Black is Black (an honest criticism of some fellow FReepers and also of liberals)

TBA | 10-10-04 | Jonathan M. Stein

[jmstein7]

Black is Black

By Jonathan M. Stein
 

Honesty is clearly the best policy; that is not in question.  However, broadcasting one's honesty isn't always the best politics -- sometimes, in fact, it is incredibly stupid.

There is no question that, in general, conservatives are more honest than their liberal counterparts.  However, conservatives have a nasty habit of crowing about just how honest they are, often to their detriment.  Conservatives know when they're right, when they're wrong, when they've done well, and when they've done badly.  That doesn't mean that they have to stand on the rooftops and shout about it.  Loudly letting liberals know when things are going badly for conservatives doesn't make liberals think "wow, gee, look how honest conservatives are!"  It doesn't make liberals feel badly about themselves.  On the contrary, it is incredibly stupid in that liberals wisely, and gladly, use it against conservatives.  As liberal bloggers, and John Kerry, have demonstrated, they are only too gleeful to use Republican criticisms of Republicans against Republicans in the public debate.

Now, I'm not urging dishonesty; I'm certainly not advocating lies.  All I am saying is that the liberals do not need any more free advice or any more free ammunition to use against Republicans and conservatives -- they already have plenty of that.  All I am asking is that, as we move into the final weeks of an election that will determine the safety and security of all Americans going forward, a life or death election, if conservatives don't have anything nice to say about themselves or their candidates, then don't say anything at all.  This can be boiled down to two simple words... if you don't have anything nice to say then shut up.

The consequences of not shutting up are clear; just look at what happened after the first debate, when things didn't go as well as we liked: we criticized, we grumbled, we despaired -- and the liberals fed off it, gained strength, re-energized their base, used it against us, and made some headway in the polls.  This same mistake must not be repeated.  If you don't like how things are going, that's fine -- just keep it to yourself.  As is often said: "loose lips sink ships."

Alternatively, what conservatives should not do is what liberals do when things go badly for them: lie, deceive, and spin.  Just look at what happened after the second debate, when President Bush made a comeback.  Democrats and other liberals went beyond merely keeping quiet about their losses; that would have been fine.  No -- they actually went out of their way to convince others that the opposite was true -- that their loss was actually a win.  That is dishonest, and it is something conservatives should never do. 

What is truly frightening about all this isn't the lying, spin, or deception.  What is truly frightening is that, to liberals, the lies, spin, and deception actually became their truth!  They really believed what they were saying!  Look no further than the rhetoric at the Democratic Underground.  This is frightening because it is further evidence of just how far the left has gone down the Orwellian path.

In 1984, George Orwell describes a trio of though-control devices that make this self-deception possible -- and orthodox.  The concepts are crimestop, blackwhite, and doublethink.  In 1984, any thought that went against that which was considered "orthodoxy" was considered a crime.  Thus, citizens were trained to consciously stop themselves, stop their though processes, before their very thoughts strayed beyond what was considered orthodox.  This concept was known as crimestop, i.e. consciously stopping unorthodox, "criminal" though (crimethink) before it "polluted" the mind.  The left-wingers have clearly mastered this, especially considering the things they have gone on record saying about Senator Kerry's debate performance.  As their negative thoughts about Kerry formed, they simply, and clearly, stopped thinking.  Scary.

Of course, crimestop is necessary when the beginnings of adverse thought have already entered the mind.  Thus, to remedy the effects of some tainted thought, it is necessary to convince one's self that the opposite of those thoughts is really true.  If it is bad to think that black is actually black, and you started to think about that, but stopped short, then one must convince one's self that black is actually white.  If black is a bad thought and white is a good thought, you must convince yourself that black is white.  This technique is known as blackwhite.  If a Democrat had started to think that John Kerry gave a dismal performance, that Democrat must quickly, and consciously, convince himself that Kerry was fabulous, despite reality.  Blackwhite.

The final step in this conscious self-deception is paradox resolution and reconciliation.  The process of convincing one's self that black is white is a conscious one.  In the back of one's mind, one knows that black is black.  So, it is necessary to convince one's self that although one knows that black is black, black can also be white  in fact, black can be black and white at the same time!  It is necessary to believe that a non sequitur can be logical, and that, in fact, it has always been logical.  Not only did John Kerry do well, despite the fact that he did badly, but the fact is that he had been doing well all along.  And, by gosh, he actually did vote for the $87 billion before he voted against it!  Doublethink.

This is how liberals lie so effectively -- because they really believe it, and they have mastered believing it, and they never believed otherwise.  A contradiction can be consciously true and false and reconciled, and, in fact, it has always been true.  They have mastered these Orwellian thought-control techniques and if they assume power, they will make sure that everyone else masters them as well.

Frightening. 

[Publius6961]

I don't believe that what Mr. Stein is saying here is that "all of you need to shut the hell up and root for the team."

I had my reading comprehension checked last week and all fluids topped. It is working perfectly.
I do believe this turkey said exactly what his words represent.

[jmstein7]

Thanks for backing me up.

[jmstein7]

Turkey?

Ad hominem attacks only serve to discredit the attacker.

Oh, good... let's start eating our own. /sarcasm

[Publius6961]

Had problems with the reading comprehension part of the SATs did we?

[Flux Capacitor]

----Had problems with the reading comprehension part of the SATs did we?----

You forgot to call me a turkey. :)

-Dan

[cyncooper]

Better check it again. You seem more than a quart or two low.

What a pompous jerk.

[jmstein7]

LOL!

[Mr. Mojo]

I'm not about to criticize liberals for silently allowing their party to become led by panderers and liars, only to adopt the same behavior.

Spot-on point. Holding our elected officials' feet to the fire is a necessity, regardless of party affiliation and proximity to election time.

[mhking]

I have to respectfully disagree.

Honest criticism and the willingness to learn from it is one of the hallmarks of conservatism. Liberalism certainly is not open to honest give and take.

Contrary to what the kool-aid drinkers will tell you, there are some definite differences in thought and ideology between various portions of the conservative hierarchy in this nation.

Many of us have issue with the spending policies of the Administration, and I don't need to even bring up the poor performance in terms of immigration policy.

If the kool-aid drinkers want to bitch and moan and try to paint us as weak for one of our strengths, then let 'em. That's their business.

We need to be about our business.

---

Just damn.

If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[Publius6961]

Ad hominem attacks only serve to discredit the attacker.

I tend to agree:

Honesty is clearly the best policy; that is not in question. However, broadcasting one's honesty isn't always the best politics -- sometimes, in fact, it is incredibly stupid.

Blanket ad hominems excepted?

[jmstein7]

However, that is a world different than screaming "the sky is falling!" from the rooftops.

[jmstein7]

That's all well and good. What I was trying to get at wasn't substantive criticism -- I was trying to target counter-productive, and public, defeatism.

Proverbally running around on FR screaming "the sky is falling" simply plays right into the hands of our enemies. That isn't the kind of constructive criticism, or disagreement, you are highlighting.

[Publius6961]

What a pompous jerk.

The other pompous jerk who posted this article alienated a bunch of people and had zero effect on the rest of us.
Bottom line, and end of discussion. I must go converse with adults now. Have a nice day.

[mabelkitty]

It's so nice to do opposition research and find a FR thread pposted and linked and reading them mocking the whining and demoralizing FReepers. All it does is rally their base and send the trolls over here to needle the sensitives ones some more.


And it is happening more and more, because there are way too many who are willing to give them fodder.

[jmstein7]

That's the problem -- especially considering how high-profile FR has become.

[crushelits]

Update your email and telephone addresses here:

“MEET THE PRESS”: MTP@NBC.com (from Mari333_

MSNBC-Phone: (201) 583-5000

Opinions: mailto:letters@msnbc.com

News: mailto:World@MSNBC.com

Letters to the Editor: mailto:World@MSNBC.com

MSNBC on the Internet
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
________________________________________________________________

CNN- (404) 827 – 1500
Comment line: (404) 827 - 0234

CNN NEWS CHIEF Eason Jordan. 404.827.5111. fax: 404.827.4215. eason.jordan@cnn.com
CNN NEWS DIRECTOR Kim Bondy. 404 827 1500. fax. 404 827 1099
CNN NEWSROOM 404.827.1500 . 404.827.1500. cnnfutures@cnn.com

CNN TV: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/cnntv /

CNN.com: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/dotcom /

am@cnn.com
wam@cnn.com
inthemoney@cnn.com
360@cnn.com
insidepoliticts@cnn.com
newsnight@cnn.com
paulazahnnow@cnn.com
paulazahn@cnn.com
daybreak@cnn.com
live@cnn.com
livetoday@cnn.com
crossfire@cnn.com
Livefrom@cnn.com
wolf@cnn.com
loudobbs@cnn.com
moneyline@cnn.com

Atlanta:
404-827-1500

Washington:
202-898-7900

Kelli Arena personally at: kelli.arena@turner.com
Eason Jordan at Eason.Jordan@turner.com . He's CNN's chief news executive.
_________________________
kelli.arena@turner.com,topstories2@turner.com,topstories4@turner.com,christiane.amanpour2@turner.com,dane.greene@turner.com,larry.king.live3@turner.com, lou.dobbs2@turner.com,jeff.greenfield2@turner.com,larryking@turner.com,bill.hemmer2@turner.com,daryn.kagan2@turner.com,andrea.koppel2@turner.com, arthel.neville2@turner.com,miles.o'brien@turner.com,kyra.phillips2@turner.com,fredricka.whitfield2@turner.com,judy.wooddruff2@turner.com, livetoday@turner.com,paula.zahn2@turner.com,cnnpresents@turner.com,daybreak@cnn.com,insidepolitics@turner.com,crossfire@cnn.com,wolf@turner.com, moneyline@cnn.com,headlinenews@cnn.com,late.edition@cnn.com,other.anchors@turner.com,

________________________________________

MORE:
letters@newsweek.com > Newsweek
countdown@msnbc.com > Keith Olbermann
mailto:letters@washpost.com > Washington Post
viewerservices@msnbc.com > MSNBC Main
hardball@msnbc.com > Chris Matthews
special@foxnews.com

888-369-4762

NOW with Bill Moyers Contacts:
Rick Byrne Diane Domondon
NOW with Bill Moyers NOW with Bill Moyers
Ph: 212.560.8406 Ph: 212.560.8300
Email: Byrner@thirteen.org Email: omondond@thirteen.org " target="_blank">Domondond@thirteen.org

SOURCE NOW with Bill Moyers
Web Site: http://www.pbs.org/now

Larry Flynt, comments@larryflynt.com

Michael Moore, news@michaelmoore.com

John Kerry, info@johnkerry.com


Readers' Representative Office: http://www.latimes.com/services/site/la-comment-readers ...

letters@latimes.com
Los Angeles Times
202 W. 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 237-5000

The Times Orange County
1375 Sunflower Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626-1697
(714) 966-5600

Los Angeles Times
Valley Edition
20000 Prairie Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311
(818) 772-3200
Los Angeles Times
Ventura County Edition
93 S. Chestnut Street
Ventura, CA 93001
(805) 653-7547
_________________________________________________________________

New York Times:

PAUL KRUGMAN! krugman@nytimes.com

To Write The Publisher or President: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/infoservdi ...

Letters to the Editor: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/infoservdi ...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
E-mail to letters@nytimes.com .

OP-ED/EDITORIAL
For information on Op-Ed submissions, call (212) 556-1831 or send article to ped@nytimes.com " target="_blank">ped@nytimes.com " target="_blank">oped@nytimes.com . To write to the editorial page editor, send to editorial@nytimes.com .

NEWS DEPARTMENT
To send comments and suggestions (about news coverage only) or to report errors that call for correction, e-mail nytnews@nytimes.com or leave a message at 1-888-NYT-NEWS.
The Editors
executive-editor@nytimes.com
managing-editor@nytimes.com

The Newsroom
news-tips@nytimes.com ; the-arts@nytimes.com
bizday@nytimes.com ; foreign@nytimes.com
metro@nytimes.com ; national@nytimes.com
sports@nytimes.com ; washington@nytimes.com

PUBLIC EDITOR
To reach Daniel Okrent, who represents the readers, e-mail public@nytimes.com or call (212) 556-7652. from Eric J in MN

TO WRITE THE PUBLISHER OR PRESIDENT

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Chairman & Publisher:
publisher@nytimes.com .

Janet L. Robinson, President & General Manager:
president@nytimes.com .
_________________________________________________________________

USA Today:

Letters to the Editor: http://www.usatoday.com/marketing/feedback/feedback-onl ... ...

USA TODAY / USATODAY.com
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22108-0605
_________________________________________________________________

Washington Post:

How can I contact Washington Post writers?: http://washingtonpost.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/washingtonpo ... ...

How do I submit a letter to the editor?: http://washingtonpost.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/washingtonpo ... ...

How do I submit an Op-Ed piece?
http://washingtonpost.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/washingtonpo ... ...

How do I contact the Ombudsman?: http://washingtonpost.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/washingtonpo ... ...

The Washington Post
1150 15th Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20071
Phone: 202-334-6000
Fax: 202-334-5269
E-mail: mbudsman@washpost.com " target="_blank">ombudsman@washpost.com

Ombudsman’s office phone: (202) 334 - 7582 Monday through Friday 7a - 6p

______________________________________

More:

National Newspapers: http://newslink.org/--news.html

Television by state: http://newslink.org/stattele.html

Radio by State: http://newslink.org/statradi.html

Networks-

Radio: http://newslink.org/netr.html

Television: http://newslink.org/nett.html


(CBS) 60 Minutes:

ADDRESS:
60 Minutes
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019

PHONE: (212) 975-3247

TRANSCRIPTS: 1-800-777-TEXT

VIDEOTAPES: 1-800-848-3256

CBS “60 Minutes” email info:

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtm ... - go to the bottom of the page and click on "feedback" and you're in.

CBS – THE EARLY SHOW (Hannah Storm territory)
The Early Show
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019

E-MAIL: earlyshow@cbs.com .

PHONE: (212) 975-2824

TRANSCRIPTS: 1-800-777-8398
VIDEOTAPES: cbs@bbc.co.uk

Also, at the bottom, click to their "Contact Us" listing, and you can send a comment.

***********ALSO NOTE: www.takebackthemedia.com – for the most comprehensive, extensive list of media contacts. ****************************************
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
301 7th Street, SW
Room 5125
Washington, DC 20407

Washington Office*
Tel: (202) 331-4060
Fax It is vital to get these criminals under oath.
: (202) 296-5545

email: info@9-11Commission.gov
AL FELZENBERG, DEPUTY FOR COMMUNICATIONS National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States

Office: 202-401-1725 Cell: 202-236-4878 Fax: 202-296-5545"

afelzenberg@9-11commission.gov

(From fearnobush)
New York Office
Tel: (212) 264-1505
Fax: (212) 264-1595
<info@9-11Commission.gov >

Family Liaison Office
Tel: (212) 264-1505
Toll-Free: 1-888-862-0556
Fax: (212) 264-1595
<familyliaison@9-11Commission.gov >
(From BridgeTheGap – 4/2004
Email addresses for 9/11 Commission members

James Thompson jthompson@winston.com

Tim Roemer troemer@cnponline.org

John F. Lehman jfl@jflpartners.com (not certain on this one)

Bob Kerry kerreyb@newschool.edu

Slade Gorton sladeg@prestongates.com

Jamie Gorelick Jamie.Gorelick@wilmer.com

Fred Fielding ffielding@wrf.com

Richard Ben-Veniste rben-veniste@mayerbrownrowe.com

Lee Hamilton – vice-chair director@wwic.si.edu

Thomas Kean – Chair tomkean@drew.edu


Don't forget your reps in Congress:

www.senate.gov

http://www.house.gov/writerep /

http://www.democrats.org/contact /

Pelosi's email and phone numbers
http://www.house.gov/pelosi /

Daschle's email and phone numbers
http://daschle.senate.gov/write.htm

House Energy Committee
http://www.house.gov/commerce_democrats/feedback.shtml

Senate Energy Committee Ranking Member Bingaman
senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov

Contact your member of congress
http://www.house.gov/writerep /
HERE’s a good one http://www.vote-smart.org
It not only provides a directory of legislators (contact info) but provides extensive coverage of votes, speeches, etc...
A couple of other cool ones:

HENRY WAXMAN: http://www.henrywaxman.house.gov /

Here's Eliot Spitzer's: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/contact.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO CALL YOUR REPS, TOLL FREE!!!

OR, TRY (877) – 762 – 8762. It’ll get you there, too!

OR, there’s also 1-888-508-2974. This, too, gets you to the Capitol Hill Switchboard TOLL FREE. But sometimes it gets tied up.

Legislation
pending U.S.gov.,Supreme Court-treaties,documents
http://www.returningsoldiers.us/legislation.htm

Contacts
call or write your representatives,organizations
http://www.returningsoldiers.us/contacts.htm
________________________________________________________________

White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500
COMMENTS:202-456-1111 SWITCHBOARD:202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461
http://www.whitehouse.gov /

President George W. Bush: president@whitehouse.gov

Vice President Richard Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.gov

White House e-mail system becomes less user-friendly- CNN article, July18
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/07/18/nyt.markoff /


U.S. House of Representatives Home Page
http://www.house.gov /

U.S. House of Representatives - Other Government Sites
http://www.house.gov/govsites.html

Office of the Speaker
http://speakernews.house.gov /

Office of the Majority Leader
http://freedom.house.gov /

Office of the Minority Leader
http://democraticleader.house.gov /

House Majority Whip
http://majoritywhip.house.gov /

Democratic Whip
http://democraticwhip.house.gov /

House Republican Conference
http://hillsource.house.gov /

House Policy Committee
http://policy.house.gov /

House Select Committee on Homeland Defense
http://hsc.house.gov /

House Committee on Appropriations
http://www.house.gov/appropriations /

House Committee on Armed Services
http://www.house.gov/hasc /

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
http://intelligence.house.gov /

Home Page of the Senate of the United States
http://www.senate.gov /

Majority Leader Bill Frist
http://frist.senate.gov /

Assistant Majority Leader (Majority Whip), Mitch McConnell
http://mcconnell.senate.gov /

Minority Leader Tom Daschle
http://daschle.senate.gov /

Assistant Minority Leader Harry Reid
http://reid.senate.gov /

Democratic Policy Committee
http://www.senate.gov/~dpc /

Democratic Policy Committee Chairman, Thomas Daschle
http://www.senate.gov/~daschle /

Senate Republican Conference
http://www.senate.gov/~src /

Republican Policy Committee
http://www.senate.gov/~rpc /

Republican Policy Committee Chairman, Jon Kyl
http://kyl.senate.gov /

Richard B. Cheney (Vice President of the United States), President of the Senate
http://www.whitehouse.gov/vicepresident /

Ted Stevens, President Pro Tempore
http://stevens.senate.gov /

Write Your Representative
http://www.house.gov/writerep /

Common Cause-fax your Congress
http://causenet.commoncause.org/afr/dbq/officials /

D.C. Offices for Members of Congress, By State
http://www.failureisimpossible.com/contactcongress /

Congressional Glossary
http://www.c-span.org/guide/congress/glossary/alphalist ...

Congressional Record
http://thomas.loc.gov /

Daily Digest
http://thomas.loc.gov /

Roll Call Votes
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/v ... ....

View the Active Legislation list
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/b_three_se ... ...

Last Major Actions
http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/bssQuery?&Db=108&stepID ...

Bills Introduced
http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/R?d108:FLD010

This week in the House
http://www.majoritywhip.house.gov/whipnotice.asp

Current House floor proceedings
http://clerkweb.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.php3

Senate Calander of Buisness
http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/browse-sc.html

Senate Priorities
http://democraticleader.house.gov /

White House Press Briefings
http://www.usnewswire.com/search.html

White House Gateway to Government
http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/index.html

Links to State Legislatures
http://www.fvap.gov

State and Local Government Organizations
http://www.fvap.gov

State by State Voting Instructions
http://www.fvap.gov

Department of Navy Voting Page
http://www.persnet.navy.mil/nvap /

Department of Air Force Voting Page
https://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/votefund /

U.S. Marine Corps Voting Page
https://lnweb1.manpower.usmc.mil/manpower/mi/mra_ofct.n ... ...

DemocracyNet
http://www.dnet.org /

Democratic National Committee
http://www.democrats.org /

The League of Women Voters
http://www.lwv.org /

Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.fvap.gov

US Government
http://www.firstgov.gov /

Thomas Government Info CenterThe Best source of government info
http://thomas.loc.gov /

The Library of Congress
http://lcweb.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html

governmentguide.com
http://www.governmentguide.com /

Federal Information Center
http://fic.info.gov /

FedWorld
http://www.fedworld.gov /

GPO Access
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html

Where to register to vote
http://www.rockthevote.org /

Project Vote Smart
http://www.vote-smart.org /

NBC, Weekend Today, weekendtoday@nbc.com

From congress.org:

NBC, Tom Brokaw, nightly@msnbc.com, dateline@nbc.com
NBC, Campbell Brown, wt@nbc.com
NBC, Steve Capus, Executive Producer, Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, nightly@msnbc.com
NBC, Katie Couric, today@nbc.com, dateline@nbc.com
NBC, Betsy Fischer, Executive Producer, Meet the Press, mtp@msnbc.com
NBC, Cheryl Gould, News Vice President, cheryl.gould@nbc.com
NBC, David Gregory, White House correspondent, david.gregory@nbc.com
NBC, Lester Holt, lester.holt@msnbc.com
NBC, Michelle Jaconi, Producer, Meet the Press, michelle.jaconi@nbc.com
NBC, Matt Lauer, matt.lauer@nbc.com
NBC, Andrea Mitchell, andrea.mitchell@nbc.com
NBC, Jim Miklaszewski, jim.miklaszewski@nbc.com
NBC, Lisa Myers, lisa.myers@nbc.com
NBC, Norah O'Donnell, world@msnbc.com
NBC, Stone Phillips, dateline@nbc.com
NBC, Neal Shapiro, NBC News President, letters@msnbc.com
NBC, Tim Russert, world@msnbc.com
NBC, John Seigenthaler, john.seigenthaler@nbc.com
NBC, Elliott Sparkman-Walker, Producer, Today Show, eliott.walker@nbc.com
NBC, Tom Touchet, Executive Producer, Today Show, today@nbc.com
NBC, Pete Williams, pete.williams@nbc.com
NBC, Brian Williams, brian.williams@nbc.com
NBC, Elizabeth Wilner, Political Director, world@msnbc.com

[Arpege92]

I cringed while reading the negative comments on FR after the first Presidential debate. We all knew Bush did not do well, and as tight as this race is getting, the last thing we need to be doing is giving our opponents any ammunition to use against us. I say we talk about the negative stories after Bush has been re-elected.

BTW...good read.

[mabelkitty]

Be that as it may.
The fact remains - the goal is to get W re-elected.
You are either with us or against in that goal.
If you are against us, then don't post negativity about the party or the President, and presume posting after the election.

[jmstein7]

I agree, and thanks!

[mabelkitty]

Your premise is not based on the legitimate facts as we know them.
We are battling voter fraud, internatinal Communist forces, and plans to destroy our Consitution by tying up the states' in a court of law and rendering states' rights null and void.
Please search and read the thread Shadow Government I and Shadow Government II to truly understand why it is important that we are all on the same team.
I'm not a follower or a group joiner by nature - I have my complaints. However, since we don't practice "the ends justify the means" fighting, the only thing we have is consolidation of our resources and work with each other.

Most threads that involve activism don't interest or involve me, but I participate any way - I write letters, emails, etc., because the person making the request is a FReeper. I'm not Catholic, but if called to help the laypeople in some way, I do it. I don't have kids, but if parents ask for action or information on home schooling, I'll try and help. It isn't about me - it's about family. I consider FR family and hope those with a differing opinion on loose lips will see it through these eyes.