GOOD FOR THE PROFESSORS! – AT 9:51 A.M. ET:   One of the most dangerous offices in government is the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education.  It is that office that hands down the edicts that schools must follow to get federal aid – edicts about gender discrimination, sex offenses, and just about every other form of behavior.  Now some major law professors are in open rebellion at the extremism shown by that benignly named office.  From the College Fix: 

Some of the most prominent law professors around the country have signed an open letter calling on lawmakers to reject and replace the Department of Education’s “overly broad” definition of sexual harassment.

“In defense of the principle of fundamental fairness,” the professors also laid out a legal process for reviewing the sexual-misconduct regulations issued by the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) that violate “constitutional law, judicial precedent and Administrative Procedure Act requirements.”

The letter, distributed by the due-process group Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, is signed by professors including Harvard’s Alan Dershowitz, Elizabeth Bartholet, Charles Donahue and Richard Parker; Richard Epstein of NYU and the University of Chicago; Donald Downs of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Stephanos Bibas of the University of Pennsylvania; and Stanford’s Michael McConnell:

Some of us have witnessed the injustices resulting from institutions that downplay or ignore sexual harassment on their campuses, and we commend OCR for taking a proactive approach to this problem. In pursuing its objectives, however, OCR has unlawfully expanded the nature and scope of institutions’ responsibility to address sexual harassment, thereby compelling institutions to choose between fundamental fairness for students and their continued acceptance of federal funding.

With their repeated use of language such as “must,” “require” and “obligation,” OCR documents frequently make demands of colleges that not only have no “regulatory or statutory basis” but have “effectively nullified” core constitutional precedents, the professors write, littering the letter with footnotes.

COMMENT:  Read the whole story.  It's well worth it.  This office has become a monster, wreaking havoc in our colleges and universities, and even in public schools.  It is run by leftist radicals, made stronger by the influence of the Obama administration.  Its budget is about to be dramatically increased, despite major warnings from serious, authoritative people that it has overstepped its authority and has become a virtual dictator.

Let's see if conservatives have the spine to fight the menace.  I'm not all that optimistic.

May 17, 2016