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ORIGINAL RESEARCHBill Berkowitz David Horowitz's Campus JihadsAt Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, "WANTED" posters with a headshot of Professor Abel Alves appeared on campus a few weeks back; a student who took Associate professor David Gibbs' "What is Politics?" class at the University of Arizona Since 9/11, spying in the name of homeland security has become as American as baseball, cherry pie and listening to a Cat Stevens record. According to a recent report in the San Francisco Chronicle, a relatively unknown branch of the Defense Department called the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is employing its state-of-the-art aerial imaging equipment in service of homeland security. Closer to home, David Horowitz and the Independent Women's Forum are scanning the nation's college campuses in the name of homeland security. "Roughly twice a month, the [National Geospatial-Intelligence] Agency is called upon to help with the security of events inside the United States. Even more routinely, it is asked to help prepare imagery and related information to protect against possible attacks on critical sites," the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Despite office director Bert Beaulieu's claims that the agency "couldn't care less about individuals and people and companies," Stephen Aftergood has his doubts. Aftergood, the head of a project on government secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists said that "What it all boils down to is 'Trust us. Our intentions are good,'" he said. Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, another government watchdog group pointed out that "As a general matter, when there are systems of public surveillance, there needs to be public oversight." Liberal academics in the crosshairsDavid Horowitz, the head of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, and the conservative women at the Washington, DC-based Independent Women's Forum are focusing their homeland security operations on a much more specific target -- liberal academics. Horowitz and the IWF have been cranking out advertisements and placing them in a number of student newspapers across the country encouraging conservative students to scan their campuses for so-called anti-American academics. Going after progressive academics has been a longtime favorite sport of right wing ideologues: In November 2001, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), an organization co-founded by Lynne Cheney, the wife of the vice president, and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, issued a report entitled "Defending Civilization: How Our Universities Are Failing America and What Can Be Done About It," which branded university professors as the weak link in the fight against terrorism. William J. BennettIn March 2002, former Drug Czar and Education Secretary William J. Bennett founded and became In announcing "the first comprehensive poll of American college students' attitudes and opinions about the war on terrorism this year," Bennett said that "The findings reveal that our college students, to say nothing of our high school students, need to know many things better: the virtues of American democracy, the role we play in the world, and the names of players in that role. This poll shows that we parents, teachers, professors, and leaders have a great deal of work to do." Ann CoulterAnother conservative organization, the Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute, organized the "Bring a Conservative Speaker to Your College Campus" campaign. Horowitz and the Independent Women's Forum are upping the ante by placing advertisements in college newspapers across the country encouraging students to turn in profligate professors. (Horowitz is no stranger to placing political ads in campus newspapers: In 2002 he launched the National Campaign to Take Back Our Campuses, and in a booklet titled "Political Bias in America's Universities," Horowitz described "what's wrong in academics today," and the "steps you and I can take to restore sanity to our colleges and universities.") Now, according to Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now!, the new advertisements running in student newspapers charge universities with being dominated by liberal or left-wing professors. The ads "are paid for by well-funded groups like Students for Academic Freedom - a Horowitz group, and the Independent Women's Forum," Democracy Now! reported. Two of the campaigns first victims are Ball State's Professor Alves and David Gibbs, an Associate professor of History and Sociology at the University of Arizona, who last spring taught a course entitled "What is Politics?" On the Ball State University campus, posters "announcing that history professor Abel Alves was 'WANTED' was put up by Amanda Carpenter, a senior, who said she put up the posters in order to attract attention to her Web site, the Muncie, Indiana Star Press reported. The professor's "alleged offenses include indoctrinating freshmen with liberal books, such as Fast Food Nation, and guest lectures by the Humane Society." According to the newspaper, Professor George Wolfe, who teaches peace and conflict resolution, was recently profiled in Horowitz's online publication, FrontPage Magazine. The story "accused Wolfe of giving students extra credit for going to Washington to protest the war in Iraq and lowering the grade of a student who argued in favor of a military response to the Sept. 11 attacks." The university denied that any credit had been given for merely attending an anti-war demonstration. On September 27, Gibbs told Amy Goodman, the host of Democracy Now!, that his largely freshmen class "focuses on propaganda and deception," and he "emphasize[s] incidents of the government lying and things like that." When he taught the class last spring, "the Independent Women's Forum put into the local student newspaper an advertisement that basically argued that there's a kind of left wing domination of the universities and students should fight that with the strong implication they should monitor their professors and report them, at least that's how I read it." When Gibbs received student evaluations, "a student who said I'm anti-American communist who hates America and is trying to brainwash young people into thinking that America sucks," said that "I should be investigated by the FBI, and the FBI has been contacted." Later on, "another student on a weblog during the summer said he took my class and also said that he didn't like my politics and suggests that students shouldn't take my class but should drop by and try to disrupt it. There have been a number of instances like that which I hadn't had before." Although Gibbs said that he wasn't sure or worried about whether the FBI was contacted, he acknowledged that he thought it was "indicative of a larger national trend, which is conservative activist groups with lots of money and connections to the Republican Party trying to encourage and even to some extent orchestrate students and local conservative groups like those at the University of Arizona to go and basically harass faculty if they don't like their politics." Goodman pointed out that the full-page ads, similar to ones placed in other college student newspapers, says: "Top ten things your professors do to skew you. They push their political views, liberal opinions dominate, they don't present both sides of the debate, conservative viewpoints practically non-existent. Classrooms are for learning, not brainwashing. They force you to check your intellectual honesty at the door. They make you uncomfortable if you disagree. Grading should be based on facts not opinion. Education? More like indoctrination." Horowitz's hateRefresher: David Horowitz, and his writing partner Peter Collier, were well-known lefties in the 60s. Horowitz was a Black Panther supporter and editor of Ramparts magazine, the premier left-wing publication of the period. He and Collier, a co-founder of the Los Angeles-based Center for the Study of Popular Culture, came out as Reagan Republicans in a highly controversial 1985 Washington Post article called "Lefties for Reagan." Since then, Horowitz has blended Dr. Laura-like pomposity with an extraordinary ability to fundraise and self-promote. In one of his first campus-wide advertising campaigns, Horowitz launched an anti-reparations campaign aimed both at thwarting what was becoming a hot button issue "reparations for African Americans" and drawing attention to his activities. His effort was highlighted by attempts to place full-page advertisements headlined "Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Slavery is a Bad Idea--and Racist Too," in college newspapers across the country. What started at the University of California, Berkeley, on the last day of Black History Month, evolved into a full-blown promotional and fundraising project for his organization. Since 9/11, Horowitz has been a dynamic organizer. In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks, he lambasted California Congresswoman Barbara Lee for having the temerity to be the only congressperson to vote against giving President Bush a blank check for his war against terrorism. In a column called "The Enemy Within," Horowitz branded Lee an "anti-American communist who supports America's enemies and has actively collaborated with them in their war against America." In late October 2001, Horowitz spent three hours on the radio program of Dr. Laura Schlessinger -- America's erstwhile pop psychologist before Dr. Phil took the reins --denouncing the "so-called Peace Movement." As part of the "National Call to SUPPORT the WAR," Horowitz told Dr. Laura's audience that "campus leftists hate America more than the terrorists." The reason for this, said Horowitz, is campus radicals view "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. They are thrilled that the symbols of America were destroyed." Horowitz then launched another advertising effort, the "Think Twice" campaign -- a name seemingly derived from his "Second Thoughts" project of the 1980s -- which was aimed at convincing students on college campuses not to protest against Bush's war on terrorism. In "An Open Letter to the "Anti-War" Demonstrators: Think Twice Before You Bring The War Home," Horowitz urged students to "think again and not to join an 'anti-war' effort against America's coming battle with international terrorism." Horowitz's campus jihads could not take place without well-stuffed coffers. His first post-conversion project, which he co-directed with Peter Collier, was called "Second Thoughts." Between January 1986 and January 1990, this project raised $950,000. As president of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, he has profited even more handsomely: According to MediaTranparency.org, between 1989 and 2002, Horowitz's outfits received 115 grants accounting for more than $12,700,000. Right-wing philanthropic partners include the Allegheny Foundation, Castle Rock Foundation (the Coors Family), the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Scaife Family Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Olin Foundation. Independent women?Founded in 1992 as a direct response to the Clarence Thomas hearings, the Independent Women's Forum Mission Statement states that its goal is "to affirm women's participation in and contributions to a free, self-governing society." If that sounds somewhat opaqe, here are the fine points. "The Independent Women's Forum speaks for those who:"
In a May 2002 piece for the Chicago Tribune, Chris Black wrote: "The conservative women at the Independent Women's Forum are cheering the return of the guy. From their standpoint, the terrorist attacks on the United States turned the feminist tide and brought back traditional values, a retreat to home and hearth, and an appreciation for the manly man." Between 1994 and 2002, the Independent Women's Forum received more than 70 grants worth more than $5 million from the Randolph, Castle Rock, JM, Sarah Scaife, the John M. Olin Foundation and others, according to mediatransparency.org. David Horowitz told the Muncie Star Press that he "completely deplore[d]" the "WANTED" poster, and that he doesn't "demonize these professors. I want them (professors) to do the right thing. I've never called for the firing of a professor and wouldn't." And in a bit of Rumsfeld-speak Horowitz added that "When you deal with students, you're dealing with students." In lieu of "WANTED" posters, Horowitz's Students for Academic Freedom provides students with a manual that gives an example of a poster asking, "Is Your Professor Using the Classroom as a Political Soapbox?" The booklet also provides "advice on how to create Web sites, get publicity, file complaints, and spot abuses of academic freedom, such as using university funds to hold one-sided, partisan conferences, and inviting speakers to campus from one side of the political spectrum," the Muncie Star Press reported. sign in, or register to email stories or comment on them.
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OTHER LINKSDemocratic Underground.com University of Arizona Professor Reported to FBI for "Hating" AmericaAfter a series of ads in the University of Arizona newspaper railed against left-wing professors, a student allegedly reported Professor David Gibbs to the FBI for being "an anti-American communist who hates America." MORE ORIGINAL RESEARCHBill Berkowitz PERC receives Templeton Freedom Award for promoting 'enviropreneurs'Right Wing foundation-funded anti-environmental think tank grabbing a wider audience for 'free market environmentalism' On the 15th anniversary of Terry Anderson and Donald Leal's book "Free Market Environmentalism" -- the seminal book on the subject -- Anderson, the Executive Director of the Bozeman, Montana-based Property and Environment Research Center (PERC - formerly known as the Political Economy Research Center) spoke in late-January at an event sponsored by Squaw Valley Institute at the Resort at Squaw Creek in California. While it may have been just another opportunity to speak on "free market environmentalism" and not the kickoff of a "victory tour," nevertheless it comes at a time when PERC's ideas are taking root.
Bill Berkowitz Neil Bush of Saudi ArabiaDuring recent visit, President’s brother describes the country as a 'kind of tribal democracy' In late February, only a few days after Saudi Arabia beheaded four Sri Lankan robbers and then left their headless bodies on public display in the capital of Riyadh, Neil Bush, for the fourth time in the past six years, showed up for the country's Jeddah Economic Forum. The Guardian reported that Human Rights Watch "said the four men had no lawyers during their trial and sentencing, and were denied other basic legal rights." In an interview with Arab News, the Saudi English language paper, Bush described the country as "a kind of tribal democracy."
Bill Berkowitz Newt Gingrich's back door to the White HouseAmerican Enterprise Institute "Scholar" and former House Speaker blames media for poll showing 64 percent of the American people wouldn't vote for him under any circumstances Whatever it is that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has come to represent in American politics, the guy is nothing less than fascinating. One day he's espousing populist rhetoric about the need to cut the costs of college tuition and the next day he's talking World War III. One day he's claiming that the "war on terror" may force the abridgement of fundamental first amendment rights and the next he's advancing a twenty-first century version of his Contract with America. At the same time he's publicly proclaiming how "stupid" it is that the race for the presidency has already started you know that he's trying to figure out how to out finesse Rudy, McCain and Romney for the nomination. And last week, when Fox News' Chris Wallace cited a poll showing that 64 percent of the public would never vote for him, he was quick to blame those results on how unfairly he was treated by the mainstream media back in the day.
Bill Berkowitz American Enterprise Institute takes lead in agitating against IranDespite wrongheaded predictions about the war on Iraq, neocons are on the frontlines advocating military conflict with Iran After doing such a bang up job with their advice and predictions about the outcome of the war on Iraq, would it surprise you to learn that America's neoconservatives are still in business? While at this time we are not yet seeing the same intense neocon invasion of our living rooms -- via cable television's news networks -- that we saw during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, nevertheless, a host of policy analysts at conservative think tanks -- most notably the American Enterprise Institute -- are being heeded on Iran by those who count - folks inside the Bush Administration.
Bill Berkowitz After six years, opposition gaining on George W. Bush's Faith Based InitiativeUnmentioned in the president's State of the Union speech, the program nevertheless continues to recruit religious participants and hand out taxpayer money to religious groups With several domestic policy proposals unceremoniously folded into President Bush's recent State of the Union address, two pretty significant items failed to make the cut. Despite the president's egregiously tardy response to the event itself, it was nevertheless surprising that he didn't even mention Hurricane Katrina: He didn't offer up a progress report, words of hope to the victims, or come up with a proposal for moving the sluggish rebuilding effort forward. There were no "armies of compassion" ready to be unleashed, although it should be said that many in the religious community responded to the disaster much quicker than the Bush Administration. In the State of the Union address, however, there was no "compassionate conservatism" for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Bill Berkowitz Frank Luntz calls Republican leadership in Washington 'One giant whining windbag'On the outs with the GOP, legendary degrader of discourse is moving to California He doesn't make great art; nothing he does elevates the human spirit; he doesn't illuminate, he bamboozles. He has become expert in subterfuge, hidden meanings, word play and manipulation. Frank Luntz has been so good at what he does that those paying close attention gave it its own name: "Luntzspeak."
Bill Berkowitz Spooked by MoveOn.org, conservative movement seeks to emulate liberal powerhouseFueled with Silicon Valley money, TheVanguard.org will have Richard Poe, former editor of David Horowitz's FrontPage magazine as its editorial and creative director As Paul Weyrich, a founding father of the modern conservative movement and still a prominent actor in it, likes to say, he learned a great deal about movement building by closely observing what liberals were up to in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Bill Berkowitz Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action jihadFounder and Chair of the American Civil Rights Institute scouting five to nine states for new anti-affirmative action initiatives Fresh from his most recent victory -- in Michigan this past November -- Ward Connerly, the Black California-based maven of anti-affirmative action initiatives, appears to be preparing to take his jihad on the road. According to a mid-December report in the San Francisco Chronicle, Connerly said that he was "exploring moves into nine other states."
Bill Berkowitz Tom Tancredo's missionThe Republican congressman from Colorado will try to woo GOP voters with anti-immigration rhetoric and a boatload of Christian right politics These days, probably the most recognizable name in anti-immigration politics is Colorado Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo. Over the past year, Tancredo has gone from a little known congressman to a highly visible anti-immigration spokesperson. "Tancredo has thoroughly enmeshed himself in the anti-immigration movement and with the help of CNN talk show host Lou Dobbs, he has been given a national megaphone," Devin Burghart, the program director of the Building Democracy Initiative at the Center for New Community, a Chicago-based civil rights group, told Media Transparency.
Bill Berkowitz Institute on Religion and Democracy slams 'Leftist' National Council of ChurchesNew report from conservative foundation-funded IRD charges the NCC with being a political surrogate for MoveOn.org, People for the American Way and other liberal organizations If you prefer your religious battles sprinkled with demagoguery, sanctimoniousness, and simplistic attacks, the Institute on Religion and Democracy's (IRD) latest broadside against the National Council of Churches (NCC) certainly fits the bill.
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