Saturday, June 28, 2008

L.S.U.'s Tiger in the Tank

Forevermore, when we think of Joe McCarthy, his enabler Roy Cohn, and other craven enemies of freedom, we will think of Louisiana State University.
So, Steven J. Hatfill is exonerated in the only way that matters in capitalist America: the U.S. Government will pay him $5.8 million. That seems about right for one of the most egregious abuses of governmental power brought down on a single individual since the Joe McCarthy era.

Oddly, almost no conventional news source today seems to remember that back in 2002 Louisiana State University's top administrators played the part of the despicable Roy Cohn to the Justice Department's updated version of the heinous Joe McCarthy. In the midst of the Government's efforts to completely ruin the life of Hatfill, John Ashcroft's designated "person of interest," that purported seat of academic freedom in Baton Rouge became a co-conspirator by firing not only Hatfill himself but also the dean who hired him.

The L.S.U. "Tigers" went into the tank for a Government gone hysterical and out of control. They did it because of -- what? Fear? Panic? Personal advantage? Horribly misplaced patriotism? It doesn't matter. Those who do not stand up for freedom when it really counts always can invent empty excuses for their cowardice.

Forevermore, when we think of Joe McCarthy, his enabler Roy Cohn, and other craven enemies of freedom, we will think of Louisiana State University. As Edward R. Murrow famously pointed out, "we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

LSU sucks. Bunch of thugs on the football team. I hope they lose every game.

Anonymous said...

LSU sucks not just in football as the firings show. It is scary to be a prof at LSU unless you have tenure and don't work on anything important. Then it is just humiliating.