Kevin Barrett's Rights and Wrongs

9-11 whackjob Kevin Barrett writes in the Wisconsin State Journal about the campaign to fire him for his crackpot views. Now, Barrett's theories about 9-11 are pure lunacy. But Barrett is right to criticize the Wisconsin State Journal for denouncing a professsor who has "morphed from teacher into advocate, promoting himself and his view nationwide." And he is right to write, "It is long past time for a rational, evidence-based debate on the facts and meaning of 9/11." The fact that Barrett is an irrational conspiracy nut with no evidence doesn't take away from the accuracy of his principles on this point. We need academic freedom for the lunatics so that we can allow for everyone to debate ideas freely.