Academic Freedom...or Academic Inteference?

Perhaps, like many issues in today's red-blue atmosphere, academic freedom depends on who defines it. In Florida, legislators are considering what they call the "academic freedom bill of rights" which claims to " stamp out "leftist totalitarianism" by "dictator professors" in Florida universities.

I don't know about you, but it's been a long time since I sat in a college desk, a few years since I taught a college class. Isn't this going a little too far? Are these the same conservatives who want to get lawyers out of everyone's hair? Isn't education about opening minds to others' ideas? (Personally, I wonder: is the world getting stupider or something? Are we being sucked collectively into a El Nino of Intolerant Dumbness?)

Speaking of the conservative movement, recent efforts to inject the federal government and politics into the Terry Schiavo case (she continues to rank as BlogPulse's top person this week), and are being scrutinized and examined by bloggers under the banner of "How Far Will They Go To Kill Conservatism?"(14 citations today among top links). A Glenn Reynolds MSNBC interview on the issue also shows up today among top links. Polls show continued support for the Florida woman's right to die in peace.

Other BlogPulse discoveries:
For the light-hearted at Easter, check out the Bunny Rap video (today's No. 20 top link). Yahoo! seems to be on a roll with this week's release of its Creative Commons search engine, and iPod lovers keep coming up with new ideas for the gadget.

Blog Bizarreness
The story of the woman who found a human finger in a bowl of chili at a fast-food restuarant is being shared liberally among bloggers, as is the name of the health inspector called in to investigate.

Passings
Fans of the Seinfeld show are mourning the death of Barney Martin, the actor who played Morty Seinfeld (Jerry's father) on the show.

BLOGPULSE TREND GRAPH OF THE DAY: It's easy to see where seasonal attention if focused: spring break fever.