"...In a briefing before the speech, incoming White House press secretary Tony Snow came closer to the truth when he said with new-to-the-game candor, "It is an issue of enormous passion, as perhaps you've noticed. We have seen this not only with large demonstrations in the streets. We have also seen it with [the] Minutemen."..."

How is this within the ballpark of the truth and or candorous? It implies that the protest actions are equal. I would hardly say that millions of protesters in the streets of every major American city equals 200 ignorant assholes playing weekend warrior on our border. Learn to question every well calculated phrase that comes out of snowjob's mouth.

"By the end of the briefing, 40 minutes later, the reviews were raves."

Thanks for "reviewing" Snowjob instead of grilling him. Thank you for using phrases like "no model of transparency" instead of "stonewaller" or "liar" or "bullshit artist".

The press should have been all over this guy like a pack of wolves. They were not. This story should have been about a room full of people not doing their job, not the guy at the podium.

The savior of the day Hugh Thompson at My Lai, said that particular day didn't stand out for him and that he had to be reminded of the events of that day, because the massacre at My Lai was more routine than not during the war. In other words, it was not an isolated incident.

When any country goes to war, it is most likely to be a war between insurgents and combatants with civilians taking the brunt of it. Battles are rare. During almost any modern war, 10 civilians are killed for any 1 soldier. When you say yes to war, know that it is not about "supporting our troops", as military combatants are the least likely to be a casualty.

Our troops are programmed to view the enemy as sub human in order to be incited to shoot to kill. In the case of an insurgency, the enemy is undefined and often mixes within the general population, blurring the lines of who is a combatant. This leads to the massacre syndrome. This is a common occurrence in war. It is not an anomaly and has nothing to do with our particular troops or even the troops understanding of morality. They have been programmed not make moral judgments in the heat of combat.

Murder, rape, massacres, and limbless children are the normal results of modern warfare. It is not really about professional soldiers shooting rifles at each other. Governments would like to public to think that it is.

If people would look at warfare and the potential for soldiers to engage in immoral conduct, from a more pragmatic and observant perspective, they could possible begin to understand the mechanizations of war and be less apt to want to support or participate in it.

We are not cranks expecting rational behavior in an unrational world. We are canaries in the coal mine, noticing the shift from an us-centric society to a me-centric society. This problem you are reacting to is there, and it is not insignificant.

The roots of the problem may lay in the shift to free market capitalism without true democracy. Capitalism asks nothing of us other than we take care of ourselves and our needs. Advertising constantly reinforces this position. Our version of democracy avoids participation in the political process. We are expected to be passive consumers of politics and consumables. This is bound to express itself in our everyday actions. There is little in the way of a request for acknowledgement of our fellow man, let alone consideration for them or even the next bigger step...actual service to them.

The solution is not to seek out the island where everyone tips their hat to one another. The solution is to seek out the instances where people do treat each other with acknowledgement and respect and to involve yourself as the example of civility. Engage humankind through volunteerism. Active participation in the world shifts you from the angry observer to the example with a purpose. In this new perspective, self absorbed and uncivil people will be no more significant than a blade of grass viewed from a moving train.