In Professor Lafferty's classroom, there are stupid ideas and stupid people, but they still have the right to free speech.

Illustration: Patrick T. Lafferty
Images: New Scientist, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez

In Professor Lafferty's classroom, there are stupid ideas and stupid people, but they still have the right to free speech.

I sat down to write about this post over at Wired’s Threat Level and an entire diatribe on the human condition started pouring out. Not only was that not my point, but worse, it wasn’t a good diatribe. So I’ve boiled it and completely dehydrated it down into the following delicious bouillon cube of humanity:

Human beings are strange creatures. We are inevitably confronted by evil that wells from within us all and that evil is fomented by our waning society. We create false constructs to deal with that evil and place them between ourselves and the other human beings. We do this because many of us don’t recognize the only cure is the antiseptic of understanding and accepting each other. This is the human dilemma.

To my original point, Rep. Linda Sanchez’ (D-Los Angeles) bill (H.R. 1966) is moronic and seems to be striving to make all of us less human through censorship. By her reasoning, this post, designed to “coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person,” warrants my incarceration for up to two years. Please don’t let her stupidity spread beyond the 14 17 (eek! It’s spreading!) co-sponsors of this legislation, conveniently listed for your derision after the jump.

Do us all a favor and hug a human being today. Read the rest of this entry »

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