I live in Northern Arizona where a large number of right-wing Republicans and Libertarians rule. However, there are some of us who are not in lockstep with the locals.

A response to a column in today's paper was, I think, so well expressed that I'd like to post it here:

Article comment by: mi[n]dless pap

What? You need to go read the preamble to the US Constitution. Concentrate on where it says, "provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare".

So now for all those ice tea bag partiers out there who think they know all about constitutional law, concentrate on this, Especially in Article 1, Section 8.: "Congress shall......provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States. ....To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts."

OK. So who decides what is a useful art? The ice tea bag party? Boehner? Give me a break.

Germany with one third the population we have and much higher wage and benefit costs is number 1 in per capita export manufacturing in the world. Why? It sounds to me like they read our constitution and applied what it says. Now of course some wise ice tea bag partier in Kingman is going to tell me that if I like Germany so much why don't I get out of Kingman so the ice tea bag party can take over. Sorry, but I'm here to stay. [...and I'm staying also!]

Obviously if we didn't have the convergence of GOD and politics in the republican party that the super-capitalists and their corporatist minions on Wall Street have used to de-industrialize our nation we wouldn't be in the predicament we are in. We would have something that Germany, Japan, and China have, called an industrial policy. We would be negotiating fair trade agreements instead of free trade agreements which don't promote the general welfare of the people. We wouldn't have a military-industrial complex that serves a few insider politicians and corporations and their lobbyists. It sounds to me like these other nations have read our constitution and applied what it says. How come we can't do that? Because the GOD squad says we have to apply Biblical law in the US. Here is what I have to say about that. .....Biblical, shmiblical.

......well said, I think! AG