So in reading one of my fabulous work related papers (The Chronicle of Higher Education) I came across an article about a new law passed in Ohio in April 2006. It's their very own Patriot Act, with some startling (read: disturbing) items. The one discussed is that all state agencies (including professors & employees at public universities) have to answer a list of questions about the organizations they support and swear that none of them are on the US Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List. If the person applying for the job, license, etc. does not answer or answers that yes, they do support one of these organizations, then that person will not get the job. And will probably be unable to get a job anywhere, in Ohio at least.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but we now learn in high school that McCarthyism wasn't really all that great. So how is it that a state can get away with doing essentially the exact same thing now, in 2006? There is a lot about the current political climate that scares me, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. But I am. More than that, I'm wondering just how long it will take for one of our lovely senators to pick this up and run with it on the national level.
