WHEN GOP$TER$ ATTACK - ACADEMIC FREEDOM!

MUST READ: Now the GOP$ers are going after distinguished professor William Cronon is the Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas research professor of history, geography and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin and recently elected president of the American Historical Association because they don't want The People to Know that: a group called ALEC writes their LAWS FOR THEM! http://scholarcitizen.williamcronon.net/ Cronon on his private blog http://scholarcitizen.williamcronon.net/ "One conclusion seems clear: what we’ve witnessed in Wisconsin during the opening months of 2011 did not originate in this state, even though we’ve been at the center of the political storm in terms of how it’s being implemented. This is a well-planned and well-coordinated national campaign, and it would be helpful to know a lot more about" In other words, the Republicon ideal of "Local Control" is a LIE! You cannot have local control (or democracy) when your hidden agenda is adopted from NATIONAL THINK TANKS! The republicon party IS A LIE! You can read the NYT article comparing A$$hole Snott Wanker to UltraMericanScum Joseph McCarthey http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/opinion/22cronon.htm Very good! That and the blog piece linked above leads to this: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/118654904.html The GOP$ters are making the HUGE stretch that by bringing this information to the public, he is violating UW policy: The university has an e-mail policy that states, "University employees may not use these resources to support the nomination of any person for political office or to influence a vote in any election or referendum.” To which charge the professor CORRECTLY responded: "It never occurred to me that my suggestion that more study needed to be done about the group might be interpreted as electioneering," Cronon added. "The GOP drew a line that had not occurred to me. That my posting might damage people involved in the recall elections. That surprised me. But that's clearly what they were concluding." SERIOUSLY, if citizens can't bring forth information about politicians and political groups because someone thinks it might influence votes then DEMOCRACY IS DONE! If information shouldn't influence vote then what the F%$& should! I guess I shouldn't need to ask this question of the would be junta that brought us FUX SNOOZE! The NYT calls this a shabby Crusade: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/opinion/28mon3.html?_r=1&ref=opinion "This is a clear attempt to punish a critic and make other academics think twice before using the freedom of the American university to conduct legitimate research." Professors are not just ordinary state employees. As J. Harvie Wilkinson III, a conservative federal judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, noted in a similar case, state university faculty members are “employed professionally to test ideas and propose solutions, to deepen knowledge and refresh perspectives.” A political fishing expedition through a professor’s files would make it substantially harder to conduct research and communicate openly with colleagues. And it makes the Republican Party appear both vengeful and ridiculous. This is an attack on academic FREEDOM and further proof that Republicons are A$$HOLE$!