Padilla Verfict: Padilla was tried by a jury who saw the evidence. I have not seen the evidence but if it looks like a duck, etc. etc. His name was on an Al Quaeda application for goodness sake. I suspect our jury system prevails. If he was conspiring in any way shape or form with Islamic fanatics then I believe he got what he deserved. It has nothing to do with what George Bush does or doesn't do. If it were up to George Bush Padilla would have been jailed without a trial or without counsel. I think this proves that our system works and should not be abandoned. Everyone is owed their right to counsel and defense. He got his and was found guilty. End of story!

Patriotism, Iraq, and Mine Safety: It is AMAZING that all Republicans (the etiology of which returns to Nixon and his "moral majority") have to say is that the "liberals" will sell out America, will retreat, and do a host of other things that supposedly show how patriotic the Republican party is compared to the Democrats. They have captured that phony mantra and made it work because people love flag waving. Well, flag waiving also means one doesn't wage wars that get people killed, spend trillions of bucks and put us in debt over false pretenses.

Patriotism ALSO means PROTECTING workers...MINE WORKERS who really, in tandem with owners, make this country run. It means not cozying up to corporate drug and pharmaceutical crony lobbyists who do not give a wit about people but care about their profits. It is indeed genius to co-opt the word patriotism to make people think the Democrats and liberals are the ones who are unpatriotic. The reality, of course, is the reverse. Murray, the mine owner, paid off the Republican party to ensure the fact he would not be monitored for numerous safety violations some serious so he could rake in more millions on the backs of the miners without having to pay for mine safety corrections. Now those miners are, IF alive -- which I doubt -- and their families in a hellish nightmare once again caused by these oh so patriotic Republican sleaze bags who care about ONE thing and one thing only MONEY and don't give a hoot as to who gets hurt or killed in the process of their acquiring it! Just who is the patriot and who is the subversive?

Don't be fooled America. From Katrina to Iraq from unequivocal global warming to mine safety, Republicans do NOT care about the majority of you. They care about their money. Their hollow meaningless so called patriotic words are a ruse to bate, hook and trap you into a nightmare from which you will have no way of waking up when and IF they are ever through. We MUST make sure in 2008 all of this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. Democrats care more about keeping the majority of us safe and less about giving huge tax breaks to the top 1% money earners. Democrats are not perfect but they are most DEFINITELY patriots!