I feel like dress socks differentiate you in a different way - especially men in suits who just have the traditional business suit. The dress sock is the way to change it up in your mind and I like wearing my pants up higher so you see them.
As with almost every significant aspect of the Bush presidency, its handling of 9/11 was a catastrophe from start to finish.
It's totally mistaken to suppose that an armed escort is going to give a journalist any protection - on the contrary, journalists who turn up surrounded by armed personnel are just turning themselves into targets and in even worse danger.

