Putting Higher Ed Out Of Reach

TomPaine.com: Putting Higher Ed Out Of Reach

By: Howard Karger
February 20, 2007

Howard Karger is professor of social work at the University of Houston and author of Shortchanged: Life and Debt in the Fringe Economy .

Margaret Spellings , Bush’s secretary of education, is a tough-talking Texan. Like the motto on her notepad—“Put on your big girl panties and deal with it!”—Spellings won’t take crap from anyone, especially Buster the animated bunny. Her first act as secretary was to ask PBS to cut an episode of “Postcards from Buster” which showed two lesbian couples. She also wanted PBS to refund the money spent on that filthy episode.

Apart from her concern about the pernicious influence of lesbians on young children,

Spelling has her eye on higher education. Similar to conservatives like David Horowitz (founder of the McCarthyist Students for Academic Freedom), she is concerned with protecting the tender minds of college students from liberal professors, especially those who are tenured with academic freedom.Apart from her concern about the pernicious influence of lesbians on young children, Spelling has her eye on higher education. Similar to conservatives like David Horowitz (founder of the McCarthyist Students for Academic Freedom), she is concerned with protecting the tender minds of college students from liberal professors, especially those who are tenured with academic freedom.

Since Spellings never worked in a school system, and has no formal training in education (her B.A. is in political science), she is free to make educational policy on purely ideological grounds, unencumbered by the real problems facing America’s teachers.

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