The Loomis Defense

Popehat has in interesting discussion on the Loomis affair. The comments, in which I participate, are worth reading. It's worth stating that there is a case to be made for the freedom of academics to take unpopular views. In Loomis' case it becomes a matter of defending the right of academics to be outrageous assholes without consequences.

Of course no mention of the Loomis rant would be complete without The Other McCain and Candyass Blogger.

When I said that the mentally ill should be in institutions, public universities weren’t the kind of institutions I had in mind.
Leaving aside whatever personal psychiatric issues may afflict The Ranting Professor — and if a nut like Loomis can legally buy a gun, maybe we do need new laws

The defenders of Loomis insist that their principles are supreme.

So the operative principle is clear: (A) it would be a crime against human liberty for Erik Loomis to be denied tenure at the University of Rhode Island merely because he’s a demented kook, and (B) no fair trying to talk back to Commissar Farley and the LG&M politburo.