By Scott Wells

Why is it you think that dressing up like a robot or a big animal and carrying placards with stupid slogans while chaining yourself to bike racks is going to change the world?

Why is it that your against military action to liberate an oppressed people from a dictator that has opponents fed into wood chippers, but complain about your rights being oppressed when you're arrested for obstructing traffic or destroying private property?

NEWS FLASH - the hippie movement didn't stop the Vietnam War, or anything else! If you want your viewpoint to be taken seriously, then stop acting like a heroin addict, and start acting like a reasonable adult (and I say acting, because anyone who would parade in public dressed like Little Bo Peep to protest the World Trade Organization is clearly not rational).

Look, on the abortion issue, I'm somewhere in the middle - I personally think it's wrong (except in cases of rape, incest, and the mother's health) but since I wasn't involved in the conception, it's not my business. I have sympathy (and absolutely no hatred or ill will) for women who have an abortion because they see no viable alternative or because of pressure from the husband, boyfriend, or family. It sickens me when rich, pampered "Christians" hurl obscenities and insults at the women and the doctors. But to see a human being sucked out of a womb because the mother doesn't want the inconvenience to her figure, or because some a-hole father doesn't want to pay for his child for the next eighteen years, that too sickens me.

Haven't you learned that there are consequences for your actions? Don't you realize that those consequences are what make us grow as human beings? Yeah, I know, I don't have the answer to the dilemma, but the way you people can ignore the unnecessary killing of millions of babies pisses me off. Don't you have a heart?

And the war in Iraq is "evil" and "about oil?" Look, morons, here's the deal: We owe it to ourselves, and our allies in the region, to get rid of a tyrannical madman who threatens millions of lives just by being in power. You whine about it from the comfort that the sacrifices of our soldiers (whom you hate) have provided you ungrateful clods, ignoring the plight of the people of Iraq you claim to care so much about. You can't have it both ways. We're protecting ourselves and our allies - that’s what allies do, and that's what armies are for. And why didn't any of you bitch when your "hero" Bill Clinton sent troops into Bosnia and Somalia? Could it be a political issue, rather than the moral issue you claim it is? It sure looks that way to rational people.

Also, stop trying to deny other citizens of this country their right to free speech while so idiotically using yours.  If a group of students wants to gather around a flag pole to pray, or a group of students want to gather and pray before a ball game or a graduation ceremony - and are not instructed to or led by a teacher - it is not a violation of "separation of Church and State." I challenge ANY of you to find that rhetoric in the constitution. It is their First Amendment right to pray wherever they want if they so choose. Using tax dollars to fund a child's education in a religious institution is not "establishing a state religion," so long as any religious school - Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. - is open for the funding. Just because you don't believe in God and hate the church doesn't mean everybody else does. Why don't you practice what you preach and accept different view points?

In short, grow up. Look at the world through a realistic viewpoint, and do something worthwhile to change the world, rather than dressing up like a hobo and lighting candles.

Now, for the Way, Way, Way Right Conservatives
OK. I'm going to tell you something you probably won't like, but here goes. Rush Limbaugh is not some guru of infinite wisdom. What he is a blowhard, loudmouth, ego-driven drug addict gasbag who is nothing more than a propaganda mouthpiece for the GOP. Stop acting like it's the Voice of God you hear on the radio every morning - IT'S NOT! You call yourselves "ditto-heads"; I call you too lazy to research an issue for yourself so you listen to corporate drivel from a loudmouth jackass.

And speaking of God, this country was not founded on Christian principles, it was founded on principles found in every major religion still flourishing today - in other words, it was founded on COMMON SENSE, something you seem to lack. And yes, putting the Ten Commandments in public schools IS a violation of the first amendment, because they are tied so closely to one religion and not all. So is having faculty-led, non-denominational prayer. You have no right to force your religious practices on non-believers. That's what they do in Iran, not in the United States of America. Or did you forget that the original settlers in this country were fleeing from religious persecution?

And please, please, stop with the hatred for homosexuals. I don't care if you don't like what they do, it's none of your damn business. You say that homosexuality is a choice, not a genetic code? Well guess what - so is Christianity. Yet you can't get fired or be denied housing because of your lifestyle choice - why should a homosexual? And what business do you have spreading your message of hate at a kid’s funeral, for the LOVE of GOD? Is this how you plan on "converting heathens?" Do you think people are sitting out there, "Gee, Bob, all of that hatred sure makes me wanna sign up!'

Same with you racists. Look - we're all the same. It's called genetics. It's called science. It's called rational thought. And all you bums blaming foreigners or [insert-racial-slur-here] for taking all the jobs? Get off your ever-expanding backsides and fill out a job application. And brush your teeth and chop off that mullet while you’re at it. That's why Hitler lost the war - HE WAS WRONG! And stop parading around your Confederate Flags - just buy a white hood so we can see you better in the dark to chuck rocks at you.

And so what if Bill Clinton got a hummer from someone besides his wife. It's not a crime. It's his wife and immediate family's business. At least he didn't leave Hillary for a younger woman while she was dying of cancer like your hero Newt Gingrich did. Why don't you hold both political parties to the same standard? Could it be a political, and not a moral, issue? It's looks that way to us rational people.

I refer to "Christians" in this column a great deal because that's what you claim to be, not what you are. True Christians have sympathy for all people or all races and religions. Genuine Christians have tolerance for the different beliefs of people. Real Christians understand that without free will, without the choice that you would eagerly rip away from people, no one can really come to God. You can't choose something without an alternative.

In short, grow up. Look at the world through a realistic viewpoint. And do something worthwhile to change the world rather than condemning anyone and everyone who doesn't share your narrow, bigoted viewpoint.