[Billthedrill]

With no disrespect intended toward the 3000 dead at the WTC, I think that the cartoon incident may in fact be even more of a watershed. I say that because in reply to the WTC atrocity we took down two sitting Moslem governments, and in response to the cartoon riots we - meaning the self-proclaimed keepers of freedom of speech, the media - capitulated.

This did no service toward those "moderate" Moslems (however few they may actually be) who now may be forgiven coming to the conclusion that death threats from their co-religionists should they speak out against them are quite real and that they will not be defended either by press or police. Under those circumstances it would be a very brave man or woman who would speak out.

For me the real revelation is simply how enervated and thoroughly rotten the intellectual structures of the West in general have become as a consequence of an unreasoning acceptance of the precepts of multiculturalism. This really is appeasement - give them what they want and they'll stop creating pain - and it is more than a little disturbing to see how nearly universal the capitulation has been.

It is also amusing to note who the true defenders of freedom of speech turn out to be - the radical left, the right "wing," the anarchists - nearly anyone but the mushy, fat, complacent, holier-than-thou liberal middle that is more than willing to rationalize any surrender of freedom lest it make waves. Should it come to the barricades you might find Gordon Liddy next to you or Christopher Hitchens or Nat Hentoff but Pinch Sulzberger will be cowering under his bed.

[Tolik]

Yes, and let me add that a large part of our population and probably majority of the other West believes that there is no war and no threat; and the Iraqi "quagmire" is just Bush's trumped up war for ____ [ fill in a grudge, like oil or whatever else]. And anyway all the problems in the world can be solved if Israel cease to exist and Yankee go home.

Even when some of them respond to a concrete problem at hand, they still don't see why we all so worked up. The only optimism I have is to believe that VDH is right saying that quietly they agree with what US doing, just don't want to say it.

[coydog]

It seems like everyone who stood in the gap were the bloggers, and the MSM stepped in it big time when they told viewers to go online to see what all the fuss was about. They were basically admitting their cowardice in the open.