Tiassa, Asking the Taliban to extradite Bin Laden is like asking a drug cartel to turn over their leader. Some organizations are evil and will not respond to diplomacy. The fact that you would defend Al Quaeda and attack your own government tells us where your loyalties really lie. You are either a traitor to your own country or you are not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I pity you, I really do.
Wow, it only took you a month? And that's all you could come up with, Brad Rules? Are you familiar with the legal phrase, "appearance of impropriety"? Judges strive to avoid even the merest appearance of impropriety. Did something happen four generations back along the lineage of your mother's second cousin twice-removed? Does that something pertain in any way to the trial at hand? Whether or not the judge has a stake in that conflict, the appearance of impropriety arises with the potential of conflicting interests on the judge's part. Likewise, we've heard rumblings of torture, declarations of the suspension of due process, and even witnessed some of those suspensions. But the simple fact is that this is the United States of America, and here, the Constitution is the law of the land. And that Constitution requires due process, and if Constitutional adherence is somehow the act of a traitor, I invite you to show how that is. If you can't show that, Brad Rules, don't bother. I mean, really ... a month later and all you can come up with is an irrelevant analogy and a string of characterizations? I thought you alphas were smarter than that. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! --Tiassa Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
You are the perfect example of the current attitude in this country: anybody who doesn't get in lockstep behind the president and embrace his every whim is considered a traitor, or worse, a terrorist. "The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself." --- Archibald MacLeish --- In the wake of September 11, the government has, with predictable zeal, gone after the very things that I cherish about my country and that make is a special place to live. Our rights are flying out the window at an alarming pace. My privacy can be invaded, my home searched without reason, the environment and nature are being bulldozed in the name of profits and oil. I could even be jailed for writing this piece. Traitor? No. I am a patriot because I dearly love my country and what it purports to stand for. I love the idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, without interference from the government. I feel blessed to have grown up in a country with guaranteed basic human rights, which is so much more than many people in the world receive. I cherish the right to speak my mind when I want, where I want, on whatever subject I want, no matter how much it may go against the beliefs of those around me. And I cherish the right of other people to do the same, even when what they say infuriates me. I am grateful for my right to privacy, to be free from intrusive searches and seizures by the government and police without a warrant and just cause. I am thankful for the beauty and splendor of this country's untouched and undeveloped areas, where the true beauty of nature can still be experienced and appreciated. And above all, I appreciate more than anything else the right to live my life as I see fit, without any government, religion, or corporation telling me what I should and should not, or can and can not do. I believe in the constitution of the United States, and what it stands for. I believe in all the things I spoke of above that I love and cherish about this country. Most of all, I believe patriotism comes from within, from a place deep inside me. Not from a flag, not from my possessions, not from my stature in society or how much money I make, not from getting in line behind those in power because they tell me it's the right thing to do. To me, it is to stand up and fight for what I believe is right for myself and my country in the face of adversity, which is what we are facing now. That, in my opinion, is the true definition of a patriot. Peace.
goofyfish ... Why does your comment "... I dearly love my country and what it purports to stand for." bring to my mind the picture of an impossibly beautiful, give your soul for female who is a sick, self-centered castrating bitch through and through? Take care, you romantic patriot Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
