You do realise others can read your original quote, the actual words you used? Try educating yourself on the role of the "comparative" in English and then see how switching from "great" in your original quote to "greater" in your second post greatly changes the implication of your statement.

Oh, never mind, I'll do it for you:

1st post: America, at one time, a great nation.

Implication: it was great before, but it's not great now.

2nd post: And I believe America was a greater nation before the "Patriot Act"

Implication: America is still great, just not as great as before.

But I'll be generous and give you time to recollect your thought.

Regarding China and Tibet, well, if the "Palestinian people" deserve independence despite no distinct history, culture, language or religion, why not the Tibetan people who do - but that's another thread.

Speaking of separate threads, while you allege here I seem to excuse "every form of brutality" (which you didn't prove), you're the one who just can't bring yourself to condemn Islamist terrorism.

Do you wear kneepads for these falls you constantly set yourself up for?