[derrida]

Can I make it up to you Kevin? Let's see here:

On the one hand, says the government, if you dick with us just because we don't let homos into the military, what's to prevent you from dicking with us over NON-pointless things like the war in Iraq?

On the other hand, say the universities, if you dick with us over military recruitment on funding, what's it going to be next? Intelligent design? Tenure for conservative professors?

So, fuck government funding. Stop ranking universities on the basis of their NSF grants. Or if that's too drastic, start a policy of only accepting money with no unrelated strings attached. They're already cutting student loan assistance. How long do you think they will wait before eyeing university funding in general on the basis of whatever dirty liberal program can be found? Higher education is ALREADY blasted hourly as an ivory tower cut off from the real, GOP-voting world. It's ALREADY a foregone conclusion that all universities are filled with godless, communist, sinful liberals who like evolution and functional literacy. You think they'll give up that rainmaker if you cave on anything and/or everything? The story isn't about you, it's about keeping the ignorant worked up and witless. So go nuts. Jump the gun. Call their bluff. Return Uncle Sam's checks and start researching the fuck out of every stem cell line you can grab. Let them scream. They already are. Think of the private money you'll get once it becomes clear that the shills who stay bent over like Stanford and Pepperdine have turned into special-ed programs teaching ABC's to Republican pundits in training while you have real research. If it's a problem for money, you can always cancel English and Gender Studies. They're used to funding cuts anyway.