Well done! We’re right back in 1979; this time in Afghanistan

From today’s story in The Washington Post about the growing demonstrations in Afghanistan following the burning of a pile of Korans.

Nine Afghans were killed Friday [in Kabul]. . . [and]  six protesters and a police officer were killed in Herat Province when demonstrators tried to storm the U.S. Consulate. . . at each demonstrations, protestors shouted ‘Death to America’. . . More than 20 have been killed since the burning incident.

Remove this ‘causus belli’ of the Koran burning and that could have been written in 1979 about Iran, when 52 American Embassy employees were taken hostage.

While I’m on the subject: I haven’t posted that tally lately – Today is the 119th day of the 11th year of the War in Afghanistan.

Mosque madness no more?

Have we moved on? Has my country found a new thing to label terrorist or a new thing to be very very afraid of? I just don’t spend enough time with talk radio or FOX news to know whether the tempest has finally blown over. In any case, it does need to wind down and move on because  – in our one-story-at-a-time media culture –  there’s a new game comin’ to town.

Some batshit crazy pastor here in my home state is organizing The First Annual Great American Quran Burning. On 9/11 apparently. In Indonesia counter protests are being organized. I hope there is a legal way to stop these clowns from building their bonfire. Incitement to riot? Isn’t that a crime? Does a resultant feared riot have to be local? How about incitement to cause a riot in Indonesia and other countries? (If you’d like to participate in this great American event, go here to get your own Quran to burn. Oh fun!)

Thinking of these things, it seemed to me a fine time to post Mayor Bloomberg‘s wonderful speech of a  month ago. (The transcript is here.) A very fine lesson in American history, in who we are, in what we stand for and in what actually is the right thing. I haven’t posted it before because it was ubiquitous. But now it seems appropriate.