Something Dobson and I would agree on, although, of course, we would disagree on the source of the evil itself.

Every time a conservative says something outrageous--Coulter, or Bachmann, or Limbaugh, or Rove, or any of a host of the exceptionally fat, exceptionally thin, or exceptionally insane GOP, apologists rush out to the rest of us (the sane) and tell us that it's just "hyperbole."

My question is, what happened to their balls?

Why won't they stand up for what they believe in?

Now, I know that "principled conservative" is like "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence", but c'mon. Can't they stand up to the rest of the world for what they say? I mean, we know how this plays out: somebody like Bachmann calls for the assassination of the President, and her hordes rush out to tell us (the sane) that it's hyperbole--while her fans shake their heads and know what's really being said.

It's too bad that conservatives are gutless cowards. It might make the country more interesting, especially as they go to jail for threatening violence.

Christian pastors cannot share the Bible's truth about any political issue with the general public, in any way, for fear of losing their tax status.

Ah,out of the mouths of morons. It's good to know that what's more important to right-wing Christians is saving a few bucks on tax exemption rather than telling the truth.

As for "what the Bible says," the collection of tribal myths, historical half-truths, and outright lies that make up the Bible is notoriously self-contradicting. And guess what? The Bible doesn't rule the nation, thank god. Christian Sharia is not our law.

There's no such thing as gay rights.

There are only human rights.

Why do you guys consistently want to deny people's humanity?

Good to know that the upper 10% who can afford Macs are getting their needs met by Salon...while the rest of us, who labor on Windows--only 90% of the market, but we don't pay the Mac Tax--are ignored.

Marilyn Chambers was easily one of the most desirable, genuine, and deeply sexual erotic stars.

For those of us who are 56...her death is a reminder of both our own mortality and the death of our youth.

Today's "porn stars" are not sexual at all.

Marilyn wasn't a "sex worker"--she was a performer.

She'll be long and fondly remembered.

The truth is an unfair advantage. No clips allowed! Reality has a liberal bias!

These are the exact same arguments that have been used in defense of slavery and Jim Crow laws. Replace "gays" with "blacks" or "interracial" for "gay" and see what happens--you revert back to the arguments of racists from the 18th century on forward.

So, no bigotry here? Of course there is--it's all based on bigotry.

There's no such thing as "gay rights." There are only human rights. The only question is who you're willing to include in your definition of human. It's clear that Mr. Walken doesn't see gay people as human.

Here's a particularly sad statement:

Then there is the matter of individual liberty as relates to the coercive use of the power of the state to change beliefs. Even those conservatives who support gay marriage or who do not feel passionately about it one way or the other -- and I find myself in this category -- may still object strongly to the attempts to coerce them into accepting it.

In other words, you're infringing on our right to our bigotry. But wait--no one is making you "accept" these human rights--they're just making you tolerate it--the same way you have to tolerate black people in your eatery (which must just aggravate Mr. Walken and kin and kith to no end, also).

The bottom line in all this is that conservatives feel they have a right to their bigotry--including their right to oppress others actively (after all, if you can't practice bigotry, what good is it?).

And I'll tell you this: hatred is indeed their right. We saw a lot of it in the teabagging protests last week, and we'll continue to see a lot of it. Conservatives embrace hatred (after all, it's been around for over two millennia!). And we won't pry their hatred from their cold, dead fingers. But the social effects of their unrelieved hatred--the denial of human rights--that we will change. And change is the thing they hate and fear the most.