Not the Time for Silence

About ten days ago I wrote about Terry Jones, a hateful bigot in Florida, who insists on exercising his First Amendment rights by burning Korans on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Today, just four days before the scheduled book-burning, General David Petraeus, the widely respected commander of the war in Afghanistan, warned that images of the burning of a Koran "would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan – and around the world – to inflame public opinion and incite violence." In other words, Americans, both military and civilian, could be put in harm's way. But even that plea from General Petraeus doesn't seem to be enough to deter Terry Jones. What's just as interesting is the long list of Republicans and conservatives who so far, at least, apparently have failed to speak up to condemn Jones and his plan. As of tonight, the list of those who apparently have decided to remain silent on this issue includes former President Bush, former Vice President Cheney, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Eric Cantor, Lindsey Graham, and many others who never seem to hesitate to express their opinions about other issues as loudly and frequently as they can.


(If anyone has evidence that I named anyone who should not be included my list, please let me know so that I can make an immediate correction.)