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• UW professor under fire for teaching that U.S. Govt was behind 9/11 attack
• Newcomer challenges Rhoades

By Wheeler News Service

The University of Wisconsin-Madison says it will review an instructor who's come under fire for claiming the U.S. government pulled off 9/11 for its own benefit.

Kevin Barrett plans to teach an introductory class on Islam this fall and Provost Patrick Farrell said the school would review the course materials, as well as his past performance.

"Mr. Barrett's statements regarding the events of Sept. 11 have raised some legitimate concerns about the content and quality of instruction in his planned fall course, 'Islam: Religion and Culture,' Farrell said in a statement issued by UW System.

Farrell says the UW must guarantee that his course content is accurate, and that he not impose his personal views on students.

"My office, along with officials in the College of Letters and Science and his department, will immediately undertake a review of his plans for teaching this course and his past teaching performance. We plan to meet with Mr. Barrett to discuss those plans, review his syllabus, his reading list and examine past supervisor and student evaluations," Farell added.

Farrell expects the process to be completed within 10 working days.

However, Board of Regents president David Walsh says Barrett should be allowed to tell students what he thinks and unless he yells "fire" in a crowded theater, his academic freedom must be protected.

Barrett is the co-founder of the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance, which believes President Bush orchestrated 9/11 to start a war between Muslims and Christians, and give the government more power.

He has written and talked about his views in the past. But they never generated controversy until he appeared on Jessica McBride's conservative Milwaukee radio talk show Wednesday night.

The next day, other talk show hosts dubbed Barrett as "Wisconsin's Ward Churchill," referring to the Colorado professor who tied the World Trade Center bombing victims to Nazi Germany.

Barrett received his Ph.D. from UW-Madison in 2004 in African languages and literature and folklore, and has taught only one other course since that time at UW-Madison. This fall would be the first time Mr. Barrett taught a course on Islam at UW-Madison, according to Farrell.

That got GOP gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Mark Green, Green Bay, to order that the UW stop paying tax-or-tuition dollars to Barrett.

"And just when you thought Jim Doyle's UW Board of Regents couldn't get any more out-of-step with Wisconsin values, their president says in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Barrett should be able to share his views in the classroom," Green said.

Another UW-System critic Assembly Republican Steve Nass, Whitewater has called for Barrett's firing.

Judy Wiff, RiverTown Regional Editor

A 21-year-old recent graduate of UW-River Falls is challenging Kitty Rhoades for the Wisconsin Assembly seat she has held since 1998.

Dan Gorman, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and finance, said the main thrust of his campaign is "to implement a progressive economic development plan for Wisconsin."

The 30th Assembly District includes the western parts of Pierce and St. Croix counties, including the cities of Hudson, River Falls and Prescott and the villages of North Hudson and Ellsworth.

"(T)he Republican plan of offering corporate welfare at the expense of working class families must stop," said Gorman. He suggests building a state capable of offering a healthy educated workforce and the amenities and infrastructure industries require.

Gorman, who is originally from Elkhorn, has lived in River Falls for 4½ years. He was a member of the College Democrats and helped staff the local Democratic office during the last presidential election.

Toward the end of his college career, Gorman tutored finance and economics students and was business help room manager for the last year. He worked at a Subway restaurant while in high school, taught golf to middle school students in Elkhorn, waited tables and helped with set-up at a conference center. He also worked periodically at Geneva Research and Development, a machine company owned by his father.

"This has sort of been a goal of mine for four years," said Gorman of his run for state office. He said he decided to challenge Rhoades after Tom Parent lost his race two years ago.

"We have very different points of view on how the state of Wisconsin should be run," said Gorman.

He said he opposes any attempt, such as TABOR, to write tax law into the state's constitution.

Gorman also opposes mandating the use of drivers' licenses or other identification cards as proof of identity when voting.

Many students don't bother to change their addresses on their driver's licenses through their college years and about half of elderly people don't have licenses, he said.

He said the Republican-sponsored voter ID bill would disenfranchise thousands of Wisconsin residents.

"It seems like what they're getting at is the easiest way to prevent voter fraud is to have no one vote," said Gorman.

His third priority is to "prevent government intrusion in the lives of private citizens."

"Wisconsin needs a government to protect the rights of the people, not to dismiss them," said Gorman, pointing to a proposed constitutional amendment that he said would weaken marriage and to a bill that would restrict university students' access to birth control.

Gorman said he will run a low-budget campaign and will accept only contributions of $100 or less. He said he will focus on door-to-door campaigning in an attempt to meet as many constituents as possible.

For more information on Gorman's campaign, e-mail him at DanGorman30@yahoo.com Judy Wiff is the Regional Editor of the RiverTown Newspaper Group and can be contacted at regional@rivertowns.net