I exchanged views with Josh Chavetz over his protest that Andrew Sullivan's accusing the NYTimes of being anti-American was going to far. I agree with Sullivan.

I said that when our troops are in harm's way, it is unamerican for people at home to be trying to undercut their mission. He said we aren't at war yet. I think we are, and so does Bill Safire. Our Special Forces are in Iraq, risking their lives and we have a lot of men over there poised to attack. Just being there is a huge sacrifice. Practicing with live fire is fraught with danger. The decisions have been made, the anti-war arguments have been made and found wanting. All true Americans should drop the public criticism and and support our troops.


Whether the policy is right or wrong, it is NOT evil. Bush is not a terrorist, a Nazi, or worse than Saddam. Supporting this kind of nonsense is both dangerous and harmful to our democratic traditions. The opposition to the Vietnam War degenerated into hatred that damaged our returning veterans as much as what they had been through. That is anti-American. One can be anti-war without being anti-American.

It's the right of all of us to say what we want to, but not to be free of criticism. Maureen Dowd penned a column about our "Xanax President" seconding Tom Shales' stupid assertion that Bush looked like he was on drugs at his new conference on Thursday. These people are trolls, taking delight in angering people and turning a clever phrase for each other. If its fair for them to write such drivel, it's fair for us who are offended by it to call them anti-Americans.