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CxPJ's Ongoing Coverage of the John Towery Spy Scandal
Over the summer, when a public records request uncovered a member of the military spying on Port Militarization Resistance, an Olympia and Tacoma based anti-war group, local media exploded with reports about the spy. CxPJ continues to follow this story, giving context to the widening local and national surveillance net that the spy discovery uncovered--a surveillance net that included The Evergreen State College.
If you were gone over the summer or if you’re new to Evergreen, you may not have heard about the biggest scandal to hit the activist community this year: a military spy was discovered to have infiltrated Olympia Port Militarization Resistance (PMR) as well as other organizations that are comprised largely of Evergreen students. News outlets have already covered this story, but this article will attempt to catch up the folks who haven’t heard, and also place our spy in the broader context of the burgeoning Surveillance-Industrial Complex.
In July, a local discovery made national news when “John Jacob,” a participant in Olympia and Tacoma activists groups, was revealed to be John J. Towery II, an infiltrator employed by the US Army. Brendan Dunn, a former member of Olympia’s Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), had made a public records request to the City of Olympia for communications concerning SDS, anarchists, and the IWW. The resultant records, coupled with investigative work, led to Towery’s outing, which in turn raised issues about a likely violaton of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the US military from engaging in civilian law enforcement actions. What has been less publicized, however, are the portions of the records that deal with The Evergreen State College.
Econvergence, a conference adressing the current political, economical, and environmental problems, brought together Pacific Northwest activists in Portland, from Oct. 2–4. The keynote speaker was the ubiquitous Noam Chomsky, his presence exciting the sold-out audience and even bringing the man who introduced him, American University economics professor Robin Hahnel, to tears. For a man who is eight decades old, Chomsky resonated with authority during his speech, though he used humor to ease the density of information he presented.
Why should I read the Counter Point Journal?
In case you haven't noticed, this isn't the Cooper Point Journal. We haven't been neutered by the Evergreen administration and the editorial collective won't mothball a controversial story. We're not afraid to confront the status-quo, because frankly, we aren't the status-quo. The Counter Point Journal is dedicated to investigative journalism and realizes the need for a real newspaper at The Evergreen State College. You should join us!
When the Counter Point Journal (CxPJ) began publication in spring 2009, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. However, we did get some negative responses. Some people thought we shouldn’t criticize the Cooper Point Journal (CPJ). Some questioned whether the college needed another newspaper. Some people demanded we justify ourselves. One pedant scolded us that “Counter Point” is one word. (Sure, and “Newsweek” is really two words. The point is?)
Judging by the provocative headline, one could imagine some deep-rooted CxPJ animus lurking behind this tale—but it isn’t so. True, the headline is an overstatement. But had the story occurred in our little publication’s lifetime, we would have steadfastly stood by our Cooper Point Journal compatriots, for once. The cast of characters in this true story includes the CPJ, one ass-kicking feminist, a “pornography-peddling” state legislator, Bart Simpson, and—yes, somewhere down the line—Evergreen’s Labor Center.
The year was 1995, and this was what happened:
Why did the Cooper Point Journal knowingly publish a fake quote by Martin Luther King? Why will it not publish a correction to its reference to a nonexistent anti-Semitic Jordanian law? Why does it allow personal attacks against individuals and not allow the attacked to respond? These questions must be posed in light of the CPJ’s mishandling of a “controversial” subject.
As mentioned in several of our articles and editorial statements, the Counter Point is partly a direct challenge to the Cooper Point Journal’s lack of reporting on Evergreens administration in a responsible way.
However, it turns out the Counter Point Collective was not the first group of students that has noticed a resonance between the Cooper Point Journal and our ever diligent administrators. A trip to the archives turns up three alternative student papers, The Crapper Point Journal, The Evergreen Free Press, and The Paper, that were sparked, at least partly in response to the CPJ.
“Do you think John Lennon would have liked Glenn Beck?”
My mom, who’s been a Beatles fan ever since she heard them live as a teenager, thought about this for a moment.
“I don’t know.”
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