Monday, April 24, 2006
Taxpayer-Funded Theocracy? Let's Not
The focus of this story out of Kentucky is homophobia, but there's an aspect to it that should also raise the alarm on another issue.
Gay activists and some business leaders say they're concerned recent actions by Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration and the General Assembly could be construed as anti-gay and drive away businesses interested in coming to the state. [...] Hawse said two decisions this month - one by Fletcher to remove wording from an executive order that would protect homosexual employees from discrimination and another by the General Assembly to give $10 million to a private university that expelled a student for being gay - send the wrong message to potential investors.The private university's bigotry isn't the only reason to oppose that $10 million giveaway:
The General Assembly set aside $10 million in its budget for a pharmacy school at the University of the Cumberlands.... College officials have said a university policy allows them to expel a student who "promotes sexual behavior not consistent with Christian principles," including homosexuality.A university that institutionalizes passing judgment on other people's sexual behavior wants to train pharmacists. What are the odds that those pharmacists will be trained to refuse to fill prescriptions for any form of birth control? Tell Gov. Fletcher to veto the funding. Tell your legislator to oppose it, too. PW butts in: The proposed pharmacy school, because of its anti-gay policies (and probably for other, academic reasons as well), cannot ever be accredited. Therefore, would-be pharmacists who are duped into attending this school may as well be flushing their money -- or their parents' money -- down a toilet for all the good it'll do them. One of the dirty little ways in which the far right (especially the religio-racist right) rips off its followers is in their setting up bogus colleges and universities which, since they are little more than glorified madrassas or Sunday schools, will never be accredited; thus, the kids and their parents will have wasted five or even six figures' worth of money on something that will cause real-world employers to snicker behind their backs as they show them the door.
MEC replies: That little tidbit raises the question of why the state of Kentucky was fixing to pour $10 million in tax revenue down that rathole. Why give so much money to not just a private school, but an unaccredited private school?
More blogs about politics.
