THIS HAS been a particularly bad week, a historically bad week, for Americans who believe that government actions should be presumed public and personal behavior should be presumed private.
The war on terrorism seems to have stripped this nation of its capacity for critical thinking when it comes to preserving a balance between civil liberties and security. Americans and their elected "leaders" are shrugging or cowering when they should be challenging the Bush administration's assault on basic freedoms.

The struggle for civil liberties is lost only if Americans are willing to concede.

So I go away for a weekend and then I'm sick for a few days and then all this terrible stuff happens? C'mon people, we gotta stop this!