conservatives (Judeo-Christians) and liberals (rationalists)

Sometimes I worry that this is definitional with you and not descriptive.

Is.

Then how do you explain the liberal Judeo-Christians and the conservative rationalists?

There's no such thing. The former aren't Judeo-Christian and the latter aren't conservative.

www.brothersjudd.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/reviews.detail/book_id/1008

Then that would explain why you think that you're a conservative.

Yes, politics doesn't matter much.

Bingo.

Sounds mighty definitional to moi.

Of course it's definitional.

Mr. Judd;

Politics are the means by which public policy is implemented. Does "politics doesn't matter much" mean that it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you have good thoughts?

I am convinced that the luckiest of geographic circumstances and the best of laws cannot maintain a constitution in despite of mores, whereas the latter can turn even the most unfavorable circumstances and the worst laws to advantage. The importance of mores is a universal truth to which study and experience continually bring us back. I find it occupies the central position in my thoughts: all my ideas come back to it in the end.
--Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

07/20/06 nbcsandiego: Local Marine Fights For Life After Bomb Blast
Lance Cpl. Don Fowler...was on his third deployment to Iraq when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb near a hospital... is on his way to a military hospital in Maryland. He is in a drug-induced coma with serious injuries to both his arms and legs.

07/20/06 CSM: The vulnerable line of supply to US troops in Iraq
American forces in Iraq are in danger of having their line of supply cut by guerrillas. Napoleon once said that "an army travels on its stomach." By that he meant that the problem of keeping an army supplied is the prerequisite for the very existence...

07/20/06 NYTimes: In Baghdad, bakers are the targets
BAGHDAD The front line in this city's sectarian war runs through Edrice al-Aaraji's backyard. He is a Shiite and a baker. So are his two brothers..."To shut down a well-known bakery in a neighborhood, that means you paralyze life there,"

07/20/06 DoD: Soldier's injuries lead to heart failure
A Land O'Lakes soldier who was struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq in October died Sunday of heart failure caused by the stress of his injuries. He was 27. Army Spc. Raymond A. Salerno III's ...suffered third-degree burns on both hands...

07/20/06 Reuters: Gunmen kill family in Mosul
Gunmen killed five members of a family -- a man and four women -- in their home in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

07/20/06 Reuters: Four guards are killed as police chief escapes attack
Brigadier Muhammad Ali, the police chief of the town of Baghdadi in Iraq's western al-Anbar province, said he had escaped a roadside bomb attack on his convoy but four of his guards were killed and two wounded.

07/20/06 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. Mark R. Vecchione, 25, of Tucson Ariz, died on July 18 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M1A1 Abrams tank. Vecchione was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment

07/20/06 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Geofrey R. Cayer, 20, of Fitchburg, Mass., died July 18 from a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force

07/20/06 KUNA: Governor of Mosul survives assassination attempt
The governor of Mosul Duraide Muhammad Kashmula survived Thursday an assassination attempt after a bomb exploded near his convoy in the city of Mosul in Northern Iraq.

07/20/06 Salvadoran Soldier Identified
una patrulla de miembros del VI Contingente del Batallón Cuscatlán que se encuentra en Iraq...el Subsargento José Miguel Perdomo sufrió heridas en el costado izquierdo del tórax y falleció mientras era trasladado hacia este centro de atención.

07/20/06 AP: Baghdad attacks up 40 percent
U.S. spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said there has been an average of 34 attacks a day against U.S. and Iraqi forces in the capital over the past five days. The daily average for the period June 14 until July 13 was 24 a day, he said.

07/20/06 ARNews: Medal of Honor hero greets - Staff Sgt. Josh Forbess
Staff Sgt. Josh Forbess, a burn patient recovering from a 12th surgery after surviving a helicopter crash, said he often thinks the word “hero” is overused, but not in this case.

07/20/06 ARNews: Medal of Honor hero greets - Staff Sgt. Nathan Reed
For Staff Sgt. Nathan Reed, the visit by the Medal of Honor recipient was especially meaningful. Reed, a 4th Infantry Division Soldier, lost his right leg when a roadside bomb exploded May 30 in Baghdad.

07/20/06 AP: Twelve killed after lured near Iraq car bomb (update)
Iraqi police say a car bomb has killed 12 people who had gathered around a vehicle after discovering a corpse inside. A police captain says the victims were staring at the car parked at a gas station when it blew up.

07/20/06 capeargus: Thousands of Iraqis flee as violence reaches new levels
Thousands of Iraqis have fled their homes in fear of sectarian violence that has worsened since the formation of a US-backed national unity government two months ago, official data shows today.

07/20/06 KUNA: MNF chopper crashed in southern Iraq
A Multi-National Forces (MNF) chopper crashed Wednesday in southern Iraq, according to eyewitness reports. Eyewitnesses told KUNA Thursday, a Polish chopper crashd near a MNF military base in Diwaniya, southern Iraq.

07/20/06 AP: Top Shiite cleric calls Iraqis to stop violence against each other
Iraq's top Shiite cleric Thursday called on Iraqis to work together to halt sectarian violence, warning that the future of the nation is at stake.

07/20/06 Reuters: US forces surround Iraq towns in Qaeda operation
U.S. and Iraqi forces surrounded and entered two towns near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Thursday in search of suspected al Qaeda militants, the military said on Thursday.

07/20/06 NPR: Serious Injury a Daily Risk for Iraqi Soldiers
But when it comes to injured Iraqi troops, there are no reliable numbers. U.S. and Iraqi military officials do agree that the number is much higher. We tell the story of one Iraqi soldier who recently suffered serious injuries while on patrol.

07/20/06 Reuters: Former Baath Party member killed in Kerbala
Gunmen killed a former member of the ousted Baath Party as he was leaving his house in the Shi'ite city of Kerbala, 110 km (68 miles) southwest of Baghdad, police said.

07/20/06 KUNA: Three killed in Baghdad car bomb
Three people were killed Thursday and tens of others injured when a booby-trapped car blasted in Baghdad, Iraqi police announced.

07/20/06 Reuters: Gunmen kidnap and kill policeman in Falluja
Gunmen kidnapped and killed a policeman in Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.

07/20/06 Reuters: Two bodies found near Balad
The bodies of two people with gunshot wounds were found near Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, police said

07/20/06 Reuters: Body of translater found near Tikrit
The body of a translator for U.S. forces was found near Tikrit with gunshot wounds, police said. He was kidnapped on Tuesday, police added.

07/20/06 Reuters: Policeman killed in Tikrit
Gunmen killed a police officer near a checkpoint in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

07/20/06 AP: More Hostages Released on Baghdad Street
Four more people seized last weekend at a sports conference have been found blindfolded and dumped unharmed in an east Baghdad neighborhood, officials said Thursday. There was no word on the fate of Iraq's Olympic committee chairman.

07/20/06 KUNA: Up to 10 Iraqis hit by car bomb attack in Kirkuk
Up to 10 Iraqis, including six policemen were injured in Iraq Thursday due to the explosion of a booby-trapped car in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

07/20/06 kcci: Iowa Soldier Injured In Roadside Bomb Attack
An Iowa soldier is recovering after a roadside bomb attack Sunday in Iraq. Sgt. Justin Abernathy, 24, of Hazleton is receiving treatment at a German hospital. Abernathy is part of the Iowa National Guard's 133rd Infantry B Company.

07/20/06 softpedia: Gruesome Discovery in Baghdad
Iraqi police reported today that it had made one of the most dramatic discoveries ever since sectarian violence escalated in the Iraqi capital, meaning 38 dead bodies that bore the signs of torture, in less than a 24 hour period, CNN informs.

07/20/06 Reuters: Gunmen kill three engineers in Baiji
Gunmen killed three engineers working in the oil refinery in Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

07/20/06 Reuters: Roadside bomb wounds Iraqi army officer in Diwaniya
An Iraqi army officer was wounded when a roadside bomb went off near a joint Iraqi and Polish patrol in the southern city of Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, the Iraqi army said

07/20/06 Reuters: Gunmen kidnapped and kill taxi driver in Diwaniya
Gunmen kidnapped and killed a taxi driver, who was a former member of the ousted Baath Party, on Thursday in Diwaniya, police said.

07/20/06 Cenctcom: MARINE KILLED IN AL ANBAR PROVINCE
A Marine assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division died due to enemy action while operating in Al Anbar Province today.