Hate Crimes Law in Defense Spending Bill

Senate Democrats are trying to pull another fast one: this time, inserting hate crime legislation to give special consideration to homosexuals inside a defense spending bill.

From LifeSite.net:

Instead of introducing the legislation giving sexual orientation "hate crimes" protection as a separate bill, Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) opted to introduce the "Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act" as one of hundreds of amendments to the Defense Reauthorization bill requested by President Bush.

Why try to pass hate crime legislation this way? To avoid a veto of this Big Brother-type legislation, or make President Bush look bad for stalling defense spending--either of which pleases Democrats.

Sens. Kennedy and Smith's strategy, Staver said, forces the President into a terrible dilemma: President Bush must either approve "hate crimes" legislation or veto the entire spending bill thus leaving US troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan without new support and dwindling resources. Since the President has no line-item veto, approval of the defense bill is an all or nothing deal.

"This is an underhanded ploy by liberals in the Senate to try to force Bush to sign dangerous hate crimes legislation into law," said Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues at Concerned Women for America (CWA). "I would suspect that [Bush] would send this back to the Senate and say 'quit playing games with the lives of our troops' and have them send a clean bill to his desk to get these troops taken care of."

A crime is a crime, regardless of the perpetrator's motivations. Assault on a black person, a white person, a homosexual person...whoever, has the same degree of criminality regardless of who was assaulted and regardless of the motivation.

Attempts like this to legislate thoughts and emotions based on politically correct notions reeks of what George Orwell warned of in his book 1984.

As badly as defense spending authorization is needed (one of the few constitutionally authorized budget items in our government), the money will keep rolling some way or another. Hopefully Bush will smack the ball back at them with the admonition voiced above: quit playing games with national defense.

Would you buy a used car from a journalist?

Today's "mainstream" journalists have reached the level of used car salesmen, in a manner of speaking.

From the Media Research Center:

Thursday's edition of Good Morning America featured a Diane Sawyer anecdote that revealed the low opinion Americans have of journalists. After wrapping up a 7:30am segment on people who avoid jury duty, the ABC co-host laughingly recounted the "hurtful" experience she had in a courtroom: "You know, I wanted to sit on a jury once and I was taken off the jury. And the judge said to me, 'Can, you know, can you tell the truth and be fair?' And I said, 'That's what journalists do.' And everybody in the courtroom laughed. It was the most hurtful moment I think I've ever had."

That illustration should tell Diane Sawyer--and other journalists--something. And you don't fix a problem by repeatedly pretending it doesn't exist.

Climate Scientist At Odds with Gore

Chalk up yet another climate scientist who's not buying Al Gore's global warming fable.

From Voice of America:

William Gray, 77, the principal force behind the annual hurricane forecasts done by Colorado State University's School of Atmospheric Science, has little good to say about Gore and his movie.

"Yes, we have seen some global warming. I think it is primarily natural due to the global ocean circulation features," he added.

Gray says the current warming trend is part of a natural cycle and that the world may soon enter a cooling phase.

Huckabee Ignores the "Law"?

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has been looking pretty good to me as a presidential candidate. Seemed pretty conservative and not afraid to articulate his values.

Then I read this story on "Second Commandment Republicans" from Time and now I wonder if Huckabee really gets it, after all.

There are two candidates with strong religious credentials, Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas and former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and both spend far more time talking about good works than about sin, although each has the requisite positions on abortion and gay marriage. Indeed, it was Huckabee who reminded me of Chesterton's lament. "I'm a 'grace' Christian," Huckabee told me over lunch recently, "not a 'law' Christian. The Second Commandment--do unto others--is the basic tenet of my faith. And so I believe that life begins at conception, but I don't believe it ends at birth. I believe we have a responsibility to feed the hungry, to provide a good education, a safe neighborhood, health care ... That's why I talk so much about the need for music and art programs in our schools. I know some conservatives think it's foolish, but I just believe it's necessary to build whole, creative individuals."

I don't disagree with anything Huckabee says here...in the proper context. Do to others as you would have them do to you is obviously the right way to act; Jesus said it, after all.

Where Huckabee--and many others--seems to go wrong is that he takes a personal admonition and turns it into a government imperative...which it was never meant to be. In fact, if people are following Christ's commandment in this regard, there wouldn't even be an opportunity for government to try and do it.

The Bible makes it clear that charity should be personal, not from some dispassionate, unaccountable government trough. This personal approach allow for both blessings and accountability.

From an op/ed I wrote about a year and a half ago, some biblical references that point to the personal and accountable nature of charity:

- If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold. (Leviticus 25:25)

- Do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit (Exodus 23:3)

- Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. (Leviticus 19:15)

- If a man will not work, he shall not eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

- These should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family (1 Timothy 5:4)

- As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list…they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house (1 Timothy 5:13)

- If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need. (1 Timothy 5:16)

Not once will you find Jesus or any of his apostles pointing people toward government to have their needs met, or stumping for government to meet those needs, or, in Huckabee's words, saying that government programs are "necessary to build whole, creative individuals." Personal relationships and the "indispensable supports" of "religion and morality" are what builds whole, creative individuals.

This wisdom also guided the founders of the United States as they set up our system of limited, based on freedom and personal responsibility:

- A wise and frugal government...shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. – Thomas Jefferson

- Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated. - Thomas Jefferson

- With respect to the two words 'general welfare,' I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators. – James Madison

- I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents. – James Madison

- (And if he still hasn’t made himself clear…) Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government. – James Madison

- We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. — Congressman Davy Crockett

Grace is of paramount importance to the Christian; I know because I'm the recipient of a boat-load of grace. But if we embrace grace to the point of neglecting the law, then we deny one of the two central attributes of God: He is love, but He is also holy.

God's holiness means He cannot embrace or even overlook unholiness, or sin. Anything that operates contrary to His holy and righteous nature is anathema to him.

This is why God sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for us. If He had only been the God of love and grace some claim He is, there would have been no need for Jesus' sacrifice; God could have just wiped our slates clean and declared the debt for our sins "paid in full."

But God declared that the penalty for our sins deserves death, and with a host of sins already to our account, we couldn't pay for them. That's why the sinless Jesus died for us: he had none of his own sins to pay for. He died on the cross to satisfy this justness God requires.

So when someone chats up grace and minimizes righteousness, I have serious concerns that they truly understand the Gospel. And in Huckabee's case, I have serious doubts that he understands the true nature of Christian charity, both from a biblical and a historically American perspective.

Rollover Romney

Joseph Farah's column at WorldNetDaily advises voters not to be fooled by Mitt Romney.

Farah points to inconsistencies from Romney on abortion (Romney says he's changed his mind and turned pro-life). Frankly, I'm not sure what to believe about Romney on this issue: I know people can change their minds (I was once pro-abortion), but I have read things indicating Romney may still have pro-abortion leanings after his alleged conversion.

But then there's this other matter:

When the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered the state Legislature to write a new law permitting same-sex marriages, Romney, the governor, the chief executive of the state's government, fell all over himself to do something that was not required of him – issuing homosexual marriage licenses.

Not only did this action reveal his gutlessness and lack of knowledge of the separation of powers in our system of government, it also suggests he is merely masquerading as someone committed to defending marriage as an institution between one man and one woman.

I have to say that I couldn't agree more with Farah's criticism here. I recall when the Massachusetts Supreme Court came out with this arrogant edict, that I couldn't believe the executive and legislative branches were acting like compliant subjects in carrying out their black-robed will.

If I'd been governor or a leader in the legislature, I'd have told the state Supreme Court in not-too-polite language that they could go pound sand. The judiciary doesn't make laws under our system of government, and they don't get to dictate what laws get implemented (that's the job of legislators, under the advice of the people, and signed into law by the executive branch).

If Romney is so willing to roll over for a bunch of oligarchs in black robes, would he make a strong leader in the face of foreign enemies?

From KMBC.com: Funeral Home 'Kills' Belton Woman

"Funeral Home 'Kills' Belton Woman

O'Quinn Struggles To Reinstate Social Security After Mixup

POSTED: 9:32 pm CDT July 11, 2007

UPDATED: 10:37 pm CDT July 11, 2007

BELTON, Mo. -- How many times do you have to prove you're not dead?

A Belton woman logged onto her computer and found out the federal government had deemed her deceased.

"I've been dead since the 10th and nobody told me," Kathryn O'Quinn said.

She said she's in a fight to get all of her medical benefits reinstated, including her Social Security.

KMBC's Lara Moritz reported that a funeral home in Colorado mistakenly put O'Quinn's Social Security number on someone's death certificate.

"I didn't know I was going to have to be resurrected on the 2nd of July because I didn't even know I was dead," O'Quinn said.

She found out she had died when she checked her bank statement."

(Read the full story)

The government should have to "confirm" a death, prior to deleting the person from the system and thereby deleting their benefits, rather than a person having to fight to prove they are alive. This is an error that should be, and could be, fixed in a matter of minutes. Why hasn't it been? Why is the woman having to fight to get back what should never have been taken away in the first place? There is no excuse!

Page Got a "Better Deal"

I haven't seen the need to say a whole lot in the aftermath of Elijah Page's execution last night. I take no joy in his death, but do feel gratitude that justice was finally served, if 6+ years overdue.

I did, however, come across a story and a quote worth drawing attention to. It's from In Forum News, and it goes a long way in explaining why I found the media's violins and sobbing--along with a few others--so disgusting. Beyond the need for justice, the inordinate focus on the murderer has been offensive to reason, propriety and the facts. Why?

Attorney General Larry Long, a death penalty supporter who attended Wednesday night's execution, said people should remember "the stark contrast between the clinical, really professional and I think painless death Elijah Page got as opposed to the hours-long torture and pain Chester Poage got."


"He got a way better deal than Chester Poage got," Long said.

Generation Rx

GUEST COLUMN

By Ralph Hatcher, M.D.

The news of the arrest of former vice-president Al Gore’s son highlights a drug problem that has largely remained below the threshold of a major national concern. That is, abuse of prescription drugs in America. Most notably, these include Vicodin ®, Lortab®, Xanax®, Valium®, Oxycontin®, and Darvocet®. Several of these were found in the possession of Al Gore, III after being stopped for speeding in California. (Full Article)

Please Don't Confuse This Story With Terri Schiavo

GUEST COLUMN

By Bobby Schindler

One can’t help but wonder if perhaps the mainstream media is feeling a growing sense of uneasiness regarding Terri’s death.

In the two years since my sister died I have witnessed an increasing determination on their part to convince the public that she was “hopeless” and in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) regardless of any and all evidence to the contrary. (Full Article)

Democrats Must Exploit Emotionalism (More)

From the LA Times, a brain researcher is telling Democrats how to win at politics. I completely agree with his conclusions, but he's got it completely backwards as to who's been applying this already.

Westen writes that it doesn't make sense to argue an issue using facts and figures and to count on voters — particularly the swing voters who decide national elections — to make choices based on sophisticated understandings of policy differences or procedures. He says Democratic candidates must learn to do what Republicans have understood for many years — they must appeal to emotions. And (talking to you, Mr. Gore) stay away from numbing statistics.

Democrats have been appealing to emotionalism for decades; it's Republicans who need to learn how to do this along side keeping the facts engaged.

The rational person realizes

- you can't tax your way to prosperity
- one person earning more money than another isn't inherently unfair
- the value of your labor shouldn't be set by an entity not involved with your labor
- you can't guarantee religious freedom by banning all forms of public religious expression
- you can't end discrimination against minorities by institutionalizing discrimination against whites
- you can't win a war against evil by appeasement and capitulation


But when you exploit emotion you can convince people

- you have to stick it to the rich to make things fair
- the government knows more about the value of your work than you or your employer
- we must keep all religious expression of of public view so as not to offend anyone
- we must hire/enroll "disadvantaged" minorities because they can't do things on their merit
- if you'll only be nice to hostile people they'll be nice to you

The whole budget battle back in 1996 when Clinton shut down the government to stop those evil budget-cutting Republicans was based on emotionalism...and the Republicans got creamed because Clinton is very good at playing upon people's emotions.

You may remember some of the old Democrat emotional exploitation that had no foundation in reality:


- when Republicans wanted to cut taxpayer funding of PBS--a liberal propaganda arm that should be able to stand or fall on its own--Democrats said they wanted to kill Big Bird

- when Republicans wanted to cut welfare giveaways, Dems said Republicans wanted to starve children

- during the same welfare cutting initiative, Dems also said Republicans wanted old people to have to eat dog food

- when Republicans wanted to roll back some of the radical environmental provisions that are strangling our nation's productivity, Dems said Republicans wanted us to drink dirty water and breath dirty air


No, Democrats may occasionally miss opportunities, but they've been exploiting emotionalism for a long time.

Former IPCC Member is Global Warming Skeptic

Yet another scientist doubts anthropogenic global warming, this time from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the political body chiefly behind the global warming push.

From Canada's Financial Post:

"This is nonsense," says Tom V. Segalstad, head of the Geological Museum at the University of Oslo and formerly an expert reviewer with the same IPCC. He laments the paucity of geologic knowledge among IPCC scientists -- a knowledge that is central to understanding climate change, in his view, since geologic processes ultimately determine the level of atmospheric CO2.

"The IPCC needs a lesson in geology to avoid making fundamental mistakes," he says. "Most leading geologists, throughout the world, know that the IPCC's view of Earth processes are implausible if not impossible."

Global warming apostles aren't producing reliable results, just guesswork:

"They don't even try," says Prof. Segalstad. "They simply dismiss evidence that is, for all intents and purposes, irrefutable. Instead, they substitute their faith, constructing a kind of science fiction or fantasy world in the process."

Segalstad's conclusion:

"It is a search for a mythical CO2 sink to explain an immeasurable CO2 lifetime to fit a hypothetical CO2 computer model that purports to show that an impossible amount of fossil fuel burning is heating the atmosphere," Prof. Segalstad concludes.

"It is all a fiction."

HT to Newsbusters.

The Real Theocratic Threat

Islam is the "religion of peace"? Christians are the ones thumping for "theocracy??

From WorldNetDaily:

Across town from the site of the recent attempted car-bomb attacks, several thousand Muslims gathered in front of the London Central Mosque to applaud fiery preachers prophesying the overthrow of the British government – a future vision that encompasses an Islamic takeover of the White House and the rule of the Quran over America.

"One day my dear Muslims," shouted Anjem Choudary, "Islam will govern Britain!"

"Democracy, hypocrisy," Choudary chanted as the crowd echoed him. "Tony Blair, terrorist! Tony Blair, murderer! Queen Elizabeth, go to hell!"

Humphries, who was in London with WND Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein, recorded angry Muslim leader Abu Saif, who kept his voice at a fever pitch through declarations such as: "Brothers and sisters, make no mistake. Make no mistake. The British government, the queen, the MPs in this country, they are enemies to you, enemies to Allah and enemies to the Muslims."

And try this on for size:

"Are we to say that Muslims can fully practice religion in America," he asked in an attempt to explain. "Say, for instance, I was a Muslim in America. Could I call for the destruction of the American government and establishment of an Islamic state in America? No. So where is the freedom of religion? There is none."

Listen to interview with Abu Saif:

Humphries asked: "Do you call for that?"

"Of course," he replied, "we want Islam to be a source of governance for all of mankind. And we also believe that one day America will be ruled by Islam."

Emergency Room Crisis

The Heritage Foundation has an analysis of emergency room problems. It provides a brief but informative history lesson on how we came to the current health care problem in America. Essentially, as government became more involved with the system, the more broken the system became.

Notice also the chart which shows private payers, as opposed to those on some kind of government program basically making their medical care "free" are the least-frequent users of non-urgent or semi-urgent emergency room care. It illustrates the same thing seen in countries with fully socialized medicine: if you make something "free," people will use it more often than if they have an economic stake in it. Which means the system becomes overburdened, resulting in long wait times and a reduction in quality.

Stay with the Herd or Be Boycotted

WorldNetDaily reports a Left-wing activist is trying to stir up a boycott of Fox News because they aren't with the herd on global warming.

Filmmaker and activist Robert Greenwald has produced an ad urging pressure on Home Depot to stop advertising on Fox News because of a purported editorial stance skeptical of man-made global warming.

The ad – as Breitbart.tv reports – features clips of Fox News hosts, commentators and interview subjects suggesting or insisting the widespread belief man is causing an ultimately catastrophic rise in global temperatures isn't true.

Why can't Fox News be a good, compliant little Leftist propaganda arm like CNN? Don't the people at Fox News realize that once a liberal has spoken, there is no room or reason for dissent?

Global Warming Concerts: Just More Hot Air

If humans actually are generating global warming (despite the evidence), then it looks like all that Al Gore's Live Earth global warming concerts generated was more hot air--in more ways than one.

From the Daily Mail:

Critics said however that the public had simply snubbed what they saw as a hypocritical event.

Musicians including Bob Geldof, Roger Daltrey and the Pet Shop Boys pointed out that a concert highlighting climate change had itself generated huge carbon emissions.

Performers were criticised for flying to concerts that were staged simultaneously on seven continents.

The BBC's coverage, which ran for 15 hours from 12.30pm on Saturday to 4am yesterday, also sparked dozens of complaints about bad language.

Event organizers, of course, tried to blame it on everything but the real cause, but really it just flopped.

And in an instance of ironic poetic justice, low attendance for the global warming concert in Johannesburg, South Africa was blamed on exceptionally cold weather.

Apparently the general public isn't as gullible as these media and music types.

Poll: Giuliani Wins Christian Vote

HOUSTON, July 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- ChristiaNet.com, the world's largest Christian portal with twelve million monthly page loads, recently asked the question, "If the 2008 Presidential Election was held today, who would you vote for?" In the closed poll of 340 registered Christian voters, ChristiaNet allowed voters to choose between Hillary Clinton and Rudolph Giuliani.

The majority polled voted in favor of Rudolph Giuliani with a 69% approval. In a past closed 2008 Presidential Poll, Giuliani was considered a possible contender because he received the least amount of unfavorable votes. However, ChristiaNet's recent poll reveals that only one of the top three reasons why people would vote for Giuliani could be considered a vote of confidence. (Full Article)

Death Penalty Polls: Support Remains Very High

GUEST COLUMN

By Dudley Sharp
Justice Matters

76% of Americans find that we should impose the death penalty more or that we impose it about right - only 21% that it is imposed too often. (Gallup, May 2006 - 51% that we should impose it more, 25% that we impose it about right)

71% find capital punishment morally acceptable - that was the highest percentage answer for all questions (Gallup, April 2006, moral values poll). In May, 2007, the percentage dropped to 66%, still the highest percentage answer, with 27% opposed. (Gallup, 5/29/07) (Full Article)

Do We Really Want Big Brother Watching Us?

By John W. Whitehead

“There was, of course, no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.... You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.”—George Orwell, 1984

We live in a surveillance age.

From the biggest city to the smallest town, we have succumbed to the siren-song promise that surveillance cameras will not only stop crime, they will actually make us safer.

New York City, for example, is estimated to have over 4,000 surveillance cameras. Other big cities using these cameras include the District of Columbia, Boston, Baltimore and Chicago. The Mayberry-size town of Bellows Falls, Vt., with its eight full-time police officers, plans to install 16 surveillance cameras. Even the quaint college town of Charlottesville, Va., where I live and work, is considering installing 30 surveillance cameras in its small downtown mall area to monitor its citizens. (Full Article)

According to Sheehan

Below is a quote appearing in, " Sheehan threatens to run against Pelosi" by By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer (July 9, 2007)...

"I think all politicians should be held accountable," Sheehan told The Associated Press on Sunday. "Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership. We hired them to bring an end to the war."

Is she saying there are Democrats and then there are Americans? Looks it to me.

Page Execution Set

The Rapid City Journal reports Elijah Page's execution has been set for 10:00 pm Central Time on Wednesday.

According to state law, the execution must happen sometime during the week, so it could be delayed and still fall within the legal timeframe.

Hopefully the governor will have the courage to follow through with it this time. Dottie Poage didn't deserve to be yanked around once (last year), let alone twice.

Lethal Injection: Current Controversies Resolved

GUEST COLUMN

By Dudley Sharp
Justice Matters

Several issues have come up with regard to lethal injection.

Generally, they are: 1) The murderer experiencing pain during execution; 2) The ethics of medical professionals participating in executions; and 3) Proper training of execution personnel.

1) PAIN AND LETHAL INJECTION

The evidence, including the immediate autopsy of executed serial murderer/rapist Michael Ross, supports that there is no pain within the lethal injection process. (Full Article)

Giuliani wins and the Elephant dies!!

Giuliani's nomination would destroy the Republican Party!

The Whigs died when they were mushy about slavery. Lincoln unified the Righteous against that horrific evil and the Republican Party was born.

Affirming and defending the Sanctity of Life and Normal Marriage are the 2 issues that make the platform of the Republican Party the polar opposite of the Democrat Party which supports infanticide and homosexual marriage. Giuliani is wrong about both.

Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country.

Rudy must not win.

All Patriotic Christians must sacrifice for the very soul of America which still is defended by some second tier candidates like Huckaby and Brownback; but they have no chance without enormous infusions of cash.

Fred Thompson looks like the best hope for pro-life, pro-family activists and his support for Chief Justice Roberts is a very good sign; but he will need a lot of cash and volunteers to beat Rudy and then Hillary or Barack Hussein Obama.

Christian Patriots can make a difference if they prayerfully agree on a champion; and then say,"What can I do?"

WHAT IF 1,000 PEOPLE GAVE $1,000.00 TO 1 CANDIDATE? $1MILLION CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WHAT IF THEY EACH GAVE $4,000...$4MILLION, THANK YOU VERY MUCH;
BUT WHAT IF 25,000 GAVE $4,000 EACH! 100 MILLION CAN GIVE THE RIGHT CANDIDATE
A CHANCE TO BE PRESIDENT! THIS IS POSSIBLE! AMERICA IS WORTH IT!

Just as important as financial support is volunteer help. Many people giving a few hours each week can change the world.

A Christian Political Support List is being formed called "The Patrick Henry List".
My prayer is that this list will be 100 times as committed and influential as Emily's pro-evil list is. When the details are worked out, The Patrick Henry List will be presented right here on the Dakota Voice Blog...so stay tuned and help us reclaim America for Christ.

May God Bless and Activate every true Christian Patriot in America;
freedompoet

The Hunt stunt will not escape the Court of Public Opinion

By Gordon Garnos

AT ISSUE: The South Dakota Business Research Bureau is doing a survey to assist Attorney General Larry Long in his civil lawsuit against Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon. Long and Secretary of State Chris Nelson contend that Hunt broke state campaign-finance laws when his one-person corporation, "Promising Future Inc.," gave a $750,000 donation from a person who wants to remain anonymous to the last election campaign in support of a ban on abortions. The bill was defeated at election time. The case is long and complicated, but needs to be resolved. (Full Article)

Light Posting

It's going to be a busy week this week, and among all the other activities I'll be starting to paint my house, so posting will be lighter than normal this week.

DV Poll Results: Declaration of Independence

The results are in from last week's Dakota Voice poll:

The principles of the Declaration of Independence....

Established a nation on Christian principles under God 87.5%
Established a secular nation that decides its own truths 6.25%
Were a good start, but fall short of modern ideals 3.13%
Are obsolete in the world in which we currently live 3.13%

Thank you to those who participated.

Since murderer Elijah Page is scheduled to be executed this coming week, this week's poll is on the death penalty.