[CGTRWK]

Please. Ever heard of conference calling and fax machines?

Ever heard of pride or dignity? Foreigners have it too.

Look at the utter venom most people here have towards muslim countries shredding bibles at the customs desk, demanding women wear veils, jailing people for having a beer in private. Do we just conference call and fax over there with no hard feelings?

The Saudis are sitting on trillions of dollars in liquid gold. They can afford to thumb their nose at anyone they like. We can't.

And even if we could, I like to think that lacking the means isn't the only thing that seperates us - most of us - from them.

[AmericanInTokyo]

One can sense and feel the walls of America going up, even against our long time allies. I think it is a "Fortress America" bunker mentality. I understand the concern over utterly satanic islamic jehadi terrorists which must be squished out like cockroaches on an OFFENSIVE basis (overseas, until they are all killed), but this new DHS approach dreamed up by whiz kid bureaucrats in D.C. seems like a bit of an overreaction if you ask me...considering that America's "back door" (border with Mexico) is porous and wide open! Seems just only like legal and perhaps a bit more well-to-do educated residents and visitors from abroad who come with some goodwill (and welcome, fat wallets) through America's Front Door (our Airports) from ally countries are being or will be penalized, while we cannot DARE give that Islamic woman in the burqua the double scrutiny at Cleveland's Hopkins Airport, or the white American granny of 85 or WWII vet in Dallas, TX is rudely frisked or having his/her artificial hip wanded time and again at security. Don't even get me started on the illegal alien gangbangers and repeat offenders on our soil and the breaks and considerations they get.

People overseas outside looking in at America are going to vote with their feet, I suspect. The TIA figures are already out over the last 10 years, and more and more people overseas are giving up visiting the US because of these hassles. (I suppose that will appeal to some people.) I for one am not paranoid of touring foreigners as short guests nor in business, though. No wonder (also thanks of course to a US liberal media broadcast overseas) so many foreigners now openly disdain or at least relegate America--a trend starting from Clinton's days-- but their opinions would change if they actually met a real American on American soil and experienced first hand the genuinue hospitality and good naturedness. With the added hassle, what's the point?