Ward Churchill should be fired. In case you haven’t heard, Churchill is a professor at Colorado University who thinks that the 3000 people who perished in the 9/11 attacks deserved their fate because they were “little Eichmanns”. The remarks were part of a vitriolic, unbelievably anti-American essay written in the aftermath of 9/11, that recently came to light after the professor accepted a speaking invitation from Hamilton College. Apparently some students did some digging and found Churchill’s essay on the internet, “Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens”.

The essay is longwinded by both its sheer length but even more for its never-ending hatred of this nation, its government and even its people. There is also a never-ending stream of justifications for the terrorists’ attacks on our people, with the terrorists being described as courageous victims who have simply “given Americans a tiny dose of their own medicine”. He went on to say, among other things, “The most that can honestly be said of those involved on Sept. 11 is that they finally responded in kind to some of what this country has dispensed to their people as a matter of course. As for those in the World Trade Center, well, really, let's get a grip here, shall we? True enough, they were civilians of a sort. But innocent? Gimme a break.” In other words, this lunatic thinks we’re the bad guys and that we had it coming.

It is no wonder that now that this vile propaganda has made it onto the national radar, that it has produced a firestorm of belated outrage. Hamilton College has cancelled Churchill’s appearance, but more importantly, the University of Colorado Board of Regents ordered an investigation into whether or not he should be fired. Churchill has already stepped down as chairman of the CU Ethnic Studies Department, but intends to remain as a tenured professor. The CU Board of Regents issued this statement, “The Board of Regents apologizes to all Americans, especially those targeted in the 9/11 attacks and those serving in our armed forces, for the disgraceful comments of professor Churchill.” The unrepentant professor has thus far refused to apologize in any way, shape or form.

In addition, Colorado governor Bill Owens has asked CU president Betsy Hoffman to fire Churchill. After a meeting Thursday of the regents in which some of Chuchill’s supporters disrupted the proceedings by shouting down the speakers,  two of whom were subsequently arrested, the governor issued a statement of his own, “I appreciate the fact that the C.U. Regents have taken the necessary first step in the formal evaluation of Ward Churchill's employment status. However, I deplore the behavior displayed by some students at the Regents' meeting. Their abhorrent behavior underscores the culture of violence that can be spawned by inflammatory speeches and essays, such as those by Mr. Churchill.”

Churchill’s lawyers are already claiming that he is protected by the First Amendment, and that he has every right to say what he says. Certainly our freedom of speech allows us to say what we wish, but it certainly does not grant us the right to an audience or a job.

The position of a tenured university professor is one which is very difficult to lose – typically it takes misconduct on the order of felony convictions or ethical lapses such as having sex with the students to get one fired. At Colorado University, among the things for which a firing can take place is “other conduct that falls below minimum standards of professional integrity”. It is this “other conduct” which clearly gives Patsy Hoffman the means with which to rid the university of Churchill. There are rules of conduct everywhere in life, and the workplace is no exception. Allowing a sociopath who clearly has an irrational hatred for the very nation that gives him the right to his opinions, the means to influence young people who will be our future leaders, is simply unacceptable.The university president should use her powers to hand him his pink slip.