Well now, here we are in day ten thousand of the latest scandal involving (enter a name) from (enter a state) the disgraced (enter Congressman, Senator, aide, bureaucrat, media target, cabinet member, bystander, wannabe, or known brain-dead, promiscuous, incurably diseased celebrity) and while the media is running what's his name into the ground, the War on Terror is continuing unabated and uncovered.

Did you know that Muslim extremists have been rioting and burning in Belgium? Or that a murder trial is in session in Scotland in the case of some disadvantaged Muslim men who kidnapped a "white" boy off a street in Edinburgh, dumped him in their silver Mercedes (told you they were disadvantaged) then stabbed and burned him to death? Did you know that? I did, but only because I check in over at the Atlas Shrugs blog every day to keep up on the War on Terror.

While most of us have been distracted by the American Terrorist Media's latest diversion, the terrorism war has been going on full blast in many places including Iraq, and it is creeping closer and closer every single day.

Here on the diversion front I heard some commentators intoning the other day that the latest scandal involving what's his name is sure to keep the Religious Right at home, which will do very nicely in reminding George Bush that they have the real keys to power in this country and he better not forget it.

Remember when he almost got beat by Al Gore because the Religious Right stayed home? (Don't get me started on that Florida crap. I was there, 90 percent of what was reported in the national media, before it morphed into the ATM, was bull and I can prove it.)

All these renewed references to the Religious Right got me to wondering, just who are these people? And what religion do they follow? And when they say 'Right' do they mean as in 'correct' or are they talking about a direction or leaning or position?

If they are the Religious Right as in correct, what religion do they follow and who decided that this religion is more right than another? I grew up in the Methodist Church thanks to my mother, with occasional forays into Presbyterianism thanks to my Scottish father, but I also made a point of visiting my Catholic friends' churches at times, and knew Jewish kids who were pretty solid on their point of view too.

I didn't know any Muslim kids at that time, but I did meet Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus in my adult years, as well as people from other less widespread religions. It was really odd, but I kept meeting people I liked regardless of their religious beliefs and I kept meeting people I disliked regardless of their religious beliefs, so this whole Religious 'Right' issue has me a bit perplexed.

I don't want to be throwing water on anyone's fervor either, but it has occurred to me that if God has decided there is a proper way to worship Him (unless Him is Her or asexual) and God has dictated not only rules, but punishments for disobeying said rules, isn't it just a tad heretical to go around saying you and only you are responsible for inflicting God's punishment here on earth? I mean, after all, if it is God we are talking about, don't you think the all-seeing, all-knowing, omnipotent Supreme Being would want to impose His (Her, Its)retribution on non-believers Himself (Herself, Itself)?

I mean, if you are God, what constitutes enjoyment or appropriate use of your time? Seems to me that making the occasional point that one and only one being is omnipotent would be a regular part of the agenda, and if some mere mortal was inserting himself between the Almighty and enjoyment, it might not be the best place to stand on the celestial plane.

Personally, I wouldn't be in favor of standing next to said mortal either, similar to say standing next to Muqtada Al Sadr as in being his bodyguard or devout follower if some non-Muslim says enough is enough and starts spraying the area with bullets dipped in pigs' blood every time he appears in public.

Nope. I figure that the God I was brought up with really means it on the omnipotent front and it is my job to live my life fully and effectively and any judgments on whether I was successful will be rendered by a much higher authority at a date to be determined. I believe that mortals presuming to play God here on earth are just plain senseless when looked at from an eternal point of view.

In other words I do what I can to live a good life and stay out of areas I have no chance of ever understanding.

So what does it mean if members of the Religious 'Right' stay home at election time? Are they imposing God's will as they see it, and by doing so are they being hypocrites? Or are they making a political statement through their religious beliefs and if so is that hypocritical, not to mention cutting off their noses to spite their faces?

Whew, this gets deep.

Here is what I am going to do. I am going to vote on Election Day. I am going to vote for a Governor, a US Senator, a US Congressman, a State Senator and a Sate Representative. I already know who I am voting for and have for months now. In each case I generally agree with the positions of the people who will get my vote, although in each case I sometimes disagree with them, literally all of them, but overall I think they fit my viewpoints best.

Then I will come home and wait to see if I am in the majority or minority this year. If the people I vote for win, I will say a special thanks in my own way, in my own space and time. If they don't, I will wonder whether there was something more they could have done to get their views across, or whether there is something wrong with my viewpoint, or whether it is just a matter of demographics and timing.

Either way, I will get up the next day, do my job, and live my life. Regardless of the outcome, I won't shoot anyone, kidnap anyone, stab anyone or burn anyone and blame it on God. That may not give me any special claim to religious accolades, but it will make me 'right.'

You can figure out which way I mean by that.