[Texas_Jarhead]

Just a few comments on your reply:

"3. "Thou shalt not kill."

I think you mean Thou Shalt not murder.

"8. Every human being has the means to refuse. Gandhi showed us that you can overthrow the most powerful government on Earth by simply refusing to give them power over you. Boris Yeltsin and the people of Moscow showed that they had the means to refuse when they faced down the attempted coup in 1991 without a single weapon on their side."

This is only true to the degree that the 'governing body' feels restrained, for whatever reason. Perhaps law, morality, or fear of repurcussions can pressure a government to deal with dissenters in such a manner as the examples you cite. However, when those governing fail to yield to such pressures catastophe is inevtiable. No such pressures succeeded in stopping the evil of Stalin, Hitler, Pol-Pot, or any number of other 20th century governments.

"I'm not sure -- but it wouldn't exist if the Supreme Court said it wasn't constitutional."

The SCOTUS has forgotten it's role in our 'checks and balances' scheme. When it is complicit in the unConstitutional activites of the legislature then our Nation is in grave danger.

[Husker24]

The Russian armey sided with Yeltson, they werent exactly unarmed.

[Turbo Pig]

Good points on Northman's #8, but you beat around the bush. Ghandi himself said the only reason that his non-violent stand worked was because of the morality of British society. He backed the British against the german's and japanese, because he knew that should they prevail his movement was due to failure. Boris Yeltsin survived the attempted coup soley because a portion of the security forces in Moscow sided with the reformers. Had the Communists been able to get the upper hand, they would have regained control.