Memo to Mark Green

"WHATEVER MAY BE THE LIMITATIONS WHICH TRAMMEL INQUIRY ELSEWHERE, WE BELIEVE THAT THE GREAT STATE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SHOULD EVER ENCOURAGE THAT CONTINUAL AND FEARLESS SIFTING AND WINNOWING BY WHICH ALONE THE TRUTH CAN BE FOUND." (Taken from a Report of the Board of Regents in 1894)

The plaque in the picture is at Bascom Hall at the top of Bascom Hill at the University of Wisconsin. From there, you can hurl a snowball and have it hit the UW Law School - where Mark Green spent a few years of his life. Too bad ideas can't rub off on people.

In his floundering campaign for Governor, Green is latching on to the latest bloviating point of wingnut radio by promising to "inject a heavy dose of Wisconsin values into the University of Wisconsin System". What the hell could be more of a Wisconsin value than something the UW has upheld for one hundred and twelve freaking years?!?

Green, of course, has a history of pandering to wingnuts (see here and here). While he says, "I think there should be some basic scholarly standards that we ask of anyone who wishes to teach our young people, especially at taxpayer expense," (I guess the University of Wisconsin is just hiring anybody off the street without referring to academic credentials), he provides no details as to what injecting a heavy dose of "Wisconsin values" means.

I know what it means: ideological litmus tests for faculty members. That's un-American and dangerous - hardly Wisconsin values.