Mirecki hospitalized after beating By Ron Knox, Eric Weslander (Contact) Originally published 05:37 p.m., December 5, 2005 Updated 06:31 p.m., December 5, 2005 Douglas County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the reported beating of a Kansas University professor who gained recent notoriety for his Internet tirades against Christian fundamentalists. Kansas University religious studies professor Paul Mirecki reported he was beaten by two men about 6:40 a.m. today on a roadside in rural Douglas County. In a series of interviews late this afternoon, Mirecki said the men who beat him were making references to the controversy that has propelled him into the...