The point has already been made, but people, not religion, are responsible for wars. Or how about this: Sin is responsible for wars. Greed, pride, carelessness for how a man's actions affect his peers (using "man," of course, because most wars are started by men). I think it is more than a bit insulting to say my beliefs, which I would never use to hurt or exploit anyone, are the actual cause of tragedies and atrocities visited on the world by the actions of cruel, sinful men.

I originally had a lot written, but I am not going to waste my breath arguing. Just know that many people who take the Bible seriously are actually pacifists, not warmongers, and are trying to "live a quiet life, at peace with everyone" like the apostle Paul said.

I like to think that if Sarah were actually reading C.S. Lewis, she would be quite a bit more thoughtful, instead of reactionary. I doubt the man or his friend Tolkien would endorse her or McCain for any political office.

The book "I Didn't Do it For You" is a fascinating history of Eritrea and spends a lot of time covering its relationship with Ethiopia. This sounds like yet another continuation of most of the western world's policy towards Africa: Use it for what little strategic advantage we can, ignore the human cost of our interventions, act surprised when it comes back to bite us.

Roe v. Wade may well be overturned. The Supreme Court is not beholden to a majority of americans, just their view of the Constitution. Scalia and Thomas would surely support overturning Roe v. Wade, Roberts and Alito probably would too. That leaves Stevens' replacement as the fifth and deciding vote. It is entirely possible. I still doubt that States could forbid their citizens to leave the State to get abortions. There is a 14th Amendment right to travel, after all. So, its worse than some of you think, but probably not as bad as the proposed doomsday scenario. Couldn't hurt to elect Obama.

...so much I wanna take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant!

Did I hear McCain contradict himself on a minor issue in this debate? At first he said that Obama had admitted the surge was working "beyond his wildest expectations," or something to that effect. Then, about 45 minutes later, McCain said Obama was unwilling to change and used as an example the fact that Obama refused to recognize that the surge is working. Isn't that a direct contradiction (whether or not either assertion is true, they couldn't both be). Did I hear that right? Did anyone else notice that?

If they busted the Chiefs down the the arena league, where would the Lions have to play? Peewee football? Maybe then they could go .500, but I wouldn't feel comfortable making any playoff predictions.

It sounds like they gave every comedy Emmy possible to 30 Rock, which sounds about right. If you don't like 30 Rock, I have no interest in getting to know you (if you've never seen it I will forgive you for the time being, but you should really watch it). The only other shows on TV that I can think of that even make me laugh are How I Met Your Mother and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and I guess I'm not surprised that It's Always Sunny...doesn't get much Emmy love. So kudos for whoever votes on the Emmys for getting that right. NBC can't cancel the show if it keeps winning, right? Hopefully.

Actually now that I think about it The Office makes me laugh as well.

On the drama front I don't have much of an opinion. I have never seen The Wire, although I intend to start with the DVDs soon and I was a huge fan of Homicide, so I expect greatness. Most of all I am glad to see Cranston win best actor. I did not even know he was nominated, but he deserved to win. I watched Breaking Bad from the beginning, and he puts on a clinic every single week. I don't even think the show would be special without him.

In conclusion, never go with a hippie to a second location.

As all the Supreme Court Justices McCain will appoint agree, there is just no such thing as a constitutional right to privacy! So even if somebody "broke a law," its not like any of Palin's "rights" were violated. And why get all up in arms about breaking laws?

First off, my earlier post screaming "Communism!" should be taken as an expression of pure joy. I love it when people have no choice but to abandon their ideology and join the real world, if only for a minute at a time.

Second off, to Milton Friedman's ghost, posting that government interference is to blame for the catastrophe, a few words about science:

I know you guys like to treat economics like a science, and draw up your fancy equations and all, but science is based on things that can be observed. There has never been a modern society with 0 government control over the market, and claiming that such a setup would fix all our problems is dubious at best. We simply don't know what would happen. And we probably never will, because people don't want unregulated markets. They want social security and medical care and public schools.

Finally, to ELYDOG. I like pretty much everything you said, but there is a problem with nationalizing industries without compensation. It is contrary to the Takings Clause and unconstitutional. We could always amend it, I suppose.