"Islamabad Police Friday announced the capture of a terrorist mastermind who has confessed to his role in recent suicide attacks in the capital city, including suicide hit at WFP office, besides involvement in terrorist..."

Well Bulldog, I guess the police are better at capturing terrorist than you give them credit for.

"Treat terrorists as criminals and send the police to deal with them right? Yeah, except that they are located around the world and are armed with the most advanced weapons including RPG's and heavy machine guns. Gee, what police force is equipped to deal with that? Oh, that would be the MILITARY, fool."

Let me assure you that the CIA could handle the mission quite nicely. If you'd stop barking long enough to read a history book or two you'd realize that the CIA have successfully, even though misguidedly, brought down entire governments. And as for terrorists having military weapons, I can assure you that the CIA is capable of matching everything they have, and much, much more. After all, they are an arm of the United States government.

But even without the CIA's easy access to weaponry. The "I" in CIA stands for intelligence - a concept that is obviously remote from your field of reference. Thus, they understand that there is more than one way to attack a fort - your way, which would probably entail running headlong into the wall - and then there is the common sense way - by climbing in through the windows. Since the CIA is a covert organization, they could manage to infiltrate Al Qaeda and cut off its head.

As for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed not being Mirandized before questioning, that doesn't matter, since he had the same tendency to shoot off his mouth without thinking that you seem to share. So we had enough evidence to convict him BEFORE he was tortured. Besides that, even if we failed to get a conviction, he can still be held for the rest of his life as an enemy combatant.

Thus, the best he can hope for is spending the rest of his life in prison. On the other hand, the worse that the United States government has to fear is not being able to execute him. What we would get in return, however, would be the preservation of the American concept of being a nation that adheres to the rule of law.

But of course, bulldogs like yourself are not interested in the value of the American ideal. You see America as simply a plot of land, and could care less about the importance of American values. That's what makes you, and people of your ilk, so dangerous to the American way of life . . . fool.

Thanks Dave.

I wanted to get into some of those issues but I have an editor that's a stickler about word count. I'll be addressing those issues in another article, and then refer back to this one to connect the two.

I'm from Los Angeles so I envy your seasonal weather and closeness to nature. I never even saw the snow until I was an adult, and even now, a good rain storm is cause for celebration. I love it so much that my late wife bought me a CD with the sound thunder storms, brooks, and other sounds of nature. So just reading your description was like a virtual outing.

Great job.

Eric

It was a typo.

I'll want to take your advise, but then, something inside me keeps saying, "it's never safe to ignore ignorance."

I certainly hope you're right.

That's only because we don't hold their feet to the fire.

“A citizenry of sheep begets a government of wolves.”

Edward R. Murrow

While I clearly understand what you're saying, some things are more important than politics, individual careers, and/or strategy. Some things are about the rule of law, precedent and, principle.

If Nixon and Reagan had been brought to justice for their crimes, chances are, Bush wouldn't have committed the crimes he committed. So hundreds of thousands of people are not dead because America deemed it politically expedient to place two people above the law.

Bush and Cheney committed unconscoinable war crimes, and mounted a gross assault on the United States Constitution. If they are not held accountable for their actions, America may not survive the next group of demagogues.

I know this feeling. Its so simple, so beautiful, and so true, like most things of beauty.

It reminds me of thoughts that I've had before, but never come to mind until it's too late.

Thanks for reminding me.

"Some products are better suited to be built in other countries. SOme in this countries. Not a problem."

But it seems that the United States taxpayer is always suitable for these international corporations to run back to when they're in trouble.

GM, for example. They build cars and provide jobs all over the world, but where did they come when they were about to go under? You got it - to us. Why didn't they seek help from one of those other countries that were more "conducive" to free enterprise?

Even though I'm far less than rich, I've always felt that making the rich pay a higher percentage of their income, simply because they're rich, is a non-progressive concept. If everybody pays the same percentage of their income, simple math levels the playing field.

I'm convinced that if progressives had refrained from indulging in that little piece of hypocrisy, there'd be a lot fewer Republicans. It is an unjust policy, and should be considered un-Amrican.

But then, we often ignore our "ideals" when it's convenient - ask Cheney.

"During the last century, big business and the American people were a partnership. The business community hired us to manufacture their goods, and paid us a living wage that was sufficient to purchase those things that we manufactured. It was a symbiotic relationship. They paid us well, and guarantee a job for life, which gave us the confidence to borrow from the banks and purchased what they produced. It was perfect.

But now, in this new world economy where big business is selling their goods all over the world, and competing with countries who are paying their workers pennies a day, the American worker is no longer an asset, but a liability. Those same American businesses who once relied on the American worker are now international in scope. So they now look upon the American worker with, our relative high wages, as an extravagance that they can do without. While they still want to sell us their goods, they no longer want to pay us to produce those goods."

Things have changed.

Here's what you get when you give the vultures of the the free market free rein:

"(CBS/AP) A top court has dismissed thousands of juvenile convictions issued by a judge charged in a corruption scandal.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday threw out more than five years' worth of cases heard by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella. He is charged with accepting millions of dollars in kickbacks to send youths to private detention centers."

Thanks, Adel.

Thanks, Adel.