Middle East - Generally no progress in 1300 years!

Now I understand it all a bit better. Today in the Washington Times on the first page the article, Saudi religious police outlaw cat, dog sales (front page, 9/9/06), just brought it all together for me. The Religious Police who spend their days chastising women (the bain of men who are too weak to be able to avoid the ladies' inducements to unabashed sin) or making sure men "attend mosque prayers" a kazillion times each day, are now hot on the trail of dog and cat sellers. But that is not the point that brought so much clarity to me in an "Ah hah" moment. Think about it. Okay, to be fair, we have our seat-belt police. But if you had the Religious Police breathing down your burka all day or ushering you to roll out the old prayer rug and face Mecca at least five times a day with your behind to the sky, tell me, would you get any work done? Not being sacrilegious here, just telling it the way it looks to the casual, admittedly infidel, observer. Yet, it does explain why women would opt to stay home, even if they had alternatives. But, no harm intended toward Mohammed, Peace be upon him, the purveyor of the "Religion of Peace". Just occurred to me. In a society where personal responsibility is shunned in favor of the Religious Police keeping you in line, how in the world can any advancements take place - ever? You're too busy keeping out of trouble to have a thought of any kind, unless it is the burning desire to "kill the infidel". At least, if you managed to kill yourself in the process, you'd be outta here and kiss those Religious Police goodbye on your way to puckering up for those "alleged" virgins. Yep, Sharia Law and the Religious Police hounding us throughout the live-long-day will go over big here in the USA. Especially in a society like ours where people for the most part (those not generationally enslaved to the welfare state) take the inititive, get off their collective or individual butts and get things done. Those unctuous little former presidents might want to think again before deciding the time is ripe to spread their Islamic Imperialism here. Not quite yet. Have you noticed how the Islamist have adopted the poor-little us, victim mentality. And we say those libs aren't good for anything. No one it seems is immune to their plaintive sobs of "woe, woe, I a victim." We've got other fish to fry! Oh, maybe a couple or three jihadist terrorists...