As for "unrepentant liberals and leftists": speaking as one, I wonder what it is we're supposed to repent? Having a heart, perhaps? Or maybe a difference of opinion is considered heresy, here in the era of the Faith-based Democracy...

As liberals go, most of the ones on this board are fairly reasonable. You are, and Buck seems to be, and batting the ball back and forth over the fence with you guys is a hoot.

Repent? I don't know. The heart of the liberal philosophy is the use of armed force (sanitized as government action) to create social change, redistribute wealth, and control almost every aspect of the citizens' lives, particularly in the field of economic activity. Granted, the automatic weapons aren't normally pulled out unless you get really cranky about having half of your life siphoned off by people who have Much Better Things To Do with your money, your business, or your life, but everyone knows they are there.

Is this a "difference of opinion?" Maybe. Wolves and sheep have differences of opinion on what's for lunch. Muggers and victims have differences of opinion over whose cash will buy breakfast tomorrow. It stops being "free speech" when one guy has a gun.

This sounds extreme, but it's true. And I guarantee you that 95 percent of those who consider themselves "liberal" are sweet people with big hearts who have never bothered to do the abstract thinking required to realize what the foundation of their philosophy implies. To them, government money is a given, fallen from the sky like manna, and the only problem is making sure that we Do The Right Thing with it. It's our Social Responsibility, and obviously people are evil and won't Do The Right Thing on their own without having a gun barrel jammed into their ribs.

In other words, you having a heart does not give you a free ticket to take my blood.

You won't agree with this outlook. You may not even understand it. In this country, over the past century, we have been so indoctrinated to believe that it is right for a central government to have total control of its citizens' lives that most people don't even see it, like a fish not noticing water.

I like this story. Check it out.