I was in Alaska when Palin was chosen...the locals were amazed, but not necessarily in her favor...the concensus was that she had little experience and darn good speech writers.
You also gotta think and ponder about what would happen to our country if McSame and Ailin' get voted in...and something happens to McSame. Is she who you'd like to see sitting in the oval office? Cheryl?

well said Lar.

I totally agree that our country will be in even more trouble is McCain and Palin are elected. I'm sick to death of hearing about his war experience as a reason to think he's be a good president. I keep thinking about "flashbacks" and his finger near the button at 3:00 A.M. The current administration, as well as many other persons in our government have been caught lying, stealing, and many other sins and it's just accepted! Why isn't Bush and Channey in jail, stripped of their government pensions?
OK, but it's still not right to lable all Christians as ulta-conservative, brainless twits. It's also many rich old farts who will vote republican because their great-grandfathers did, without even knowing or caring what the majority of the people in the country suffer. Brainless twits come in all variaties-old, young, rich, poor, educated, ignorant, religous or not. As a Christian, I have personal opinions on every issue and they are based on my faith. When I vote (for Obama) it will be because I believe that he is the best one for the job and that he is more likely to actually DO something to turn the country around, based on the United States Constitution and what's best for the majority of citizens.

I don't think that was said or implied by anyone here. At least, I can't find it. If this community is "about" anything, it's about tolerance.

Actually, Christians get bashed pretty often around here. I guess many people have known bad Christians. I know I have, but they're not always republicans. The preception of tolerance can be quite narrow

Below are the two references I can find to Christianity in this thread. (If I missed any, please let me know.) Neither of them bashes Christians or Christianity in any way; these posts do criticize, explicitly and implicitly, those who claim to be Christians but who act otherwise--those politicians who are, right this minute, manipulating and hoodwinking some Christians for their own, non-religious, end. Where exactly is the criticism of Christians or Christianity? To me it’s more about being concerned that some--not all--Christians are being taken advantage of and that the result hurts us all.

Nortonkevin: It was more interesting because they actually spoke about issues rather than just praising God and waving the flag.....

Larry: The far right, Bush, Cheney and now McCain and that lady from Monty Python buy votes by touting values that appeal to devout Christians and social conservatives. … They make you feel good about voting for them, because they wave the flag and SAY the love Jesus, all the while robbing you blind. … The(y) fool people into feeling good about voting for them for espousing the religious dogma they they do, and then they rob the collection plate. Don't be fooled again. …We are LESS safe and secure because of the actions of a brain dead cowboy that just happens to thump the bible.

This is the one place I know where we can discuss these issues openly, and that “we” who show up here includes quite a few Christians (Catholics and all kinds of Protestants) as well secular humanists, spiritual seekers, Pastafarians, Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems, Jews, agnostics, and atheists. If there is real bashing or too-heated discussion, the venerable moderators and/or Dave, our very Republican Webmaster and literal owner of the site, will send the entire thread to “Controversial Topics” or even remove the offending posts. That doesn’t happen very often.

As far as the perception of tolerance and it being broad or narrow: Tolerance of another belief doesn’t mean agreeing with that belief; it means acknowledging other peoples’ right to hold that belief, and listening and trying to understand their position. And that’s achieved here more than anywhere else I know of. Sometimes when each side has heard the other side, a “lively discussion” will ensue. That’s OK, too: it’s one of the ways we learn and grow. But I don't think there's wholesale (or even retail) bashing going on here.

Edited to correct/remove this, which was in error: I’m not aware of any Moslems, but there might be; they’d certainly be welcome.

To be clear, in my posts I was not bashing Christians. I am one. I may have been bashing Christian extremists or what we may call " political Christians" . Those that pander for votes while thumping the bible and frankly act rather un-Christian in my view.Choosing up sides based on labels is what got us into the Dubya mess that we are in now. Choosing up sides based on actions, deeds and ideas is what we need to correct the problem.

I dunno. There are plenty of Christians right here on this board. I was reared as one, but now find it hard to associate myself with any group bearing that label. Christians are like every other group of people. There are good ones and bad ones. Problem is when I read The Book and compare the lessons to the people that use the label, there seems to be a huge discrepancy. I think the biggest lesson is it is not what you say. It is what you do. Food for thought.

Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for...

yeah, Goofus.... what you said...

though I was born into Catholic and still think of myself as Christian, among other names for beliefs... I have a big problem accepting fundamentalist beliefs around politics... don't suppose I am tolerant of it (and even tolerance falls short of acceptance, which everyone has a right to)...and that applies to the Christian right...

we have been living with a President who reportedly believes we are in a God-inspired war... and now perhaps, if the stories are true, have a potent ticket with other folks who believe God is putting them in power to push their beliefs onto this country and others.... and that terrifies me.... in this country, it seems to be Christians... how is it different than *some* Muslims and Jihad.???..

...epr, I appreciate the call to think about this...
I have no problem with fundamentalist anything as long as political power is not involved.... (pro-life people have every right to demonstrate for example)...
but the attempt to gain political power to enforce religious beliefs ... I will fight it... no matter what the religion...

I totally agree with goofus-actions are much more important than spouting off any kind of words.

I simply do not consider the American public as being dumb, the way the Bush administration seems to think we are. I've actually wondered if perhaps God allowed Bush to get away with his idioticy for so long as a way to open the eyes of Americans and for us to force the very change that our country needs to be strong and moral again, a real world leader. I resent that his fix for the ecconomy is, "here, have a few hundred of YOUR dollars and go shopping." McCane can't be any better-he doesn't even know how many houses he has.

I believe that there are as many spiritualities as there are spirits. Each one of us has our own unique experience(s) with what is divine. I just don't like it when certain spirits start pushing other spirits around.....

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... d=94332543

About Sarah Palin: A Letter From Anne Kilkenny

http://www.thepresidentialcandidates.us ... kenny/741/

I like her so far. I've heard her say some things I agree with. We'll see how she does I guess...

That same question has been brought up recently in some of the Turkish papers. Just what are the differences between any religious groups that use power and politics to push their private agenda? The wording they are using is eerily similar to the radical Muslims who want to declare jihad on the rest of the world. Scary world out there.

Since I appear to be the lone Muslim in the group ( ), a word about jihad. Yes, it is in the Koran, but, what the nut case fringe groups fail to do is read. The real jihad is in yourself every day - fighting your own ego, thoughts, actions, and words. They overlook the fact that you cannot do battle with someone else until you have done battle with yourself. And, seems to me, if you're so together that you've squelched all negativity within yourself, that you would end up pretty enlightened and just love everyone else.