I'm at a loss as to why the bloody history of the Christian world is given such little attention. Those who won't learn from the mistakes and tragedies of history are bound to repeat them. Or something like that.
Bulworth | Homepage | 12.06.07 - 5:10 pm | #

I'm at a loss as to why the bloody history of the Christian world is given such little attention.

Really? Cause it's not surprising to me at all.

Most Americans are pretty well ignorant of history. You're lucky if an arbitrarily selected person can name the last 3 presidents of the US, let alone provide any kind of accurate/meaningful information about early Christian history.

Remember that clip of the woman on the View saying that wasn't anyone (in a religious sense, presumably) before Jesus? I'd be very surprised if that didn't turn out to be pretty common understanding of things.

And let's also not forget that modern American conservatism was pretty significantly influenced by the struggle with the godless commies in the cold war, and it fundamentally warps a conservative's understanding of history. A statement like "freedom requires religion" is very obviously made in that context.
phleabo | 12.06.07 - 8:22 pm | #

Thursday's Novakula was talking about the tight-rope the Mittster was walking.

Would he call of the folks not willing to vote for him bigots or were they all bigots already?

Sounds like he's done a typical Mittster and tried to straddle the fence. If you discriminate against his religion, you're a bigot and hate America and hate freedom, but if he discriminates against Muslims by not hiring them based upon religion or placing wiretaps in their places of worship that's kewl and shows true love of America and freedom.
Tom - 大肚腩 | Homepage | 12.06.07 - 9:18 pm | #

His basic message was "Well, yeah, I'm a Mormon, but LOOK -- OVER THERE! IT'S A DIRTY FILTHY ATHEIST!"
Steve M. | Homepage | 12.06.07 - 10:37 pm | #

I believe everything Joseph Smith and the angel Moroni [sic] tells me.
skimble | Homepage | 12.06.07 - 10:48 pm | #

That half of Mitt's catchphrase is indeed demonstrably wrong with a simple glance at history.

The other half, too, is suspect because the phrase "Freedom requires..." is an outright oxymoron.

So I would summarize the speech as revealing Romney's utter stupidity.

.
MFA | 12.07.07 - 9:45 am | #

"Freedom requires..." is an outright oxymoron.

Indeed.
Steve M. | Homepage | 12.07.07 - 2:30 pm | #

Yeah, most of us were so stupified by the idiocy of "freedom requires religion" that we failed to notice the equal idiocy of the converse.
Nancy Irving | 12.10.07 - 7:39 am | #