Apparently Newt wants us to live by the laws of Saudi Arabia. They stone people there for adultery, don't they? Is he down with that?

"They"? So all Catholics abuse children? And all Protestants blow up federal buildings and day care centers? Really? This is your line of argument?

New York Jews would just love that. How about if you go back to your mega-church in the middle of nowhere and just lock your hatred in there?

Oh please, please do. Because New Yorkers really don't take that sort of intolerant shite very well at all. THAT would be fun to watch. Of course, first you'd all have to get hotel rooms in Times Square.

Or just a clueless rube who doesn't know the first thing about New York or America. I've noticed that there are a lot of angry Russians on this site, for some reason. Please focus on messing up your own country. Kthxbye.

That's right, because that is what America is all about. "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled massed yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teaming shore. Send these, the homeless tempest tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door." Or would you like to tear down the Statue of Liberty? You probably would.

As if you are a New Yorker or have ever even been there. Not. Islam is the second-largest religion in the world, and if people want to build a community center, which is very much needed in that area, then that seems like a great idea. You sound like, well, you know what you sound like, people who have demonized other religions in the past.

Mexico is not socialist. Sweden is, sort of. Norway too, in a way. Pretty much every country in Europe has some form of government involvement in healthcare, if that makes a country socialist, but then, that would mean that Canada is too, and well, pretty much every developed country in the world. How are you defining socialism?

And thanks for the interesting, and civil, discussion, by the way. I appreciate it.

This is really very funny. I am sitting here trying to work out a way to prove that I'm white. Can't think of one though, short of posting a photo, which doesn't seem like a great idea. Well, ok, I say I am, you don't believe me, I'm not sure there is anything I can do about that. Charlie Rangle has ethics issues, obviously. It's not like all Republican elected officials are pure and clean. I mean, that's quite a rogue's gallery you have on that side of the aisle. I believe that it is actually, ironically, states that tend to vote Republican that are the net recipients of federal money. States that tend to vote Demcratic mostly don't get back what they pay. But I'm ok with that, because I believe that in this country, as wealthy as it is on so many different levels, it would be shameful to not provide a decent safety net for our more vulnerable citizens. To me, that's part of being a civilized society. And I pay, oh boy do I pay. You know what else I pay, massive real estate taxes, much of which goes to our local public school system, which is excellent and a reason that people move here. The thing is, our children are not in the public school system, so that's five figures we get no direct benefit from (the school system does keep real estate prices high though, because there's a lot of demand to live here, so we benefit in that way, I guess), and that's ok, because strong schools are important.

Thank you for your civil response, it is nice to see. I don't take this personally because, well, I'm one of those rich white people, so attacks on people of color are personal attacks on my values, but not on me, per se. I think that your comment about people getting angry first and then wanting to get violent is very offensive, and wrong. I mean, KKK, right? Violence. People of all races can turn to violence, that doesn't mean that any one race is more disposed to than others. And again, like I said, I'm one of the rich white people who is going to get seriously hit when the Bush tax cuts expire, but that's ok with me. Less renovation on the house, but better for our country, and it's the country I live in, was born in and care about, so I'm willing to take a bit of personal pain to help the country out. When Joe Biden said that paying taxes is patriotic, I totally agreed. I'd rather have the money, sure, I have an old house that is falling apart, but I can deal for another year or two, I'm not starving, in fact, we go out to dinner at nice restaurants three or four times a week, I have nice clothes, and nothing is broken that we can't find a way to fix. I'd rather drive an old Mercedes instead of a new one and have an unrenovated bathroom for another few years, if it will help the country get back on its feet. I realize I sound like a spoiled white woman, but that's sort of my point, given that I've been called an undocumented unemployed immigrant on this thread, for some bizarre reason. I wanted you to see who I actually am. We have money. We are white. We hate racism. And we always vote Democratic, as do all our wealthy neighbors.