if anything I said in the discussion caused the unease evident in the OP of this thread? While it's true that I don't post often, I follow this group regularly. I feel that it is vital to take control of our country from the current "leadership" because they are leading us down a path that will soon reach the point of no return. While I think that the Democratic Party is the only hope of achieving this, my point is the only way this goal can be realized is for the farther left elements of the party to reach out to those of us that are more toward the center. Everyone will not be able to get everything that they want all at once, but none of us will get anything at all as long as the Republicans are in the White House.

The New Centurions
In showing ignorance of the outside world, America is doing as Rome did

By Cullen Murphy
Published June 10, 2007


The Rome and America comparison is very much in the air these days -- you have only to cock an ear. It's invoked by those who yearn for a worldwide Pax Americana, and also by those who wring their hands about an impending "decline and fall."

In truth, ancient Rome and modern America differ in a thousand ways. But a handful of parallels hold up.

One has to do with the way we view the outside world. Imperial Rome often knew little about the people beyond its frontiers. Disparaging those people, it underestimated their capabilities. America's motives in the world may be more well-meaning than Rome's, but our behavior is handicapped by the same disability. In our ignorance, we don't see what's coming at us -- or what we're hurtling toward.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion...

Both groups suffer from the same demented notion that because they believe in their respective religious tomes, they have the duty to force the rest of us to at least pretend to believe in them too.

"Bush foreign policies play to the 'rapture-and-Armageddon' crowd"

<snip>

In a rare public outing in which he took spontaneous questions, President Bush was asked last week in Ohio whether he had a biblical view of the war in Iraq and saw it as an apocalyptic struggle for the Middle East. ''The answer is, I haven't really thought of it that way,'' Bush responded. ''First I've heard of that, by the way. I guess I'm more of a practical fellow.''

<snip>

According to Phillips, the dominating influence of fundamentalists and evangelicals on American politics has ''warped the Republican Party and its electoral coalition, muted Democratic voices and become a gathering threat to America's future.''
He echoes the words of Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who despairingly declared in March 2005 that ''the Republican Party of Lincoln has become a party of theocracy.'' The transmogrification has resulted in backward policies on stem cells, global warming, disease control and evolution, as well as the rise of a dangerous American exceptionalism that says our country is chosen and acts on God's behalf.

<snip>

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_3639727

This guy is running for Governor of TX. The scary part is he claims to have gotten 30% of the vote running for State Representative.
CAUTION very graphic photo on front page of site for no apparent reason.

http://www.larrykilgore.com /

Oh crap, forgot the link, sorry.

I originally posted this as a response to another thread.

<snip>

The immigration issue is a delicate one for those on the blue side.

On the one hand, there are many people that should be welcomed into this country and given the opportunity to become productive American citizens. On the other hand, our borders are insecure and the processing of illegal immigrants is a joke. Our government needs to focus on both the security AND the processing sides of the equation. A much as some immigration activists would like us to ignore it, there are a lot of people entering this country that do not deserve to be citizens of this country. The bush policy of putting up a fence and hoping the problem will go away is as big a joke as the Maginot line was for France. The Democratic Party must come up with clear policies that address all aspects of the immigration issue fairly.

<snip>

It distresses me to see people who are trying to discuss ways to solve the problems of immigration and border security intelligently being dismissed as racists and closet right wingers. It is obvious to many people in DU that a problem exists and fair solutions must be found. I have only been a member of DU for a short time, but feel it is a place for candid discussion of issues without resorting to the tactics of posters on another board on the dark side.

(please read my post above). Democrats should be able to discuss this issue without being labeled racist or xenophobic. The last thing that is helpful in finding ways to fairly resolve the problems related to the way our government handles the issue of immigration is name calling.

On the one hand, there are many people that should be welcomed into this country and given the opportunity to become productive American citizens. On the other hand, our borders are insecure and the processing of illegal immigrants is a joke. Our government needs to focus on both the security AND the processing sides of the equation. A much as some immigration activists would like us to ignore it, there are a lot of people entering this country that do not deserve to be citizens of this country. The bush policy of putting up a fence and hoping the problem will go away is as big a joke as the Maginot line was for France. The Democratic Party must come up with clear policies that address all aspects of the immigration issue fairly.