OK, where was I? Oh ya, I had just been handed my head, figuratively speaking of course, by the site administrator over at Free Republic for a still undisclosed and unknown reason.

"Off with her head!", the Red Queen said.

What was really weird was I had just posted an update on Obama, martial law, and Blackwater. How could my “offense” have anything to do with that? Hmmm, not likely. Could it be my last post of a few days earlier, on my other blog, Say No to Plastic and entitled, Memo to Megyn Kelly – Using Plastic Bags is So Yesterday? If that was the reason, that would also be weird for two reasons.

One, I’ve posted on concerns about our thoughtless use of all forms of plastic before on Free Republic without suffering any consequences. While most did not agree with me, some did. I didn’t expect complete agreement. One knows in advance that people preaching about global warming, for example, are not welcomed there. I’ve tried to be respectful and mindful of that . . . never vilifying the plastic industry.

Besides we can’t all agree with each other all the time; Kool-Aid Kids and Obama bots do that . . . not adults. Aren’t Freepers and Puma’s against lock-step thought and absolute adherence to every point of view held by their leaders? I thought so.

Two, if the Megyn Kelly post was the offense, why take this action now? The post had already been up for days.

So what happened? I still don’t know. What I do know is this. This action by the administrator at Free Republic is emblematic, symptomatic of what has happened to Americans in our country. We just don’t listen to each other any more. Most of the time, we don’t have the courtesy to give the other side an opportunity to talk and present their side of an issue. Sad. We spend more time looking for bad guys than we spend on looking for good ideas. The former is a waste of time . . . the latter is productive.

That is too bad, because we are all diminished when, with “knee jerk reactions”, we close our ears and our minds to those holding opposing opinions. Holding onto strident positions without considering, even momentarily, that there is another legitimate point of view weakens us.

Let me give you two small examples of personal changes I have made.

For years I have been against drilling in ANWR and building new nuclear plants. While I remain a Hillary supporter, once it was clear Obama was going to be selected to run for POTUS by the Dems, I became a McCain/Palin supporter believing that putting country ahead of party was the only thing to do.

I thought Palin was a brilliant pick by McCain . . . still do . . . and if the Republican Party wants to resurrect itself, it needs more common sense people like Palin. Anyone think if Palin was Governor of California that the State would have the deficits that have been allowed to grow under Schwarzenegger? No, of course, not. Ah, but I digress.

When Sarah was campaigning I heard her discussions about ANWR. Who better to discuss the issue than the Governor of Alaska. Not surprisingly, her observations of the importance of ANWR and its environmental impact were markedly different from what is generally portrayed in the MSM.

I also listened to McCain discussing nuclear power and remembered living through Three Mile Island when I lived in Pennsylvania. I still remember radio station KYW’s updates. We were told that there was a real possibility that we were going to have to evacuate; the fear was thick, palpable. I remember asking myself, if there’s only a half hour to decide what to keep and what to leave behind (forever?) what my choices would be.

I listened to McCain’s point about accident free power on subs and throughout the country; not a single accident in 20 years. Even after having lived through the Three Mile Island fear, I changed my position. Times change, the economy changes, what is necessary to continue to foster growth and greatness changes. We need to look at ourselves and ask if we are holding on to positions that no longer make any sense.

Right now the State of California has the resources and ability to run budget surpluses and get out of debt. Want to know how? Start opening the off shore oil leases. Start pumping the oil. In a barely reported story, FOX detailed how California and the country could profit. Instead, lacking the political will to do what makes sense and is for the common good, the “Governator” would rather take money from the “stimulus” bill . . . would rather have tax payers from Georgia and across the country foot their largess!

So what’s the moral to this? Well, for starters, any site/blog administrator can choose to do what they want, but I would suggest there was a better way to handle this.

I’ve deleted a hand full of comments over the last year . . . maybe six or seven. I’ve also left repugnant comments when I felt the comments were a true reflection of the person making them. In one case I was called a Nazi ”C” word . . . no not that “C” word . . . Conservative . . . the four letter one that begins with “C” and rhymes with runt.

I have a page called “Deleted” that gives the posting guidelines here. The first guideline is not to attack me personally. Attack the problem or topic of the post. This blog is supposed to be place for intelligent discourse, after all.

Let me point out, yet again, that no group has a monopoly on common sense, good ideas, or ideas for moving this country forward. More than ever before, we need to be talking to each other and listening . . . listening . . . even if the topic being discussed is one we do not agree with.

BTW, I checked my emails again this morning. Still no response to query. Think I’ll ever here back?

{{Sound of crickets}} Bueller? Bueller? Hello . . . is anyone there?