I just e-mailed Tom, my American friend who lives in Thailand. "What the heck is going on over there! Are you all right?"

He e-mailed me back. "Aside from some temporary difficulty with getting connected (and staying connected) to the internet this morning, there's been no interruption or inconvenience to me, at all. Schools are closed today, not because of any threat of danger, but rather to facilitate the flow of traffic, making it easier for the military and police to ensure and maintain order."

Whew.

"Those of us who've lived in Thailand long enough have been through this before," Tom continued, "and while military takeovers have been greeted with much displeasure in the past, many of us are pleased to see the uniforms this time. Most Thais I know are pleased as well." That's good to know. I know that the Thai king is very popular with his people and I have heard that he supports the coup.

"It seems to be the general consensus of opinion today that Thailand has won by a knockout," said Tom, "with Thaksin being carried out in a stretcher. It remains to be seen what will become of him now, and we are counting on justice taking its course. Mr. Thaksin and his cronies have caused a lot of damage to this country."

A military coup in Thailand that took out the bad guys? Works for me. Hey. George Bush has done A LOT of damage to America -- especially to national security and the effectiveness and preparedness of our military.

Maybe the Pentagon will take note....

PS: My friend Rob just wrote me, "Are you suggesting that the Pentagon should take note of a corrupt leader who is hurting the country and do something about that leader?"

Who ME? Isn't it illegal to suggest something like that? But a LOT of things are illegal these days and nobody else seems to mind. Isn't election fraud illegal? And "Executive Orders" to detain our citizens and wiretap our journalists? That's illegal. And looting the U.S. Treasury for an illegal "war"?

I would never suggest nothing illegal! Heck, no. However, a ring of tanks around the White House just might bring its illegal tenants -- you gotta be elected to live there; it says so in the U.S. Constitution, the White House's lease -- to their senses and put Kerry and Gore back where they belong.

Am I suggesting that the PENTAGON run this country? Ha! They can't even defend themselves against Rumsfeld and Bush!