Not content with KU professor's beating for his outspoken criticism of Intelligent Design, republican lawmakers now want to have a "hearing" about Paul Mirecki's job.
Link to article
From the article in the Johnson County Sun quoting Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita
"I want to give the chancellor and the professor a chance to appear before the legislature to explain their side of this issue.
"My major concern is that the head of the religion department at the university is probably in the wrong position. But I don't know what action should be taken. If something has been taken out of context, then I want to know. E-mails have been verified. ...
"He is an atheist and he is bashing religion. Is he doing that in his class? I'm not knocking his religion. But how can he be the chair of the religion department? He has an obligation to be held to a higher standard. This is religious bigotry."
Brenda, honey, Atheism is not a religion.
Rep. Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe, agrees with Landwehr:
". . . when a professor comes forward to teach a course of this nature, to ask, Are they committed to presenting both sides? I think that our students should have the opportunity to hear both sides of an issue."
Ah, yes, the famous "Both Sides" invocation. Except this is a university course, not Crossfire. This man is a "Professor," which means he is an expert on the subject he is teaching. This is not a required course that every liberal arts, or even every religion student must take to graduate. Of course, it comes down to funds. Since the school is partly funded by tax dollars, the legislators think this gives them a say in the content of the courses. They attempted in 2003 to target Professor Dennis Dailey, who teaches a very popular Human Sexuality course, by including an amendment in a bill that would deny funding for any class that uses "obscene" materials. The amendment was line-item vetoed by D governor Sebelius.
And Kay O'Connor, R-Olathe, (long a favorite of mine after she stated that it was probably a mistake to have granted womensuffrage) says that the Kansas Legislature could seek an investigation.
"If they felt like things were really a drastic problem, provisos could be put into legislation that prohibit the flow of money until the situation is corrected. If they felt like it was something illegal, they could turn it over to the attorney general," she said.
And I'm sure Phil Kline would love to get his hands on this. He had so much fun persecuting a developmentally disabled gay teen, and trying to nose around in the private medical records of women who have had abortions.