The Klinzman story out of Kirkwood Community College just keeps looking worse and worse. The president clearly screwed up and is going to have to cough up a settlement as a result. But I want to focus in particular on this little tidbit.
We already knew that a local GOP congressional candidate had publicly called for Klinzman's scalp. Similar comments were made by the chair of the Iowa Republican Party.
That's why recent commentary on the Kirkwood case has been a little frustrating. For example, I liked and appreciated this piece by @robbysoave, but attributing Kirkwood's behavior to safe-space culture misses the point.
@robbysoave There are many threats to campus free speech out there. One of them -- a big one -- is local Republican politicians. It's just a fact. Republicans do it more than Democrats. Anyone who's paying attention to the issue will agree.
@robbysoave Now, I'm sure that a BIG part of the reason why is that, since campuses are already so liberal, much of the speech that takes place there doesn't anger Democrats. When that's not the case, Dems can be just as censorious. Nobody looks good here.
@robbysoave But if you're talking about campus free speech and you're not also talking about the role of local Republican politicians, I think you're missing a huge part of the story.
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There is no person on earth with a stronger claim to my house than me because when I am in it, I remember that it is where my daughter took her first steps. No theory of Indigeneity or ethno-religious descent is more powerful than that.
IOW, what matters is community.
A rant:
It's important to keep in mind what the real crime of settler colonialism is. Not "theft" per se. No single ethnic group or cultural lineage can own the land, and if your political theory claims otherwise, it is evil and I want nothing to do with it.
The real crime of settler colonialism is the destruction of communities, the loss of one's home, the denial of self-determination. After all, that's what really matters to you, right? The freedom to move through the world how you like and in the company of those you love.
Another lawsuit has been filed against an anti-CRT bill. This time it's in Tennessee. @ThePlumLineGS has the details, which are pretty crazy. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…
@ThePlumLineGS The 2021 law at issue is what @PENamerica calls an "Inclusion" ban. That means it forbids K-12 teachers from including certain ideas in classroom instruction. The other types of bans, Compulsion and Promotion, are also bad, but less so.
@ThePlumLineGS @PENamerica In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that the law is unconstitutionally vague. It permits discussion of "controversial issues", but only if they're "impartial". What do "controversial" and "impartial" mean? I have no idea, nor (I suspect) does the state. tnea.org/_data/media/82…
This incredible admission comes after plaintiffs pointed out (and a lower court agreed) that the law's ban on saying that "[a] person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex should be discriminated against...to achieve DEI" would bar support for AA.
Is affirmative action good or bad? Does it achieve its stated goals or not? Should we keep it, change it, or get rid of it all together?
What plaintiffs were trying to do was make a reductio: Florida's argument, taken to its logical conclusion, would ban faculty -- and even...
The brain drain is real. Tampa Bay Times pulled records on faculty retention at four Florida universities. Resignations are way up, failed searches are common, fear and self-censorship are palpable. A disaster in the making.
“These may be the times that try men’s souls (Thomas Paine, The Crisis, 1776), wherein the masses, yearning to breathe free (Colossus, 1883, Statue of Liberty) were instead everywhere enchained (Rousseau, Social Contract Theory…
Under HB 1069 (signed by DeSantis in May), county residents may object to any book they feel "depicts or describes sexual conduct." Challenged books must be immediately removed and quarantined pending the outcome of a formal review.
There is one exception, but it is narrow: books that are part of a sex ed course or have been explicitly approved by the Florida Board of Education. Remember this. It's going to matter in a sec.
https://t.co/YDdQfdajaHflsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2…