From the Progress Report, a couple of pointed rebuttals:

TERRORISM -- GIULIANI: BY REFUSING TO USE THE TERM 'ISLAMIC TERRORISM,' LIBERALS ARE TRYING NOT TO INSULT TERRORISTS: Last night, in his address to the Republican National Convention, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani criticized Democrats for refusing to use the term "Islamic terrorism." "For four days in Denver, the Democrats were afraid to use the term 'Islamic terrorism.' ... I think they believe they will insult someone. Please tell me, who they are insulting if they say, 'Islamic terrorism,'" he said. He concluded, "They are insulting terrorists!" Experts, including those in the Bush administration, disagree; such religious rhetoric is actually counterproductive in combating terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security argues that U.S. officials who invoke references to Islam in describing terrorism may be "unintentionally portraying terrorists, who lack moral and religious legitimacy, as brave fighters, legitimate soldiers or spokesmen for ordinary Muslims." The National Counter Terrorism Center urges public officials to "avoid labeling everything 'Muslim'" because "it reinforces the 'U.S. vs. Islam' framework that Al-Qaeda promotes."

CIVIL LIBERTIES -- POLICE CHARGE RNC PROTESTERS WITH TERRORISM: Yesterday, county protesters charged eight Rrepublican National Convention protesters with "conspiring to cause a riot as part of a terrorist act." The County Attorney "said she could not recall no such case in her 24 years with the prosecutor's office." A lawyer representing several of the suspects "called the charges ridiculous," saying the accusations are "an effort to equate publicly stated plans to blockade traffic and disrupt the RNC as being the same as acts of terrorism." As of yesterday, nearly 300 protesters and journalists have been arrested in the Twin Cities. Salon's Glenn Greenwald called St. Paul "the most militarized I have ever seen an American city be...with troops of federal, state and local law enforcement agents marching around with riot gear, machine guns, and tear gas canisters, shouting military chants and marching in military formations." Some journalists, including Democracy Now's Amy Goodman and two producers for her show, as well as an AP photographer, have been swept up in police arrests; CNN commenter Donna Brazile "was hit by pepper spray as she walked into the Xcel Center" earlier this week. The media and the St. Paul mayor have been largely silent on the outrageous arrests, with Mayor Chris Coleman (D) defending the police's actions