When you sell your soul

The Supreme Court review of military recruiting at law schools is big news today. The law schools seek to insure that all organizations recruiting on campus pledge not to discriminate against people who are openly gay. Because of its don't ask, don't tell policy, the military cannot take that pledge. Congress and the administration seek to force the schools to allow military recruiters access to their students, threatening to shut off Federal funding if they fail to do so.

Early signs indicate the Court seems to be siding with the government on this one. I have no idea who is right, when it comes to interpreting the law and the Constitution in this instance, but the real problem lies in the fact that the schools got seduced into accepting Federal funding in the first place.

Years ago, in the early 1960s, there was a raging debate in academic circles about whether schools should start accepting Federal grants. Those arguing against such funding expressed fears that if schools began accepting Federal funds, sooner or later they would become so dependent upon them that the government could begin to dictate what was taught and researched.

Well, sure enough, it's now clear that when you sell your soul to the devil, he's going to demand some return on his investment.