Florida: Here We Go Again

Update: Drat, this is way old news. I’m backdating the post to put it in the proper place, but it is basically a “never mind” item.

According to James Van Landingham in the Independent Florida Alligator, Florida Representative Dennis Baxley (R – Ocala) has proposed another “academic freedom” bill (House Bill H-837), and cites failure to discuss “intelligent design” as a case where he feels that a student should not only have the standing to sue, but should actually sue.

“Some professors say, ‘Evolution is a fact. I don’t want to hear about Intelligent Design (a creationist theory), and if you don’t like it, there’s the door,'” Baxley said, citing one example when he thought a student should sue.

[James, “intelligent design” is just creationism, not “a creationist theory”. Let’s not give these folks undue credit for work not yet performed.]

This, though, was exceptionally ironic:

During the committee hearing, Baxley cast opposition to his bill as “leftists” struggling against “mainstream society.” “The critics ridicule me for daring to stand up for students and faculty,” he said, adding that he was called a McCarthyist. Baxley later said he had a list of students who were discriminated against by professors, but refused to reveal names because he felt they would be persecuted.

McCarthy had an imaginary list of evildoers that he would not divulge. Baxley apparently has an imaginary list of paranoid people that he won’t divulge. Both of them expected others to act upon facts not in evidence.