Dear Glenn,

Thank you for this piece. Do these people think they are not exposed and that the charade of their lives is without sour repute. How ill they are and of course there should be no investigation because those who cheat don't need witnesses or judgment.

The death and destruction caused by these boys gone beserk is something each and every American should have their noses rubbed in the same way Germans were forced to walk through the concentration camps at the end of WWII.

Please continue to identify these individuals and describe their roles in these crimes. Shame on them.

Conrad C. Elledge

Yes, a point should come, must come, and may come, where I can no longer in good conscience vote for Obama. It may be soon.

But, please, try and anser this for yourself. You are a fiscal conservative. Reagan and Bush II have run up the worst deficits in American history. They have spent money like drunken sailors and failed to shrink government. When do you say, "enough" and vote for an alternative? Or, do you think that McCain will cut spending, shrink government, and balance the budget? And why would you think that? And why, therefore, would you vote for him?

I think that we have two very flawed candidates for president, and that we can overstate the differences between them. The fact is, we are, both sides, getting what our masters want, and this should disturb you as a man with libertarian leanings as much as it bugs me as a social democrat.

Glenn is right as usual. Our country is living in deep denial. Most people don't realize that we thwarted the UN and most people don't realize that to the rest of the world we look -- for good reason -- like a country that perpetrated a flagrant hoax, sending Colin Powell out to lie to the world and then after the hoax waged an illegal war of aggression that resulted in 1,000,000 Iraqi deaths. Oh yes, and along the way we killed and tortured prisoners.

The rest of the world is right, and our neocons and media whores are wrong. Its too bad Obama isn't man enough to break it to our people.

Sorry, but trying to explain the dangers of barbarity to those who excuse and engage in it is a little like outlining the shortcomings of pedophilia to a priest who's trying to saw off his ankle bracelet. But, we can enjoy the intellectual contortions of Righties trying to defend the indefensible, to honor the dishonorable and to excuse the crminality of Cheney/Bush et al...

'policy differences'

Blatantly obvious and oh so current spoon-fed GOP talking points from elephant-boy.

No-one here is gullible enough to buy into your Orwellian euphemisms for multiple violations of the law and crimes against humanity.

And thus we (i.e. those of us who believe in following our founding principles and/or (I'm sure this will be amusing to anyone who reads this post) the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would do unto yourself) are screwed. Imperial power doesn't recognize the right of anyone to criticize it. Imperial power also doesn't recognize any external constraints on its behavior. Unfortunately, even changing the crew in our government will not alter this dynamic. This mindset is inextricably embedded in (as you point out) our media as well as all the think tanks in Washington (where the power hungry go when they're out of power instead of getting a real job) as well as virtually any other public policy organization and these organizations are not subject to the will of the electorate. And, equally unfortunately, the electorate doesn't seem to recognize exactly how much we have diverged from what we once were.

great post, dude

(on page 2)

The absurdity of the WaPo editorial page has been self-evident for a very long time now, and this latest prouncement On The Rule Of Law carries forth the tradition.

It's like Richard Cohen's column, which nobody reads (except Atrios, and even he doesn't bother any more), or if they do it is only to laugh.

But the value of it -- like the value of Richard Cohen's columns and David Broder's columns, to name a few -- is its presentation of the Palace Consensus on this or that "issue."

Rule of Law is your issue? Well, this is what they have to say about that: "What about Russia? Hmm? Hmmm? Enough said!"

In their eyes, Glenn must come across as an agent for that little KGB weasel Putin, with his 80% approval ratings and his presumptuous airs and his constant heckling of the White House and all its Good Works. Not just an agent, a shrill agent, carping on this or that, flapping his gums as if anyone will listen. In their eyes, nobody -- who matters -- will ever pay attention to hysterics like him.

Which for some reason reminds me of Cass Sunstein's casual dismissal of Glenn's points about the utter falsity of Sunstein's arguments in favor of the FISA "reform" measure in that infamous Democracy Now! interview.

Be gone you gum-flapping, shrill hysteric. "I love your passion, but really, it's time to calm down. Don't you think? Temper, temper, temper!"

Meanwhile, all cheers to those few in Iowa who took it upon themselves to attempt a citizen's arrest of Karl Rove. This is what it comes down to when our institutions (erm, Congress come to mind?) can't or won't function.

Citizenship has been conditioned out of us; we are to be "vigilant Consumers!", no more, no less. Citizenship is an alien concept to most of us any more, and the idea that the People of the United States are sovereign, not the current Autocrat and his enablers and toadies, is ridiculous to most Americans.

Regaining Citizenship for all Americans must become a primary objective of any New Progressive Reform. It's basic.

The national security police state and the militarizing of all the local police departments across this country that now seem to have put the regular citizen in the cross hairs of being suspects and criminals at every traffic stop.

The local police are now acting like the Nazi thugs of Hitlers Germany and they too answer to no one for their crimes of killing citizens everyday in this country using tasers and other means.

The level of police brutality in this country today is frightening to read about.

All this terror being brought against the average citizen by the government stands or falls on the false flag terror event 911 was.

The terrorists, ( the U. S. government )put all of us in this position with a standing lie about the attacks of 911, organize against and around the 911 lie and demand a fair investigation by a citizen commission outside of government to destroy the neo cons neo nazis plans to destroy this country and make us a third world country.