LAWRENCE, Kansas, Dec. 6, 2005 (AP) A Kansas professor whose planned course on creationism and intelligent design was canceled after he sent e-mails deriding Christian conservatives was taken to the hospital Monday following what he said was a beating.
University of Kansas religious studies professor Paul Mirecki told the Lawrence Journal-World that two men who beat him were making references to the class that was to be offered for the first time this coming spring. Originally called Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies, the course was canceled last week at Mirecki's request.
The class was added after the Kansas Board of Education decided to include more criticism of evolution in science standards for elementary and secondary students.
I didn't know them, Mirecki said of his alleged assailants, but I'm sure they knew me.
One recent e-mail from Mirecki to members of a student organization referred to religious conservatives as fundies, and said a course describing intelligent design as mythology would be a nice slap in their big fat face. Mirecki has apologized for those comments.
Lt. Kari Wempe, a spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff's Department, said a deputy was dispatched to Lawrence Memorial Hospital after receiving a call around 7 a.m. regarding a battery.
She said Mirecki reported he was attacked around 6:40 a.m. in rural Douglas County south of Lawrence. Mirecki told the Journal-World he was driving to breakfast when he noticed the men tailgating him in a pickup truck.
I just pulled over hoping they would pass, and then they pulled up real close behind, he said. They got out, and I made the mistake of getting out.
He said the men beat him on the head, shoulders and back with their fists, and possibly a metal object.
Wempe said Mirecki drove himself to the hospital.
Mirecki told the student newspaper, The University Daily Kansan, that he spent between three and four hours at the hospital. He said his injuries included a broken tooth.
I'm mostly shaken up, and I got some bruises and sore spots, he told the Journal-World.
Wempe said Mirecki described the suspects as two white men between 30 and 40 years of age. One of the men was described as wearing a red visor-like ball cap and wool gloves. Mirecki said the men left in a large pickup truck.
Wempe said the department will investigate every aspect, but couldn't discuss specifics.
Andrew Stangl, president of the Society for Open Minded Atheists and Agnostics at the university, described the attack as bizarre and terrifying. He said Mirecki, who is the group's faculty adviser, is adamant that the alleged beating is related to the recently canceled course.
That absolutely shocked me, he said, because people don't do that in a civilized society.
Sen. Kay O'Connor, a Mirecki critic, said there is no excuse for someone physically assaulting the professor - regardless of their politics.
I have zero tolerance for thugs, she said. There is never an excuse to behave in such a manner. This was just thugs. They used a flimsy excuse, if they had one, to behave as thugs. They can talk about the ID (intelligent design) course if they want to, but that's not an excuse.
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Other related messages found in our database Careful. (SM)
Wishing Happy Thanksgiving isn't causing trouble. It isn't bringing political views into question.
Moderator
Be careful
Please be careful about generalizing people into categories. I am a Republican and I agree that gay marriage should not be a political issue, as well as many others that seem to be these days. I'm not offended by your remark, just wish more people would get the facts straight before making a comment like that - maybe then the two parties could actually work together to get this country straightened out.
Careful GP
Eloquent speeches...
But, I'll bite my tongue. I'm waiting to see him walk the talk.
BTW...if I'm right...I'm allergic to shellfish, so how about a big juicy steak? :)
Careful what you wish for. We may not have any
nm
better be careful
they will call you a liar because they dont agree with you. If it goes against what they think, they will not CONSIDER it or PONDER that it COULD be true, it is just a lie. You cant speak badly about Os ideas because they will have a tantrum and stop talking to you after they first tell you you arent allowed to have an opinion.
Be careful.
I tried that tack earlier and got bashed in return. Apparently some people just don't want to try to get along.
Wow..... Be careful.......... sm
lest that ivory tower that you are perched upon tumbles. I don't think I have ever read anything so condescending in my entire life.
Be careful, you are getting too close to
proving your point. Some folks on here don't want to see you do that! Not if it disagrees with their infatuations, even when they know deep inside it is the truth. This dude wrote this junk before the election and Obama loved it! Enough so that he had the man's wife, Beyonce (sp), peform at the inauguration! and Jay-Z was in the guest of honors spectators seats. Racism? Heck NO!
Be careful where you go with that logic
Does that mean that we can safely assume that anyone who believed in Swaggart, Baker, Haggart, or any one of the legion of other evangelical ministers are guilty of not having a true Christian belief or guilty of the same 'crimes' that their ministry leaders were? Guilt by association, while easy, doesn't seem like a very Christian assumption.
Be very careful what you say, Patty. As
the mother of 3 young men, the oldest now 41, who were raised in church being taught the Bible is God's inspired Holy Word. Being their mom, I consider them "good boys." Let me tell you, over 41 years, I have had a pretty healthy diet of words. Unless you have walked in someone else's shoes you have no right to tell that person what you would or would not do because you have no idea what you would do. I'm sure MTTL has shed many tears and prayed many prayers over this. She is no more responsible for her son's sins as an adult as I am for my sons' sins as adults. This does not mean we stop loving them, that would be unnatural love. Please rethink your post.
Sorry, Moderator...I will be more careful in the future.
Thank you for deleting it, thereby letting me know it was inappropriate. Again, I apologize.
Be careful, your ignorance is showing!
What a stupid judgmental thing to say. Once again, proves my point about the quality of people supporting McPalin.
Be careful Shelly, we might actually agree on something...LOL (nm)
x Yeah, JTBB. Be careful what you and the
nm
Careful, that reactionary streak is showing.
Now,where did anyone say anything about stripping the rich of their money? Nobody said that and nobody meant it either. That's a grossly paranoid and reactionary tack to take when we were only talking about the rich paying their due share back to society. There are plenty of ways that revenue gets used, such as roads that we all use, upkeep of public lands, payments on national debt, etc. Why SHOULDN'T they pay a fair share for the privilege of living here like the rest of us?
And stop being so all-fired snobby about service industry workers. We NEED people doing those jobs. You talk like they're on welfare when clearly they are NOT - not that they don't NEED to be. Sure they can get more education or find different jobs if they want to - Duh! We all can. What are you so high-falutin' about - you're a transcriptionist?? For your information the rich in the industry consider you an overpaid secretary and are working as hard as they can to scrub you off the board with the help of a president who feels there's just too darned much writin' goin'on in the medical industry and if we could just get rid of all that paperwork it would be great!
And for your additional enlightenment, you ought to be aware that the biggest, baddest welfare bloodsuckers in this nation ARE the huge corporations who receive billions of our tax money each year in the form of incentives, government bonuses, relocation grants, production quotas, bankruptcy bailouts etc - all things that none of us taxpayers would ever qualify for. AND, 60% of major US corporations pay as much tax as your BK employee - absolutely *ZERO*. Now you could argue that the govt. handouts to corps. are necessary to stimulate the economy (even though you'd be wrong considering the amount of flimflammery that goes on at the corporate pig trough)but I would say right back at ya that earned income credit is absolutely VITAL to the welfare of American children. I can't think of any tax break that is more important than one that helps parents raise their kids in better conditions.
Careful Barack? you're kidding.
He wasn't too careful with his asssociations was he? He may APPEAR thoughtful and careful, but it is a facade. He doesn't have near as much on the ball as McCain/Palin and definitely not the judgment i want in a leader.
Better be careful or they'll call you racist
@
Careful. Your extremism and religious hatred
nm
Careful, now. Your ignorance and flaming bigotry is showing.
Does this mean that only Zionists are allowed to identify with tragedy? In all the years I have associated with Moslems (both Shia and Sunni), Arabs and Iranians, I have never once encountered any Taliban. The only Nazis/facists I have ever encountered were on this forum (yourself included, though you do not seem to understand the meaning of the term). I confess, I have known a few Sudanese in my time. I encountered Sudanese women during the course of my volunteer work with refugee outreach who were seeking asylum in flight from female circumcision/mutilation. They did not really qualify for your "guerilla" sterotype. Seems to me that Zionists know a thing or 2 about serial killing. Child molesters? No logical context there. You are ranting again. Suicide bombers versus Assault rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, sniper rifles, shotguns, pistols,
Semi-automatics, breach grenades, SWAT rifles, Isherman, Sho't, Magach, Sabra and Merkava tanks, Davidka, Makmat and Soltam M-66 mortars, Soltam, Rascal, Sholef and IDF howitzers, cargo, sea scan, fighter and trainer aircraft, Shaldaq, Dvora and Super Dvora patrol boats, Sa'ar 3, 4 and 5-class missle boats, Sa'ar 5-class corvettes, Gal class and Dolphin submarines, Trophy and Iron Fist protection systems, Flight Guard airborne countermeasures systems, Machbet anti-aircraft weapons, Barak surface-to-air missiles, SPYDER air-defense system, Arrow anti-ballistic missiles, Tactical High Energy Laser, Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system, David's Sling medium-range rocket defense system, B-300 and Shipon shoulder-launched missiles, shoulder-lanched multipurpose assault weapons, FGM-172 SRAWs, MAPATS, Spike, Nimrod and LAHAT ATGMs, Shafrir, Derby and Python air-to-air missiles, Gabriel naval anti-ship missiles, Popeye air-to-surface missiles, LORA theater and Jericho ballistic missiles, Nimda, Trail Blazers, IDF Nagmachon, IDF Nakpadon, IDF Puma, IDF Achzarit, Namer IFV, Nemmera ARV, AIL Storm, Plasan Sand Cat, Wolf Armoured and Golan Armored fighting vehicles, IMI Mastiff, Casper 250, IAI Searcher, IAI Hary, IAI I-View, IAI Ranger, IAI Heron, IAI RQ-2 Hunter, Elbit Skylark, Elbit Hermes and Aeronautics Defense Dominator unmanned fighter vehicles, Typhoon close-in weapon system, Kilshon anti-radiation missile launchers, Caterpillar D7/D9 armored bulldozers, Enhanced Tactical Computers, LITENING targeting pods, Spice EO-GPS PGM guidance kits, Shavit spaceflight launch vehicle, EROS earth observation satellite and Ofeg reconnaissance satellites. Oops, I almost fogot the WMDs, including chemical, biologic and, of course, the nukes.
I have seen at least four conservatives express concerns about Bush on several occasions, and they even elucidated them. Of course, you would have to take off those blinders to see them but you aren't about to do that. What a joke. As far as your remarks about racisms, I consider your remarks extremely racist. And never mind the fact that black Americans, one of whom was quoted here, are also defending Bennett. Their voices don't count because they must be Uncle Tom's, right. AGAIN, a racist way of thinking.
She was not the brightest bulb anyway...she asserted that the governor would not deploy the National Guard to Iraq, David Petraeus would. Even I know that the governor of the state has to deploy the national guard of that state...the president can't, and David Petraeus can't. They can ask for them, but gov has to give the orders.
At the end of the interview she said: "I'll give it to you, Tucker baby."
mea culpa.
The republicans are listening to their ...
constituents who do not want the bailout. They reported on TV this morning their fax machines and phones ringing off the wall. They don't like the bill as it stands. The fact remains, the Democrats had the votes to pass it had the 69 who voted nay had voted yay. They didn't do it because they don't want to be holding the whole bag if it goes south. So to whine about the Republicans who listened to their constituents and not wanting to stick their necks out caused it to fail...wrong.
But it is totally political...the Dems do not want to vote in majority with "Bush/Paulson" plan...because if it failed...you know the drill.
Another station said Palin won 72% to Biden 26% and undecided 2%.
The only ones who said Biden won was hard-core Obama supporters, but they had no reference to say what poll they were talking about.
So according to the polls I'm reading on all the sites and stations (except MSNBC of course and I'm not seeing any official polls except for their opinions) state that Palin was the clear winner.
I have nothing to hide either - but don't want them listening to me - nm
x
I am listening to Obama right now
on Fox news. He has said McCain's name about 20 times in the last 2 minutes. McCain is not the only one talking about his opponent. I still want to know how Obama is going to pay for all these things he is promising...he is going to pick the hardworking pockets of the middle class to give it to people who don't work
The only thing I have been listening to is
my own conscience and the uncanny way my candidate is able to give me voice.
HELLLOOOOO - Are you not listening.
The certiciate on factcheck is a forgery. Do you know what a forgery is? That means it is not real or legitimate. Hence, the Supreme Court is now involved. Just by the O supporters saying it is real doesn't make it so.
Let's wait for the experts to decide and also keep an open mind.
This is not an issue just by Fox. This is an issue that the Supreme Court wants to find out, many judges, and lawyers, and believe it or not even a lot of democrats. There are people from each of the united states who want to know this before it is time for the electorates to vote. They want the issue resolved. Many lawsuits are going on right now. Not just one.
So if it comes out that O is not eligible for office you still will have your democrat in there. What's the big deal.
But please don't provide us with these nonsense organizations that support the O to believe what they say. Let the indpendent people who follow the law and are defenders of the constitution to decide. If the shoe was on the other foot and it was John McCain and he went around and had the records sealed and then had Swiftboat come out and say "oh yeah, I viewed it, it's legitimate" you would want an independent party to view it. So why don't you want an independent party to view Obama's real certificate. He never submitted the original like he was supposed to. He submitted a forged one that was created by a computer (which anyone can do now adays). And I wouldn't take the home state where the O went to school after he returned from Indonesia and where his grandparents lived to validate this. Of course they want him to be president.
Let the courts decide!
Stop listening to the MSM
You're only getting one side. The one they want to portray. They have always been enemies of Israel. You can tell over the years by them reporting about those poor innocent palestenians, hamas, etc.
You need to read both sides. "H" launched the first one. Not Israel. So you think Israel should should just sit and take it and let their innocent be victimized and killed and not do anything?
on CNN this morning and just as she is getting to the part where she is detailing her plan for withdrawal from Iraq,CNN cuts away to cover Cheney......You don't think there's any significance do ya?!
Politics!!!!!!!!! ARGH!
I could not find any coverage on any other channel.
Get off the war issue - Obama plans to keep the war going too. Haven't you listened to what he's been saying? Guess the Obama worship takes up so much time that people don't listen to his plans.
Then you haven't been listening to a lot of people's concerns
It is clear half the country feels safer with McCain. The other half doesn't care.
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