Some observations by other bloggers

The Republican party has not, for decades, been a legitimate political party. It is a corrupt criminal conspiracy designed to plunder our nation's wealth and turn it over to the rich sociopaths who finance the whole thing. -- Green Eagle (see comment #8)

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Just this whole idea of preaching "atheist values" (as if preaching "Christian values" is not just a euphemism for preaching Christianity) annoys the fuck out of me. I hate the very concept of any kind of indoctrination, and especially the atheist-related kind. The whole thing about religion is that it TELLS people what to believe. That's why I left mine! I didn't want anyone telling me shit about how to live my life. -- Diana

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I myself reject any bigotry or discrimination against Muslims, but I have to say that of all religions, I'm most scared of Islam, which has the potential to do incredible damage to the planet — and in fact is doing so now. If that makes me an "Islamophobe," so be it. But during the Inquisition (and even a bit now), I'd have been a "Catholicphobe" because of the bad effects Catholicism has on the world. I've always thought the word "Islamophobia" should be understood by everyone to mean "fear of Islam," while bigotry against Muslims should be called simply "bigotry against Muslims." -- Jerry Coyne

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Republicans are no longer capable of functioning in a bi-partisan manner. Over the past 40 years, they have adopted a similar negotiating strategy as someone like Valdimir Putin. It is a strategy that is top-down, directive, and entirely authoritarian with no allowance for debate or critical analysis. In short, Republicans have morphed into the new (but certainly not improved) Soviet Union-like "communists" of the 21st-century. -- Bjork55

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Rightists often claim that American Muslims won't be loyal to the United States, but to a global Muslim community. To me, this clearly seems like a case of psychological projection. White supremacists see themselves as part of an international borderless racial community first and foremost, rather than citizens of a nation-state, so they naturally imagine that everyone else sees themselves the same way. -- Noah Smith

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Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Those who do know history are doomed to watch other people repeat it. -- anonymous F3 commenter