--Last time I looked, the U.S. spends somewhere between $25 and $30 billion on foreign aid. That's aid to EVERYBODY, not just the "List 2" nations. This is about 1/6th of what we spend on the war, and about two percent of the annual entitlement costs. Like a number of other government expenses, this one is lost in the noise of the real fiscal ratholes.

--This is an old e-mail. France in particular is a whole different kettle of Freedom Fries lately. They're currently offering another battalion of troops to support the NATO mission in Afghanistan.

--Most views on NAFTA from the political extremes are a bit oversimplistic.

--Canada and Mexico are, between them, covering about a third of all our oil imports. I advise against hasty action.