Sometimes I wish the HabitableZone could engage in that kind of intellectual journey, and the presence of two sides here would at least theoretically mitigate the tendency to drift off into wishful thinking.

No, I don’t think you do.

I get this “theocracy” crap all the time here, as though it was a realistic thing to be concerned about. Precedents and history count for something.

If I’m walking through the African veldt, precendent and history tell me that a concern about things like lions and hyenas are reasonable concerns. If someone with me tells me I should be worried about polar bears, I don’t take them very seriously.

If I show them that no wild polar bears have ever been seen in the continent, and he continues to worry about polar bears, and declares that lions and hyenas are not something to be concerned about, the problem is deeper than simple ignorance.

The phrase “since I was in college” is telling. Is that the last time you had an original thought?

I haven’t had the “your thinking just isn’t complex enough to understand my bullshit” gag pulled on me since I was in college.

And actually, there was quite a bit of content in my comment. Not much response.

Outside of Arabic Islam, you are welcome to point out all the theocratic dictatorships of the past century. Then make a list of the dictatorships controlled by secular parties or persons. For extra credit, list the dictatorships controlled by those who call themselves socialists.

Go ahead, give it a shot. It’s one of my “white crow” propositions that should be a piece of cake.

I don’t engage you with any expectation of novelty or innovative thinking; I expect only a regurgitation of decades-old talking points. And I give you excellent marks for consistency.

Meanwhile, Boehner is stripping Tea Party hacks of committee chairmanships in an attempt to enforce discipline so he can negotiate the best possible surrender terms, while the whole Conservative punditerati and chattering classes are singing the blues. The Daddy Warbucks brigade and the TParty Purists are at war, the GOP is falling apart. Even you, TB. You are going from one tantrum to another.

You guys are unravelling before our very eyes. All I see from here is assholes and elbows.

Everybody “stampeded” into the Patriot Act. Go look up the October vote.

We did “authoritarian conservative,” remember? As I recall the conversation kind of folded up when you tried to define radical communist revolutions as “conservative.”

You see no difference at all between a child’s obedience to parents, a person’s chosen obedience to their personal religious beliefs, and forced obedience to an all-powerful State? And don’t liberals obey “rules?”

Outside of Arabic Islam, you are welcome to point out all the theocratic dictatorships of the past century. Then make a list of the dictatorships controlled by secular parties or persons. For extra credit, list the dictatorships controlled by those who call themselves socialists.

The whole “theocracy” thing is a scarecrow, and always has been. The Federal government’s grip on almost every aspect of our lives and economy grows every year, and liberals rend their garments if one school district in some backwater of a state wants to teach creationism.

Get real. Do you have any idea how much stuff on this board is simply made up?