From the Guardian: more Orwellian tactics from the GOP
US university spying scandal prompts resignations
Agencies
Friday January 20, 2006
A former US Republican congressman has resigned from the advisory board of a university alumni group after it emerged the latter was offering students money to police "liberal" professors at the University of California, Los Angeles.
James Rogan, who served two terms in office, sent an email on Wednesday to Andrew Jones, the head of the Bruin Alumni Association, saying he did not want his name connected to the group. Mr Rogan's resignation follows those of the Harvard historian Stephan Thernstrom and the UCLA professor emeritus Jascha Kessler, who both resigned from the board once they learned of the group's activities.
The group has been offering students up to US$100 (£57) to supply tape recordings and notes from classes to expose professors suspected of pushing liberal political views on their students. The targeted professors have likened the effort to a witchhunt.
"Any sober, concerned citizen would look at this and see right through it as a reactionary form of McCarthyism," said Peter McLaren, an education professor whom the association named as No 1 on its list of The Dirty Thirty: Ranking the Worst of the Worst.
Agencies
Friday January 20, 2006
A former US Republican congressman has resigned from the advisory board of a university alumni group after it emerged the latter was offering students money to police "liberal" professors at the University of California, Los Angeles.
James Rogan, who served two terms in office, sent an email on Wednesday to Andrew Jones, the head of the Bruin Alumni Association, saying he did not want his name connected to the group. Mr Rogan's resignation follows those of the Harvard historian Stephan Thernstrom and the UCLA professor emeritus Jascha Kessler, who both resigned from the board once they learned of the group's activities.
The group has been offering students up to US$100 (£57) to supply tape recordings and notes from classes to expose professors suspected of pushing liberal political views on their students. The targeted professors have likened the effort to a witchhunt.
"Any sober, concerned citizen would look at this and see right through it as a reactionary form of McCarthyism," said Peter McLaren, an education professor whom the association named as No 1 on its list of The Dirty Thirty: Ranking the Worst of the Worst.
posted by Matthew at 3:24 PM
1 Comments:
Minus the payments, this sort of thing's being going on a long time. AIPAC are the masters of it, and the inspiration I'd imagine. Some poor journalist, representative, teacher says something the lobby doesn't like, and BANG - letters pour in, advertisers threaten to pull out etc.
Is it worse because of the payments?
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