And speaking of war, how about those people who want to get rid of the First Amendment? A report on their rally at the state Capitol last week showed they’ve gone past angry words and started waving their fists in the air. They may be brandishing guns before long, their priests working them into a state.

According to a dispatch in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a Baptist preacher demonstrated the superiority of the closed fist to the open fingers — for hitting purposes, that is — and state Sen. Missy (“Fighting Missy”) Irvin returned to the message later, leading the crowd in poking fists skyward.

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A few days earlier, in Peoria, Ill., a Catholic bishop preached a sermon comparing President Obama to Hitler and Stalin, and said that to protect his faith he wanted to recruit a “fearless army of Catholic men ready to give everything we have for the Lord.”

At Little Rock, a former congressional candidate promised that “We will push back” if the government demands observance of the constitutional separation of church and state. There was more along the same line, from more people who believe that members of select churches shouldn’t have to follow the same rules that other Americans do. In this case, their objection is to a government requirement that they include contraception in the health-care plans for their employees. If they win here, they’ll step up their demands for tax money for parochial schools, for religious tests for public officials, and on and on.

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