Ozbenzhead,
WAY off topic in regard to a post about dropping oil pressure, but a comment about "love versus laugh" is in order in these sad times...
As you noted, I love my country a great deal. But that doesn't mean that I can't laugh at it. In fact, I think real love for something or someone entails a sense of humor. The United States of America has some of the greatest ideals ever formulated by any government in human history, but the sad reality is that no American generation has ever yet fully lived up to them. No people is perfect; the United States - burdened with the greed, prejudices, and selfishness that burden ALL peoples - is no exception.
There is therefore much to love about the United States; there is also much to laugh at. I love my country, even though it has its share of warts; but I don't much care for the warts. We ignore our imperfections to our national detriment; we justify or excuse them as cultural imperatives to our national peril.
So yes, Ozbenzhead, I laugh at my country. That episode of "The Simpsons" was particularly funny, in that it underscores the American habit of forcing every other environment to be like our own ("Americanization") even while we fixate upon shallow appearances while ignoring underlying realities. People who love America can direct attention to these national "warts" (by humor or other means) - with the hope and faith that that which is exposed to public attention can be healed and overcome.
I guess that makes me a "comic patriot"!
In any event, Ozbenzhead, feel free to join with me in laughing at BOTH our countries' shortcomings. I have greatly admired Prime Minister John Howard (it's obviously your choice and right whether to do so yourself!). And I have counted Australia and Great Britain as two of my countries greatest friends and allies during a time when much of the world despises us - and despises us not merely because we have failed to live up to our ideals, but because of the ideals themselves! Friends have the right to laught at each other, Ozbenzhead. And we have a whole history as allies to draw upon!