A pastor wants to do what with what?! Who cares! Seriously? This was the news of the night. It's what I saw on CNN every time I looked up this evening.

I just read Ron Paul's release regarding this nonsense. I was looking for a voice of reason in the storm, but honestly I was a bit taken back by the fact that Dr. Paul sided against the pastor... or at least that is how it looks on the surface. The truth may be in what he didn't say.

Regardless, here are my thoughts and contemplations on what should have been a non-story. In a time when Tea Party and Liberty candidates cannot get decent exposure by the media, they seriously believe that our time should be wasted on a nut exercising his rights to make a fool out of himself?

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The only part I don't get is people giving two bits of a care about what some pastor wants to do with a few copies of the Quran that he bought.

To prove my point, I wouldn't be the least bit offended that someone burned 1,000 copies of the Bible. Want to burn it? Go ahead. It's your own stupidity. I'll still have my copy and millions more will continue to exist.

The only time when book burning is bad is when it is done by the government to prevent the spread of opinions and theories that go against their agenda. Book burning en mass to remove thoughts from the world, including virtual book burning otherwise known as banning. That's the problem to care about.

Where is anyone standing up for this guy's right to express himself as he sees fit? I still, foolishly, I know.... want to believe that in the united States of America we have first amendment rights. If we want to speak out against a war while on tour in France or burn some books or flags to make a political statement, that is our right. Those around us have their right to state their opinion regarding the matter.

However, to blame the future deaths of our troops on a person for upsetting a few people who can't see the true irrelevance of the act is ridiculous. The outrageous comments of our "leaders" in response to something that should not have gotten so much as a head shake truly demonstrates how backwards our society has become.

As a US Navy sailor, I repeatedly stated my resolve that I was in the military to defend Liberty. The phrase, "I may not like what you have to say but I will fight to the death to ensure you have the right to say it" must have been washed out in the last 15 years.

I also find it completely hysterical that our media gives one iota of a damn about moral righteousness. They who are repeatedly guilty of airing prime time shows that belittle religious views of millions of Americans. You can't have it both ways. You cannot be the champions of moral propriety and the entertainers who spend millions producing movies that would last 20 minutes with the curse words removed.

No one has the right, least of all our opinionated, pompous, arrogant media charlatans to decide another man's morals and dictate what he does on his property with his property so long as it does not infringe on the rights of another. Last I checked, burning a few copies of a book you don't agree with doesn't fit into that criteria.

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One parting thought for our feeding frenzy "friends" in the media, "You cannot enjoy freedoms you want denied to everyone else." Chew on that one for a while.