It is a bit unnerving to me that our church pulpits have become so political. The biggest problem with trying to put political words in God's mouth I believe, is the penalty which will await those who attempt to hijack scripture for political gain. The push poles done on Mitt where they called people in Iowa asked this: "Some feel Mormonism is a cult. Does this make you more or less likely to vote for Mitt Romney?" This is disgraceful. If you cannot win a nomination on political issues, you do not deserve the nomination. I don't believe Huckabee is directly responsible. I believe it comes down to overzealous supporters. But it is a terrible conflation of religion and politics. Ultimately it hurts organized religion by making non believers less likely to embrace any religion used in such a way.

I must say, if I were running against Mitt, I'd simply point to his changing positions with respect to taxes/fees, the NRA (which he is now a life time member of), abortion, and universal healthcare (which he instituted in Mass.) If you can't win a caucus on those issues, you don't deserve to win, and playing the "Mormonism is a cult" card won't help.

Kevin "Hack" King

If you want to see what a country looks like that is run by religious law rather than voted in law, just study Iran, Iraq (soon), Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Vatican, Afghanistan, Puerto Rico, and a host of nickel and dime others.
We don't need "no stinkin badge,"

Bonkers...you had our family in stitches! We vacationed in "Religious-War torn" Puerto Rico last year. You're right, those coconuts were flying from palm tree to palm tree. People in their bikinis cussing up a storm...fire and brimstone giving everyone a tan. Everyone fasting on lobster tails and pina coladas. You certainly got your facts right! You have a Master's from DeVry or was it a Cracker Jack Box? Was it by any chance on International Relations??? Are you a stand-up comedian? Funny, keep it up. Smart people like you needed!

Sometimes people can't see further than the end of their nose!
Where did the "war torn" part of your comment come from? Not me!

The attitude of the Puerto Rican majority is that they do not want statehood since their way of life (except for the 10%) would drastically change. Welfare would decrease dramatically and taxes would definitely increase.
Right now they are protected by the powerful USA, at practically no cost.
Those who want to run to the US and make some money can---no hassle!

Who promotes this attitude? The Catholic Church in my opinion!

In 1952 Puerto Rico was given the goose that lays the golden eggs, when it became a Commonwealth. Therefore they have the best of both worlds: the kind of life many enjoy in the USA, plus being autonomous at the same time! Why would they want to change it? I have a European background, but grew up with many Puerto Ricans up north and visit the Island quite often. At present, the Church in Puerto Rico is no longer dominated by Religious Congregations, with the majority of priests preaching pro Independence. I have been to many a service where instead of the Gospel being the homily, it is an encouragement to get away from the good ole USA. I happened to be in Puerto Rico for the last election 3 years ago for a wedding. I was invited to attend a dinner hosted by Ruben Berrios, president of the Independence party for eons. I was floored by the amount of priests and nuns, and even some bishops that attended. NOw you have Pedro Rosello, (pro statehood) who is once again wanting to run again for Governor, after having embezzled from the people and had left the Island. This man is a piece of work...sort of like Hillary and Obama. He is such a piece of garbage that he has managed to completely divided the Statehood party, which is something that has never been seen before. The Catholic church has nothing to do with the condition of Puerto Rico...people just don't want to give up the goose that was so generously placed on their laps by the US government. We made our bed, now we need to lie in it! Have a great day!

You amuse me!
I think you said, no I know you said, that the Catholic Church is FOR keeping independence---and I assume financed and protected by the USA!

Isn't that the same as causing the conditions as they are right now in Puerto Rico?

The church controls better when they think their people live off charity.
Never saw any organized religion who didn't want a chunk of their people's money!

Puerto Rico has a number of political parties: 1) PNP which advocates Statehood, PDP which wants to remain a Commonweath, PIP which wants complete independence from the USA making Puerto Rico a Republic, and the Socialist party, whose initials I cannot remember but its leader is Juan MariBras. When I referred to many church leaders wanting Independence, I meant PIP - a complete break from the USA. Did you not see how many clergy members were involved in getting the Navy out of Vieques, and promote the independence from the USA? By the way, PIP stands for Partido Independentista Puertoriqueno - Puerto Rican Independence Party. The use of the word independence in your mind and in mine are totally different. We can assume nothing. If I amuse you it gives me great joy, since your initial post had me in stitches. I am happy to reciprocate!

If you want to see what a country looks like that is run by religious law rather than voted in law, just study Iran, Iraq (soon), Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Vatican, Afghanistan, Puerto Rico, and a host of nickel and dime others.
We don't need "no stinkin badge,"

Before we start digging in the Demo’s dumpster, let’s start with a bit of Demo humor. This week, Nancy Pelosi got up in front of the press with her lower lip pushed out trying to explain why Congress accomplished NOTHING in the last twelve months. Did Nancy take ANY responsibility? Yeah, right. That will be the day.

Typical liberal mindset: “I failed because I’m a victim of (insert your favorite social or political demon here)”. It’s always somebody else’s fault.

and into Hack's favorite ring of conversation. I'll get to the point. When I look back at last week, I don't see Mrs. Pelosi's press conferences as nearing the significance of the White House's. You see, last week at the White House they were engaged in trying to talk about torture and waterboarding and trying not to acknowledge that we waterboard while saying emphatically that we do not torture. A republican congressman even had the audacity to say waterboarding is like swimming a backstroke; pure idiocy. The White House was also dealing with the pesky testimony of US Attorneys that know Karl Rove was involved in their firings. This is problematic because Gonzo, Karl himself, and the President have claimed their was no White House political involvement.
Hoosier, let me count the disappointments:

1. Ignoring PDB "Al Qaeda determined to strike in US using aircraft."

2. Attacking country B when attacked by stateless terrorist organization C staging out of country A.

3. Squandering the good will of a country and world united behind us to score political points: "You're for us or against us." "Axis of evil."

4. Forgetting the "State's Rights" point of view and trying to insert the federal govt into Florida family court wrt the Schaivo's

5. Trying to make his legal secretary a supreme court justice.

6. Creating a staggering national debt with borrow and spend economics.

7. Completely mishandling a war, embracing incompetence, and holding no one accountable for anything even when he promised that he would "anyone involved with outing Valerie Plame..."

8. An inability to articulate or inspire.

9. Allowing the govt to grow into a huge leviathan.

10. Allowing that leviathan to warrantlessly spy on US citizens.

Hoosier, GWB is THE WORST performing President of our lifetimes. Hands down.

Kevin "Hack" King

GWB signed to change 14 CFR 121.383(c) to let you remain in the "wheelhouse" for an additional 5 years.
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Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.

Pilots dying on the job. hopefully it will be in the layover hotel or at a layover pub, but I imagine in the comming years we will have first officers trying to strap slumped captains in their chairs to keep them out of the controls

Kevin "Hack" King

I hope they're a lot better than what we have to stay in. We have to look for places that are under $120 night. That's getting harder and harder especially in MIA, LAX, SAN, SFO, LGA/JFK and BOS. I'll bust that requirement if I don't feel safe. I'll ask for forgiveness later. But, the screws are turning tighter and tighter.
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Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.