Charles:

I agree with you that Michael Moore is rediculously one sided and uses material that is not always meaningful. But he is probably better known because he makes movies instead of books.

I have not read Robert Woodwards latest book but when I saw him interviewed he was not endearing toward the Whitehouse in that he uncovered some serious problems between Powell and Cheney; and the intelligence disagreement over the "Yellow cake" from Nigeria.

I have only quoted one issue from Michael Moore's movie about the lack of security along the coast of the US. I could just as easily have quoted John Kerry. I quoted that issue because I think it is true. We both have large coast lines and it is pretty difficult to secure.

The general thrust of my arguement is that we could probably spend $1 on listening to the other side and save $1000 on defending ourselves. I know the party line is that you can't negotiate with terrorists. It is on this point that I disagree. These people are human just like we are and making a tremendous commitment to their cause. I have stated elsewhere in this thread what I believe the terrorists are mad about. These guys aren't attacking the US because they have nothing else to do. If you can address what is making them mad, they will stop attacking and go back to their normal way of life.