] President Bush took advantage of the Congressional recess
] today to bypass Senate Democrats and install Alabama's
] attorney general, William H. Pryor, on a federal appeals
] court that oversees three Southern states.
]
] The president named Mr. Pryor, who has gained prominence as an
] outspoken opponent of legalized abortion and as an advocate for a
] greater Christian influence in government, to the United States Court
] of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Well, this pisses me off.

There is, at first glance, an extreme hypocrisy in telling the Iraqi governing council that you are a methodist, and that you would like to be able to practice your religion in their country, while on the other hand appointing a fundamentalist from Alabama, whose track record clearly shows that he is opposed to freedom of religion, to a federal appeals court in your own country. The only way to resolve this inconsistency is to accept that Bush doesn't actually believe in freedom of religion. He believes in the propagation of the Christian faith, and he sees freedom of religion in the middle east as a stepping stone toward achieving that goal.

It is very very well established in history that religious states fail because they are religious states. History is very agnostic in the consistent failure of religious states due entirely to the corruption that "ultimate truth" brings to bare on a society when it carries the force of arms, regardless of what religion we're talking about or who runs it. This is not really a matter of opinion.

There are many people on this planet whose religious beliefs do not allow them to accept this fact, no matter how consistent and comprehensive the historical record has been. There is only one way to think about those people. They are irrational. Irrational + Powerful = Dangerous.

Bush Seats Judicial Nominee That Senate Democrats Blocked