As the United States embarks on a campaign against international terrorism abroad, it is important that we carefully consider what such a conflict could mean for our freedoms here at home. Wars often give rise to conditions of secrecy and suppression of dissent that are antithetical to democracy. Pro-war commentators have been merciless in their attacks on the few vocal dissenters from the Bush administration's anti-terrorism campaign, describing dissenters as a "cult of national suicide," describing them as "fifth column" allies of Osama bin Laden, and calling for action to suppress "anti-American rallies" on college campuses.

During the Vietnam War some peace activists rejected and burned the American flag, embracing instead the flag of Vietnam's National Liberation Front fighting against the United States. When some U.S. peace activists traveled to Vietnam their Vietnamese hosts questioned their turning against their own flag as an unpatriotic blunder that allowed the Nixon government to make the American flag into a symbol of support for the war, marginalizing those who called for peace. Three decades later, will peace activists learn from past blunders and embrace the stars and stripes?

Environmental activist and college instructor Adrienne Anderson has been the victim of an "outrageous" defamation campaign at the hands of the PR department of Colorado's largest sewage plant, and a judge has hit the plant with a $450,000 damage award. According to the Denver Post, the judge has ordered the sewage district "to publicly apologize in a full page ad." The Post notes that the judge "singled out Metro's public relations director Steven M. Frank for harsh criticism, concluding that Frank made false statements under oath." The ruling came after Anderson "claimed that Lowry Landfill accepted radioactive waste from the Rocky Flats (nuclear) bomb plant, material that the district's sewage system was unable to safely treat. Processed wastewater leaving the sewage plant ends up in the South Platte River; leftover sludge is used as fertilizer on a district property east of Denver. Anderson and other activists say the process simply dilutes hazardous waste and spreads it out where the public might be exposed to it." The judge found "there was 'overwhelming' evidence that the district's 'five-year history of illegal and retaliatory action' had damaged Anderson's professional reputation and career."

Coca-Cola has hired the lobbying firm Holland & Knight to ward off Federal restrictions on vending machines in schools, reports O'Dwyer's PR Daily. Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy has introduced a bill that would prohibit schools participating in the national school lunch program from selling soda and candy. Leahy was critical of soda manufacturers for pushing their products at children in a "captive market." He also cited a study linking soda consumption to child obesity and diabetes.

PR trade publication O'Dwyer's PR interviewed PR practioners about what they see the profession contributing in the aftermath of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. O'Dwyer's reports, "The greatest service PR pros can provide in support of the country is to ensure that the consumer continues to buy, says Maureen Lippe, CEO of Lippe Taylor Marketing PR." However, pitches should try to have a "sensitive and mindful" tone and avoid frivolity.