For the record, I believe the best solution to speech you disagree with is more speech; not less. Therefore, I have to accept Ahmadinejad's freedom to speak at Columbia University.

Then again, Free Speech does not guarantee free access to whatever forum you want. That, and the decision to screen student questions, and the decision to not allow ROTC on Columbia's campus (because of "the gays-in-the-military thing" -- which is Congress's policy, not the military's -- compared to Iran's "hang all homosexuals" policy) tell me all I need to know about Columbia University. There was once a time that Columbia cared about it's namesake. Those were the days.

UPDATE I have to give Columbia's President Bollinger credit for his opening remarks. Apparently the plan was to give Ahmadinejad enough rhetorical rope to hang himself. Of course, Ahmadinejad is used to talking without saying anything useful. And he was trying to convince the people back home, anyway.

The best part, to me, was the fact that Ahmadinejad wants us to remember and solve "the root causes" that led to the attack on September 11, 2001; while at the same time he's suggested we investigate who was really behind the attack. Sounds like the school kid who brags about vandalizing a wall, but denies it was him. Unless Ahmadinejad is suggesting that the "root cause" we need to investigate is boredom within the CIA after failing to properly frame OJ Simpson.