Here come the goon squads. Just like old times, eh Mao?

I heard a report on NPR this morning that a Republican group operating at UCLA is offering to pay college students $100 to spy on their Liberal professors (known as the "dirty thirty") for 10 weeks and report so-called abuses of their position. It's the groups contention that some professors are either dismissing conservative arguments in class or "brainwashing" their students in order to create like-minded teachers of the future.

The reported spying has had a chlling effect on some professors, who are already censoring themselves in order to avoid drawing fire from the Republican group. Others are defiant. It's unclear what, if any, effect the Republican group's complaints might have on the college's employment practices, but some young professors who haven't yet achieved tenure aren't taking any chances.

It's obvious to me that the intent here is to intimidate left-leaning political speech at Universities. It reminds me of Nixon's enemies list and the CoIntelPro days when Republicans were spying on left-leaning groups and individuals, including fellow politicians, newspaper and magazine staff and, yes, college professors.

Red China's poster-boy, Chairman Mao, was also known to give political rewards to comrades who turned over dirt on their enemies. But over there they could throw liberals in prison or even make them disappear. Republicans can only wish.

Right wing fascism rears its ugly head again in America. The Nazi Youth are alive and well at UCLA.