Right Mind : Quinlan

Drives To Ban Homosexual Adoption Heat Up In 16 States

Right-Mind — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 19:49:00 GMT

From USA Today : Efforts to ban gays and lesbians from adopting children are emerging across the USA...(read more)

Joe Campbell Quote of the Day

Right-Mind — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 16:53:00 GMT

Joe Campbell, who is a "professional philosopher" at Washington State University, writes:

It is a sure sign of desperation if the only way that conservatives can rebut the points of liberals is to question their sincerity.

and then in the next breath:

He [Iverson] is heartless, offensive, and unable to see beyond his own perspective.

Campbell's professional status reminds me of some of the University of Idaho's "Professional Historians" status. See:

It really cracks me up that "professionals" only find jobs in academia these days...

HT: Doug Jones

What's That Stench I Smell?

Right-Mind — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 02:41:00 GMT

keely mix wrote:

I echo Tom's thanks to Professor Quinlan, who demonstrates that academic integrity and moral courage, existing together, offer a powerful and fragrant testimony regardless of the stench of circumstances surrounding them.

Thank you, Sean.

Well, well, well. I wonder if Mrs. Mix will stick with her “academic integrity” line as I continue to march thru the Quinlan quagmire.

I'm sure it takes a lot of “moral courage” on her part to embrace his “powerful and fragrant testimony”.

But it's not roses I smell. Rather, something wafting from the UI Ag out-buildings...

Quinlan: Strike Four -- Rushdoony was Not a Holocaust Denier

Right-Mind — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 21:45:00 GMT

There's an Internet slander that "bogeyman" R.J. Rushdoony was a holocaust denier.

Professor Sean M. Quinlan, Associate Professor of History at the University of Idaho, apparently is doing his historical research from Internet emails rather than from original sources. Quinlan writes:

Peter Leithart, a fellow at the New St. Andrews non-accredited college in Moscow. Leithart praised Holocaust denier and right-wing evangelist J. Rousas Rushdoony as an "American original."

Quinlan's apparent "research" comes from what Rushdoony wrote in his Institutes of Biblical Law Volume I, pp. 585ff in a section titled "The Lying Tongue." In that section, Rushdoony was talking about the exaggeration of evil to make it more evil to a morally jaded people. He included both holocaust historians and debunkers.

Let me say it again for Moscow's controversial professional historian: in that section above, Rushdoony never denied the holocaust. He talked about some people who exaggerated the evil in order to make it appear even more evil. Exaggeration, lying, you understand those concepts, right?

In the September 2000 edition of the Chalcedon Report (just a few months before he died), the entire edition was dedicated to the topic "The Racialist Heresy". In that edition, Rushdoony wrote about "Exaggeration and Denial":

It is difficult to imagine that anyone can deny the reality of the mass slaughter that characterized the twentieth century, whether it be the Armenian millions murdered by the Turks, the Jewish millions murdered by the Nazis, or the untold millions murdered by the communists in China, Russia, and Cambodia.

In my Institutes of Biblical Law, I noted that the scope of such mass murder had so numbed the modern conscience that the murder of a "mere" thousand, or ten thousand, no longer shocked, tempting some to inflate the scope of lesser atrocities, lest they not seem sufficiently horrific.

It was not my purpose to enter a debate over numbers, whether millions were killed, or tens of millions, an area which must be left to others with expertise in such matters. My point then and now is that in all such matters what the Ninth Commandment requires is the truth, not exaggeration, irrespective of the cause one seeks to serve. It is as wrong to exaggerate in order to shock as it is now clear happened in early reports of Serbian "genocide" as to deny the reality of what the Nazis did, and in the case of the Communists, what they are still doing.

Historical revisionism condemns the future to play by the dangerous rules of exaggeration and denial. As I noted then, this will inevitably lead to even greater horrors as the bar of the capacity to shock is continually raised. This is the true danger of the myth of neutrality, where God's law is viewed as merely "one side of the debate."

So my question for Moscow's esteemed professional historian, Dr. Sean Quinlan -- is someone who affirms the holocaust but notes the tendency of some to exaggerate the number of deaths in order make the evil of the holocaust more horrific -- is that person a holocaust denier?

My recommendation to Dr. Quinlan is to go back to the sources. Perhaps read Rushdoony's commentary on the 9^th commandment -- about lying and exaggerating and how that's a sin. That will set the proper context for what Rushdoony has written above. Again, lying and exaggerating the facts to make a case seem worse than it is, is a sin.

I want to make a second point to my readers -- and that has to do with a professional historian who shoots from the hip and gets his facts repeatedly wrong. I would encourage Dr.Quinlan to act like a professor and actually do some research. The egg on your face is starting to putrefy.

But this won't be the last fisking that Quinlan gets from me. There's more to come. He's given us such juicy ammunition.

Attacking the University of Idaho?

Right-Mind — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 19:18:00 GMT

I've been asked why I am constantly attacking the University of Idaho.

I want to make it clear that I am not attacking the University of Idaho in these posts about Quinlan's open letter to the President of UI.

Rather, look carefully to see the difference between attacking Quinlan's statements and attacking the school where he teaches.

Notice in my past post What is a Historian's Only Job in Life? that I told someone from California not to move to Idaho to get a history degree from the University of Idaho. I was not telling people to avoid the University of Idaho in toto. It is more than likely that at least one of my 4 children with attend the University of Idaho at some point in time.

So please make sure you see that distinction in what I've written. The University of Idaho is a good school with some great departments and some problematic departments. As with any university -- avoid the problematic departments and embrace the excellent ones. That's what I will do.

A Venom2020 Brouhaha

Right-Mind — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 05:53:00 GMT

Well, all hell has broken loose on Venom2020. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less given an unmoderated listserver populated with Intoleristas. It can only be what it is: vile and worthless spew of the Intoleristas.

For those who don't follow Worthless2020, here's what has transpired over the last week and what finally broke loose today:

Wil Hendrick was a homosexual who was murdered in January 1999.
Wil Hendrick's name surfaced two days ago when Tom Hansen posted Dr. Quinlan's Bigotry and Violence on the Palouse. In it, Quinlan tried to link Christ Church to “bigotry and violence” in Moscow. He used Wil Hendrick as an example.
Someone took the name “Wil Hendrick“ and posted to the Venom2020 Listserver, making some very libelous accusations.
Shirley Ringo decried the anonymous postings.
Bill London said: “Coward that you are, you could not have considered the impact of your writing....not just on the people you have identified, as well as their friends and families...but also on this public communication system, Vision2020. Mean, petty, disgusting "outings" of home addresses, old gossip, home phone numbers, and other very personal information has the power to destroy V2020.“
Linda Pall called for Venom2020 to be either moderated or shut down.
Phil Nisbit called for the State Patrol to be called in and track down the perpetrator.

Before I proceed with this post, everyone needs to know that I also found that post despicable.

Now, some complaints on my part to the Intoleristas -- whose fault it is that these things are happening and who are fostering an atmosphere of hate in Moscow:

I found the timing of Quinlan's hack job to be curious -- during the start of Trinity Fest and three days before the Zoning Commission meeting (Wednesday night).
I found it even more curious that someone would post this anonymous, inflammatory post to Venom2020 the night before the Zoning Commission meeting. Very convenient. Will the Intoleristas take it out and parade it around the Zoning Commission tomorrow night? How was this designed to negatively influence Jerry Schutz and the Moscow City Council? Timing is everything when it comes to the Intoleristas.
The hubris of the Intoleristas is incredible. After years of the Intoleristas hiding behind anonymous postings about Doug and the Kirk folk, the Intoleristas are up in arms about a "Wil Hendrick" post today. Who are examples of Intoleristas hiding behind fake names? I've said this before, but I'll say it again:
1. J Ford
2. “New Man“
3. “Brandon Steele“
4. “Junior Varsity Douger“
5. Faul Ottomaticks
6. Stigmatta X
7. Ivan Brewski
8. Art Deco
9. JeanC
10. Captain Kirker
11. Shelly
12. Tbertruss
13. DPQ
14. hayfields
15. LRR
16. Nebar
17. Wocsom

And now add “Wil Hendrik” to that list. Of course, anonymous postings are fine when they are anti-Christ Church. No one complains then. And contrary to Bill London's post, posting personal home information is not OK -- unless it's done by an Intolerista.

How hypocritical they are, crying about hiding behind an anonymous handle or using someone else's handle when they applauded and ranted about the vile things said against Christians.

Update #1: Phil Nisbet clarifies:

I call for the use of Police Resources because in this case somebody has broken the law. Harrassment of Public Officials through the use of threats can not be tolerated. I for one am sure that CC is not behind this particular nasty piece of work and think it may just be the same as "new man", a front troll used to denegrate the CCers.

Thing is that at some point a troll can cross the line and go from being relatively harmless, that is to say simply stupid and vindictive, to being a menace. The Wil Hendrick thing is definately in that catergory.

Update #2: Tim Rigsby writes:

Compaing this incident to your laundry list of names is in no way acceptable. Wil Hendrick is dead, for you to support this juvenile behavior and accuse people of being hypocrites is quite disgusting. Realize that this comparison is childish and post a retraction please.

Tim, read my post again. You obviously missed this statement: "Before I proceed with this post, everyone needs to know that I also found that post despicable." I in no way support this "juvenile behavior" -- your words. I find this behavior more than just juvenile.

And I most certainly *do* accuse the Intoleristas of being hypocrites. Look back at their silence when Wilson was repeatedly accused on Vision2020 of being a pedophile and other libelous and slanderous statements -- all by well-placed, anonymous posters. Convenient, no?

So I wonder why the Intoleristas went hermatile at this post. Yet when a prominent minister has accusations concocted against him, everyone is silent.

You just have to wonder at the hypocrisy.

What is a Historian's Only Job in Life?

Right-Mind — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 04:25:00 GMT

I'm not done giving Quinlan the fisking of a lifetime. But I do want to pause at this point and ask a question: what in the world does a history professor have to do with his life? The only thing he has to do is get his facts correct. Pour thru the original texts (preferably), digest them correctly, and present the information.

I can tell you what -- Quinlan hasn't gotten it right yet with that open letter to the UI President.

As I've said before -- a historian has nothing to do but get the facts correct. Nothing. If he cannot get his facts straight, he shouldn't be teaching history. Period.

What's even more disturbing is the fact that there can be so many historical errors that have to do with the last 9 years in our small college town's own history! If a history professor cannot get the history of Moscow over the last 2 weeks correct (see Quinlan: Strike Three -- Black and Tan), then what can he get right?

I had someone Email me from California who was interested in moving here to study history at the University of Idaho. I told them to go elsewhere. There's better places to get a history degree than from the University of Idaho. If they want to be in the Palouse, go to the WSU. I can tell them a dozen better places to study history than here at the University of Idaho.

OK, I got that off my chest. But we're not done with the head-to-foot fisking of Quinlan. There's much more coming. Clasp your seatbelts...

Quinlan: Strike Three -- Black and Tan

Right-Mind — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 04:15:00 GMT

Associate Professor Sean M. Quinlan, Associate Professor of History at the University of Idaho, writes:

In 1996, he [Douglas Wilson] co-wrote (with Wilkins) a short booklet called Southern Slavery, As It Was. The book defends racial slavery and says that black emancipation has caused "abortion, feminism, and sodomy" in today's society. Though the book was plagiarized, it is now endorsed by historian Eugene Genovese.

There is so much wrong with the above paragraph that I do not know where to begin. Kate emailed me the best place to start:

Quinlan can't even get something right that happened recently, much less 6 years ago. Black and Tan by Doug Wilson hit the market within the last two weeks, and that is the book recommended by Dr Genovese, not the slavery pamphlet, like Quinlan said.

She's absolutely correct. The Eugene Genovese endorsement was for the book that was published two weeks ago, not the one from 9 years ago.

Who is Eugene Genovese?

Eugene Genovese, Ph.D. Columbia University, author of nine books including Roll Jordan Roll: The World the Slaves Made, winner of the Bancroft Prize in American History, taught at Rutgers, University of Rochester, Yale, Cambridge, and served as a distinguished scholar in residence for the University Center, Georgia.

Now there's the quality of historians that we could use at the University of Idaho!

What did Genovese say about Black and Tan?

"The Reverend Douglas Wilson may not be a professional historian, as his detractors say, but he has a strong grasp of the essentials of the history of slavery and its relation to Christian doctrine. Indeed, sad to say, his grasp is a great deal stronger than that of most professors of American history, whose distortions and trivializations disgrace our college classrooms. And the Reverend Mr. Wilson is a fighter, especially effective in defense of Christianity against those who try to turn Jesus' way of salvation into pseudomoralistic drivel."—Eugene Genovese

Now that's a resounding recommendation if I've ever heard one -- as well as a condemnation of certain history professors at the University of Idaho.

Bottom Line: Quinlan is wrong again; and again; and again; and...

Quinlan: Strike Two -- the Death of Wil Hendrick

Right-Mind — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 14:40:00 GMT

Professional Historian Sean M. Quinlan with the University of Idaho writes the following about the death of Wil Hendrick:

2) In 2001, a University of Idaho student was abducted and murdered. He was gay. His remains were found only last summer.

You can read about this case over at the Idaho Council on Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance (ICDVVA) news database.

Professional historian Dr. Quinlan is factually wrong on many points:

The Death of Wil Hendrick was in in January 1999 and not in 2001
Hendrick's body was found on 7 Sept 2002, not “last year“ (2004).
His death has not been linked to his being a homosexual nor to any hate groups.

Phil Nisbet again takes Quinlan to the academic woodshed:

The State Police and local Law Enforcement have said that they do not think that his death was related to his sexual orientation and there is no possible link to any hate groups. Why this particular crime occurred is completely unknown and though it should sadden us all that a talented young man is dead, it is not exactly a smoking gun suggesting mad men on the loose are gunning for gays on the Palouse.

So while it is true that Wil Hendrick was a homosexual and was killed and his body found on Moscow Mountain, he was not killed because he was a homosexual.

Or perhaps Quinlan has been taking divination lessons from Professor Sybil Trelawney and has the ability to divine those secret things that none of the rest of us mortals can know?

He also seems to be as accurate with his form of divination as Trelawney is.

Fisking #3 will be out tomorrow.

Quinlan: Strike One -- the Williams Brothers

Right-Mind — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 06:41:00 GMT

Professor Quinlan writes:

In June 1999, University of Idaho student Matthew Williams and his brother James Tyler Williams bombed three synagogues and abortion clinics and then killed a gay couple in northern California. Matthew Williams committed suicide; James Tyler Williams now serves two 29-years-to-life sentences. Matthew had been active in many right-wing churches in the local community. Before he went on his murder spree, he was studying Latin at a local church.

Quinlan insinuates that Matthew Williams had connections to Christ Church or Christ Church's teachings (“active in right-wing churches in the local community“; “studying Latin at a local church“).

OK, let's set the record straight. You can read for yourselves the background of these two men. See: http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/06/redding/index.html (note: there are 5 pages to this article. The quote below is on page 3):

After moving to the Redding area, the two brothers drifted through colleges and jobs. Matthew served a short stint in the Navy, then ended up at the University of Idaho at Moscow, where he was drawn into a charismatic Christian Church in nearby Pullman, Washington, known as the Living Faith Fellowship. As was his custom, he threw himself into the church 100 percent, but, as was also his custom, became quickly disenchanted and soon quit.

Of course, it would be nothing short of monstrous, on the basis of this information, to associate Matthew Williams's actions to Living Faith Fellowship. But Quinlan's thread is thinner yet--he somehow wants to tie him to the History conferences.

Phil Nisbet does a good fisking on Quinlan as well. He follows the same line of reasoning as I did above:

This particular reference [by Quinlan about the Williams brothers] amazed me. The Williams brothers were Northern California nuts, raised there by a USDA Forest Service Father who evidently was part of a Christian Identity sect there.

Matthew Williams was here in this area after a stint in the US Navy and went to the University of Idaho, but seems to have attended church at Living Faith Fellowship in Pullman WA (He was not a member of ‘right wing churches in the local community’ as suggested in Quinlan’s letter, just one local church). According to people who spoke to Reporters after the fact, Williams went from being a Christian Evangelical to being an "anti-Cult" activist while he was here and dropped out of his membership in Living Faith Fellowship. http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/1999/10/06/redding/

Frankly, the guy was a nut long before he ever went to the University of Idaho and there is no indication that he came up with any of his bizarre notions while here. Under the same premise you could say that the USDA Forest Service was a bastion of Racism and White Supremacy. Or maybe it was the Navy. Or far more likely, it was that the kids had a father who was a complete and utter whacko in the Northern California hot bed of Christian Identity weirdo’s and he finally stopped trying to have the perfect bowel movement in order to switch to killing people.

Here we have a “professional historian” who either cannot get the basic facts straight about something that happened in his own small town only 6 years ago; or he is purposely distorting and twisting the facts. Either one is pathetic for a professor of history at the University of Idaho with a PhD. So much for research.

So, dear readers -- you do the math. And ask yourself: why was this “open letter” pulled from the original site?

More strikes against Quinlan coming.

Many thanks to Tom Hansen for providing this great letter to review and mock.

Dr. Leithart the anti-Semite?

Right-Mind — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 17:50:00 GMT

In response to Quinlan, this from Dr. Peter Leithart:

Dr. Sean M. Quinlan, an Asst. Prof. of History at the University of Idaho, has written an open letter to U of I President Timothy White in which he renews various charges lodged against Douglas Wilson, Steve Wilkins, George Grant, and me a few years back. It makes the insightful contribution of linking us to a series of bombings and murders in Idaho and elsewhere. The letter was hastily pulled from its original location on the web, but it's been made available at http://right-mind.us/blogs/blog_0/archive/2005/08/07/35632.aspx .

While Steve is given the role of racist, George the role of homophobe, and Doug the role of all-purpose bigot, I've been cast as the anti-Semite. Quinlan writes that I was a featured speaker at last year's history conference in Moscow (which I wasn't) and continues, "Leithart praised Holocaust denier and right-wing evangelist J. Rousas Rushdoony as an 'American original.'" He is referring to an obituary I wrote for the Weekly Standard at the time of Rushdoony's death. Below I reproduce a letter to the editor of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News responding to this same charge from another U of I professor:

To the editor,

In his December 27/28 editorial in the Daily News, Dale Graden leaves the impression that I praised Rousas J. Rushdoony (not “J. Rousas Rushdoony,” as Graden has it) for being a Holocaust denier in my obituary in The Weekly Standard. I did not. In fact, I never mentioned the Holocaust at all. I praised Rushdoony for being a profound Christian thinker, and assessed his influence on the Christian Right and the rise of Christian education. Anyone who actually read the obituary would realize, too, that I am not an uncritical admirer of Rushdoony or his influence.

When I wrote the obituary, I was not even aware that Rushdoony had written on the Holocaust, though I had read a good bit of Rushdoony. There was a reason for that: The Holocaust is barely mentioned at all in Rushdoony’s voluminous writings. He never wrote a book on the subject, and no major articles. So far as I’ve been able to determine, what Graden misleadingly calls Rushdoony’s “writings on the Holocaust” consist of a few pages in a single 800-page book.

It is true that Rushdoony was sympathetic to some aspects of Holocaust “revisionism.” In particular, he disputed the claim that 6 million Jews were killed. On the other hand, he did not deny that Jews were persecuted and murdered in Nazi Germany, he denounced Nazi treatment of Jews as an atrocity, and, unlike many “revisionists,” he did not deny that the Germans pursued a policy of extermination.

Whatever Rushdoony believed about the Holocaust, I have never endorsed or promoted Holocaust revisionism in any form. Graden resorts to the most tenuous kind of guilt-by-association to taint me, implicitly New St Andrews and Christ Church, with anti-Semitism.

Bigotry and Violence on the Palouse

Right-Mind — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 06:53:00 GMT

This is a letter from Dr. Sean M. Quinlan (Asst. Prof. of History at the University of Idaho) to University of Idaho President Timothy White. I'm reproducing it here in full since it's been pulled from where it originally appeared (this is when Google cache is so very helpful).

Interesting, the tone that Quinlan takes with the UI President: “I demand that President Timothy White explain the following...“. Wow! I sure hope President White belly's up to the bar and bows to Quinlan's demands. (Aside: does anyone know if Quinlan already has tenure?).

Phil Nisbet and Donovan Arnold (here and here) have completely embarrassed Quinlan regarding his first three points.

I'll deal with some of the other points later (I'm busy with the Trinity Fest for three days, so it may be delayed).

What I want my readers to come away with -- how can you trust historians to get something right from 300 years ago in distant lands when they cannot get the facts straight in their own town only 5 years ago.

Let that one sink in for a while.

Enjoy the letter. See how many logical fallacies Quinlan makes.

Bigotry and Violence on the Palouse

By Dr. Sean M. Quinlan
Assistant Professor of History
University of Idaho

Are bigotry and violence problems at the University of Idaho?

1) In June 1999, University of Idaho student Matthew Williams and his brother James Tyler Williams bombed three synagogues and abortion clinics and then killed a gay couple in northern California. Matthew Williams committed suicide; James Tyler Williams now serves two 29-years-to-life sentences. Matthew had been active in many right-wing churches in the local community. Before he went on his murder spree, he was studying Latin at a local church.

2) In 2001, a University of Idaho student was abducted and murdered. He was gay. His remains were found only last summer.

3) In April 2002, ASUI members burned the Gay-Straight alliance flag. This incident attracted international attention and brought hate-activists associated with preacher Fred Phelps to Moscow .

4) In February, 2004, the University of Idaho hosted the local Christ Church’s "Ninth Annual History Conference." Some of the featured speakers were:

- Steven Wilkins, cofounder of the League of the South, a group dedicated to southern secession and racial separatism.

- George Grant, of King's Meadow Study Center in Tennessee. Grant believes in “Reconstruction” theology, which wants to replace the US Constitution with a Christian theocracy. He also thinks gays should be put to death.

- Douglas Wilson, pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. Like Grant, Wilson is also a Reconstructionist and runs a national franchise of about 150 primary schools. He has been active in neo-Confederate networks since 1995. In 1996, he co-wrote (with Wilkins) a short booklet called Southern Slavery, As It Was. The book defends racial slavery and says that black emancipation has caused "abortion, feminism, and sodomy" in today's society. Though the book was plagiarized, it is now endorsed by historian Eugene Genovese.

- Peter Leithart, a fellow at the New St. Andrews non-accredited college in Moscow. Leithart praised Holocaust denier and right-wing evangelist J. Rousas Rushdoony as an "American original."

As the conference highlight, Wilson lectured on R. L. Dabney, a man who was a marginal religious figure in the antebellum South. Dabney promoted secession and racial slavery. After the Civil War, he opposed African-American education and interracial marriages.

The event upset some community members. There were insults and recriminations. The events were monitored by the NAACP and the Southern Poverty Law Center. There was vandalism. A professor was assaulted and called a 'faggot nigger lover'.

But Wilson’s previous eight conferences at the University of Idaho had passed without comment by faculty, administration, students, or staff.

5) This summer, Wilson ’s group returns their 10th conference. This time it’s in the Kibbie Dome. For the university, white supremacy is good business –– at least in the short run. Already, the administration is planning the 11th annual conference.

Given this recent past, it’s astonishing that the national media hasn’t identified the University of Idaho as a center of hate-crime activity. In terms of the body count, the fare we offer is bloodier than Laramie, Wyoming.

In light of this, I demand that President Timothy White explain the following:

1) President White's own position on white supremacy;

2) why the University of Idaho continues to find white supremacy to be good business;

3) and why President White continues to put under-represented students at risk at our university and in our community.

The problem isn't ideological. One day, another person will be murdered. It's a matter of time. And I want to know who will stand up and be counted now.

It's time we had accountability.

No more excuses.