My comment that Michael Laws is “an academic, but one who has not lost his intelligence” does reflect my frustration with most academics whose political conclusions are detached from everyday experience. The situation I am constantly observing is that academia seldom supports intelligence or common sense. In Laws’ case, his appeal has generally rested less on his academic background than on his willingness to challenge prevailing orthodoxies and communicate in plain language.
The strong opposition to his return by the mainstream media, led by people such as Andrea Vance from Stuff took me by surprise. I foolishly thought such lefty columnists had started to change their profile from false indignation and incredible childlike bias to something more tangible. But, sadly, she again has proved the opposite.