It was a Democrat who said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." The current administration has a different slogan: "Run for your lives."
Those suspicious of political considerations in this latest terror alert have every right to be skeptical. The fall of 2004 saw the most blatant abuse of the public trust in our nation's history - politically staged terror alerts, all timed coincidentally around a presidential election, only to die away after the votes had been cast. Then it was on to privatizing Social Security. Tony Blair's government, like our own, has demonstrated no reticence in sexing up threats to advance their agenda.
But whether Scotland Yard struck pay dirt, or this is just another goon squad with more ambition than brains, I don't care.
I will not live in fear of al Qaeda. I will not live in fear of Islam. And I will not live in fear of Dick Cheney.
Almost every time Dick Cheney speaks, it is to put forth an ominous warning about how our political decisions here at home will affect the terrorists overseas.
It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we'll get hit again and we'll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States...
Dick Cheney is a coward. And those who follow him are cowards.
Would Americans really allow a few radical militants to influence their votes? Would we really give up our freedom? Sacrifice our constitution?
Today, as many as 5,000 US citizens will die. The causes range from illness, to accidents, to homicides. I don't even need to mention where death by terrorism falls statistically in the big picture here. Let's just say, its close to zero.
And here's the real kicker. 911 probably would have been no different than any other day had the Bush Cheney White House taken the proper measures. Measures like having a meeting or two with Norm Mineta to get him to put our airports on alert. Only in the up-is-down world of the Bush Republicans and our fickle press, can those whose neglect and incompetence allowed 911 to happen, capitalize on that incompetence for political gain.
It's time we said enough. It's time we said no, we are not going to allow radical militants and religious fanatics to influence our elections , destroy our liberties, and alter the American way of life.
Where is the American spirit? People fought and died to keep the likes of Dick Cheney from listening to our phone calls. People died so we could be a free and democratic society. And now the "be very afraid" Republicans want us to give up that freedom? They want us to care what Osama bin Laden thinks when casting our votes?
The Republicans claim to be the party of security. But it is clear that they are nothing more than the party of cowards.