There are no silver linings…

…behind events like today's. There can be value, though, in the hard lessons such events offer, if we're willing to learn and set our course by what we've learned. Tim Grieve checks in on that Kerry fella and finds him setting a positive agenda for Americans...

There are "thoughts and prayers" for the people of London, expressions of solidarity with Tony Blair, and the obligatory alliteration about how the future belongs "not to fear, but to freedom." But there is also this...

...Kerry says that the London attacks "remind us that the fight is far from over" and underscore the need to complete "the unfinished work of homeland security, strengthening our port security, rail security, protecting chemical plants, and securing loose nuclear materials abroad."

What's the state of that work? A spate of recent reports suggests that Kerry has it about right -- "unfinished."

It's work we can do, though. Work we must do. Work we need every able hand at home for, too.

Greive offers background and perspective worth the price of admission at Salon.