I keep thinking Ok, this is got to be the straw that breaks the camels back; only to be disappointed by the inability of the democrats & law abiding republicans to do the right thing. At some point both of these groups need to grow a back bone and stand for protecting this country from the hacks and the extremists that will destroy this country from within. It seems that the Dems never learned from the Gingrich revolution - when they (the Republicans) were in the hapless minority they learned how to use the media and take back congress - granted it was with lies (aka Contract with America) and distortions, but how much stronger can the case be made against Bush and his cronies with the truth. Fiengold can't do it alone. Hmm.. Time to rent Mr. Smith goes to Washington.

In America, we want to believe that truth and justice (though not always fair) will always prevail; however, these last five plus years have shown that there are among us, those who favor party over country. They behave like zealots - wanting and justifying everything for their ends, but refusing to be held accountable for their actions (ala GW, Cheney, etc.). They are, like all extremists - regardless of political ideology, extremely destructive, and they will throw anyone under the bus that disagrees with them. Who is to blame for all this nonsense? No one but us. We, the electorate, have become too used to the convenience lifestyle - where everything from food to thought is pre-packaged to go. Sometimes we do stop and think, and on those days buy organic, but the other stuff is cheaper, more available, and more tasty. The fact that people no longer want to think anymore is fundamentally at the heart of the problem - like grade schoolers now using crutchulators (a term for the calculator from a teacher friend of mine) to do basic arithmetic. When you're no longer thinking and analyzing what you're being told, you're more than happy to digest whatever answer "the machine" (t.v., internet, etc) provides - all extremist organizations rely on this. The right wing extremists are no different than the islamo-fascists who use religion to get others to do their dirty work for them. It's not about religion or values, it's all about power. The right wing extremists will do anything to gain and maintain power - democracy just happens to be in the way.

Boy where do I begin, I read thru a lot of great opinions on both sides. My take on AIPAC is the same for any foreign lobby, the US must be highly critical of their efforts when it becomes apparent that its meant to further the foreign powers' agendas and not that of the US. Also, I would argue that these politicians are whores to where the money is, and its not just in AIPAC - they'll spout any convenient garbage to get it - and later deny it or say it was taken out of context when it no longer suits their purpose. As in Watergate - follow the money!!!

As for anti-zionism = anti-semitism, I personally don't see it, but from some of the posts that I've read many Jews and Christians feel that zionism = jewishness. For me it would be the same as saying that you hate all [insert racial group of choice here], just because you deplore the policies of the government of their native country or that of their parents, et al. Some Jews may say well you don't understand the sublties of the relationship of a Jew to Isreal, maybe not, but it's policies are erily similar to that of the Nazi government (minus the gas chambers and overt call to kill the "sub-humans" that live around them). I guess it was no different than Joshua deciding that it was in "God's best interest" to wipe out all men, women, and children in the land of Milk and Honey who were not of the chosen people. Maybe the story was allegorical, but when you use a document that was written a couple of thousand years ago as a document for a Bill of Sale, then everything in the Jewish testament can be read as truth. Funny, how the definition of tolerance is slowly coming to mean - just wack the other guy, it's easier in the end.

It's not the truth, justice, and the American way that I believe in.

The lynch mob mentality is very prevalent in some of the responses to Gary's article and to the other posters'. They try to hide and wrap themselves in the flag, and try to bait others with their distorted views on self preservation and compassion. In my opinion, these posts are very much in the vien of the supremacists and extreme nationalists - the same wack jobs that would have happily strung up any minority because you had to preserve the "superior race". Better to kill off a couple of million ignorant, useless natives with smallpox and anything else you can get them with because those savages are impeding progress, the preventing the unification of the country from sea to shining sea, not using the land, [add any other justification here], etc. The Germans, Pol Pot, and all the other ethnic cleansers were all too happy to get rid of the "others", those who didn't measure into their world view.

I admit that I've taken the bait and responded, but sometimes you have to shine the light on the cockroaches (my apologies to the cockroaches). In my opinion, those posts are not about self reflection, or compassion, or even really about Gary's article, but rather display the vileness and inhumanity within themselves. Utlimately, it's about some need to vindicate and self validate their distorted and prejudiced views.