Dale Courtney wrote the following letter to the editor in today’s Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Mr. Courtney used to be an elder at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, as recently as last year, however the Kirk website no longer lists him as a member of the session. This could mean anything, though I suspect he took a sabbatical of some sort because as an elder he did Doug Wilson’s IT dirty work, which made him untouchable. He didn’t do anything without Mr. Wilson’s instruction or permission. Both men have each other completely leveraged.
Like other kirkers, Dale Courtney operates an illegal boarding house in the Christ Church network of illegal boarding houses. That is, Mr. Courtney does not have a city permit to use his residence as a boarding house, in violation of municipal code. He typically rents rooms to 3–5 students of New Saint Andrews College, charging as much as $1500+ per month per student, depending on house privileges or other arrangements. Like the network, this is under the table.
Here is his letter:
A politicized conscience
As a political independent who didn’t vote for either Clinton or Trump, I’ve been amused as local partisan opinion writers for the Daily News attempt to justify their positions. In a Dec. 1 Her View column, Lenna Harding argues in favor of a recount “in certain states where the outcome was questionable.” Notice how she doesn’t apply the same standard to Minnesota or New Hampshire where Clinton won by a small margin. Are the outcomes in those states less questionable? Or just more desirable?
Nick Gier displays the same partisanship, arguing elsewhere Sept. 3 the national debt is the fault of the GOP. He argues Democratic presidents have reduced the debt the most; and as proof, the Obama administration has reduced the deficit from 11.1 percent to 2.7 percent. Either the philosophy professor doesn’t know the difference between debt and deficit or he’s being duplicitous, which is tragic for an ethics professor. The national debt went from $10.6 trillion the day President Obama took office to $20 trillion today. You can argue that constitutionally it’s Congress’ fault, but don’t lie that the debt is less under Obama.
Another example: Sen. Hillary Clinton sponsored the 2005 Flag Protection Act that is identical to what Trump recently suggested. Yet Trump is (rightly) vilified by the Democrats for taking that position while Hillary Clinton is championed. Same for Democrats objecting to George Bush’s unjust war against Iraq but being silent about Obama’s murderous interventions in Libya and in Syria, both undertaken without congressional authorization.
And Republicans are no better, condemning Bill Clinton’s adulteries while excusing Trump’s.
Democrats and Republicans: do not politicize your conscience. Be intellectually honest and hold your party to the same standard that you hold the other party to. Independent voters determine the outcome of elections, and we’re watching you.
Dale Courtney
Moscow
Notice the gratuitous whack at Dr. Nick Gier: “Either the philosophy professor doesn’t know the difference between debt and deficit or he’s being duplicitous, which is tragic for an ethics professor.” This is a false dilemma and likely the primary reason for the letter. Doug Wilson has marked Dr. Gier as an enemy of the Kirk (search Mablog for “Gier”), which means he’s fair game for cheap shots.
Also notice the non sequitur: “Be intellectually honest and hold your party to the same standard that you hold the other party to. Independent voters determine the outcome of elections, and we’re watching you.” The logical fallacy appears lost on him. (Dale Courtney used to teach mathematics at Logos School in Moscow; Logos Press Online currently promotes his course.)
One week before the election, Dale Courtney posted this to his blog: “Donald Trump Explains His 8-Point Plan for His First 100 Days as President!” The exclamation point in the title of the post leads me to believe that while he may not have voted for Donald Trump, he agreed with Mr. Trump’s agenda.
Yesterday, Dale Courtney uploaded this post to his blog: “Over the Weekend the GOP Picked Up One More Senate Seat and One More House Seat!” And between the exclamation point in the title and the lead, which states, “Progressives are going to need their valium more than ever, now. . . .” I conclude that while Mr. Courtney may not have voted Republican, he can’t contain his glee when they grow in power.
Idaho is a deep red state. It’s not a swing state like Florida or North Carolina where every single vote counts. Consequently, Republican voters in Idaho can vote third party without worrying that their throwaway ballot may affect the electoral outcome. These people can then posture themselves as independents who are above it all, like Pharisees, and hector their neighbors with letters to the editor. But I hardly believe that such independents can wrap themselves in the mantle of intellectual honesty. And I’m pretty sure they can’t claim they have not politicized their conscience.
If they even have one.
As a non-resident of the Palouse in particular, or Idaho in general, I had to quickly look up Nick Gier and his ‘relationship’ to Wilson. Is Wilson targeting Gier because the latter has publicly called Wilson out on numerous occasions, or is there more to it?
Thank you.
Hi Burwell:
Dr. Nick Gier was Wilson’s advisor for his master’s thesis and he sat on Wilson’s three-person thesis committee. This was his thesis:
In the past, Nick spoke well of Wilson however much he disagreed with him theologically (Nick specializes in Eastern religions). However, everything changed for everyone in 2003–04 when Wilson bragged to the Daily News about how antebellum slaveholders stood on solid biblical ground with their race-based chattel slavery. It was the first of many front-page stories for Wilson (we have a whole wing dedicated to this scandal, when we get there). Slavery was the end of the world for Wilson in Moscow; he branded his critics “intoleristas”; and Nick proudly and loudly joined the intoleristas in his public criticisms of Wilson.
The next year, Nick went to the Lewiston Trib after he discovered Wilson plagiarized Southern Slavery As It Was (which was the original source of the 2003–04 scandal). I recall Nick telling the Trib, “I feel a responsibility for the product,” which was true because he was Wilson’s advisor. Nick gathered about 70 signatures (+ or -) from local academics for a petition stating they would have flunked Wilson for plagiarism if he had been their student. And the list goes on. So, yes, Nick has “publicly called Wilson out on numerous occasions,” but he’s done it with a loud megaphone and a sharp harpoon. If Wilson could feel shame, then Nick has shamed him in public multiple times (but Wilson can’t feel shame).
This explains Courtney’s browbeating lament, “which is tragic for an ethics professor.” He was showboating, trying to score more points with Wilson against a high-profile intolerista.