Free Republic

The Wellstone Memorial must be understood in context. To most of us, especially those of us who are religious, the whole event seemed like a travesty. But to believers in Secular Socialism, this event was the equivalent of a religious service. They came together to celebrate the cause to which Wellstone devoted his adult life and in which he believed absolutely. Now, if the participants could just 'fess up to being Secular Socialists. . . .

Very well stated. The UN has long since degenerated into a twisted parody of it's original purpose. To borrow a nasty euphemism from another era of discrimination, Israel's mistake was that she got "Uppity." As long as she was "downtrodden" and "the underdog" she was right where she belonged in the eyes of the UN. But when she unexpectedly trounced her foes in '67 and again in '73, her status shifted from underdog to "regional power." This shift allowed the underlying anti Semitism to surface in the guise of support for the "new" supposed underdog - the Arabs. Of course, as you stated, this all took place with much scullduggery and sophistry by the Arabs and their supporters, but antiSemitism has always been alive and well throughout Europe and the ME. All it needed to be heard once more was some alleged basis for legitimacy.
The less attention we pay the UN, the better. America is the leader of the world and will, along with her truly civilized allies such as Israel and Britain, drag some folks kicking and screaming into the 21st century. It's gong to be ugly for a while, but G-d willing, civilization will prevail, despite the gang at the UN.

It's time we had someone with the political guts to put the immigration issue right - and it's not going to be either the Dems or the Reps anytime soon. The Dems are too devoted to spurious "civil rights" issues and the Reps are too controlled by vested business interests who benefit from the status-quo with cheap labor and no accountability.
We either have immigration laws, or we do not. At the moment, we are in a state of anarchy - we have laws, but they are applied haphazardly and without any perceivable discipline.
We MUST clamp down on our borders and protect them from ingress by illegals. In order to both dignify and legitimize those who seek to come here to work hard and contribute, we should employ the system common in Europe - a Worker's Visa program. People can apply to enter and live here as legal aliens. They pay taxes, educate their kids and so forth, but have no status as citizens or as immigrants - nor are they entitled to any social services or other govt programs. Once they have resided here for a period of, say, five to ten years, with no police record they may apply for Immigrant Status. After that, citizenship. ALL others who lack proper Visa credentials must be summarily deported. No hearings, no manouvering, just sent back to where they came from. This is the very least we can expect of our Fed. Gov. After all, it's about the only task alloted them by the constitution!

I am FAR more concerned with the REAL threats this world offers up on a daily basis - bigotry, stupidity, apologists for psychopaths, the psychopaths themselves, not to mention the more pedestrian threats like some bozo who breaks a pipeline with a backhoe or has a belly full of beer before driving home. No, the world has it's danger, and will as long as there is humankind and mother nature, but to obsess over them is not healthy. We are here to LIVE - not contemplate dying.

You need to lay off that beladonna, son, it's addled your mind and you're hallucinating!
Just for the record, the end has been nigh for all of recorded history. Even back in the ancient Egyptian and Babylonian cultures, they had these sad saps wandering around wailing about the "end of time." Don't hold or breath. I put it in the same category as Californian falling into the ocean, global warming and the Milleniium Bug. I have no plans to cancel my life insurance and sell the house.

If you're going to bother posting, at least learn to read first! the you won't sound so dumb when you ignore what was said by me and respond to what was said in your head. . .

This whole idea of "fingerprinting guns" is bogus. yes, a test firing could provide a rifling "fingerprint" at the time the gun was new. HOWEVER, the very next day, with a simple set of readily available gun tools, the markings could be erased or radically changed thereby making useless the recorded fingerprint. We would end up with a warehouse filled with useless files and hundreds of thousands of wasted law enforcement hours.

<> To what, specifically . . ??

<> In YOUR opinion. Many prescription drugs are abused and are dangerous, even as prescribed. More than a few people feel that alcohol and tobacco are far more dangerous than pot - even many in the medical, legal and mental health professions. So. Whe gets to play G-d and why??

Why? For the same reason I don't believe we should sell hand grenades to ten year olds. . .
Seriously tho', most of these substances ARE potentially dangerous in ANY hands and must have some controls placed on them.

"Immoral behavior will not be tolerated . . "
Oh dear! And WHOSE morality are we discussing here? Yours? Yours may possibly differ from mine. Some old ladies think that horses should wear pants. What do you think?
the ONLY morality that government is empowered to enforce is the morality of mutual respect for persons and property. PERIOD! No more, and no less. What you do in your home is fine with me.

I think it reckless for anyone to assume that ALL drugs should be freely available without any controls at all. As a libertarian who sees the present laws as harmful, not only to those who use drugs but to the society at large, I also see the need for some curbs to be in place.
The same umbrella that covers prescription drugs and acohol could easily be adapted to include those now considered "illicit." "Normalizing" a product makes it less attractive to those seeking an edgy thrill. Many of those who drank escesive amounts of moonshine during the alcohol prohibition normalized or stopped their usage once the thrill of illegality was removed. When you can drop into the local pub for a pint, what's the big deal? Sure, some people abuse alcohol and some always will, but they aren't the same group as the thrill-seekers. This is demonstrated by the excesses of newly-of-age college students and those just under the legal age. They booze their brains out because it's edgy. Thirty year olds don't usually exhibit the same behavior. The same will be seen with drug use. Sensible regulation will solve the major issues, and that will naturally include severe penalties for anyone driving under the influence of any substance.

"Zinging" may be a fun way for you to get your rocks off but it doesn't demonstrate intelligence. If you ever bothered to examine the FACTS around the War on Drug-users, you'd see that it simply does not and cannot work and tragically ruins millions of lives.
Only a few "off-the-scale-libertarians" want to see a completely free and unfettered drug market. Most of us want to see the same sensible regulation of those drugs now considered "illicit" as we have for alcohol and prescription drugs.
Personally, I haven't used a street drug for thirty years and have no desire to ever do so again. I've been both an addict and a counsellor of addicts, so I've seen all sides of the issue, including the deaths of friends. Drug use IS a problem! BUT, we need a sensible system that actually works WITH human nature, not AGAINST it. We must elicit respect for the law and societal mores while de-glamorizing drug use by removing it from the fringes. Doing so can solve the problem without creating even larger ones.

I thought you guys were against drugs?? I don't kow what you've been smoking, but Chomsky a libertarian!!!! wow! Can you spell B-a-n-a-n-a-s??

THERE IS A WAY TO RID OURSELVES OF MCDERMOTT!
WRITE TO YOUR REP AND DEMAND THAT HE BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE.
I wrote to Rep. Rick Larsen, my local rep, and demanded that McDermott be investigated, and - AT THE VERY LEAST - censured by the House Ethics Committee. I also want to know who paid for this little junket. It if was thee-n-me, I WANT MY MONEY BACK!! These misguided fools should be forced to reimburse the public coffers for every dime they spent, plus interest, plus penalties.
What I told my rep was that it was not important whether or not we agreed or disagreed with Bush's position on Iraq. The central issue that borders on treason was that these people went to Baghdad, the seat of power of a sworn enemy of the United States, for the specific purpose of embarrassing America and our President and expressing solidarity with Sadddam Hussein by openly supplying him with the ammunition of internationally viewed derision of America's policies and demands.
Had they made the same comments on the Capitol steps, they would have been merely ridiculous, but protected under the First Ammendment. But going to the front steps of a sworm enemy of this nation turned otherwise idiotic comments into near-treasonous acts. On this ground alone, they are subject to censure and/or removal from office.
I think it important to express this view as it focuses attention on the actual crime and is less easily dismissed even by Dems. I urge you all to write to your reps and express a similar sentiment. It is election time, and few of those running, even among the Dems, are willing to be seen standing with these chuckleheads.

Oh dear! What a severe case of cranio-rectal inversion . .It must be painful, not to mention dark and dank in there!
For the record, libertarians want to live as free people. Period. You know, kinda like the founders described, with civil rights and personal dignity and no big brother or do-goody maiden aunt picking what they may or may not do all the time.
We also want law and order. Yes! Amazing as it might sound,most of the libertarians I know would be even harsher on the low-lifes than either Reps or Dems. The death penalty would be swift and applied frequently. Predators of any sort would never see the light of day again. Rape a child - you die. Violently rape a woman - fifteen years of hard labor for the first count, life for the second and death for a third. Now. Does this sound like a stoned out doper just out for free grass to you?