[Notforprophet]

I have to disagree, Cato. I mean, if this guy were teaching Middle-East history, or some other topic where the concept of jihad were a part of the curriculum, then maybe he'd be within his 'academic freedom'. But the scumbag is a computer science professor, so why should his radical speech on an entirely different topic be protected by academic freedom?

[esopman]

'Out of the fullness of the heart does a man speak'

I hate protecting the maniac, but I have to side with Cato (what I mean is that Sami should have to spend 10 years in Vorkuta as it was circa 1949). We cannot preserve the Constitutional integrity of free speech in the public square by punishing folks for what's in their heart, so long as their speech does not cross the seditious cry-of-fire-in-a-crowded-theater threshold. If so, I would have been arrested during the reign of Bubba Rex.

The difference of the topic from his professional field is irrelevant methinks.

All that being said, common sense dictates that O'Reilly's comment in the original interview was spot on: The guardians of the state should have stuck to the guy like a wet T-shirt and nailed him the instant any terrorist link was demonstrable.