In this column I pose questions and raise issues. I don't always agree with the conclusion, implied or stated. The purpose is to put a slightly different spin on each item and to promote discussion.

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• With all the complaints about the anti-Semitism that may be encouraged by Mel Gibson's epic, The Passion of the Christ, I wonder if Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments caused a backlash against modern Egyptians when it was released?
• When anybody stands up to defend their self against attacks from Liberals, typically the Liberal attackers retaliate with accusations of hate and that they, themselves, are victims of an attack.
• There is no "right" to marriage, else unmarried people who want to be married could exercise their "right" and force somebody to marry them.
• KVI Talkshow host Rusty Humprhies lauds "capitalism" by name, but then describes free enterprise. It's surprising how many proponents of free enterprise think it's the same thing as capitalism.
• Conservatism is, to some extent, predicated upon the understanding that, while some people can and will, of their own accord, live by a high moral standard, most must be taught and, to some degree, compelled to do so. Hence, those who claim that responsibility to learn and live by morals rests with the individual, regardless of the circumstances, reveal their Liberal heart.
• Our legal system jails otherwise law-abiding citizens for casual use of illegal drugs, but lets sexual preadators, whom are deemed likely to re-offend, go free.
• Clinton supporters believe it was honorable for him to dodge the draft, but dishonorable for Bush 43 to join the Air National Guard.
• The unfettered individualism of Liberalism rapidly devolves through egalitarianism toward despotism; unfettered Conservatism, on the other hand, gradually settles into a stratified equalitarianism.
• Employers have gradually transformed Social Security, which was originally intended to supplement rather than replace pensions, into the only pension plan. In this way, the Liberal pragmatists who run these companies have improved profits, increased the value of their stock, and reduced their payroll expenses at the expense of the American taxpayer.
• Of all the people I know who favor turning over Kennewick man to scientists for study, most are Liberals; in general, Conservatives understand reverence for the past and respect for the dead.
• To a great degree, Ayn Rand was a very intolerant person, and her intolerance was reflected in her philosophy, Objectivism, which, in turn, infected many Americans with her intolerance in the guise of "indifference."
• Feminists, with their pervasive wolf-crying, have trivialized rape to the point where the accusation of rape has elevated Kobe Bryant's status.
• The anti-Indian racism of Outkast's performance at last month's Emmys is off limits to Liberals, because African American racism is untouchable, even when it targets another minority. And Conservatives won't mention it because they have been persuaded that Indian country is a bastion of Liberalism.
• Liberalism is the political philosophy of regimentation because, at root, it says we're all the same. This is why "diversity," as Liberals promote it, focuses on reinforcing the stereotypes while ignoring real differences.
• American taxpayers subsidize the profits of Wal-Mart, whose employees rely on welfare for their medical care.
• The Citizens for a One Strike You're Out Law have a great idea: Sentence adult offenders convicted of certain violent sex crimes to life in prison without parole. I hope this becomes the law of the land. However, as reporting and prosecution of female predators continues to improve, which it has been doing during the past 20 years, more-and-more women whom, when I was a child, would have gotten off with a wink and a smile, will be imprisoned for life, also.
• Tribal governments are regulated by the federal government, rather than by state governments, because the tribes preceded the states, and the federal government was responsible for negotiating agreements with the tribes so that the states could exist. Historically, legally and traditionally, therefore, tribes fall under federal jurisdiction.
• President Bush has proposed a constitutional amendment to strengthen the Defense of Marriage Act that President Clinton signed into law. In response, liberals and homosexuals loudly protest that the president is guilty of hate and oppression. But the amendment won't impose anything, all it will do is to prevent the courts from redefining marriage.
• When gay talk show host Karel appeared on Michael Medved's show to debate the gay marriage issue, he complimented Medved for remaining calm and complained that most people with whom he had debated this issue became angry and emotional. As he began to respond to callers, however, it quickly became evident that Karel provokes this kind of response by interrupting and talking over others, and by dodging almost every question that was put to him. Moreover, when it came down to a debate between Karel and Medved, Karel quickly became shrill, combative and angry, because Michael calmly pressed the questions that Karel didn't want to answer.
• The purpose of business is to make a profit. This is a fact of life. To assert, as many do, that this is all that matters, however, is anything but Conservative, because Conservatives believe that communities matter. Unfortunately, corporations which sacrifice communities to make small gains in profits have become all too common, lately.
• What if The Passion of the Christ does incite anti-Semitism outside the United States? Would that be bad? Of course it would, but it would also provide Mel Gibson and others to use it as a very public opportunity for opposing anti-Semitism.
• Governments can run businesses. Many utilities, for example, are government-run monopolies. As such, these utilities do not pay taxes on their revenues. Just as tribal governments can run businesses upon which they do not pay taxes.
• Individual Indians have exactly the same rights and responsibilities that all Americans have. Like most other Americans, most American Indians work, pay taxes, pay for health care, pay rent or a mortgage, buy their own clothes, car and groceries, and put their pants on one leg at a time.
• Non-Indian business owners turn the fact that most state governments don't allow them to run Class III casinos into a reason to attack Indian tribes, who are under federal rather than state jurisdiction. Were this motivated by other than racism, non-Indian business owners would oppose the overly restrictive regulations of their state governments, rather than blaming the Indian tribes.
• Last year North and South Dakota had the highest high school graduation rate in the nation. Sounds like they have a very good school system. According to Table No. 21 of the 2003 Statistical Abstract of the United States, as of 2002 they also had one of the least racially diverse populations in the nation.
• Conservatism doesn't mandate the way things ought to be, it just recognizes how things are and what life ways usually work best.
• The people who call George W. Bush fascist and fear he will become a dictator remind me of the people who, back in the 1980s, called Ronald Reagan "the smiling Hitler." Funny thing about Reagan, for a "smiling Hitler" he sure liberated a lot of people.
• What do you call a nation that greets bullies with the olive branch of appeasement policies? Conquered.
• Many Liberals believe it's bad to censor what words minors are exposed to in video games and the like, but let a man use those words to a woman, and he's guilty of emotional abuse.
• Were al Qaeda a male celebrity in America who groped and harassed women, the Liberals who now decry the war would be calling for the harshest retaliation possible.
• The politics of envy is as likely to infect Conservatives as Liberals when it comes to Indians.
• Conservatives are complicit with Liberal efforts to categorize all members of the American Indian population as a single homogenous group. Many people talk about "the Indians," but never say which ones.
• Some folks figure a Democrat in the White House, combined with the Republicans running things in Congress, will result in a deadlock similar to what prevailed during the Clinton years. But if the Republicans are willing to spend like Democrats under President Bush, how much worse will they be under a Democrat?
• It is interesting to note the tendency of some black leaders to lump American Indians in with blacks to make it sound like African Americans and American Indians are, together, all victims of whites. I speculate the reason they do this is to hide the fact that Indians could, with far greater validity, turn many of those same complaints around and point them back at African Americans. In fact, some Indians do, but most don't, because complaining is contrary to the traditional conservatism of Indian country.
• There are compelling historical reasons going back 3,000 years to tie Jews to Israel. Israel is their home. How much stronger are the ties of American Indians to America?
• If there were but 2 more hours in the day, I could be so much more disorganized.
• It seems like most Liberals would rather be dead than wrong.
• The Democratic primaries saw a lot of mudslinging, but the press gave them a pass on that. Now that President Bush is beginning to counter some of the many vicious attacks on him, however, the press is all over that, warning that the campaign is likely to turn nasty.