I do agree with Fred that Ahmadinejad makes a mockery of free speech. He denies his own countrymen the right to speak that he embraces himself.

This speaking engagement gives Ahmadinejad a certain recognition with his peers that probably isn’t a good thing. Yes, in the USA he appears to be a nut, but in the Arab world he’s not, and we just gave him another platform from which to yell his nonsense. I think he was a poor choice of speaker to allow to influence the students of a fine institution.

First, Ahmadinejad made a fool of himself for the world to see, in a way that isn’t possible with Iran’s opaqueness. When he says “There are no gays in Iran” I stand up and cheer. He thinks biology is a function of whether you live in The West or Islam. When Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust, it’s like suggesting that the moon doesn’t exist.

A wise man once said: “The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him.” Iran’s president made himself a monkey by spouting this nonsense – now it’s harder for anybody to take the man seriously. But an aspiring American president (Fred Thompson) also showed his own monkey nature.

The fact is, Columbia is a pretty darn competitive university. They don’t accept idiots, and they do a good job of educating. Their students (and I’d think most Americans) are smart enough to see through Ahmadinejad’s nonsense.

Fred is absolutely wrong, and doesn’t seem to understand “free speech” that he mentions. The best way to deal with lunatics with power is to put them on the stage and open them to ridicule. Unfortunately, it seems Fred would rather sink to Iran’s level, not allowing speech, then rise above it and show America in all her glory.