Oh the glorious days of witchhunts, where our religious leaders determined who was not a heretic and who is one. It appears that two wingnut fundie religious maniacs, determined that Professor Paul Mirecki should be punished for his opinions about fundamental religious extremism.
Follow the links more information.
I read about this earlier. Horrifying as the assault is — some of the reaction to it is worse.
GDW, I am happy to see your words again as of late. I hope all is well with you and yours, that you are feeling the sun’s warmth in dark spaces and the moon’s effervecense (sp?) in your heart. When you can, I would love to hear how the campaign is going.
Be well, friend.
Thanks for the tip. I think wingnuts should also be well-advised that some of us radical academics live in “right to carry” states and have no qualms about having firearms around for self-protection. Something they should really think about before going around doing their wannabe Nazi goonsquad imitations.
Will THIS story finally awaken all the moderate Republicans who live in your county and mine that they have been fostering the emergence of Brownshirts?
First, GDW, it’s good to see you posting. I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen your handle lately, and so it’s good to see your post. :<)
Second, THIS is the type of stuff we need to be talking about. ‘Nuff said there.
Third: what I would give if every MSM journalist/broadcaster would ask these wingnuts if they condone that type of behavior. This is nuts. It’s unacceptable. And it needs to stop.
I usually skim N. Kristoff of NYT b/c I don’t know if I’ll get a decent column or a whining about how liberals have failed and such–apparently where he was going today…wouldn’t want to threaten his privileged perch or anything–but he I caught something that really disturbed me. Apparently, a/b 25 of Americans still believe that the sun revolves around Earth.
Wow. Just wow.
Given the tenor of the column, I’m sure he’s blaming liberals and progressives for that, too. Weak ass.
Anyway, this, if true, is disturbing. And indulging this kind of ignorance has to stop.
Oops. Typing too fast.
That would be about 25% or 1/5 of Americans. Sorry ’bout that.
You’re still typing too fast.
Check your math….
Oh, now I’m just embarrassed. Is there an emoticon for that?
But it IS 1/5 of Americans, good Lord.
Wow. I now have the red-face to go along with the red ass. However did I manage THAT?
I’d be fascinated to know if the 20% geocentrists are the same folks who would support GWB even if he barbequed a baby and ate it in the rose garden on national television, because they believe that he’s a moral, godly Christian.
I have no idea. I’ve spent a fair number of years training for and practicing that trick, to the point that I can now do it without trying.
Dammit.
What I believe many folks are missing is the religious war that is going on in our very own country and the right wing extremists are determined to take iover the country. These assaults are disgusting.
So glad to see you Ghostdancer.
Ironically proving that some individuals are less evolved. Thanks,gw.
This is exactly where pandering to theocrats gets you. It gives aid and comfort to the fundy extremists who believe that they have the right to physically assault people who don’t toe their line. It’s a “crusade,” after all. They’re “holy warriors,” don’t you know.
And gee, if these thugs are inflicting physical harm on non-believers in the name of their religion, aren’t they terrorists?
GDW, this needs to go out EVERYWHERE.
Can you post at DU, dKOS, progressiveindependent.com and elsewhere (I’d help but really am in a crunch).
This needs to get OUT….and we need to get behind it.
Thank you for posting it….
I don’t post at any of those, but if someone else wants to take what is here and expand it to post at those other sites, by all means do so.
Crooks and Liars is carrying it now and Red State Rabble, but I have not seen it any where else yet.
I’ve seen it at dKos.
Where?
(Just kidding.)
I think I’m going to blog about it….will link back to GDW of course. It’s just that I’ve wasted all my “free” time now and am in a crunch on a number of real “bread and butter” issues…
Mia Culpa
Red State Rabble
Shakespeares sister
working for Blackwater? Or Dyncorp?
the high and mighty Reverend of the Asshats Fred Phelps, the biggest BIGOT in the world.
Time to crank up the Sodomobile again. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen Phelps in full retreat.
If it were Blackwater, etc, he would have been disappeared, in all likelihood.
Peace
I was born and raised in Douglas County, Kansas, home of Lawrence, the University of Kansas, the recently-battered Prof. Mirecki, and apparently at least two people who disagreed with him violently enough to stalk and attack him.
I’m sickened by every chapter in this story — from the public misappropriation of Mirecki’s reasonably private correspondence, to the hate and power games his critics are playing with his school’s budget and their threats to destroy his department, to the university’s withdrawal of his proposed course, to this attack on a deserted pre-dawn roadside on a bitterly cold morning (Matthew Shepherd, anyone?), to the equally bitter and hurtful accusation from rightwingers that Mirecki somehow staged the attack. I’ve read through the comments by readers of the latest Journal-World article on this incident, and the majority are simply hateful and narrow-minded, taking outright glee in the fact that the tenured scholar with a Harvard degree was dumb enough to get beat up.
This is not my home. These are not my compatriots, not my homies, not my fellow believers. Not my country, if this incident goes past without some serious outcry and protest from those who call themselves followers of Christ.
Kansas, Ghostdancer, other Lawrence-area locals — any talk of a protest?
I’m seriously thinking about an LTE over this. I simply would never take a job at KU, never move my family back to Kansas, if this incident goes unaddressed there.
anything yet, but am keeping my ears open. I know quite a few people in Lawrence now and I am sure they will wanting to do something to protest this disgraceful and disgusting act of violence against this person.
I personally believe that both of these lily livered cowards are despicable human vermin.
I think people are mistaken to consider this an “isolated” incident just because it actually led to physical assault. Many of these tactics (erasing courses, screwing with budgets, destroying departments/careers/reputations, denying tenure) are very widespread; and it’s not just the right-wing engaging in it. (Sorry, people, but it isn’t). Everyone who has a wildly (or even mildly) “divergent” view on just about anything is at risk. Academics know this.
The fear of retribution (not necessarily in the extreme case of physical assault, but of these other forms) is so widespread in academia that I would call it an “epidemic”. Fear of retribution has effectively squelched 90% of professors and acadmics from saying 90% of what they think.
And the further the “center” moves to the “right”, the less it takes to be labeled as a “firebrand” and silenced by fear of retribution. It has got to stop–we shouldn’t have to wait for it to escalate into physical assault. The verbal assaults and underhanded “polite” scare tactics should already be cause for alarm.
Good to have you back, GDW.
Sorry it’s under such tragic circumstances.
A candlelight vigil for the death of freedom would be in order, I’d say.
…freedom and reason.
Hi GDW..it is so good to see you out and about. I, for one, will be glad to find out just who these men are. I find it strange that this old world just never changes. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all could just get along and not bother to hurt anyone with our words or actions, ever!!??
I know, just a looney thought….;o( I am so sad today to know of the insane behavior of many nowadays. We all ahve to understand that it is the leadership of anything that leads it to do what it does. If we had any sort of leadership that doesnt do things that instigate such behavior, we could simply say this is a random act of someone insane. But this is just like our leadership of all, like in government, and any instution of worthiness.
What we’re seeing with that incident is the lunatic fringe of Bu$hCo’s base at work – that bunch of fanatics, psychotics, and victims of generations of inbreeding. Dumb enough to believe they’re doing God’s work.
I am sorry to say, Jim, but you are right on this. Hope you are having a good day. I sometimes have to step back and regroup my thoughts about feces such as this. I get so nauseated just thinking of this and other behavior such as this. Good to see you today, too.
BTW, did anyone notice the look bush had on his face at a press conference when they were talking about the taking of an American hostage? He looked to me as if he was really sedated or under some influence of something.
In solidarity with all true spiritual creatures who walk this earth comes this upwelling of righteous anger: Fuck Christianity. It is the scourge of history. It is the creation of the dying Roman empire which turned the teachings of Jesus who attacked the Roman empire from the perspective of the god’s imperial rule (King James trans. said kingdom of god)into the Christ and put him on their war banners.
Christianity, especially its lunatic American version which turns Jesus as the Son into god the Father, is dead. We are now watching its death throes as one watches a fish flopping around in the bottom of the boat. Another Jesus needs to arise to attack modern Christianity as the abomination it is, just as the original took on the Roman empire. Of course, this one will be killed too. Do we really think these Christian assholes will listen to reason or respond to spiritual truth?
All who made comments here will love this from Molly Ivins.
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/29061/
Welcome back GDW.
The people who want to rule the world never hide their intentions. They just start increasing their aggressiveness when they sense that people are beginning to question them. They must instill fear.
So, what to do when fundies attack? Fight back! Kossack HollywoodOz has started an initiative to donate to Americans United for Separation of Church and State on behalf of Professor Mirecki.
Please donate if you can or at least spread the word if you can’t. The goal is $5000.
But isn’t ANYBODY here just a LITTLE bit skeptical about parts of this report? I predict that this story is going to fall apart. People are too quick to pile on with predictable diatribes against standard stereotypes on insufficient evidence. Even the most educated people do that all the time on the Internet. Nobody on this thread has ANYWHERE near enough reliable evidence to leap to all these conclusions.
And let’s have no ad hominem and stupid cheap shots against me, either. Nothing I’ve said here has ANYTHING to do with the merits of intelligent design theory, such as it is, or the evils of rednecks.
Wado