"... Well, really. Let's get a grip here, shall we? True enough, they were civilians of a sort. But innocent? Gimme a break. They formed a technocratic corps at the very heart of America's global financial empire – the "mighty engine of profit" to which the military dimension of U.S. policy has always been enslaved – and they did so both willingly and knowingly. Recourse to "ignorance" – a derivative, after all, of the word "ignore" – counts as less than an excuse among this relatively well-educated elite. To the extent that any of them were unaware of the costs and consequences to others of what they were involved in – and in many cases excelling at – it was because of their absolute refusal to see. More likely, it was because they were too busy braying, incessantly and self-importantly, into their cell phones, arranging power lunches and stock transactions, each of which translated, conveniently out of sight, mind and smelling distance, into the starved and rotting flesh of infants. If there was a better, more effective, or in fact any other way of visiting some penalty befitting their participation upon the little Eichmanns inhabiting the sterile sanctuary of the twin towers, I'd really be interested in hearing about it."

"The men who flew the missions against the WTC and Pentagon were not "cowards." That distinction properly belongs to the "firm-jawed lads" who delighted in flying stealth aircraft through the undefended airspace of Baghdad, dropping payload after payload of bombs on anyone unfortunate enough to be below – including tens of thousands of genuinely innocent civilians – while themselves incurring all the risk one might expect during a visit to the local video arcade. Still more, the word describes all those "fighting men and women" who sat at computer consoles aboard ships in the Persian Gulf, enjoying air-conditioned comfort while launching cruise missiles into neighborhoods filled with random human beings. Whatever else can be said of them, the men who struck on September 11 manifested the courage of their convictions, willingly expending their own lives in attaining their objectives."

Excerpt from "Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens" by Professor Ward Churchill, University of Colorado. Published Sept. 11 2001 (Dark Knight Press)

"I wish to make it clear that Professor Ward Churchill's views of the events of 9/11 are his own and do not represent the views of University of Colorado faculty, staff, students, administration or Regents. While I may personally find his views offensive, I also must support his right as an American citizen to hold and express his views, no matter how repugnant, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution."

Statement of University of Colorado Chancellor Phil DiStefano, published January 27, 2005, supporting Professor Ward Churchill's right to express these views, even though the good Chancellor may personally find these views offensive.

"I wish to make it clear that while I may enjoy reading them, I cannot support the views of those that mock, ridicule, disparage, or otherwise belittle the views of University of Colorado Professor Ward Churchill for it is a waste of time and effort, will not change his warped mind, and has no chance in hell of shaming him into seclusion. On the other hand, I fully support any and all views that ridicule, disparage, belittle and, most of all mock, the statement of University of Colorado Interim Chancellor DiStefano as well as any future defenses he may submit to cover for his spinelessness in the matter of Ward Churchill's continued employment at the University of Colorado, for it may guarantee that in the interim he will not become permanent, otherwise he will likely continue his esteemed predecessors' defense of free speech traditions at venues such as campus bake sales."

Statement of The Dusty Attic's Dusty Raftery in defense of anyone and everyone who wants to jolly pile Phil DiStefano until he cries.

(Hat Tip: Regnum Crucis)