When you consider that England is the size of Texas you get a little better perspective on things.  It's a big deal over there, Ted.  It might not be as big a deal here in the US, but this is the worst attack London has seen since WWII.  That's huge to Englishmen.

I'm not going to get into a pissing contest with you about whose attack was worse.  That's not going to solve anything, and it's not what this blog about.

This is about Rush Limbaugh opening his big trap and saying some incredibly insensitive things.  I don't understand how anyone could read the script of the show, read what he said, and not draw a similar conclusion. 

Any terrorist act that results in the loss of human life is a successful one.  And, they're probably gloating over the fact that, yet again, thay have managed to turn the world's focus on them yet again.  Failure?  I don't freakin' think so.

Lucas:  I don't have anything nice to say to you at the moment, so I won't say anything at all.

They haven't even removed all the bodies from the tunnels yet, and he's saying this stuff.  How insensitive can you be? 

You know, this just perpetuates the British vision of Americans.  They see a Yank telling them that their situation isn't as bad because not many people got killed.  How does anything think that makes them feel?  Emperor Of Ice Cream wrote an article last week about how he felt after 9/11, and what (I think, at least) he details in it as his stereotypical vison of America is pretty much what Rush Limbaugh epitomized in his badly worded, ill-timed statement:  'Y'all ONLY got 50 people killed? Aw, that's nothin'!  We lost thousands in our attack!'.

Don't minimize it, and don't belittle it.  That's all I'm asking for.

Just to make things clear, here's the full text of the speech by Ken Livingstone:

"This was a cowardly attack, which has resulted in injury and loss of life. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been injured, or lost loved ones. I want to thank the emergency services for the way they have responded.

Following the al-Qaeda attacks on September 11 in America we conducted a series of exercises in London in order to be prepared for just such an attack. One of the exercises undertaken by the government, my office and the emergency and security services was based on the possibility of multiple explosions on the transport system during the Friday rush hour. The plan that came out of that exercise is being executed today, with remarkable efficiency and courage, and I praise those staff who are involved.

I’d like to thank Londoners for the calm way in which they have responded to this cowardly attack and echo the advice of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair - do everything possible to assist the police and take the advice of the police about getting home today.

I have no doubt whatsoever that this is a terrorist attack. We did hope in the first few minutes after hearing about the events on the Underground that it might simply be a maintenance tragedy. That was not the case. I have been able to stay in touch through the very excellent communications that were established for the eventuality that I might be out of the city at the time of a terrorist attack and they have worked with remarkable effectiveness. I will be in continual contact until I am back in London.

I want to say one thing specifically to the world today. This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at Presidents or Prime Ministers. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever.

That isn’t an ideology, it isn’t even a perverted faith - it is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder and we know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other. I said yesterday to the International Olympic Committee, that the city of London is the greatest in the world, because everybody lives side by side in harmony. Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack. They will stand together in solidarity alongside those who have been injured and those who have been bereaved and that is why I’m proud to be the mayor of that city.

Finally, I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life.

I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others - that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail.

In the days that follow look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential.

They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don’t want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail."

I see nothing in there about "you didn't kill too many of us.  we only lost 50 people, so your attack was not a success".