Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) is a former nurse and a staunch pro-life advocate. As you can imagine, she is not a fan of Planned Parenthood. She authored the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015, which would place a moratorium on taxpayer funding for the organization for a year until a congressional investigation is complete. On Friday, House leadership announced they would bring the bill up for a vote next week.
Black discussed her legislation while appearing as a guest on Tamron Hall’s MSNBC program “NewsNation” earlier this week. She explained that the effort was prompted by the Center for Medical Progress’s three-year investigation into Planned Parenthood, before urging Hall and her viewers to “watch the films” for themselves.
“My bill, H.R. 3134, would place a moratorium on all funding for Planned Parenthood for a year until Planned Parenthood is investigated for what is obviously on those videos that shows they are skirting the law. There are three different pieces on there that must be investigated by committees, we’ve asked the Attorney General to investigate . . . there are pretty obvious areas on there that do break the law. We want those investigated. We don’t believe that money should go to an organization that is breaking the law.”
University of Oregon Professor David Fowler was not impressed with Black’s pro-life agenda. In a personal attack against the legislator on Twitter, he posted the following hateful message:
@obrienc2 @RepDianeBlack You are a twisted, sickening misogynist liar. You should be ashamed of yourself and the harm you do to women Diane
— David Fowler (@dcfowler1) September 11, 2015
Before remarking on this educator’s callousness, let’s take a look at the University of Oregon’s Preamble for Ethics and Professional Responsibility:
“Faculty members should be effective teachers in keeping with the accepted standards of each discipline; demonstrate respect for each student and thoroughly and fairly evaluate student performance in a timely manner; and avoid the exploitation of any student for private or personal advantage. Faculty members also should seek to develop and improve their scholarly competence in research and creative activity; and exercise critical selfdiscipline and judgment. In the exchange of criticism and ideas, faculty members must show due respect for the opinions of others, practice intellectual honesty and avoid plagiarism, fabrication, falsification or deception."
Fowler didn’t exactly show much “self-discipline” with his hateful tweet. If he displayed this much respect for this female politician, who’s to say he’s not similarly ostracizing students who might disagree with him?
Also of note, is the institution’s Community Standards Policy Statement:
The University of Oregon community is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and the development of integrity. In order to thrive and excel, this community must preserve the freedom of thought and expression of all its members. The University of Oregon has a long and illustrious history in the area of academic freedom and freedom of speech. A culture of respect that honors the rights, safety, dignity and worth of every individual is essential to preserve such freedom. We affirm our respect for the rights and well-being of all members.
We further affirm our commitment to:
- Respect the dignity and essential worth of all individuals.
- Promote a culture of respect throughout the University community.
- Respect the privacy, property, and freedom of others.
- Reject bigotry, discrimination, violence, or intimidation of any kind.
- Practice personal and academic integrity and expect it from others.
- Promote the diversity of opinions, ideas and backgrounds which is the lifeblood of the university.
At the very least, Fowler most definitely violated bullets one and four.
This man is tasked with molding young adults’ minds.
Rep. Black has responded to the tweet and her office emailed the following statement to Townhall:
“I understand that, as a public figure, individuals from all sides of the aisle will weigh in on my statements and my votes. Unfortunately, the feeling of anonymity on the internet does little to elevate the level of conversation. It is also true that pro-life women are frequent targets of the left because we disrupt the narrative of a so-called ‘Republican war on women.’ For now, I’ll take these remarks as a sign that I’m hitting a nerve with the facts about what is really happening at Planned Parenthood clinics and how our tax dollars are funding it."
A final question I have for Professor Fowler: How can a woman be a misogynist?
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