re: from the heart
It's amazing, and more than a little sad, that after reading several hundred words on the theme that "America is not only strong, it's tough and resilient", your response is to think of prey:
There's a word for creatures that stand by while one of their own is devoured, with the attitude that "at least this time it wasn't me." It's called prey.
Truly amazing. Your Republican "leaders" have really done a number on you.
The United States need not fear anyone. It's demeaning and dangerous for Republican "leaders" to relentlessly spread fear and insecurity for their own political gain. It's undermining America far more than anything the terrorists have done, or could do.
The latter point is hardly amounts to saying a terrorist attack "isn't so bad", it's saying that America is the 900 pound gorilla that nobody can bring down...we can only bring ourselves down if we listen to Republican "leaders" preaching fear and weakness.
The reaction of Republicans to 9/11 has been shameful. To panic and run around in circles shrieking that the sky is falling, to squander American and Iraqi lives lashing out blindly at a convenient and gratifying target, to piss away hundreds of billions of dollars on that needless war while driving the country into bankruptcy with tax cuts for the wealthy, enthusiastically attacking the Constitution, undermining democracy and pushing the United States hard into the arms of authorianism....Osama bin Laden must be mightily pleased with the Republican reaction. Talk about a return on investment...
Which reminds me: Early in this thread Scott violently denied the tiniest speculation of a "wag the dog" scenario with the sudden recent upswing in reports of terrorist plots within three months of the next election. OK, then consider the alternative that they're all genuine. The terrorists are well aware of the American electoral calendar, and I don't believe in coincidences...so what effect do you think they hope to achieve by apparently validating Republican fearmongering? Hmmm, Tom? Think perhaps they want Republicans to continue to destroy America from within?
Yes Tom, I'll lecture you on rational thinking. Damn straight. You're so blinded by Republican fearmongering you're in a permanent state of panic and hell, you're thinking like prey yourself, one of the sheep bleating for the shepherd to please, please, please, save us! Fuck that. Americans aren't sheep and our flock can be a wolf pack if we remember who we really are.