"Colorful" Colorado? The name actually comes from the Colorado River, which means the "angry" river in Spanish for it's many rapids. "Angry" sounds like the way that traditional, conservative Americans ought to feel about this.

Sorry, but there is no such thing as a moderate Muslim. There are only non-observant Muslims and observant Muslims. Islam is based upon only two things: the Quran and the Hadith, which roughly equate to the word of "God" and the word of Mohammed. These form the basis of Sharia Law. The Quran and Hadith do not leave much wiggle room. It, for example, chapter5 of the Quran that calls Jews the descendants of apes and pigs, and several that call for "smiting the infidels on the neck where you find them". If there is moderation in Islam, it is only because most Muslims cannot read Arabic.

Oh, please. Most people had no idea what happened here. They shut down the entire metropolitan area for two guys? This was one of the most egregious overreactions to a couple of jihadist thugs I have ever witnessed. Did Israel ever shut down completely after a bombing? Workers and businesses lost millions of dollars, not from the bombers but from self-aggrandizing government. Many innocent people were assaulted by police who were emboldened by the pretext of a bombing to act like Nazi thugs. I shudder to think of what would have happened had my elderly mother in law or wife been in one of the Watertown houses subject to an official home invasion. They would both be hospitalized today. "Boston Strong?" Not so much.

The slogans make me ill: "Boston Brave" and "Boston Strong". Ridiculous. This was the most craven and pathetic overreaction to a couple of Muslim thugs I have ever witnessed. Yes, there were individuals who reacted heroically, but the government did more damage than the bombers did. Boylston Street should have been cleaned up and open for business the next day. No new evidence was collected by closing down the entire metropolitan area for the convenience and self-aggrandizement of the "law enforcement" community. The civil rights of countless Watertown residents were violated as they were mugged by uniformed fascist thugs. Did Israel shut down after every bombing? Be ashamed, Boston.

The third objective for Obama is to make everyone poor, with the exception of an elite corps [pronounced "corpse" in deference to our Dear Leader] of apparatchiks. Poor people are dependent upon government. Poor people are Democrats.

Amen. See Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World."

Have you read Ann's "Demonic"? I think she has latched onto something when she cites the the Gospel story of Jesus asking the name of a demon he is about to drive out, and being told "Our name is Legion, for we are many." Spiritual evil may well be located in the mob mentality, which is in all of us at some level, and which may not be so well buried in a schizophrenic.

When the new gun control laws don't work (and they won't— things will actually get worse), liberals will use the carnage to justify a new round of laws. If they actually manage to get the second amendment repealed and make the private ownership of gun illegal (as they have in Britain), we will actually have much more violent crime (as they have in Britain) because criminals will no longer fear law-abiding citizens. Less gun crime though -- but not as much less as you might think. Someone, somewhere, will still make guns for criminals.

There are many unemployed or underemployed high tech workers in this country who would love to get these jobs. Corporations would rather hire an immigrant who is already trained in some niche technology and is s happy to take food service wages rather than train someone already on their payroll. The older workers, who have demonstrated an ability to pick up dozens of skills over the years get laid off, sometimes after having to train their replacements in the basics.

I have an idea: let's ban the private ownership of automobiles. "if just one life can be saved ... we ought to buy into it wholeheartedly", and it would save many thousands. Many more than gun control. Sure, it might be inconvenient, but what's mass inconvenience against a human life? We could still have taxi cabs ... err, wait a minute. Let me think about this a sec. Or maybe lets ban all abortions. "if just one life can be saved ..."

The central problem is that most westerners do not understand Islam. The very name means "submission". Freedom and democracy are anathema to Islam because they elevate the will of man over the will of Allah. The Koran in sura 2 tells how Allah selected Saul to King over the Israelites. That is the model for Islamic governance— that Allah will select your leaders for you. The notion that people out to have freedom is a relatively recent notion: a product of the English Enlightenment. On the other hand, the modern notion of democracy came from Rousseau and the French Enlightenment, which culminated in the terror of the French Revolution, where the "general will" trumped personal freedom.