Re: "No gun laws are enforceable, at least while I am alive. I will NOT, under any circumstances, turn in my guns, register my guns, submit to any gun regulation, whatsoever. No, not ever, never, no."

This is exactly the kind of fear mongering that Right-wing outlets, from Rush Limbaugh to Foxnews exploit for money and power. can you cite even one example where Barak Obama has explicitly declared he will do what you claim? And it has to be from his direct, reliably quotable comments, not what Bill O'Rielly or Sean Hannity tells you Barak Obama "secretly wants to do"?

If you cannot cite a reliable source of those exact words (that Barak Obama wants to go into the home of every single American and sieze every gun they own), then you are an integral part of the right-wing lie machine that provided ammunition to one scared individual in Pittsburgh resuliting in the death of many people.

That is accountablity for what one says: something that Coservatives always declare is important for what Liberals say, but not one single Conservative in America is willing to apply to what other Conservatives say, EVER.

Re: "Oh Obama is a FASCIST since his no. 1 concern is Wall street. If Wall Street wants a disarmed America then that's what he'll do."

Got some proof of that?

If "Wall Street" had demanded that of George W. Bush, would he have done it? Or, since Bush is a Republican does he get the automatic Conservative FREE PASS?

He has always had others (Dick Cheney) to do his dirty work for him.

In the short run hating homosexuals will cement the hard core base to the party, guaranteeing money and votes for Republicans regardless of any other positions Republicans take, such as ignoring the US constitution on presidential powers for (Republican) presidents, or ignoring Republican candidates personal commitment to morality (Such as newt Gingrich’s commitment to Family Values).

Once society gets to the point when gay marriage is acceptable, thanks to the political sacrifices made by Democrats and independents, Republicans will pretend that they never hated gays and not one single reporter or pundit will bring it up in terms of accountability, ever.

100% Loyalty and 100% Amnesia. It is the cornerstone of Republican politics.

After the humiliation of the siezure of the American spy plane by the Chinese, and a feckless leadership in Congress, George W. Bush would certainly have been a totally forgettable one-term president were it not for the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Republicans know that and hope for another "miracle" to restore their power.

There is also a third version of "what happened" circulating among Conservatives, generally represented by FoxNews. That version is that Conservatives are, and always have been perfect. The problem is that evil Liberals who control the Media and American thought prevent the true light of Conservatism from saving the world.

The solution, as expressed by Ann Coulter, is to just try Liberals for Treason and apply a Final Solution to them, so that, just as in Atlas Shrugged, the world can live the life envisioned in that work of fiction.

And, like Grover Norquist, their method is to drive the world to the lowest level of despair so that everyone will turn to the NeoConservatives to save them.

Nothing less.

He is a Conservative. He is capable of neither embarrassment nor shame. It is a direct result of having his conscience surgically removed: A trait of all Conservatives.

It does not matter if torture works or not. To a Republican it only matters that someone they hate is being tortured. Because Republicans love the prospect of people they hate being tortured. The alibi is nothing more than that: an alibi.

Enjoying the prospect of torturing others is what it means to be a Republican.

Anyone who believes that I am exaggerating only has to find one single example of someone, anyone, publicly declaring, “I am a republican and the Bush Administration was morally wrong to torture prisoners”. Or anything similar.

Any takers?

It is unlikely he even knows it is gone.

Re: "you'd best come up with reasons why Democrats didn't stand up against torture when it was very clear it was going on."

Easy. Democrats were, and still are, spineless. Especially Harry Ried.

That still does not make Republicans' love for torture (without a single exception) right.

Item 2.

I knew the abortion card was going to be played. It is the "Godwin's Law" of Republican debates: Every time.

Re: "If we aren't going to prosecute people for this sort of behavior, what sort of behavior could possibly justify prosecution?"

Lying about getting a blow job.

So you are saying that the members of the Bush Administration who justified torturing prisoners, and the Republicans who now defend that torture, including pro-lifers, are morally wrong in that defence?

Re: "A woman burdened/a baby murdered. To use your card game reference, these are equal hands?"

"Playing the [fill in the term] card" is a debating term describing a technique where one of the debaters specifically introduces a topic that is not directly related to the point at hand, in order to elicit an emotional reaction. For example, “Playing the Race Card” in politics.

My reference to “Playing the abortion card” was meant to refer to your introduction of abortion into a thread that was not discussing abortion at all. It was not “making a game” out of anything.

And everyone on the thread, including you, knew it. Likening it to a game was just another example of the false umbrage that Republicans have used to feign outrage over nothing: Such as the rage about President Obama’s shaking hands at the Latin American summit: Or whether or not Candidate Obama wore an American Flag pin in his lapel.

So cut the crap. And you are not “Independent” because you vote loyally Republican, every time.

Torture is always wrong. Republicans declare that anyone who is “different” is guilty (of something) and therefore subject to torture.