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Thank you so much for this thread. One thing I would like to echo from other posters is that there are far more lurkers than participants on any given thread, in some cases thousands. When one is in a discussion/argument/flamewar (choose one) there are people who are reading the posts and making judgements about the participants.

I have often been concerned about the public face of conservatism when episodes occur like we have seen the last few days. The divisions and rancor we have seen are also seen by those who wish to divide the conservative movement.

I sometimes think the mainstream media reads FR to see how effective they are in their campaign of dividing the right. How often I have seen ranting over a New York Times article because people take it at face value and go off into tirades!

I would ask everyone to think that this forum is for persuading people of differing points of view; one cannot persuade by insults and attacks.

At any rate, when things get too nutty here, I find it helpful to work in the garden, clean a bathroom, or start something for dinner. I am not leaving because this site has given me a voice, like-minded friends, and a window on the world I would never have imagined possible.

I sometimes think the mainstream media reads FR to see how effective they are in their campaign of dividing the right.

If they didn't monitor here, they would indeed be foolish. And since they're really not as stupid as their actions would suggest and some here say they are, the old/Dem/liberal/socialist media surely does check out FR to see how things are effecting FR.

I would ask everyone to think that this forum is for persuading people of differing points of view; one cannot persuade by insults and attacks.

That is the truth.

At any rate, when things get too nutty here, I find it helpful to work in the garden

Same here, I have a four acre perennial nursery here at my residence which is a great place to find calm.