No Contest

This is why, despite his FISA failure, I won’t hesitate to pull the lever for Obama this November:

The attacks of September 11 brought this new reality into a terrible and ominous focus. On that bright and beautiful day, the world of peace and prosperity that was the legacy of our Cold War victory seemed to suddenly vanish under rubble, and twisted steel, and clouds of smoke.

But the depth of this tragedy also drew out the decency and determination of our nation. At blood banks and vigils; in schools and in the United States Congress, Americans were united – more united, even, than we were at the dawn of the Cold War. The world, too, was united against the perpetrators of this evil act, as old allies, new friends, and even long-time adversaries stood by our side. It was time – once again – for America’s might and moral suasion to be harnessed; it was time to once again shape a new security strategy for an ever-changing world.

Imagine, for a moment, what we could have done in those days, and
months, and years after 9/11.

We could have deployed the full force of American power to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and all of the terrorists responsible for 9/11, while supporting real security in Afghanistan.

We could have secured loose nuclear materials around the world, and updated a 20th century non-proliferation framework to meet the challenges of the 21st.

We could have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in alternative sources of energy to grow our economy, save our planet, and end the tyranny of oil.

We could have strengthened old alliances, formed new partnerships, and renewed international institutions to advance peace and prosperity.
We could have called on a new generation to step into the strong currents of history, and to serve their country as troops and teachers, Peace Corps volunteers and police officers.

We could have secured our homeland–investing in sophisticated new protection for our ports, our trains and our power plants.

We could have rebuilt our roads and bridges, laid down new rail and broadband and electricity systems, and made college affordable for every American to strengthen our ability to compete. We could have done that.

Instead, we have lost thousands of American lives, spent nearly a trillion dollars, alienated allies and neglected emerging threats – all in the cause of fighting a war for well over five years in a country that had absolutely nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.

[snip]

For eight years, we have paid the price for a foreign policy that lectures without listening; that divides us from one another – and from the world – instead of calling us to a common purpose; that focuses on our tactics in fighting a war without end in Iraq instead of forging a new strategy to face down the true threats that we face. We cannot afford four more years of a strategy that is out of balance and out of step with this defining moment.

None of this will be easy, but we have faced great odds before. When General Marshall first spoke about the plan that would bear his name, the rubble of Berlin had not yet been built into a wall. But Marshall knew that even the fiercest of adversaries could forge bonds of friendship founded in freedom. He had the confidence to know that the purpose and pragmatism of the American people could outlast any foe. Today, the dangers and divisions that came with the dawn of the Cold War have receded. Now, the defeat of the threats of the past has been replaced by the transnational threats of today. We know what is needed. We know what can best be done. We know what must done. Now it falls to us to act with the same sense of purpose and pragmatism as an earlier generation, to join with friends and partners to lead the world anew.

There’s absolutely no contest here. None. America may not be able to salvage a second chance from the ruins Bush leaves behind. If we elect McCain, we won’t deserve one.

Barack Obama Logo

No Contest
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Someone Get This Disaster Out of Office

I suspect Bush is going to spend the next six months doing his level best to destroy everything he can get his hands on. He knows he won’t be leaving a legacy, but scorched earth. He won’t try to turn things around: he’ll play the screaming, spoiled toddler he always does, and break the toys he’s been playing with rather than give them back.

Need proof? Digby has the latest in an unbroken string of outrages, coming just after Bush gleefully vetoed the Medicare bill:

But this thumb in the eye of doctors and medical providers who dared to oppose his cuts to their paychecks is nothing compared to what his Health and Human Services Department has in store:

The Bush administration wants to require all recipients of aid under federal health programs to certify that they will not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control.

Under the draft of a proposed rule, hospitals, clinics, researchers and medical schools would have to sign “written certifications” as a prerequisite to getting money under any program run by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The rule defines “abortion” so broadly that it could also apply to birth control pills and emergency contraception. And because the rule would apply to federal health programs, low-income and uninsured women will be most affected.


This is an extension of the “Landmine Project,” to install both personnel and federal rules requirements that would enshrine radical conservative goals inside of government.


Even if we have a century of careful, conscientious Democratic rule, I don’t think we’ll be able to undo all of the evil this one spiteful fucktard has done. I hope this man ends up in the Hague for war crimes. I just wish it would happen before he finishes his little project to ensure that Americans don’t get proper healthcare and women end up as chattel in the eyes of the government.

Bush should have been impeached in 2006. Cheney should have ended up in prison. Our witless Democrats left them in power, and I’m afraid the cowards won’t have the political will to clean up the mess once they’re gone.

We’re going to have to work hard to elect people who have actual spines this time around.

Become a StrangeBedfellow and Hold Washington Accountable!

Someone Get This Disaster Out of Office

Happy Hour Discurso

Today’s opining on the public discourse.

Let’s have a conversation about just how entirely fucked in the head this nation has become with Bush in charge.

Faux News would like us to believe that a 15 year old boy deserves to be tortured:

Today, lawyers for Canadian national Omar Khadr, a Guantanamo detainee, released an interrogation video from 2003, showing Khadr weeping and begging for better medical treatment. Discussing the video today on Fox News, host Trace Gallagher declared Khadr had killed an American solider — Khadr is accused of throwing a grenade — and so “maybe he deserves” to be tortured.


Think Progress has a charming little video, which you can go watch if you haven’t had your daily dose of apoplexy.

Now, in a civilized society, you don’t torture a human being. Not for information, not for anger, not for revenge, you just don’t do it period. And you sure as fuck don’t dismiss the torture of a teenager by blithely assuming that “maybe he deserves” it.

We have a Republicon Congressman who would like us to believe there’s no wildlife in a wildlife refuge where Republicons and their oil company buddies want to drill:

In a press conference today previewing a House Republican trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that’s meant to promote drilling, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) doubted the existence of actual wildlife in the refuge. “We’re going to look at this barren, Arctic desert where I’m hoping to see some wildlife,” said Boehner. “But I understand there’s none there.” Boehner repeated his skepticism during an interview on CNN, telling Wolf Blitzer, “I’ll be looking for all that wildlife.” Ironically, CNN paired Boehner’s interview with b-roll of actual wildlife moving around the refuge.


Maybe Mr. Boehner has a different definition of “wildlife” than the rest of us. I’d love to hear it.

Bush in his infinite wisdom vetoed the wildly popular Medicare bill:

As promised, President Bush has vetoed the Medicare bill that would stave off a 10.6 percent cut in reimbursements to doctors and replace it with a slight increase. The bill passed both chambers with a veto-proof majority after a contentious several weeks of debate. And now it continues.

Bush vetoed it, he said in a statement, because of Democratic attempts to roll back certain private elements within the Medicare program. Democrats say the private plans amount to a corporate giveaway and are too costly; Bush frames it as a matter of choice, saying in a veto statement that “taking choices away from seniors to pay physicians is wrong.”

When a Republicon says “choice,” what he means is, “We’re spinning something incredibly stupid so that you think it’s a good thing and our corporate buddies can rape you up the ass.”

McCain would like us to believe that he knows how to win wars even though he wouldn’t pass a basic social studies class:

John McCain hasn’t spent much time talking about Afghanistan during the presidential campaign, but now that “other” war is deteriorating, the Republican candidate has discovered his new-found interest in the
conflict.

Republican John McCain said Tuesday he knows “how to win wars” and that the strategy of increasing troop levels in Iraq should also be applied to Afghanistan. […]

McCain has described Obama’s call for withdrawal from Iraq as tantamount to declaring defeat and points to the lower levels of violence in Iraq as evidence that sending additional U.S. troops there has been a successful strategy.

“Sen. Obama will tell you we can’t win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards,” McCain told a town hall meeting. “It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan.”

In other words, McCain’s new policy on Afghanistan — I say “new” because up until now, he hasn’t actually articulated a policy on Afghanistan — can be summarized this way: “Just do what we’ve been doing in Iraq.” Seriously. That’s the policy.

This, of course, doesn’t make any sense. The wars are entirely different. The causes of violence are completely different. The competing factions are completely different. Oh, and by the way, Iraq hasn’t gone especially well.

McCain seemed particularly fond of this line from his speech: “I know how to win wars.” Now, with all due respect to the senator’s military service, what is it, exactly, that leads McCain to think he has this knowledge? McCain hasn’t, you know, actually won any wars.

My suspicion is, McCain means he endorsed the surge, the surge led to victory in Iraq, and if he can just bring more surges to more countries, American would keep winning. In other words, when McCain says he knows “how to win wars,” he means he’s concluded, “Surges = Victories.”


And the Republicons have concluded that, after all we’ve swallowed so far, we’re too stupid to spit out their lies and dumbfuckery now.

They’ve failed us militarily, economically, diplomatically, legally – fuck it, they’ve failed across the board. And now they’re failing to take us seriously. Remember that this fall.

Happy Hour Discurso

Helping Teens Find Faith: First, Provide Them Loaded Weapons

You really need to be sitting down for this. All drinks need to be fully swallowed and moved out of spilling range. Ready?

Right.

Canadian Cynic’s post titled “Kill ’em all, and let God sort it out” takes us, without comment or adequate warning, to this article, wherein we discover:

An Oklahoma church canceled a controversial gun giveaway for teenagers at a weekend youth conference.


What. The. Fuck. They never gave away guns when I was a teenager in church! But it gets better:

Windsor Hills Baptist had planned to give away a semiautomatic assault rifle until one of the event’s organizers was unable to attend.


Semiautomatic assault rifle? Are they out of their fucking minds? Wait a sec – Oklahoma, Baptist church, lots of insane fuckheads who worship the Second Amendment more than God attending same. Forget I asked. But let’s see what the “reasoning” behind this blessed event was:

The church’s youth pastor, Bob Ross, said it’s a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event.


You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

A video on the church Web site shows the shooting competition from last year’s conference. A gun giveaway was part of the event last year. This year, organizers included it in their marketing.


What the fuck are you people “preaching and teaching,” exactly? Someone show me the part in the Bible where Christ asks people to worship by honing their killing-people skills.

“I don’t want people thinking ‘My goodness, we’re putting a weapon in the hand of somebody that doesn’t respect it who are then going to go out and kill,’” said Ross. “That’s not at all what we’re trying to do.”


Really, Mr. Ross? That statement would be a lot more credible if it wasn’t a fucking semiautomatic assault rifle you’re giving away to the kiddies. Or are the deer really that formidable down there in Oklahoma? Are they, perhaps, equipped with rocket launchers? Or have you assclowns been playing too much “Left Behind” lately? Delusions of being Tribulation Force, I see.

Ross said the conference isn’t all about guns, but rather about teens finding faith.


At gunpoint, if necessary.

Fucking. Unbelievable. And you know the best part? They didn’t cancel their “Give a Teen a Semi-Automatic!” extravaganza because they had a change of heart and realized that, in a country where school shootings are regular fare, gun violence is out of control, and the news is full of kids killing kids, placing semi-automatic weapons in the hands of a teen may not be the best way to teach kids about finding faith. They didn’t cancel it because they had an epiphany and realized that, if swords should be turned into plowshares, maybe assault weapons should be too. They didn’t even cancel because the community outcry shamed some sense into them.

No. They cancelled because the pastor who runs the event broke his foot and can’t make it this year.

Let that one sink in before the coup d’etat’s delivered:

Ross said the church would give the gun away next year instead.


And these are the people who are soooo morally superior to non-believers. What the fuck kind of demented moral system believes that being gay is a crime against humanity, but giving children assault weapons is perfectly fine?

When is civilized society going to stop pretending that faith like this deserves respect?

Helping Teens Find Faith: First, Provide Them Loaded Weapons

Signs of Truth

So, you all remember Ms. Kreck, the part-time librarian who got cited for trespassing and chucked out of line at a McCain town hall meeting in Denver because she was holding a sign that said McCAIN=BUSH:

You remember the Secret Service disavowed any knowledge of her eviction:

In fact, the Secret Service heard the criticism, and its spokesperson told reporters, “Contrary to some recent reporting, the Secret Service had no involvement in Ms. Kreck being removed from the area. It was not done at our request or suggestion. Any assertion to the contrary is inaccurate and inconsistent with our established policies and procedures.”


And you didn’t die of shock when you discovered that actually, it was McCain’s own staff that demanded her removal:

“A representative of Senator John McCain’s staff respectfully asked that the venue for its July 7 Town Hall Meeting, The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, not allow persons to display signage within the Arts Complex,” DCPA officials said in a statement.

DCPA spokeswoman Suzanne Blandon said the guard who told Kreck to leave was “simply mistaken” in identifying the Secret Service as the agency that wanted her to leave. Blandon said the guard did not intend to use the Secret Service as leverage and did not mean to mislead anyone.

But you probably got a good chortle out of the fact that they’re so shit-scared of Bush’s anti-Midas touch fucking up the eensy little chance McCain has of lying his way into the Oval Office that they have lil ol’ librarians bunged out on their ear for the mere suggestion that McCAIN = BUSH. They’ve been screaming “He’s not Bush!” at every opportunity. This works fine as long as no one asks how, exactly, McCain isn’t Bush:

You’d think, at this point in the presidential race, that McCain campaign surrogates would be prepped on how to answer some of the easy, obvious questions, such as, “Are there any differences between Bush and McCain on economic policy?”

This came up in May, when Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the second highest-ranking Republican in the House, was asked to name a difference, and he couldn’t come up with one. It came up again in June, when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) couldn’t think of any differences either.

And it was especially amusing to see this clip from CNN yesterday:



For those who can’t watch clips online, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked campaign surrogate and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), a man rumored to be a VP possibility for John McCain, “Are there any significant economic differences between what the Bush administration has put forward, over these many years, as opposed to, now, what John McCain supports?”

It a painful display, Sanford hemmed and hawed for quite a while. “Yes. I mean, for instance, take, you know — take, for instance, the issue of I’m drawing a blank, and I hate it when I do that, particularly on television,” he said, before adding, “But take, for instance, the contrast on NAFTA.”

When Blitzer noted that Bush and McCain have identical policies on trade, Sanford said he was making a point about an area of disagreement between McCain and Barack Obama. (In other words, Sanford was making up a different question and then answering it.)


*This blog post is experiencing technical difficulties. The author is too convulsed with laughter to continue. Please stand by*

The silly fucks not only can’t name a single fucking difference, they have to babble about the differences between McCain and Obama and hope no one notices they’ve moved the goal posts into the next county.

No wonder they’re terrified of Ms. Kreck and her Sign of Truth.

Signs of Truth

Happy Hour Discurso

Today’s opining on the public discourse.

My goodness, everyone’s a terrorist:

WASHINGTON, DC – The nation’s terrorist watch list has hit one million names, according to a tally maintained by the American Civil Liberties Union based upon the government’s own reported numbers for the size of the list.

“Members of Congress, nuns, war heroes and other ‘suspicious characters,’ with names like Robert Johnson and Gary Smith, have become trapped in the Kafkaesque clutches of this list, with little hope of escape,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “Congress needs to fix it, the Terrorist Screening Center needs to fix
it, or the next president needs to fix it, but it has to be done soon.”


Fredrickson and Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU’s Technology and Liberty Program, spoke today along with two victims of the watch list: Jim Robinson, former assistant attorney general for the Civil Division who flies frequently and is often delayed for hours despite possessing a governmental security clearance and Akif Rahman, an American citizen who has
been detained and interrogated extensively at the U.S.-Canada border when traveling for business.

“America’s new million record watch list is a perfect symbol for what’s wrong with this administration’s approach to security: it’s unfair, out-of-control, a waste of resources, treats the rights of the innocent as an afterthought, and is a very real impediment in the lives of
millions of travelers in this country,” said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program. “It must be fixed without delay.”


“Fixed without delay,” however, is a phrase sadly missing from our current government’s lexicon, which seems to delight in living up to phrases such as “unfair,” “out-of-control,” “waste of resources,” and “treat the rights of the innocent as an afterthought.” But remember: it’s all about keeping America safe from those awful icky terrorists, including the two-year old who ended up on that list a few years ago.

In other news, you may recall that Bush paid some lip service to Congress’ role in governing when he decided that, much as he’d like to overturn the ban on coastal drilling, he’d like to see Congress overturn their ban first. Congress didn’t. You all know what’s coming, right?

Oddly enough, on June 18, Bush demanded that Congress lift the ban on coastal drilling. The president could have just overturned the executive order on the policy, but “he said he wouldn’t do that because he wanted Congress to act first.”

Today, Bush changed his mind.

Putting pressure on congressional Democrats to back more exploration for oil, President Bush Monday called on Congress to join him in lifting a ban on offshore drilling that has stood since his father was president.

There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order signed by the first President Bush in 1990. The current president, trying to ease market tensions and boost supply, called last month for Congress to lift its prohibition before he did so himself.

“The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress,” Bush said in a statement in the Rose Garden. “Now the ball is squarely in Congress’ court.”


Bush added that “Americans are paying at the pump” because Congress hasn’t approved the White House’s drilling plan. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) added, “Now the only thing standing between consumers at the pump and the increased American energy they are demanding is the Democrat leadership in Congress.”


No, you fuckwit, you are the root cause. It’s your disasterous policies, your debacle of a war, and your general stupidity that have contributed the most to stratospheric rises in gas prices. Not to mention, “vast oil resources” is a bit of a stretch. Drilling offshore won’t have any immediate impact. And it does absolutely nothing to solve the root problem, which is that we need an alternative to oil because, no matter where we drill, the oil’s gonna run out.

Fucking moron.

And speaking of fucking morons, the sudden dramatic downturn in the AP’s quality and sanity is now explained:

Regular readers know that I’ve been highlighting some of the unusually bad coverage of the presidential campaign from the Associated Press. It’s been striking, in part because it’s unexpected — the AP has not exactly earned a reputation of being the Fox News of wire services. For the AP to do so many poor reports in such a short time made it seem as if the outlet had undergone some kind of deliberate shift.

As it happens, it has.

Ron Fournier says he regards Sandy Johnson, his predecessor as head of The Associated Press’s Washington bureau, as “a mentor.”

Johnson, though, regards Fournier, who replaced her in a hard-feelings shake-up in May, as a threat to one of the most influential institutions in American journalism.

“I loved the Washington bureau,” said Johnson, who left the AP after losing the prestigious position. “I just hope he doesn’t destroy it.”

There’s more to her vinegary remark than just the aftertaste of a sour parting. Fournier is a main engine in a high-stakes experiment at the 162-year old wire to move from its signature neutral and detached tone to an aggressive, plain-spoken style of writing that Fournier often describes as “cutting through the clutter.”


Shorter Ron Fournier: “Let’s throw journalism out the window and engage in some of that awesome Faux News tabloid-style lying, eh?”

This probably explains the demand that bloggers pay by the word for the honor of quoting them, too. What a fucking nitwit.

He’s an excellent match for the clown in office and the clown who’s running for it.

Happy Hour Discurso

This Shall Do Absolute Wonders for My Volcano Phobia

Longtime readers will know I have a bit o’ a volcano phobia. The one comfort I’ve had living on the Ring of Fire is that volcanoes give plenty of warning before they erupt. Should one of the local peaks go boom, I’ll have gobs of time to pack up the important stuff, chuck the cat into the car, and wave goodbye to the landlord before fleeing south to the parents in Phoenix.

Right?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Nine people were ferried to safety after a volcano on the Aleutian island where they live erupted Saturday, sending ash and rocks falling to the ground below.

Okmok Volcano on Unmak Island erupted at about noon Saturday.

[snip]

“This eruption came out of the blue in a lot of ways,” said volcanologist Dave Schneider. “There is only maybe about one and a half hour or so of precursory activity before it went into full born eruption, so it did come as a surprise to us.”


This Shall Do Absolute Wonders for My Volcano Phobia

There's Some Fun to be Had at The Coffee-Stained Writer

Had all you can stand of politics, religious inanity, and general dumbassitude for a bit? Then it’s definitely time you headed over to The Coffee-Stained Writer to play.

NP’s got a new feature called Bookmarks going. I’ll let her ‘splain – or at least, sum up:

Each Saturday I’ll post a submitted photo of a reader, submitted by you. This weekly photo is the same concept as the original carnival–submit a picture of yourself reading. You can be reading anywhere: at a library/bookstore, at home, while playing video games, at the movie theater. All I ask is that you do not put yourself in danger (any submissions that make me feel someone is in danger will not be posted). You may include a caption/explanation with your photo, as well as a bio and links to any website(s)/blog(s) you want included with your photo.


Instructions and so forth can be found at the above link. Don’t miss out on the rest of the blog – you’ve got to see what she was reading on her wedding day!

She’s also going to be soliciting a series of genre articles written by none other than YOU. Yes, you. I know there’s a few writers in this crowd, so if you want to write up a piece on how to write, let NP know your area of interest and she’ll slot you in: nicolepalmby (at) gmail (dot) com. I’ve called dibs on SF, and you’ll get to read my ravings round about the first of August. You can, of course, humbly request to follow in my footsteps by asking if you can specialize in science fiction, fantasy, horror or any of the other “speculatives” that fall under the umbrella of Speculative Fiction. ;-)

And finally, to keep you wide-awake for that genre piece you’ll be writing, and the photos of yourself reading you’ll be taking, NP has some excellent news. If you love chocolate (me), spearmint (me!) and iced coffee (ME!), you won’t want to miss this.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go sort through the bajillions of photos I have of myself reading so I can submit just the right one…

There's Some Fun to be Had at The Coffee-Stained Writer

Supporting PZ

I came across the link to this site on Greg Laden’s blog, and it’s a brilliant, beautiful idea:

People have been writing letters to the University of Minnesota’s President, Dr. Robert Bruininks in support of our friend PZ Myers; suggesting the Dr. Bruininks give the complaints againt Myers all consideration they are due. Send a letter to Dr. Bruininks and then e-mail it to me at tuibguy at gmail dot com and I will post your letter for the public.


All I can say is, it’s a very good thing indeed I didn’t stumble across this site until after I’d written my letter. John Pieret left me tongue-tied all weekend with his eloquence: I can’t imagine how long it would’ve taken to get the knots out after all of those.

Support PZ is a fantastic answer to the likes of Bill Donahue. If you’ve written a letter, get it submitted.

Supporting PZ

The Great Cracker Controversy of 2008: My Letter to President Bruininks

Dear President Bruininks;

I’m writing to you in support of PZ Myers. I know I’m in excellent company in doing so. But even if mine was the only voice, I’d still be raising it.

I don’t have to tell you that PZ is a wonderful human being and a fantastic teacher. You already know that, probably better than I. If what he’s able to do in a few short blog posts about biology is any reflection of his quality as a professor, you have a gem beyond price. He makes biology accessible, he makes it fun, and he makes it wonderful. I hate snow with a passion and I have no interest in becoming an actual biologist, but I’ve been tempted more than once to give up my Pacific Northwest paradise, buy some serious winter clothes, and migrate to Morris just so I could take his classes. One day, the impulse could become irresistible.

It would be horrible if he wasn’t there because he threatened a Communion wafer.

There’s a strong argument to be made for religious toleration and respect for other peoples’ symbols, of course, but I think what’s been missed in all this uproar is the very essential point that PZ was making: those symbols are not more important than people. I fully share his outrage at those who would physically assault a student for taking the Host out of a church, send him death threats, call for his expulsion, and call his minor bit of sacrilege a hate crime. They showed little enough respect and toleration for others by their actions. Quite the contrary: they showed an appalling lack of humanity. PZ’s response, while not diplomatic, was definitely more effective than a mere scolding. And he did poor Webster Cook a great good service by pulling some of the heat away. It seems people got so distracted by the cracker that they lost sight of what PZ was actually saying in his post: that it’s wrong to treat a student this way over a symbol. PZ doesn’t lose sight of people. It’s one of the things I admire most about him.

He wasn’t out to merely cause offense and raise a furor. He was forcing people to think. That’s what a good teacher does.

Neil Gaiman once said of writers, “Being contentious is what you should be doing. You should be shaking people up.” All of my best professors did the same. They said outrageous things. They shook us up. Their contention was never gratuitous, and it caused us to learn more, think things through, go beyond the easy answer and understand why we thought and felt and knew the things we did. Sometimes they changed our minds. Sometimes they made us more confident of our initial position. What they never did was leave us untouched and unmoved.

PZ reminds me of the best of those professors. We need more, not less, like him.

But there’s one more reason why I don’t think you should bow to pressure from people who refuse to think past their initial upset to the point being made:

John Yoo, who wrote many of the memos setting forth a legal argument explaining why our government is allowed to torture human beings, is now a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley. It makes me physically ill to think that such a man is in charge of teaching future lawyers. But despite a huge outcry, he remains a professor. His views on the legality of torture haven’t disqualified him from teaching law.

I hardly need to tell you what a travesty it would be if it turns out that a lawyer can advocate torture and still be allowed to be a professor of law, but a biology teacher could be fired for the mere threat to desecrate a religious item that isn’t even equally revered by all Christians.

PZ has my full support. I’m sure he has yours, and I can’t thank you enough for it.

Sincerely,
Dana Hunter

The Great Cracker Controversy of 2008: My Letter to President Bruininks