Whose group is this anyway...

There are days, like today, where I find myself in a quandary.  I am the administrator in a several groups and a couple of pages on Facebook.  I have one group, that I really enjoy and have been learning a great deal from.

One of my favorite groups, has been going along fine and getting along even better.  Right up until the addition of one person, as a member of our group.  This page was founded by a person who wants to maintain a certain tone.  I get that.  Being and admin in other groups, I understand completely the desire to have a respectful, courteous tone.  I like the idea.  I love the subject matter of this group.

Now, we have been having a great time in this group.  There are about sixty-five of us, altogether.  Exchanging ideas, learning from each other and generally speaking, having a great time.  Right up until the recent addition of this one person.  Who, due to none of us really knowing this person, I friend-ed.  Unfortunately.


Suddenly, posts are the size of novels.  Attempts by this person at humor are insulting and demeaning.  And sometimes, just downright mean and stupid.  The page was usurped by a pretender to the throne.  And, from her behavior, not a very stable pretender either.  Her needy tone and desperation for contact has overwhelmed her self control.

It wasn't until someone I know personally,  left the group that I saw what was happening.  When my friend left and emailed me why that I figured out how the group had changed.  When my friend cited the pretender as the reason for leaving the group, I understood what had happened.  I went back in our history and looked at previous posts.

My friend was right.  The pretender's posts were overwhelming her news feed and she can't abide that.  When I tried to explain to the pretender that this was not helping our environment, the tone of the group, she turned her attention to me.  I became her 'new' BFBF..(best Facebook friend)   I didn't much like my new status as that person.

Suddenly, my personal Facebook page is being inundated with her posts.  She actually posted her bullshit on my page.  Sorry, but that IS pet peeve number one, for me.  When she was asked to stop, she refused to do so.  So, I reiterated my request.  But, I added the explanation that should she ignore my request, I would un-friend her.  Which she ignored.  Again.

So, of course, I got rid of her as a friend.  As you can imagine, this didn't go over well and she started posting in the group. Her previous "novel like" posts became epic and her not so subtle behavior worsened.  The tone of my favorite group, changed.

It was no longer the fun, educational group it had been before she was added.  I ignored her as best I could until one day, the admin and founder of the group, contacted me, asking for my opinion.  I told her the truth.  As it related to me and my friend, who abandoned the group because of this one persons out of control posts.

I watched as the pretender was warned to keep her posts to a manageable length.  I watched as the pretender told the admin she would post as much, or as little as she wanted.  I watched as the pretender was warned to stop...Which, she ignored.  Then, I watched as the admins booted her from the group.

Then I watched the pretender as she went to those members she was still friends with and begged them to get back into the group.  With long sob stories, each one different, she continues, some time later, to harass this group.

Since she was booted, the conversations are back to being fun and educational as well.  The tone has calmed dramatically.  We no longer hear about how hard the pretenders life is and has been.  How poor she is and then in the next post, she purchased a new product to make her life easier.

The problem she posed to the group, as I saw it, is this:  The pretender is lonely, needy and desperate to be the one who is the focal point of her world.  I don't think she is happy.  I think she needs to form her own group so she can rule and choose the members who are willing to worship at her feet and not notice that she is a narcissistic, needy person.

I was asked what I thought about allowing her back into this group.  In my opinion, this is such a bad idea.  The pretender has no idea what is appropriate and what is not.  She caused a great deal of drama.  Unnecessarily so.  She cannot, nor will she ever be able to control herself.  So, keep her out of the group.  Those who empathize with her, can go be in a group with her.

This will solve all the issues with her and the way her departure was handled.  And this way, everyone is happy.  Especially me.

I have nothing to talk about right now...how boring is that?

Coffee & quilts. How to combine the two...

Okay, so I drink coffee.  I sew and quilt.  I drink coffee while I sew and quilt.

I imbibe copious amounts of this nectar from the gods.  Somewhere between two cups and a pot a day.  I can tell you with certainty, I probably won't stop.  I sew as often as I can.  Which, is most days.  But, this tale is mostly about coffee...

Did it phase me when the price of coffee rose?  Nope.  Not even when my favorite brand of coffee shot up from eight dollars for two pounds, to over fourteen dollars for the same two pounds.

I like coffee so much, I went to work at a coffee shop so I could have access to all the different coffee beans. My absolute, number one favorite is Colombian, by the way.  A close second would be Guatemalan. But the truth is, I. Love. Coffee. Pretty much all coffees, from all nations.  And it has to be H.O.T. Hot!  At least 140 degrees. 

I let it sit for a few minutes to cool to sipping temperature.  I drink my coffee slow.  I may take an hour to drink only one cup.  Two flavorful sips at a time.  I just love the stuff. 

I like fabric as well, I could spend hours and hours in one small fabric shop just looking at cloth...I know...nuts right?  And, I hoard fabric like an old woman hoards cats. Okay, okay, I'll get back to the coffee story.

One of my favorite coffees, can be found in truck stops.   Like Flying J.  I love to mix their cappuccino powdered concoctions with coffee when I travel.  Half and half.  I particularly like their mocha flavored pre-made powdered mix. A coffee snob, I am not.  Well, not always anyway. 

What I don't love nearly as much, are the vessels in which coffee is served to me.  I hate paper cups with paper sleeves. I hate the texture of those foam based cups that feel like they have rubber fur on them.  I hate those glass or ceramic cups that have those god awful little tiny finger holes.  I hate short squat cups.  I hate cups that don't have handles.  And yes, I have been served a cup of gourmet coffee in a 'gourmet' coffee cup that rocked and hand no handle. Dumb right?

I have had coffee from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  And there is one MAJOR problem from 'sea to shining sea' that I can definitively say is true, and that is this;  Coffee cups, mugs etc, are for the most part, seriously lacking in practicality and design, wherever you go.

So, with these design flaws in mind, I collect coffee mugs.  I have a couple of dozen, at least.  The only cups I use regularly, are the tall ones.  They stand approximately 4 inches tall.  They have a narrowed bottom and wider mouth. They also have, and in my opinion this is critical to acceptance in my collection, very large and open handles.  The perfect coffee cup for me, since both myself and my spouse, have large hands and like a lot of coffee in one sitting.

I don't know about you, but I like to travel.  And coffee is critical to travel in my humble opinion.  And believe me when I say, I drink coffee while traveling. Lots of coffee.  I indulge till mid afternoon on most trips.  He will indulge till late morning unless he is travel worn and needs that extra boost.  But I digress...

Over twelve years ago, we bought ourselves two wonderfully, huge, over-sized  travel coffee mugs.  Big suckers. Twenty-four ounces of pure bliss, heaven in disguise and nirvana were found in those plastic mugs.  One for each of us. And they were insulated, too! 

Sadly, and I do mean sadly, after so many years of daily use, the outer shell of his perfect travel cup finally gave up the ghost.  It cracked, then split and broke.  I have to confess, it darn near broke my heart to throw it away. 

Well, since I don't work anymore, I handed over, (reluctantly) my mug to him for his thirty-five mile morning commute to work. Hey, the man needs his twenty-four ounces of encouragement in the morning, believe me! Then, we started to seek out their replacements.  Alas, nothing we found was similar or as well designed as our great old travel mugs.

Now, it wasn't too long before my cup began to crack.  So, we started to search,  more diligently, for the perfect replacement.  He babied that old mug along while we looked.  For over two years we searched truck stops, convenience stores, department stores, on line, you name the place, we looked there.  

Our standards are high.  We wanted to find a mug that didn't leak if it fell over. We wanted a mug that kept our coffee, either hot for both of us, or cold for me. (I love iced coffee on hot days) We wanted aesthetically pleasing mugs as well. Now you'd think we'd have found one or two that might work.  And we did find some that were...okay.  But not that perfect one.

After two years of searching, buying, trying and tossing, he finally found them! One for him, with a black sleeve and logo to identify it as his, and one for me, with a brown sleeve.  They are made of stainless steel, (sort of like the old Thermos brand thermos that were made in the USA back in the day) and they came with little rubber sleeves.  And best of all?   The most perfect lid design. EVER!!!  

You can stand this cup on the lid, and when closed, it will NOT leak. It is made of steel, so it can take a beating.  It keeps our coffee nearly as hot as Hades and, for quite some time. It has a wonderful raised lip to sip from so I haven't burned my lips.  It fits my hand and his.  It is comfortable to hold.  And best of all, our vehicles have different sized cup holders in them. And they fit!  So these two travel coffee mugs are damn near perfect for us.  

What is the problem, you ask?  The drawback? 

Well now, one issue is, the amount they hold. Our new mugs only hold twenty ounces of bliss instead of twenty-four ounces of sweet nirvana, which I cannot change. I guess we just budget a little more money for coffee while on the road?  The other issue, for me, is the heat from the coffee which is translated through the little rubber sleeve and onto my sensitive hands.  Ouch.

The solution, you ask? The fix? 

Ahh, I thought you would never ask...and here's where the quilting comes into the picture...I looked on line and found a tutorial for a quilted coffee sleeve to protect my sensitive hands!

I made the quilted coffee sleeve with the batting used for oven mitts, layered it with cotton batting, put a pretty button on it, then put it on my new coffee mug...I even quilted the darned thing.  It works!  And best of all?  It is cute as all get out!  Want to see one?  Buy one?  Look me up on Facebook...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Belt-Creek-Baby-Quilts/119955228095346

Defending your rights...

Every now and again, I will read an article that breaks my heart, enrages me and makes me want to wail with grief. The article below, is one of these.

This article is about a Pakistani woman who was ordered to be gang raped as punishment for the "alleged" crime of her 12 year old brother.  I have no words to describe how angry I am about this horrendous crime. And how grief stricken I am for her.  Or how proud I am of her bravery in the face of the society she defied.  Mai Mukhtar is a remarkable woman.

American women could do well to follow her example of courage and heart.  Copy and paste the following link into your search bar to read about this woman...

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/19/world/asia/mukhtar-mai-pakistan-gang-rape/index.html

For American women who still believe we are completely under the thumbs of American men, this article is for you.  Wake up and smell the coffee.  After all, we all know this kind of depravity cannot happen here.  At least, not yet...

A University in Colorado, recommends to women who are about to be raped, they should vomit, urinate, tell the attacker they are menstruating or have a disease, to STOP  the attack.  This Pakistani woman had no way to protect herself from this incredibly vile attack. Do any of us honestly believe having this woman urinate, vomit, or tell these men she was diseased or menstruating, would have stopped this rape from occurring?   Of course not.  She was defenseless in the hands of this tribal councils judgement.

The Brady Organization, a group dedicated to eradicating the second amendment, allegedly posted an advertisement on the web that claims, "rape only last 30 seconds, but murder lasts a lifetime."   Suggesting that if a woman dared to shoot her rapist, she was guilty of murder and not self defense and therefore, since a rape only lasts 30 seconds.  I took this to mean she should just lay there quietly and "deal" with it since it was only 30 seconds out of her life...You would think a man came up with this idea.  I don't know. The ad was removed and the Brady organization denied posting it.

These are liberal organizations and colleges.  The liberal progressive mindset seems to have decided that rape is 'acceptable' over defending your self with deadly force against a rapist.  What in the hell is going on in this country?  Women have made huge strides in the quest for equality in this country. In my lifetime, I have seem dramatic changes in the way women are treated, paid and accepted into society as true beings.

We have been "legally" granted the right to control our bodies and minds.  We are no longer "chattel," but are considered to be living being sentient beings with the capabilities to do what we can, and what we will do, just as men do.  We have the same rights as men.  Some of our mothers struggled for these rights in the face of a society that did not believe women could manage anything larger than a household budget.  Look how far we have come.

As American women, we have the right to protect ourselves.  We have numerous means to do so if it becomes necessary to defend ourselves against violence.  Sexual or otherwise.  Yet, here we are, independent, strong, amazing American women, blindly following party lines and allowing these liberal progressive establishments and groups to steal our fundamental rights of self defense, away from us.

What will come next?  Some liberal judge and jury ordering a woman to be gang raped to punish a member of her family for some made up allegation of wrongdoing?  Reading this article, and then listening to my fellow American women talk about not having everything they want, when they want it...kind of puts things in perspective for me.

This Pakistani woman had no way to protect herself from this incredibly vile attack. Do any of us, honestly believe having this woman urinate or vomit, or telling these men she was diseased or menstruating, would have stopped this rape?  Not a chance in hell.  We all know it, it is a matter of believing it.  She was utterly defenseless.  And she was made that way by the society she lives in.

American women had better wake up.  And soon.  By allowing ourselves to be disarmed and discouraged from defending ourselves, we are taking too many steps backwards.  If we do not stop and think about how these "new gun laws" will affect us in the long term, we will soon begin to see women prosecuted for daring to defend themselves.  Whether she uses deadly force or not. 

This Colorado legislator, Salazar, believes we are not capable of deciding if we are "really in danger of being raped."  He says we cannot make that decision and we will just pull our guns out and start firing randomly.  Of course he has since apologized to women everywhere.  I think his apology was worse than his original statement...We women so obviously misunderstood what he meant.  Right ladies?

The current liberal progressive agenda is to disarm Americans.  Not just women, but ALL Americans. The prevailing attitude of many of these progressive groups, some of which tout the rights of women,  seem to be suggesting we women are incapable of knowing when we are in danger and therefore we should not be allowed to have a gun.  Or any other weapon to stop a rapist as we are incapable of thinking with any clarity or recognize the danger we could be in.  Bull.

I guess as an American woman, I am supposed to allow myself to be victimized any time some man decides he wants to control and abuse me.   I guess my rape will be acceptable to these anti gun people.  As it will make it so the liberal progressives can feel better about there being no more murders of  innocent children.  Right.  Like taking guns from law abiding women and men will stop the mentally disturbed, the drug dealers and the rest of the sick twisted bastards out there.

Do not allow the progressives to take away the rights we, as women,  have fought so hard to defend.  When we women willingly surrender one right, we give them all up.  And that would include the right to defend ourselves, by any means necessary, to save our lives and or protect ourselves from a anyone intent on committing violence against us.   

How long before the progressives have "convinced"  the next generation of young women that to defend themselves with deadly force is murder? How long after that will women be punished for the "alleged" crimes of our family members as Mai Mukhtar was in Pakistan?  Don't think for a moment it can't happen here.  Because it can.  If you don't stand up and fight like hell for your right to defend yourself from a violent rape, it WILL happen.

If you give up your "right to keep and bear arms without infringement," you will give up others as well.  Of course the surrender of your rights will be touted as for the "good of the community."  And you won't even notice they are gone.  Until you are fighting off an attacker with your bare hands and, if your remember, your words.  

Hopefully you will know you can still "legally" vomit and urinate on him, then tell the rapist you are menstruating and diseased without being imprisoned or stoned to death for "resisting" in to rough and harsh a manner and did not injure the poor poor man.  

And of course we all know, once he understands you are diseased and menstruating, he will of course, cease the attack and let you go...

Right?

The ten steps to dump that annoying liberal "frenemy"

#1.  Choose your plan of attack...

I don't like Rush Limbaugh.  So, I don't listen to the man.  I have to do it...I have to ask.  

If you hate Rush Limbaugh so much, why do you listen to him?  
And if you are listening to him, why would you call for his removal from the air when you are so obviously entertained by him? Why not just change the channel so you don't have to hear him?  That's what I do.                      

# 2.  Accuse and belittle...

I have no doubt you DID NOT listen to the radio program where he allegedly mocked the victims of Sandy Hook.  I am certain you just "heard or read," from some liberal website or that haven of the 'liberal only truth' called moveon.org, how he allegedly mocked those people .  

#3.  Question their sanity in a insulting manner...

Sister, I wonder about you.  I really do.  I wonder how you can imagine it is true when NBC, CBS, CNN, ABC, MSNBC and Fox have not reported this?  And they most certainly would have done so if he had done as you allege.  Just because you "hear it, or read it on the web, a blog, or some left wing organization," does not make it true.  

#4.  Agree with their first point against you...thus taking the wind out their sales, and then use the same insult they are outraged about...

Yes, you're right.  He did call Sandra, "the poor broke I can't pay for my birth control even tho I have a good paying job, so all of America better pony up the money so I don't get pregnant," a slut.  And yes, I think he should have apologized profusely.  And he should have been fired in my opinion.  (But even so, I think she should be paying for her own slutty behavior, not me.)                 

#5.  Change the subject from their beliefs to one or three as to what you think they should have done or said, sprinkling it with sarcasm and mildly insulting tones...

So, now that we have talked about Rush Limbaugh, let us talk about your liberal heroes, shall we?  Why is it, Ed Shults, a liberal, and an ass, can call a conservative woman a slut, and still be your "oh my god he's so brilliant," hero?  

Why is it Bill Maher, an "alleged comic," and a raging cruelly rude person, another liberal, can call a Conservative woman a cunt, without a word from you, other than a LOL of Facebook in agreement?  As a woman, you should have been outraged.  You should have been livid he would insult a woman, ANY woman in such a foul manner. But, all you did and said was, "LOL"

Why is David Letterman can make obscene jokes about an ADULT ball player impregnating a MINOR child, and get such big laughs from his obviously liberal and sickly sycophantic and fascinated audience?     

Why was there no outrage from you over any of these foul words and name calling?  Is it perhaps because you don't think they were wrong? I mean after all, your hatred of Sarah Palin is apparent from your posts and remarks I've read on Facebook since she ran for office.  It's sad you included, and still do include, her children in your dislike of her political leanings. They are the most innocent in this vitriol you spill.

Why is it these liberal people can say what they want, no matter how foul or profane and it is fine with you?  Why is it that you didn't call for THEIR firing?  Is it because as long as it is one of your heroes doing the name calling, it is acceptable?  

#6.  Accusations of complete bias and confrontation over their ignorance of alternate lifestyles, finish with an insult...

It seems to me your idea of free speech is for people who ONLY agree with your points of view.  Too bad really.  Your ignorance of the real world is damn near laughable.  What you don't know, could cover the moon.

And your attitude toward people who dare to disagree with you, is one of utter disdain and contempt.  As is your view toward people who hunt, fish and live an outdoor life.  Your lack of thought before you speak, is unbelievable.  It is no wonder you have so few friends.  You've insulted most of us often enough, we no longer want anything to do with you. 

#7.  Point out their shortcomings as a human being or co-worker, or both...

You are a Debbie/Donnie Downer.  You never have a good thing to say about anything, your former co-workers, hunters, Conservatives or anyone else who DARES, to disagree with you on any and all subjects YOU hold dear. 

#8.  Accuse them of feeling superior, end with a hurt, I wish I didn't know you...

You are annoying in your judgement of the rest of us mere mortals.  It must be wonderful for you to be perched on your soapbox so far above us all.  Personally, I cannot abide you these days.  I did like you, but not any longer.  I guess to many insults and ignorant demeaning comments have blown that friendship out of the water.  These days, I wish I hadn't ever met you...you're a pain in the neck liberal who is just as clueless as your current president.  

#9.  Make and hold a sorrowful look and lay it on the line, adding the occasional insult...

It makes me sad really, I used to believe you were intelligent enough to recognize how to separate a persons politics from the person and maintain that relationship as friends, with an agreement to disagree and if necessary, not talk politics at all.  But, it is obvious to me, after all these years, the only one trying to maintain this friendship, is me.  But no longer.  

#10.  Dump the sorry liberal ass already...

Your sorry, Debbie /Donnie Downer attitude, and superior "I'm so much better than you," with your chronically insulting posts and emails, sick, pathetic whiny, liberal gimme gimme gimme, sorry ass just got dumped. Oh, and by the way, I hope you have a very nice day. 

I just went to read an article in the "Huffington Post."  You know, that last bastion of honor, of honest debate, filled with so much truth, justice and the "American" way as Arianna Huffington, a foreigner sees it.  Oh, wait...only the truth as the Huff Po sees it.  Justice only as far as the liberal leg humping Obama lovers are kept under control with all the free shit we keep giving them.  And the United Socialist States of America as long as you are a liberal hack with a "tingling little leg" and a "lets all get our free birth control as long as anybody but the promiscuous have to pay for it" mentality.


I found it fascinating. And horrifying. The amount misinformation on this site is hysterical and frightening. I am an independent voter who sees the liberal agenda as a terrible thing. Not the liberal him or herself, just your ideas. 

I despise the hypocrisy of liberals.  You continue to denigrate people, groups or ideals you know little to nothing about. 

 You hate the Tea Party and you cannot explain in plain language why.  You hate the "old white party" (meaning republicans) you hate conservative women for being wives and mothers and proud of it and for having the fucking balls to accept the honor of running for Vice President of this country.  How dare she succeed?  A conservative woman. That stupid moronic bitch.  

Or in your liberal heroes words, the cunt from Alaska. You ignore the behavior of a
 white man who called an accomplished woman a foul name.  Because he claims to be a comedian.  But god forbid Rush Limbaugh, a conservative old white guy, call the poster girl for promiscuity, Sandra whatever her name is, a slut. Sorry folks...she is a slut.

You can't even see that you elected an elitist intellectual rich people hating man as president. And who by the way, is also rich, but black and believes, just like you, that we conservatives are the most foul and evil beings on the planet.  And being the divisive man he is, again, like you, he makes no effort to hide his dismissive opinion of those who disagree with him. 

Liberals get off on hating us conservative people for telling you we disagree with your lack of assessment regarding the financial situation this nation faces.  You hate us because we do not like the direction in which the president is taking this nation   You have been brainwashed by sites like the Huffington Post, that because we do not like the Obama policies, that we are old, white and racist. (And you call us ignorant?)

Your tunnel visioned rigidity keeps you from seeing see the true reason for our dislike of the policies this administration "claims" we all need.  You are not able to comprehend the danger you all are in. You can't seem to grasp the reality that "he who giveth you all this 'free' shit, will also taketh it away." One hot second after he bankrupts the United States of America, your free shit is gone.  

When this happens, please stay where you are. We don't want you messing with our survival. You should hope and pray we will continue to take care of you with the bare necessities of life.  Which by the way, are only food, shelter and water.  

No more cell phones.  No more wifi.  No more food stamps.  No more medical care.  No more free birth control.  No more free anything.  It's time you started doing for yourselves and stop blaming everyone else for your own failure to succeed, or your own laziness.

If we cannot stop the spending of money that does not exist except in China and other enemies of this nation, we are done.  But then, you liberals already know that.  And it seems that it suits you just fine. Kind of makes me sad to realize you don't even care America is dying.  Just as long as you don't have to pay for you birth control and can have as many abortions as you want so you won't have to raise that damn kid you didn't want, but it ain't YOUR fault!  

Oh hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah for all you liberals. You're so well versed in what is right for me and mine, cause after all, we conservatives can't figure it out without someone telling us how to go about it.  And of course, being a liberal, you know what is best for everyone in the galaxy.  You really need to be told your, "do as I say, not as I do," lifestyle and opinions?  Well, they just prove you are as ignorant as we conservatives think you are.

2013 New Years Resolutions...or, wishful thinking

Okay, so I joined this crafting group yesterday to (hopefully) sell some of the baby quilts I've made.  I put up four pictures.  Two of my handmade quilts and two machine sewn.  I posted that the two handmade quilts had been sold and or gifted. I wanted to show what I can do. Interesting that the very first comment on my post was..."What a load of shit."

I had such high hopes for this group.  There are so many beautiful things made by Montanans available there.  I am so terribly disappointed by the comment. Don't get me wrong.  This isn't about the quilts I posted pics of.  It is about the comment and the lack of reason for it.

I guess, (foolish me) I expected too much. You know?  I expected stupid things, like courtesy, respect, perhaps even a big hearty "welcome to our group!"  Didn't happen from the person leaving the comment.  Too bad really.  I was looking forward to seeing what other crafty Montanans are up to.

To the credit of the Admins, they blocked this person for trying to scam people and for spamming...Interesting to be told how she was "recent" addition to the group, she turned out to be a sneaky little spammer.  Didn't really ring true to me, so I went and looked.  She had been a member of the group for some time.

The moral of the story?  

Sorry folks, there isn't one.  Morals. Ethics. Kindness. Courtesy. Respect. Along with all the other common little niceties, no longer exist.  Not in person,on Facebook or the groups on the site.  And certainly not anywhere else on the web, where anonymity allows us to treat each other so badly.  Without consequence.  

These little things, these little courtesies, the little acts of kindness don't seem to exist these days.  Or, if they do, these little acts of politeness and gentleness toward others, is extraordinarily rare.  And as such, those moments are beyond precious. 

I am not going to try to tell anyone how "perfect and kind" I am.  I'm not. I am just as guilty as the next person of forgetting to be nice when it counts. But, I  try very hard not to hurt people on purpose.  Especially when it comes to subjects I am passionate about.  That doesn't mean I don't recognize my own shortcomings and lack of courtesy at times.

I admit it.  I am not the kindest person on the earth.  But, I am exceedingly tired of being "attacked" for the things I believe passionately.  I wish we would try to be kinder to each other.  We will always disagree about things. That doesn't mean we should rip each other to pieces because of those points of contention. What ever happened to polite discourse?

That old adage of, "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," is dead and gone. Most particularly when it pertains to the Internet and social networking sites.  We have lost out ability to communicate in a meaningful, face to face manner, with kindness and courtesy. 

Maybe we should all make kindness, courtesy and all the other common niceties our personal resolutions for 2013.  I, for one, believe we should try to bring them back...