Richie: I'll certainly agree with you that *overseas* Islam may be the greatest threat to freedom. But the links I provided showed a *nationwide* poll of American Muslims disavowing violence - IN SOME CASES THEY WERE THE MOST ANTI-VIOLENCE OF *ANY* MAJOR RELIGION.

Now I'll ask you - and to be honest I think you might agree with me here - why do you think that Islam is such a threat overseas? In my opinion, it's something I noticed in the 1980s when Beirut was turning into rubble. I forget who it was who authored the article I was reading back then but the gist was as follows.

"Over there", there's nothing BUT religion. There's nothing to take people's minds off of it. There's no economic success. There's no hope for class mobility. It's as though things are so destitute elsewhere that people have "given up" on this life and figure there's nothing to live for except the next one. Radical clerics seize on this, just like cult leaders in this country prey on the lonely and disaffected.

In today's terms, it's why Europe, by and large, doesn't have a problem with religion *except from recent immigrants* who still seem to have the "old" mindset.

It would also be a good argument as to what REALLY solved the Irish "troubles". The "Celtic Tiger" boom years seemed to coincide with agreements being signed to settle the violence. Only when the economy tanked did some rumblings come up again (I was in Ireland on our honeymoon when they went through their teeth-gnashing over what the bank bailouts would be in 2010 and I was reading about this in their newspapers)

So, Richie, I think I can find the following common ground with you. For one, keep the f'ing radical clerics *OUT*. They can keep their "live for death" mantra back in the catboxes where they came from. Secondly, economic freedom can cure religious fundamentalism - it's harder (though not impossible) to recruit people when they have a hopeful outlook.