Well said, Weasel. Well said.

I have travelled to South Asia this year for business and as it usually goes, we ended up in going out and doing a lot of talking with guys from all over the world. After a few drinks we stopped talking business and started socializing and at some point people turned to me and said, "What is going on in America?" So for hours I had to answer questions like:

- If the majority of Americans are against the war in Iraq, why are you there?

- America was built by pioneers and people who thought outside the box. Is it not time for you guys to have a revolt or something; otherwise, it looks like you really like the crap that is going on?

- How did Bush become the president? [It is said that people who speak English as a second language can spot mistakes in our president's speeches.]

- How can you possibly have a recession? We see all these big cars and houses that Americans own?

- Why would you not want to have universal coverage? Swiss watch industry considers American to be its bread and butter. It is not like you don't have money...

- Etc.

These guys wanted to understand what was going on because many of them have business ties to the U.S. in some way or another. Some of them considered moving to the U.S. for work. The older ones were fascinated by the fact that a country that once stood for freedom and democracy has been drifting in the opposite direction. Nobody from the group denied the fact that other countries in the world had their own problems and our debates touched various areas of the world. I guess my buddies were surprised by the fact that issues in the U.S. started to surface at an alarming rate during the past decade.

As for this thread, fuck it. Arguing on the Internet is like participating in Special Olympics: Even if you win, you're still retarded.