The City Council of Berkeley, California is expected to reconsider a declaration passed last month that set off a national firestorm of opposition.  The original declaration called the Marines "uninvited and unwelcome intruders" and contained several measures aimed at driving the Marine recruiting station from the city.

City officials have reportedly received more than 26,000 letters since the original declaration, running 15-1 against the Council's actions.  There is also a movement at both a federal and a state level to cut the city off from receiving future funding.

Even in the face of this tremendous opposition, the Council is only taking half-measures to rectify their mistake.  While they are looking to soften the original language, there has been no discussion of repealing the sections that give an ultra-liberal anti-war activist group a free parking spot in front of the recruiting station and call on the citizens of Berkeley to actively interfere with the Marines' work.

Even the LA Times, not normally known for it's conservative positions, has taken the City Council to task.  The Times calls Berkeley's actions "over the top," and points out that it is hypocrtical for a liberal city, so focused on individual rights and freedom of speech, to use city resources to silence one side of the debate.

An article in the Washington Times outlines the differences between the rules of engagement for al Qaeda and the U.S. military.  As al Qaeda's tactics have gotten more desperate over the past few months, the U.S. military sticks to it's dedication of fighting honorable.  Just last week, al Qaeda resorted to strapping a bomb vest on two disabled women and sent them into areas crowded with civilians to kill as many as possible.  While al Qaeda shows no mercy to its enemies, the U.S. still provides medical care to enemy combatants who are captured in the fight.

"Where else do you see a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine fight incredibly hard one minute and then show the great depths of compassion the next against those that they are trying to protect as well as against those they have just fought against?" said Col. Steven Boylan, spokesman for Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq.

"When the enemy is wounded, we go to extreme lengths to ensure they are well cared for," Col. Boylan said. "That is in our nature."

Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) died yesterday morning after a long bout with cancer.  Congressman Lantos was the only survivor of the holocaust to serve as a Congressman, and was a staunch defender of human rights and proponent of military intervention throughout his career.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Lantos family as they mourn this loss.

“Tom was a man of character and a champion of human rights,” President Bush said in a statement Monday. “Tom was a living reminder that we must never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent at the hands of evil men.”