I would say, "G.K.: agreed, as far as you stated, though I would qualify the statement. However, I don't want to lose an argument, so let's go have a drink and a nice cigar."

I'm jumping in late here, but here's a thought that's been gnawing at me: What kind of a person goes to medical school in order to be an abortionist? 

I'm a lawyer, and as such I'm fully aware of stereotypes of various kinds of attorneys: personal injury lawyers are ambulance chasers; insurance defense lawyers are heartless; patent lawyers are wonky; criminal lawyers are grimy, etc.

I deal with doctors a good bit in my practice, and I develop certain biases about them, which I'll withhold. But I can't imagine any of the neurosurgeons, internists, or orthos performing abortions.

Part of what makes me curious as to the morality of men who would become abortionists is that their practice is based on their patients making certain decisions that lead to heartache. 

All doctors, I suppose, have jobs because of the Fall, but that is particularly true for abortionists in a way that it's not for others.

I mean to say all this with a gentle spirit. We can be too cavalier in how we speak about abortion as we never know who in our audience is saddled with guilt associated with it.

Did I misread this----is one of the authors 102 years old? Holy Moses!

Dumb and Dumber

Let me add that with regard to rearing people to accept the written word as authority is also stunted by so-called liberal protestant denominations. Without addressing any theological implications of liberal interpretation of Scripture, if we accept that there are certain denominations that more or less write-off certain portions of the Bible (qualifications for elder, for instance, or proscriptions against homosexuality) as being misguided cultural stances, then I think those denominations are likely more prone to produce living constitutionalists than would be an atheistic humanist, because the former is being trained to reject certain written words on the basis of principle while still claiming to adhere to the text.

EJ--you should update his Wikipedia page. I really just read that PAT story there. I'm glad I cited Wikipedia and didn't simply act like I knew what I was talking about.

BG-- I accidentally clicked on your bio instead of the link on the Alert--- I saw you're a Presbyterian minister, and you make note that you're not PCUSA. 

Calvinist?

This question is above my pay-grade.

Playing catch is a father-son activity or a boys-in-the-neighborhood game, and an activity where a yard is very helpful. Playing catch was basically my summer job from about 8 until I was 14 or so. My neighborhood friends and I won and lost more World Series than I can count.

I have a 2 year old now and we love to go outside and hit the plastic ball with the plastic bat. But here in Texas it is ALWAYS baseball season. Spring ball, summer ball, fall ball. It is wildly expensive to be all-in for baseball.

Here's my problem with gun registration:

It smacks of totalitarianism. One shouldn't have to inform the government the means by which he is exercising his constitutional rights.

Woo hoo!

The quoted sentence is nuts. Defending traditional marriage ain't exactly Cotton Mather's Massachusetts. 

I love this site! I posted something about a bunch of crazy people in Greece, and now we're having a discussion about the history of right wing/left wing.

Hey, don't get me wrong (and I'm pretty you sure you got my point), I don't doubt these people are evil. They may very well be fascists: those quotes and pictures you posted are insane. My point is that these crazies aren't "right-wing" extremists: they're just extremists. I don't even think they're left wing extremists: to me, that's communism. Fascism is a unique blend of nationalism and socialism that I don't think fits well into left/right.

I don't have a comment about the branding issue, but that's a cool picture.

That was an excellent post.