Preposterous Universe

 
Celebrating freedom

I mostly slept through Independence Day, and so missed the celebratory fireworks from smashing into another celestial body (Matt McIrvin points to pictures here, here, here, here, and PZ Myers links to movies). For the next two weeks I'm in Paris, which (according to some myths) liberty was invented a couple of centuries ago, and (according to others) it now comes to die. Whatever, the croissants are excellent.

In honor of our freedom, here's a reminder of the dangers we face, from Brian Leiter.

Herewith Newt Gingrich (as reported by The National Review), former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and still prominent spokesman of the American right (which now runs the country, in case you forgot):

We ought to say to [state university] campuses, it’s over…We should say to state legislatures, why are you making us pay for this? Boards of regents are artificial constructs of state law. Tenure is an artificial social construct. Tenure did not exist before the twentieth century, and we had free speech before then. You could introduce a bill that says, proof that you’re anti-American is grounds for dismissal.

Why stop there? Why not "proof that you didn't vote for George W. Bush is grounds for dismissal"? Or how about "proof that you don't believe in God," since that's tantamount to being anti-American anyway? Such a law is obviously unconstitutional, but this apparently didn't bother Herr Gingrich.

"Proof that you're anti-American is grounds for dismissal" is such a perfectly anti-American sentiment that I'm surprised Gingrich's head didn't explode. Of course, I suspect that his head is made of animatronic plastic and that he's controlled by radio signals sent from an undisclosed location, but that's just me.

~ posted by Sean Carroll at 12:54 AM ~ link ~ ~ ~