Hi Kathy, Thank you for your invite. The patriot act may have a few open windows, but the fear arises out of public mistrust of the proper handling of our rights. I for one don't mind the possibility of having a phone conversation tapped on accident as the feds are searching for terro cells in the US. Last week here in Texas, we had a college student open a roll of quarters with Rycin, the poison used to kill 28 people on a Japanese subway train. Then there was the radical in N.C. that drove through a group of former classmates in the name of Islam. Masoui and crew worked and trained here for years, as did the 911 highjackers. Everyone wants of government to protect us, but no-one wants to give up a little privacy for that protection. That makes you wonder what the nay sayers have to hide. If the Feds listen to my phone, they will hear my wife telling my secrets to her sister who will tell everyone anyway, or me talking business. I wonder if there are any NSA agents in my downlines yet. The lat time I ws on Yahoo chat at mid day, I saw what had to be 400+ Islamics chatting away, the arabic sybols were moving so fast, only a pro could read them all. Most of these chatters were here in the US. Some were in Canada, and the UK, so yes I think these chats and conversations do need some monitoring. Two possible terror attacks in two weeks, if the Feds were not tied up in politics, they might have been prevented. Even if there was no loss of life, next time it could be the office where you work, or the school were your kids are. This mess of letting polititions turn our defence into campaign fodder, has got to stop. We need to tell them at the polls that, we prefer protection to opportunism. Andy Zeus Anderson

Wow, great post and comments, Open borders are still a major concern, but even fences where they exist have not stopped the flow. If we are to welcome undocumented imagrants, to work in the US, we need to make it clear, no welfare, no citizenship just because you came here before your child was born, and you must pay the maximum individual tax, with no deductions until you become a legalized citizen. Employers should be checked to make sure they withold these taxes, and be forced to pay the same penalties they would if they failed to report on one of us. This would begin to dry up the stream of money flowing back to Mexico, as the remaining paycheck would not cover cost of living, for most. I lived in Arizona for 8 years, they have chopper, ATVs and radar balloons, as well as ground sensors to track migration. But once the illegals have passed it all, there is no way to keep up with investigating the companies that hire them. If we shifted our focus on the companies, and tighten the nuse a little with high fines, back taxes, and possible loss of licsence on a second offence, we would accomplish more than any wall, or 10 billion border patrol agents could ever do. Dry up the money train and win the war. No jobs, no health care, and no cheating the imagration process = no need to come accross the border. As for the claim of un-wanted jobs. The city of Pheonix list on average 27,000 un-employed. the Arizona Republic Saturday edition list over 39,000 jobs each week. But the college kids won't take anything out of thier field. I would never pass up a job offer, for salary concerns, but todays youth are brought up to milk the free money cow until they land thier dream job. Andy

Well, it finally happened. Someone takes an excellent source for positive reinforcement, like Adland, and turns in into another Democrat sponsored, Bush bashing, Hate Blog. Why don't we invite the families of those butchered on 911 to tell us what they think of The Patriot Act. Of course, if Wild Bill had done his job, instead of toying with the Interns, Osama could have been neutralized and 911 probably wouldn't have happened in the first place. By the way, I hope that any "boarders" who take a room in my Boarding House are not wide open. It could get messy.

Hello everyone, In Australia we have new Anti-Terror Laws in which our civil liberties are being slowly erroded. An Australian man of the Moslem religion was recently charged for accepting money from an terrorist organisation while he was in Pakistan two years ago. He was found guilty and is yet to be sentenced by an Australian court. Australians are watching his case with interest. A current affairs program "Four Corners" had a documentary about him about a fornight ago. The link is http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2006/s1579056.htm It summarises the program plus links to our anti terror laws and other relevant information for those who are interested. Sincerely, Christine Gleeson aka CurrencyLass Sydney, Australia

Hey Phil, My friend Kathy, has a son overseas, who has already been wounded in the line of duty. Open discussion can be good and bad, but the intent was the matter at hand. A lot of people disagree with the patriot act, I for one am in favor of it. I do however believe that it is a proccess that needs monitored. There has to be limitations and protections in place, and the media should be last to know, not first to tell. I have not seen a lot of negativity towards our president here. What I have read, has been mainly open discussion of a political affair that has potential impact on us all. It has offered a platform for all views to be discussed. I am a conservative Republican, and agree, the protection should have been left in place. Billy boy cast us as weak to the world when he failed to avenge the S.S. Cole, and that lead towards a more brazen attack on 9/11. The terorist say they reacted to Bush's public backing of Israel, but if they looked on it with open minds, it was the Bush administrations policy and negotiations that lead to the pull out from Gaza. But again, they keep coming, they will not be please until they finish Hitlers Job. Does anyone really think, that once all the Jews are wiped out by Jihad, in the middle east, that they would not continue this war on our doorsteps. They do not talk of ending a country, they speak of killing all Jews, and Christians alike. With real-estate, especially oil rich real-estate, comes power. A lot of money, buys a lot of nuclear weapons on the Russian black market. With Iran trying to make thier own, and so many countries willing to help them, this could get ugly. I know it's hard to face loss, or possible loss, but we are where we need to be right now. Andy Zeus Anderson