Both extremists on both sides need a swift punch to their voice-boxes methinks.

Let me get one thing straight before I make this post. I love America and Americans. Most of my relatives and many of my friends are Americans. The U.S.A. since 1800 has been the #1 athletic, cultural, intellectual, politcal and technological superpower. Many people criticize the U.S.A. without knowing the great contributions that the country has made to the growth of human civilization. To list them all would be a Herculean but needless endeavour as they are so well known. To criticize the American people without reason is, needless to say, just plain ignorant and stupid. However, legitimate criticism of the American Government that is actually based on valid facts or opinions is not only acceptable but absolutely necessary in order to further the search for peace in the world. This criticism is not only needed outside the U.S. but inside it too. I include this little preamble to my post not because I feel that I have to prove my love and respect for the U.S. and Americans but because in these troubled times the accusation of anti-Americanism much like anti-Semitism (a misnomer as Arabs are Semites as well) has been bandied about so much that it has lost most of its meaning. This does not only a disservice to real, legitimate victims of anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism it serves as an attempt to blackball people and scare them from voicing their opinions.

Having said all this, Let's take a look at the more notable members of the "American Taliban" and some members I nominate for this group.

John Ashcroft

Pat Buchanan

George Bush

George Bush Jr.

Ann Coulter

Jerry Falwell

Jesse Helms

Rush Limbaugh

Pat Robertson

Rick Santorum

Laura Schlessinger

Jimmy Swaggart

Wow, they are not as bad as the Taliban but I think these tweleve are some of the most hated people in the world. My nominees for the "American Taliban" are:

Madeline Albright, Dick Chaney, Tucker Carlson, Louis Farrakhan, Benny Hinn, Daniel Pipes, Condoleeza Rice, John Rocker, Donald Rumsfeld, O.J. Simpson and Jack and Rexella Van Impe.

Oh yeah, and I'd like to nominate Barbara Amiel, David Asper, Leonard Asper, Paul Bernardo, Andre Boisclair, Scott Brison, Gilles Duceppe, Karla Homolka, Real Menard, Alex Munter, Kyle Rae and Svend Robinson for the "Canadian Taliban."

True, arguable, not, true, true.

Well, it looks like the Canadian "Taliban" as we've called them will get a boost, because from what I've hearing, Martin is about to be ousted in the elections along with the rest of the liberal party members... :p

Jasani, you love lists don't you. :p

I actually know someone, and I tease her rotten about it, that had a wierd list habit. It was so bad she actually kept a list of the lists she had.

T.G., yeah man, I've got some sort of a list fetish I guess. I think it's natural though. I mean what's more natural than the human desire to quantify? "How much money do you make?" "How much is that baseball card worth?" "How old are you?" "What time is last call?" "What are top 10 countries by GDP?" and so forth...Ok, maybe I'm the only one who cares about that last one. I'm not at the point where I make lists of all the lists I have, but I don't think I have a very long walk to get there.

Double-J, it may surprise you to hear this but I intend to vote for Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada in the upcoming election. I consider myself a Centre-Left person because I would say that I am conservative on some issues (crime, gay marriage, the size of government and its responsibilities, tobacco and alcohol control and others) and I am liberal on other issues (abortion, the death penalty, immigration, marijuana and prostitution legalization, the seperation of Mosque/Church/Synagogue and state and others). I did vote for Prime Minister Paul Martin and the Liberal Party in the last (2004) election because I felt that he did an extremely good job as Finance Minister under Prime Minister Jean Chretien, I thought that he would work hard on issues such as Senate Reform and establishing a EEE Senate and fixed election dates, and I wanted to reward the Liberal Party for helping the U.S. in Afghanistan and abstaining from the war on Iraq. While Martin has not been an absolute disaster as Prime Minister and he has manouvred around some shaky territory in a Minority Parliament situation I think that Stephen Harper is more serious about issues such as Senate Reform/establishing fixed election dates, crime, national unity, limiting the extent of government and other issues. His promise to lower the General Sales Tax (G.S.T. which is now at 7%) to 5% within 5 years doesn't hurt either. I sincerely hope that Mr. Harper wins the election and wins a majority government. With the polls looking like he will do so, I think the immediate future of Canada is going to be in very capable hands.