Not the first time my government bought nothing more than a bill of goods. We've spent billions on hardware that no one wanted.

I've known people who grew up in the film industry (i.e., had a parent who worked on sets, make-up, etc). These are people who do not believe something just because they saw a photo or video; they aren't overly suspicious, but they know how lighting, camera angle, etc., can impact one's perception.

As a behaviorist I have wondered how the internet will impact children, who learn that just because someone wrote or filmed something, doesn't make it truthful. Will that instill in them a healthy system of disbelief? Will they more likely ask themselves how they know what they know? I'd like to think so, but with the popularity of Faux News, I am not encouraged.

Wasn't it nice to see Obama express a little anger over the recent Intelligence clusterfark? Still, it seems that we live in a glass house, and keep giving our neighbors rocks and plenty of reason to throw them. Those who engage in foreign policy should read Burdick's The Ugly American, to learn how to win hearts and minds. (And a replay of JFK's inaugural speech, as a reminder of what the US has since done to itself.)

I know I'm preachin' to the choir here, UK Bob. My neighbor's son, now living in the UK, tells everyone there that he's Canadian. I heard the ex-President of Ireland say that she was sad that the US is no longer a beacon for Human Rights.

I better go and take my medication.