[4 articles]
William Ayers Visit To U Of Wyo. Draws Opposition
http://cbs4denver.com/wireapnewswy/Planned.University.of.2.1597152.html
BOB MOEN
Mar 29, 2010
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) The University of Wyoming is receiving telephone
calls and e-mails objecting to former 1960s radical William Ayers
speaking on campus about social justice issues and education.
UW Provost Myron B. Allen said in a statement that the university is
aware that Ayers is a controversial figure but part of UW's mission
is to provide a neutral forum in which to examine ideas.
"With any luck, he won't be our last controversial speaker, on the
left or on the right," Allen said.
Ayers will deliver a lecture entitled "Trudge Toward Freedom: Moral
Commitment and Ethical Action" next Monday. The following day, he
will participate in a teleconference with Wyoming school principals.
His visit is sponsored by the UW Social Justice Research Center, a
privately endowed center that studies problems of oppression and
inequalities among different social groups in society.
UW spokesman Jim Kearns said Monday the college has received about
180 e-mails and phone calls, with the overwhelming majority against
Ayers' visit.
GOP gubernatorial candidates Matthew Mead and Ron Micheli have also
voiced their opposition.
Mead said he believes in free speech but Ayers is "not the right
person" for the university to invite.
"I don't think the standard should be 'anybody at all is to be able
to use our university as a platform,'" he said.
Micheli said in a statement that Ayers is an "admitted terrorist and
admitted enemy of this country." He called on the UW Board of
Trustees to rescind the invitation.
Ayers was a co-founder of Weather Underground, a radical anti-war
group that claimed responsibility for a series of bombings, including
explosions at the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol that didn't kill anyone.
He was a fugitive for years. After surrendering in 1980, charges
against him were dropped because of prosecutorial misconduct.
Ayers is now an education professor at the University of Illinois at
Chicago and an outspoken critic of intimidation of professors.
Franciso Rios, chairman of the UW Educational Studies Department,
which oversees the center, said that when the center considers
inviting speakers it looks for scholars with a national or
international reputation for engaging in social justice research
projects who have recently published works and who are active in
their academic disciplines.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain's running
mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, resurrected Ayers' radical past when
she accused then-candidate Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists."
Obama and Ayers served together on the board of a Chicago charity,
and Ayers hosted a meet-the-candidate session for Obama at his home
in the mid-1990s when Obama first ran for office.
Obama has condemned Ayers' radical activities, and there's no
evidence they ever were close friends or that Ayers advised Obama on policy.
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Weather Underground founder's speech in Wyoming opposed
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_674001.html
March 30, 2010
A Republican candidate for governor is asking trustees at the
University of Wyoming to pull an invitation extended to radical
leftist William Ayers to speak on campus.
Ron Micheli on Monday posted to his campaign Web site the letter he
wrote to trustees that says Ayers, who spoke Friday at the University
of Pittsburgh, is "unrepentant for his involvement as a terrorist" in
bombings during the 1970s by the radical group he co-founded, the
Weather Underground.
Ayers, 65, an education professor at the University of Illinois at
Chicago, is scheduled to discuss social justice issues and education
Monday in a lecture titled "Trudge toward Freedom: Moral Commitment
and Ethical Action" at UW's Education Auditorium, the Associated
Press reported.
The following day, he is scheduled to participate in a teleconference
with Wyoming school principals. His visit is sponsored by the
university's privately-funded Social Justice Research Center, which
studies oppression and inequalities among social groups. University
spokeswoman Jessica Lowell said no public money would be used to pay
for Ayers' visit, according to the AP.
The anti-war Weather Underground carried out more than a dozen
bombings of banks and government buildings in the 1970s, one of which
killed a police officer. The group claimed responsibility for a 1974
bombing at Pittsburgh's Gulf Tower that caused substantial damage but
no injuries. The Weather Underground was formed in 1969 as an
offshoot of Students for a Democratic Society and issued a
"Declaration of a State of War" against the government in 1970.
Ayers' appearance at Pitt was closed to the public. Graduate students
invited him to deliver a keynote speech at the 16th annual Council of
Graduate Students in Education Student Research Conference. Ayers
spoke in December at Penn State Altoona. His appearance at both
Pennsylvania universities drew criticism, officials said.
Micheli, a former state representative in the Republican stronghold
of Wyoming, is one of three GOP candidates seeking to replace
Democratic Gov. Dave Freudenthal when he retires at the end of the
year after two terms.
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The First Amendment Protects Ann Coulter, William Ayers, And The
Westboro Baptist Church
http://www.unitedliberty.org/articles/5432-the-first-amendment-protects-ann-coulter-william-ayers-and-the-westboro-baptist-church
Wed, 03/31/2010
by Doug Mataconis
This morning brings the news that a speech by former Weather
Underground leader William Ayers at the University of Wyoming has
been canceled:
The University of Wyoming announced Tuesday that a public lecture by
William "Bill" Ayers, a former 1970s radical antiwar protestor who is
now a university professor, has been canceled.
Ayers, 65, a distinguished professor of education and senior scholar
at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), had been scheduled to
give a public lecture from 4-6 p.m. Monday in the UW Education Auditorium.
The public lecture had been sponsored by the UW Social Justice
Research Center, which is a privately endowed center that studies
problems of oppression and inequalities among different social groups.
Titled "Trudge Toward Freedom: Educational Research in the Public
Interest," the talk would have focused on what makes education in a
democracy different from other societies, as well as the importance
of teachers seeing their students are more than just students, but
whole human beings.
UW released a statement on its Web site on Tuesday afternoon
explaining why the Social Justice Research Center had decided to
cancel Ayers' visit.
In the statement, the director of the center, UW Educational Studies
chair Francisco Rios, apologized to the university community for any
harm that may have come to it, and cited personal and professional
reasons including safety concerns for the cancellation.
This is pretty much the same reason that the University of Ottawa
used when it canceled Ann Coulter's speech there a week or so back.
And it's bogus.
First of all, it's worth noting that the University of Wyoming is a
public institution so the First Amendment applies. The fact that
Ayers is controversial, or that he'll say things that might offend
people, doesn't mean he doesn't have the right to say it. In fact, as
I noted some four years when I first discussed the Westboro Baptist
Church protesters, offensive speech is perhaps the most important
speech to protect:
Over the past several weeks, several states have taken steps to
prevent protesters from picketing at funerals, a move propelled by
the fact that an objectively offensive group of extreme Christians
have been staging protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq
claiming that the deaths America is experiencing in Iraq are God's
punishment for tolerating homosexuality. Offensive ? Absolutely ?
Should they have the right to be offensive ? I can't see any reason why not.
Freedom of speech means that, sometimes, we will hear some truly
offensive things. When government starts regulating speech based on
the fact that it may offend, though, it diminishes freedom for everyone.
Exactly. I despise the Westboro Baptist Church protesters, I think
Ann Coulter is mostly an idiot, and really don't care what a tired
old leftist like Bill Ayers has to say. Nonetheless, they all have a
right to say it.
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School to Bill Ayers:
Thanks but no thanks!
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=134157
Radical's appearance at university canceled
Posted: March 30, 2010
A scheduled appearance at the University of Wyoming by former Weather
Underground terrorist William Ayers, a close associate for years to
President Obama, has been canceled over concerns it could be damaging
to the school.
"The University of Wyoming is one of the few institutions remaining
in today's environment that garners the confidence of the public. The
visit by Professor Ayers would have adversely impacted that
reputation," said Tom Buchanan, president of the school, in a statement today.
Ayers had been on the calendar to appear at the Laramie, Wyo., school
Monday. A public lecture was to have been held in the Education
Auditorium sponsored by the UW Social Justice Research Center.
He was to focus on his article "Trudge Toward Freedom: Educational
Research in the Public Interest."
However, the school was flooded with objections after the event was announced.
"The director of the Social Justice Research Center ... canceled the
scheduled appearance of Professor William Ayers," the school
confirmed. "The director announced his decision to the UW
administration late Monday evening and noted there are no plans to
host Professor Ayers in the future."
The school announcement continued, "In his communication to the
administration, the director apologized to the university community
for any harm that may have come to it and cited personal and
professional reasons, including safety concerns, for the cancellation."
Buchanan said he thanked the organization, headed by Francisco Rios
and is privately funded, for the consideration.
"Re-evaluation of this event was unavoidable. One way or the other,
this event needed to be revisited, and I respect the director for
being willing, on his own, to cancel this invitation. I'm satisfied
with the outcome," Buchanan said.
He said academic freedom is a core principle, "but with that freedom
comes an obligation to exercise free thought and free speech in
concert with mutual respect and acknowledgment of broader resource
and security impacts on the campus. The exercise of freedom requires
a commensurate dose of responsibility."
At a forum page for the local Laramie Boomerang, participants were in
support of the cancellation.
"No university should have anyone who has committed violent acts
without remorse," said one participant. "It is obvious to me that the
person or persons who made this decision to invite Bill Ayers should
resign immediately or be fired, as this was a gross error. …"
"I can't believe that UW is going so low as to bring a … terrorist… I
am embarrassed by this," added a second.
Said a third, "I was proud to live in Laramie for 21 years. For the
last 5 years, I have been ribbed by my Iowa Hawkeye fans neighbors
for flying my UW Cowboys flag every Saturday afternoon during
football season. The day this terrorist speaks in Laramie is the day
I invite my neighbors over to watch me burn my flag, sweatshirts, hats, etc."
But Ayers also was supported.
"Who do you conservatives get to censor next, since you apparently
now decide who is heard at this university and who isn't. Yes, 40
years ago he was a member of a small pretty inefectual (sic) group of
radicals of whom some promoteed (sic) violence for their cause. He
wasn't here to talk about the that, (sic) but to discuss his education work."
But still another may have focused on the crux of the issue:
"I can't believe we are willing to let this terrorist speak for
whatever reason at our university. If he speaks I already know …
several people that will NEVER give another dime to this university,"
he wrote.
WND reported Ayers, now a Chicago professor, and his wife, Weather
Underground co-founder Bernardine Dohrn, recently were involved in
provoking chaos on the streets of Egypt in an attempt to enter the
Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to join in solidarity with the
territory's population and leadership.
The protests were led in large part by Jodie Evans, co-founder of
Code Pink, a far-left activist organization formed in 2002 to protest
the war in Iraq. The group previously met with Hamas and with leaders
of the Taliban. Evans was a fundraiser and financial bundler for
Obama's presidential campaign.
Also protesting in Egypt was Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the
anti-Israel Electronic Intifada website. WND previously reported
Obama spoke at pro-Palestinian events in the 1990s alongside
Abunimah. In one such event, a 1999 fundraiser for Palestinian
"refugees," Abunimah recalls introducing Obama on stage.
Ayers became a name in the 2008 presidential campaign when it was
disclosed the radical worked closely with Obama for years.
Ayers helped launch Obama's political career with a fundraiser in his
home. Obama served on the board of a Chicago nonprofit alongside
Ayers. The former terrorist later hired Obama to serve as chairman of
the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a job Obama later cited as
experience that helped qualify him to run for public office.
While at the CAC, Obama and Ayers both granted funds to the
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.
WND columnist Jack Cashill has produced a series of persuasive
arguments that it was Ayers who ghostwrote Obama's award-winning
autobiography, "Dreams from My Father."
Ayers and Dohrn were two of the main founders of the Weather
Underground, which bombed the New York City Police headquarters in
1970, the Capitol in 1971 and the Pentagon in 1972. The group was
responsible for some 30 bombings aimed at destroying the defense and
security infrastructures of the U.S.
Characterizing the Weather Underground as "an American Red Army,"
Ayers summed up the organization's ideology: "Kill all the rich
people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution
home, Kill your parents."
"Everything was absolutely ideal on the day I bombed the Pentagon,"
Ayers recalled in his 2001 memoir, "Fugitive Days." "The sky was
blue. The birds were singing. And the bastards were finally going to
get what was coming to them."
Ayers brandished his unrepentant radicalism for years to come, as
evidenced by his now notorious 2001 interview with the New York
Times, published one day after the 9/11 attacks, in which he stated,
"I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough."
Ayers posed for a photograph accompanying the New York Times piece
that showed him stepping on an American flag. He said of the U.S.:
"What a country. It makes me want to puke."
.
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