  Hello all! We've got quite the rousing discussion going on here, and I figured that I should contribute. (Sorry this got half published before, I don't know what happened) I wanted to respond to Ryan E and point out that there have been reports of at least 8,000 and up to 10,000 Iraqi civilians killed in our invasion of their country.
I no longer pledge allegiance to our flag. Of course there are many reasons why I no longer pledge allegiance (the false election in 2000; Martha Stewart going to prison while Ken Lay, and countless others, get off; the "defense of marriage act*" +constitutional amendment, the "no child left behind act," and the "patriot act") but the war is a major one right now. I also agree with Rob though. I suppose it's alright if they keep "under god" in our little third period prayer. It really doesn't bother me; when I still said the pledge, I simply left that part out. And yet, the wanted gap between church and state that would justify keeping "under god" (with Rob's argument) isn't always evident. When the president says, "Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural, religious and natural roots..." (2/24/04) I lose confidence in the separation between his religious convictions and his political policies.
Here's a site that put the war into perspective: http://www.infoshout.com/the_toll.htm ...Liberty and justice for all, eh? *AHH! How can they use words like "defense" and "protection" when all you need is $54 to get a license? No proof of love, no plan of action for good intentions, just some cash and a couple signatures. http://www.thestranger.com/2004-03-11/city4.html ~Beck Nelson~ 
