Chancellor of KU, an English professor and author of biography of Zora Neale Hurston, sends us an email message on how we can best support the troops, those "fighting for our freedom." We can display the American flag, sing the anthem louder at basketball games. Of course we have to respect academic freedom...

Now even if you support the war, it is quite a stretch to say that the U.S. is fighting for the "freedom" of American citizens. It is intervening for U.S. strategic interests in the world, not to preserve the Bill of Rights, which Ashcroft would love to dismantle himself. We are measurably less free now than in 1999, and the Chancellor's message is an indication of this. I'm sure that those who support the war effort will be waving the flag anyway: why would they need to be told to do this? The message is meant, then, for the Kansas State Legislature. The chancellor is trying to send a message to Topeka that the University is in ideological line.