When I posted my letter yesterday, I really was not interested in starting a flame war, although I realized this was a possibility. I'm not a warblogger and don't want to be one--nothing sounds more tedious and repetitive to me. What I do believe in, I guess, is the idea of starting a dialogue with the government.

Granted, a letter and a form-letter response is not much of a dialogue. But what's the alternative? You can't hold a peace march every day. Is the alternative, then, silence? Mindful consumption? Quit the party and start your own?

Maybe, maybe not. It depends on who you are. About 80 percent of the time, I am an unrepentant cynic. The other 20 percent of the time, I still believe that our elected officials need to hear the voice of the people. Not the media, not the polls, not radio talk shows. And that's why I wrote the letter.

I almost hesitate to go on in this vein, because finding links that support your point of view can become such a game of one-upmanship. As any researcher or journalist knows, it's not too hard to find an article that supports any crank's point of view.

Similarly, celebrities with opinions are a dime a dozen. But I did enjoy reading this CNN. com interview with Janeane. (via MediaNews)

Now, patriotism is defined as love of country. It's not defined as love of militarism or love of government edicts of any kind. You know, unexamined, unintelligent patriotism, you know, my country, right or wrong, love it or leave it, gets us nowhere and results in bad country and western songs.