>Do I not have the right to state an opinion in this forum?

Of course! Just like I do.....and I chose to make the comment to all, not just you.
So, don't take it personally.....

>And the allusion to the KKK is completely unwarrented. Those who condemn Walker do so because of his actions, not his race.

Yes, you're right, but it's still the old "lynch mob mentality".......

>IMHO, when treason is "no big deal," a nation is in serious trouble. Citizenship must carry responsibility as well as rights.

If I understood the press release about Walker, he chose to study the Eastern religions at a tender age of 14 or so. It was romanticized in his mind. Maybe he wanted to get as far away from his conservative, suburban parents as he could.
All teenagers rebel.
He probably would have just had his eyebrow pierced, his head shaved and a few tatoos on his body if he came from a less influential family.
As it stood, his parents ENCOURAGED any discipline they saw their son engaging in.
Certainly six years ago, busy parents wouldn't really understand the implications of radical fundamentalist teachings,...and where they were going.

Little Johnny entered a new world, and was brainwashed to the extreme.
He REALLY had a cross to bear by wanting to be different.

Should he be executed for treason?

I don't think so, but then again Bush likes the electric chair and may want to make a historical example out of it for any would-be anti-American religionists.

>BTW, I've never owned a white hood. You?

No, and if I felt the need for revenge or any racist leanings (and I don't); they'd certainly see my face.