Next step, Obama in breeches? Organizing for Action uses Gadsden flag
Organizing for Action, the political organization descended from Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign, is now giving out bumper stickers inspired by the Gadsden flag that tea partiers have loved so much. What’s interesting to me is how stylized this flag is. I think the stethoscope is clear, but the graphic and caption on it wouldn’t make […]
Ohio General Assembly proposal: faculty should show school spirit by giving 110%
So the Ohio General Assembly is really at it: they’ve stripped out of Kasich’s budget and put into an education bill, HB 484, a stricture requiring public colleges and universities to up faculty workload “by ten per cent in the combined areas of instruction, advising, and research.” Maybe they just want us to give up service? […]
Ohio legislator: public education is socialism, so let’s privatize everything
In a blog post, Ohio state representative Andrew Brenner (R) asserts that “public education is socialism.” Insofar as he uses the wikipedia definition of socialism and notes that public education is publicly owned, he’s not necessarily wrong. Brenner goes on to blame public ownership of schools for what he perceives as the evil of teachers’ […]
Kasich to faculty: Be Nigel Tufnel
Imagine a governor proposing that all firefighters, or all police, or all [insert favorite public employment here] work 10% more, for no additional compensation. Most people, I hope, would think such unilateral increase of work for no pay un-American, a breaking of a contract between employers and employees. But yesterday, John Kasich our darling governor […]
More than neglect: an era of partisan attack on higher ed
A week later, some folks are still stunned by the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s “An Era of Neglect,” which offers a long-term view of states’ retreat from funding higher education. Two thoughts come to mind. The first is that anyone who really was shocked, or even surprised, probably hasn’t been paying attention much. But what’s […]