BUSH'S AMERICA COULDN'T BE MORE KAFKAESQUE IF EVERYONE IN RHODE ISLAND WOKE UP AND HAD TURNED INTO BUGS: John Gilmore, Sun Microsystem's in-house billioaire, was refused entry onto a plane when he claimed that he had a right to fly without being searched. Now, leaving aside that dubious claim, he's brought a legal action which has thrown up a much more absurb idea: The Justice Department are fighting a court order which told them to reveal if there is or isn't a law stating airline passengers have to be searched. Of course, they're saying it would help terrorists (obviously they don't explain how knowing this would make a difference), but what absolute nonesense - what sort of democracy has laws that can't even be mentioned in open court?

Meanwhile, Cat Stevens becomes the latest "threat to national security" to be turned away from the US. His crime appears to be having publicly disagreed with George Bush.

Maybe all this is part of Bush's plan - if he can't bring Iraq up to the standards of American democracy, he'll reduce American democracy to the level of Saddam's. If we were Dan Rather, we'd be looking into preparing an asylum claim pretty quick.