February 1, 2005

Ward Churchill, Bill O'Reilly, and freedom of speech

By Lona Manning

Ward Churcill has attained sudden fame as the author of an essay claiming that the victims of 9/11 deserved their fate, because of their implication in America's Evil System. His speaking dates on campuses like Hamilton College in upstate New York have aroused controversy and have caught the eye of Bill O'Reilly, the Big Foot of cable news programming.

Bill, whose cable show is now available in Canada, where I live, has a tremendous opportunity with this story.

While it is tempting to dismiss Ward Churchill, professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Colorado, as a fanatical fringe character of no particular significance, he is in fact a prolific and influential author