KU professor reports attack

[kweerwolf]

The University of Kansas professor who touched off a furor last week after e-mails surfaced that disparaged Christianity told police he was beaten by two assailants Monday morning.

Paul Mirecki told Douglas County sheriff’s officers that two men attacked him in rural southern Douglas County at 6:40 a.m. Monday. He was treated for injuries at Lawrence Memorial Hospital and released.

Law enforcement officials said it was not known whether the incident had any connection to the storm surrounding Mirecki.

But Mirecki told the Lawrence Journal-World that two men who beat him were making references to a class that was to be offered for the first time this spring. Originally called “Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies,” the course was canceled last week at Mirecki’s request.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/13336935.htm

Ahh ... the tolerance of the right-wing fundie crowd at its best.

[ComerPerro]

1. Insane, isn't it?

"Hey, that professor guy thinks that us fundies are a bunch of simplistic, bigoted, intolerant morons!

Lets show him how wrong he is! Let's kick his ass!"


:eyes:

[MuseRider]

2. OMG! Bwahahahahaha

THAT was the perfect response!

I know in another thread there was some doubt about the story, especially because it was around Lawrence. Judging from the phone calls I have received just for working on a campaign I can't say this surprises me at all.

I hope he is OK. I think he could have been more discreet, not that I particularly care, but given his position at KU and the fight that has been going on it would have been nice if he had been able to teach that class. He probably would have been more happy not getting beaten up either. What a world we live in.

[Mabus]

3. Now they're coming after the Jayhawk itself

First there are local wackos after Mirecki. Now we've got wackos from Hawaii and Florida who come to Lawrence and mess with the Jayhawk itself.

It wasn’t hard to find the hooligans thought to have roughed up Kansas University’s “Classic Jayhawk” sculpture over the weekend.

One alleged perpetrator dropped his wallet during the vandalism. When he returned to the scene, police were there.

“I hear that a Mensa membership card was not in the wallet,” KU Spokesman Todd Cohen said.

Police arrested two 23-year-old men with no KU affiliation, said Chris Keary, assistant chief of the KU Public Safety Office. Keary would not release the men’s names, but two men booked at Douglas County Jail in an incident with the same case number were Andrew H. Froistad of Lailua, Hawaii, and Matthew S. Lukevics of Pensacola, Fla. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/dec/06/dropped_wallet_provides_clue_jayhawk_vandalism/?ku_news

I wonder if these are the same Andrew Froistad and Matthew Lukevics that were midshipmen on the Navy baseball team a few years back?

Four Midshipmen who received either First-Team or Second-Team All-Patriot League honors in 2003 return this season. Craig Candeto and Pete Curnow were each first-team selections, while Andy Froistad and Matt Lukevics earned second-team accolades.http://navysports.collegesports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/040204aaa.html

[evlbstrd]

4. If they are the same guys,

it shames me to have been Navy.
No. I take that back.
They shamed the Navy.

[Mabus]

11. Andrew H. Froistad

is listed as the contact for the 2004 class U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation

President: Lincoln M. Lukich
Vice-President: James A. Brobyn
Secretary: Andrew H. Froistad
Treasurer: Joseph M. Zukowsky
Shipmate Class Contact: Andrew H. Froistad

The "H." is important because the Journal World identified one of the people booked as Andrew H. Froistad. I don't know how common a name Froistad is but I'd wager there aren't more than half a dozen Andrew H. Froistad's alive in the world right now. Not only that but this former midshipman played on a baseball team with someone named Matthew Lukevics (another uncommon name). I wonder what the odds are of that?

:shrug: I'm thinking they must be the same two. I wonder if they're doing recruiting? This would be a huge embarrassment.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. WTF?

What did they have against the Jayhawk?

[Mabus]

6. I don't know

I do remember a few years ago when we played Maryland in the NCAA National Basketball Championship. I believe it was 2002. Maryland had Juan Dixon (who I think deserved the Player of the Year award that was given to Jason "Motorcycle" Williams). Anyway some moron from a MD station came to Lawrence and pissed on Allen Fieldhouse before the game. He then posted the pictures on his radio's website. Maybe they were just passing through and decided to desecrate a Jayhawk.

Although, I do wonder if either of them has a wool cap or large pick-up truck and happened to be cruising south of Lawrence looking for Mirecki. :shrug:

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Now Mabus we can't be trashing one of those Eastern states

Cause round these parts, we all know only Kansas gets that honor.

Stay out of GD. It's getting scary over there. Someone even started a thread and assumed the guys who beat up Mirecki were pro - evolution. See, they think ALL Kansans are nuts, even the liberals. ;)

[Mabus]

8. LOL

I've spent more time reading than posting lately. It has gotten weird around here lately. It is funny that the "PC police" don't mind when it comes to bashing Kansas. I guess we're fair game for a while.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Between the Kansas and the teacher trashing,

this is becoming not such a nice place. :grr:

[Mabus]

10. Mirecki resigned as chair of the department

Mirecki resigns leadership position

I don't know why we are blessed with all the bashing. I guess they need to use us as a scapegoat to make them feel better about their states and their educational systems. As long as it works to keep some of the ignorant bastards (liberal, conservative and all other point of views) out of the state I guess we should be happy.

[hfojvt]

12. it's that tanjed book

With "What's the matter with Kansas" we became the poster-boy for RW stupidity and perfidity.

[Mabus]

13. I know, I know

Earlier this year I went to several out-of-state conferences. At each one of them people asked "What's the matter with Kansas"? It gets annoying after a while and has done little more than perpetuate the "hick" reputation of our fine state. What pisses me off more than anything though is that I thought the DU crowd was more sophisticated and would be able to appreciate that every state has its share of wackos. Instead, all that damned book (actually the title of it) has done is make us the target of other people's stupidity. Moreover, it also makes our job harder because some people are beginning to think "what's the use?" especially after BushCo got reelected.

[hfojvt]

14. the irony is kinda rich about the title too

since the original essay was about Kansas being run by populist progressives, and Mr. White thought there was something wrong with that.

I joined after the election, and DU was rich with red state bashing, having alot of anger at Bush voters which seemed to include everyone in a red state. I guess Kansas just keeps it going by being on the cutting edge of both marriage amendments and creationism.

Of course, I did write a piece that the KC Star published which said "Kansas isn't that bad, why can't Thomas Frank see that? What's the matter with him?" and I did a bit of touring of my new home state. I also wrote this on DU

"what is 5,144,795 besides more than the population of Kansas and Nebraska combined?
It is the number of people in California who voted for Bush.
What is 2,828,723 besides about the population of Vermont, Rhode Island and New Hampshire combined?
It is the number of people in Texas who voted for Kerry.
1,477,122 = about the population of North and South Dakota combined and the number of Bush voters in Wisconsin.
1,304,844 = about the population of Montana and Wyoming combined and the number of Bush voters in Washington state.
2,756,904 = about the population of Arkansas and the number of Bush voters in Pennsylvania.
2,823,235 = about the population of Iowa and the number of Bush voters in New York.
2,336,253 = more than the number of eligible voters in Mississippi and the number of Illini who voted for Bush
2,310,803 = about the population of Utah and the number of Bush voters in Michigan.
So for the last time take the blue state arrogance and red state bashing and put it where the sun don't shine, which is usually Minnesota."

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. The Kansas bashing was bad enough

Then there were a ton of bad teacher stories.

NOW there is all this pro death penalty crap. WTF? Some days it seems like this place has lost its mind.