Dear Editors,

Religious faith can be a prime guiding factor in human affairs. When that includes an aggressive dogma of vanquishing those external to it, it becomes particularly dangerous. Empirical Christianity’s lethal violence against non-Christians and Christians alike is such a danger. Its addiction to empire is neither a distortion nor a gross exaggeration of the religion’s concept. Reality confirms the West’s highly developed doctrine and legal system, rooted in part in Christian scripture and tradition, based on standard Christian sources, precedents and methods of deduction, all independent of any dubious or capricious interpretations of the Bible, not withstanding the teachings of Pat Robertson, James Dobson, or George Bush’s messianic complexes. In fact, Exodus 20:22, which commands believers to destroy nonbelievers, without even the chance to convert, overrides the “love thy neighbor” scripture often cited by Christian apologists who hope to prove its tolerance and benevolence.

Christian Empire building has gone on for hundreds of years; it accepts no compromise. To resist such an evil as Christian genocide without naming it, without revealing its beliefs, without unmasking its intentions, without dealing effectively with its fifth columns, without condemning it unconditionally, without a determined declaration to win the battle against it, will not provide a solution over it, only a means to be devoured by it

The War against Empire can never be totally won in the sense of eliminating it altogether. And it’s naïve to demand such a goal. However, we can successfully arrive at a point where the threat comes as close to zero as is humanly and prudently possible. Peace is always the byproduct of defeating evil. The key to that here is not in conquering Christianity, but in guiding Christianity’s place, in the modern civilized world, to the trash can of history. That won’t be easy, but it can be managed, wisely, resolutely and permanently. But it will take a concerted effort by us all, working and moving in the same direction. To doubt and condemn Eastern civilization as the underlying cause of Empire, and not Empire itself, is a deeply significant and fatally dangerous nonsense.

– Mik Nilagor, via courier penguin

Dear Editors,

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens took cynical opportunism to a new level this past week when he persuaded GOP congressional leaders to attach a plan to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling to a must-pass defense spending bill. The Congress is deeply divided about Arctic drilling, and a strong majority of Americans oppose it. Stevens and the GOP leadership turned to the defense bill because every other strategy they’ve used to shove Arctic drilling through Congress has failed.

It has failed because knowledgeable and informed Americans know that 65 percent of the world’s known oil reserves are in the Persian Gulf; the United States has only 3 percent, but we account for 26 percent of the world demand. Consequently, we cannot drill our way into energy independence. Our nation simply does not have enough oil reserves to do it. Accelerated drilling – as opposed to conservation and developing alternative energy sources – only beholdens us to Middle Eastern dictators and tyrants.

The cost of oil, the real cost of oil, is not just what you pay at the pump. It’s what we’re paying in Iraq. The only way out of this mess is to reduce our appetite for oil by improving the fuel economy of our vehicles (which consume 40 percent of our oil) and by relying on smarter, cleaner and renewable ways to power our economy. The oil beneath the refuge will not make this country any less dependent on foreign oil.

Clearly, our country is addicted to oil and fossil fuels. Sen. Stevens and the GOP are aiming to make it worse. When you’re addicted to something, you don’t go looking for a pusher, you look for therapy.

– David Lien, via e-mail

Dar Telegraph crew: I know, I know, I could have e-mailed this directly to Ted’s address, but I’ve been feeling this for a while, and I want everyone to know about it. I love Ted Holteen. He’s the funniest homeboy around. I always get a good laugh from the Telegraph, but whenever the universe blesses me with a Telegraph in my hot little hands, I really laugh my ass off. And the Society Page is uniquely responsible. I’m probably the only one in this town who doesn’t know Ted personally, but yeah, I guess he has a fan club. Um, a one-person fan club. Or something.

Thanks guys!

– Alicia Spear, via e-mail