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Re: Eh, facts, schmacts, bring on the Baxley bill, April 7.
Pity Howard Troxler. For a man lamenting the dearth of facts in opinion, his column on the Baxley bill is curiously bereft of them.
For starters, Troxler doesn't seem to think there's a problem with political bias in academia. His defense? It hasn't happened to him. Well, it never happened to me, either. But even if you put our two stories together, the evidence is purely anecdotal and completely at odds with what's happening in universities across the country.
You don't need to look that hard to find examples of liberal groupthink on college campuses. The recent controversies involving Ward Churchill at the University of Colorado and Larry Summers at Harvard say it all. Churchill, a radical leftist, makes odious comments about the victims of the 9/11 attacks and is defended by his colleagues under the rubric of "academic freedom." Summers, meanwhile, posits a decidedly un-PC theory about the intellectual differences between men and women and the Harvard faculty is calling for his head. Need I say more?
When you consider the facts, as Troxler says we should, all this should come as no surprise. A recent survey of college professors revealed that 72 percent identify themselves as liberal, while only 15 percent describe themselves as conservative or libertarian.
I'm not using this as justification to establish quotas, but merely to point out that university faculties are dangerously one-sided. Where there is no diversity of thought, there is no diversity. Couple that with the tenure so many professors enjoy, and you have a recipe for serious abuse. Is it any wonder students feel pressure to agree with their professors' views, lest their grades suffer?
Dennis Baxley's academic bill of rights is long overdue.
In an article on the so-called "academic freedom bill" (Lawmaker aims to halt bias in class , April 6), you repeat several vivid but entirely anecdotal instances of alleged discrimination against students. These instances stick in people's minds as evidence of an out-of-control, unaccountable professoriate that needs to be reined in by the Legislature. Corroborating evidence of these cases, however, is rarely forthcoming.
Sen. Dennis Baxley claims he has a list of persecuted students while giving no verifiable details. This conveniently makes his claims unchallengeable while stoking public outrage, a classic piece of demagoguery.
The real targets of the bill are the study of history, political science, biology and cosmology. The reasons are obvious: serious scholarship in these fields challenges dearly held orthodoxies about the role of the United States in world affairs and the place of humanity in the universe. Baxley and supporters don't want to broaden the base of views students are exposed to; they want to narrow them. Critical scrutiny of American history and foreign policy is out; jingoism is in. Evolution via natural selection is out; "intelligent design" is in. How happy we will be when we reach the level Baxley wishes to reduce us to: ignorant of our own history, our origins and our place in the world.
In the words of Al Gore in the 2000 debates, "Sigh." The St. Petersburg Times has now managed to stoop to an even greater depth of partisan hackery, this time accusing Mel Martinez of knowingly distributing an unsigned memo that, if found by the media, would have made him look like he was using the plight of a helpless woman to further a political goal. So in the eyes of the Times, our junior senator is either a masochist or stupid. I happen to think he is neither.
The Times treats this story as if it were a sudden manifestation of the destruction of political comity, instead of seeing it for what it is. Namely, a political staff that was trusted by the senator, created talking points for the senator, and they were distributed.
Having worked with Sen. Martinez when I was a college student and meeting him again on several occasions, including my law school graduation at Stetson, I can say with certainty that Sen. Martinez truly believed in Terri Schiavo's cause, as much, if not more so, than millions of others.
I guess in the eyes of the Times, distributing a memo is far more dangerous and egregious a crime than going into the National Archives, stealing memos and destroying them. That is just an "honest mistake" right?
It is an embarrassment for our state to be represented by our newest senator, who cannot take responsibility for his actions. It appears that he does not have control over his staff members and their memo writing.
What can we look forward to for the next six years under his term? He seems not to be in touch with the voters in this state and hasn't yet said one intelligent thing in the short time he has been in Congress.
I suggest the wisest thing for him to do is resign and have the distinction of being the shortest serving senator of all time. Someone of integrity and intelligence should replace him before we are totally laughed at by the rest of the country.
Re: Pinch at the pump getting more painful, April 9.
Now that gasoline is approaching 2 cents an ounce, maybe we should review what we already know about saving gasoline.
1. Keep tires inflated to specified pressure.
2. Do not rush to the next traffic light, only to have to brake to stop.
3. Do a lot of coasting.
4. Do not weave in and out of traffic. This is expensive driving.
5. Do not accelerate too fast. This can cut your miles per gallon in half.
6. Take a little longer to get where you are going.
7. Drive so that your foot is always light on the gas pedal and easy on the brake. When you're easy on the power, you're easy on the pocketbook.
A goodly amount of electricity used in hybrid cars is generated by breaking power and coasting, so you can imagine the power you're losing when you use bad driving habits.
Re: Coverage of Pope John Paul's funeral.
It was wonderful and refreshing to see the gathering of humanity at Vatican City. Coming together for the greater good and to pay respects to such a great man and visionary spoke volumes about the potential of people to behave as human beings.
The press is to be commended on its dignified coverage as well. Thank you.