Sam seemed pretty conservative. But getting in pissin matches with the owner of a website ain’t too bright.
He did to me as well. I always liked reading his post-not on this thread-he was very intelligent and knowledgeable. But, getting into a match with the owner is not the healthiest of things to do if you wish to remain here.
Excerpted and enhanced, for emphasis. ;)
Honestly, one of the most flabbergasting aspects of all this (to me) is just how many recently opused/suicided FReepers -- a significant number of whom (as they took great pains to remind one, at every conceivable turn) "have been here since 1999/1999/1776/The Early Bronze Age/[Insert Huffy Chronological Benchmark Here]" -- feel/felt no discernible compunction whatsoever, re: sassing, insulting and/or flagrantly disregarding the owner of this web site; energetically trolling with all the low, mean persistence of the most stereotypical DU or Kos troll.
Reading back through this elephantine thread, it is immediately and irrefutably clear that -- in virtually every instance -- the recipients of ZOTtings have behaved no less abominably than the visiting houseguest who brusquely commandeers the contents of your liquor cabinet; vomits noisily into the aquarium; and (when rightfully instructed by their host to cease such loutish behavior) spits curses at the wife and children. That several of the uglier of these even went so far, on another thread, as to ostentatiously declare themselves "Christians for Giuliani" virtually redefines the ages-old concept of naked, preening chutzpah.
The comparison of this (or, indeed, any) website to a host's own home is, I believe, entirely to the point, here. Jim's feeling -- paraphrasing, from his accumulated postings over the past several days; correct me please, Jim, if I (unintentionally) miscolor your sentiments in the retelling -- is that, over recent months, specific house guests have become increasingly unruly, to the extent that they've not only been sneering openly at the stated house rules (i.e., "Free Republic is a conservative site"; "Free Republic is a pro-life site"; etc.), but actively and aggressively making things unpleasant for the greater, more polite majority of attendees.
No one poster -- no, nor any group of posters, so far as that goes -- is so important, invaluable or irreplaceable to this forum as to somehow gainsay their repeated (and increasingly mean-spirited) flaunting of said rules; and the bizarre, inflated sense of... entitlement on the parts of those who've found themselves righteously "called" on such oafishness -- the red-faced and indignant whinneys of (essentially) "well, yeah, but surely that rule was never meant to apply to ME, for God's sake!" -- is, by definition, anything but a conservative one.
The host has (re-)(re-)(RE-)stated his long-standing house rules, clearly and emphatically. He does not wish his home (i.e., this site of his own creation) to be cluttered, for instance, with unwelcome pro-abortion sentiments; endorsements of pro-abortion politicians; or "practical" apologia on behalf of same. He does not want his front lawn littered with defenses of homosexuality (or of any politicians defending same), no matter how enthisiastically lobbed. And -- quite justifiably enough, certainly -- he isn't signing for delivery of any packages of RINO Chow whatsoever, no matter how enthusiastically endorsed by whichever poster, of whatever age or pedigree.
None of this is even remotely in any way "new," or "sudden," or "unexpected," or what-have-you; and all this feigned, whey-faced miming of shock and dramatic clutching at pearls is, quite frankly, as pathetic as it is patently absurd.
We're all guests in someone else's house, people.
Kindly grow the hell up.