Look - you can say whatever you want, defend this sort of thing however you choose, but the simple fact is that people living in countries outside the U.S. are not buying it the way so many Americans obviously are.

Canada is the U.S.'s biggest trading partner, largest undefended border, etc., etc. Nobody knows the States like Canadians. We used to be best friends. I would argue that that has changed - many of my friends have acknowledged in private conversation that they plan no further trips south of the border, & that they sure as hell are glad that they're on this side of it. I can only imagine that many people in Europe & elsewhere have made a similar decision in the past year or so.

Simply put, your country (& BTW I'm a dual citizen so I guess it's 'my' country too) is seriously, dangerously f**ked up. The closest analogy I can think of is a cop's mind. In a cop's mind, if you get any crap, you lash back, you crush the person bugging you, so they will never think of giving you crap again (if they're even able). Expecting protestors? Bring twice as many cops, & outfit them with shields, billy clubs, cameras, guns, trucks - just go WAY overboard. That is what the U.S. is doing. In no way would I compare the U.S. (& its current policies) with repressive regimes of the past - but I would say that the U.S. is becoming, for all intents & purposes, a police state.

Frankly, there's not a whole lot most people (or nations) can do about that - that's part of what makes it so scary. Still, it sickens me to come on here & see what I would assume to be rational, intelligent folks defending these kind of rampant stupid moves (ie. PATRIOT Act) as sensible or necessary. Of course it's your right. That doesn't make it right.

I'm raving a little bit here, yes, b/c I'm so pissed off. I used to come to the U.S. at least once a year - I have all my life. I know most Americans are decent people, but your government is approaching the rest of the world - not to mention its own citizens - like a cokehead cop whose decided that this is the end of the movie & he's going to break out the big guns & kick some serious ass or something. It's gone past being scary, now it's plain crazy. I just want to get out of the cop's sight at this point.