just another reason why i'm glad to be an American

i've ranted and raved, both vocally and on the web, for years. if i see or hear of something that pisses me off, or that i feel is going to endanger me or my family, or my country, i'm a raving fool. I've chimed in on various forums on the web since i first discovered the internet. I've left many many rants against the government's apparent collusion with foreign governments that simply were not in our interest. a specific point would be the sale and dissemination of missle guidance systems by Raytheon to the chinese, ostensibly for communications satellites, but the system and the programs were bought and paid for originally by the american public for use in the intercontinental ballistic missle. not something i would willingly give to our next global competitor for markets and ideology. the clinton administration had no problems with doing so, even following the revelation that the plans for the W-88 multi-warhead nuclear device had been stolen/given/fill in the blank from the nuclear labs in los alamos, and had ended up in china. a plus b equals ? so anyway, that is old news, but illustrates the fact that i stood up, and using my own name and website, raved against the policy. i did not end up in jail. i got a lot of interesting emails and comments, but i did not end up in jail.
now fast forward a couple of years. i'm still out there spewing invective and railing against what i believe to be programs or laws that are counter to our constitution. but, i'm still not in jail.
that would not be the case were i to live in other parts of the world. take iran as a case in point. for all of the hand wringers and snivelers out there bitching about the repressive government here in the u.s., and the horrors patriot act and satan incarnate john ashcroft, even the aclu has no cases or briefs filed regarding abuses of the act. yup, i'm sure glad i'm an american.