Do you fear the Internal Revenue Service, even though you have done nothing wrong?  Most Americans do, and for good reason.

For decades, the courts, congressional hearings and the press have documented a steady stream of abuses by IRS personnel and federal prosecutors dealing with tax cases.

Last week, a federal judge dismissed charges against 13 former employees of the accounting firm KPMG because the government had violated their rights, in what had been billed by the government as its biggest-ever tax shelter case.

Despite overwhelming evidence of disgraceful and illegal government behavior (in the private sector it would be called extortion), the government has decided to appeal the case. Have they no shame?

Of, course, that's a rhetorical question.  Who needs shame when you have guns and power instead?

NBC News obtained last week a bulletin the Transportation Security Administration sent July 20 to airport officials and local law enforcement. "A surge in recent suspicious incidents at U.S. airports may indicate terrorists are conducting pre-attack security probes and 'dry runs' similar to dress rehearsals," the bulletin said. Passengers aboard United Air Lines Flight 93 almost certainly prevented either the U.S. Capitol building or the White House from destruction on 9/11.  The suspicions of a teenage clerk in a video store in New Jersey likely prevented a murderous attack on U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix. Our first line of defense against a terror attack is a vigilant public. Which is why it is puzzling that Democrats would seek to punish Americans who report suspicious behavior to the authorities.

At his press conference last week, President Bush - echoing the public assessments from his military underlings in Iraq - gave a clear picture of the war. Remarkably, not a single political leader or pundit saw fit to notice the dimensions of the war he described: The fight in Iraq is part of a broader struggle that's unfolding across the region...The same regime in Iran that is pursuing nuclear weapons and threatening to wipe Israel off the map is also providing sophisticated IEDs to extremists in Iraq who are using them to kill American soldiers. The same Hezbollah terrorists who are waging war against the forces of democracy in Lebanon are training extremists to do the same against coalition forces in Iraq. The same Syrian regime that provides support and sanctuary for Islamic jihad and Hamas has refused to close its airport in Damascus to suicide bombers headed to Iraq. ...the war against extremists and radicals is not only evident in Iraq, but it's evident in Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Afghanistan.

CNN's Michael Ware said in a broadcast last January that Ramadi (capital of Iraq's Anbar province) is "the true al Qaeda national headquarters."  If that were true, al Qaeda is in bigger trouble in Iraq than most of us realize. Radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt devoted his show on July 11 to the (overwhelmingly negative) opinions of Iraq war veterans on the demands of Democrats that U.S. troops be pulled out.  One call was from "Bruce in Upland," whose son is a soldier currently serving in Iraq. "I will speak for my son who right now is bored out of his mind in Ramadi, because he hasn't heard a shot fired in combat now in about six or seven weeks," Bruce said.   There were about 22 enemy incidents per week in Ramadi in April, said Marine Major Jeff Pool, the public affairs chief for U.S. forces in western Iraq..  That's declined to "about two per week." (An enemy incident is any type of direct or indirect fire, from a sniper to a mortar or an IED attack.) "Anbar is returning to a state of normalcy, so I consider the soldier in Ramadi being bored a true measure of progress, said Maj. Pool. So why do Democrats in Congress keep insisting we're losing?

Do you think the world is getting better or worse? Despite the endless doom and gloom dished out by many in the media and political class, the objective evidence is that by almost any measure the world this past year was a better place for most of its habitants. Yes, the rich are getting richer, but the poor are also getting a lot richer, so much so that there are fewer poor each year. And more people live in free countries than ever. It is good to remind ourselves, as unhappy as we may be with our political leaders, that things are really getting better.   So despite the media hype and the blogs, the safer bet is things will get better for you and your family rather than worse. However, there are three real risks to most people's future well-being: Islamic fundamentalism, irrational global environmentalism, and the U.S. Congress.

This Monday (7/16), the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to take up a report from Secretary General Ban Ki Moon which recommends the UN act to reduce the flow of arms from Syria to Hezbollah. That same day or next, the Security Council also is expected to receive a report from its International Investigation Commission about the 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which most Lebanese believe was orchestrated by Syria. How will Syria respond? Here's a clue: The Iranian news agency IRNA and several Arab newspapers have reported Syria has ordered all Syrian nationals residing in Lebanon to leave the country before Monday.