Is one of my former professors a lunatic nutjob?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

This guy taught Ethnic Studies my freshman year. He has a Ph.D. He's been teaching for more than 20 years. He's been to 15 countries, and has spent as long as 2 years on overseas studying expedition, such as with Native tribes in far northern Canada. I think he's pretty damn brilliant.

Anyway, he believes that Bush had prior knowledge of 9/11 and deliberately let it happen for political gain and to give a pretense to go to war to set up oil pipelines. And he showed my class a video making that claim. According to many people, that makes him a lunatic and a nutjob, despite all his credentials.

I say no.

[Alcon]

Yes.

[Everett]

Having credentials doesn't make you "right", prude. I am reasonably credentialed in my area (for a person of my age) - does that mean that I have the right to spew out whatever bullsh**t I want and expect people to think that I am sane?

[Max Power]

I say yes. Oh, and how many times have you watched that movie?

Brilliance does not equate to sanity. Your teacher was a loon, and he should have his teaching licence revoked.

[Blue Rectangle]

Teaching Ethnic Studies and talking to Eskimos has somehow granted him inside knowledge of the Bush administration's 9/11 conspiracy?

Worst.  Appeal to authority.  Ever.

And you're a loon too for taking him seriously.

[Frodo]

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This information alone is all I need to know to dismiss him as a leftwing nut job.

And despite the fact that you seem alarmingly obsessed with strip clubs to the exclusion of nearly everything else, I never passed you off as a leftwing extremist...until now.  For some reason, I thought you would know better rather than buying everything this nutjob says, hook, line, and sinker.

Guess not.   

[CheeseWhiz]

Yes, for all above reasons.

[??????????]

Yes, he oughta be fired.

[Gabu]

Your professor sounds a lot like jfern, in that he seems like a smart and reasonable guy until he gets on the topic of politics, after which point all hell breaks loose.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yes... ya could say that. And what the hell is "ethnic studies"?

[Platypus]

1/3 of Germany believes the same, and there are numerous bestsellers on the subject.

But they, like your prof, are wrong. He's nutty.

[DanielX]

I would not have lasted 2 weeks in that class. But then, the chances of me taking an 'ethnic studies' course is about as high as that of me voting for Al Gore in 2008, so it's not a big issue.

The fella's a lunatic; i don't see how his theory fits with the idea of 'ethnic studies' in anycase (unless he's trying to claim we're being racist against Arabs?).

[KillerPollo]

This guy taught Ethnic Studies my freshman year. He has a Ph.D. He's been teaching for more than 20 years. He's been to 15 countries, and has spent as long as 2 years on overseas studying expedition, such as with Native tribes in far northern Canada. I think he's pretty damn brilliant.

Anyway, he believes that Bush had prior knowledge of 9/11 and deliberately let it happen for political gain and to give a pretense to go to war to set up oil pipelines. And he showed my class a video making that claim. According to many people, that makes him a lunatic and a nutjob, despite all his credentials.

I say no.

VERY true. IMO why would a totally separate cause of terrorists do that at random? THis MUST've been set up. Besides, Bush wanted to look like a hero, and "coincidentally" this happened during the worst time of his campaign.

[opebo]

Yes, he oughta be fired.

Censorship, prude?

This man is not a nutjob, BRTD, and may be generally correct.  However if Bush did arrange 9/11, it wasn't done for any measly piplines, it was done for the enormous transfer of money from the public treasury to the 'defense contractors' - essentially his constituency.  Also the jingoistic effect which helped him in the elections was a factor.

[MODU]

I'm surprised that he was even able to show such a piece of propoganda in school without having it approved prior by the head of the department.

And yes, your professor is "wrong" (to be nice).

[John Dibble]

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This information alone is all I need to know to dismiss him as a leftwing nut job.

^^^^

I'm only going to guess he hasn't been fired because he's likely got tenure if he's been teaching 20 years.

[Joe Republic]

Oh wow, this guy has some letters after his name?  Well I guess that makes him an expert in knowing if conspiracy theories are actually correct.

[Giant Saguaro]

Sure, but that's actually a moderate position for a college professor, especially in non technical or non sciences. They may run you out if you don't think that. So yeah, he's another one of the sheep who follows the herd. As to his credentials, they don't validate anything other than that he's qualified to stand in front of a college classroom and disseminate his opinions and values, that's all.

[KEmperor]

He certainly has credentials to teach....in the field of ethnic studies.  Doesn't mean he knows jack about federal conspiracies.

In addition, what the hell was he doing showing that video in an ethinic studies class?  How exactly does that relate to the material.

Sounds like he's using his class to sprout off his political agenda.

[David S]

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Where's the proof?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yes... ya could say that. And what the hell is "ethnic studies"?

It's kind of like sociology, but only looking at the ethnic aspects of it. Such as the causes of segregation, ethnic conflicts, etc.

As for what the video had to do with the class, well nothing. But Swingers and The Breakfast Club don't have anything to do with Speech either, and we got to watch those movies in that class.

As for using the class to bash Bush and push political views, I can't think of many professors who DON'T do that. Take my Geography professor this year. He used the Kashmiri earthquake as an opportunity to talk about how Bush only lent them 8 hour helicopters to deal with relief out of the hundreds we have in the region, and how the Bush administration has screwed up on just about every disaster relief case so far.

Oh, and the Ethnic Studies guy is never being fired. He is very very popular among students, and the university is so liberal it distributed "voter guides" that were published by an openly communist organization.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Where's the proof?

I'll try to look up what that video was called. It has the proof. I know it's quite popular on DU.

[KillerPollo]

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Where's the proof?

I'll try to look up what that video was called. It has the proof. I know it's quite popular on DU.

I'd like to see that video please.

[Joe Republic]

As for what the video had to do with the class, well nothing. But Swingers and The Breakfast Club don't have anything to do with Speech either, and we got to watch those movies in that class.

As for using the class to bash Bush and push political views, I can't think of many professors who DON'T do that. Take my Geography professor this year. He used the Kashmiri earthquake as an opportunity to talk about how Bush only lent them 8 hour helicopters to deal with relief out of the hundreds we have in the region, and how the Bush administration has screwed up on just about every disaster relief case so far.

Oh, and the Ethnic Studies guy is never being fired. He is very very popular among students, and the university is so liberal it distributed "voter guides" that were published by an openly communist organization.

Wow, your university sucks ass.

[KEmperor]

As for what the video had to do with the class, well nothing. But Swingers and The Breakfast Club don't have anything to do with Speech either, and we got to watch those movies in that class.

As for using the class to bash Bush and push political views, I can't think of many professors who DON'T do that. Take my Geography professor this year. He used the Kashmiri earthquake as an opportunity to talk about how Bush only lent them 8 hour helicopters to deal with relief out of the hundreds we have in the region, and how the Bush administration has screwed up on just about every disaster relief case so far.

Oh, and the Ethnic Studies guy is never being fired. He is very very popular among students, and the university is so liberal it distributed "voter guides" that were published by an openly communist organization.

Wow, your university sucks ass.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^