The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has designed a civics test to give to college freshmen and college seniors. It covers four basic areas: American History, American Political Thought, America and the World, and The Market Economy. Some have found it very difficult, although I got 59 out of 60. It's obviously too difficult for a citizenship test, but it is an excellent test for those who are well educated or interested in public affairs.

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx

Bi-sexual maybe. But not necessarily gay. (Don't you just love it when your hypocritical opponents are handed enough rope.)

I think the stupid SOB is overplaying his hand this time. 1. It's an issue that everybody can understand. 2. There is not nation security overlay where Democrats need to appear strong. 3. The majority of the American people clearly agree with the Democrats.

It's time to drag his sorry ass through the mud in as tortured and as deliberate a way as we can. This, ladies and gentlemen, should be pay back time. And we should show him all the mercy, professionalism, and dignity that he has shown to us for six years.

I hope not. And I actually don't think so. But to understand the mindset that would do something so utterly foolish, at least in practical terms, is not easy if you view politics as pragmatic. (But those on the left should understand that problem. We have way too many fools who thought that there was no difference between George Bush and Ralph Nader. Speaking of fools and a lack of pragmatism.)

But back on point. There is a certain segment of the Christian right that honestly perceives that they have gotten a raw deal from the Republican party in general, and Bush in particular. I know, I know . . . . Sounds crazy, no? But they are such fanatics and dead enders that nothing short of a real American Taliban will satisfy them. They want to end choice, they want to end public education, they want Christian madrasas, they want to eliminate contraception, they want women all but chained to stoves, etc. You and I can't comprehend how reactionary and retromingent they really are in their black little hearts.

So yes, they will bring the house of cards down because they think, probably correctly, it will give them greater control of the Republican Party machinery in the future. They do not, however, see that the same greater control, will make it much more difficult to elect Republican candidates.

Get really depressed about genius and mediocrity and rent "Amadeus."

GLENDOWER: I can call spirits from the vasty deep.

HOTSPUR: Why, so can I, or so can any man;

But will they come when you do call for them?

Wm. Shakespeare, Henry IV, Pt. 1, Act 3, Scene 1.

How is asking for a paternal blessing any more antiquated than the entire concept of marriage itself? With modern child support laws, and community property laws, there is no legal reason for marriage to exist. It should be solely a religious institution.

I doesn't matter what you say to them. A winks as good as a nod to a blind horse.

I hope this doesn't come as too unsettling a revelation for some with more delicate constitutions here, but last time I looked, politics was a contact sport that was played for keeps. Screw 'em! It's high time that the Democrats took a page or two from the Republican's play book and learned to fight back. We've probably already won over all the voters we're going to get with logical appeals and issue ads. We've got to go for the people who wouldn't know an issue form a hole in the ground

I'm reminded of the great story of Adlai Stevenson being introduced by a local dignitary when he was running for President. The local man said, "Governor Stevenson, I want to assure you that you have the vote of every thinking American." Stevenson promptly responded, "Oh no!! That's not enough. I need a majority."

Not to be seen as anti-tree house -- I'm not -- but that's not really going to solve the problem. The family needs more space. And as interesting as complex tree houses may be, they're not going to pay for themselves when resale time comes.

Surely the oak trees in your back yard aren't the only oak trees in town? Find a bigger house, but one with trees. It may take a year or so to really find the right house, but a larger house will appreciate more if you are careful not to pay too much, and can be "improved" with a tree house, just like your current house. And even if your kid's ADD gets better, as your kids get older, that house is going to get smaller and smaller.

Boy, Tommy, you've really drunk the Kool-Aid, and drunk deeply, at that. Rather than vote for Nader, why not just skip and step and pull the straight Republican ticket? It's sanctimonious pea-brained ideologues like you who have no understanding of simple math, and ordinary politics that put Shrub in the Whitehouse.

Well, if you were fool enough to believe what Nader said when he said that there was no difference between Al Gore and George Bush, I hope you like John Roberts and Sam Alito. You certainly deserve them. I'll be charitable and assume that your were too stupid to know that Nader was lying when he said that there was no difference -- and apparently you were if you're still defending your vote. But Ralph Nader isn't that stupid. (He may be that egomaniacal, but not that stupid.) What he did was a deliberate act of infidelity to the principles that he he had heretofore stood for. And it will (and should) besmirch his reputation forever that he duped simpletons like you to massage his ego.