The Picker

Tue, Jan 26, 2010 : 6:40 p.m.

Who cares what Bill and Bernadette have to say! They are ludites, who's only goal is the crash of our way of life. Spoiled brats the both of them!

snapshot

Tue, Jan 26, 2010 : 2:10 p.m.

Annarbor28 had to get Obama's name into the discussion. Hey, your candidate lost, get over it or stop claiming patriotism with your inuendo. Diogenese claims patriotism comes only in uniform Give me break. Are you one of the many claiming patriotism because you pay tribute to veterans with a "paid day off" and rhetoric? Whatever your opinion of Ayers or his past, his connections, or his posture, he is a free man as are you. I would be more concerned, not with his freedom, but with the almost 300 innocent individual who have been wrongly convicted of crimes but later proved innocent. Who was it that said, "better a 1,000 guilty go free, than one innocent man be convicted"?

Diagenes

Tue, Jan 26, 2010 : 8:30 a.m.

The patriots are the brave and selfless men and women who volunteer to serve their country and the world as members of the U.S. military. In both peace and war the U.S. military is the only organization that can rescue sunami and earthquack victims or defeat an evil dictator and establish a representative government in an Arab country. Ayers is not worthy to scrap the mud off their boots.

Phillip Farber

Mon, Jan 25, 2010 : 11:50 p.m.

@annarbor28 Just for our edification, who were the patriots?

annarbor28

Mon, Jan 25, 2010 : 7:02 p.m.

Bill Ayers and the weather underground were not about saving lives, they were about destroying the US by violent means. This included killing civilians, police and members of the military. They succeeded in destroying property and killing people. Bill Ayers should be in prison. Instead, being from a wealthy family, he was able to buy his way out with lawyering. Far more benign people are in prison. He is also very arrogant about what he did. Ayers, a terrorist, has succeeded in even winning over the President of the US, which is a reflection on Obama, who apparently cannot distinguish between a patriot and a terrorist.

Macabre Sunset

Mon, Jan 25, 2010 : 6:32 p.m.

Yep. The day that Arafat is quoted in the name of peace is the day that Stalin rises from his grave and gives presents to all the good little girls and boys in the world. I'm certain Islamo-fascists believe just as strongly as Ayers that their terrorism is benevolent and justified. But it's still about one person deciding to use violence against innocent people in order to advance his personal cause.

Atticus F.

Mon, Jan 25, 2010 : 5:26 p.m.

Let's not forget, This was done in the name of saving human lives, not to promote some fundamentalist view. Not saying it was right. Just saying that this guy isn't some Islamo-fascist interested in killing American civillians. Whoever stands by a just cause cannot possibly be called a terrorist. -yasser arafat

annarbor28

Mon, Jan 25, 2010 : 3:20 p.m.

Ayers' threats and bombings terrorized the families of many officials and police officers for years, and led to massive destruction of government property. Next time will the Unabomber will be speaking at U-M fundraisers, since he received a PhD. in math from U-M? What terrorists will be dragged out next, in the guise of political-correctness? Ayers should be in prison, not representing us.

Macabre Sunset

Mon, Jan 25, 2010 : 3:17 p.m.

Insightful piece from the Ann Arbor Chronicle. It's nice to see journalism in Ann Arbor again. Ayers was a hard-core terrorist who is lucky to have his freedom today - a freedom he would readily deny those he doesn't agree with.

annarbor28

Mon, Jan 25, 2010 : 2:29 p.m.

The story is not posted yet. However, what the heck was Bills Ayers commenting on? Since when do domestic terrorists get elevated to represent U-M students? From wikipedia: "Ayers participated in the bombings of New York City Police Department headquarters in 1970, the United States Capitol building in 1971, and the Pentagon in 1972, as he noted in his 2001 book, Fugitive Days." U-M has much more illustrious and respectable alums to represent us. Ayers is just a spoiled, publicity-seeking terrorist who came from a wealthy family and likes to get his name in the news, and flaunt his "success" as an enemy of the state (the US and Michigan.) Who does he represent? Not U-M or its ideals. Protest is one thing, terror is another. Who is responsible for letting him speak? That person should be fired. There are lots of good people who need jobs, and would not glorify Bill Ayers.