GOP lies hurt those who associate with the liars too.
'Indy Star' Columnist Admits She Was Hoodwinked By Prof
By E&P Staff
Published: December 04, 2005 4:15 PM ET
NEW YORK The story seemed too good to be true and, as often the case, it wasn't. And longtime Indianapolis Star columnist Ruth Holladay, who has been at the paper since 1978, admitted today that the whole thing made her look pretty bad.
It all began back on June 26 when Holladay promoted the claim of William Bradford that a faculty committee at the Indiana University School of Law had voted against him for tenure. Bradford declared that two liberal professors who disliked him--because he was an Army veteran and supported the Iraq war--had led the charge.
"He fought in Desert Storm and Bosnia-Herzegovina, served as a major in the U.S. Army Special Forces and received the Silver Star," Holladay wrote then. "Now the 39-year-old legal scholar is engaged in a battle on the home front -- political correctness in academia."
Bradford even wore his Silver Star around campus. On the law school's Web site and its Viewbook, Bradford's profile said he was in the Army infantry from 1990 to 2001.
He promoted himself on radio interviews and on Bill O'Reilly's Fox TV show. He was a poster boy for liberal bias and control on campus. "David Horowitz, a champion for conservatives, took up his cause," Holladay wrote today.
Now Bradford has resigned at the university, effective Jan. 1.
The unraveling began after Holladay was contacted by retired Army Lt. Col. Keith R. Donnelly, a Gulf War veteran who was suspicious of Bradford's record and awards. Holladay and Donnelly both requested Bradford's service record from the Army. It showed that he was in the Army Reserve from Sept. 30, 1995, to Oct 23, 2001, with no active duty or awards.
Bradford started backtracking all autumn, and finally resigned.
But his profile at the university's web site still reads: "William C. Bradford joined the faculty in the fall of 2002 after serving from 1994 to 2001 in the U.S. Army infantry. Professor Bradford also served at the War Gaming and Simulation Center, National Defense University, Fort McNair, Virginia, and was an advisor to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Shalikashvili."
In her column today, Holladay noted that an academic friend of Bradford's "confirmed what others in academia have told me: Universities don't check every detail in resumes. 'I don't think that anyone comes off looking very good in this,' he said."
Holladay added: "That includes me." |
