[Overpaid Slacker]

Christ, it looks like we could be responsible for Joe's marital strife... that is an unintended consequence of the invasion of Iraq, for sure.

It is possible, just possible, to consider the vast array of opinions and parallaxes out there and come to a conclusion, entirely of your own free will, that happens to parallel what's said in "Whitehouse press releases". It seems as though your implication is anyone believing things similar to whitehouse press releases -- who may very well have condsidered your pov in the past and rejected it in whole or in part -- is an unenlightened drone; a swine who turns their nose up at your pearls. But that's not intended to be an insult (to us).... OK. At the end of the day, if we're not fit to debate with you, then you're probably right to seek greener pastures.

Ah, and "disappointment," another crooked arrow in the Liberal quiver; but one which I thought had gone out of style after Daschle used it for the billion-and-first time a few months ago. We're not kindergarteners to be chastened by the rapproach of the school marm or guilted into contrition b/c we've let you, whose esteem is expected to mean so much to us, down. You'll get much more esteem while you're fighting the good fight than when you lay down your toys in a huff and sulk off.

One simply can't argue the merits of such a vapid statement ("Bomb people into the age of democracy") so instead, hide behind my barb, throw a bunch of ink the water and scoot off? C'mon. You've got to know that that kind of crap is fit for bumper stickers and protest placards carried surrounded by the like-minded, but in here it's going to get scorched and called what it is. Liberal tripe; a snappy substitute for thought. If you want to make the principled argument that I assume that sentence is supposed to be capturing, by all means, go right ahead -- there is definitely some merit to the claim that you can't coerce virtue and some people/cultures are immiscible (for at least stages of their development) with western liberalism and democracy.

I know everything I write is potentially subject to the scrutiny of many people with views antagonistic to my own whose stock-in-trade is ad hominem attacks. I like to think I throw my barbs with a bit more discretion, and at those I expect will be able to take them in the spirit intended.

I maintain, from my experiences living in South Africa (1 year), the Netherlands (6 months), Japan (1 month), visiting most of Europe for significant stretches at a time, and friends that are from and travel back to Arab and other oppressive regimes that governments can still very effectively control access to information. Certainly not as effectively as even 5 years ago, but part of the efficacy of the control is the severity of the punishment if you're caught outside government-approved lines.
Witness the Palestinians, who are taught from toddlers to hate the US and Israel and whose "Authority" feeds them a constant stream of hate-laced untruths. How do they find out the "Truth" -- do they even want to, after their indoctrination from birth.

I think many of the other, poorer countries (and most countries are relatively "poorer" than the United States) that don't hate us are not subject to the tyrannies many Arab countries are, and some of them actually have hope and opportunity (look at Eastern Europe, who freaking loves us). If you've got something to do to better yourself, to take care of your family and to look forward to, you're probably too busy getting on with your own ***** to hate the US or anybody else (except France...I can do that in my sleep). EDIT -- missed a segue here, while typing too fast for my thoughts, so I added the following ... Most Arabs suffering under their theocracies DO NOT have opportunities -- b/c of their own freaking governments -- and are therefore much more ripe for the "it's not our fault, it's America's fault you're poor" argument, even though the Arab world is, by design, without innovation. As I said in another thread, if you take away oil, the entire Arab world's aggregate GDP is less than Spain's. Think about that. That's the US' fault? So it's OK to hate us? Ridiculous.

And as far as the hyperbole of EVERYbody else not wanting this war, I don't give a *****, and you shouldn't either. F*ck 'em. They've been freeriding on our largess, blood and treasure for sixty years. We've gotta do something for ourselves that won't hurt them (well, except for France and Russia who were making BILLIONS off the blood of Iraqis) and they get all b!tchy about it, TFB. The US is upset with (or, even better "disappointed" with {snort}) many countries for the things they do and more often than not we're told to GFO. That's life in international politics. The fact that Schoder or Chirac or Prodi can make you personally feel guilty about the US taking care of its interests is kind of a strange "desire to be loved" thing, no? Especially when they'll do in the future, and have done in the past, whatever they believe is in the best interests of their respective constituents w/o UN approval and in spite of US opinion.

JP