Wacky Academe.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)

Education: Ward Churchill has a right to speak. So does the nut on the street corner. The real question is why Churchill is not out on that corner, where he belongs.

The University of Colorado professor, who has found his ticket to fame as a cheerleader for the 9-11 hijackers, is one of those ultra-left ranters whom conservatives love to hate but, on principle, need to defend.

The Republican governor of Colorado, Bill Owens, wants Churchill fired, and the university regents may find grounds to do so. But they need to play strictly by the book. There are legitimate reasons to get rid of a tenured professor -- such as fraud, plagiarism or failure to carry out …