Dear Fight the Theocracy:

I believe that communists / marxists / nazis / state-worshippers are alive and kicking when I read letters such as yours.

The imagary of boxcars and stark raving mad nazis living in Alabama are a silly attempt of pinning the nazi label on those who are against a leviathan state dictating what is right and wrong from above. I'll go one step further ... your response is downright Stalinist.

I do not advocate harm towards gays. I also think smoking is bad, but I do not advocate the mass extermination of smokers.

Please throw "the Nazis are coming!" warning a little bit harder -- it makes you sound oh so eloquent!

Thank you.

Long is very important, but no, I don't want to seem to be nitpicking over that in an attempt to discredit the article, which is, for once, a Lind homerun. It just had gone completely by me and I'm glad you've enlarged upon it.

In particular you've enlarged and clarified the issue of populism as it is, not as some have heard it used and then repeated that useage. As a political strategy and movement, populism, especially as it relates to the agrarian movement, means more now than ever, and is one potential way to erase many of the artificial, if not outright imaginary divisions between people -- the populi of populism.

A very important observation on your part and yes, the Kingfish still strikes fear into the hearts of both corporatists and Big Government.

The irony of co-opted populism for divide-and-conquer purposes is not lost on me, but agrarianism is still alive and well (and along with it pure populism) in the work and the followers of people such as Mr. Wendell Berry. So long as there is one community which functions locally and is self-reliant there is the danger that it will spread, especially in this time of economic uncertainty. Sometimes the dark cloud has a literally silver lining.

I find another great irony in the fact that the anti-"southern solution" was born and developed in the south.

Thanks again for a most thoughtful and informed post.

"Dear Fight the Theocracy:

I believe that communists / marxists / nazis / state-worshippers are alive and kicking when I read letters such as yours.

The imagary of boxcars and stark raving mad nazis living in Alabama are a silly attempt of pinning the nazi label on those who are against a leviathan state dictating what is right and wrong from above. I'll go one step further ... your response is downright Stalinist.

I do not advocate harm towards gays. I also think smoking is bad, but I do not advocate the mass extermination of smokers.

Please throw "the Nazis are coming!" warning a little bit harder -- it makes you sound oh so eloquent!"

My my, someone is on the defensive! So when you don't have a rebuttle your strategy is to simply call people "marxist"? Weak!

The idea that you people don't believe in government is laughable on it's face given that everytime you don't like something you try and make some constitutional amendment banning it. Don't beleive me? What about gay marriage? Flag burning? Or thirty years of trying to abolish abortion based on nothing more then some obscure line from the bible (seriously, what IS your people's obsession with gays anyway?)? You were the one who tried to play the moral superiority card by pointing out your beleif in God as though that makes you more qualified to have an opinion then everyone else (implying I guess that all liberals must not beleive in God? Taking the "Marxist" paranoia a little far are we?). Oh, and you were also the one who said liberals shouldn't have the right to vote. Now whose being "marxist"?

You openly said that your letter was to get the goat of liberals, I guess a little taste of your own medicine is exactly what you needed.

Dear Fight the Theocracy:

I really do think you are enjoying this as much as I am. This really has degenerated into name calling (although, your sticks and stones have not scratched my old bones). You are correct! I have no idea whether you are a follower of Marx or Stalin as you have no idea of my Hitelerian tendencies (which, you my friend, insinuated by your boxcar imagery). And with that, let me bury the proverbial hatchet.

However, one final homework assignment for you. Please read Article 5 of the Constitution. This is my answer to your amendment question. The framers built many hurdles for any majority, religious or otherwise, to impose its will upon the minority; to worship at the throne of supreme judicial power was not one of them.

Many conservatives advocate the amendment process because this is how the system was designed to work. If you feel strongly about the right of a woman to have an abortion or gays to marry, then please do the right thing and convince your fellow Americans through the Constitutional framework.

Finally, Yes. I believe in God. I also would die to protect your right not to believe in him (or her or whatever). Oh, and yes, you do have the right to vote. Just remember to vote on the 4th Wednesday in September! Peace.