Q: Why were pre-opening cast members for Walt Disney World Resort traveling frequently to Colorado?

A: The Celebrity Sports Center in Denver, Colo., built by a group of celebrity investors including Walt Disney and Art Linkletter then later purchased by Walt Disney Productions, was used as a training ground for employees who soon would be operating resorts at Walt Disney World. Disney sold it in 1979.

This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden, under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked out over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see--brigands on the high roads, pirates on the seas; in the amphitheaters men murdered to please applauding crowds; under all roofs misery and selfishness. It is really a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet in the midst of it I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasures of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians -- and I am one of them. - St. Cyprian, 258AD

Do you want to be just like Jesus? The Jesus of the New Testament was a long way from dull — crying one minute and knocking over tables the next; showing courageous compassion to a fallen victim one day and cursing hypocrites the next; blasting the Pharisees one day for having such a narrow view of adultery, then on the next day forgiving a woman caught in adultery. The New Testament writers continually describe the crowds as responding to Jesus with amazement.

Jesus was a dangerous man—dangerous to the power structure, dangerous to the church, dangerous to the crowds of people who followed Him.

Shouldn’t the followers of Christ also be dangerous? Shouldn’t everyone be awed and dazzled by Christians? Shouldn’t Christians be known by the fire in their souls, the wild-eyed gratitude in their faces, the twinkle in their eyes, and a holy mischief in their demeanors? Shouldn’t Christianity be considered dangerous — unpredictable, threatening to the status quo, living outside the lines, uncontrollable, fearless, wild, beyond categorization or definition? Shouldn’t those who call themselves Christians be filled with awe, astonishment, and amazement?

When we are in hand-to-hand conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil himself, neat little Biblical confectionery is like shooting lions with a pea-shooter; God needs a man who will let go and deliver blows right and left as hard as he can hit, in the power of the Holy Ghost. Nothing but forked-lightning Christians will count. - C.T. Studd

In the name of Allah the Merciful, our forces have struck at the infidel's tanks, and have confronted them with the mightiest of all weapons. Should the terrorist occupiers choose to disregard our warnings, we will have no choice but to form Blazing Sword, and slice the infidel armor in half, insh'Allah.

Americans should listen to Muslims who believe in 9/11 and not to those Muslims who do not! "Terrorism" can be either positive or negative—i.e., for or against God. U.S. terrorism in Iraq is anti-God. U.S. voters have joint liability with the government they choose, as do Russian voters in regard to the actions of their government in Chechnya—yet they voted for Putin. Complicity in the acts of one's rulers makes one a legitimate target.

True enough, they were civilians of a sort. But innocent? Gimme a break. They formed a technocratic corps at the very heart of America's global financial empire – the "mighty engine of profit" to which the military dimension of U.S. policy has always been enslaved – and they did so both willingly and knowingly. Recourse to "ignorance" – a derivative, after all, of the word "ignore" – counts as less than an excuse among this relatively well-educated elite. To the extent that any of them were unaware of the costs and consequences to others of what they were involved in – and in many cases excelling at – it was because of their absolute refusal to see. More likely, it was because they were too busy braying, incessantly and self-importantly, into their cell phones, arranging power lunches and stock transactions, each of which translated, conveniently out of sight, mind and smelling distance, into the starved and rotting flesh of infants. If there was a better, more effective, or in fact any other way of visiting some penalty befitting their participation upon the little Eichmanns inhabiting the sterile sanctuary of the twin towers, I'd really be interested in hearing about it.

Speaking objectively as a Muslim scholar, and not inciting such acts, jihad can be effected outside the battlefield - it is not restricted by time, place, building, event, people, transport food, water (both of which may be legitimately poisoned in jihad), or by clothing; there is no need to wear a uniform.

Any weapons are legitimate in jihad. Even animals may be used as "suicide bombers"! It is not restricted by target - even Muslims or children, if used by the enemy as human shields, can be killed. Only one thing can restrict jihad - a Covenant of Security [Treaty]. Non-combatant women, children, elders, clergy, insane, disabled are restricted, and non-Muslim children go to Paradise. However, if such are killed in crossfire or if used as human shields, they become collateral damage.

Again, speaking objectively as a Muslim scholar, and not inciting such acts, 9/11 was justifiable because America had no Covenant of Security with the Muslims, although Muslims in the U.S. are under a Covenant of Security whereby they may not act militarily against America. Only qualified scholars in fiqh [Islamic jurisprudence] could have planned this, because the 19 used non-Muslim aliases to enter the country (which legally allowed them to act in jihad).

When I heard about it, I prayed to God that no Muslims in America did it because such is haram [forbidden in Islam]. After Al Qaeda admitted responsibility, it was obvious that qualified ulema [Islamic scholars] were behind it. Thus, Al-Qaeda has revived the culture of terrorism in Islam after 200 years. (emphasis mine)

The peoples of the Mideast "aren't like" Americans, not least because they don't "value life' in the same way. By this, it should be understood that Middle-Easterners, unlike Americans, have no history of exterminating others purely for profit, or on the basis of racial animus. Thus, we can appreciate the fact that they value life - all lives, not just their own - far more highly than do their U.S. counterparts.

In terms of Islamic jurisprudence, only Muslims are innocent; non-Muslims are not. By default, all non-Muslims are rebel criminals against God. Muslims who engage in interfaith [gatherings] are apostate. God discriminates among man on basis of faith. The jihad is not specifically anti-Christian - it is anti-kaffir.

...if children are killed, the fault lies with the adult occupiers who brought them into a battlefield situation.

...It is halal to kill hostages in a war zone. Regarding what can be done to secure their release, either they or their families could embrace Islam.

...Today there is no Dar al-Islam - the whole world is Dar al-Harb because it is the sphere of non-shari'ah. There is Dar al-Harb in terms of military aggression and occupation.

There can be no end to jihad.

..."The final hour will not come until the Muslims conquer the White House" is a hadith related by Tabarani, a great Muslim scholar. How?

The Khilafah is necessary for offensive jihad, though it could occur if Muslims warred to liberate captive Muslims. Realistically, it will probably occur through intellectual da'wah [Islamic missionary activity]...There could be no non-Muslim judges. Effectively, the Qur'an and Sunnah [practice and narrations of Muhammad related in Hadith] are the Constitution, Shari'ah is the law. The Caliph is chosen by Muslims, whether by popular election, or selection by Majlis as-Shura [Consultative Assembly]. Non-Muslims can enter the Majlis to represent their own community...No private schools will be allowed, and there will be an Islamically influenced national curriculum. No new churches will be permitted, but existing ones will be allowed. Private consumption of alcohol will be permitted, but not its public sale. All state officials must be Muslims, save for the Caliph's assistants to advise him about relations with non-Muslim citizens. Muslims could not convert to Christianity on pain of execution. Evangelistic campaigns would be forbidden, but people would be free to present Christianity on TV, in debates, etc.

When I came to Plaszow the first day, they put me in a group where we were digging a huge grave...they brought in trucks, with children, from infant to twelve years old. They were all killed...when the children were brought in, they were shot, right in that grave...

One group was bringing, with a wheelbarrow, some chlorine powder and putting on, because there was such a tremendous amount of bodies in those graves...

A little girl, a beautiful blond girl, sat down in the grave, dressed in an Eskimo white fur coat, was all bloody, and asked for a little bit of water...this child swallowed so much blood, because it was shot in the neck. And then it started to vomit so terribly. And then it lay down and it says, "Mother, turn me around, turn me around."

This child did not know what happened to it. It was shot, it was half-dead after it was shot. And this child sat down in the grave, among all the corpses, and asked for water...it was still alive. There was no mother, just children brought from the Cracow ghetto.

So this little girl lay down, and asked to be turned around. What happened to it? I do not know. It was probably covered alive, with chlorine...I am sure, because they did not give another shot to that girl..."

Long trips are the rule in Iraq. It is more than 350 miles by road from Baghdad to Basra, for example, and about the same distance from Baghdad to the Jordanian border. Airborne light infantry divisions that lack much mobility on land must be motorized, provided ample helicopter supports, or be assigned relatively static missions.

Desert and steppe terrain favors airborne and airmobile operations, although high winds and dust may limit opportunities.

The attempts by columnists Thomas Sowell and Mike Rosen to bash "liberalism" in the Jan. 7 Rocky Mountain News disappointing. The neo-con rant concerning liberal bias has grown tiresome. The argument alleging liberal bias at our universities, as framed by David Horowitz and supported by Sowell is disturbing.

In my debates with neo-cons concerning alleged liberal bias on our campuses, I have consistently asked these questions:

1. Have any studies confirmed liberal bias in the classroom?

2. Have any studies established indoctrination of college students to liberalism?

3. Have any studies established that college curricula promote liberalism?

4. Is the presentation of alternative viewpoints in the classroom liberalism?

5. If a professor is a registered Democrat, then is he or she liberally biased in the classroom?

Predictably, every neo-con I have spoken to refused to answer the first three questions, yet answered "yes" to questions four and five.

This set of five questions reveals the agenda behind the campus crusade to quash liberalism: A single, neo-conservative ideology is what they seek to teach. As such, any viewpoint considered vulgar or offensive to a neo-conservative would be banished from the classroom. Ultimately, their goal is to outlaw curricula that objectively discuss abortion, evolution, women's rights, homosexuality, environmentalism, atheism and the like.

Quite frankly, it is not possible to discuss these issues without making neo-cons out to be the dullards they truly are, intentional or not. If neo-cons wish for greater inclusion in an intellectual community like a university, then it behooves them to become intelligent.

Dave Stahl
Englewood

While Mr. Stahl is certainly welcome to his opinions - no matter how
ill-defined his terms (perhaps he might deign to define what makes one
a "neocon" vs. a "paleocon") - he might want to do a little bit of
research before declaring the quesiton of academic bias answered, and
the matter closed.

In a recent study by Santa Clara University researcher Daniel Klein
(cited by that bulwark of the conservative movement - CNN), Democrats
within the social science and humanities departments of universities
nationwide outnumber their Republican counterparts by a margin of more
than seven-to-one, and, in some fields, as many as thirty-to-one.

In addition, a survey of students at America's top 50 universities (as
taken by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni) revealed that
half of the students in these universities feel that their professors
inject too much political opinion into their lectures - particularly
when the issue at hand has nothing to do with the opinion being
raised, while 31 percent felt that in order to receive a good grade in
the class, they had to conform to a particular viewpoint, as held by
their professor.

Mr. Stahl's central objection - that these sinister "neocons" are
somehow seeking to squelch efforts to ensure a diversity of opinion on
campus - is nothing more than a plu-perfect example of projection.
The problem, despite Mr. Stahl's bizarre assertions to the contrary,
is that as currently posited, the modern day college or university
campus is NOT the hotbed of intellectual diversity that he asserts it
to be. All that one needs to do to confirm this fact is to survey
the myriad studies that have been done on the subject, by any number
of different organizations from across the political spectrum. Yes,
Mr. Stahl, there are more of these studies than you can shake a very,
very large stick at. Perhaps you might want to check into these
things before making so bold an assertion to the contrary.

As both a graduate student, and an employee of one of our state's
finest institutions of higher learning, I can say with confidence that
academia's long-standing resistance to change, and to true
intellectual diversity does not spring from the Right side of the
philosophical divide.

Sincerely,

Jared Keller
Centennial, Colorado

On balance it is probably healthier if religious conservatives are inside the political system than if they operate as insurgents and provocateurs on the outside. Better they should write anti-abortion planks into the Republican platform than bomb abortion clinics. The same is true of the left. The clashes over civil rights and Vietnam turned into street warfare partly because activists were locked out of their own party establishments and had to fight, literally, to be heard. When Michael Moore receives a hero’s welcome at the Democratic National Convention, we moderates grumble; but if the parties engage fierce activists while marginalizing tame centrists, that is probably better for the social peace than the other way around.

DENVER -- A police sergeant is being investigated for allegedly threatening a woman with arrest for displaying a profane President Bush bumper sticker.

The "F--- Bush" bumper sticker on 26-year-old Shasta Bates' pickup truck offended a shopping center patron who saw it Monday on Bate's parked vehicle and flagged down Sgt. Michael Karasek, who was patrolling the area.

"He (Karasek) told her that this was a warning and that the next time he saw her truck, she was going to be arrested if she didn't remove the sticker," said 25-year-old Alinna Figueroa, assistant manager of a store at the shopping center where the officer confronted Bates.

"I couldn't believe it," she said.

Police Chief Gerry Whitman said the incident was under investigation. He did not elaborate.

City Attorney Cole Finnegan said there were no city ordinances against displaying a profane bumper sticker.

Bates said she put the sticker on her truck because she disagrees with Bush's stance on homosexuality and other issues.

"I get some older men who pull up at the side of me and start yelling and cussing," she said, adding she's had only a few complaints since placing it on her truck in August.

Entertainers who passed through the media line reiterated that their involvement in the coalition isn't because of political ambitions but because of a strong desire to work on issues.

"I think it's more of a neo-conservative thing to be angry and bitter ... progressives tend to be more inclusive," Hill Harper, known for his role as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on CBS' "CSI: NY," said.

My favorite proponent of turning Hawaii into a nice little police state -- Democratic House Rep. Joe Souki -- is at it again.

...Displaying the finely tuned tin ear he's developed to shield him from the annoying will of the majority, he told the Star-Bulletin's Richard Borreca he wants to bring back traffic cameras. And he hints that he'd like to see some draconian steps to get cars off streets.

"Does the community and the policy-makers have the will and courage to come up with negative incentives for owning cars?" he asked.

THAT'S AN interesting question, grammatically speaking. The term "negative incentives" is like a fleeting shaft of light hitting a dark and scary place. A "negative incentive" for owning a car, which is to say, a scary reason for NOT owning a car, could include having the car blow up every time you tried to start it. I can think of many scary things the "community and policy-makers" could do to make me not want to own a car, and none of them take much courage.

...Strangely, all of Souki's ideas for traffic control make the life of the little guy, the struggling worker, the common man and woman, much more expensive and troublesome. I guess it does take some courage (or something) for a sensitive Democrat to dump on the people Democrats claim to protect.

"China is building strategic relationships along the sea lanes from the Middle East to the South China Sea in ways that suggest defensive and offensive positioning to protect China's energy interests, but also to serve broad security objectives," said the report sponsored by the director, Net Assessment, who heads Mr. Rumsfeld's office on future-oriented strategies.

The adoptive parents, for instance, a Pastor and his wife, were there to represent the Governor's push for adoption (subtext here: as opposed to abortion.) They had organized little "meet and greets" with kids in state custody and the members of their church, and they had adopted three kids themselves. They looked like nice, unassuming people. And who could argue against adopting kids who need homes.

...But I think Colorado would've been better served had the front row been populated slightly differently -- with a different kind of hero. For instance -- instead of adoptive parents, how 'bout one of the many single mothers who struggle to make it every day in Colorado. Like my friend Liz, who works full time and goes to school and single-handedly raises her 13-year-old son who to this day has never been to a dentist. Or my friend Sara, who cleans houses to support her 10 year-old-daughter and lives in a 300 sq. foot. apartment. I would have liked to see either Liz or Sara sitting there in the front row. But I'm not sure they would've sat there quietly. In fact, I'm sure they wouldn't.

Since this is the first time I've actually lived in the U.S. - New York being an island off the coast of Europe, and Washington, D.C., being a place where uptight bureaucrats assemble to conceive of innovative ways to make our lives miserable - I'd like to share what I've learned in Denver the past seven-plus months.

...My humble advice: Whenever possible, avoid poking fun at pagans (unless you crave mysterious sores all over your body), Jesus (unless you want to burn in the deepest depths of hell), wolves (unless you want those Who Love All Life to threaten yours), tofu (unless you want 2,371 recipes that profess to make the flavorless substance taste like meat - the stuff you wanted to eat in the first place) or stoners (unless you're in the mood for two identical, hour-long conversations with a woman who simply goes by the name "Scooby").