hello laura, well you've mentioned the way Bush was elected... that made some memories come up here, memories about the public outrage i witnessed back then. Some people started being really afraid of what they guessed would happen with Bush as the leader of the one and only remaining super power. i was one of them, and it's an uncanny feeling seeing all of these fears becoming real just now. i've spent a lot of my childhood in the United States, it's very good memories of a peacefull, stable and self-conscious country. What i've been thinking of during the last months, in fact ever since 9/11, is the way the atmosphere in the US has changed from stability to concern, and yes, almost panic.. It's outrageous to imagine the new way of life terrorism has brought upon all US residents. "If we let them change the way we live, the terrorists have already won" what does one draw from that statement? have they already won? it makes me terribly sad to see how people's lives are being affected- and that's a universal phenomenon, fear does not differentiate between pro-war and anti-war citizens. i feel sorry for all of the good-hearted people i know in the US, all suffering from "heightened alert levels". by the way, "code red" would effectively mean martial law, a government spokesperson said a while ago. check indymedia international.. it's so horrible! as for the "polls"... well, there's many sociologists (if not the majority) on this list, so we all know about the vailidity of "quick polls" having the arrogance to actually represent the "public opinion". from my point of view, i belive those polls have long since become tools of propaganda. did you notice, as the war was coming closer, the polls suddenly started indicating 60 somewhat percent of the Americans actually agreeing with it? I don't believe that. I just refuse to believe that. watching the news now, dumbfounded. please take good care of yourself, everyone-- and yes, peace, peace.. max ps thanks david! :)