Strange bedfellows in Wheaton College tenure flap

There is irony in Wheaton College's campaign to rid itself of a tenured professor for straying from Christian and Wheaton College orthodoxy that should not go unnoticed. It stems from the local, nationwide and now worldwide interest in Wheaton's suspending tenured political science professor Larycia Hawkins for wearing a hijab to express solidarity with her Muslim neighbors. Hawkins is following in a long line of theologians promoting ecumenicalism among religions to bring humanity in harmony with the universe. Wheaton College, apparently, wants none of that, suspending the nine year tenured Hawkins and conducting an inquiry, inquisition is more appropriate, to withdraw her tenure and then fire her. While conceding her wearing the hajib, in itself, does not violate the statement of faith all faculty members must sign and practice, Hawkins inquisitors see it as a fourth a final example of her heresy. They no like her writing about what Christians can learn from Black Liberation Theocracy, which connects the Bible to troubling Christian support for slavery and oppression of blacks. Next up in her transgressions was a Facebook posting of Hawkins at a Halsted Street home the SAME DAY as the Gay Pride Parade, an obvious example of guilt by gay association which exits only in the warped minds of the college purists. Strike three was Hawkins' suggestion the College use 'diplomatic vocabulary' for conversations about sexuality in school curriculum. The hijab and her call linking it to solidarity with Muslims facing unprecedented attacks from the crazed haters in our society, pushed Wheaton College leaders to their self destructive action.

The irony? School Provost Stanton Jones claims Hawkins' article on Black Liberation Theology seemed to "endorse a kind of Marxism." But Provost Jones and the College elders are the ones following the Marxist line of obsessing about orthodoxy to the point of losing sight of their true purpose of serving mankind. We might say that in the Larycia Hawkins, Wheaton College dustup, Marx and Jesus make strange bedfellows.

Sunshine spells trouble for Pakistani kids

When sun shines in some parts of Pakistan, the kids stay inside and long for clouds and gloom.  That's the area where America's cowardly, murderous drones seek out imagined bad guys to rain death down death from remotely fired bombs. But when its too overcast the drones are grounded. Then the kids are allowed outside to play, knowing they won't become innocent victims of our demented war against Islam that has taken over a million lives since 2001. 'Let the sunshine in' is a clever tag line for Americans. It's a possible death sentence for Pakistani kids. 

No second fiddle to Nero by COD Boycott Three

The Boycott Three at the College of DuPage Board, Erin Birt, Joe Wozniak and Dianne McGuire, play second fiddle to no one, even Nero. Their actions in boycotting the Dec. 17 Board meeting and vowing to continue their boycott till they wrest control of the reform Board from Acting Chair Deanne Mozzachi, can arguably be deemed 'official misconduct', not a good tag to add to one's resume. Having been deeply involved in the mis-governance that landed COD on probation by the Higher Learning Commission, the Boycott Three have gone on strike at precisely the moment when COD needs urgent governing action. College of DuPage is proverbially on fire. But like Nero, the Boycott Three choose to fiddle around while the fire rages. Come on, guy and gals, put down your fiddling bow and bow down to the task at hand: undoing the damage you enabled for the last four years.

Prayer not a good winning strategy

OK, Naperville H.S. District 203's brouhaha over football coach-led prayer at gametime doesn't rise to the importance of Palatine H.S. District 211's discrimination against a transgender female in the girls locker room, but it's important nonetheless. District officials agreed with the Freedom From Religion Foundation that Coach Mike Stine's leading of public prayers before games violates constitutional ban on practice of religion in the public arena, including the football one. Team leader Dan Bumpus, claiming to speak for all players, says the team will continue the prayer next season without Coach Stine involved. Bumpus claims the team has a constitutional right to practice religion "collectively" in the public square. That's a personal Bumpus view which has, in fact, no basis in constitutional case law. The District is skittish about even a team-led public prayer saying "The District will not restrict their freedom of expression as long as players respect its policies and coaches do not participate." Whether this will satisfy the Freedom From Religion Foundation is still in question. What isn't in question is the outcome of Coach Stine-led prayer before their last playoff game - a November 14 loss to Waubansie Valley, which didn't resort to public prayer in slaying their football rival. Apparently, to paraphrase Napoleon on warfare, 'God is on the side of the better football team.' 
 

Chicago rags disgrace journalism

It's sad to see the biggest feature on the front page on all three Chicago dailies headline another pathetic Bear loss, this one eliminating them from the playoffs. Sun-Times garnered gold for dumbing down the day's news with a full, that's right, full page showing Bear players slammed in the turf with the headline, "Beatdown! Bears suffer third straight loss in ugly game." The Trib took silver for a huge pic of QB Cutler being sacked underscored by the snarky headline 'Seasons Beatings.' The Daily Herald only got bronze with a page wide headline "Playoffs? Nope!", and a pic of 2 Bear fans at the game with paper bags over their head to hide their embarrassment.

if every reader had even a scintilla of interest, which most don't, in the brain destroying game of professional football, leading with such a worthless, meaningless bit of entertainment instead of real news is partly why we have possibly the worst informed public in the industrialized world. Instead of the decade long sports failure called the Bears, how about making the top story the ten Iraqi soldiers one of our numerous errant bombs blew to bits in Iraq. Or maybe the dozens of hate crimes against American Muslims, or Americans who look like Muslims, fomented by Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and the toothpicks masquerading as president timber trolling for votes from the haters in their party.

Come on Chicago papers, William Randolph Hearst and Joe Pulitzer, who invented Yellow Journalism over a century ago are long dead. It's time to treat your readers and your profession with the decency and respect it deserves. We're tired of being treated like mushrooms: kept in the dark and fed manure.

Pale Hose should retire Shoeless Joe's jersey

On the White Sox outfield wall are the numbers of 10 Sox greats, signifying their special place in White Sox history. One great, possibly the greatest of them all is missing - Shoeless Joe Jackson. Shoeless Joe, so named because early in his career he allegedly played without shoes, prowled the Sox outfield at old Comisky Park for the last six of his 13 seasons from 1915 through 1920. His career stats both hitting and fielding are awesome - batting: .356; slugging: 517; on base: .423; fielding: .988.

Alas, Jackson's career was cut short at age 33 in 1920 when he was implicated in the 'Black Sox' World Series scandal, being one of the infamous 8 Black Sox banned for life. Jackson, a dupe, not an active participant, allegedly took $5,000 but then turned in a bravura performance in the 1919 World Series, batting .375, 24 points about his regular season average.

It'll be 96 years next April when the Sox open at the new Comisky Park, a.k.a. US Cellular Field, without Shoeless Joe in the lineup. Wouldn't be a nice bit of mercy and forgiveness for the Sox to bury the baseball bat and put Shoeless Joe up on the wall with the other ten Sox immortals? The only glitch, other than human intransigence, is that there is no Shoeless Joe number to retire. They didn't exist in the Bigs till the Indians and Yanks debuted them in 1929.

Here's the deal. Instead of a baseball with the hero's number inside, give Shoeless Joe the outline of a 1920 ear Sox jersey, with 'Shoeless Joe' inscribed within. Maybe the Sox mucky-mucks could even bring one of Shoeless Joe's descendants up from South Carolina to drop the shroud covering the honor. Even better, name the event: SAY IT'S SO JOE, DAY.

Take COD off; put Boycott Three on probation

After boycotting the College of DuPage Board meeting December 17, the three holdover members, Erin Birt, Joe Wozniak and Dianne McGuire (the Boycott Three) signaled their intention to stay on strike against governing the college till, well, they get their way. The Boycott Three opposed every reform measure that the new Board majority implemented in the past eight months, putting COD on the road to recovery from the educational, administrative and financial tsunami that led to COD's extraordinary placement on probation by the Higher Learning Commission. But without a majority, the Boycott Three could only flail away in meaningless protest as virtually every excess of the Bob Breuder administration was swept away, setting the stage for COD to thrive. With the abrupt resignation of Board Chair Kathy Hamilton, the Boycott Three recognized their power to deny the Board a quorum to act in furtherance of this urgent reform. But in so doing they worsened the COD situation beyond measure. COD is now largely shut down, being unable to authorize expenditures over $25,000 or even approve new educational programs. What is most despicable about their action is that it was their governance, along with the three members who have mercifully left the Board, which enabled and even participated in the mis-management and gluttony that plagued COD for five unfortunate years.

Come on Higher Learning Center, do the right thing. Recognize the reform which cannot be rolled back and remove COD from educational probation. While you're at it, place the Boycott Three on Double Secret Probation, giving the reform Board a quorum and leaving the Boycott Three to stew in their infantile excesses away from the public arena which they have so pitifully served.