[Hoot Gibson]

Yada. Yada. To be a federalist is not be a socialist, though finer distinctions may be hard for the either/or mindset. I would think the peace process in the Middle East hinges a bit on the settlement issue. Many voices, right and left, have voiced concern over Israel's often provocative actions in these issues, Jeremiah Wright notwithstanding. Barack Obama is not a socialist, though it is Right Wing Flirties desire that he be thought one because winning elections is the highest patriotism you know.

You are right on one point. We have a federal republic and we have had such a system since the Articles of Confederation were signed. When our current Constitution was signed, the federal government gained additional powers but the founders took great pains to restrict the power of the federal government and to preserve the rights of both state governments and their citizens.

However, the Soviet Union also had a federal system. Each time our own federal government increases its power over our lives, we lose power and the states in which we live lose power. Power over one's own life is a zero-sum gain. The federal government cannot grow in size and power without depriving us of our natural rights.

If Al Sharpton can man up and admit that Obama is a socialist, then why can't you? Are you going to continue to be part of the problem, or are you going to step up in defense of your own personal liberty?

Come on over to the right side and I will take up a collection for a bottle of bumper sticker remover. What do you have to lose but your chains of bondage?