Well Logan, it seems to work well enough in all of the European social democracies - mostly honest, mostly altruistic members of the various parliaments carrying out their duties to improve life for the majority of their citizens with the minimum of cronyism and fraud and corruption. And they mostly athiests. Why is it that only in massively "Christian" America the will of Jesus cannot be carried out by government but instead those very "Christians" are the most rapacious thieves ever seen in history? It can be done, and it can be done in a way that still allows for hard work and entrepreneurship to be well rewarded an does not have government in the pockets of big corporations. Its easy - just have government exactly in the middle but slightly to the left, then all government decisions will have a very slight bias towards the people and not the corporations. When the greed is the only motivation of a society then those most greedy will be most successfull, and unfortunately, the USA is proud to be the worlds greediest country.

I forgot to rate the quote. And no - not all those who aren't fascists are pot smoking junkies. And no, the alternative to fascism is not to "re-define Independence as Dependence, Freedom as Privilege, Lies as Truth, Despotism as Law, and Service as Duty". Have you ever heard of the middle ground that served the western world so well for the last 50 years or more?

Yes, wouldn't it be nice if we were all frontiersman fending for ourselves and our families with our muskets and living off the land with no government to "steal" from us and deprive us of our liberties? Well, it isn't going to happen any time soon, so you ought to be looking at what your taxes pay for: Schools, Police Force, Justice System, Fire Department, Government agencies that ensure (or used to, before they became lobbyists for the industries they are supposed to be overlooking) that you have clean safe food and drugs and safe workplaces, let alone the Armed Forces that defend you. So which of these are you willing to stop paying taxes for? Or should those who benefit the most from the programs of the government, the very rich and the corporations, not pay their fair share of taxes? You anti taxation people do not understand that the government represents YOU and if you hold it to account it will work in your best interest. The only alternative is rule by corporations, (otherwise knows as Fascism) whose only motivation is their profits against your best interests. Well - anarchy I suppose, that will work really well in a nation of 300 million people! Take back your government, don't let it be stolen from you by the rich and the greedy. Accept that taxation is how a society looks after all of its people including trying to raise its poor and disadvantaged (yeah, this is the party you hate isn't it) and that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to get rid of government waste - start with the armed forces and the subsidies to corporations and all the pork!

What does owning a gun have to do with "individual responsibilty -- the difference between expecting to take care of myself and expecting someone else to take care of me"?? And when was the last time you used your gun to "take responsibility for my share of the defence of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for myself, my family and my fellow man"??? (Not to mention that this last phrase only confirms my premise that right wing gun owners believe they are there a last defence against tyranny etc.) It is 10 times more likely that your gun will be stolen from you and used in a crime or used to injure or kill you or your family than that you will ever use it in self defense! Ask any police officer. So all you are left with is a dangerous weapon and alot of empty slogans.

It has always been the final smug statement of the gun lobby that they are there as a last resort to protect American liberty from a tyrannous government that would take it away. Well? What are you waiting for? Where are all the millions or armed citizens marching on Washington and demanding this tyrannous government resign? Turns out you right wingers just love guns and power and have no love of liberty whatsoever. You are willing to trade your liberty for a little imagined security - and as Franklin said - you deserve neither.

Considering that every utterence of George Bush has been a lie since he first stole the presidency in 2000, we now have confirmation that the attacks of 9/11 were indeed a conspiracy. The conspiracy involves not just Eisenhower's military industrial complex, but religion, the media and the republican party to boot. If they were actually trying to destroy America would they be doing anything differently? George W. Bush is the greatest disaster to hit the world since Adolph Hitler, but let us never forget all the co-conspirators and let us bring them to justice, some day, when men are free and justice rules once more. You who still support this monster - you are either very ignorant or very evil, take your pick.