Back at the table ...

   IP2:  So you didn't die?
   TVD:  No, IP is just a little paranoid.  Let me tell you about this
   time I got drunk at has apartment ... he has this ridiculous granite
   bust there ...
   IP comes back from the bathroom slowly, and sits down at the table,
   tense.
   TVD:  So, how would you guys feel if some country was just letting you
   kick it around like a paper bag?
   IP2 began covertly recording on a device in their pocket.
   TVD:  Wouldn't you feel frustrated that they didn't defend themselves
   better?  What kind of politics and cultures would you force them to
   hold?
   IP2:  Oh you mean like badly-abused-third-world-nation?
   IP:  It sounds sad.  I would be kind and protective of such a country.
   TVD:  I don't mean badly-abused-third-world-nation.  I mean _your_
   _country_.
   IP:  You're trying to brainwash us!  I can recognise it now!
   TVD stared at IP like they were a clown on a unicycle in the middle of
   a battlefield.