It's only surprising that Bush hasn't claimed another addition to his bursting portfolio of foiled post-9/11 attacks. The evildoers may be wiley bastards, but their biological warfare chops are hopeless, alhamdulilbuddha. Will their third attempt finally pay off - a pox on 'pax' arbusta? Stand by for breaking news, brought to you by the shills at Brand Terrorism .

I understand praying for patience, calm, moral courage, and admire people who have integrated the practice into everyday life. But I found this essay by Anne Lamott trivial and sickly self-indulgent - like an episode of "Touched by an Angel" or "Promised Land". As such, I'm not surprised by the ridicule it - and she - have received. I applaud Salon's patronage of the personal essay as a general consideration, but believe this particular piece would have fit better in a faith-based publication.

I think Jesus said, and Anne Lamott would agree, that every human is precious, everyone is in some sense a diamond. Including the carpet guy. I say this as an historical serial religionist - Catholic, Mormon, Muslim - and a current areligionist.

This threat presented itself, and we believe it was necessary to use deadly force," Bauer said.

The speaker was Jim Bauer, special agent in charge of the air marshals' office in Miami, not Jack Bauer of CTU. And he spoke seemingly without irony. The truth is as obvious as it is unpleasant: no threat presented itself. If the marshals perceived a threat, that speaks to their training and perhaps too much time watching 24. Other passengers who have gotten through the filter and reported what they saw and heard, did perceive what was going on. I hope some of them were screaming to their interrogators, once the guns were pointed away from their heads, "What the fuck have you goons DONE?"

The perceptual difference might well be in the mindset: air marshals, like US police, are trained to view their environment as hyper hostile, and they routinely treat those they engage with excessive force, both physical and "spiritual" (for lack of a better word). All in the name of protecting something that is being squeezed out of the American body politic.

Another dozen reasons why I'm glad to have abandoned that troubled country for a new life in New Zealand. Requiescat Bush aeterno in tormento.

Cary's apparent wealth bias has been noted by several readers and I won't rehash it. But the epigrammatic flury that he closes the article with is even more ludicrous: "we always try to learn from our mistakes in foreign lands". This doesn't reflect my experience with Americans overseas, who have usually been more interested in teaching their foreign "friends" - especially asianafricqanarabmuslimsouthamerican ones.

All the whining diatribes and supercilious threats to unsubscribe by pseudonymous posters complaining about Salon's publishing other people's whining drivel are almost too precious to bear. Almost as silly as the carefully composed vanity handles that say something clever about the poster. Almost as contemptible as the middle class cult of privacy that seems to count as a primary value for so many here. And I am sick to death of the "progressive" tax payers who support American wars in contradiction to their basic principles, and hide their convictions from co-workers for fear of employment reprisal or social distemper. Fuck you preening, self-justifying, self-deceiving, self-congratulatory enablers of hegemony.

And can't any of you whingers read? If you want to remain anonymous or slyly pseudonymous, the new policy doesn't prevent it. It just says you will be less likely get the teacher's star by your name for being a good critic. Your grievance amounts to nothing more than you will be less likely to be highlighted. Heart breaking. A compelling moral/ethical/political/philosophical issue if ever I've seen one. Now watch this drive.

Not that it matters, but I have almost always written under my real name since the birth of this medium about 15 yrs ago, citing my real city, not only on Salon, but on a variety of other sites, many of them right wing. No stalkers yet, but plenty of hate mail. If it gets me murdered (how characteristically American to indulge in this hysterical hyperbole), well, I embrace what I believe. Bring on the crazy, disgusting, upsetting variety of opinions carefully prepared or spontaneously vomited up by your readers. I'll use the editor's choice star feature if I get tired of them.

And by the way, Salon is as much a business as Fox News. They're hoping to increase readership with this feature. I'm satisfied that my few cents a day for a premium subscription is still a bargain. Salon isn't what it was at first. But it has survived where others have failed. When I decide to give up Salon, I won't burden any of you with a pompous announcement.

Oh, and death to American militarism.

PS. Sisyphus, keep pushing. I'm sure you'll get there eventually