Unfettered free enterprise has also brought our economy to its knees.

This is what those who want massive control of the economy are trying to sell you. Desperately. The markets that collapsed were anything but "unfettered," were a years-long collusion between government "regulators" and private entities, and since the first FHA program, were underwritten by taxpayers instead of investors.

They have the work ethic and the drive. We seem to have lost ours. Like spoiled children, we have much and have a lot to lose but fail to remember that it was the sweat of our fathers (and mothers) who got us here and that we have to work hard to keep it. Instead, there is a sense of entitlement among Americans, particularly among American politicians who cheat and steal and betray the public trust almost every day.

I can agree with this, although the sense of entitlement is mostly on the part of the voters. Politicians encourage and exploit this to gain more power and control of the nation's wealth.

"Luke Skywalker was an Iowa farm boy."

I hope that goof was an intentional metaphor mixture because Luke wasn't even American; Captain James T. Kirk was the Iowa farm boy. Don't screw with Star Trek.

The characters in Star Wars were obvious archetypes of Western storytelling. The only thing missing from Uncle Owen's farm was the cornfield. The only thing missing from the uniforms of Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin were the swastikas.

"Cut those cords of love of and pride in country -- as the elites have cut them in every civilization before us -- and from your seat on the moon you will see the brightest light in history wink out. The rest of the world will soon follow."

Much of the rest of the world will wink back on, led by China. What was once a great civilization will rise again and pollute the world, just as we did. We learn nothing; they learn nothing. History will repeat itself until we exterminate ourselves.

Do you understand how you just proved his point?

You won't be able to discuss conservative principles until you know what they are, and not the cartoons that people are telling you they are. The first thing that needs to be realized is that "conservative" and "Republican" are not congruent sets. The Republicans are losing because conservative ideas have been largely abandoned, particularly those on the limits of state power. Look at the greatest Republican political victories in the past thirty years, and who won them.