But Streak's sensitivity aside, these are strange days. It feels like the early days of the Cold War without any sense of history. People are so afraid of terror that they seem willing to give up tremendous civil liberties, while at the same time refusing to give up anything else. In Iraq, the US forces are enforcing gun control and pushing for secularized schools and universal healthcare. Here, Ashcroft is attacking essentially every right except gun ownership.

Everyone I know (with a few exceptions) seems disenchanted with Bush, yet the admin enjoys tremendous popularity, enough to enact government-gutting tax cuts even though so many programs are needed.