I always love it when people from Europe start USA-bashing. Um, who do you think white U.S.Americans ARE, you noodle-heads? They're children of YOUR great-grandparents, who came here because they wanted to get away from you jerks who stayed behind (whether out of cowardice or because you were the ones in control and making life miserable for them, or some other reason).

The US&A has its problems, and has had them. But let's look at our so-called "empire." Of all the wars we've fought in the last 100 years, how many have been wars of expansion? Phillipines -- independent. Cuba -- independent. Mexico -- independent. Germany and all of western Europe -- independent. Japan -- independent. This is hardly imperialist expansion.

I'll be the first to admit what we did to the aboriginal North Americans ("Indians" and "Eskimos") was abhorrent, and we owe them a hell of a lot in repayment for it. (Don't tell my Republican friends; they think there's nothing to do with the budget surplus but give it to the rich.)

However, leaving that aside (for the moment), our relations (as a nation) with other peoples have NOT been expansionistic. (Admittedly some major corporations have done horrid things in the middle Americas to keep the cash flow going, and I abhor what the government has done to back them!)

In short, we Americans know we have problems, and get mighty pissed off when people from some third-world nation like Scotland start telling us we're the Evil Empire incarnate.

We sing "the land of the free and the home of the brave" because that's what we ASPIRE to be. Maybe we aren't there yet. But we want to be, and will keep working on it (current resident of oval office notwithstanding).

Alex.