Santayana
EmailRep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. — Vietnam vet, ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, presidential candidate — does not approve of Columbia University’s invitation to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"To host the leader of Iran when he supports terrorists that are moving deadly roadside bombs across the Iraqi border to be used against American troops is a slap in the face for the entire 165,000 men and women in Iraq and to those that have served before them," Hunter said. "If (Columbia U.) President Lee Bollinger follows through with this hosting of the leader of Iran, I will move in Congress to cut off every single type of Federal Funding to Columbia University. If the left-wing leaders of academia will not support our troops, they, in the very least, should not support our adversaries."
As this debate simmered over the weekend, Columbia dean John Coatsworth told Fox News he’d have been happy to welcome Hitler to the campus — the argument being that had Columbia actually hosted Hitler in the late 1930s, World War II and the war against the Jews might have been prevented.
What Coatsworth may not realize, the New York Sun NOTES, is that in 1933 Columbia invited to speak at the university Hitler’s ambassador, Hans Luther. The university president back then responded to criticism of Luther’s speaking that Columbia "does not ask what a man’s opinions may be but only whether he is intelligent, honest, and well-mannered in their presentation and discussion."
The Sun suggests that those who argue that free speech enables evil to be silenced would do well to look at this example — because it did not work then the way Columbia’s president anticipated.
In other news …
The defenders of Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, are starting to gather, ranging from a conservative activist, Frank Rich and the ACLU …
What say you?
– jpt
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Columbia University should lose all funding from taxes. It is a treasonous school.
Posted by: spock | September 24, 2007, 11:28 am 11:28 am
My initial reaction was to claim that the loony Ahmadinejad should be allowed to speak at Columbia and to voice his ideas. After giving some serious thought to his “ideas”–such as denial of the Holocaust–I thought better of my initial reaction, and the incident with Hitler’s ambassador reinforces that. Some speech is so twisted, so harmful, so irresponsible, and so sick that it is nothing more than a madman’s ravings, and I have no doubt that anything Ahmadinejad says would fall into this category.
Posted by: chuck | September 24, 2007, 1:26 pm 1:26 pm
I am proud of Bollinger. Now lets see if Ahmadinejad has the courage to answer the questions
Posted by: flyover | September 24, 2007, 2:05 pm 2:05 pm
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Columbia rolled out the red carpet for this madman and no reporter covered it? Ah, but of course that’s just wishful thinking. Of course the New York Times will give it front page and it will lead the six o’clock news on the state-owned Venezuelan network. And, Pres. Bollinger—-do you think your obsequious fawning over this Hitler-lover will remove Columbia University from the target list of the terrorists he sponsors? Ah, but you believe in free speech. Let’s see if your campus police officers arrest the guy who yells ‘fire!’ in the auditorium during the speech.
Posted by: SteveW | September 24, 2007, 4:57 pm 4:57 pm
Bollinger’s questions were only set so he keeps getting funding and keeps his job, it only happened that way because of the outcry!
The students who cheered this madman should hold their heads in shame!
Posted by: spock | September 26, 2007, 11:19 am 11:19 am