A Teaser

I'm a little under the weather this evening (the onset of a cold) so I'll be brief. But I'm a bit peeved at the renewed campaign to attack the "patriotism" of those who express dissent at how the Bush administration went to war - or even how it is being executed. Some have been more clever and have tried to distinguish between "good" and "bad" dissent, but their purpose is still to discredit those with whom they disagree. When I have a bit more strength I'll write more about it. For now I'll leave you with two quotes to ponder:

As a matter of general principle, I believe there can be no doubt that
criticism in time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of
democratic government ... Too many people desire to suppress criticism simply because they think it will give some comfort to the enemy ... If that comfort makes the enemy feel better for a few moments, they are welcome to it as far as I am concerned, because the maintenance of the right of criticism in the long run will do the country maintaining it a great deal more good than it will do the enemy, and it will prevent mistakes which might otherwise occur.
- Sen. Robert Taft, R-Ohio (a.k.a. "Mr. Republican"), December 1941

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." - Samuel Johnson