Really? Since they installed the new machines that you can use with ESTA, I haven't waited more than 10 minutes for the machine, plus another 5-15 min for the final check. No extensive questions anymore, maybe 1-2 in total.

Waiting times entering the UK (even with passport machines) can easily be as long.

Yes. The first time they didn't have the new machines yet. The second time, they had the machines, but they didn't work for my passport. That didn't matter (except for some stress that they might turn me away), since you still had to queue afterwards anyway.

Yeah, I'm going to call bullshit on your 8 hour wait to get through customs.

I never said 8 hour wait to get through customs. I said multi-hour wait to get through customs. 7.5 hours from touchdown to Manhattan. That includes waiting on the plane to get off, customs, AirTrain and metro (no more shuttles running due to customs delay, a taxi queue of about 50 people). On my second flight it took about 4 hours in total.

By comparison, in the opposite direction, in Brussels it took about 1.5-2 hours to get home (about the same distance, public transportation, my companion, a US citizen, had to go through customs). The US has many great things; welcoming foreigners at their airports (at least at JFK) and public transportation are not among them.