<I really have a hard time understanding the source of your hostility.

That would be here:

I tend to bristle when someone starts lecturing on how others don't "need" certain things so those things shouldn't be allowed. I don't know you and would never presume to dictate any choice you would make for your family. I tend to be hostile to those who try to lecture people they don't know about how they should live their lives or what they should be allowed to own. (This, I intend to bronze, so I can fish it up later when a suitable issue comes up.) With personal freedom comes personal responsibility, something too many people have also diluted in the name of social engineering.

Did you get a nosebleed way up there in that pulpit?

Ultimately, it appears you see someone alone in a big vehicle and jump to conclusions without bothering to know the facts.

OK, this one is my fault. You haven't the slightest idea how small a town I live in and work in. If I see someone in a big vehicle, 2 times out of 3 I know who the someone is. I know their kids, I know their neighbors, I may even know their kids' GPAs. Because the kids tell me. I don't have to jump to conclusions here. When our new director came to town, she said, "My God, Mary Anne, you know everybody!" Not really, and not on purpose, either. But I have served on a lot of committees. So, yeah, I do know the facts.

I have to go shopping shortly, so we'll leave the democracy discussion for another time.

You have some strongly held beliefs and I respect that. You seem less willing to tolerate the views of others. [sarc]Uh huh.[/sarc] So much for "tolerance" and "diversity", which seems to be confined as agreeing with liberal orthodoxy. Any differing views must be demonized or ridiculed.

-heh heh- You have yet to see me demonize anyone. I can do it too. I have even rewritten show tunes to make a person look absolutely horrible. And of course, since it's put to familiar music, it sticks. That's reserved for just a few individuals, and for very specific reasons. Politics isn't specific enough.

Oh, and don't hide behind "seems to" and "appears to". I can read very well, and I understand the Deniability Two-Step.

Heaven forbid that anyone actually reply to your posts with a differing opinion!

Excuse me??? Replies to my posts tend to run 2 to 1 in disagreement here. How many times have I resorted to the kind of attack we see so frequently? You, on the other hand, have the luxury of being agreed with very often, except by our resident attack dog.

My posts tend to be few because I'm busy, and I know that I had better have it together if I intend to post or someone will have me for lunch. I can't have a simple conversation here. It's work. Fortunately, I like work.

Sorry if that rubs you the wrong way, but not much.

Good. We're even.

For a long time, I would only post back to you if I had something to say that was reasonably consonant with your initial remark. I'm not doing that anymore.

Mary Anne