Right-wing campaign targets Colorado teacher for anti-Bush remarks

Bennish has received substantial support from students, including hundreds who walked out of class on March 2 to protest the decision by the school. The Rocky Mountain News quoted one student, Stacy Caruso, a 17-year-old junior, who said, “We want to know what’s going on in the world.” She said that in Bennish’s classes, the students learned things they were not taught elsewhere, such as the use of sweatshop labor in China and the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Bennish, who has taught at Overland since 2000, was recorded by Sean Allen, a student, on February 1, during a discussion of the significance of President Bush’s State of the Union address. In the recording, Bennish is heard denouncing American foreign policy and suggesting that certain comments made by Bush echoed those of Adolf Hitler. The tape was subsequently distributed to local and national right-wing talk show hosts and media commentators, who organized a campaign to get Bennish fired.

Bennish was suspended March 1 by the school administration, pending the results of an investigation into whether his remarks violated regulations requiring a balanced perspective in the classroom. A final decision from the school is expected March 8.

In his comments, which were interspersed with remarks and questions from students, Bennish criticized American military actions. He called the invasion of Iraq “illegal” and argued that the official rationale for the war conflicted with reality.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/mar2006/benn-m08.shtml