Of Roosting Chickens And Ward Churchill Shills--"John Moredock" Exposed

**Update
--Grant Crowell, artist and documentarian, broke the identity of "John Moredock"

PirateBallerina believes that he may have uncovered the identity of the pseudonymous Ward Churchill shill "John Moredock", who just last week sent this "missive" to bloggers intending on opening a new flame-war on behalf of his idol "Shitting Bull":

How’d You Like An Official John Moredock Missive In Your Inbox?
December 15th, 2006
Our form letter as follows.

Hello sir/ma’am,
I’m part of a Denver media watchblog that’s taken an interest in Ward Churchill. Cruising around the internet, I stumbled across your piece describing Mr. Churchill as a “fake” Indian.
I’m curious as to what evidence you have. Was it the word of the 14 rapists and murderers who make up the so-called “National Grand Governing Council Of The American Indian Movement” who claim to have expelled him (http://tinyurl.com/ycdgpl)? Or was it the genealogy composed with the expert advise of, ahem, two anti-Churchill bloggers and a retired New Jersey cop which the Rocky Mountain News published (http://tinyurl.com/ykfpyq)?
The reason I’m asking is that Mr. Churchill has been vouched for by hundreds of indigenous activists and scholars, including no less than Russell Means and Winona LaDuke. And has been chosen as a leader of Colorado AIM, a chapter of the Autonomous American Indian Movement (http://tinyurl.com/yfp9nf), a group which, as I understand it, consists entirely of American Indians. And has served as a delegate to the United Nation’s Working Group on Indigenous Peoples. And has been a national spokesperson for Leonard Peltier. And a Witness to the First Nations International Court of Justice.
Needless to say, I’m a little curious as to what knowledge you’ve stumbled upon that none of the folks above seem to have attained.
And one more thing. Why do you think no one’s made a fuss about the “ethnic fraud” committed by right-wing token Indian, William Bradford? You remember, Bradford, yes? He was touted as the anti-Churchill in David Horowitz’s latest hoax, The Professors, in that he was combat veteran, a “real” Indian and a Silver Star winner.
Seems he’s a fraud on all levels. Not only were his Silver Stars acquired at a pawn shop, he’s enrolled in no Federally recognized tribe whatsoever, even though right-wing pundits from Bill O’Reilly on down have claimed otherwise (http://tinyurl.com/yfr3td).
Ironic, don’t you think? When do you suppose Horowitz’ll print his apology?
Again, if you have some information I don’t, I’d love to hear it. Otherwise, I’ll just assume you’re some kind of gibbering idiot with all the ethical intelligence of a fucking woodpile.
Kindly,
John Moredock
www.tryworks.org

We sent it off to Michelle Malkin, and left it in the comments of the following blogs/newspapers:
The Union Leader
Slapstick Politics
Red Alerts
Paindealer
Unconsidered Trifles
Blinkered Thinker
Prairiemary
Free Republic
Brainster’s Blog
New York Sun
Marathon Pundit
We’ll post any replies. If we’re bored enough to follow up.
And, dear reader, it is your loving devotion that makes this blog go ‘round. So if you stumble across any likely candidates, just let us know: john.moredock@gmail.com

And who is this "John Moredock" fellow according to PirateBallerina and Drunkablog?

It may be CU Ethnic Studies adjunct professor Benjamin Whitmer, who offered this defense of his idol:

I have been a part-time adjunct faculty member of CU Boulder’s Ethnic Studies department since January of 2005, beginning just a few weeks before the Ward Churchill controversy broke. During the time since I’ve had the pleasure of being a first-hand eyewitness as events unfolded, and thought I’d share some a few impressions as CU barrels towards the preordained conclusion of its pig-circus.

* I’ve seen hundreds of death threats and racial slurs pour into the Ethnic Studies department, which CU administrators neither condemned nor made any attempt to stop, instead posting a memo on the department’s door stating that the views therein should not be confused with the views of CU, ensuring the faculty understood they were being hung out to dry.

* I’ve passed a gentleman day after day as he stood outside the Ethnic Studies department holding a sign that contained the most offensive possible racial slurs, and who was only reluctantly removed by CU after repeated requests by students, ensuring the Ethnic Studies student population understood they were being cut loose as well.

* I’ve listened to hack journalists, politicians and radio jocks fill hundred of hours worth of air time with the kind of sleazy innuendo and flat-out lying about Ward Churchill that would make Walter Winchell renounce journalism in shame, which CU administrators encouraged, pandering slavishly to the local media.

* I’ve heard scores of CU faculty members express private support for Ward Churchill, while, with a few notable exceptions, always finding a way to weasel out of making their beliefs public. This was the most disheartening spectacle of all. While I expect administrators to evince the lowest kind of cowardice and servility, I had harbored some illusions about faculty members. After all, what’s the use of the protection granted by tenure if you’re too spineless to stand for anything?

* However, I’ve also seen Ward Churchill, Natsu Saito and the rest of the Ethnic Studies faculty resist the worst kind of bigotry and lynch-mob rhetoric with a kind of grace and courage that I can only hope to emulate. Watching most of CU’s faculty scuttle over themselves to prove their own craven mediocrity, I have been immensely proud to be a member of Ethnic Studies.

Into the future, I expect nothing but Ward Churchill’s firing from CU. Just as I expect CU will continue to marginalize Ethnic Studies in the interest of mollifying the lynch mob drummed up by the local media. Likewise, I have no doubt but that CU will continue to earn its well-deserved national reputation of being profoundly hostile to faculty and students of color.

They say, after all, that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

Benjamin Whitmer
Adjunct Faculty
University of Colorado at Boulder, Ethnic Studies

Apparently "John Moredock" has apparently taken down both of his websites, tryworks.org and tryworks.blogspot.com.