Thursday, February 25, 2010
The Tigers weep: Princeton University hires Van Jones
Sad news for the alumni, at least those of a certain stripe: Princeton University just hired Van Jones, most recently of the undercarriage of Barack Obama's bus.
Van Jones, former adviser at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, has been appointed distinguished visiting fellow in the Center for African American Studies and in the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
An environmental activist and social entrepreneur, Jones will hold a one-year appointment for the 2010-11 academic year and teach a course in the spring semester focusing on environmental politics, with a special emphasis on policies that create green economic opportunity for the disadvantaged. Fellows in the Center for African American Studies engage in scholarly work for one semester and teach for the other semester.
So I have two questions, one small and one big.
First, the small one. What, pray tell, is a social entrepreneur? I mean, in a respectable academic context. Obviously, Ashley Alexandra Dupre is a social entrepreneur, but I'm pretty sure that is not how Van Jones or the University flacks use the term.
Second, the big one: Why is Princeton hiring a 9/11 Truther, even for African-American Studies?
Mr. Jones signed a statement for 911Truth.org in 2004 demanding an investigation into what the Bush Administration may have done that “deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war.”
His name is listed with 99 other prominent signatories supporting such an investigation on the 911Truth.org website, including Code Pink co-founders Medea Benjamin and Jodi Evans, comedienne Janeane Garofalo, Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and others. He's identified as the executive director for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights on the statement, which he founded before going to the White House.
Here is the original petition; Jones was #46, until he asked that his name be removed when it came under scrutiny and thereby posed a threat -- ultimately realized -- to his job in the Obama administration.
More here, here, and here.
Shirley, you fracked this one up big time.
MORE: A nice summary of the righty bill of indictment, which is not short.
18 Comments:
By 
, at
Fri Feb 26, 12:42:00 AM:
Jones will almost certainly work to assure that black freshman graduate in the same proportion as do white freshmen. We must achieve a results focused environment where black students can get the same rewards as white students no matter how little they work to achieve those rewards.
By , at
Fri Feb 26, 01:31:00 AM:
What, pray tell, is a social entrepreneur?
They used to be called con artists.
I mean, in a respectable academic context.
Oh, then they're somehow involved in squishy liberal arts stuff. IOW, still con artists.
By , at
Fri Feb 26, 09:15:00 AM:
Jones is a poseur who has a talent for slinging BS articulately. If you look inside his book on Amazon.com or Google Books, you can tell from a few pages that it's complete nonsense. Read his bio. He starts a lot of "organizations" that seem to accomplish nothing. He signs on to causes and petitions because he thinks it's a cool thing to do. They guy is a fraud. Most corporate HR reps would have seen through his resume in a flash, but alas, not so Princeton.
By , at
Fri Feb 26, 10:35:00 AM:
As a double degree State U holder, I can't say this improves my opinion of the Ivy League.
His embracing communism in the 1990s, when the truth about Communism was out in the open- we are not talking about 1936- did not win him fans either. He never renounced communism, but saw green jobs as a one step backward two steps forward deal.
By , at
Fri Feb 26, 10:42:00 AM:
Can we add a third question? What exactly is "African-American Studies"?
By , at
Fri Feb 26, 11:01:00 AM:
More news on Van the Man from Gateway Pundit: Van Jones: Not Just a Commie, Truther, & Liar… But a Saddam Supporter, Too.
On the February 19, 2003 edition of MSNBC’s “The Abrams Report,” guest commenter Van Jones stunned the other guests when he praised as “heroes” the traitors who were traveling from the U.S. to Iraq for the purpose of acting as “human shields” for Saddam Hussein.
By , at
Fri Feb 26, 12:01:00 PM:
Anonymous @ 12:42 a.m.
Jones will almost certainly work to assure that black freshman graduate in the same proportion as do white freshmen. We must achieve a results focused environment where black students can get the same rewards as white students no matter how little they work to achieve those rewards.
Yes indeed. Here is Van Jones speaking on a related matter.
"I had a professor who encouraged me to apply to Harvard and Yale [for law school], which was almost unheard of for students coming from the kind of public schools that I was coming from in the rural South. I was accepted to both places, and decided to go to Yale because Yale didn't have any grades and was smaller than Harvard. I figured, once I enroll I'm guaranteed to graduate, so I can just go and be a radical hellraiser student, and they can't do anything about it. Which is pretty much what happened.”
Which is one more reason why I am not a Van Fan.
Anonymous: if you click on “Name/URL” at the bottom of the comment part, instead of clicking on “anonymous,” you can type in a screen name – you do not have to type in a URL- which will distinguish you from other Anonymous people.
By 
Escort81, at
Fri Feb 26, 12:12:00 PM:
I am actually more comfortable, in a strange way, with Jones having a relatively meaningless one year deal at a univerisity (even my alma mater) than Jones being involved at a mid-tier or senior level in the executive branch. Give him something to do such that he can't screw up the country and where his expressed thoughts can be debated in the marketplace of ideas. It strikes me that PU is not a bad place to do that, and he will hardly be the whackiest person to ever grace the campus. So, this might be the least worst option for him and us before he goes off to write his book saying how wronged he was by the politcal hit machine. Or, maybe the dustbin of history awaits for both Jones and his book.
By , at
Fri Feb 26, 01:33:00 PM:
He'll fit right in with such luminaries as Cornel West, Paul Krugman, and Peter Singer.
JLW III '67
By JPMcT, at
Fri Feb 26, 05:50:00 PM:
Of course, statistically speaking, most refugees from the Obama administration cannot return to "real" jobs...since precious few of them had real jobs to begin with!
That's no small part of the problem...
By , at
Fri Feb 26, 08:57:00 PM:
Every school has it's shames, I suppose, but some schools are worse off even than Princeton. Take Cornell, for example.
By , at
Sat Feb 27, 11:39:00 AM:
What ... Al Sharpton was unavailable? "Social entrepeneur" ... at least he has a sense of humor.
Cyncical me says there's at least one other angle to this trade, maybe more. Want to speculate? Princeton's Afro-American Dept might as well be the Chicago Dept of Public Works. Did Michelle make the call? She's no stranger to cushy no-show jobs.
By , at
Sat Feb 27, 01:07:00 PM:
Tigerhawk - there are a few other points.
Last weekend was Alumni Day at Princeton, a massive winter gathering of Tigers at Jadwin Gym. General Petraeus recived an award during the luncheon, which is also used to tap alumns for contributions.
No transparency and no standards..
Did the University hold the news on Jones until AFTER this event in order to avoid buzz that could affect donations? Who knew what and when was the contract signed?
One of the guest speakers and award recipients was former Rep. Jim Leach, who lectured on civility in public discourse. Does Van Jones, the person who called Republican senators ###holes, George Bush a "crackhead" and stated during a radio interview that Israel has been an occupying power since 1948 fit that description?
By Joe1977, at
Sat Feb 27, 09:08:00 PM:
I am a member of Princeton's Class of 1977. Henceforth, when Annual Giving calls, I will answer the call. With two words. VAN JONES. I might add three more words. NOT ANOTHER DIME. Joe1977
By , at
Wed May 05, 04:22:00 PM:
Notice that only right-wing kooks agree with you about this.
Your remarks about Van Jones are complete garbage.
If you don't like the man---and your hatred obviously stems from the fact that he's everything right-wingers despise: liberal, educated, environmentally active, and most of all, black---you should just say so.
I suggest you stop pretending that you hate Van Jones for reasons beyond your bizarre ideology. Just say what you feel, which is "Who is this uppity (N Word) with all these liberal views and why can't we just destroy his life forever, as Glenn Beck wants?"
By , at
Wed May 05, 04:26:00 PM:
Complete garbage. A bunch of right-wing neo-Nazis who are just dying to call Van Jones a "_igger".
Is that right, boys.
Oh, and the guy who claims to be a 1977 Princeton grad. I was actually in that class. And if you're the guy I suspect you are, Princeton won't be worried about losing your "support"; most Princeton grads hand out more in tips every year than you probably ever give in contributions to our alma mater.
Assholes, all of you, on this obtuse, fascist blog.
By TigerHawk, at
Fri May 07, 09:31:00 AM:
Jim Cap -- Jones being black has nothing to do with this, and you know it. We righties have been equally hard on Bill Ayers. Most of the authors and readers of this blog are national greatness conservatives, and resent people who express transnational progressive anti-Americanism, as both Ayers and Jones have done in one fashion or another. We especially resent it when they then attempt to distance themselves from their history for contemporary political purposes.
By , at
Sat Jul 17, 10:20:00 AM:
I am amused by the "racist" attacks on anyone who criticizes a black man. Van Jones could teach a course in communism, activism or social justice, but economics or jobs seems idiotic.
An objective look at what this person has done, or said, should certainly make anyone wonder where the corresponding far right appointment is. Care should be taking in reviewing the accuracy of what he teaches. Remember, he believes that Bush set up the murder of 3,000 Americans. Sanity should be a prerquisite for teaching anywhere.
