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A communication professor known for conspiracy theories has stirred controversary at Florida Atlantic University with claims that last month's Newtown, Conn., school shootings did not happen as reported -- or may not have happened at all.Moreover, James Tracy asserts in radio interviews and on his memoryholeblog.com that trained "crisis actors" may have been employed by the Obama administration in an effort to shape public opinion in favor of the event's true purpose: gun control.
"As documents relating to the Sandy Hook shooting continue to be assessed and interpreted by independent researchers, there is a growing awareness that the media coverage of the massacre of 26 children and adults was intended primarily for public consumption to further larger political ends," writes Tracy, a tenured associate professor of media history at FAU and a former union leader.
In another post, he says, "While it sounds like an outrageous claim, one is left to inquire whether the Sandy Hook shooting ever took place -- at least in the way law enforcement authorities and the nation's news media have described."
MORE.
I'll raise you one insane Philosophy prof from UM Duluth:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/254674/
At least the UM Duluth guy is retired, so his behavior may be explained by senile dementia.
Delete"As a philosopher, Fetzer said, he cares about the truth, and his scientific research has revealed that 'the government lies to us.'"
NO! You don't say?!? That deducing this takes any kind of "scientific" research explains a lot about the nature of the research.
I am going to go out on a limb and reveal that I have close ties to the town of Newtown. This guy is crazy. This horrible thing actually did happen. Pictures of dead children? THAT'S what he would need to believe it? Wow.
ReplyDeleteBella, I'm so sorry for your loss.
DeleteHi Proffie Galore! I did not lose anyone in my family. I just know people in that community and lived there for a time. It's a small community----you cannot help but know people who were directly affected in their families. In a sense, everyone feels very close since what happened was so awful. But I do actually know people who lost family members. This professor saying things like this is really unbelievable.
DeleteFrom the full article: "Tracy cites several sources for his skepticism, including . . . how the accused shooter was able to fire so many shots in just minutes."
ReplyDeleteIn testimony this week about the Aurora, CO movie theater shooting, a cell phone call to 911 recorded 27 shots in 30 seconds. Of course, he may think that shooting was staged too. I don't want to check his blog to find out.
That's not difficult to do at all. All you have to do to fire a shot from an AR-15 is squeeze the trigger; you can easily do that once per second for 30 seconds, and that would empty a standard 30-round magazine.
ReplyDeleteI saw an article in Guns & Ammo during my time in green clothes, when the M16A2 had first come out, where the writer tried to jam the civilian version of the weapon. He fired 5000 rounds in quite a short time, something under two hours. That included rest breaks for his blistered finger.
The Aurora shooter was using pistols with extra-large magazines, but the principle is the same: you can fire them as fast as you can pull the trigger, which is easily once per second. Conservatively, including reloading time, you could average 30 shots per minute with no trouble at all.
This is an ex-Marine? He should know better.
"He fired 5000 rounds in quite a short time, something under two hours. That included rest breaks for his blistered finger."
DeleteNoob....he could've done a Mythbusters and mounted the gun on a stand, then used a string to pull the trigger.
[This message from the real Strelnikov.]
This was Guns & Ammo we're talking about. I'm not sure his mental processes ran to creativity. I remember his tone as sort of like "I'm taking one for the team."
DeleteWho is worse, Arthur Butz or this guy? I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteAm relieved to know that all those children aren't really dead.
ReplyDeleteWhile I support this guy's free-speech right to say whatever nonsense he's thinking in a public forum, and I support his job's being protected by tenure, I wouldn't at all object to his immediate colleagues and/or his university issuing a statement disavowing all connection with his ideas. It might also be that a mental health evaluation is in order; while tenure certainly protects his right to a job under most circumstances, and I'm mindful that psychiatry has been used as a means of controlling unpopular ideas, universities do also need the ability to remove someone who has seriously lost touch with reality from the classroom, and to put them on medical leave (especially if the proffie is actually communicating out-of-touch-with-reality ideas in the classroom).
ReplyDeleteI'd also suggest putting him a room with the families of some of the dead children, and some of the first responders who handled the scene, and letting things take their course, except that wouldn't be fair to the families and first responders, who deserve the right to recover as best they can in peace.
Free speech is not free . You cannot yell fire in a crowded theatre. It's irresponsible.
ReplyDeleteSilmilarly, you cannot spout off hypotheses which are emotionally harmful to others, hiding behind the umbrella of free speech. Again, it's irresponsible
This is a perfect example why the dying practice of awarding Tenor to quality educators is SO important to address. The purpose of tenor is to maintain the evolution of thoughts and ideas so one view will not marginalize the other... which seems to be the case here. The point, Tenor is essential for maintaining free thinking within a system that can easily be corrupted. Unfortunately the Authorities at F.A.U. do not see the essential purpose (or perhaps they are threatened by it and are the corrupted party), but from what I have seen as a former student, it is clear that FAU is not fond of all their Tenured professors and are prepared to "manage" him at the expense of the students who value what he has to offer.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Tracy is not the first Instructor whose position has been threatened by this particular institution for speaking his mind. As a Tenured Professor he has a duty to state his mind freely and he should be able to do so in reference to his field without consequences. As a former student of Professor Tracy's I found him to be one of the most valuable Instructors I had the luxury of learning from. I took several courses with him and this teacher is not a threat, he is an asset and I wish there were more instructors with the ability to express the level of free thought he does. From my experience most Instructors seemed too timid or ambivalent to express their mind. It would be a huge injustice to continue persecuting him. I have nothing but respect for this man. He is thorough in his research and can back up all his sources which is more than I can say for his critics, who in fact, are ignorantly making examples of themselves in support of Tracy's broader message. Wake up!...We are all being lied to.
This is a perfect example why the dying practice of awarding Tenor to quality educators is SO important to address. The purpose of tenor is to maintain the evolution of thoughts and ideas so one view will not marginalize the other... which seems to be the case here. The point, Tenor is essential for maintaining free thinking within a system that can easily be corrupted. Unfortunately the Authorities at F.A.U. do not see the essential purpose (or perhaps they are threatened by it and are the corrupted party), but from what I have seen as a former student, it is clear that FAU is not fond of all their Tenured professors and are prepared to "manage" him at the expense of the students who value what he has to offer.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Tracy is not the first Instructor whose position has been threatened by this particular institution for speaking his mind. As a Tenured Professor he has a duty to state his mind freely and he should be able to do so in reference to his field without consequences. As a former student of Professor Tracy's I found him to be one of the most valuable Instructors I had the luxury of learning from. I took several courses with him and this teacher is not a threat, he is an asset and I wish there were more instructors with the ability to express the level of free thought he does. From my experience most Instructors seemed too timid or ambivalent to express their mind. It would be a huge injustice to continue persecuting him. I have nothing but respect for this man. He is thorough in his research and can back up all his sources which is more than I can say for his critics, who in fact, are ignorantly making examples of themselves in support of Tracy's broader message. Wake up!...We are all being lied to.
I was never awarded Tenor myself. I was awarded Bass, and the guy who was awarded Lead Guitar kept stealing all my dates.
ReplyDelete