I read your posts Mike, and while some of your points may be valid the most noteworthy being North Korea, what I disagreed with I have already posted my opinions on. I am sorry if you feel I disregarded your thoughts.

About North Korea, you are right. I think they are scared shitless right now. Why? Because we actually have a President with balls that is willing to do what is right for the US no matter what world opinion may be. Bush labeled Iraq, Iran, and NK as an Axis of Evil...and rightly so. Then he goes into Iraq and removes the ruling party in a matter of weeks (this is not to say the war is over and things are fine now in Iraq). Of course they are scared...they are affraid they are next. And I think that is a good thing. Because it sends a clear message to them that there are consequences to not shaping up.

I think the press overblew the whole memo from Rumsfeld. So he sent a memo to his senior staff and generals? Wouldn't you do the same thing prior to acknowledging the fact to the public? I would. I think he has been pretty honest with the American people...Iraq is not as bad as the media would like it to be. Chris Matthews, a Democrat BTW, had great shows last week dedicated to the real story in Iraq with Bob Arnott. Funny how we never really heard anything about what Arnott was reporting in the traditional media outlets.

As for Iraq being a threat to the US I think the NY Posts article this past Saturday on the links and connections between Saddam and Osama speak for themselves. Going into Iraq was the right thing to do. It is that plain and simple.

Onto the Patriot Act. While I admit it is flawed, and gives law enforcement too broad powers, the basic underlying principle of it is for the good of the US and a complete repeal would be worse for the US than its current form now. And I like how it could only be a right opportunists that allowed the Patriot Act to have such vast sweeping powers. And I disagree with providing people doing suspicous, and possibly terrorist activities having the same level of privacy protection as someone else. If you give lawenforcement a reason to investigate you then lawenforcement should, unhindred. If they are wrong then they are wrong and you should be issued an appology. But in today's world I would much rather be wrong about investigating the wrong person than not investigating the right person.