OK, what I'm rabbitting on about is that I don't believe the Jews are a 'race' of people. Yet if you criticize a Jew, it is sometimes made out to be 'racism'. The opening link may have been a lousy one to use in starting this thread in order to get to this point, but yes, that is my fundamental problem with the 'anti-semitism' tag. If you criticize someone of the Jewish religious group, you are a racist. And I HAVE read of 'anti-semite' used in that context many times and will try to find examples if I give a damn later. I've heard and seen it used that way enough for MY satisfaction, at any rate. And it's not right. And given how the US was just sold on the Iraq invasion (50% of Americans thought Saddam did the 9-11 job), we can be sold ANYTHING. So I'm just trying to get ahead of the curve on this one. The Mid East debacle is going to mean a lot of Jews immigrating to America as the Arabs murderize them in Israel, and I just wanted to get straight with myself that I wasn't being racist when I tell them I don't agree with them. Really...simple as that. I've never had to give the matter much thought.

And restraints against the First Amendment have already been passed against Christians, Don. Several months ago the governor of Virginis (?) signed legislation passed by the Republicans there against bashing homosexuals from the pulpit. A lot of fundamentalists preach that the Bible is against homosexuality (and they make as good a case as you can with a book as open to interpretation as the Bible is), yet a secular ruler ruled that they could be imprisoned for condemning homosexuality. I believe that was in Virginia. The fire-breather I heard on the radio where I first heard it was astounded Caeser would command him not to rail against the 'queers', as he put it, and that was an odd broadcast. Obvious hate speech, but it was the man's right to speak that way, or was it? I'd say yes, and then let him suffer the reprisals. But you mentioned restrictions on the First Amendment...I'll try to re-locate the particulars of that case if you're interested. Had the bill number and everything. I agree that would be the end of America...or the beginning of the end...but I think its already under way.