mal wrote:
] It was just a matter of time ...
]
] Homeland security wants to decide which college classes get
] funded and they are thinking of excluding classes that teach
] that there even might be dissenting points of view.

I thought I would meme this because it was worth taking a look at. Its interesting. I'm not sure I know exactly what to think of it.

The purpose of federal funding for education is (among other things) to make sure that education conforms to what the public believes education ought to consist of. The idea that you can take public money and use it to tell people not to get jobs in the government because you are opposed to US policy is something that I disagree with. I think its hypocritical. It also crosses the line between exposing students to viewpoints and telling them what to think. I also disagree with school vouchers, for basically the same reasons. I don't want to fund your madrassah, regardless of what nook of the political system you come from. Feel free to teach your kids whatever garbage you want to teach them, and feel free to do it on your own dime.

Furthermore, I'm not convinced that an "advisory board" is really going to be in a position to do anything other then advise. What is wrong with getting a perspective from the intelligence community? I don't see how this equates with eliminating dissenting viewpoints from the educational system. There is a balance that must be maintained. We should expose people to ideas, but they should not have their minds made up for them.

On the other hand, I can certainly imagine this scenario being dangerous in the context where you really did have an intelligence advisory board deciding what things are true and not true. That would be the start of the end as far as I'm concerned. I find myself hard pressed to buy that this is what is going on here. I see the risk but not the reality.

RE: An Advisory Board drawn from Homeland Security will limit university funding.