Kim C. - I am sorry if I offended your sensibilities. I do think you started this thread as a serious inquiry. I applaud anyone who chooses to open a discussion to gain insight into an issue. Like you say, lets put all of the speculation into a pot and stir it up. Maybe we will someday find a little bit of truth. It is doubtful if we will ever know the whole truth.

Although I have never met any of the Mudcatters, after awhile, it becomes quite evident who is being honest (at least from their heart) and who is spewing hatred. Anything a 'hate monger' has to say is not worth listening to.

Although I have been accused of hating Americans, it is not true. I do, however, question how the land of my birth has evolved. It saddens me because I know the American people are generally not mean spirited and ignorant. When I criticize, I am speaking in general terms and those terms can usually be extended to the country of my residence because I know that the U.S.A. is a role model for the world. It is a privilege to be an American citizen but that privilege carries with it a very big responsibility. Part of that responsibility is to question and criticize the government. When citizens stop doing that and accept the word of the government with 'blind faith', the ideals of democracy are dead.

I love the rebel that is America. I despise the cowardice of the status quo and when the 'establishment' is content to sit in the lap of luxury and ignore the plight of the oppressed, I weep.