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POPSFounding Fathers Planned Religious Openness Jon Meacham commentary that founding fathers wanted no state religion; wanted freedom of religion. They refuted the "Old World" practice of state sponsored and dictated religion which caused so much bloodshed.
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POPSGeorge Washington's Rules of Civility
Insightful precepts of civil social behavior; as applicable now as ever. As a young schoolboy in Virginia, George Washington took his first steps toward greatness by copying out by hand a list of 110 ' Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation .' Based on a 16th-century set of precepts compiled for young gentlemen by Jesuit instructors, the Rules of Civility were one of the earliest and most powerful forces to shape America's first president.... Most of the rules are concerned with details of etiquette, offering pointers on such issues as how to dress, walk, eat in public and address one's superiors. But in the introduction to the newly published Rules of Civility: The 110 Precepts That Guided Our First President in War and Peace , Brookhiser warns against dismissing the maxims as "mere" etiquette. "The rules address moral issues, but they address them indirectly," writes. "They seek to form the inner man (or boy) by shaping the outer."
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POPSA Fallen American Soldier continued; his father, Feroze Khan, told the Gannett News Service in a story printed shortly after his death. "He looked at it that he's American and he has a job to do." Powell framed the entire "Obama is a Muslim" debate in striking terms with his reference to this fallen American soldier. "Is there something wrong with being Muslim in America? No, that's not America," he said. "He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could go serve his country, and he gave his life," Mr. Powell said. "Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourselves in this way." The highly charged rhetoric used by McCain and Palin to tie Obama to terrorism and Islam is once again an affront to all Muslim Americans. We saw this type of fear and backlash just after 9/11. We see it also in the McCarthy-like invocations of Michele Bachmann. I challenge Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin to tell this grieving mother that her son is anti-American because of his faith.
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POPSDisappearance of Bees Finally Solved ? I really hope that this will start to clear up the mystery of the disappearing honeybees. They are an integral part of our harvest cycle and its really important we find out why the colonies are collapsing.
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POPSI Never Heard of Anybody Getting a Dual Ph.D. dulios recently mentioned to me that conservatives were talking about me on their threads, accusing me of lying about my education and experience. I'd say first, Google me. But, addressing it only once, this clip should be proof enough.
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POPSCheney takes denial to a whole new level Wow...it is so scary to get a glimpse into how little the Bush administration is in touch with reality...and also the extent to which they do not care about rules or what anyone else thinks.