Bub Jensen's Tidbits

Mind narrow closed: This professor has to be an embarrassment to Baylor University
Marc H. Ellis is university professor and director of the Center for American and Jewish Studies at Baylor University, a Baptist University in Waco, Texas, not ordinarily on anyone's radar map as a particularly notable institution when it comes to the field of Jewish scholarship. Indeed, theologically Waco is best known for serving as home of the Branch Davidians and the abortive FBI raid on its headquarters. Thus fringe "theologians" seem to feel right at home there. Maybe it has something to do with being home to singer Willie Nelson. Unlike Norman Finkelstein, who has never managed to hold any sort of real academic position for very long and is these days an untenured assistant professor at DePaul University, Ellis pretends to have serious academic credentials. He claims to have written actual scholarly books, unlike Finkelstein's low-brow obscene Jew-baiting propaganda. But, in fact, there are surprisingly few differences between Finkelstein's anti-Semitism and Ellis' "scholarly work". Indeed, the two have a long history of collaboration with one another. They appear at one another's conferences and on one another's web sites, endorsing one another with true brotherly comradeship . . . The first hint one has of the real orientation of this atrocious little book, which purports to be a theological re-examination of what it means to be Jewish after the Holocaust, is that the only people Ellis and his publisher could find to endorse the book on the jacket are members of the Terrorism Lobby: Edward Said, Noam Chomsky, and their ilk. Not a single Jewish theologian. Pro-terror and Islamist web sites have given the book rave reviews. So has the PLO's web site. The leftist extremist magazine "The Nation" recently praised the book's call for Israel to be eliminated, although expressing dislike for the fact that Ellis thinks religion still has some positive roles to play in the 21st century. Need we say more? This poorly-written book, the latest in the series of sophomoric Israel-bashing propaganda tirades published by Pluto Press - by the way, is little more than a vicious anti-Israel broadside. The only thing of value that Ellis thinks Jews should derive from their experiences during the Holocaust is an unambiguous denunciation of Israel and total support for the demands and agenda of the Palestinian terrorists. He denounces all Jewish denominations and all rabbinic institutions for their failures to endorse Palestinian violence unreservedly. He is as hostile to the Jews of America as he is to Israel: "We as Jews come after the Holocaust, but we also come after the illusory promises of Israel and America. And we cannot find our way alone, only with others who realize that the promises they have been handed are also illusory."
Steven Plaut, "Baylor University’s Anti-Jewish Liberation 'Theologian'," FrontPageMag.com, May 5, 2005 --- http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17755

No comment other than Grrrrr!
Six years after Kansas ignited a national debate over the teaching of evolution, the state is poised to push through new science standards this summer requiring that Darwin's theory be challenged in the classroom.
Jodi Wilgoren, "In Kansas, Darwinism Goes on Trial Once More E-Mail This Printer-Friendly Single-Page," The New York Times, May 6, 2005 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/education/06evolution.html

Jews Most Distinctive Group in America?
"New AJC Report Says Jews Most Distinctive Group in America," American Jewish Committee, March 4, 005 --- http://www.ajc.org/InTheMedia/PressReleases.asp?did=1594

On the religious front, Jews are the least likely of any religious group in America to pray on a daily basis, at 26 percent, compared with 56 percent of non-Jews; they are also the least likely to be sure that God exists. Still, the same percentage of Jews and non-Jews say they have a strong religious attachment.
Among other findings, the reports states that:

Jews are the most pro-civil liberties of all ethnic groups on most issues;

Jews strongly support separation of church and state, and are the group most in favor of the Supreme Court ruling against school prayer;

Jews are more supportive of racial equality, integration, and intergroup tolerance than other groups are.

The American Dream is the Arab American Dream
In a compact stone and glass building here, the creators of the Arab American National Museum seek to set the record straight. "If somebody else tells your story, it's not your story," Ismael Ahmed told me, "and in this case, we even think the story has been told with malice" by others. Mr. Ahmed heads the nonprofit social-services organization in Dearborn that built the museum, which opens today. By malice, he meant a desire to portray Arab-Americans as out of the mainstream, hostile toward the U.S. and possibly sympathetic toward terrorism. The museum uses personal artifacts, skillfully distilled reminiscences and absorbing interactive displays to recount the tale of Arab immigration and accomplishment since the late 1800s. There is much to boast about, but just below the surface of the museum's colorful exhibits -- and sometimes emerging into full view -- is a sense that corrections are needed; wrongs must be righted. It makes for a lively museum experience.
Paul M. Barrett, "Arab-Americans Tell Their Own Story," The Wall Street Journal, May 5, 2005; Page D8 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111524404860525041,00.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep

The American Dream becomes a nightmare for GM and Ford
In a double blow to the U.S. auto industry, Standard & Poor's Corp. yesterday cut its credit ratings on General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., pushing to "junk" status two icons of American business. S&P, which had warned in recent weeks that both companies could be downgraded, said it reduced the ratings because of increasing doubts about the strategies the companies are following, in particular their heavy reliance on big sport-utility vehicles, sales of which are now falling.
Lee Hawkins, Jr., "S&P Cuts Rating On GM and Ford To Junk Status: Double Blow Underlines Big Problems in Detroit, Adds to Bond-Market Jitters," The Wall Street Journal, May 6, 2005; Page A1 ---
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111530407208325777,00.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

Also see the NYT version at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/automobiles/06auto.html?

Air Force Sets New Inquiry at Academy
The Pentagon is sending investigators to the Air Force Academy to look into complaints that evangelical Christian faculty members, officers and cadets routinely proselytize and intimidate those on campus who do not hold the same religious beliefs. The inquiry follows accusations that these other cadets have long been subject to a climate of religious intolerance. To address the problem, the academy, in Colorado Springs, began requiring its faculty and students in March to attend 50-minute sensitivity training classes.
Laurie Goldstein, "Air Force Sets New Inquiry at Academy," The New York Times, May 5, 2005 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/05/education/05academy.html

Religious Tolerance or Lack Thereof at the Air Force Academy
According to recent news reports, the U.S. Air Force Academy, which is just now recovering from one series of scandals involving harassment (and worse) directed at female cadets and another involving underage drinking, now finds itself embroiled in yet another case of questionable behavior. In the last few years there have been some 55 complaints of religious bias at the Academy. Johnny Whitaker, an Academy spokesperson said that some of the complaints involved religious slurs, while others involved proselytizing in inappropriate places. He went on to say that "there have been cases of maliciousness, mean-spiritedness and attacking or baiting someone over religion." And, last year the Air Force Academy football coach, Fisher DeBerry, was called to task for promoting Christianity to his players with a locker room banner that included the lines "I am a Christian first and last.... I am a member of Team Jesus Christ." DeBerry removed the banner, but is considering continuing team prayers after football games next season -- but this time without reference to a specific religion.
Mark H. Shapiro, "Tolerance or Lack Thereof at the Air Force Academy," The Irascible Professor, April 22, 2005 --- http://irascibleprofessor.com/comments-04-22-05.htm

Note that the Princeton Review ranks the Air Force Academy Number 3
in terms of Race/Class Interaction
http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/rankings/rankingCategory.asp?categoryID=3

Lots of Race/Class Interaction

1 McGill University
2 Austin College
3 United States Air Force Academy
4 St. John's College (MD)
5 Webb Institute

Wadud challenges patriarchal dominance over Islamic teaching and practice
March 18 was an eventful day for Muslims in the West. In New York, Amina Wadud, a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, became one of the few Muslim women to lead a Friday congregational prayer. Meanwhile, in Sydney, Sheik Faiz Mohamad made comments linking rape and women's dress that have become infamous over the past few weeks. The contrast could not be starker. Wadud's actions were a deliberately provocative challenge to perceived patriarchal dominance over Islamic teaching and practice. Through this act, organisers asserted women would reclaim their right to be spiritual equals and leaders. It was a response to an increasing feeling among Muslim women of exclusion from mosques and positions of influence in the Muslim community. It had echoes of Rosa Parkes, the black woman who set the American civil rights movement alight when she defiantly refused to move to the back of the bus, where blacks belonged, and was arrested for her trouble.
Waleed Aly"Islam faces big questions about its future in the West, as one day of controversy showed," Sydney Morning Herald, May 6, 2005 --- http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/05/05/1115092623270.html

Microsoft reverses its stand on gay rights: A message for the CEO Steve Ballmer to all of Microsoft's employees
Accordingly, Microsoft will continue to join other leading companies in supporting federal legislation that would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation -- adding sexual orientation to the existing law that already covers race, sex, national origin, religion, age and disability. Given the importance of diversity to our business, it is appropriate for the company to endorse legislation that prohibits employment discrimination on all of these grounds. Obviously, the Washington State legislative session has concluded for this year, but if legislation similar to HB 1515 is introduced in future sessions, we will support it . . . I also want to be clear about some limits to this approach. Many other countries have different political traditions for public advocacy by corporations, and I’m not prepared to involve the company in debates outside the US in such circumstances. And, based on the principles I’ve just outlined, the company should not and will not take a position on most other public policy issues, either in the US or internationally. I respect that there will be different viewpoints. But as CEO, I am doing what I believe is right for our company as a whole.
"Text of Steve Ballmer E-Mail to U.S. Microsoft Employees Regarding Public Policy Engagement," Microsoft Press Release on May 6, 2005 --- http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/misc/05-06-05StevebPublicPolicy.asp

Who Owns Research at Brown University?
Brown University officials agreed Tuesday to clarify a proposed intellectual property policy that some professors said would have infringed on their rights and made it impossible for them to consult with businesses.The clarifications largely satisfied professors, and the faculty overwhelmingly approved the revised proposal, which now goes to Brown’s board, which is expected to approve it. Administrators said the policy was never intended to be as restrictive as the critics feared — but that they were happy that everyone was now on board.
Scott Jaschik, "Who Owns Research at Brown?" Inside Higher Ed, May 5, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/05/05/brown