It should go without saying

but I'll say it anyway: whatever criticisms I have of the PGR, I won't ever fail to acknowledge that Brian Leiter's work on the Salaita case is admirably clear, informed, and important. 

Today's post is no exception: 

Prof. Salaita was, in person, exactly as he seemed at his Urbana-Champaign press conference:  friendly, warm, and admirably composed and cheerful considering the terrible ordeal of persecution he has been through.  The real person is a powerful counterweight to the campaign of demonization to which he has been subjected.  It clearly helps that he has a strong sense of moral purpose....   

The summary dismissal of Professor Steven Salaita from a tenured faculty position at the University of Illinois is the single most brazen attack on freedom of speech in American universities in my lifetime.  It is, unfortunately, not the only such instance, but it demands all our attention because of the shocking and unapologetic contempt displayed by the University of Illinois for fundamental constitutional values.

See also, among other places: here, here, here, and here. 

Comments

[Samir Chopra]

Indeed. Exemplary work on the Salaita case.