That’s not to say all the militias or members are irredemable, and many do share concerns with the progressive populist movements. It’s just a matter of whether our similarities are more powerful than our differences.

But yeah, I’m pleasantly surprised at the Freepers.

I work at a prison, and there’s a concerted effort on the part of some of the chaplains and property staff to stymie the Wiccans, Pagans, and, to some degree, Native Americans/Indians in their efforts to worship. It’s absolutely disgusting to see state employees doing all they can to keep some herbs and even the product catalogs out of the hands of non-Christians while every Christian who wants to visit and praise the lord almost gets the run of the place.

A bunch of inmates whose religious leanings seem to be a combination of Dungeons and Dragons, voodoo, Thor comics, and heavy metal satanism are so scary that for them to get an herb catalog into the prison it would be a dangerous affront to the secure operations of the institution. At least that’s what the memo said.

It’s from “Downsize This!” Money quote, from an interview with Michigan Militia commander Norm Olson:

By day’s end, Norm and the boys were getting tired. I asked them to take an oath forsaking violence. Norm told me he didn’t expect to be alive a year from now, that the final confrontation with the government was coming and he would probably die defending his beliefs. I gave him a swig of my Snapple and wished him well. He asked me one final question.

“You know, you guys were right in the sixties,” Norm said. “The government lied to us. They probably killed Dr. King. Us conservatives were wrong. So when we finally wised up in the nineties, after all these jobs were lost, where were you liberals when we needed your help?”

I didn’t have an answer.

(My answer would probably begin with “where were you in the sixties, seventies and eighties, when we needed your help?”, but I’m in one of those moods today.)

and trade him to the team he’ll lead to three Super Bowls after spending one season on the bench in Detroit?

(Sorry, I understand the desire for positive thinking, but, c’mon, the Lions?)

There is one point that you missed, one that just about everyone I’ve seen commenting on this very good news has missed. What the plaintiffs had to give up in order to get what they wanted. According to what I’ve read, there was one thing that the VA demanded . . . documents. My guess is that those documents were the ones that demonstrated anti-Wiccan bias on the part of the Administration and the fact that the VA was acting on that bias. There are other issues out there (e.g., the Wiccan chaplain who was removed from the Chaplain’s service after becoming a Wiccan), and while those incidents may not directly deal with the VA, I would imagine those documents would have been a useful investigatory starting point (presuming some sort of legal action were taken). They’re not accessible any more. Not the end of the world of course, and knowing there might be relevant documents out there is still a decent starting point, but it would have been easier to have the starting point in hand.

Now, I’m not questioning the decision made by Circle Sanctuary on behalf of and (I would imagine) with Mrs. Stewart. She had her battle to fight, and it wouldn’t be fair for anyone to expect her to fight other folks battles as well. Gods know it must have taken phenomenal strength for her to make it through the ordeal she has already had to endure.

I just think it’s interesting and potentially instructive that the one demand the VA would not let go of was for documents.

can anybody just PLeASE post me what html tags to use and how to use them?

here is what i need

blockquoute
underline
bold
italics

that’s all i wnat to know!!!