ha! Don't worry about it. Happens to us all. :)Reminds me of this pic:
Posted on 04/01/2005 2:39:59 PM PST by hchutch
Six months ago, Free Republic was riding high, and I was proud to be a part of it. It was coming off having blown the cover off of Dan Rather’s use of forged memos against the President. The President was well on his way to winning re-election. It was a great time to be a Freeper.
However, things have changed. It started with the justifiable removal of ALIPAC. I supported that move by Jim Robinson, but the ugliness directed towards Alberto Gonzales. He was accused of everything under the sun, and Senator Mel Martinez was viciously attacked for speaking Spanish on the Senate floor. The tone and outright viciousness (terms like FROBL and traitor were fired off at anyone who did not toe the line established by Michelle Malkin and Tom Tancredo) on immigration threads had concerned me, but I had concluded it was an isolated incident. After ALIPAC was removed from FR, I had hoped the tone there would improve. But it only got worse. I was point-blank called a traitor because my views on immigration differ from those of Michelle Malkin’s groupies. On immigration threads, questioning the questionable is not allowed. One must accept the unacceptable and allow folks to defend the indefensible. Never mind that VDARE, American Renaissance, and other sites are racist or have no problem hanging out with those that are racists (I’m just going to call a spade a spade here).
There were folks who had the long knives out for Senator Rick Santorum, one of the strongest pro-life members of the United States Senate. Why? Because he endorsed Arlen Specter over Pat Toomey. It was stunning to see these long knives out for a conservative. And all it would accomplish would be his replacement by a Democrat. How in the world replacing Rick Santorum with a Democrat would aid conservatism is beyond me, but it was demanded because Santorum endorsed Specter. The long knives were out, and I suppose it was a sign of what was to come.
The whole Terri Schiavo case has changed everything for me. A mob mentality took over the first few days after the order to pull the tube was given. Anyone who did not toe the line was attacked. I saw a dedicated active-duty member of our armed forces called a “Maine liberal” for simply asking why troops in harm’s way did not get the same sort of “all-nighter” attention that Terri Schiavo got. It was a reasonable question – we have 40-year-old P-3s still out there. We have a war on terrorism still going on, in case folks have not noticed. We have to get Social Security fixed. I say this as a person who believes that at best, Michael Schiavo’s relationship with a woman (and having two kids with her) meant he had a conflict of interest – and that he had decided that Terri was inconvenient. I cannot take his word alone that Terri would have wanted this. I also believe that George Felos is a supporter of euthanasia, and that he is using this case for his own ends. Those folks give me the creeps, and I think that Jim Robinson was on the right side of this issue. However, I also got a very bad feeling when the Schindlers embraced the likes of Randall Terry and Bo Gritz. I had to wonder what has happened to the conservative movement when the threads were allowed to spiral so out of control. The concept of euthanasia is repulsive and disgusting, but it does not excuse allowing the threads to spin out of control.
I have seen the President of the United States, George W. Bush, and the Governor of Florida, John Ellis Bush, take huge political risks in an effort to save Terri’s life. I believe they were doing their best to do the right thing, and that the original law passed in 2003 was a reasonable one that was wrongly stuck down by Judge Greer and the Florida Supreme Court. I think that the Republican Party has taken a huge risk to give Terri a chance at life, and I am disgusted with those who seek a pretext that will justify leaving the GOP in the lurch. I’m sick of the way the Terri threads spun out of control, and the vicious attacks launched at reasonable people who came to a different conclusions about the situation or who pointed out facts that certain people found inconvenient. This is not what I signed on here for.
I believe in a strong national defense, cutting taxes, and in general trying to keep government involvement as minimal as possible (there are times when the best one can do is to limit government involvement in a situation). I am pro-life (with exceptions for rape, incest, and to protect the life of the mother) and pro-Second Amendment. However, I do NOT want the federal government to be involved in any culture war. “Culture” was never mentioned in the constitution, thus I believe it is left to the States or TO THE PEOPLE (see the Tenth Amendment). I do NOT think immigration is a problem, but I believe some mistakes were made along the way (like eliminating the bracero program). I also think that the President of the United States has proposed a sensible plan that will go a long way towards solving the problems on our border with Mexico and do much to alleviate the problems surrounding illegal immigration. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me and Free Republic to part company, because Free Republic has left this limited-government neoconservative. In the process of Free Republic leaving me, I now find that I fear the social conservatives as much as I fear the loony left. As a result of coming to this conclusion, I ask that my account be deleted and all posts I have made, save for this opus and the ping to my friends be removed.
I do this with regret, since I will miss some of those who I have met here, but I feel no other choice. So long.
This isn't about Luis.....he seems like a good guy.....my anger is directed at the mindset prevalent among so many in this country that we Americans have to sit back and be tolerant about a totally intolerable situation.....I guarantee you if this country implodes at some point they'll be the one's screaming the loudest.
It's amazing how many people haven't taken that advice, as it regards Mr. Don Henley.
:)
Again we are on the same page.
Legal immigration = net gain.
Illegal immigration = invasion.
NOT acceptable.
Wouldn't that suit you?
I hope you reconsider.
ha! Don't worry about it. Happens to us all. :)Reminds me of this pic:
I agree. FR is like a big family. We might fuss and argue but when the chips are down, we all rally around each other and the common goal.
Thanks for the ping Meek. Hope to see you later hchutch.
If your intent is actually to leave FR, then just walk away. It is not all that difficult to shoot your screen name in the head, if that is actually what this is all about.
You've summed the situation up well.
Regarding the complaints in these "I'm leaving" threads, I think they're grossly exaggerated. Have there been some over-the-top comments by social conservatives in the Schiavo threads? Of course, but there also have been some over-the-top comments by the pro-Michael Schiavo people as well. Yet those people leaving because of the lack of civliity on this site only seem to be concerned with the comments made by the side they disagree with. When they suggest that social conservatives are just as bad as leftists, or they ping their friends to insult any poster who disagrees with them, or they say that because those social conservatives have *not* been purged from this site, that FR resembles a Communist regime, they've got a heck of a lot of nerve to complain about the name-calling on this site.
It's great to be back!
I knew people on FR would come around given good logic.
I'm happy to be back!
If he's that far left, at least he can make fun of himself. Here's a Bloom County strip from 1982.
That's a funny strip! OMG!!
When was the last time you went to New York by the way?
And lastly, what do you have against immigrants?
I'd move to Hell's Kitchen if I had to, I bet you wouldn't.
Thanks for coming to my defense, but I think it's high time for me to call it quits as well.
I grow tired of the imbeciles in here...I'll miss the good ones.
You're one of the good guys.
The day that you acquire sufficient intelligence to be able to discuss immigration as a separate issue from people who enter the country illegally give me a buzz.
It's not that bad. Manhattan has cleaned up in the last few years. I go there a lot.
hchutch, while I don't agree with most of your opus, I admire the sincerity and clarity of your words. If you left FR you would indeed be missed. Please reconsider.
Best wishes,
Jonny
"When was the last time you went to New York by the way?"
12 years
"
And lastly, what do you have against immigrants?"
ILLEGAL immigrants. Almost nobody at FR is against legal immigration.
"I'd move to Hell's Kitchen if I had to, I bet you wouldn't.
Neither one of us will ever have to, so the statement is
meaningless. I would live 1000 places in the USA before living in NYC. Overseas at least 20 places.
ROTF....I saved that one in storage....too funny!
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