She apparently had no hard feelings. She supported

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the right to free speech. Thanks to the moderator for straddling the fence and electing not to ban me. That said, I will not hide (change my name) and I will not go away. I will not allow those who are afraid of opposite opinion to stop me from posting mine. That is not the America I want to live in, and I think it is time that more of us stood up againt bullying tactics. I am standing.

In deference to those of you who would seek to silence me....I am an Independent and I will post independently. I will not reply directly to any of you, you can keep your threads all to yourselves. If I have a rebuttal I will post it separately. You are free to do as you have been doing without me entering your threads. That is me, reaching across the aisle.

I will also retract a statement I made yesterday. I was wrong to lump all Democrats into the same barrel. As Oldtimer so astutely pointed out, I fell into the same trap I accused others of, and in retrospect and after McCain's speech it became more clear to me. All Democrats/liberals/progressives are not of the same cloth as what I have experienced on this board. I apologize for that.

What I do not apologize for is being a conservative and having conservative values. Too many of us have been too quiet for too long. We sat down. We need to stand up with John and Sarah. There is nothing wrong with nor to be ashamed about in the way we feel and we are as much entitled to that as liberals are to liberalism. And part of that is tolerance. So, as a compromise....

Democrats/liberals, start your threads, and I will not encroach upon them. I would ask for the same respect from you as I post independently. There will be no need for you to open any of them or to spend half a page piling on. I will respect your threads. Kindly respect others.

As McCain said last night, we are all God's children (even if you don't claim Him, He claims you), we are all Americans. So let's allow both sides to present views, support their candidates, exercise our right to free speech, have diverging opinions. I would like to see the America back where I grew up, when the old fellas sat and played checkers in front of the library in town and bantered back and forth about politics, but it was good natured and they were still best of friends. I miss that. We need to stop belitting others for where they live or for their religion or the lack thereof. We need to stop attacking each other, period. A house divided against itself cannot stand. We do need to try to be one America again. No politician can rejoin us. That is a task we must do ourselves.

Largely unappreciated and attacked by his own Party Congressman Ron Paul has, in fact, done a great service to the Republican Party this election season. Paul enlarged the Republican �tent� to again include disaffected core Republicans, Independents and real Conservatives who have been forced outside that �tent� in the last two decades.

Paul uses classic Republican language to defend that point of view which demands small-government, constitutionally-oriented, fiscally-responsible and true free-market adherents actually be recognized and accommodated, rather than just paying lip-service to those positions.

Most importantly, that message has motivated a generation of young people to join the Party who are technically savvy, constitutionally-smart and extremely enthusiastic about spreading the message of freedom, liberty and free markets. They have been inspired by a candidate who really understands and believes in a Republic and, one would think, be embraced by incumbent Republican Party members.

However that, it seems, is not the case. Too many existing Republicans do not understand the language of those positions any more and can�t speak it in public. It also seems the NeoCon members are intent on forcing out of the party the very people that represent its future. I urge my Republican brothers and sisters to reject such collectivist, herd mentality which is indicative of Democrats while being logically and historically repugnant to Republicans.

In the 1960s and 70s that same �insurgent� group within the party was represented by Goldwater/Ronald Reagan conservatives. For those of you who don�t remember, the �Reaganites� were ostracized and isolated throughout that period right up to the 1980 election, when they were fully embraced. That is why in March of 1980, even former President Gerald Ford was still quoted as saying, �.....the Man is unelectable,� seven months before Reagan was elected President. It is worth noting that Congressman Paul was one of only 4 Congressman who endorsed Reagan in 1976.

However, the Goldwater/Reaganites were never treated as badly as the Paulites have been this season. The NeoCon/establishment faction within the Party has diligently worked to eliminate all true vestiges of the real Reagan Revolution from the party, as exampled by their behavior this election season. They have but one thought: Power and control at any cost. Yet, the record shows they keep losing running against historic principles of the Party.

They are attempting to make stillborn the Paul movement. Why? Because we are strong supporters of the original values of the Party? My friends, we are being weakened further by the poor leadership of that NeoCon faction and its adherents. Check the record.

The results since 2004 have been abysmal. In Colorado, while having a 200,000-vote advantage of registered Republicans over Democrats, we have lost the State Senate and the House, the Governor�s mansion, the Treasurer�s seat and two Congressional seats.

Nationally, we already have lost the US House and Senate and it is nearly a foregone conclusion we will lose 25-30 more House seats and 6-9 Senate seats in November.

In early tests, we have already lost seats in Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi. Seats that Republicans have held for decades. The damage is mounting. We are CONTINUING to lose Governor�s seats left and right. The Democrats are out-raising us in funding $3 and $4 to one (in Congress $6 to $1) as noted recently by Republican Congressional leaders. The leadership should be forced to explain where it is that we have a winning strategy in constantly compromising our historic principles rather than firmly re-establishing them each generation? That is what the Founders taught.

From McKinley to Taft to Goldwater to Reagan, this Party used to promote and celebrate the core Republican message and historical principles of the Party. That seems to be all but banished from the party, except to pay it lip service. The result of that banishment are, and will be, clearly evident in the election results this November and after. If establishment Republicans persist in ostracizing and obstructing every attempt for the classic Republican message to have a voice in the Party, than who are Republicans, really? I did not spend the last 33 years as a conservative to start voting for liberals. Please join me today in supporting and promoting what should be the real message of the Republican Party in 2008 and beyond. Send the message to the Party leadership that we no longer support any further erosion of this party�s principles! Don�t allow them to keep rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Regardless of whether or not you would ultimately have voted for Congressman Paul, every Republican should have respected the message. That was the Republican way for the first 140 years of this party. At this point, even if he wins, John McCain will likely be another Millard Fillmore presiding over the complete demise of the Whig Party from 1850-54.

Since Proposition 8 passed, several legal challenges to Proposition 8 have already been filed in California courts, and more than 40 state legislators filed a friend-of-the-court briefs to support legal efforts to void Proposition 8. A series of protests have spread across California, and are sweeping the country, and now they've moved onto the Internet with blacklists that are outing those who gave money to get Proposition 8 passed.

Reminiscent of Christian boycotts against companies who supported gay rights, and the ever popular War on _____ boycotts, now gay right activists are calling for the same action. Several new websites have launched that list all the names and businesses of all the donors. Evidently those who made political donations to Prop8 did not realize that their contributions are a matter of public record... or that publishing those records is legal.

Well, I don't know about any others, but to me that is a lot of money (quadruple what I'm used to making) and I don't feel the program's basic intent was to give financial help to people in that income bracket, the intent was to help the minimum wage earners who would not be able to afford insurance AT ALL even if it were offered through their employers. If they set the cap that high, why bother to have a cap at all?

When I lived in Michigan I believe they had a similar program that was not based on income at all, but based on whether the parents were working or not. It had been noticed that some people felt justified staying on welfare because they couldn't insure their children if they were working at minimum wage, so this was an incentive to get them to work. It was very cheap (like $5 or $10 a month per child); at the time I had insurance through my employer and didn't utilize it, as I assumed it was mainly for minimum wage earners/those whose employers didn't offer any insurance. Another reason I didn't utilize it was I assumed the coverage might be substandard to what I had, and less providers might be available that would take it. Michiganders - correct me if I'm wrong about this program.

I find it amazing that some people on this board who are making such an issue of the Obama birth certificate nonissue on "Constitutional" grounds don't seem to care what Bush has done (and is continuing to do, even in his supposed last days in office) to this country.

I was pretty ambivalent about Bush when he was first (s)elected. Quite frankly, Gore didn't excite me that much, either, and I was disappointed that in a country of a quarter of a billion people (at the time), these were the only TWO people we could find to run for President.

However, when Bush stood in that rubble with that megaphone, I developed huge respect for him and felt as if I was part of HIS America.

It was HIS very own actions that caused that respect to crumble, bit by bit, until I despised him and his "base," the same "base" on Wall Street that continues to rob us all to this very day.

He referred to the Constitution as a (expletive deleted) piece of paper, and his actions have proved his contempt for it. (Isn't it telling that I can't even copy his entire statement here because it's considered too vulgar??!!)

I've never felt such distrust for my government until the last eight years. I voted for Obama and will, like you, continue to trust him UNTIL he gives me a reason not to, and then I will be all over him (like you), but my days of just blanketly assuming my President is on the side of America and Americans are long gone.

I actually see both sides. I don't like the idea of government telling businesses what they can and can't do because that is scary to let the government have so much control. However, if you are getting government money, government should have a say in where that money goes. This is a tough one for me. Like I said, I can see both sides.

I know...the sky is falling....someone actually seeing things from both sides. What are the chances?

However, I just don't share your views about this administration. I don't think trying to increase this country's intelligence and making the CIA and FBI better networking departments a controversial issue. When asked the question what American has the Patriot Act violated the dems are strangely quiet. They just continue to insist that Bush has done something wrong by increasing the intelligence level through wiretaps that every other American president was okayed to do.

I just don't understand congressmen and women standing up there having a hissy over Bush wire taps knowing, KNOWING, that the 4th plane on 9/11 was bound for an in session capital building. To me the Dems are BLINDED by partisan politcs. It frankly borders on sociopathic..

Bush has done nothing to to hurt Americans but only to protect them. Frankly, I'm glad he's got the guts to do what it takes to keep America safe. I don't know what *9/11 perps* you are talking about, but I don't think anyone has gone free. I really don't know why in the heck you care about terrorists rotting in jail in the first place. They are not American citizens and have none of the rights an American has. If the military was allowed to do what it was supposed to do and try them they would be dispensed with, but throwing them in the American legal system only condemed them to the piss poor, liberally manged American judicial system---who would much rather have a T.V. celebrity trial with all the trimmings than actually get down to work to putting some of the psychos and thugs behind bars or better yet....executing some the slime who prey on children and the innocent.

While I will never convince you to support this president you need to see things for what they really are. What is going to take for some of you to see that the president is not the problem but terrorism and partisan politics is? I guess it may take a much broader hit than 9/11. I pray it doesn't happen, but if you and the dems don't wake up and smell the coffee I'm afraid I could happen again.

I lost my father to emphysema so this subject is very touchy to me. I HATE cigarettes with a passion. On one side, I think it is great that they are going to control what tobacco companies put in their cigarettes. My mom and I have said for years that all the crap they put in tobacco is just ridiculous. Surely there is a way they can "clean up" their cigarettes so to speak. I can't help but wonder how many years my dad lost in his life due to his cigarette smoking. I remember vividly how many times he tried to quit and just couldn't do it. The man literally smoked until one day he couldn't breathe and my mom called 911. My dad was rushed to the hospital. He had started to turn bluish gray. He lived 4 days after that. He never came home and that was 2 years ago.

However, I agree that...what is next...alcohol....fast food...etc. There are a lot of alcohol related illnesses and there are also a lot of illnesses related to being overweight. Then we have the people on illegal drugs, etc. I'm tired of government involvement in every little thing and yet at the same time I can't be unhappy with this whole tobacco thing. Call me a hypocrit if you will, but cigarettes have cost me 2 grandpas, 1 uncle, and a dad. I'd be happy if cigarettes were gone totally but that is just me.

I've never walked in their boots, and I can't imagine what it must be like to wonder if every single next step you take might be your last, especially if a soldier is completely worn out, physically, mentally and emotionally because he or she is forced to do multiple tours.

I can't imagine what it might be like to see one or more of your buddies killed by a group of people who don't abide by the rules of war. I can't imagine how long I'd be in a position like that before I would simply snap and go beserk.

These young people must be stretched beyond any human limit, and although I don't condone it or agree with it, at the same time, there's no way in my heart that I can condemn them.

The military can punish them all they want. But if these young Iraqi War soldiers are anything like the Vietnam War veterans I personally know, I can promise you that there is no prison more painful and punitive than their own personal prisons that their minds, hearts, bodies and souls inhabit.

We don't know for sure that these soldiers weren't following orders. They have a commander-in-chief who favors torture, so anything is possible. Deep in my heart, I feel these soldiers are just being used scapegoats to protect those in the highest of command who gave the orders they followed.

I constantly condemn this war and the lies and liars that led to it, but I find it impossible to feel any ill feelings towards these soldiers for actions that may very well have been orders they were obeying from higher-ups. I also can't condemn them if they just *snapped.* A human being can only take so much, and I believe these poor soldiers have been stretched way beyond what most humans could endure.

he wanted Lieberman or Tom Ridge. he was informed that if he picked Lieberman, there would be a floor fight on the convention floor to prevent that selection. His campaign is stagnant, so he decided to appeal to the extreme conservative base. It has backfired on him because, in going for those voters, he chose a partner whose lifestyle shows the limitations and consequences of extreme right views such as abstinence only programs and not providing birth control info to teenagers.

that view is that the left is one big monolithic mind that works as one Kinda like bees.

one who posts an opinion that differs from the majority here is labeled a "troll." Labels do not deter me from expressing my viewpoint. I am certain that others will agree with my assessment before the day is over.

She apparently had no hard feelings. She supported

Ron Paul has performed a great service for the Republican Party