For more evidence that our democratic principles are under attack by people who cannot tolerate dissenting opinions, take a look at the most recent editorial in The Lone Star Iconoclast, the newspaper in Crawford, Texas, that recently endorsed John Kerry:

http//www.iconoclast-texas.com/Columns/Editorial/editorial40.htm

These quotes from the editorial speak volumes about the perilous state of democracy in America:

"In the past, when individuals disagreed with an editorial, they would write a letter to the editor politely expressing a different point of view in contrast to the views of the publishers, which we have usually published. Occasionally someone would cancel a subscription or an ad, but this was rare... The new mode of operation, I am told, is that when a newspaper prints an editorial of which some sectors might disagree, the focus is now upon how to run the newspaper out of business."

So apparently if you disagree with an opinion, instead of writing an intelligent counterargument, you destroy the source of the offending opinion and thereby intimidate others who might be tempted to disagree with you publicly. Maybe that's the only recourse for people who are incapable of formulating an intelligent argument to support their opinions--or who hold opinions which cannot be supported with an intelligent argument at all.