This story in the Columbia Spectator suggests to us that freedom of speech at Columbia University takes peculiar forms. Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist was invited to give a speech on the matter of illegal immigration last Wednesday night but was prevented from doing so by the usual suspects on the Left. These thugs know they can't win a debate on the merits of their arguments so they seek to prevail by stifling the opposition. Here's how one protestor defended the action:
"We were aware that there was going to be a sign and we were going to occupy the stage," said a protestor who was on stage and asked to remain anonymous. "I don't feel like we need to apologize or anything. It was fundamentally a part of free speech.... The Minutemen are not a legitimate part of the debate on immigration."
So, a legal organization which has done more to bring the issue of illegal immigration to the nation's attention than perhaps anyone else in the nation, certainly more than the Bush administration whose job it is to secure our borders, is not a "legitimate" part of the debate. Thus these dopes feel justified in silencing their spokesmen. Sounds just like the tactics used by the Nazi brownshirts to pave the way for Adolf Hitler in the early '30s.
See also Powerline's detailed reports on the incident here and here.
