Redstate

By absentee Posted in Liberals — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

When I first heard Columbia University was inviting Iranian President Ahmadinejad to speak I was completely unsurprised. Who, at this point, could possibly be shocked by one of our liberal universities, (by which I mean one of our universities), inviting a terrorist to speak? That would be akin to being caught off-guard by a Dkossak wanting someone to step down or be fired.

Then I recalled the aspect of the story that is no doubt getting this a little more attention: Columbia was the site of the storming of the stage when Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist spoke last year. So I thought I'd look around online to review that story, when what do I discover but that Gilchrist had been re-invited and then de-invited by Columbia only days ago. What timing!

It doesn't end there, however. I thought I'd look back at the Redstate archives regarding the first minuteman story, and found an interesting redhot entry from Academic Elephant. It's dated September of 2006 and says that "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accepted Columbia University's invitation to speak on campus tomorrow, but the security and logistical complications could not be worked out and the speech was cancelled."

So I went back to google and found this article. Here's a quote:

The dean of Columbia's school of international and public affairs, Lisa Anderson, had independently invited Mr. Ahmadinejad to speak at the World Leader's Forum, a year-long program that aims to unite "renowned intellectuals and cultural icons from many nations to examine global challenges and explore cultural perspectives."

And

Ms. Anderson's assistant cited an inability to arrange for proper security as the reason for the cancellation.

So just to keep it all straight, Columbia invited Minuteman founder Gilchrist, who was silenced by the students, then invited Ahmadinejad in the Fall of 2006. Columbia invited Minuteman founder Gilchrist, who was blocked by the students, then invited Ahmadinejad in the Fall of 2007.

I especially find it interesting that in the first Ahmadinejad incident Columbia president Bollinger was quoted as saying that he cancelled the invitation because he wasn't sure the invitation would "reflect the academic values that are the hallmark of a University event such as our World Leaders Forum." Although he was still going to allow the 'man' to speak at the school, just not in the world leaders forum.

Here is what he says about the current invitation:

"It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honor the dishonorable when we open the public forum to their voices. To hold otherwise would make vigorous debate impossible. That such a forum could not take place on a university campus in Iran today sharpens the point of what we do here....This is America at its best."

I can't find any comments from Bollinger regarding Gilchrist, but presumably vigorous debate over his speech isn't very critical or an example of America at its best.

Columbia student protesters believe the Minuteman project promotes violence against illegal immigrants. They are not, apparently, disturbed by actual violence committed against American soldiers, civilians, and Iranian women under the direction of Ahmadinejad or those in his government.

And by the way, the Columbia ROTC couldn't be reached for comment. They don't exist. You see, they, too, are unwelcome on campus.

absentee