten on "sophisticated" college campuses. I highly recommend Ben Stein's latest documentary, "Expelled."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-30245632329383959182008-06-13T17:38:00.000-04:002008-06-13T17:38:00.000-04:00Vanity Fair's BlogopticonWe have to get Wonderland...<I>Vanity Fair's</I> <A HREF="http://www.vfdaily.com/culture/2008/blogopticon/index.html" REL="nofollow">Blogopticon</A><BR/><BR/>We have to get <I>Wonderland</I> on this list.Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-11757768531474286462008-06-13T16:53:00.000-04:002008-06-13T16:53:00.000-04:00RE 8:52AM. Nannerl Keohane was prez of Wellesly wh...RE 8:52AM. <BR/>Nannerl Keohane was prez of Wellesly when the goings on described in "History Lesson" were happening. I wonder if the book talks about her role. Nan arrived at Duke around 1993, I think. JOHNAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-46387088576040136882008-06-13T16:50:00.000-04:002008-06-13T16:50:00.000-04:0012:14 AM--Hi Mad Hatter!12:14 AM--<BR/><BR/>Hi Mad Hatter!Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-72829050805361280772008-06-13T16:48:00.000-04:002008-06-13T16:48:00.000-04:00"Sorry Debrah, but this is pretty moving, and eleg...<I>"Sorry Debrah, but this is pretty moving, and elegant. You undercut your posts when you read paint everything with the same brush."</I><BR/><BR/><BR/><B>Hmmm......this is unclear. I need the antecedent.<BR/><BR/>Would I be correct in guessing that you are referring to Holloway's "moaning session" on NPR?<BR/><BR/>OK. I can certainly appreciate your opinion. I just find selective "tenderness" nauseating coming from such a wretched woman.<BR/><BR/>However, it has been reported that even Joan Crawford used to put away the coat hangers when in public.<BR/><BR/>I can see how many would appreciate the performance.</B><BR/><BR/><BR/><I>"PS ...why do you refer to yourself in the third person? Is there something we are missing here with this affectation?"</I><BR/><BR/><BR/><B>Not at all.<BR/><BR/>It's pure, unadulterated affectation......fresh from The Diva World!<BR/><BR/>Don't you just love it?</B>Debrahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04567454727276881424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-17430595934023431902008-06-13T16:00:00.000-04:002008-06-13T16:00:00.000-04:00Good, write the book Crystal. I will even buy it....Good, write the book Crystal. I will even buy it. Because those Duke Boys could certainly use the profits as reparations.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-6982051995010675832008-06-13T14:04:00.000-04:002008-06-13T14:04:00.000-04:00On Baker's "Listening" tripe.A maxim, as taught by...On Baker's "Listening" tripe.<BR/><BR/>A maxim, as taught by a high school football coach:<BR/><BR/>You "listen" with your ears, not your mouth (or in this case, keyboard).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-66632257273529806152008-06-13T11:01:00.000-04:002008-06-13T11:01:00.000-04:00mac 6/12/08 3:20 PM...said...Mangum is opening her...mac 6/12/08 3:20 PM...said<BR/><BR/>...Mangum is opening herself to lawsuits, yes, but also to discovery: her medical files may actually become public, should she become embroiled in a lawsuit. One wonders why she would ask for further exposure?<BR/>....She should be asking forgiveness, like the 88 ought to be, instead of going on the offensive; it's like attacking a Panzer with a potato gun.<BR/>::<BR/>I wouldn't put any money on that one if I were you.<BR/><BR/>Historically, protected groups of Americans who take on 'the' Panzer with a potato gun frequently win.<BR/><BR/>Especially if the protected group is simply explaining what 'we' must do in order to make it in a world dominated by white privileged males.<BR/><BR/> And if those medical files become public, well, ....all hell will break loose within the ranks of the protected groups in America who see privacy as a constitutional guarantee.<BR/><BR/>The AG of the State of North Carolina knew better than to mess with a hornets nest. I suggest we do the same and not create a market for what Precious has to say.<BR/>::<BR/>GPGary Packwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05177986821224068759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-51219664936592463032008-06-13T08:52:00.000-04:002008-06-13T08:52:00.000-04:00Clarion CallHow Truth Lost Out to Political Correc...Clarion Call<BR/>How Truth Lost Out to Political Correctness at Wellesley <BR/>A professor describes her bitter experience defending historical fact over mythical Afrocentrism claims. <BR/><BR/>By George Leef<BR/>June 11, 2008<BR/> <BR/>Are professors in American colleges and universities interested in the truth? That sounds like a strange question, but in an extremely revealing new book, Mary Lefkowitz shows that there are some who won�t let the truth get in the way of their efforts at indoctrinating students. Worse yet, administrators often cave in to these academic bullies rather than standing up for faculty members with the nerve to question them. <BR/><BR/>Lefkowitz is an emeritus professor at Wellesley College, where she taught courses on classical culture for many years. Ancient Greece is her specialty. It is hard to imagine that such a quiet scholar would become the center of a vehement controversy that would rock the campus and descend (on one side) to the level of vicious personal attacks. History Lesson (Yale University Press, 202 pages) is the story of her bitter experience after challenging the accuracy of material a professor in Wellesley�s Africana Studies Department used in his classes.<BR/><BR/>In her introduction Lefkowitz writes, �Telling the truth, instead of being our first responsibility, has suddenly become less important than achieving social goals. These goals were to be reached not by means of the usual scholarly tools of reflection and reasoned persuasion. They were to be imposed by assertion and fiat.� <BR/><BR/>One of those �social goals� that now dominate in American education is that of making various minority groups (those designated as victims of our oppressive culture) feel good about themselves. Toward that end, some professors have taken to the creation of myths. The particular myth that plays the central role in this drama is that of the �Stolen Legacy.� <BR/><BR/>Here is the way that myth goes. The culture and philosophy of the ancient Greeks was not truly their creation, but was �stolen� from Egypt. Since Egypt is in Africa and all the people in Africa are �black� this means that white Europeans were victimizing blacks more than 2400 years ago. In one particularly ludicrous aspect of this myth, it is asserted that Aristotle journeyed to the Library at Alexandria and stole books that he later claimed as his own works.<BR/><BR/>When Professor Lefkowitz learned that this and other intellectually indefensible ideas were being taught by a professor (Tony Martin) in the Africana Studies Department, she publicly challenged their historical accuracy. Among other problems with the �stolen legacy� idea is that Aristotle died years before the Library at Alexandria was built. But when she pointed this fact out to Professor Martin, he took umbrage. Who was she, a white Jew, to question his interpretation of black history?! At that point, it began to occur to her that Martin, a tenured faculty member, was one of those people who won�t let the truth get in the way of achieving their objectives. <BR/><BR/>More disturbing yet, she discovered that the dean of the college would not intervene. Quoth the dean, �He has his view of ancient history and you have yours.� Throughout the confrontation between Martin and Lefkowitz, the Wellesley administrators were cowering, spineless creatures�much like the Duke administration during the infamous lacrosse case in 2006. <BR/><BR/>Looking further into the curriculum in Martin�s department, Lefkowitz discovered that students were assigned a book entitled The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews, an anonymous book published by the Nation of Islam. While masquerading as a work of scholarship, complete with 1,275 footnotes, it is a screed that seeks to promote the idea that Jews were mainly responsible for slavery. The book is hate literature with a thin veneer of sophistication. Using it in a college course is deeply troubling. The Wellesley administration, however, ducked behind the curtain of professors� �academic freedom� when it was brought to their attention.<BR/><BR/>Lefkowitz�s purely academic criticisms of the materials being used to teach Wellesley students elicited an outrageous counter-attack by Martin, a book entitled The Jewish Onslaught: Dispatches from the Wellesley Battlefront. In it, Martin depicted himself as a hero standing strong for �black progress� against the evil oppressor class (the Jews) and craven blacks who didn�t go along with his racial harangues (such as Wellesley economics professor Marcellus Andrews and Harvard historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr.).<BR/><BR/>Martin wasn�t done yet. Next he filed a lawsuit against Lefkowitz claiming that an article she had written slandered him. The article was about an incident in 1991 where Martin had verbally abused a female student. His suit alleged that the article contained erroneous material that had damaged him professionally. Naturally, Wellesley�s administration refused to defend Lefkowitz. She was able to find expert legal help, however, through the Anti-Defamation League. The case dragged on until 1999, when it was finally dismissed.<BR/><BR/>One of the hot topics in higher education these days is whether there is a significant problem of professors turning their classes into indoctrination camps. We often hear from defenders of the status quo that instances of this are mostly made up or exaggerated, and that in any event, American students are �critical thinkers� who are too bright accept any propaganda that might happen to make its way to their ears. History Lesson refutes both parts of that defense. Martin clearly meant to indoctrinate his students with historical falsehoods, and from the letters and comments of his students about the controversy, it�s evident that many of them had swallowed his line completely. To them, Lefkowitz was an enemy just as to Mao�s Red Brigades any intellectual was an enemy. If you�ve heard that American college students are impervious to propaganda because they can see right through it, this book demonstrates otherwise.<BR/><BR/>In a fascinating aside, Lefkowitz explains that she tracked down the origin of the �Stolen Legacy� myth. It comes from a novel published in France in 1731. The American writer George G. M. James based his ostensibly factual 1954 book Stolen Legacy on this work of fiction.<BR/><BR/>Sadly, it isn�t just in the area of Africana Studies that we encounter the double standards and anti-intellectualism on display throughout the book. Professors who question global warming, the benefits of �diversity,� and other articles of faith on the left risk intimidation or reprisals for saying what they believe to be true. American colleges and universities are far from being havens for objective, dispassionate inquiry. <BR/><BR/>History Lesson is an extremely important, gutsy book. I�m afraid, however, that the people who most need to read and reflect on it�college administrators�will avert their eyes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-67288709745724284762008-06-13T00:14:00.000-04:002008-06-13T00:14:00.000-04:00Can't wait for Mangum Opus. Go K.C., go Debrah! An...Can't wait for Mangum Opus. Go K.C., go Debrah! And please, Bill Anderson, weigh in whenever possible!Mad Hatterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15604648748022831113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32542246.post-27021927360293580652008-06-12T22:04:00.000-04:002008-06-12T22:04:00.000-04:00From Fire Filmz head Vincent Clark, I received a c...<I> From Fire Filmz head Vincent Clark, I received a curious reply: “Unfortunately, we will have to respectfully decline your invitation to review the book and can/will not be able to provide any other information at this time due to contractual obligations. I’m not certain how a publisher can “decline” a reviewer’s ability to review a book ...</I><BR/><BR/>LOL. KC, the translation here is "We don't like you, so buy your own damn copy."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com