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We have invited Specialist Shoshanna Johnson, the brave African American woman taken prisoner during the war, to attend our Military Affairs Dinner Wednesday night

But we'll continue to have our say.

At the NAACP, we long ago learned our lesson about not speaking out in times of war.

In the summer of 1918, on the eve of America's entry into World War I, one of our founders, Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, urged blacks "to forget our special grievances and close ranks shoulder to shoulder with our fellow citizens and the allied nations that are fighting for democracy."

The criticism he faced then was immediate and loud. He quickly reversed his position and realized then - as we must realize now - that when wars are fought to save democracy, the first casualty is usually democracy itself.

We ought to remember the words of Ohio Senator Robert Taft, who said two weeks after Pearl Harbor was attacked:

"I believe there there can be no doubt that criticism in time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of democratic government."

And the words of President Theodore Roosevelt, who said in 1918,

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonous to the American public."

So we will continue to oppose any nominee to the federal courts who opposes us - such as William Pryor, whose nomination to this Circuit's Court of Appeals is pending. Pryor, currently Alabama's Attorney General,

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