Idiocy on a grand scale.

One of the reasons -- perhaps the biggest reason -- I no longer involve myself in politics is the incredible stupidity of our so-called "leaders" and those who support them most loudly.

The best example is the USA's alleged "war on terror."

For starters, I resent those -- such as our president -- who are continually babbling about "staying the course" and how "we have to make sacrifices." They don't make any sacrifices; a solid majority of them never have made any. What they do is send other peoples' children off to make the sacrifices, and spend other peoples' money in support of their agendas.

Nor do they give necessary support to those who do put it all on the line. Our military are muzzled by a ridiculous notion that "wars" can be won without inflicting serious damage on the opposition. This comes perhaps from the equally bizarre desire to be universally loved, which we never have been and never will be. Had we employed this strategy in World War II, we'd still be fighting the Germans and Japanese.

The opponents of the way the "war on terror" is being handled are equally hypocritical. For whatever reason, they scream about the "abuses" perpetrated by American soldiers (isolated incidents when balanced against the total picture) and totally ignore the inhuman butchery of the enemy. Have Johns Kerry or McCain or Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Teddy Kennedy or the rest of the ranting loons in D.C. denounced the brutality inflicted on their soldiers? They have not, and neither have their mindless followers among the media and the public.

There is a disconnect here that I find frightening. To the politicians and their shills, those who risk and sometimes lose their lives while defending the nation -- and those civilians who died on 9/11 -- are nameless pawns in a larger game.

It is a game that will continue to be played until the public wakes up and replaces the self-satisfied, self-important would-be leaders of the world in Washington with others who understand the true human and financial costs of their policies.

In the meantime, our soldiers are doing their duty, protecting those of us at home. They are the true heroes, not the president or members of Congress. They should be given the unconditional support they need to get the job done and come home safely.

Better still, they should be replaced in the field by those who are so willing to "make sacrifices" and "stay the course."