Whites, as it turns out, take most everything for
granted in this country; which makes perfect sense, because dominant groups usually have that privilege.... We take it for granted that our terrorism won't result in whites as a group being viewed with generalized suspicion. 

So Tim McVeigh represents only Tim McVeigh, while Mohammed Atta gets to serve as a proxy for every other person who either has his name or follows a prophet of that name.  We take it for granted that our dishonesty will be viewed in purely individualistic terms, while the dishonesty of others will result in aspersions being cast upon the entire group from which they come. 

..... If those words were meant to be reassuring, the president missed his mark. They sent a shiver down my spine. 

I'd been reading how U.S. forces in Iraq are stretched  thinner than cellophane over last night's leftovers. I'd also been reading about the
 diminishing numbers of fresh troops available to relieve them. What happens when there are no more troops to see this "historic opportunity" 
to its finish? 

 "What if they draft us?" I asked my roommate. 

               _________________________________________

...  I recently had the final paragraph of one of my articles intentionally deleted without my knowledge. Here is that paragraph: 

  "On October 14, 1793, Marie Antoinette was awoken at night; tried and found guilty of treason, and soon after, was beheaded."  

 Here is the reason it was deleted:

"David, with the various bad guys reading the site, I can't have anything that implies that something similar might or ought to happen to G. They look for this stuff."

holy Janet Jackson, Kilroy!
  What has become of our first Amendment right? That grand "only if it appears to be "like shouting 'fire' in a crowded theatre'" thinking we were taught as the boundary in journalism school? tsk tsk tskkkk ...... 

Abourezk's Lawsuit Upheld

 Federal judge allows 
Internet libel lawsuit to proceed

   *Former U.S. Senator James G. Abourezk continues to pursue a lawsuit against a Web site publisher who included him on a "Traitor List" for opposing President Bush's use of the military following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.      _______________________

 10 Questions for ...  Al Franken
The author and satirist answers readers' questions about humor, politics and his new radio venture.
_____________

    Kevin Hannah doesn't sleep much these days. 
Two or three hours are about as much as he gets. 
When he does sleep, he suffers frequent nightmares. 
   "It's kind of a day-to-day thing," says the 23-year-old former Army sergeant, who was wounded in Iraq last year.   ______________________
 

 Rough Guide for Deserters

   Army deserter Jeremy Hinzman is a Buddhist; you can talk about that, Jeremy, because people think it's yoga. Jeremy's a nice name. None of the deserters so far have been called Billy Ray. If you are, change it to Jeremy -- there's a good Canadian. 
   Learn the name of our PM. Then tell us, because we forget.  Recycle like you mean it. Read Fire and Ice by pollster Michael Adams about how Canadians are growing ever more different from Americans. 
   Arrive in a Prius or a Smart Car, which shouts, "I care about the environment," and you, short Buddhist, are a shoo-in for citizenship. _____________________

   BLOODY APRIL

76 U.S. Troops Killed (so far) this month 

 General: No More Troops to Send to Iraq 

  Army at breaking point in Iraq

_______________________________________

IRAQ AND A HARD PLACE:

In Their Skin
Few aspects of reporting in postwar Iraq are more important than the job of entering Iraqi minds to see what they think and feel about the American occupation. Four journalists discuss the challenge:   ___________________

LIKE A SISTER: On March 8, American Fern Holland stood with Iraqi women from some of the four women's rights centers that she helped start. The next day, she, her Iraqi deputy, Salwa Ourmashi, and coalition press officer Robert Zangas were assassinated.       ______________________