I'm getting tired of hearing from Ben Franklin. Every time a debate over civil liberties restrictions in the war on terrorism starts, it's only a matter of time before someone will haul out this quote: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

I'm not saying the quote is necessarily wrong, or that I disagree with the point people are making by using it (attentive readers will have noticed a bit of a civil libertarian streak in this blog). What annoys me is the way people say this as if it's an argument in itself. Just because Ben Franklin had a pithy summation of your view doesn't make your view any more right.