A Missive Arrives from Guantanamo

Ellen Goodman writes about being part of the "silenced majority" from her prison cell in Guantanamo today.

She has seen cars with "We support our troops" bumper stickers (must have been photos -- if she's been imprisoned for her dissent, she surely wouldn't be driving) and thinks perhaps the drivers also support the commander in chief. Ya think?

She faults Bush for invoking 9/11 in his speech the other night. Historians will look back on the Bush presidency and call 9/11 the defining moment -- as it was for a lot of us. For others, it was just another bad-traffic day. But those are the ones imprisoned in Guantanamo for their dissent.

She says, "If there is anything this White House is adept at, it is co-opting symbols," which is almost the same as saying that Bush can accomplish a goal, except the "White House" depersonalizes it so that it's probably Karl Rove.

No, wait, she's not imprisoned on Guantanamo: "I will fly my flag this Fourth of July, as always, on a small island in Maine." So it's a secret prison island in Maine for dissenters.

Note to Goodman: You can fly the flag for any reason you choose, just as the people can put "Support the troops" bumperstickers for whatever reason they choose.

Think how much noise the dissenters would be making if they hadn't been silenced.