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2006-09-08 Home Front: Culture Wars
BYU Professor on Paid Leave for 9-11 Theory
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Posted by Steve White 2006-09-08 12:42|| || Front Page|| [11140 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 Well at least they didn't put him on leave for espousing that Jesus was married, and to more than one wife; that Adam is God; that you can be a God when you die if you're married in the temple; or some crazy theory like that.....
Posted by mcsegeek1 2006-09-08 13:52||   2006-09-08 13:52|| Front Page Top

#2 How many times does al-Qaeda have to admit carrying out the WTC atrocities, before the conspiracy crackpots finally get it. I would question the teaching credentials of a denier. Maybe he believes that Texas oilmen bombed Pearl Harbor.
Posted by Snease Shaiting3550 2006-09-08 14:05||   2006-09-08 14:05|| Front Page Top

#3 Can I too get a paid vacation (not in a rubber-walled 'resort') for espousing crackpot conspiracy theories?
Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore  2006-09-08 14:47||   2006-09-08 14:47|| Front Page Top

#4 Not quite a paid vacation, Glenmore.

He's a full professor, which is the highest academic rank and implies tenure. Paid leave of this sort is virtually unprecedented and indicates a serious professional rebuke in the making. The nature of the rebuke is suggested by words like "increasingly speculative and accusatory" and "remains concerned that Dr. Jones' works on this topic has not been published in appropriate scientific venues". These are cardinal sins in the scientific research community.

Jones was already controversial re: cold fusion but there was at least some argument to be made that that was legitimate scientific research and theorizing. By his 9/11 conspiracy theories he has clearly stepped out of bounds for a researcher.
Posted by lotp 2006-09-08 15:13||   2006-09-08 15:13|| Front Page Top

#5 Ain't tenure institution wonderful?
Posted by gromgoru 2006-09-08 15:14||   2006-09-08 15:14|| Front Page Top

#6 Cause, meet effect.
Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader  2006-09-08 15:30||   2006-09-08 15:30|| Front Page Top

#7 Maybe he believes that Texas oilmen bombed Pearl Harbor.

That would be the Germans.
Posted by Pre-Law Student 2006-09-08 16:30||   2006-09-08 16:30|| Front Page Top

#8 The article makes the point that BYU does not give tenure, so no, the good professor is not tenured. Which makes his position very precarious indeed. I suspect he won't be on the professorial roster for the next school year, establishing a lovely precedent for the profession. The professors' union must be quietly howling!
Posted by trailing wife 2006-09-08 17:27||   2006-09-08 17:27|| Front Page Top

#9 Which reminds me : as mentioned earlier, the most well-known french satellite/cable documentary channel started its 9/11 commemoration evening by airing "loose change 2nd edition" on prime time. Feel the love.
Posted by anonymous5089 2006-09-08 17:30||   2006-09-08 17:30|| Front Page Top

#10 Cold fusion scammer, 9-11 conspiracy theorist or crackpot full-goose-Bozo raving loon? You be the judge.
Posted by Zenster 2006-09-08 18:02||   2006-09-08 18:02|| Front Page Top

#11 TW, I re-read the article linked here and saw no mention of BYU not offering tenure. Did I miss it??

The professors' union must be quietly howling!

Not necessarily. At some schools perhaps, but not at BYU and some other place and especially not in the hard sciences. A full professor in the hard sciences who goes batty is anathema to other scientists, generally. In this case Jones was batty about conclusions he was drawing from sketchy scientific evidence -- more or less the equivalent of a dog with rabies. You put them down quickly for the good of the community.
Posted by lotp 2006-09-08 19:11||   2006-09-08 19:11|| Front Page Top

#12 Interesting to me is that he's a Physics professor, not a Materials or even Civil Engineer. Wonder who's giving him his "evidence" of thermite? I'm not real familiar w/ thermite, but why would anyone at Ground Zero EVEN tested for it, unless a conspiracy theorist themselves?
Posted by BA 2006-09-08 21:55||   2006-09-08 21:55|| Front Page Top

#13 For the time being, destabilizing and suborning the USA to OWG is the common agenda of both Secular SOcilaists + Radicla Islamists - iff and when the USA goes down, the gloves will come off between Secularist and Theocratist/Dei-ist. RIGHTWINGNEWS.com > CINDY SHEEHAN'S book PEACE MOM = Cindy has fantasized about going back intime and KILLING THE INFANT DUBYA in order to save the world from the future WOT. Cindy > Dubya = ANTI-CHRIST???
Posted by JosephMendiola 2006-09-08 21:58||   2006-09-08 21:58|| Front Page Top

23:58 ex-lib
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