One thing about those "Liberals"...

...mentioned in the comments a couple posts back:

It seems to me that today's American Leftists today really AREN'T "Liberals". A true "Liberal", in the classic sense of the word, would revile the idea that (in the context of The Issue of Our Time) American prosperity trumps human rights elsewhere. "NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE" really meant something when it was being shouted by Liberals demanding an end to profits gained by investment in Apartheid. Today it's a slogan that Leftists yammer when they want to appear like they are seeking justice when what they really want is their lattes, chardonnays, mountain bikes, and Pell Grants and who really gives a shit if someone elsewhere cuts the tongues out of mouths that dare to utter dissent?

To be fair, that's a stance that has been taken by many of all political flavors over the years, and I am not necessarily convinced that it is either right or wrong.

The point is that "Eff the oppressed over there -- we're running up debt and cutting Arts programs!" is a distinctly illiberal view of America's role in the world.

Who we see today where the Liberals used to be are:

a) politicians and other shysters who know they can make a buck if they say the right words,

b) young people who think they understand the world, and

c) Leftists -- anti-property, anti-religion, anti-profits, anti-industrial Leftists.

Ain't a whole lot of Liberals around anymore, it seems to me.