Free Republic

Noooooo!!! Ya think! (Maybe the spray painted slogans are an indication it wasn't just a spontaneous fire.)

Hmmm...there's arson, and then there's arson.

I'm not sure how it works in California, but when a business goes up in most other states it's highly probable that the business, just by coincidence, also had some financial problems.

I'd guess that California owns a few more flakey eco-terrorist groups than most states, but doesn't this thing seem like a stretch even for a California eco-terrorist?

Exactly. Liberal judges and lawyers have twisted the Establishment Clause to mean freedom from religion. The Founders had in mind to guarantee freedom of religion.

I think they also had very much in mind freedom from religion. At the time the Constitution was signed, one didn't have to look very far back in history to find catholics and protestants in a death struggle. Without freedom from religion the mad mullahs (of whatever faith) would seek to control the nation.

She may be right that the two clauses are in conflict, but this is a pretty weak article. The Framers wanted only to insure that there would be no established church at the national level.

The two clauses are not in conflict. Taken together, they establish a principle of non-interference with religious matters. The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and freedom from religion. Taken together, they guarantee that Americans have the right to choose their religious affiliation.

A gift to none is ultimately a gift to all.

Islam finally gets a Pope!

They are creating a offspring which turn into a monster with a high IQ.

A monster, yes. High IQ? With all the advantages she had and all the sneaky tricks Daddy played for her, she should have beaten the number two guy by miles. If you really are smart you don't have to play dirty. I suspect this girl is headed for an eventual big fall.

That's because I cannot find a single leader in the Democratic Party who is capable of acting on the basis of what is right, rather than what will make our side win.

I've read 5 or 6 of OSC's books. I think he's best described as an "ethicist," not a moralist or an idealogue. I'd like to see more of that kind of thinking on Free Repbublic.

Right now the Democratic Party has a serious problem: they are participating in the political struggle from a defensive position. They HAVE TO take more risks (ethical, moral, idealogical risks). On the other hand, the Republican Party can get away with taking far fewer risks. If the Dems try to play it safe and stay away from hot button issues they'll most certainly lose. If they go for the hot button issues--well, they'll probably still lose, but it's about the only chance they have.

I see both political machines as having little to do with ethics, morals or ideals. They do what it takes to get their guys elected. Individual politicians come in various stripes on both sides, but they each have to pay homage to their political machines. The Dems are walking on eggs--and breaking most of them as they go.

I do disagree with OSC on the idea that just the Dems tried to steal the election. It was a close election and it would be hard to determine who tried to steal the election the most. It just turned out that the the Reps had a slightly stronger machine.

In Vietnam the ROK (Republic Of Korea) Marines were considered to be some of the toughest soldiers on the planet. Maybe that's why they identify with America.

I don't know what evidence exists but I don't think nails alone will convict him.

Ya, it sure looks like a doubtful case. It's likely that he's been hiding in the hills for the last five years just because he wanted to get away from the crowd.

I'm just curious, but how do you justify this statement in light of the fact that we execute lots of folks here in the good old U.S. of A. You know there is an "executioner" at the switch for "old sparky" who does the same thing. Actually, if I had to die I would rather a sword or bullet as opposed to being fried...

There is a big difference. In the USA, the executioner is doing the work of society. In Wahhabi Wonderland, the executioner does the work of God. We execute people who are especially cruel, murderers, monsters. The Saudis execute people for doing or saying naughty things.

but reading between the lines I am not sure this is her trying to kill or punish the child. It almost sounds like she was trying to use the washer as a playpen, and it had time left on it and she didn't realize it.

But the article also said that the machine doesn't stop until the cycle has finished--which sort of suggests that she did put money in to start a new cycle.

Now the question is: are all of the approximately 100 faculty members of our school prejudice? Or is it true that our black population does not perform at the same level as our white students?

I think that there probably is some substance to studies that predict racial differences and IQ. But there are other things to consider that IQ tests have a hard time measuring.

As a rule, IQ tests measure conceptual ability. Conceptual ability is very important, but not EVERYTHING. There are other kinds of smarts.

Just about everyone's favorite president, Ronald Reagan, was no prize winner when it came to math and science, but in political science he was way ahead of Jimmy Carter (who WAS an ace in math and science).

When you are considering the probability of your students achieving successful careers, one factor you might want to look at as being highly important is "attitude." The students who are DRIVEN to use whatever tools they have are the most likely to succeed. Some of the conceptual giants will end up throwing garbage into trucks for a living, some of those who struggle through remedial math will end up as the future leaders.

I hope they get bit harder.

I think they will get bit harder. After all the talking and fist shaking has been done, the Saudis will come to the conclusion that they have been slacking as appeasers. They will give in a little more, which really just gives Al-Qaeda more power, and yes, Al-Qaeda will reinforce the need for more appeasement with--you guessed it--more terrorist attacks.

I think the bottom line is that Iran will tolerate Al-Qaeda as long as they are doing their terror thing against western nations, but attacking other islamic nations is just too close to home. The Shiites and the Wahabbis hate each other dearly.

It seems such a simple question to ask... "If you believe your sources who say Saddam is alive, then can you explain why his supporters are turning themselves in?"

At some point it becomes clear to these people that whether Saddam is alive or not doesn't matter. What is important is that they are tired of being hunted, tired of running out of resources, tired of not having any control of their lives, tired of putting their families and (very few) friends lives on the line for their sake.

I could be wrong--but when when businesses do that, um, don't they start going under, rather then becoming the most popular place in the country for people to shop?

Um...(returning your thoughtful, questioning pause) I think it depends on what one is marketing. If it's just books that are the object of marketing, perhaps Walmart might lose sales in direct proportion to how far away they stray from the best-seller list. But if they are less concerned about selling books and are more concerned about repackaging the image of Walmart, they just might sell more toasters.

If a large attack happens here again, the mosques and Islamic centers will be stormed. We were thrown off by 9/11. Now we will fight

I hope it doesn't come to that. There's nothing that would please Al-Qaida more than if mosques and Islamic centers were stormed. Al-Qaida wants the moderate muslims to feel that there is no more future in being moderate, that all muslims are under attack and should answer the call to arms.

Yes, now we will fight. But we must fight smart. We can reward islamic moderation and be relentless in punishment of islamic radicalism.

If anyone thinks that the Saudi Royal clan will do something rash and upset the majority of the general population, well ...

I tend to agree. Here's a guess: The Saudis realize that they can no longer play the same old game of turning the terrorists attention away from the kingdom by directing them towards jews and the west. It will be interesting to see how the Saudis try to invent a NEW GAME of directing the terrorists attention towards jews and the west. All they are asking for now is a little time away from the world spotlight so they can put together a new plan.

Oh no, my brother-in-law will be around forever.

You probably won't have to worry about him being around forever unless he is very wealthy or unless he is a worm.

I am also in full favor of a total secret assault via the cia and special forces in all there Arab countries against there terrorists....

It might not be a bad idea to take out several rabid imams...Besides that, we already have an openly announced policy: any nation that supports terrorists is a terrorist.

He refuted charges that the Kingdom's education curriculum and Islamic propagation methods were the main reasons for the deviation of certain people

The Saudis are not yet willing to confront the core values hammered into little Saudi children: hate jews, hate the west, hate progress. They hope that they can condemn the killing of innocent people, but are not yet ready to condemn the hostility towards those innocent people.