I think your understanding of "neoliberalism" is a bit off. While neoconservatism is actually associated with American-style conservatism, there have been proponents of neoliberalism on both sides, and it seems like the foremost offender in this game of economic bullying has been Republicans, from Nixon in Chile to Bush in Iraq. If I understand you correctly, Obama is going to continue to push extreme free-market ideals on developing countries in the name of progress, free trade, humanitarian intervention, etc. I am not sure what you are basing this on - Obama usually sounds like a non-interventionist, aside from his assertion that we would violate State sovereignty if we had actionable intelligence on top enemies of the state. I am not a big fan of his in this respect, but its a tame position compared to McCain's warmongering.

I am assuming that you are criticizing Obama from the left. In my mind it just goes to show that you can't make everyone happy all of the time. Repubs call Obama a socialist, progressives call him a corporatist, I think they're all overstating their cases. Fact is, we don't have the money to continue launching international adventures, and I expect Obama to rein in U.S. influence out of necessity if not out of ideology.

Young (well, 20s still at least) law student here, I consider myself a Christian but I haven't been going to church too much lately because I am becoming increasingly disgusted with the evangelical and fundamentalist movements in the U.S. Maybe I should move to the Netherlands, balance out this supposedly rapidly-growing Muslim population. By the way, I hear local white politicians in the area are making some vicious and successful appeals to their constituents based on keeping the place white and keeping the Muslims out. But I'm sure the ugliness is all Muslims' fault. Us white people are perfect, after all.

Could anyone recommend other countries or continents for me to move to? I hear good things about parts of Africa, and it sounds like the Christian church there actually opens their Bibles once in awhile. I've heard good things about Ghana in particular.

Debaser had the thread won by a mile, but then Worf showed up out of nowhere and walked off with the grand prize. I think I am going to print his comment up on a million tiny sheets of paper and distribute them throughout the land.

Really there's just too many great lines to choose one, but off the top of my head my favorite is the whit head / black head passage. Lyrical batshit insanity at its most beautiful.

"McCain did not have to consult his advisers to instantly identify the aggressor."

Neocons in a nutshell: Never let the facts get in the way of your judgment.

If I understand some of the basics of Christianity correctly, having been raised in the conservative church, us Christian-type people oppose gay marriage because it undermines the first and holiest institution. And that's important because we want to be like Christ, who spoke strongly against homosexuals. Oh wait, he didn't mention it? Not even once? But he must have said something about marriage, I'm sure. Oh yeah, he mentioned that God hates divorce. How are those divorce rates in the church looking? About the same as the rest of the world, huh? Ever heard the one about taking the plank out of your own eye?

Here's another one: God is love, right? And Christians want to be like God and show love to all people, including of course people who they have deep and fundamental disagreements with. "Enemies," if you will. So, would you say "brown shirts" and "Nazis" is an especially loving way to refer to people you disagree with? Of course, I see that you haven't yet come out and said that you are a Christian. I'm just going to assume you aren't.

I am a lifelong Pistons fan, and I am really glad the NBA season started so I can talk about a team from Michigan without everyone laughing at me. But I do think that this year is the start of a rebuilding period. They've still got a solid young starter in Prince, but the rest of the team is getting long in the tooth. As much as I love the guards, Hamilton and Billups are past their prime, and 'Sheed is looking real old. That's not to say that they're not all great players still - but I doubt they have what it takes to match up against the other championship-caliber teams. Does anyone have any thoughts as to who they might be able to pick up midseason? And who would we trade to get him? They need a premier forward or center to compete this year as far as I'm concerned, to fill in that fifth starting spot.

All that being said, Dumars is an amazing executive and I have faith in whatever move he makes. I also like how the team develops rookies - Prince being the prime example. His stats have improved every year, and he has now reached the point that I think he would be an asset to just about any team in the league. Of course I just now remembered Darko, which sort of undermines Dumars's decision-making.