The student complaint came in a May 13 e-mail to Robert McKim, head of the religion department. The author of the e-mail said he was writing on behalf of a friend a student in Howell's class who wanted to remain anonymous. The e-mail complained Howell's statements about homosexuality amounted to "hate speech."

"Teaching a student about the tenets of a religion is one thing," the student wrote in the e-mail. "Declaring that homosexual acts violate the natural laws of man is another."

From Brian Leiter, who like any number of academics these days, worries more about academic freedom than freedom of speech. The end result of this absurdity is that John Yoo's legal and academic standing is protected but he could be held liable under hate speech laws. Leiter lets the connection slip by.