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Columbia Upholds Free Speech, Exposes Idiocy to the World

By Brian | September 24, 2007 | Share on Facebook

Last Thursday, in my Random Acts of Blogging post, I casually said this:

Also note that while I’m glad Ahmadinejad will not be visiting Ground Zero, I’d be fine with him speaking at the University of California at Davis.

Well, I was close:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clashed with an American university president who called him a “petty and cruel dictator” at a forum on Monday where Ahmadinejad criticized Israel and the United States and said Iran was a peaceful nation.

Introducing the Iranian president, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger said Ahmadinejad behaved as a “petty and cruel dictator” and that his Holocaust denials suggested he was either “brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated.”

Bollinger asked a string of pointed questions, most of which Ahmadinejad ignored in a speech that dwelt at length on science as a gift from God and the importance of using knowledge and learning purely and in a pious way.

Many Columbia students and faculty opposed the decision to let him speak, although many others supported it. Just about everyone (if not absolutely everyone) condemned Ahmadinejad’s positions, though.

I’ll say I stand by my earlier statement. I find it very hard to believe that there’s anyone in the world (with the possible exception of Iran) who honestly believes that by allowing Ahmadinejad to speak, Columbia University is endorsing anything he has to say. I also think that the quickest way to convince Americans of this guy’s insanity is to let them hear him speak, as opposed to counting on the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity to explain it to them. So go ahead, Mr. Ahmadinejad, say something to show the world just how nuts you are:

Ahmadinejad … rejected criticism of human rights in his country, notably persecution of homosexuals: “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,” he said, drawing loud laughter from the audience.

Thank you kindly.

Your Honor, I rest my case.

Topics: Political Rantings | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Columbia Upholds Free Speech, Exposes Idiocy to the World”

  1. jason says at September 25th, 2007 at 2:26 pm :
    “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country.”

    Could that be because he’s executed them all? Just wondering…

  2. brian says at September 25th, 2007 at 3:08 pm :
    Or possibly because they’re all too terrified to come forward.

    It’s just hysterical that he honestly believes they’re not there, though…

  3. Jason says at September 25th, 2007 at 4:50 pm :
    Agreed.

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