The Bull Moose has some words of wisdom for his fellow Democrats, which they will probably continue to ignore. And thereby continue to lose elections.

Some good,interesting comments but I think most Americans were embarassed or outraged by Abu Ghraib and horrified by the treatment of Daniel Pearl. The difference between naked pyramids and gruesome beheadings should be more obvious.

Bull Moose wrote: It is easy to rant and rail against the American religious right, but where is the sound and fury against the radical Islamists who once again attempted through their violence to intimidate reasoned debate in the West?

That's pretty much the issue down to a sentence.

I agree completely with Leland. For whatever reason, the democratic party in this country has adopted a motto of 'Anyone but Bush' as their main platform. They rail against Bush, his administration, and the US Military, with such venom that it borders on blind hatred. If they took the advice of 'Bull Moose', they would be a much more effective counter to the Republicans. As it is, they are so fringe that they can't see the hippocracy in treating Iran, North Korea, and terrorist groups better than the President of the US.

In their minds the Democrats ARE focusing on the real enemy: GW Bush. That is just how whacked out they are.

It is sad to observe from the sidelines what american politics seems to be nowadays, it's so polarized. Maybe a third party could strike now, touting it's own thought out issues, not just railing against the others.

If the War is Polarizing, it is the fault of GWB.

When FDR saw the US under attack, he hired in 3 republicans
into the most critical agencies of the Cabinet.

When England came under attack, Churchill dissolved his
government and formed a "Union" cabinet of conservative
and Labor members.

In every war of this nation, the President has asked for taxes
and sacrifice from the people to bind them to the
suffering of the soldiers.

This president slashed taxes, told people go shopping,
and that's how you lead the most important war of
civilization?

If you read the papers, the Bush White House has been
in a "State of Denial" over the "Fiasco" they created in
"The Emerald City".

The Democrats have their problems, but, the blank check
the GOP is giving Bush is a real problem.

Right -- raise taxes. It really is the liberal's answer to everything, isn't it?

"But, it is far from clear that the top priority of the left is the war against the Jihadists."

im not an average liberal/leftist (my views arent exactly mainstream), but this definitely describes me. terrorism is not the largest threat to america. terrorists cannot come close to destroying america, they have absolutely no chance of winning if that is their goal. terrorists cannot destroy the constitution, they cannot destroy freedom. americans are willing and actually eager to sacrifice lives for the sake of freedom. that is something that defines us as americans, the notion that freedom is more important than human life. it is why we go to war (in part).

and yet our president asks us to give up freedom so that he can have more power, so that (if you trust him) he can protect you. and you all are not deeply offended? that is unamerican, and it is an offense to any soldier who has died to protect freedom.

we are not safe, we have never been safe, we will never be safe. you need to accept this, and stop being reactionaries.

the conservative mindset is a little confusing for me, is it that you dont understand what freedoms are being given up (if that is the case i can provide a partial list)? is it that you dont care? is it that you are that afraid of terrorism?

the danger presented by government (no matter which party is in power)is much much higher than the danger presented by terrorism. governments have power, lots and lots of power. terrorists have almost no power.

this is why i am against giving government extraordinary powers, even if they say they are using them to fight terrorism (especially since they are not being used only for that, a while ago i saw a white house spokesman brag about how the patriot act helped catch all these pedophiles and other criminals).

have some goddamn suspicion. its your civic duty.

Too bad I don't believe in civic duty.

The prior Administration had a considerably worse record on civil liberties than this one. Remember Waco? Or ACLU vs Reno?

Sure, most antiterror legislation these days is garbage. Just like it was in 1996.

Learn to use capitalization. And grow a name. A real one, I mean. Actually, just try growing up. Consider that your civic duty.

glad you agree government abuse is a bigger priority/danger than terrorism. apperantly that makes you a liberal.

It does. I am a liberal.

You haven't grown a name yet, which makes you an anonymous parasite. Were you hiding in the '90s too?

i dont care about all that petty shit, call me a parasite if you like. however, id like to make the point that any malfeasance on clinton's part was done in private, and this is a very important distinction. take waco for instance, if i recall correctly they just denied the charges. bush on the other hand when faced with allegations has at times admitted to it, and then hastened to make his crimes legal after the fact. he admits to spying on american citizens without a warrant (which is an impeachable offense i believe). bush is radical in this regard. being a tyrant in private is not as dangerous as legalizing tyranny. and apart from that, i believe bush has abused civil liberties far more, but thats a side issue and not as important. you see, its not so much what the president does (though thats important), but its what rights the president gives himself that worries me. bush has given himself far more rights than clinton ever did, and in a far more dangerous way. the new military commissions act denies habeas corpus rights to enemy combatants, so all the president has to do is declare anyone he wants an enemy combatant and they cant challenge it (they cant prove they are not an enemy combatant). thats one of the definitions of tyranny. now, i dunno how much of that hes done, and its even possible clinton locked more people up unjustly (though i highly doubt it), but if clinton had done this, it wouldve been illegal and clinton would pay for it if it were exposed. bush does it out in the open. do you see the difference?

Hey __,
This is one of the real problems the left/Democrats have. You argue abstract ideals, while there are people out there who would love nothing more than to kill every one of us (you included). I will take a government who keeps me an my family safe over one who wants to ignore the real world and argue in an abstract one.

do you see the difference?

What we see is that you are an unending font of partisan hypocrisy and ungrammatical illogic.

i dont care if they want to kill me. they arent able to kill me, they have virtually no power. even if they were, i would still not be willing to give away fundamental freedom.

i find it disturbing that you feel freedom is merely an "abstract ideal" with apperantly no relevance in the "real world".

and by the way, bush is doing a really shitty job of keeping you and your family safe. the non-response to katrina was undertaken by homeland security, they are that inept. provoking conflict is the only answer george bush has, and as the recent NIE says, provoking conflict in iraq is not making you safer, it is merely fanning the flames. and further, there are steps the administration could make to protect you and your family without attacking freedom. the 911 commission recommendations do not impinge upon freedom, and yet they have not been carried out. and i dont believe things like the warrantless wiretapping program actually keep you safer (unless the FISA court has been infiltrated by al qaeda).

be specific rand. perhaps my "hypocrisy" can be fixed. i think im being consistent.

perhaps my "hypocrisy" can be fixed. i think im being consistent.

It seems exceedingly unlikely, given the level of partisanship, irrational Bush hatred and illogic you display. It's certainly not worth my time to attempt it while on vacation.

yeah empty insults are a lot easier than actually trying to argue against freedom.

we are not safe, we have never been safe, we will never be safe. you need to accept this, and stop being reactionaries.

You need help, but until help arrives, keep that tin foil low and tight.