slothrop

How can progressives get conservatives to realize that the government should not legislate morality? Why aren't conservatives satisfied with their churches and communities as sources of moral leadership? The government is there to support and defend the people, regardless of their religious convictions. Government need not, and should not, respect one religion at the expense of another. It's in the Constitution: separation of church and state. Just because state governments fund abortion services for poor people does not imply that government is forcing anyone to have an abortion. Removing the Ten Commandments from public buildings is a better way to respect all religions than, say, forcing religious artifacts from every denomination into public view. I don't understand why anyone would want God in the White House. Many people really do want this. Why is it not enough that God be in their hearts? Is religion really so weak in this country?

Thirty years ago there were a lot of other pressing issues, Scott. Equal rights for women was rather controversial in its time. Making progress takes time, so progressives have to be patient and be willing to compromise.

specialed's right. It's pretty clear that there are a lot of Americans out there who voted for Bush because of his conservative moral agenda. Regardless of whether those people are right, they're still Americans and there are a lot of them. We need a President who will appeal to the religious right and who can turn their moral conviction into a force for good rather than one of oppression, hate, and conformity (as it is now). Bush is not that President, but Clinton was more like it.

This Griswold?

Health care costs will just keep rising, that's for sure. There's no end in sight there.

Lugar, Hagel, or Biden for SecState. Frist will run for Prez in 2008. That guy never sleeps.

What does "raise the debt ceiling" mean? Allow more deficit spending? I'm worried, but I guess I'll just have to have faith that Jesus will turn the debt into stock options.

iain, make a saving throw against Denial or be sent to GenCon 2005.

Guys who get girls ask them out without knowing much about them. A nice ass is often enough to attract attention from the ladies' man. This indicates superficiality, which girls then bitch about. It may also indicate that a guy doesn't know what he wants, since he didn't bother to think much about it. Girls also complain about that. This problem will never be solved. The only way to find a girlfriend is to try, in whatever manner suits you best.

Dru is the Dungeon Master who can draw grid-paper maps of the catacombs from memory.

Colin Powell will be replaced as Sec'y of State by John McCain, who wins the presidential election in 2008 vs. Hillary Clinton.

Enlisted soldiers are the grunts who do the dirty work, but going to OCS to read radio intercepts in Arabic all day in an air-conditioned trailer is not the same as "enlisting". Make sure you actually tell people what you're doing, Scott. Otherwise, you'll end up as one of those guys who shows off his Iraq Service Medal to people and tells second-hand stories of being "in the shit". Good luck, wherever you end up.

Three new Supreme Court Justices and more gerrymandering of House districts to consolidate conservative power. I think that Bush's next four years will follow the same political recipe: weak or underfunded legislative efforts that appeal somewhat to all Americans (No Child Left Behind), secrecy and press manipulation, and widespread administrative efforts to advance conservative goals without needing to pass laws (esp. environmental and telecom regulations). Larger GOP control of the House could give Bush the ability to move forward his conservative agenda more transparently, though.

Jay, your contempt for the urban liberal stereotype is really getting tiresome. Maybe you're frustrated by your inability to just up and move to Montana, despite having the freedom to do so. But like it or not, there are a lot of people outside of your personal promised land, all with hopes and fears and needs that aren't being addressed in the current political climate. They share your country, too.

The guy is right on for the most part. I can see the Libertarians becoming a major force in politics and it'd be great to give "third" parties more chance to make a difference.

The military folks I know call it GWOT (gee-wot): Global War on Terror. I'm pretty sick of all the campaigning right now... how anyone can still be undecided is a mystery to me.

http://www.grivelnorthamerica.com./articles/MONSTER_explained.html

Nice try. Bin Laden didn't endorse anyone. More fair and balanced than Fox.

"a foreign source obviously trying to manipulate the election"... classic paranoia! Keep it up, man!

All this bickering over the details of when the explosives were looted is a bit distracting, though important in establishing what really happened. The real issue, and the one Kerry is trying to highlight, is that all those explosives (HMX/RDX or otherwise) were left unguarded... for many weeks. Very bad. If we had had enough troops, more of the ammo could have been guarded.

Rock on, brotha gaper!

That's some funny shit, Will. Every time Jenna Bush speaks, drink until she shuts up. If the Bushes win (that's GW and Laura), the DUI laws are revoked temporarily and you can all drive home from the election night party without fear of the police stopping you when you accidentally plow through a crowd of rioting Democrats.

NOLSe the Betamaster, why are you holding back information? You are telling us to go climb the route before we make judgments, but you won't graciously provide us a topo unless... uh... we know everything about the route already. Throw us a bone. Who put up the route, anyway? Why can't they talk about their actions affecting a public resource?

What, the future of climbing is "rope-swinging"? Will fringed singlets become the attire of choice due to global warming? Intelligence and ability to reason is way overrated as an indicator of success.

Wow, Scott actually said something reasonable. It sure would be nice to know what exactly is the situation with this route. Anyone who's going to put up a route on public land ought to own up to their actions.