Paranoia strikes deep, into your life it will creep

Extremists often use fear as part of their sales pitch. Far right militia types warn of Black Helicopters flown by UN thugs coming to impose One World government. Frustrated former Cold Warriors fear "creeping socialism." And passionate (and sometimes fanatic) gun fanciers fear a government that might take away their only means of self-defense.

Fear as a marketing tool is nothing new. Scare people into thinking that someone or something is out to get them and you really have power over a person. National Socialists knew this. And GWBush knows this:

"I'm asking for your vote again and I'm running because there's more to do to keep this country safer," George Bush told supporters in the battleground state of Ohio as the threat of a new terrorist attack still gripped the country.

"One of the lessons of September 11 is we face a deadly foe who will kill on a moment's notice to try and shake our confidence and our will."

But here's something about the militia machos, the Red Dawn lovers, the "from my cold dead fingers" types that might be worth considering: The Iraqi insurgency is you.

Imagine if the Black Helicopters were real, and they came swooping into your town
to declare martial law, and confiscate all your precious 1st Amendment rights and 2nd Amendment hardware. The fear you have all lived under, the outright paranoia flamed by Militias and the NRA has the government winning, confiscating your family farm and making your children go to public school.

But in the environmental classroom known as Iraq, the Government, as represented by Chalabi's goons and American troops, can barely keep one small area of Baghdad safe for visiting Congresspersons and politicians. Instead of ruling with an iron fist, America's finest fighting forces are constantly besieged by insurgent factions willing to suicide bomb the "Invaders."

So all you paranoids on the right, take an object lesson from this debacle. If America's best soldiers can't secure Iraq, how can the Black Helicopters of the UN take over America. After all, wouldn't you be willing to die for your country?