AP Exclusive: Former Ind. Gov. Tried to Censor Opponents, Ban Howard Zinn from Univ. Classrooms

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

AP EXCLUSIVE: DANIELS LOOKED TO CENSOR OPPONENTS

By TOM LoBIANCO
— Jul. 16 7:27 PM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels pledged to promote academic freedom when he became president of Purdue University in January, but newly released emails show he attempted while governor to eliminate what he considered liberal "propaganda" at Indiana's public universities.

Emails obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request show Daniels requested that historian and anti-war activist Howard Zinn's writings be banned from classrooms and asked for a "cleanup" of college courses. In another exchange, the Republican talks about cutting funding for a program run by a local university professor who was one of his sharpest critics.

The success of those efforts remains unclear; Zinn's book, for example, is still used in some courses for aspiring teachers. But Daniels did launch an expansive push while governor to change what courses those hopeful teachers could take for credit at Indiana colleges. That effort is ongoing.

Ken Paulson, president of the First Amendment Center, said it's not unusual for governors or mayors to denounce art, music or popular culture. But he said he couldn't find any other examples of governors trying to censor political opponents.

"What sets this apart is what appears to be a back-channel effort by the governor to limit access to ideas," said Paulson, also dean of the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University. "Under the First Amendment, the government is prohibited from trying to suppress expression with which it disagrees."

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-exclusive-daniels-looked-censor-opponents

[heaven05]

1. fuck you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

guvner! You fascist PIG! What's wrong with these white men? It won't grow any bigger! Asswipe!

[Civilization2]

2. the american taliban,. next we get book burnings and disappearings of opponents?

pathetic dark ages crap.

[SamKnause]

3. Zinn

Howard Zinn had more integrity in his little finger than any politician in the U.S.

A man who promotes peace and equality has his message suppressed and the warmongers get front and center stage.

Rest in peace Mr. Zinn.

We will not let your legacy die !!!

[Journeyman]

4. Never will understand this. My professors were a mix of socialists, Marxists, conservatives . . .

and quite a few not easily classified. None ever expected me to regurgitate their beliefs by rote but all expected me to master the class material. If Thorstein Veblen was the topic, Milton Friedman wasn't the answer. However, as they expected me to know the topic, I wasn't required to believe the topic -- but it was my responsibility to intelligently defend any contrary belief I held.

I believe those who protest the most about a professor's "slant" are the one's least able to support their own. They're not protesting a professor's restriction of academic freedom so much as they're reacting to their own academic frustration.

That, and their opinion appears to be smeared with santorum.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. Education was always a political animal in my experience

Climbing the collegiate ladder is an exercise in agreeing. You just had to
filter your output for each variety of zealot: religious, liberal, Marxist,
conservative, Jungian. The Limbaugh quoters were the most arbitrary
graders, which is to say if they knew you were a lib, you weren't in the
top echelon of students. It's a shame education has become a war of
ideas instead of an examination of ideas. And suppressing ideas with the
help of the government is most like "back in the USSR".

Think about that: using a democratic republic to suppress liberal ideas
to give an edge to conservative ideas: using a Soviet tactic to advance
conservatism. OUCH!!

[Brigid]

6. Dear fuckwad ex-governor:

Thank God I am old enough that I managed to get an education before you and your RW pals destroyed our public schools. That means that I can fill in the gaps for myself. You think Zinn's books aren't readily available outside the classroom? You think that a little digging doesn't uncover stories like the battle of Blair Mountain or the real cause of the Johnstown flood or the the Homestead strike? You don't seem to understand that once someone learns to read, there's no stopping them -- a little curiosity does the rest. Then young people, or even older ones, decide to go where having a few working brain cells is rewarded. And if that means leaving this RW hellhole of a state, they do it. Does the phrase "brain drain" mean anything to you?

[wysi]

7. Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn was my poly sci professor at Boston University. I got to know him a bit over the years and he was a lovely man who had the courage of his convictions. His classes were essentially a large-scale debate, and he silenced no one, no matter how vehemently he might have disagreed with him. It's abundantly clear that we need more Howard Zinns in this world.

[ronnie624]

13. Lucky you.

[Doctor_J]

8. this sort of thing will get worse. The fact that a fascist like Daniels was

put in charge of a great university like Purdue tells us everything we need to know. Within a few years all of the big schools will be right wing indoctrination camps.

[caraher]

12. Bear in mind that Daniels appointed the trustees who selected him as president

This is partly the result of a Republican stranglehold on state-level politics in Indiana. It takes something like saying rape pregnancies are part of God's plan for a Republican to lose.

So he packed the board with his minions, and they gave him the presidency. And a Republican panel declared there were no conflicts of interest there.

[rurallib]

9. couple years ago wasn't Daniels touted as a "moderate" Republican

the very kind that could win the presidency?

There is no such thing anymore, if there ever was. Daniels is a perfect example. Scratch the surface and it gets ugly.

[Blue_Tires]

15. +1

[alp227]

10. Academia= the last wall against the establishment noise machine.

Which is why reTHUGS like Daniels take the David Horowitz/Campus Reform/Young America's Foundation agenda to their states.

[locks]

11. No surprise

I grew up in Indianapolis so I'm not surprised. Just wish Indiana would grow up.

[firenewt]

14. I worked with Mitch the Bitch Daniels on Richard Lugar's first senate run. I was a Republican when

there was at least a small amount of integrity in the GOP. Daniels suffers from an acute case of small man syndrome. Everything he did was for his own benefit. Back then, very few people could stand him. He wrapped himself in the flag and wore his Christianity on his sleeve. He has no moral compass, guided only by his desire to rule over and suppress those who oppose him. Nothing he does surprises me.

Just another reason I hate living in Indiana.

[RainDog]

17. when has there been a small amt of integrity in the GOP?

Indiana Republicans are some of the most backward ass idiots in this nation.

They make the state SUCK - and, honestly, you were on board with this? You have long been part of the problem, you know?

Maybe you mean back when Howard Baker was part of the Watergate hearings? Because, as far as I know, that's the last time a Republican has done something that doesn't involve being a whore to their corporate owners.

[RainDog]

16. Daniels' hiring of ex-aides for Purdue posts draws scrutiny

http://www.ibj.com/daniels-hiring-of-ex-aides-for-purdue-posts-draws-scrutiny/PARAMS/article/42436

Purdue University President Mitch Daniels' decisions to staff his administration with top officials from his time as governor and in business are drawing scrutiny from critics who question whether some of the appointments skirt state ethics laws.

About 30 new management or professional hires have appeared on Purdue's payroll since Daniels took office in January. At least six are former colleagues from Daniels' days as governor and as a top executive at Eli Lilly and Co., the Journal & Courier reported.

The state ethics commission has signed off on the hires of two former Daniels-appointed state commissioners who decided to leave Gov. Mike Pence's administration. But a faculty group says the growing number of hires with ties to Daniels raises a red flag.

"Whenever you have somebody that's been such a political person and they come into a position like this, you're always concerned they're bringing people in based on their abilities and not on their political affiliations or the fact they worked for him as governor," said Marcus Rogers, a cyberforensics professor and president of Purdue's chapter of the American Association of University Professors.