The Capital Times has a long, appreciative piece on the 9/11 denialist Kevin Barrett.
UPDATE: I saw the paper version and can tell you that this story -- with photograph -- runs across the front page, above the fold.
July 22, 2006
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21 comments:
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Must be part of the big conspiracy to block our access to The Truth
Yeah, really.
Try it now.
The MSM is rallying to support nut case left wing academics?
Now I've heard everything.
Link Works Now.
I sent this to the author.
Bravo, that was the funniest satire I have ever read.
I wasn’t sure if Barrett had used you as a patsy until I read:
-- Lapsed Unitarian
-- Mark Wolfert's auto body shop . . . a hot spot for political chat among locals
Damn funny, the way you almost made Barrett’s aimless pseudo-intellectual life sound noble. I’m wiping tears from my eyes I’m laughing so hard.
This media treatment of Barrett is predictble, but nothing compared to what they'll say if Barrett is actually fired. If he's fired, they'll make him seem like a combination of Mother Theresa and Rosa Parks.
I read the whole thing, painful as it was. He's a needy, attention-craving dilettante.
I guess that's a good thing.
He'll probably lose interest before he gets around to strapping on a bomb vest.
Barrett's whole motivation for 9/11 conspiracies is:
1. The defense budget would increase after the attacks.
2. WTC 7 fell hours after the twin towers.
3. The Pentagon should have been the best defended building in Washington DC, so how could a plane hit it?
All the holes spring from these points? As is commented in other posts, the man is not an engineer, nor an expert on budget policy, and has no background in the sciences. He is an islamic convert, which says much for his ethnic studies background, and his belief in the 9/11 conspiracy theories is very much in keeping with the majority of the muslim world.
Still, a small biography of the man should not prop up his delusions, or even reward them.
Did you consider entitling this post "This is the most ridiculous article I've ever seen in the Cap Times"?
To me the most surprising thing was the opening anecdote. They actually showed Olympic Sailing on TV in 1964?!
I remember being in graduate school and Donna Shalala came down and gave the after dinner speech at the conclusion of some Dewey and Democracy Symposium/Gala. Worst speech ever. I'll save you the lunacy. During my time at Madison I spent too much time sleeping in the stacks and drunk to really care what Shalala was up to. But this speech opened my eyes. After Clinton appointed her to his cabinet, I knew my vote in 1992 had been wasted. She started my turn to the dark side. What is it with these Shalala and Albright types Clinton surrounded himself with? Do they serve some purpose in the Bill/Hill relationship? Some kind of Monica L. anti-matter. Anyway, to end my long, off-topic ramble, this Barrett story would really have my blood boiling, if it hadn't already boiled over those many years ago. Same old Madison administration. Just the faces have changed. But I survived the "celebrate differences!!, or else" era, so I'm sure the students will survive these clowns. Madison can be a great place to get an education. The problem is you already need to have had a mighty education in order to know what to learn and whom to trust to teach you. Kinda Catch-22ish. If I could only be granted one wish, it would be to have a do-over. Another go at it. Get a language or two down, deader the better, but avoid progressing into the lit. stuff. Esp. the mod-lit crowd. Find that crazy Shakespeare professor who wore bowling shirts and had a throne in his office--take everything he taught. Twice. Avoid programs like ILS like the plague-- indoctrination, big time. Math, Logic. Can't go wrong with Prof. Downs's classes. So on and so on. Oh well, I guess I'll have to continue refusing to give the money I don't have to the alma mater I love.
Since lefites are in fact supporting Barrett, can we safely assume that much of UW Madison has not only drunk the kool-aid, but set up their own little corner stand?
I said it early on: this Barrett debacle is going to result in a long period of unpleasantness for the university. The opportunity to limit the damage has past. Be ready for funding cuts aplenty.
Hey, I read Kurt Vonnegut, Sigmund Freud and Portnoy's Complaint when I was young, too. Good thing I didn't turn out to be a conspiracy theorist....hold on, Ken Lay is calling me from Air Force One...
Ann,
Regarding your statement in your last post that "firing him [Barrett] would do more damage than passing him through the system.", I point to the third to last paragraph in the Times Article which reads:
"Barrett, who has taught folklore at UW-Madison and Islam at Edgewood College, says he may apply for a tenure-track position at UW-Madison, if the right job becomes available."
But I guess if he only teaches Folklore, who cares. I, however, didn't realize Folklore was a college course. I suppose I should get out more.
G. Hamid
Nicky: Since you like Professor Downs so much, you should read what he wrote in support of Farrell.
That kind of story should goose their sales quite a bit. If they can keep this story going long enough, it might even boost their average readership enough to raise ad rates.
Wow! I just Googled Daniel Ellsberg, and read some of what he has to say about 9/11. All you lawyer types putting down Barrett should maybe educate yourselves before overloading your posts with such vitreol and hate.
3. The Pentagon should have been the best defended building in Washington DC, so how could a plane hit it?
I'm always amazed at how much faith this sort of kook tends to have in the omnipotence and competence of the U.S. government.
Thanks for the link Ann.
I basically agree with what Downs said. The ship has sailed. The damage has been done. Not letting Barret teach his course would only add more damage. Downs has a long-term battle he's been fighting. He's being consistent and staying within the framework of his big picture. But other people have different concerns and battles, and expertise, and I think this Barrett clown provides them an opportunity too. What particularly ticks me off is Farrel's dismissive response to those who are concerned by the fact this clown is wasting a week of his student's time in an area outside his expertise. Barrett and this controversy will surely create three or four new Cheneys at U.W.. Mission accomplished.
UW-Madison awarded Barrett his Ph.D. so they are not hiring an unknown who subsequently reveals unexpected reasoning flaws. They know he is a man who has fallen in love with a story.
I suppose they are now taking the position there are no meaningful scholarship guidelines in the professional study of fiction. That may be true, but the UW absolutely needs to demand employees actually understand the difference between fiction and reality.
Did you catch the Unitarian theme today? Both here and with the Massachusetts lesbians.
joeschmo1of3 said...
Barrett's whole motivation for 9/11 conspiracies is:
(snipped)
3. The Pentagon should have been the best defended building in Washington DC, so how could a plane hit it?
--------------------------------
The Pentagon is well defended by most traditional attacks, like car bombs. I don't think anybody could argue that a jetliner being used as a missle is traditional.
Then again, Barrett's thinking isn't traditional, or even rational. Does he envision himself as a 9/11 version of Dr. James Loewen, a man who writes entertaining books about the flaws in American history textbooks.
The more I think about Barrett, I wonder if he truly believes his theory, or if he's simply a disaffected liberal who hates anything related to the Government, or if he just wants to get some hype for a book deal.
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