History shows that many take a message of hate from it... so it seems pretty clear that the message is not so clear and consistant.

Rumors of unconfirmed quotes do not belong here... our constitution is confirmed, our bill of rights are confirmed, the laws of the land for over 200 years are confirmed, and they are all very clear on this point (until 1950s that is). It is really amazing to me that people actually seem to equate "religion and morality" to "god and bible", completely forgetting that there are many religions and many gods... evidence Bush's worship of the god of money and power...

If Christ were alive today, no doubt he would be the first to disown today's "Christian" movement...

There is nothing in this that says that a hard worker's needs are not larger than the non-worker... just that both of their needs should be met. If society has been good to me (as it has) then I agree that it is reasonable for me to give back to that society... for as they say, "there but for the grace of god goes I"... which is really just to say that there is an aspect of not just hard work, but also pure luck to differentiate the fortunate from the unfortunate... and we all deserve to have our basic needs met... it is what separates us from the animals.

Great quote from a great and brave American newsman... and so appropriate for what is happening in America today. Who would have thought that it could happen yet again.

Sounds too much like the line of thought that justifies killing doctors just because one disagrees with them... blame it all on "the creator"...

As well as taking steps to establish state religion... just as we are doing today...

Remember, they were talking about muzzle loaders (e.g. hunting riffles/shotguns, etc) not about cannons (e.g. bazookas, machine guns, rocket launchers, etc)...

The two are unrelated, as we are learnining, even a library can be hell if it has been perverted by those who would censor it...

And yet that is exactly what so many of the radical right are doing to us today...

Sharing by honest and open dialog is the path to growth of both the individual and of society.

All they have to sell is a belief system based upon fear, rejecting that for the hope of real understanding through questioning is the true road.

"A big thumbs down"... not because what was written was so bad, but rather because it is and will be so badly misinterpreted... note the words "especially long guns" which says to me that he is not talking about revolvers and machine guns and granade launchers, but rather what would be known in the US as hunting rifles and hunting shotguns... personally I am so sick of hearing the gun lobby's false claims that these hunting tools are at risk and using that to oppose the control of the weapons that are distroying our cities. (Though a little control of access by our youth, as we do for other tools such as car access, would also go a long way to making us safer!) If folks want to play with automatic weapons, let them join the Army and/or National Guard!

Pure spite and narrow mindedness...

All too often this is indeed the case... and PC should not be confused with base decentcy and respect for others (which is not what this quote seems to be about).

Blessed Be...

... and what shall we do to fix this ill in our midst? Dialog is indeed a good step, but I'm not sure if it can be the first one, as for dialog to be productive we must first be capable of expressing our opinion in civil and understandable manners. I keep coming back in my mind to the need for better education on effective communication... we just might then learn through dialog that the right and left are not as far apart in goals as it sometimes seems.

Ah, something to bring the radical religious right of all religions together upon in one great war of single minded truth... or, as a radical religious right might say: Death to all non-questioners! LOL!

And we must face our fears too.

Some would even say that to question is the answer.

Yet this describes exactly what the radical right's and GOP's leaders are doing to us today...

The path that the radical right and GOP use so effectively today...

A policy that Rove & friends have adapted today... the sad thing is that it still works.

... and I fear today that it is each of the (in control for over 20 years) radical right and (small but present) liberal left that blame the other for this decay of core principles... leaving us centrists suffering in the middle of a vicious game of dodge ball we all are doomed to lose.

Wouild that our self rightous, self described as morally superior "leaders" in this country understood this... rather than their rush to harm the unfortunate of society for the short term fiscal gain of their friends.