[Vision2020] Doug W's letter to Gov. Kempthorne

[Art Deco]

The University Place Fiasco is without doubt a terrible thing for almost all
(except some lawyers and accountants).  Worse revelations and judgments may
be yet to come.

However, the analogy with Enron is not an accurate one.

Those at the top of Enron lied, cheated, manipulated, etc. in large part for
their own personal huge monetary gain.

Dr. Hoover was an ambitious person and he and his slavish minions performed
very seriously unethical and illegal actions whose consequences have been
dire.

People do not act generally for one reason alone; I do not know Hoover's
total motivation.  Perhaps in part he believed what he was doing was in the
greater interest of the University and the citizens of the state.

All this said, I doubt that Dr. Hoover took his regretful actions for
personal monetary gain.

That's where the Enron analogy breaks down.  Analogies are cute rhetorical
tricks seldom being isomorphic or even homomorphic to the relations between
the objects to which they are applied.  Analogies often generate heat, but
unless they are honestly constructed and footnoted with their shortcomings,
they often obfuscate the truth and even stifle the search for such.

Wayne Fox

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Westberg" <carlwestberg846@hotmail.com>
To: <sslund@adelphia.net>; <DonaldH675@aol.com>; <vision2020@moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 7:22 AM
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Doug W's letter to Gov. Kempthorne


> I would like to address the "University of Enron" comment Mr. Wilson made
in
> his letter to the governor.  99 and 44/100 % of University of Idaho staff,
> faculty and administration had absolutely nothing to do with the
University
> Place fiasco.  The people responsible could, almost literally, be counted
on
> the fingers of one hand.  They are also gone, leaving good, hard-working,
> dedicated people to clean up the mess left behind.  The University of
Idaho
> is still a remarkably quality institution despite the inbroglio in Boise.
> And, whatever Mr. Wilson's beef with Dale Graden may be, I would point out
> that Mr. Graden was one of the leading dissident campus voices against the
> University Place project.  Yes, I am also a U of I employee, just as
> digusted by what happened as anyone.  Left, right, or middle, there's no
> argument that the arrogance and hubris of the previous administration left
> us a problem.  No less a leftist than Rose Huskey has posted to this forum
> referring to the Enronesque nature of what happened.
>
>
>
>              Carl Westberg Jr.
>
>
> >From: "Saundra Lund" <sslund@adelphia.net>
> >To: <DonaldH675@aol.com>, <vision2020@moscow.com>
> >Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Doug W's letter to Gov. Kempthorne
> >Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 00:18:28 -0800
> >
> >Oh, Ms. Huskey, you trickster, you!  Have you been taking secret lessons
> >from wilson et al in deceit?  You almost had me going there until I
> >realized
> >that even wilson wouldn't be silly enough to send such a whiny,
> >manipulative, deceitful letter to Governor Kempthorne . . . I'm sure he
> >knows he'd give them too big of a laugh to be taken seriously.  Oh, I get
> >it:  you're *really* one of those ridiculous Penguins.
> >
> >Besides, if he really sent such a silly letter, then I want to know where
> >my
> >paycheck is!  Since Mr. wilson states that "the driving force behind the
> >controversy is coming from certain offices at the University of Idaho, I
> >must have a stealth job even I'm not aware of, and so, too, must a bunch
of
> >other community members.  Show me the money  ;-)  Have any other
community
> >members speaking out about Christ Church et al's shenanigans gotten their
> >paychecks?  If so, please let me know because I'm feeling economically
> >deprived.  There must be a slush fund . . . oh . . . wait . . . I get it:
> >there wasn't really a problem with Boise Place -- that money was really
> >targeted to fund those of us in the community to "incite" outrage.  Ah .
.
> >.
> >I guess I'm just a little slow.
> >
> >Oh . . . wait . . . he *seriously* sent this letter?!?!?  Are you
kidding?
> >Surely he didn't really send such a letter . . . please, Please, PLEASE
> >tell
> >me it ain't so!
> >
> >Well, I guess I'm not really surprised.  In his letter to Gov.
Kempthorne,
> >wilson wrote:
> >"This last weekend, Dr. Graden, another history professor, wrote an op-ed
> >piece for the Daily News in which he accused us of creating a climate
which
> >would lead to the murder of gays and the burning of synagogues. (!)"
> >And, on the Christ Church Web site, wilson's response to Dr. Graden
> >includes:
> >"Actually, when you consider the statistics on life expectancy for
> >homosexuals, the inevitable conclusion is that it is the gay lifestyle
that
> >wants to kill gays, not us. Just imagine the controversy if cigarettes
> >reduced the life expectancy of smokers to the same extent that the common
> >homosexual lifestyle does for homosexuals."
> >
> >Honestly, that's what he wrote!  Check it out for yourselves!  Go to:
> >http://www.christkirk.com/
> >Then, click on "Press Releases: It Isn't About Slavery."
> >
> ><sigh>
> >
> >Well, I guess I'll have to join Ms. Huskey in being speechless for right
> >now.  wilson claims "the diversity police" are after them (whoever "them"
> >is
> >. . . he mentions Logos, but has since tried to distance himself from
> >Logos), but it seems to me that wilson et al are after all those who
don't
> >agree with their particular "flavor" of Christianity, and that includes
all
> >of us who are for ***human*** rights.
> >
> >BTW, does anyone know the story Wilson returning Gov. Kempthorn's
> >necktie???
> >I *hate* to think what that's about  :-(
> >
> >
> >Saundra Lund
> >Moscow, ID
> >
> >The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
> >nothing.
> >-Edmund Burke
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: vision2020-admin@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-admin@moscow.com] On
> >Behalf Of DonaldH675@aol.com
> >Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 3:38 PM
> >To: vision2020@moscow.com
> >Subject: [Vision2020] Doug W's letter to Gov. Kempthorne
> >
> >
> >
> >Governor Dirk Kempthorne
> >
> >Office of the Governor
> >
> >700 West Jefferson, 2nd Floor
> >
> >PO Box 83702
> >
> >Boise, Idaho 83720-0034
> >
> >
> >
> >December 30, 2003
> >
> >
> >
> >Dear Governor Kempthorne,
> >
> >
> >
> >Greetings from the north, and I hope that this letter finds you well.  I
> >wish my tone could be as light as the one of a few years ago in which I
> >returned your necktie from the Logos auction, but the seriousness of
recent
> >events has precluded that.
> >
> >
> >
> >I am writing you with an important request.  A controversy has been
boiling
> >here in Moscow for the last several months, a good deal of it resting on
> >the
> >back of inaccurate and defamatory material that is being circulated
against
> >us and out ministries here in Moscow.  Some of this is the result of the
> >incompetence of the Daily News, but the driving force behind the
> >controversy
> >is coming from certain offices at the University of Idaho.
> >
> >
> >
> >What it boils down to is that the diversity police are after us.  We have
> >sponsored an annual history conference here in Moscow for a number of
> >years,
> >a conference that has brought in hundreds of people from all over the
> >country.  The average attendance at this conference is about 800 people.
> >The Daily News reported (erroneously) that the conference this year was
> >going to be on slavery, which started the public outcry.  But since that
> >time, much of the defamatory gasoline that has been keeping the
slanderous
> >fire alive has come from the UI.
> >
> >
> >
> >In particular, Raul Sanchez of the Office of Diversity and Human Rights
has
> >used his office's web site to help circulate defamatory material against
> >us.
> >I have included with this letter a copy of a letter I sent to President
> >Michael and Provost Pitcher a week or so ago on that issue.  The
incendiary
> >essay referred to in my letter is by Drs. Quinlan and Ramsey, both of
them
> >on the faculty of the history department at the UI.  This last weekend,
Dr.
> >Graden, another history professor, wrote an op-ed piece for the Daily
News
> >in which he accused us of creating a climate which would lead to the
murder
> >of gays and the burning of synagogues. (!)
> >
> >
> >
> >The actual circumstances are the reverse of this.  The businesses of some
> >of
> >our people have been vandalized, and the attacks on us are growing
> >increasingly brazen.  UI professors are using time in class to incite
> >students against us, and consequently, since the response of the UI
> >administration has been positively anemic (e.g. allowing Raul Sanchez to
> >use
> >his UI web site to circulate defamatory material), I am very concerned
> >about
> >what may happen this February at our conference.  If there is violence or
> >harassment of any kind (and there has already been quite a bit), it would
> >not be difficult at all to show how the UI nurtured the climate in which
> >this developed.
> >
> >
> >
> >In the best of times, I would find it problematic for individuals at a
> >publicly funded university to use their position to attack Christian
> >ministries for their failure to be secularists.  But in the current
> >climate,
> >for anyone up there at the University of Enron to set themselves up as
> >moral
> >arbiters is a bit thick.
> >
> >
> >
> >As you no doubt know, liberals and progressives love diversity until they
> >actually start getting some.  In writing this letter, I am not asking
that
> >anyone's legitimate freedom of opinion or expression be restricted in any
> >way.  But I am asking that the UI be removed as the base from which they
> >launch their mortar rounds.  I am also asking that the Office of
Diversity
> >apologize to us and to the public for this gross misuse of the resources
of
> >a public university.
> >
> >
> >
> >This should go without saying, but I want to assure you that we have
> >nothing
> >whatever to do with racism, white supremacy, white separatism, or any
other
> >disease coming out of the fever swamps of the right wing.  I do not want
to
> >weary you with any details here, but we would be happy to answer any
> >questions you might have in this regard.
> >
> >
> >
> >As I said at the beginning, I wish the occasion for this letter was
> >something else.  But there it is.  I appreciate any attention you can
give
> >to this matter,
> >
> >
> >
> >Cordially,
> >
> >Douglas Wilson
> >
> >
> >
> >cc:  Gary Michael, Brian Pitcher, Blake Hall, Raul Sanchez
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Rose's note:  If you would like to see this on the original letter head,
as
> >usual, I urge you to stop by the office of Christ Church and ask for a
> >copy.
> >Otherwise, for the time being words fail me.
> >
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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