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[News Thetan]

Nevada Open Records Request Seeks to Discover Connection Between Church of ... - PR NewsChannel (press release)
24 May 2010, 3:51 pm

An open records request filed today by the political website YourPoliticsNews.com seeks to discover the extent of any connection between the controversial Church of Scientology and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle.

Up until last week Angle has been a virtual unknown and has not received the same coverage or scrutiny as her opponents.

In 2003, then Assemblywoman Sharron Angle backed a trip to Mexico to visit The Second Chance Program, a program backed by the Church of Scientology.  Second Chance claimed to detoxify inmates by administering vitamin and mineral supplements, massage and sauna treatments to drain the body of drug toxins.  But Angle did not reveal the Church of Scientology connection when she championed the program to her colleagues and arranged for a paid trip to Mexico to see the program in action.  Interest in the program quickly waned once the connection to the Church became public.

Four years later the same program became the focus of a 'Wall Street Journal' report after New Mexico adopted the program for its state prisons.

In its story, the ‘Wall Street Journal' (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07019/755193-28.stm) described Second Chance as "one of the country's most unusual alternatives to the nation's prison systems. Founded by a Scientologist and former real-estate developer -- and funded partly by federal tax dollars -- Second Chance is a treatment program for nonviolent prisoners with substance-abuse problems.

"It is based on principles of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion, who argued that toxins from drugs and pesticides accumulate in the body's fatty tissues, making it difficult for addicts to kick their habit. Saunas and vitamins are intended to purge these residues. Facing few options for successful long-term ways to treat criminal defendants with serious drug problems, 24 of New Mexico's 84 district judges have sentenced more than 50 prisoners to terms at Second Chance."
Sharron Angle, Scientology Connection?
The Open Records request, filed with Angle's campaign, seeks to discover Angle's connection to the Church; including if she has received campaign contributions directly or indirectly from the Church; her connection to known Scientology members; and whether Angle, her family or staff received any gifts from the Church that may have inspired her support for the inmate program.

Angle is a former, four-term Republican member of the Nevada Assembly who represented the 26th district from 1999 to 2005.

Though some call it a religion, Scientology has also been described as a cult.  In 1979, several Scientology members were convicted for illegal activities, including the largest theft of government documents in U.S. history.

For more information, please visit http://www.yourpoliticsnews.com. 

[News Thetan]

Angle campaign working to quiet Scientology question - Las Vegas Sun
26 May 2010, 5:00 am



Carson City — Surging Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle has had to defend her support of a prison program that her opponents linked to Scientology. Trying to head off that theme, Angle has eliminated from her campaign website mention of prominent members of the church, whom she worked with on other legislative efforts.

Angle has removed the claim that she, along with actresses Kelly Preston and Jenna Elfman, approached Sen. John Ensign to sponsor legislation prohibiting school employees from requiring students to take psychotropic drugs, such as anti-depressants.

Preston and Elfman are high-profile members of the Church of Scientology, which does not believe in the use of psychiatric drugs.

Instead, Angle’s website, sharronangle.com, says only that Ensign sponsored a bill “at Angle’s request.”

(In 2001 and 2003, Angle introduced legislation in Nevada similar to the federal legislation, which passed.)

The apparent scrubbing of her website of the potentially controversial issue — critics of Scientology call it a cult — comes as Angle gains ground in the Republican primary, which has narrowed to a three-way race to take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Angle’s surge has been fueled in part by the missteps of her opponents and a spate of national endorsements, including from the Tea Party Express and conservative Club for Growth.

Sue Lowden, formerly the clear front-runner, has begun attacking Angle, including for her support in 2003 of a drug-treatment program for inmates that included saunas and massages as treatment.

Lowden’s campaign and many establishment Republicans believe it would be difficult for Angle to beat Reid in the general election. Angle has taken rigid ideological stands that may help her in the primary, but would likely alienate many independents and Democrats in November.

Any ties to Scientology could be troublesome for a candidate whose biggest challenge may be convincing Republican primary voters that she can gather mainstream support.

Jerry Stacy, spokesman for Angle, said the attacks are “desperate. This is what desperate people do. (Lowden) is in serious trouble. This is no longer just about who can beat Harry Reid. It’s about who will best represent Nevada.”

Angle, a Southern Baptist who has quoted scripture during media interviews, has never advocated Scientology, he said. “This is all about blowing this thing out of proportion — making it sound like she’s a Scientologist.”

Though she never presented a bill, Angle did attempt to organize a legislative trip to see the inmate treatment program at a Mexican jail. She made the proposal after visiting the facility with a former corrections department director. The legislative trip would have been arranged and paid for by a member of the Church of Scientology, and critics say the program is modeled on the faith’s teachings.

Angle lobbied Gov. Kenny Guinn to support the program, Guinn confirmed Monday.

Though Angle has had to defend her position on the prison program, her role in the federal legislation on psychotropic drugs has not previously been reported in the media.

more at http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/may/26/angle-campaign-working-quiet-scientology-question/

[News Thetan]

Nevada GOP Senate Hopeful Features Prisoner Massages, Mani-Pedis In Attack Ad ... - Huffington Post (blog)
28 May 2010, 7:03 pm



Over in Nevada, GOP U.S. Senate favorite Sue Lowden is sick and tired of everyone always talking about the chickens she thought they could barter for angioplasties and such. And so, like a pro, she's decided to change the conversation by really emphasizing the serious issues that Nevadans care about going all crazy on her Tea Party rival Sharron Angle for the Scientology prison massages she loves!

Yes, this latest ad really is a gem. It's got candles and fountains and inmates getting sexy massages and mani-pedis. And since there's a Church of Scientology angle (no pun intended, but ha!), there's a gratuitous shot of a framed Tom Cruise picture in the ad as well. And a creative prison tattoo!

Here's the nugget of truth at the center of this, per TPM:
   

In fact, Angle never formally presented a bill, but she did try to gain support for a prison drug rehabilitation program that would involve prisoners quitting drugs cold turkey, with saunas and massages as part of treatment -- an idea promoted by the Church of Scientology. Angle also tried to organize a legislative trip to a jail in Mexico that uses this program, and the trip would have been paid for by an individual who is a Scientologist, according to the Sun.

Nevertheless, this race is tight, and Lowden obviously figures she can get more for this albatross than she could for a chicken.

video link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/28/sue-lowden-sharron-angle_n_594078.html
article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/28/sue-lowden-sharron-angle_n_594078.html

[mefree]

Politics Website: Sharron Angle's Take on Beer Fizzles with Mainstream Voters

Does U.S. Senate Candidate Sharron Angle's affinity for the Church of Scientology affect her feelings towards beer and alcohol?  That's the question posed by the political website YOUR POLITICS NEWS in an article published today.

With the election less than a week away in a Republican primary where the biggest issue is who can beat Majority Leader Harry Reid in the general election, Angle's apparent fringe views and the fact that they are out of step with mainstream voters is becoming a big issue for her--and for voters, apparently.

Last month YOUR POLITICAL NEWS filed an Open Records Request with Angle's campaign to find out the scope of her connection to the Church of Scientology and whether that association may have been enhanced by gifts or favors from the Church.

Sharron Angle has yet to respond.

Now her views on drinking alcohol are coming to light.

Just four years ago, Angle said the following about beer drinking:  “I have a very well-developed sense of right and wrong,” she continued, “so I would say to you that it’s not a political thing with me, but a character thing.”

Now, with her views that apparently show she would favor a ban on beer and booze in a state that is home to world-class casinos that rely on them, some voters in that state wonder whether her views on beer is connected to her involvement with the Church.

"Sharron Angle has been able to fly under the radar without any scrutiny," says "James" on a blog.  "Now that people are actually examining her record she doesn’t hold up!"

Says "Karen": "Nevada will be a national embarrassment if this crazy woman wins. If Angle wins, it will be six more years of Harry Reid... Yikes!  Angle absolutely frightens me with her extreme views (including Scientology) and I can see why TIME magazine feels that Reid can easily beat her."

Angle's connection with the Church of Scientology has come under great scrutiny in Nevada.  As a state lawmaker, she lobbied fellow lawmakers to bring a controversial program created by the Church of Scientology to the state but never revealed the Church's connection.  It didn't have a prayer once word leaked that the Church of Scientology was behind it.

more at http://www.prnewschannel.com/absolutenm/templates/?z=0&a=2612

[News Thetan]

GOP worries about 'tea party' candidates' broad appeal - Los Angeles Times
4 June 2010, 7:05 pm



The Republican Party is enjoying a burst of raw enthusiasm among rank-and-file conservatives that has shot some relatively little-known candidates straight into the national spotlight — stirring concern among party leaders about how well some of them will fare with the broader electorate in November.

In North Carolina, national party officials make no secret of their displeasure at the possibility of the GOP banner being carried by a "tea-party"-backed candidate with an apparent history of religious zealotry and drug use. In divorce records, the man's ex-wife said he planned to raise his stepfather from the dead in New Jersey.

In South Carolina, the tea party favorite for governor is trying to bat down accusations of infidelity.

» Don't miss a thing. Get breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox.

In Nevada, a leading conservative contender is facing questions about her ties to the Church of Scientology.

And the newest hero of the tea party movement, Rand Paul, who won the GOP Senate primary in Kentucky, startled more-mainstream Republicans by questioning part of the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act that allowed the government to force lunch counters to desegregate.

Of these disparate candidates, some are truly outsiders; others are fairly experienced politicians getting their first real shot in the searing spotlight of national politics.

And though their potential problems are quite different, they have at least two things in common: They have not undergone the testing and vetting that candidates traditionally face. And they are making some Republicans nervous about whether they will be able to beat their Democratic opponents in the fall.

more at http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gop-tea-20100605,0,539264.story

[wynot]

Things I have seen and heard and read lead me to think scienos have about the same drinking habits as the general population. Some don't drink, some srink to much, and most can take it or leave it alone...

'til later;
wynot

[Lorelei]

I'd agree--I don't think they have a specific policy on drinking, unless they can determine you drink "too much" and need to pay them money to "detox" you. :/

[ethercat]

Just before auditing, and before and during studying.  However, I do remember X-Friend mentioning something about drinking being looked on unfavorably for staff members. 

http://www.scientology-detroit.org/ans6.htm

Do you have any special dietary laws or rules against smoking or drinking in Scientology?

 No. There are no dietary laws whatsoever and no general prohibitions against smoking or drinking. The only guidelines in Scientology are that no alcohol is allowed twenty-four hours prior to or during auditing sessions, and that no drinking is allowed twenty-four hours prior to or during study. The effects of the alcohol would make it impossible to get the gains one can get from auditing and training.

 Smoking is forbidden in course rooms or during auditing sessions, as such would distract oneself and others. Rules for student behavior are laid out in a Church policy called the "Students' Guide to Acceptable Behavior"

They do hold some interesting views on the effects of alcohol.  From http://www.scientologylafayette.org/services/ :

How to Make a Person Sober

Use of Process: For use in handling someone who is drunk.

Information: This process is not used to cure a person of alcoholism. It can make a drunk person sober in a very few minutes and the cause of his need for alcohol can be audited(1) out later. As society currently has no technology for handling the drunk, who is an embarrassment to the police, his family and often to himself, this process has social value and may serve as a line of cooperation and assistance to the police.

Procedure: Use the command:

"Look at that __________ (room object)."

A drunk is usually considered somewhat unconfrontable and he himself certainly cannot confront. One thing he cannot confront is an empty glass. He always refills it if it is empty.

Repeat the command, each time pointing out a room object, as often as required to bring the person to sobriety. Do not Q&A(2) with the frequent comment "What object?" Just get the command carried out, acknowledge(3) and give the next command. Run until the person is no longer drunk.

Notes on Running(4): Do not ever get angry with or strike a drunk, whatever the provocation.

Special Note: Do NOT allow the person to drive as the alcohol is still present in his system.

Definitions:

   1. audited: the application of DIANETICS® or SCIENTOLOGY® processes and procedures to someone by a trained auditor.
   2. Q&A: to ask a question about the person's answer.
   3. acknowledge: to say something to inform another that his statement or action has been noted, understood and received. "Very good," "Okay," and other such phrases. Acknowledgment itself does not necessarily imply an approval or disapproval or any other thing beyond the knowledge that an action has been observed.
   4. running; run: to administer or undergo a process.
   5. end phenomena: the person is happy again and has a realization of some kind—about himself, his spouse, the situation or just life in general.
   6. key the person out: a release or separation from the painful incident or some portion of it.

Sharron Angle's views on the use of alcohol are not the key issue here, though - the problem is scientology's use of politicians to promote scientology ideas into our government and legislation.  Thankfully, most politicians generally lose their public support when scientology connections are discovered.

[Lorelei]

Sharron Angle's views on the use of alcohol are not the key issue here, though - the problem is scientology's use of politicians to promote scientology ideas into our government and legislation.  Thankfully, most politicians generally lose their public support when scientology connections are discovered.

Absolutely. The alcohol issue may matter to voters in that area, but the problem of Scientologists attempting to infiltrate government (AGAIN) is an ongoing issue, and one that will not put the needs and wants of any constituents ahead of what Scientology wants and needs, ever. As such, a Scientologist in good standing with the cult can not ever be a good public servant. Whatever the church wants is what that person will be required to promote. Furthermore, they will think this totalitarian mindset is both correct and appropriate...because they "are the authorities."

I'd guess that the vast majority of our elected representatives are Xtian / Jewish, and yet most of them manage to represent the desires of the majority of the people in their communities when elected to office. After all, if they don't, they get defeated in the next election by someone who promises to do better in that department.

[mefree]

Predicting the winner of clogged GOP Senate race - Las Vegas Sun
6 June 2010, 5:02 am
By Jon Ralston

After all the chickens have come home to roost, depriving Archon Corp. of some of its equity, and after all the Scientology lampooning has been exhausted, giving Tom Cruise an improbable cameo in the Nevada Senate race, it comes down to this:

Is the third time the charm for Sharron Angle, who has come agonizingly close to winning two high-profile races, or is she a candidate who will always be a bridesmaid, never attracting quite enough voter ardor to be the bride?

In all the years I have been hewing to this foolish tradition of predicting election outcomes the Sunday before Election Day, this is one of the more difficult. And it shouldn’t have been so.

The consensus among national and local Republicans, and a pundit or two, was that Sue Lowden was easily at the top of a second-tier field of GOP hopefuls and would be formidable against a vulnerable Harry Reid. But something happened on the path to the anointment: Lowden bartered away her front-runner status by trading her slick, TV-anchor-trained persona for a frivolous, unprepared dilettante who couldn’t get out of her own way.

It’s not just about chickens for health care, although her stubborn refusal to kill what should have been a two-day story and instead allow it to be become a national sensation, was one of the worst gaffes I have seen in a major campaign. But her dithering on the Civil Rights Act and her bizarre take on climate change — among other warning signs — showed the former anchorwoman was not ready for her close-up.

more at http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jun/06/predicting-winner-clogged-gop-senate-race/

[mefree]

The third time was the charm. More on Angle:
What Angle Wanted from Scientologists - FrumForum
9 June 2010, 12:04 pm

The Las Vegas Sun explains the details on the nature of Sharron Angle’s support for a Scientology inspired program:

    Though she never presented a bill, Angle did attempt to organize a legislative trip to see the inmate treatment program at a Mexican jail. She made the proposal after visiting the facility with a former corrections department director. The legislative trip would have been arranged and paid for by a member of the Church of Scientology, and critics say the program is modeled on the faith’s teachings.

    …

    The website now says only that Angle “made it unlawful nationally for anyone but a physician to require the use psychotropic drugs (such as Ritalin) for public school attendance by certain children. Senator John Ensign sponsored the bill at Angle’s request.”

    Angle’s website formerly said that accompanying her to Ensign’s office was Read, who heads the National Foundation of Women Legislators. That organization, which some say has links to Scientology, promotes the drug treatment program that Angle advocated for in 2003.

    The group’s website lists Angle as a legislative chairwoman of the Business, Housing & Economic Development Committee.

    Read did not return calls for comment.

    Stacy, Angle’s spokesman, said the website was recently revamped. Any change was likely because of that reworking — not because of criticism of her support for the prison drug treatment program, he said.

    But Angle has downplayed her associations with Scientology since entering the U.S. Senate race.

    “You may agree with me, but that doesn’t mean I agree with you all the time,” Angle said of her relationship with members of the church. “I’m still glad to have you on board.”

more at http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/may/26/angle-campaign-working-quiet-scientology-question/

and more at http://www.frumforum.com/angles-scientology-problem

[News Thetan]

Nevada GOP Senate Candidate Sharron Angle & Scientology - Opposing Views
9 June 2010, 2:59 pm



Sharron Angle was the big winner Tuesday night of the Nevada GOP Senate primary. She's earned the right to oppose House Majority Leader Harry Reid in the fall. If taking on one of the most powerful Democrats in the country isn't hard enough, the former state legislator will have to do it while battling claims she has ties to Scientology.

During the GOP campaign, an opponent ran a television ad highlighting Angle's support for a massage program for Nevada prisoners -- a program that was designed by the Church of Scientology.

Angle's Web site admits the Church was behind the program, writing:

“The detoxification protocols of the program were attributed to L. Ron Hubbard.”

But according the Las Vegas Sun, Angle is now taking steps to distance herself from the Church. The report says she has removed the names of actresses and high-profile Scientology members Kelly Preston and Jenna Elfman from her site.

In March, Angle told the Sun that they worked together on a bill that would have banned children from taking psychotropic drugs. Scientologists are against those drugs, such as anti-depressants and Ritalin.

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/nevada-gop-senate-candidate-sharron-angle-scientology

[mefree]

^^^^
See comments on this one.

[Lorelei]

You win some (reprehensible cult shill and nepotist Jeff Stone defeated in San Diego / Riverside, California); you lose some (cult shill Sharon Angle wins in Las Vegas). Since these were all Republicans running against members of their own party, AFAIK, it should be interesting to see if (currently unpopular) Dem. Harry Reid makes use of Angle's cult associations in the future.

[News Thetan]

How to handle the ridicule of the puffed up liberal elitists - Las Vegas Review-Journal (blog)
10 June 2010, 8:24 am

Some progressive/liberal wags have already coined the term Sharrontology as a less-than-sly hint at GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle's fleeting effort to look into a prison drug rehab program that used some methods also recommended by those in Scientology.

They huff in feined amazement at some of her "wacky" pronouncements she has made — privatize Social Security, eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy, etc. — that no one in their narrow world of acolytes to the doctrine of government-is-the-solution-to-all-problems-ever-known-to-mankind could ever decipher.

There's two ways to handle this attempt at ridicule: Try to rationally explain the reasons underpinning your philosophy to a bunch of laughing hyenas who think the "general welfare" clause is the key to the candy shop ... or ... embrace the label with a sense of humor and even pride. Take to the stump and loudly proclaim you are here to preach the gospel of Sharrontology, the ideology of less government, lower taxes, more liberty, less interference from Washington, self-reliance and self-determination.

That's what early Americans did.

more at http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/mitchell/How_to_handle_the_ridicule_of_the_puffed_up_liberal_elitists.html?ref=499

Comments appear to be open.

[ethercat]

You win some (reprehensible cult shill and nepotist Jeff Stone defeated in San Diego / Riverside, California); you lose some (cult shill Sharon Angle wins in Las Vegas). Since these were all Republicans running against members of their own party, AFAIK, it should be interesting to see if (currently unpopular) Dem. Harry Reid makes use of Angle's cult associations in the future.

Or if Angle's cult associations make use of Harry Reid. 

[Lorelei]

Good point. If there is a possibility that they may start going after Reid, perhaps to corner the LV politician market, I think some harpooning is in order.

So far, the cult appears to be focusing on conservatives for whatever reason, which is the exact opposite target market that Jim Jones / People's Temple had (he went after liberal politicians like the Carters and Harvey Milk and fancied himself a socialist / communist).

I suspect that cults simply go after the more disgruntled end of the political spectrum at any given time, or try to align themselves with politicians that they THINK most closely represent (in their view, anyway) their own views.

Jones went after radical liberals because he fancied himself one. Scientology apparently skews more socially (not necessarily politically) conservative, and they seem to have repeatedly targeted conservative politicians in recent years. That should irritate level-headed (social AND political) conservatives in a big way, because, IMVHO, at its heart, political conservatism has nothing whatsoever to do with cultishness.

Here's what I am trying to say:



Scientology has been referred to as totalitarian / authoritarian / fascist (whether any of these labels are accurate is a matter of opinion). Christian democracy / theocracy being near the same general area of the grid implies a religious flavour is not completely dismissed out of hand. I suspect that IF the Scienos are pulling a Jim Jones and going after conservative politicians, it is only because conservatives are somewhat closer to the Authoritarian / right area of the grid, and Scientology is an extreme manifestation of that mindset, only in disguise as a religion: a non-political form of authoritarianism.

Again, Jones was pretty much diametrically opposed on the grid, and went after politicians and celebs who were likewise located closer to the extreme lefty side.

No one political party can crow that they have resisted influence by cults or cult leaders or cult front groups. 

Also, this comment is not intended to be pro- or con- any particular political view.

It's clear to me that when cults actively get political, there is no one political party or idea that they target or promote. It's just interesting to me how cults take advantage of whomever they can, and politicians are no exception. The politics of convenience, I suspect.

I seem to recall that the cult had pursued association with more liberal pols in the past, and I don't mean Sonny Bono (he was a Republican). Anyone remember likewise?

The lesson here is that there are some folks you simply do not want trying to ride on your coattails--even if you are a politician (of any party) trying to be everything to everyone in order to get more votes--nor do you want to advertise that you may have what appear to be common goals...unless you're Angle, I guess, who doesn't seem to mind...but she was still quick to get someone to remove Scilebrity endorsements on websites.

It can't hurt to remind politicians that other politicians were embarrassed greatly when Jonestown imploded, and that it behooves them not to cozy up to similar groups just because their politics appear to be more palatable. It's not worth the handful of votes you MIGHT get to alienate people who have done their homework and know that Scientology is a cult which is being confronted with hundreds of  allegations of human rights abuses and fraud. If even one of those allegations is true, the politician is going to look bad by association. Also, the cult has broken into government offices before and would no doubt do so again if given an in.

I don't THINK the cult will go after Reid as their new BFF or potential cult supporter, but that isn't because of his politics, per se, but that his politics currently run counter to those the cult has pursued recently.

I DO think that the front groups will get their ya-yas (and TWTH pamphlets?) out and will try to bring up issues they like to hide behind (Youth for human rights! Drugs are bad, mm'kay?) and, in other ways, make things as difficult as possible for Reid, and that the cult will back their gal as far as they can. She hasn't come out and fully and openly condemned the cult, so she is no doubt still seen as a valuable asset (target for conversion?).

If they DO go after Reid (in the "acquire the asset" sense and not "attack, never defend" sense), the easiest response critics could make to these efforts would be to compile a list of the several dozen conservative pols they have wooed lately, and send it to Reid and his people to examine, and suggest he ask himself why this group is targeting him if their usual targets (recently) have been politically opposed to his party.

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out in the long run. I'm sad Angle won when it appears a better / equally politically conservative candidate option was available, but if that is what the majority of voting LV peeps want, that's what they got.

[Lorelei]

Re: above

Also, the cult has to be very careful about how openly it supports / promotes ANY candidates. Don't expect open support; expect an individual Scientologist to urge friends (who just so happen to be Scienos, too) to vote a certain way...if that.

(I say that only because they did that before, in Florida IIRC: an individual Sci suggested, via a leaked e-mail, who was the more Sci-positive candidate to support in a particular case, and which issues they should vote "yes" or "no" on, but, sadly, this kind of chit-chat doesn't threaten the cult's charitable status / tax break because she spoke as an individual, not a rep of Scientology itself or any group or branch thereof.)

[RedShieldwolf]

How to handle the ridicule of the puffed up liberal elitists - Las Vegas Review-Journal (blog)
10 June 2010, 8:24 am

Some progressive/liberal wags have already coined the term Sharrontology as a less-than-sly hint at GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle's fleeting effort to look into a prison drug rehab program that used some methods also recommended by those in Scientology.

They huff in feined amazement at some of her "wacky" pronouncements she has made — privatize Social Security, eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy, etc. — that no one in their narrow world of acolytes to the doctrine of government-is-the-solution-to-all-problems-ever-known-to-mankind could ever decipher.

There's two ways to handle this attempt at ridicule: Try to rationally explain the reasons underpinning your philosophy to a bunch of laughing hyenas who think the "general welfare" clause is the key to the candy shop ... or ... embrace the label with a sense of humor and even pride. Take to the stump and loudly proclaim you are here to preach the gospel of Sharrontology, the ideology of less government, lower taxes, more liberty, less interference from Washington, self-reliance and self-determination.

That's what early Americans did.

The early Americans were cult shills? Guys, call me a "liberal elitist", but I'm having a hard time understanding the reasoning behind defending the actions of Sharron Angle. Partisanship at its best.
/political view

Although, I must admit....



...this Thomas Mitchell has an epic mustache.

[Lorelei]

An epic mustache indeed. I want to ask him about his thoughts on oatmeal and DIABEETUS.