Overland high school Geography Teacher Jay Bennish who was placed on leave after comparing President Bush's State of the Union address to speeches made by Adolf Hitler has been reinstated without any loss of pay his attorney and school officials said.

Listen to Sean Allen's Tape of Overland High School Teacher Jay Bennish

Watch the Hannity & Colmes Interview

Bennish has been on leave since March 1, after Sean Allen, a student in his class, taped the teacher's remarks about President Bush during a Feb. 1 lecture. Bennish has received no apparent punishment for his actions. The Superintendent said that Bennish and the administrators "have a good understanding." His attorney, David Lane, has also responded by saying that "Jay's teaching style will perhaps be, as some would say, a little more fair and balanced on a minute-to-minute basis. When you put out one side, put out the other then and there."

In March, the Senate rejected a proposal authorizing schools to fire teachers who regularly present biased views in the classroom and instead agreed to a measure saying teachers who violate school policies can be dismissed. So, in reality, nothing was accomplished.

Why wasn't Jay Bennish dismissed?

Sen. Peter Groff, a local Denver Democrat explained the rejection of the Senate proposal by saying, "I think we are just trying to score political points based on what's happening on talk radio, and I don't think we ought to legislate like that." By talk radio, Groff is referring to conservative talk radio, because let's be honest, according to the ratings, what else is there? So, instead of punishing Jay Bennish, liberals have come out to defend his apparent talk radio persecution.



This includes The Today Show co-host Matt Lauer, who defended a newly groomed Bennish during an interview (See Bennish prior to the interview, above, with his hippie-do). Lauer immediately emphasizes that on the tape we only hear several minutes of a fifty minute class, and that Bennish was taken out of context. He even opens the interview by telling Bennish what to say.

Lauer: Mr. Bennish, good to see you. Good Morning.

Bennish: Good Morning.

Lauer: You should say right off the bat, I know you think that this one particular excerpt of this lesson this lecture has been played over and over again, and perhaps its been taken out of context cause this was a much longer discussion, a fifty minute class.

"You should say right off the bat, ..." Maybe their should have been a little more rehearsal. This is like a lawyer telling a witness what to say when the witness is sitting on the stand. "You should say that it was the one armed man."

According to Mr. Lauer, almost everyone has taken the following quote out of context.

"I’m not saying Bush and Hitler are exactly the same, obviously they’re not. OK? But there are some eerie similarities to the tones that they use. Very 'ethnocentric.'" Said Bennish.

Apparently Matt Lauer has a different understanding of the tape. Lauer must be referring to what no one has heard, Bennish having to stomach reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning.

Watch The Today Show Matt Lauer Interview with Jay Bennish


As Bennish was being cuddled by the likes of Matt Lauer, Sean Allen was making a decision on whether he would return to Overland High School. In the end, he said he would not return to Overland because he has received threats, which he said have been reported to police. But he said he did not regret publicizing the lecture.

"I would do it a million times over because I feel like it was the right thing to do, and my conscience wouldn't let me go on and listen to the things Mr. Bennish was saying and indoctrinating students."