"No political party can or ought to exist when one of its cornerstones is opposition to freedom of thought." U. S. Grant

(in "The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant")

I'm still waiting for someone to provide the "proof" that Iraq had the slightest thing to do with the events 2 years ago. A measured response building on the support of the world to locate and identify specific targets, I believe, would have done wonders. Instead, we got lines from bad B-grade westerns and unilateral action that has spread resources thin and has devolved into hit-and-run raids.

Anyone who has studied history over the last 300 years can tell you that when nation-states wage war against an idea, the result is what we are seeing in Iraq. Terrorists and bandits... in the manner of Francis Marion, George Washington, Tom Barry, Mao Tse-Tung, Ho Chi Minh...

Two years ago, I was called a blood-thirsty wrong-minded individual in the WTC attack threads here for listing response options (which I still believe were correct). Since then I've been called a traitor and supporter of Bin Laden and Saddam by some of the more "conservative" people around me (this being the first thread of a political nature I've responded to here in quite some time).

We've overthrown 2 governments and replaced them with only guarded success.

I wonder who are the real traitors to the ideals that the US as a nation represents. Why is it that so many people draw a distinction between the people of the US and its government policies? Which one is out of step?

Most Americans will never understand. Many of those that do get branded as anti-American.

Maybe I should send a copy of ol' U.S. Grant's memoirs to the folks in Washington and in the right-wing media who are fanning the flames of hate and xenophobia.

God bless the USA - we need all the help we can get.

Pete