Drums along the Mohawk

Here is a post talking about the University of Washington. They appointed a male to be chair of the Women's Studies dept. Wow. I thought such things just weren't done in those circles.

This post has some interesting links to the personal thoughts of a former lefty who had a change of mind after being confronted with the realities of 9/11.

From 9/11 on I have asked myself, and others, what would, say, (ancient) Rome have done, at the height of their power, if some backwater nation had attacked them like the US was attacked? I dare say every man, woman, child, cow, and fluffy bunny the Romans could have laid their hands on would have been crucified, and their cities plowed under and salted, and everybody else would darn sure have gotten the message. But...

I think the fact we do worry about collateral casualties is a good and healthy aspect of our civilization, and it's something worth preserving. I think there are moral arguments for not immediately practicing, say, Rome's barbarities. However, I have not yet reconciled in my mind the tension between the need to ruthlessly defend ourselves and the benefits of moral restraint.