Are you saying the truth would set us free? If so, I agree 110%.

I have read theory about birthing, raising, and then educating children in the modern western world, but in this country in particular, that suggests that we have lost the ability to bond with our young, lost the ability to nurture them emotionally, and lost the ability to educate them in a way that allows them to remain connected to others in a positive way. One fellow linked these things (and I am leaving out a host of parts of this idea) to the modern violence (physical and other) we see in this country today.

I am of the opinion that Americans are mentally ill in general and that our society and the actions of our government reflect this fact. I do not care to make any claim today as to why this is so, but I think a reading of American Society from 1945 to today would convince even the most hardened skeptics that something is amiss.

What to do? Well, making comments here in this swamp will not get much done. Once in a while commenter give Glenn an idea and he posts on of his wonderful essays on that topic or a closely related one. That is useful in a small way; but Glenn would have probably gotten around to the topic sooner or later anyway.

So, I guess this note to you is pessimistic. There is a crowd always saying to others "what are you doing?", but they are getting nothing done either. I continue to work with my little feed the hungry charity and hope that I do not become a client rather than a volunteer. I recommend that all others find some personal way to help real individuals in their local area as a way to help themselves as well as the needy. Other than that; pray to Horace that the nightmare soon ends.

you would buzz of to Freiburg downtown and yell at the Germans -

Do you know how often they marched into France in the last five hundred years and killed everybody who stood in their way - and if you are at it - why don't you take a ride on your bicycle into France and yell at this 'murderous crowd' too (do you know how often they marched into Germany and killed the poor Germans?) - And then - why don't you sit down in a Cafe in Mulhouse or Colmar - and 'muse' about - 'what if' my ancestors wouldn't have 'battled it out

for - you wouldn't be able to have your cafe or Banana Split!

they probably would love him at the Aran - You could put an Egyptian shaped head on him and he could mumble some of his greatest 'hits of apocalypse' - and if you get him to show some of his 'moves" too (preferable to the music of thriller) - I betcha you'll find somebody who buys him a Banana Split too!

Are you saying that Christianity does not have baggage, or that Christian baggage does not count? I am of the belief that I could match your "baggage of Islam" with "baggage of Christianity" by at least a factor of 10 to 1.

Shall we start with the murders of Pagan philosophers, sometimes chaining them to their alters and torturing them to death? Perhaps the inquisition? Women? Give me a break, the Gnostics had women bishops and priests. Anyone could be anything in the gnostic meetings and they did not hide Sophia. (the wisdom of god, the female aspect)

As a play on Glenn's title; what if the Islamics were Christians?

that always works well - everywhere!

devil are more than willing to play this kind of trickery. Thus arne (unlikely to be Governor of California) resorts to lumping Tripoli in Libya on the continent of Africa with the Xinjiang Province, currently part of China and geographically part of Central Asia. That comedian, Sachsa Baron Cohen, made a great laugh of Khazikstan (I suppose it's a Muslim country) but Austria and touchy people in the US aren't so amused by his film "BRUNO" because it's jeering at them.

Colonel Gaddafi is the unelected Libyan leader and was until the last few years the bane of the West, even blamed for the PanAm bombing over Scotlan 20 years ago. Naturally, he's a Muslim and he sometimes lives in a tent. Forget about that now! He's a great guy really and they've all kissed and made up, regardless of religion but all in thrall to the God of Mammon. I don't think Gaddafi has any connection with Central Asia; like Popeye he has his own oyle. The Uighurs are regarded by some as being an Eurasian people, closer in ethnicity to the Turks (American allies) than the Chinese, although the Mongols have also made their presence felt in this north-western corner of China over the centuries. Like the Basques and the Catalans, who fought against Franco's fascism in the Spanish Civil War, the Uighurs also have separatist aspirations within the Chinese Empire. It's a question of identity and not simply about religion. On the day of Michael Jackson's funeral this should not be difficult to understand. The Jacksons were brought up as Jehovah's Witnesses but at least one of the family, Jermaine, is now a Muslim. From what I can see of him, he's a very gentle and forgiving man. Glenn has muddied the waters by bringing religion into an ethnic conflict in which the Han should be seen as a modern equivalent of 19th century WASP society in America.

that most of the dead were Han men and women killed by Muslim Uighers...Same thing happened during the Tibet unrest last summer...Almost every account "from tourists/travellers" stated that monks were roaming the streets beating, killing and setting fires to the Chinese majority...I'll start worrying about Muslims when Christians and Jews can walk freely and practice their religion in Muslim countries around the world (I won't hold my breath though)...

For most of Iran's electoral aftermath, the Obama administration used an admirable verbal restraint. The administration knew that anything else could be seized upon by Iran's current leadership as evidence of American meddling. Now that carefully crafted tone has been shot all to hell. Even the jingoistic Reagan administration would not have made Biden's mistake. When Israel bombed Iraq's nuclear installation, that regime had the good sense to condemn it "publicly". No one was fooled by that condemnation, but it gave Reagan's administration a degree of plausible deniability. President Obama would have no such luxury now. The US has now lost all credibility as an "honest broker". Did it not occur to Biden that such a statement would poison any future dialog with Iran? Unfortunately, it goes way beyond that. With one statement, he exposed America's bias in favor of Israel. Rather than reaffirming Israeli sovereignty, he legitimized the notion of its use of pre-emptive strikes. Furthermore, can the US now be taken seriously, when it decries the expansion of West Bank settlements?