If you dare to say these things, you're accused -- as Kerry now stands accused by Cheney and Miller -- of defaming America and refusing "to support American troops in combat." You're contrasted to a president who "is unashamed of his belief that God is not indifferent to America." You're derided, in Cheney's words, for trying to show al-Qaida "our softer side." Your Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts are no match for the vice president's five draft deferments.

This is really a very good piece. I sometimes find Saletan a little pollyannaish in his political thinking, but this hits some really important points.

Three blocks away from me, in Union Square park, there are signs up reading "Support Our Troops: Bring Them Home". This is how the Left must respond to the efforts of Bush to paint us as anti-American. There's nothing more American than wanting to protect the lives of American boys (and girls) from deaths in a war that's distraction from fighting our real enemies: the terrorists who flew planes into the towers that were not two miles from where I sit now.

There's nothing more American than allowing doctors to study ways to protect our elderly loved ones from succumbing to the horrible disease of Alzheimer's. George Bush should be ashamed that he ignored Nancy Reagan's pleas to give hope to the final years of her husband's life.

There's nothing more American than wanting to protect the Blue Ridge Mountains from the desolation caused by unchecked coal mining, where mountains are flattened, and the grimy runoff is allowed to to creep up the once green valley walls. All this because the Bush administration has redefined this black sludge as "fill" instead of "waste". This is a desecration of the legacy of Republican President Teddy Roosevelt, a true conservationist who knew that a "Conservative" tries to preserve what's good about our nation, for future generations.

Imperial President - Opposing Bush becomes unpatriotic. By William Saletan

I think the thing people should pay attention to with the protests - is not even whether or not it helps Bush or Kerry - but the protests will help us clearly see just how far the US has come in turning into a police state.

I don't understand why no one talks about police brutality and prison abuse RIGHT HERE at home.

Bike arrests begin after someone throws spagetti at cop

“Lawful demonstrations — even nonviolent civil disobedience — are a time-honored tradition and still widely supported,” he said. “But 19 out of 20 New Yorkers draw the line at violence.”

New York Daily News - Breaking News - Let protesters walk on the grass, majority of NY'ers say

] "What they saw were clear pictures of these young kids
] rioting. Chaos in their city." Next thing he knew,
] Richard Nixon had swept to presidential victory on the
] wings of a commercial proclaiming - above those
] selfsame pictures - that "the first civil right of
] every American is to be free from domestic violence."

An interesting historical perspective on the shit thats about to go down in New York. Swift Boat Veterans have already cost Kerry his lead (which is somewhat amazing to me, but people are stupid). No one is going to agree with the marxists who isn't already voting for Kerry. But plenty might disagree, which may put Bush over the top.

The marxists cost the democrats the election in 2000 by voting for Nader, and they may cost the democrats the election in 2004 by throwing a scene in the streets.

The Village Voice: Features: Get Mad. Act Out. Re-Elect George Bush. by Rick Perlstein

After the oppression of British colonial rule, those were among the rights the Revolution was fought for. They're still worth defending. Protecting municipal grass is a thin excuse for mowing down those rights.

Yahoo! News - New York tramples Bill of Rights to protect 'grass'?

For most Americans, the last four years have represented a low point in our economic history. But for the big-business interests financing the Bush campaign, these have been high times.

American Prospect Online - ViewPrint

] The People's Guide to the Republican National Convention
] is the definitive guide to the public events surrounding
] the Republican National Convention (RNC) in New York
] City. Produced with the contributions of some of New
] York's finest artists, this 33"x22" full-color,
] double-sided, highly detailed map of New York City comes
] folded down to fit easily in your pocket and contains
] everything a visitor or a New Yorker needs to navigate
] this summer%u2019s biggest event.
]
]
] The People's Guide has over 600 points of information,
] including:
]
] RNC event locations - protest sites -
] accessible bathrooms - city resources -
] affordable restaurants - affordable lodging -
] bike shops - bail bondsmen - wifi spots -
] legal pointers - important NYC landmarks -
] comprehensive calendar

The People's Guide to the Republican National Convention

] The Bush reelection campaign has been blasting Democratic
] presidential nominee John F. Kerry as deeply
] irresponsible for proposing intelligence cuts at the same
] time. A Bush campaign ad released on Aug. 13 carried a
] headline: "John Kerry . . . proposed slashing
] Intelligence Budget 6 Billion Dollars."
]
] But the cuts Goss supported are larger than those
] proposed by Kerry and specifically targeted the "human
] intelligence" that has recently been found lacking. The
] recent report by the commission probing the Sept. 11,
] 2001, attacks called for more spending on human
] intelligence.

[CIA Director Nominee] Goss Backed '95 Bill to Slash Intelligence (washingtonpost.com)

] The father then walked into the garage, picked up a
] propane tank, a lighting device and a can of gasoline he
] used to douse the van, police Capt. Tony Rode said. He
] smashed the van's window, got inside and set it ablaze,
] despite attempts by the Marines to stop him, Rode said.
]
] The Marines, reservists who are members of a military
] Casualty Assistance Calls Officer team, pulled Arredondo,
] 44, from the burning vehicle and extinguished the flames
] on him, police said.
]
] Arredondo was initially taken to Memorial Regional
] Hospital in Hollywood with burns over as much as 50
] percent of his body, emergency officials said.
]
] Melida Arredondo told the Miami Herald that her husband,
] an immigrant from Costa Rica, "was very proud of Alex
] serving," though he wished his service would have been
] during a "more peaceful" time.
]
] But Luz Marina Arredondo, Alexander's grandmother, felt
] the government was at fault for her grandson's death.
]
] "I blame them a lot," she said. "They send them like
] guinea pigs over there."

Most understated quote:

"My husband immediately knew that his firstborn son had been killed and my husband did not take the news well," Melida Arredondo said before police escorted her to the hospital.

ABCNEWS.com : Man Burns Marine Van After GI Son's Death

] Republicans crafting the party's platform backed a
] proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on
] Wednesday in a sharp contrast to efforts to put the
] party's more moderate face on display at next week's
] convention.

Nice to see that Cheney is totally off message, after his relatively moderate comments yesterday. The Bush White House usually isn't so sloppy.

Top News Article | Reuters.com