Quote of the Week

I would rather live unprotected from terrorist attacks than in a society that resembled New York City during convention week.

That's from Steven Greenhut, writing in the Orange County Register.

At the GOP convention podium, Republican speakers urged delegates and TV viewers to re-elect President George W. Bush because he is best able to protect us from the terrorists who are bound and determined to kill our families and destroy our freedoms.

In and around Midtown Manhattan, convention-goers got a taste of life in a society where the overriding goal is to stop attacks at all costs. It was the bitter taste of losing one's freedoms, albeit in this case for the short duration of this national convention.

It was Fortress New York. For those of us with the proper papers - a neck-load of colored and numbered badges and IDs granting entry to Madison Square Garden and surrounding sites - the anti-terror lockdown meant endless annoyances, hassles and humiliations. For those who tried to protest the convention goings-on, things were worse.