Republican Geese and Liberal Ganders

Image from HuntFishGuide

In a typical moralistic pissing match, University of Iowa Republican students (and their supporters) have gotten their collective panties in a bunch after a professor told them to fuck off (see the Atlantic Wire). The Republican students started the pissing match with a provocative global email to the entire college community promoting their "Conservative Coming Out Week," with events like an "Animal Rights BBQ" and "Doctors' Notices to miss class, just like the Wisconsin public employees during the union protests."

Ellen Lewin, a professor of Anthropology and Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies, took the bait and wrote back: "FUCK YOU, REPUBLICANS."

The Republicans, who apparently are able to dish it out, but not take it, contacted her supervisor and attempted to get her in trouble over her remark. Sadly, Lewin responded by admitting that the language was inappropriate, and apologized for any hurt feelings.

As I read it, her response was reasonable, justifiable and, if anything, far less offensive than their original email. Lewin pointed out in a later “apology” that their message was offensive to the LGBT community by appropriating the term “coming out.” It was offensive to public sector workers by trivializing their struggle in Wisconsin. And it was offensive to animal rights activists and vegetarians.

However, it is irrelevant whose message was more offensive. Free speech is free speech. The Republican students utilized a typical anti-liberal sense of humor that was meant to be provocative and offensive. Being offensive does not take away their right to express it. “Fuck You,” is no different, except that it refers to sex, which for some reason is particularly offensive to Puritanical Americans. The fact that it was expressed by a professor or an employee of the university shouldn't matter.

The Atlantic asserted that it is “unacceptable for a professor to curse out students via mass email.” However, would it be okay in the student newspaper? In person? At a rally on campus? According to this logic it is quite alright for conservatives to make inflammatory remarks in a mass email, but not liberals. It is okay for students to offend teachers, but not for teachers to defend themselves. Or, if they are allowed to defend themselves, they must only do so using rational arguments, pleasant language, and certainly no sarcasm or insults.

While the right to say “fuck you” should be seen as just as legitimate as the right to advertise an “animal rights BBQ,” the curse doesn’t really express anything except anger so, in some ways, it was a wasted opportunity. “Fuck you” is easy to say, doesn’t take much thought and is virtually guaranteed to piss people off, especially uptight, moralistic morons. If the only goal is to offend, then perhaps a better approach would be to sponsor an alternative event, say a Liberal Prayer Meeting, featuring a “Family Values Love-In.” Afterward, there could be “Tea Party Target Practice,” a “Republican Chili Cook Off” and a “Fetus on a Stick Jousting Match.”

More Republican Lunacy

The following list is from AlterNet:

Anti-Environmental Craziness

• Bans on energy efficiency light bulbs are being considered by legislatures in Texas, Arizona, Georgia and Minnesota.
• Elimination of federal protection of salmon, polar bears, seals and wolves in favor of “state sovereignty” is being proposed in Alaska.
• GOP Congressional leaders abolished global warming committees and ended recycling programs in the House cafeteria, claiming “green” initiatives were too expensive and compostable utensils melted in hot soup and break in salads.
• They also want to abolish the EPA

Anti-Poor and Anti-Disabled Nuttiness

• A GOP legislator in New Hampshire wants to banish the disabled and homeless to Siberian gulags

Anti-Homeowner Greed

• They want to abolish Fannie Mae because it competes with for-profit banks.

Pro-Gun Insanity

• Doctors in Florida could be fined $5 million for asking patients if they own guns under proposed legislation, while every adult in South Dakota could be required to purchase a gun if the NRA has its way.
• Georgia is about to allow guns in bars, churches and political events
• Arizona already allows anyone to carry a concealed weapon without a permit
• Utah has an official state firearm, soon to be followed by Texas.
• Congressional Republicans forced “gun rights” into the health care bill to prevent the collection of “any information relating to gun ownership.”
• Congress refuses to ban ammunition clips that hold 40 bullets and fire two shots a second

Anti-Immigrant Hysteria

• In Georgia, undocumented immigrants could be charged with robbery for stealing “job opportunities” from citizens, while several states want to bar undocumented immigrants from marrying U.S. citizens.
• Alabama would make it illegal to rent to illegal immigrants.
• One GOP legislator wants to “make South Carolina a very hostile place for those who are in this country illegally.”

Religious and Moral Paranoia

• Mike Huckabee of Arkansas blames the economic downturn, crime and high school drop-out rates on our “morality” and wants America to worship evangelical Christianity.
• Newt Gingrich claims “religious belief is being challenged by a cultural elite” that wants God “driven out of public life.”

Afraid of Everything

• Republican Ron Paul wants to abolish almost all government agencies.

The Insane Logic of Republican Lawmakers

"Children Are Victims of Adults Vices"Mikhail Chemiakin

From David Sirota’s List of Sadistic State Laws (published in the OB Rag)

The Pro-lifers’ Anti-Life Exemption: The use of “pro-life” to mean anti-abortion is a brilliant propaganda tactic. Anyone who is against life, particularly an innocent child’s, must surely be demented or evil. There are several problems with this however. First, while certain religions may define life as beginning at conception, scientists and doctors do not agree. There are numerous natural phenomena that can halt fetal development before it is viable, drawing into question whether it can truly be considered life. Indeed, 50% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage (most during the first 2 weeks, before women even realize they are pregnant), which means that 50% of all pregnancies were, in fact, not viable lives.

A second problem is that many who call themselves “pro-life” are not at all pro-life. Some support the death penalty. Many support U.S. wars of aggression. And some even support murder. South Dakota passed HB 1171 which would legalize homicide by a person attempting to protect an “unborn child.” They later shelved the bill. Then Nebraska Republican state Sen. Mark Christensen introduced a nearly identical bill in his state that would legitimize the murder of abortion providers.

The Let Them Eat Corporate Tax Cuts Act: The Georgia Legislature has introduced a bill that would create a regressive sales tax on food in order to finance a new corporate tax cut. Sirota writes as if Georgia is uniquely evil in this. However, California’s Democratic Governor Jerry Brown has been attempting more or less the same. The wealthiest Californians have been enjoying numerous tax breaks and pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than the poorest Californians, which is a major reason why California has such a terrible budget deficit. Rather than raising taxes on the rich (who can certainly afford it), Brown’s solution is to extend regressive sales taxes and vehicle licensing fees that would disproportionately affect the poor and working class.

Right to Make Kids Work (Modern School also reported this one, but it was so nutty, I though it worth repeating here): Missouri state Sen. Jane Cunningham’s is trying to eliminate child labor laws and allow corporations to hire kids under 14. The law would end restrictions on the number of hours that kids can be forced to work.

The Obesity and Deficit Encouragement Act: Colorado’s childhood obesity rate grew at the second-fastest rate in the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has shown that higher soda taxes can drive down obesity. (Higher gas prices reduce the amount of driving and higher cigarette taxes drive down smoking.) Colorado as has a budget deficit of over $1 billion. Yet instead of doing the obvious and levying a soda tax to raise revenues and help reduce obesity, their new Republican House is pushing a special sales tax exemption exclusively for soda.

Climate Deniers Hall of Fame: According to Sirota, Montana has been pushing a host of idiotic laws, like trying to legalize hunting with hand-thrown spears and eliminating education requirements for the state superintendent of schools. Perhaps the craziest is Rep. Joe Read’s bill that declares “global warming is beneficial to the welfare and business climate of Montana.”

Republicans to Hold School Funding Hostage to Pensions

(Image by Mike Licht)

Gov. Brown has not yet revealed his plan for dealing with CalSTRS, although he has promised to spare K-12 education any further cuts next year if voters approve tax increases on themselves in the June election (an exaggeration at best: See Who Do You Think You’re Fooling, Jerry). However, legislators have to approve placing the tax measure on the ballot. Republicans have said that pension reform will be required before they will approve placing any tax increases on the June ballot. Therefore, if teachers unions oppose pension “reform” (which likely means greater out of pocket contributions and/or lower benefits), they will be accused of selfishly supporting cuts to education spending and the accompanying increases in class sizes, school closures, and program cuts, (not to mention furloughs, layoffs, and pay and benefits cuts).

According to Fensterwald, pension contributions make up around 18% of a teacher’s salary. CalSTRS is recommending that this percentage be raised to 33%. CalSTRS cannot impose this. Rather, it will be up to the legislature to decide how much to raise contributions. Districts and the state also contribute to the pension fund. However, with the monstrous state budget deficit and declining revenues in all districts, it is very unlikely that the CalSTRS shortfall will be covered by larger state or district increases. Teachers are the ones who will be asked to make the sacrifice.

Republican Ninny State Says No to Teacher Gestapo

Republicans are not only ignoring calls to tone down their vitriolic rhetoric, they seem to be hell bent on turning every one of their pet projects for enriching themselves into a circus of absurd and violent ranting. In one of the latest examples, Rep. Sondra Erickson, R-Princeton, Minnesota, chair the House Education Reform Committee, demanded that the “Teacher Gestapo” back off their plan to include 90 days of classroom supervision for teachers undergoing an alternative licensing program. The “Gestapo” to which she referred was none other than the state’s teachers union, Education Minnesota (EM)

While Erickson later apologized, it should be pointed out that she is a former English teacher, herself, and well aware of the high attrition rate for novice teachers, and even higher rate for those who haven’t been credentialed or undergone supervised student teaching. Throwing a bunch of poorly trained novices into classrooms does not result in better educational outcomes. Rather, it results in schools having to replace large numbers of teachers after only one to three years. 

It should also be pointed out Erickson recently praised EM for their willingness to collaborate with her committee in a joint effort to damage public education in Minnesota. EM President, Tom Dooher, said, “We are willing to work with anybody,” which presumably includes Nazis, Commies, as well as Republican nitwits.

Here are just a few of the sellout projects EM is collaborating on:

• Easing rules on alternative teaching programs
• Yearly performance evaluations (possibly more often)
• Teacher pay tied to student performance