Lies in the name of truth

In the tradition of falsely named causes that fade in the light of truth this year came the so-called "academic freedom bill" that actually would limit speech by steering professors away from controversial topics for fear that they will be accused of liberal bias.

With his House Bill 837 admittedly on "life support" in the Senate, Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, finally consulted last week with Florida's university presidents. They reminded him that it's their job to ensure that the universities remain a marketplace of ideas, including those of conservative students.

Rep. Baxley says he wants to protect especially "conservative Republican Christians who are pro-life," who he says are being harassed and discriminated against. The author of unsuccessful legislation to get Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted enlisted David Horowitz, a former Marxist turned reactionary activist. The closest Rep. Baxley came to a specific anecdote to support his claim was one Mr. Horowitz cited in a column about a University of Northern Colorado student getting an F for refusing to write about "why George Bush is a war criminal." In fact, Mr. Horowitz admitted last month on his Web site that the story was untrue, though he did not bother to correct Rep. Baxley.

The state Department of Education estimates that frivolous lawsuits aimed at forcing Rep. Baxley's agenda on the universities would cost more than $4 million to defend if his bill passed. In contrast, had he checked sooner, or cared, he would have learned that the universities have grievance procedures for students who feel they have been treated unfairly, and that it is in the universities' interest to ensure that such problems don't occur.

Lively intellectual debate, of course, is key to developing critical thinking. It's also the bane of ideologues who perceive human existence as an eternal battle of conservative versus liberal.