To the editor:

There are times I despair for our country. A recent Harris poll found that the percentage of Americans who believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) before our illegal invasion has risen from 36 percent to now 50 percent. This Bush Administration has made a killing (literally) on the fact that the average modern American citizen has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

The Bush chorus of radio and TV persons (singing absolutely in harmony) spouts recently that we have found WMD in Iraq. Badda-bing, badda-boom, our president didn’t lie to us after all. Let’s dig just a tad bit deeper, shall we? The weapons found in Iraq were degraded chemical and biological weapons. Military experts said that the weapons were no more dangerous than what most of us keep under our kitchen sinks.

Citizenship, the kind our ancestors fought and died for, requires more from us than passively opening our mouths and swallowing whatever we’re spoonfed. There were no WMD. Crucial intelligence was there stating Iraq was NOT a threat to our nation, it was ignored. These are facts. The Bush administration is counting on that you are more interested in who wins the next “American Idol.”

Daniel Patrick Schamle,

Lawrence