The next nut who speaks of the great job the Unelected One is doing with the "war on terror" should be committed.

The blast that killed nearly 200 people on the Indonesian resort island of Bali this weekend is a different type of terrorism from what the Bush administration has campaigned against, and will open a new geographic front in that campaign, Western officials said yesterday.

The target was not an American embassy, military outpost or financial institution that would represent American power, of the sort that terrorists have attacked in the past. Rather, it was a nightclub whose revelers were mostly Europeans and Australians; indeed, Indonesians were often turned away at the door.

Oh yes, another "front!" The NYTimes can describe the significance of the event, but neither it nor any other commercial media source or political hack will tell it like it really is.

Are you better off than you were two years ago? Is the world better off? Of course not, but ain't it wonderful how the little Bush is handling his "war on terror!"

Wait, just what has he accomplished even in that one area of his responsibilities as putative Chief Executive? I don't get it. Did he manage to snatch, and smash the plans, of the nineteen men who hijacked four planes September 11? Did he capture Osama Bin Laden? Did he put Sheik Oman on trial? Is Al Qaeda destroyed? Are Americans safe where they travel and live around the world? Do we all feel safer here at home? In fact, can we, or anyone in the world, ever feel safe again after what this government has done in the last two years, or not done?

Are you better off than you were two years ago?

Calling it a "war on terror" was an excellent move. It's not officially a war with Afghanistan, a war with Osama, a war with Al Qaeda or a war with any people or thing, so there isn't any real objective for which the White House can be held accountable. The truth is, it's not really a war, but a blind for political opportunism and incompetence. The possibly perpetual junta will always be able to claim that it is winning, but that it's not over yet, and won't be for generations, so stay in line, people!

But what does this "war on terror" mean? What does a war on an invisible, stateless foe, war on an idea, war on an anger and a resentment, have to do with closing our borders, our courts and our minds and our hearts?