Okay, first off, since we went off and started talking the definition of terrorism while I was busy sleeping, let me jump back there and throw this in:
According to the Oxford Dictionary, terrorism is defined as
the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims
and that is pretty much the way I've always read it. A terrorist can be religiously or politically inspired, but they always, always, always are attempting to effect a political change of some sort, be it the freeing of prisoners, an attempt to make a nation change a course of action or behavior, or similar acts. Nowhere in there is there a requirement that terrorists be Muslim, and as was pointed out, many many terrorists aren't. Just look at Ted Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, Guy Fawkes, the KKK, the IRA, Scott Roeder, Anders Breivik, and many, many more - they ALL were trying to force political change of some sort through violence and terror.
As to freedoms, I still maintain Ben Franklin had the right idea: "Those who give up essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety in the end deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." There was no reason, for example, to give the FBI the ability to place wiretaps whereever they want without getting a warrant when there was already a special court established specifically for terrorism warrants, and which approved something over 99% of all warrants requested of it.
Twincam, not sure where you live, but the thing about being forced to observe other folks' beliefs is slowly being changed in America. The Hobby Lobby case allows employers to refuse health care coverage for anything they object to on religious grounds, regardless of whether the item in question affects them and regardless of YOUR beliefs on the matter. That means that if your boss is a particularly devout Catholic, for example, then any and all birth control is out-of-pocket, along with any form of abortion. A Jehova's Witness could demand blood transfusions be not-covered, while a company run by Scientologists can now legitimately force any and all mental health care to be dropped from your plan, regardless of your beliefs. In Michigan, now not only is it illegal for insurance to cover abortion in any situation (including for ra**/incest survivors), not only can any pharmacist not fill any prescription they don't like, but now it's legal to discriminate as long as you're not 'unduly inconveniencing' the person, a term which has a terrifyingly wide definition. In theory, if an EMT shows up at an accident and discovers you're gay, they can refuse service as long as a different EMT can be routed there. The very week that law went into effect, the largest hospital in Flint immediately discontinued tubal ligations because they go against God's injunction to 'be fruitful and multiply'.
Edit: Correction - the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is stalled. The hospital used Hobby Lobby to justify refusal to perform tubal ligations.
[/QUOTE
