George W. Bush is the terrorist who has destroyed this country

Forget about al-Qaeda; forget about Osama bin Laden, forget about the oceans that don't protect us, and about terrorists following us home like so many lost puppies. Forget about Rudy Giuliani insisting that Shi'a and Sunni alike are just waiting to come over here and kill us.

Our nation has been destroyed, and it has been destroyed not by terrorists, but by our own government.

Walter F. Murphy is a decorated Korean War veteran. He is hardly a liberal; he opposes Roe v. Wade and supported the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. But as far as the Bush Junta is concerned, he is a terrorist. Why is he a terrorist? Because he once gave a lecture critical of the Bush Administration's evisceration of the United States Constitution:

"On 1 March 07, I was scheduled to fly on American Airlines to Newark, NJ, to attend an academic conference at Princeton University, designed to focus on my latest scholarly book, Constitutional Democracy, published by Johns Hopkins University Press this past Thanksgiving."

"When I tried to use the curb-side check in at the Sunport, I was denied a boarding pass because I was on the Terrorist Watch list. I was instructed to go inside and talk to a clerk. At this point, I should note that I am not only the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence (emeritus) but also a retired Marine colonel. I fought in the Korean War as a young lieutenant, was wounded, and decorated for heroism. I remained a professional soldier for more than five years and then accepted a commission as a reserve office, serving for an additional 19 years."

"I presented my credentials from the Marine Corps to a very polite clerk for American Airlines. One of the two people to whom I talked asked a question and offered a frightening comment: "Have you been in any peace marches? We ban a lot of people from flying because of that." I explained that I had not so marched but had, in September, 2006, given a lecture at Princeton, televised and put on the Web, highly critical of George Bush for his many violations of the Constitution. "That'll do it," the man said. "

"After carefully examining my credentials, the clerk asked if he could take them to TSA officials. I agreed. He returned about ten minutes later and said I could have a boarding pass, but added: "I must warn you, they=re going to ransack your luggage." On my return flight, I had no problem with obtaining a boarding pass, but my luggage was "lost." Airlines do lose a lot of luggage and this "loss" could have been a mere coincidence. In light of previous events, however, I'm a tad skeptical."

"I confess to having been furious that any American citizen would be singled out for governmental harassment because he or she criticized any elected official, Democrat or Republican. That harassment is, in and of itself, a flagrant violation not only of the First Amendment but also of our entire scheme of constitutional government. This effort to punish a critic states my lecture's argument far more eloquently and forcefully than I ever could.

If Walter F. Murphy is a terrorist, then I am a terrorist. And so are you. And so is everyone who ever attended an antiwar march, or an antiwar lecture. And so is everyone who has used his or her credit card to buy the most recent Dixie Chicks CD. And so is everyone who watches Bill Maher or listens to Air America Radio. And so is everyone who votes for Democratic candidates instead of Republican. And so is anyone who doesn't listen to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. And so are over 70% of the people in this country who oppose this war.

For criticism of the dictator will not be tolerated.

We need not worry that terrorists from the Middle East will come over again and destroy our nation. The Bush Administration has already done it.

(h/t: Steven Hart at Blue Jersey)