QUOTE(ColoradoPlebeian @ Feb 13 2011, 01:51 PM)

I was, at one time, comfortable in describing myself as a Republican. As the years have gone by, my personal experiences and observations have lead me to a point where I am no longer comfortable with that description. I have found no other political party whose platform I am comfortable enough with to declare my allegiance to. This is the reason I have listed "none" for party affiliation. To go even one step further, I feel at this time that political parties (especially the two main parties in our politics) are having a negative influence on our government. Because of this, I do not see myself associating in a meaningful way with a political party anytime in the near future.
Well, this is certainly a place where you can safely express your opinions on various topics, and see if you can find a comfortable voice in our Democracy. I began to define myself as a Democrat when I realized that there was only a single Republican that I could recall having voted for.
We have a few members on the far Right, and in between, we have what I suspect may be the future of Democracy... We have people that voice their opinions, back up their arguments when possible, and likely have far more effect than we think we do.
I know that when I reach a conclusion on a topic, I am apt to copy and paste to a word document, remove the hyperlinks, edit, and then copy and paste to a message to my Congressman or the White House. I can recall when I used to invest in postage to do that, but then I can still recall when the price of first class postage gave rise to the phrase, "putting in my two cents worth."
Pour yourself some of your favorite libation, smoke if you're so inclined, relax, go to the top of the page and click on "view new posts" or browse until something gets your dander up. We're all here because we feel that as individuals, we are the best informed, most knowledgeable...
I had a co-worker who used to say:
QUOTE
It's easy to tell when he's lying; his lips are moving.
Actually, I'm usually only lying if I have playing cards in my left hand and a coffee cup in my right hand. His main interaction with me over the years was in the lunchroom...
Welcome to the fray, and enjoy your stay!