This:

The only way to get rid of this slime bag WASP-Mafia, oil barron ridden cartel of a government, this assault on Americans and anything one could laughingly call "a democracy", relies heavily on what a shit hole Iraq turns into. They [US soldiers] need to die so that we can be free ... they need to die in defense of a lie from a lying adminstration to show these ignorant, dumb Americans that Bush is incompetent.

is unspeakably vile of course, and if not atypical of their posting section, here's hoping it merely serves to prove that the Net has little meaningful relationship to the real world.

Sullivan offers:

Implying that liberals or Democrats support his kind of poison is absurd. But this exists. And it's part of what's fueling the anger of the far left.

I would think that anyone who cheers on US casualties, or hopes for another 9/11 is, to put it mildly, very troubled. I don't think we can say anyone on these boards does so. IMHO Don, for instance, has served us well. There was a time shortly after the war when I feared what we were hearing was too one-sidedly positive. With time--and effort--that's changed. Some think, though, that the pendulum has swung too far, and who knows, they may be right. (No pun intended.)

Some of the evidence we've seen emerge in the last few weeks has shown that an open mind is still required...that maybe Saddam did have some of the connections and intentions which served as the basis for his ouster. In any case, it suggests that the issue remains clouded at best...and that the demonization of the Bush admin probably does little to clear the air.

(I would suggest that the demonization of Saddam is likewise unhelpful, but let's face it, that's something he largely did to himself. I don't think the admin ever had to exagerate his unrelenting brutality.)

And at this point I'm rambling, so I'll let it go...