Liberal dittoheads

This post has made quite a splash on the big-boy blogs today. It concerns an obscure section of a higher education bill that appears to reflect David Horowitz's idiotic Academic Bill of Rights. Look in the comments sections and you'll see people going nuts about how Congress is trampling our rights to free expression.

But take a closer look at that original post, specifically the text of the bill itself:

13 (1) It is the sense of Congress that no student attending an institution of higher education on a full or part-time basis should, on the basis of participation in protected speech or protected association, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination or official sanction under any education program, activity, or division of the institution directly or indirectly receiving financial assistance under this Act, whether or not such program, activity, or division is sponsored or officially sanctioned by the institution; and
(2) It is the sense of Congress that―

That's right, this is a "Sense of Congress" provision [PDF]. "Sense of" resolutions are nothing more or less than a mechanism whereby

[o]ne or both houses of Congress may formally express opinions about subjects of current national interest.

They do NOT have the force of law. Is this an annoying endorsement of Horowitzian principles? Yes. Is it anything more than a bunch of hot air? No.

Everybody chill.

Tags: politics, David Horowitz