down and their mouths shut, which is not compatible with democracy either. Think about the Catholic reaction to the abuse scandal. Attendance and donations were decimated. What would happen if a Bishop put a bounty on someone? Picture that reaction in our world in contrast to the reaction to an Imam's fatwah in the Muslim world. We believe in every individual's right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", but Islamic radicals believe you should convert or die, live in compliance with Sharia law or forfeit your life. Am I being too harsh? A bigot? Look at what is happening to the small Christian community in Iraq. They are being slaughtered. Look at the plight of the Sikhs. It's hard for democracy to take root, when your neighbor feels justified in killing you because your very existence is an offense to Allah. Islam's inherent intolerance just doesn't jive with the freedom we all take for granted in modern democracies and the economy has nothing to do with it ETAB. Nope -- I disagree. You are making a common error which is to merge the format of a government with its mode of coming to decisions within that format. The US' format is: republic -- which simply means that its authority to govern is vested in the citizens. Not in a class or monarch. Then, the republic must set up a governmental system that enables the government to represent the citizens: a legislature, an executive, an administration, a judicial system...the