• On Saturday, several dozen campaign signs-including about a dozen Yes on 8 signs-were along Mouton Parkway near Crown Valley Parkway. On Sunday, the Yes on 8 signs were gone, but the other signs were still standing.

• A Prop. 8 opponent from Mission Viejo called the Yes on 8 campaign threatening to remove any Yes on 8 sign he sees.

• A pregnant woman was "flipped off" because she had a Yes on 8 bumper sticker on her car.

I am certain that in 1933 most Germans did not find the Nazis' anti-Semitic rhetoric particularly attractive. What made them choose Hitler, then? It was the economy, stupid, and presumably injured national pride, and similar issues. This came to mind as I read the latest Faith in Life poll of issues Americans in general and white evangelicals in particular consider "very important" in this year's elections.

Mounting consumer and household debt as housing prices fall is one of the main reasons behind the current crisis -- a crisis that religious conservatives say has moral roots.

The narrative goes roughly like this: the "collapse" of the traditional family, widespread divorce and a "permissive" culture have led to a disregard for personal responsibility.

What's missing is simple. Joy-stick terrorism-coupled with overly long, clichéd, and bloody movie plots-lack moral centering without which "anything goes," even (and perhaps especially) the sanctity of human life.