If I understand your point correctly (I think, it came off incoherent in a lot of places), I too agree that it seems too many freedoms are being erroded. As Jonah Goldberg quoted in one of my favorite articles of all time:

In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville warns: “It must
not be forgotten that it is especially dangerous to enslave men in the
minor details of life. For my own part, I should be inclined to think
freedom less necessary in great things than in little ones. ...”

“Subjection in minor affairs breaks out every day and is felt by the whole
community indiscriminately,” he continued. “It does not drive men to
resistance, but it crosses them at every turn, till they are led to
surrender the exercise of their own will.”

..We have democratized the small assaults on freedom so that everyone
must endure them, while we caterwaul about the tyranny of any real
inconvenience that might fall “disproportionately” on the few. We ban
using trans fats for millions but flinch at the idea that some kid
might have to endure the Pledge of Allegiance or a moment of silence in
school if it conflicts with his conscience. Everyone must surrender his
shoes, his regular-sized toothpaste and shampoo at the airport, but we
man the barricades to protect a few young Muslim men from being
inconvenienced for an extra five minutes at the airport.

Rupert,

Many historians, military and otherwise, do not subscribe to the belief that French involvement in the Revolutionary War, while helpful at Yorktown, would have affected the eventual outcome of the war.

As for your assertion that I would want the aid of the French in anything is hilarious. I wouldn't let those clowns retrieve my mail, as they would probably surrender to the dog.

As for Iraq, I'm currently re-evaluating my position as it pertains to our involvement there. Perhaps liberals need to get a real up-close look at what we are really facing in this war. If Pelosi, Murtha and their supporters have their way and we do end up cutting and running in Iraq, many of the martyr wanna-be types currently flocking to Iraq and Ashcanistan will be coming here, setting off bombs and blowing up innocent women and children.

I don't know, Rupert, but perhaps when they have lopped off enough heads, blown up enough school busses, bombed enough churches and schools, mowed down enough mall-goers, taken enough hostages and raped enough school-girls to suit you on the left, then maybe, just maybe, some of the liberals among us will finally get it. God knows that Islam's near re-conquest of Europe, its bloody mass expansion in Asia and Africa still hasn't convinced many of the libs that Western Society is now at serious risk.

There will also be a near future benefit to us losing in Iraq, which the democrats have made perfectly clear is their ultimate goal here, and that will be the total and utter destruction of the Democrat Party. It almost happened after Ted Kennedy and the rest of the pro-communist America-hating elements of said party engineered our "defeat" in Viet Nam. 

Perhaps Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha, Dennis the spinach-head, and all the rest of the spineless cowards who now head up the party of Marxism./Leninism will finally manage to accomplish what their predecessors came close to doing in the '70s and finally rid this country of this hideous crowd of perverts, misfits and freedom-hating failures.