Liberal professors and pie-throwing?

Where does the Omaha World-Herald get this stuff? Today their editorial tries, in strange fashion, to link a report about the liberal leanings of University professors to two recent attacks with pie and salad dressing, respectively, on conservative pundits William Kristol and Pat Buchanan as they spoke on college campuses. No, I'm not making this up.

It seems the study shows of college professors:

Self-identified liberals outnumbered conservatives 72 percent to 15 percent...Lopsided majorities supported abortion rights and indicated tolerance for homosexuals. A majority also said the government should guarantee a job for everyone who wants one, a view the survey sponsors noted is well to the left of the Democratic Party. And the professors expressed a preference for environmental action even if a loss of jobs resulted.

Wait, let me get this straight - highly educated people tend to be more tolerant, think everyone should have a job, and understand the importance of protecting the environment? GASP! Wait, what's the problem here?

Nevermind that this "study" was funded entirely by a far-right research foundation that is known to work with the wacky Americans for Tax Reform, who I'm sure would be delighted with the OWH's attempts to connect professors voting for John Kerry with 2 students throwing food.

This is not to find a cause-and-effect relationship between the results of the poll and the attempts at two campuses to silence conservative speakers.

On the other hand, true liberalism is supposed to be dedicated to free speech, respect for individual differences and dedication to a spirit of inquiry. If there's anything to that, something about the picture on two campuses isn't quite adding up.

So, what they're saying is that liberal professors aren't doing a good enough job of brainwashing their students and turning them into good liberals? Am I reading that right?

If so, can't really say I disagree. But, honestly, shouldn't a good conservative newspaper like the Omaha World-Herald entrust parents with the responsibility to teach their kids not to throw food at people?

Had a group of these dangerous liberal professors openly hailed the pie-thrower and salad dressing shooter, maybe there'd be a story here. As is, though, I think someone's pumping a dry well in the name of conservative paranoia.