Free Republic

<p>MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - "American Sniper" is tops at the box office but don't expect to see former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura lining up at a theater for it.</p> <p>Ventura, a former Navy SEAL, won $1.8 million in a defamation lawsuit last year against the estate of the late Chris Kyle, the SEAL protagonist of the movie, which has sparked debate over whether snipers should be considered heroes. Ventura said Wednesday he won't see the film partly because Kyle is no hero to him.</p>

...The founders of this country had a vision of freedom and liberty that they tried to ensure for generations to come. They tried to design a democracy so full of checks and balances that it was bulletproof. So that no matter how many crooks managed to get themselves elected, the republic still prevailed. There have even been a few brief shining moments when the real potential of that original vision took hold. One such moment was Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. A decimated work force that was shell-shocked from the Great Depression was struggling for its very survival. FDR came to the...