To the editor:

Thanks to Keith Wood for his incisive letter calling out our posturing politicians (Journal-World, July 13). Unfortunately the charade goes on, louder and sleazier. Calling on the Boy Scouts to destroy a ‘work of art,’ because the governor disapproves! How low can you stoop without falling? The Supreme Court twice ruled that burning or otherwise desecrating the American flag is protected by the Constitution (Texas v. Johnson, 1989; U.S. v. Eichman, 1990). Justice Antonin Scalia twice voted with the 5-4 majority. I’m a veteran (noncombat) and sensitive about what is done to our flag, but I also support free speech. Many have died to support that right, rather than for a national symbol in cloth.

A less obvious agenda by the same politicians may be even more damaging in the long run: bashing KU for political advantage. Many on the far right have long played that game; think Susan Wagle and Ty Masterson, among others. They criticize the university for raising tuition while they simultaneously cut state funding and proclaim their support for education. Remember the legislation that would have forced KU to default on bond issues in the furor over the financing of the Central District? Education and free speech are not isolated issues.

Paul Enos

Lawrence