The Arab protests have typically used Friday prayers as a rallying point, and today was no different in multiple hot spots.

In case you’re coming to this late, we know of at least three dead in Yemen from anti-government protests, with police firing tear gas, rubber bullets, and according to some protesters, live rounds. Libya’s security forces are shooting protesters indiscriminately. And in the most shocking massacre, Bahraini forces from an overhead helicopter fired into a crowd of thousands. There are varying degrees of media access in these countries, so we probably don’t have the full picture. But we know this much: this is a day of blood. And, in response, we get this boilerplate from the White House.

“No longer can we as a nation look the other way when ‘stable’ dictators sacrifice human rights and freedoms in the name of security,” Feingold said in statement. “This is a recipe for failure. The United States must engage with the people of Egypt to understand the hopes they have for their country, and then the U.S. can play a constructive role in helping Egypt achieve its goals.”