For the record, I take the anarcho-capitalist position: force is never justified unless it is imposed in response to initiated force. That means, no government taxes ever and no government laws ever, thus including the notion of a state military and state-directed war.

Critical Inquiry is a mission course that not only orients entering students to the programs and policies that pertain to adult learners in New College, but it also acquaints them with the services available to them from the university at large. While the course's emphasis on critical thinking, research, writing and reasoning skills is intended to prepare students for general academic success, it also lays the foundation for subsequent mission courses in keeping with the university's purpose and goals by integrating moral decision making into the analysis of contemporary, value-laden issues. In the process, students explore and clarify their personal values as they proceed through the various writing assignments that lead to the preparation of an argumentatively sound and properly documented position paper in which they apply the principles of moral decision making in reasoning to a conclusion on a controversial issue.

This week also has the first class of my *gritting teeth* Introduction to Public Management course, required for my Public Safety Management degree. From my cursory reading of the book, it looks to be as annoying as it sounds. A true test of my ability to shut the hell up and study starkly alternative perspectives.