"Keep in mind that during the last days, Bush Jr. was considering having soldiers protecting the white house."

It's not surprising the GWB was really a coward in the end. His public statements & reactions to that crisis were pitifull. He looked like a scared lil bunny to me.

"Obama has talked about a civil army.... why?"

It's not an "army" at all...just a bunch of volunteers to help out their communities.

"How old are you?"

Probably older than you kiddo.

"The media is to keep people informed and the government in check?"

Yes, the press is what's called the Fourth Estate.

"While all that are enlisted in any armed service, they are sworn to uphold and obey the Constitution of the United States"

...and to follow the lawful orders of their civilian leadership, period.

Agree & well-stated. This group of Right-wing wackos really poses no threat to anyone. They are waaay too small a group to do anything. Most of them will probably just end up in a militia group, like McVeigh & we all know how THAT turned out!

...which are provided for in the U.S. Constitution, period.

This is a ridiculous "argument". These wackos look extremist because they are a very small, Right-wing, extreme group, period.

"The military should specifically spell out what constitutes a lawful order and what does not in order to keep the government in check."

That's already been done in many military manuals. "Illegal" orders should not be followed at all. All soldiers should know that by now.

More sheer & utter nonsense. I've already proven that gun registration of all kinds happens at both the state & federal level, and it's totally Constitutional. Checkmate!

"You DO NOT need a license to own a gun"

Wrong again. Fully automatic firearms of any kind (including military assault rifles) have been subject to requirements for registration by owners & licensing of dealers since the passage of the National Firearms Act in 1934. Also, AZ, CT, HI, MI, NV, NY, and NC currently all have some form of registration process for guns.

Before you happen to get all uppity about this, all of these laws are totally Constitutional:

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/08/19/taking_liberties/entry5253857.shtml

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/08/21/ taking_liberties/entry5258192.shtml

Checkmate confirmed! :)

This is NOT a game my friend. Quit treating it like it is. These are serious issues that require serious people discussing them.

Hmmm, then I guess owning a gun is not a "right", since one usually needs to own a license or a permit to own one...lol...checkmate...

Look, if the reason that none of our rights are absolute is because things like yelling fire in a crowed theater, having human sacrifices at religious ceremonies, etc. are viewed by the population at large as unreasonable actions/positions. Opposition to gay marriage in the USA is based almost solely on religious reasons, which is why we have a separation of church & state...whether you or anyone else likes it or not. There is no reasonable position that can justify gays not being able to get a civil marriage.

I personally am more in favor of civil unions, which, as far as I can tell, are virtually the same as civil marriage under various state laws, just because it takes the whole "gay marriage equals my church is going to marrying gays soon" (which they won't be) nonsense off of the table.

Whether gays get to marry or get to enter into civil unions matters little to me. It's six of one & half a dozen of another to me personally.

"So if none of our rights are absolute, then gays can't get married."

Huh??

"But if your argument is that the law can be changed, then Roe VS Wade can be uverturned."

Look, if you think that the U.S. Supreme Court is going to go back to the days where Americans didn't have a right to privacy, especially in terms of their medical decisions, then, IMHO, you are out of your mind...