I've been lurking at FR since before 9/11 but I've never been much of a "joiner". . . until the whole Rathergate fiasco. Then I realized that I can't just sit by and let the MSM think they are getting away with hijacking the First Amendment. My voice is just as important as Dan Rather's. If I want opinion with my news I'll listen to Rush.

I respect intelligent opinions and I enjoy reading the debates on Free Republic but I don't comment very often and I post rarely. You'll find that when I make the effort to contibute I express agreement far more often than I bother to argue. Why? To quote Edward Gibbon “I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect.” It's a good rule in real life and an even better rule online.

If I'm arguing with you it's because you seem like an intelligent person and I've decided that I respect your opinion. Otherwise I would have just written you and your opinions off as an idiotic waste of time and moved on to the next thread.

Yes, I am a newbie (still) . . . please be gentle.