Don't make it sound like a "love it or leave it" choice. I've probably got more time standing in the mess hall line than you've got on this earth! And yes, the USA remains a major transparent democracy, and something of a vibrant and diverse country. Yet the tax codes are berserk.

Thousands of pages of written rubbish that only politicians could cobble together for their own personal benefit. Benefits like pay rises when the rest of the country has been suffering. How many raises have those dogs had in the past 5-10 years? And all that while lots of rich people in the highest tax brackets pay little or no tax.

The only reason those dumb-witted politicians in Washington - henceforth referred to in this post as "BS" for "bloodsuckers" - increased the taxes on expatriates is because we're a non-vital voting block. Yet it's us who work our rear ends off day and night "on freedom's frontier", promoting U.S. products and services and enabling people in other countries to come to know Americans - other than those on TV.

So don't paint such a simple-minded picture. And as long as you are a government employee then, as your boss, I'll have you start thinking about complex matters more thoroughly, especially if you're going to state them in a public forum.

And if you really are Dept. of State, it's spelled U.S. State Department - all initial caps.

Have a nice day.