I've been accosted by 3 patrol cars myself...imtimidating, to say the least. However, I remained courteous and the issue was soon resolved. I was NOT the burglary suspect that the cops were looking for.

America has a lot of faults as a nation, no doubt about it. Real freedom is never really free, so we Americans often pay a price for it. There is real freedom of speech here in the US, unlike Canada and Europe where politically unpopular speech can be a crime. With that freedom comes a lot of inflamatory and even derogatory speech, but it's all in the US universe of ideas.

Ann Coulter was recently shouted down by a group of students in Canada who apparently though they had the right to determine which words and ideas were suitable for listening to, and which were not. I'm sure they felt just so justified and proud of themselves, while wallowing in their own arrogance and hubris. I am not a fan of Coulter's attack and bate style of provocation, but she has the right, at least in America, to express those views in a peaceful manner. As does dailykos.com and the huffington post and Rush Limbaugh, etc. When the government begins to determine what the citizens can read and what they can hear in the political arena, despotism is just around the corner.

In western democratic states the citizens can determine how much freedom they are willing to give up for security and comfort. Personally, I don't want a bunch of bureaucrats telling me how to lead my life or what I can say or not say. I do understand that millions of folks are willing to give up some freedom for the warm, fuzzy feeling that the nanny state can offer, but count me out.

I am not a Tea Party follower or a member of any political party...I have been a registered independent for over 40 years now. I like to make up my own mind on issues that affect my freedom, and dislike being preached to by political hacks of any movement or party. I loath politicians because they are almost all self-serving sycophants with huge egos, and are not in politics to serve the public, but because they desire power and money. Political parties are there to support these unfortunate ambitions.

Fire, the wheel, and the I IV V -- foundations of civilization.