A Stitch in Haste

"This bill basically says, 'You're here. Adopt American values. ... If you want a different culture, then fine, go back to that culture.'"
--Arizona State Representative John Kavanaugh

The backstory:

Arizona public schools would be barred from any teachings considered counter to democracy or Western civilization under a proposal endorsed Wednesday by a legislative panel.

Additionally, the measure would prohibit students of the state's universities and community colleges from forming groups based in whole or part on the race of their members, such as the Black Business Students Association at Arizona State University or Native Americans United at Northern Arizona University. Those groups would be forbidden from operating on campus.
...
SB 1108 states, "A primary purpose of public education is to inculcate values of American citizenship. Public tax dollars used in public schools should not be used to denigrate American values and the teachings of Western civilization."

The next logical questions — assuming logic matters — are of course who exactly gets to determine which "American values and teachings of Western civilization" are to be inculcated, what standards are to be used in determining them and what constitutes "denigrating" them.

No doubt State Representative Kavanaugh, State Representative Russell Pearce (the bill's author) and their value-inculcated peers will be a limitless font of answers to such questions.

(Via Don't Tase Me Bro!)

---

Elsewhere in the "Land of Goldwater and O'Connor" —

State lawmakers are going to get another chance to decide whether voters should have another chance to ban gay marriage.

On a 6-4 vote, the House Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to constitutionally define marriage in Arizona as being solely between one man and one woman. SCR 1042 now goes to the full House.
...
If the House passes the measure it still needs Senate approval and, ultimately, ratification by voters in November.

Voters rejected a similar measure in 2006.

I guess that "heads I win, tails we flip again" now qualifies as a manifestation of "American values and the teachings of Western civilization." Right up there with "relegating an entire insular minority to permanent second-class citizenship" and "bigotry as public policy."