[Marxism] Nation's David Corn gets a taste of Ward-Churchill-treatment

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

www.thenation.com
April 6, 2005



I've been Ward-Churchilled. In a way.

This week I was scheduled to give a speech at Arkansas State University
Mountain Home, a two-year college in the northern part of the state. But
several weeks ago, Mick Spaulding, the vice chancellor for development,
contacted my speakers bureau and canceled the contract. He said that the
decision had been precipitated by material on my personal blog at
www.davidcorn.com.

I was peeved by this. The booker at the speakers bureau had called me
about a year ago and said that he often tries to coax his speakers to go
to ASUMH, which is a good distance from any major airport and which does
not have the money to pay the customary speaker fees. Consider this a
form of public service, he said. I was reluctant but decided to do him
and the school a favor. No good deed goes unpunished.

Several days after Spaulding killed my gig--which was to be part of an
ongoing lecture series underwritten by trout fishing resort owners Jim
and Jill Gashton--Spaulding's assistant emailed me the offending
material that had appeared on my blog. It was an ad for anti-Bush gear
that flashes such witty lines as "Don't blame me, I voted for Kerry,"
"51 percent is NOT a mandate," "He's still not my president," and "Asses
of Evil."

Banned in Arkansas because of a politically-pointed ad on my blog? That
sounded fishy to me. I sent Spaulding an email:

Apparently, this [ad] was the only material that affected the decision
to cancel the speech.   And this causes me to be rather curious about
your decision....Now why would this lead to the cancellation of my
speaking engagement? I am well-known as a journalist who is critical of
President Bush. That is why Fox News hired me as a contributor. It is no
secret that I wrote a best-selling book called "The Lies of George W.
Bush."

On my blog, I accept ads from all sorts. Advertisers have included
Amnesty International, PBS and the United Church of Christ. I have an
open-door policy and post ads from any person or entity, as long as the
ad is not obscene or extremely objectionable. In the six months I have
been publishing ads on my site, I have not rejected one.

So why would displaying an ad from an outfit peddling anti-Bush gear
cause me to be banned from your campus? If this company advertised on
CNN, would you not allow Larry King to speak at Arkansas State
University Mountain Home?

....Can you please explain what happened?

Spaulding did not reply. A few days later, I resent the email and asked
for a response. He then did answer:

The option to cancel our obligation was clearly spelled out in the
contract. We followed the letter of the contract, cancelled within the
thirty-day grace period, and have paid the [kill] fee that was necessary
to close the business agreement.

This was not much of an explanation. I tried once more:

Thank you for responding. I was not questioning your right to cancel the
speaking engagement under the terms of the contract. But I was looking
for an explanation of the cancellation. Would you be so good as to tell
me why you did so?

No, Spaulding essentially said. That is, he did not reply.

*****


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