It needs to be said and repeated and thought about and built upon: the invasion of Iraq was not just foolish, but an overtly racist act.

The racist belief is in thinking that all the Arabs are connected by invisible strings, so that killing one Arab is somehow supposed to frighten all the rest.

George Bush and the neocons talk a lot about 'freedom and democracy': but somehow they never talk about justice. Justice is what is so missing in all our doings in Iraq. Justice is the only thing that can ever make the world safer and better, yet we refuse to adhere to it in even the smallest way.

Also the absurd 'strength' doctrine of the Republicans needs to be challenged. They are not making us stronger, they are making us weaker. If we are supposed to respond with overwhelming force to every single provocation, then our enemies have us by the short hairs; they can keep us tied down in Iraq forever just by provoking us or threatening us. And every day we spend in Iraq weakens us further, not just militarily and economically, but in our souls and our character.

I wonder why so many on the left are so prone to pulling such counterproductive clown stunts? Putting Joe Lieberman in blackface is another example of the same thing. What is supposed to be accomplished by doing these things? And why can't people understand BEFOREHAND that such high jinks can only backfire? Is there no wise counsel on the left?

The only way I can explain it is that these people are just so isolated within their own group that they don't understand how they come across to others.

...isn't Burning Man these days sort of the leftside version of driving a Hummer?

...is to change public opinion. Juvenile behavior does not change public opinion, it simply detracts from the point.

Your idea is that protest is some sort of statement, like having a tattoo or wearing a nose ring. That's an adolescent view.

...are what's needed when you want to sway the voters to your point of view. And we still need to sway the voters because we still only have about half the country--very tenuously--on our side.

Nasty cracks only work with people who are already on your side. Otherwise it's self defeating.

The perpetual tin ear of so many leftside bloggers and 'activists.'

If some statement only makes sense to your friends and no one else, guess what? It's an idiotic statement. Not everybody is your friend and you cannot expect everyone else to just 'understand' what you meant.

The left needs to get out more and meet more people. Too many people on the left simply don't understand the rest of this country, or even know anyone outside of their select circle, hence the propensity to make utterly stupid and juvenile statements such as the Betrayus ad.

The casualty rate in Iraq is probably far worse than many of us realize or are told. What we need to know (and don't) is the chance of a soldier serving in the field in Iraq to be killed or wounded. I would not be surprised if this turned out to be much higher than in most of our other wars.

This is an opportunity for some airline to distinguish itself by improving customer service, not a case for legislation.

Then why does this never happen?

Because the other airlines will simply distinguish themselves by providing even less customer service and thus will end up making more money at the expensive of airlines who do provide better customer service. And eventually there won't be any airlines that provide decent service--which is the situation we in fact now have.

Companies are about making profits, not about providing services. This being so, government regulation can absolutely be needed to prevent companies from competing by cutting services. Once all the airlines have to provide a minimum level of service, then they can compete for profits in a FAIR way.

Just imagine if there were no laws against murder. Then unethical insurance companies could increase their profits relative to ethical insurance companies simply by killing off people with high claims. The laws against murder put insurance companies on the same level and force them to compete in more socially productive ways.

If Democrats would just learn to stop doing any of the following or similar foolish activies: wearing tank helmets; toting guns; shooting small animals; saluting; wife kissing; wood chopping; going to NASCAR rallies, then who knows? They might even win back the white male vote. Because none of this stuff ever fools anyone.

...is because he's over in Iraq getting his ass shot at, while Moveon is here, safe at home (along with most Republican supporters of the war). So why call the general names, even if you think he was lying or shading the truth? Why couldn't the point have been made without calling the general any sort of name?

...and that's the presumption. He may be a 'political target' as you say, but if the voters are going to tune you out when you call him a name, then your shot isn't hitting its target, is it?