Replies

"So the Lenins of the world think the anti-war protestors are nothing more than unpatriotic, ill-informed stooges of brutal dictators everywhere."

Never mind that Lenin was as about as big a leftist as they come....

"Instead of characterizing the marchers as ordinary, loyal Americans who decided to get off their duffs for once and speak out against what they see as an unprovoked invasion of a weak country, the marchers are made out to be blame-America-first communists under the organizational leadership of Iraqi spies."

Never mind the fact that they're latest plans involve trying to prevent US troops from getting supplies....

"I would say that people who hold up the First Amendment as an example of America's greatness but then disparage those who exercise that right to peaceably assemble are the real, useful idiots."

Never mind the fact that you're attacking us for exercising OUR freedom of speech, as well as our freedom to buy products from and support the people of our choice....

"Those cynics cherish freedom and democracy as abstract principles but loathe those same ideals when they are put into practice in support of a cause with which they disagree. They see the mass demonstrations of democracy as a threat to the country, not as a show of its strength."

Never mind the fact that freedom and democracy never included civil disobedience, rioting, lynching, and mob violence.....

"They are the useful idiots of John Ashcroft. The right to an attorney, habeas corpus (probable cause) and the presumption of innocence-- all cornerstones of our American democracy-- are under attack by an Attorney General who believes constitutionally guaranteed rights can be denied, depending on the crime."

Never mind the fact Clinton's administration was the one that habitually ignored constitutional restraints...

"Now, the mouthpieces of the far right are concocting hypothetical "ticking bomb" scenarios to scare Americans into believing that we need to take another look at torture as an interrogation method."

Never mind the fact that the mouthpieces of the far right have been doing no such thing...,

"Ben Franklin's words of wisdom should be required reading for these fascists in red, white and blue clothing. He got it right when he said that, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Never mind the fact that the left is the group demanding that we give up our 2nd amendment rights in the name of reducing crime....

"The neo-conservatives in charge of our government talk about sparking a democratic revolution in the Middle East, but by their arm-twisting and pay-offs to foreign governments they are circumventing the will of the people in those countries-- who are overwhelmingly against the war."

Never mind all of the Iraqis who are quite happy to see us....

"Democracy abroad is a grand concept to this group of useful idiots, except when it expresses itself in the form of a Turkish parliamentary vote prohibiting US troops from deploying there. They are even more infuriated when democratic principles manifest in the form of the German electorate voting an anti-war Chancellor into office or the French Prime Minister actually listening to his people."

Never mind the fact that someone having the right to do something and whether or not you LIKING the fact that they're doing it are completely unrealated...

"These useful idiots wouldn't recognize true democracy if it marched past their front door on the way to the voting booth, but, oh, how they love the symbols of democracy. They even want to put you in jail for disrespecting the flag. What they don't understand is that by abridging your freedom of speech-- even the unpatriotic and offensive act of burning the flag in protest-- they are setting fire to the Bill of Rights. They apparently forgot that the flag is just a piece of cloth if it has no democratic ideals to represent."

Never mind the fact that the left wants to restrict the practice of religion, which is an actual intended application of first amendment rights....

" Columnist's note: This was my last column to appear in the Star Community Newspaper cluster. It is ironic that after writing a forceful essay in support of the first amendment, my column was cancelled. I was told that because I had attended an anti-war rally, I had violated the newspaper's ethics policy that prohibits members of the editorial staff from participating in any political activity other than voting. I was also told that my objectivity as a reporter would be called into question. However, my opposition to an invasion of Iraq was well documented in previous columns before I revealed that I had participated in the protest. But instead of taking me off of my beat as a staff reporter or reprimanding me, my opinion column was cancelled-- the aspect of my job that was enhanced by my participation in the rally. I am convinced that if my column was supportive of the war and it was a pro-war rally that I attended, they would not have dared to cancel my column. In my opinion, a powerful liberal voice was unwelcome in the conservative Republican county served by my newspaper. The fact that the column was cancelled just days before the start of the US invasion of Iraq raises serious questions about the motives for the cancellation."

I'll take you serioulsy when you get fired for doing something that you WEREN'T specifically told not to do.

"So the Lenins of the world think the anti-war protestors are nothing more than unpatriotic, ill-informed stooges of brutal dictators everywhere."

Never mind that Lenin was as about as big a leftist as they come....

He is a useful idiot because he doesn't undestand the motivation of the protestors. He opposes the president and this war and projects his objections into his understanding of all of those at the rallies.

The protestors held a major rally around the world on Internal Womens' Day. This is one of Lenin's own holidays.

Who is it that serves Lenin???

Now, the mouthpieces of the far right are concocting hypothetical "ticking bomb" scenarios to scare Americans into believing that we need to take another look at torture as an interrogation method.

Actually, the only people I have heard proposing torture is, specifically, Alan Dershowitz, who has been very vocal in promoting torture as an interrogation method. And, various journalists, who somehow seized on this as a way, I suppose, of sounding tough while opposing actual military action, and while opposing actual tough police action.

I suspect it may also have been a kind of provocation, to see if conservatives would take the bait. As far as I know, no conservatives have echoed this nonsense. Which means that only liberals, strange as it may seem, have been arguing for torture.