JustinTime,

Lighten up!

Enjoy a good laugh when it is presented. The issue of survival is grave enough by itself, especially in a period of terrorists' threats which they have shown they are earnest about carrying out. Occasional levity makes life a lot more pleasant. Humor to some extent, and laughter per se are not political. I laughed at the " *NEW* French Survival Knife" because it is hilarious. I commend it and those who proffered it for the same reason. Although the French government has acted inimically to the U.S., I do not hate France. But if it appears ludicrous, I'm not going to suppress a hearty laugh either. My wife is of one-fourth (1/4) French extraction. She laughed as hard as I did.

Just because the humor does not comport with your own personal view of the world, that does not mean that the rest of the world should not enjoy it.

This is at least the fourth time in the last three months when the voices of intolerance have tried to censor a discussion or theme because they deemed it offensive to their taste or politically incorrect. Censorship consists of suppressing or hiding from the public view something that the censor does not like or does not wish to be considered. This is a survival forum. We need to consider all sides of issues where our survival may be at stake. To ignore inconvenient or unattractive matters due to bias or prejudice is not only foolhardy but it's also the very antithesis of realistic survival planning and behavior.

I also notice that while you claim to decry the introduction of politics into this forum, you do that in the process of slipping in your own anti-American canard. Apophasis is the old debate technique of emphatically arguing a point while denying that you would ever mention it. It's a little too sly and sophistic for me.

Incidentally, PRESIDENT "Bush", and the U.S. Congress which supports him are carrying out their Constitutional mandated duties to protect and defend the United States from terrorists who have or would attack us and those who support terrorists. The USA owes a debt of gratitude to Britain for the assistance of the British military, and the unflagging support of Prime Minister Blair and three-fourths (3/4) of Parliament. While this last paragraph may seem to verge on the political, it is also too self-evidently true to be contentious.

Time to get off my soap box.

John

P.S. If you want to discuss this further, send me a PM so we don't use up Doug's forum space.