But Doug, when you suggest to someone that they consider moving, you are just using a variant of that line, as I suggested. I agree with you that there are so many more things that are positive about our country than there are negatives. And they have been enunciated by myself and others many times in this forum. But we should never forget that what makes this so is the right of our citizens to dissent, dissect, debate, and ultimately change. The framers of the Constitution felt that they could give great power to the branches of Government, but that they must have the checks and balances so that no one person, party, or branch could ever get too powerful. And the ultimate check and balance is often ignored. That is the power of the people as expressed through politics. This is what keeps this country free of armed revolution. Respect for rule of law, and the ability of the citizenry to peacefully overthrow the existing structure through debate and then vote. What is happening right now is a usurpation of many of our rights and liberties under the guise of a "war on terrorism". And I ask again, who gets to define what constitutes terrorism? If the Saudi populace rose up against their rulers, would they be terrorists? Would we have defined Nelson Mandela a terrorist? C'mon, Doug. You know I have great respect for you, but this whole thing is a deliberate attempt to fuzzy up the battle so the real agenda isn't obvious.

And by the way, you didn't get drafted into the unit I was in. Had to volunteer.

Mick