More trouble looming (one hopes!) for Torture Memo author John Yoo: this time, on the academic front.
His fellow UC Berkeley instructor, Economics Professor - and diligent blogger - Brad DeLong has written an open letter (well, it's published on his blog, that's about as open as one can get!) to the UC Chancellor urging that Yoo be fired from his position on the Berkeley Law faculty.
Full text of DeLong's letter HERE.
I will admit to being neither a lawyer, nor a professional academic (nor any combination thereof), so I will have to take Prof. De Long's arguments at their face value that this call for Yoo's dismissal is not - as various Yoo apologists have argued - an issue of "academic freedom" - more, he characterizes it, as one of "professional misconduct" - and willful misconduct at that. Admittedly, the report he cites as grounds for his appeal has not yet been published: but one has to assume that there are at least reasonable expectations that it will back up the charges that Yoo's infamous memos violated some canons of professional responsibility.
But at least it is heartening to see that some academics (however much, as DeLong admits, he has "dithered" about the issue in the past) are calling for some significant action to be taken to ameliorate the embarrassment of having a disgraceful character like John Yoo occupying a position of honor at one of this country's most prestigious law schools.