<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Elwood,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>>I feel the same way about President = Bush as Sarah does about Kerry.  Does that mean I'm = unpatiotic?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Why would it mean that?  I don't understand.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>You are correct that it is patriotic = for you to speak out, even though I don't agree with your point of view, and take = issue with many points of your history over the past 4 years.  I'll = credit you with being better informed with Larry, who apparently didn't hear about = the huge STOCK MARKET CRASH that wiped out a large chunk of my = investment portfolio.  I bet even Fox News covered that one!</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Frankly, I'd like to get past this = "label" debate.  Perhaps I'm simply getting kinda queazy speaking Republicanese.  To put this into perspective, the United Parcel = Service (UPS) has a trademark on the color brown.  (No, I'm not kidding, = and it's a sore temptation to talk about trademark infringements by bulls here -- = at least when they're not consuming green grass.)  Similarly, the Republican = party thinks it has trademarks on the terms "patriot," "conservative," "American," "family," and "values."  It has laid claim to = those terms and has contorted them until they've lost all meaning.  I hate = that!  I believe all those terms apply to *me*, a fiscally conservative, = socially liberal, American patriot who values her family greatly, but I = cannot in good conscience support most of what the Republican party is = about.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Over the past 25 years or so, the = Republican and Democratic parties have changed direction.  Republicans are now = socially regressive, not socially conservative.  To be socially = conservative would be to preserve the status quo, but now the party is trying to = dismantle the provisions of our Constitution that our founders felt were = so important -- regressive, IMO.  The Democrats, on the other hand, have a = long history of being socially progressive (a.k.a. liberal), trying to expand = civil rights, but now they are trying to maintain the status quo (i.e. conservative).  Some are have even joined Republicans in their = regressive bent.   On the financial front, Democrats are the = new champions of fiscal conservatism, doing responsible things like trying = to balance the budget and save for the future.  Republicans, on the = other hand, have become fiscally irresponsible -- not "conservative" or = "liberal," but just plain irresponsible!  If the Republican party were a person, = we would take away its credit cards and refer it to debt management counseling.  So strangely enough, the Democrats have become the new = conservatives on the block, both socially and fiscally.  Weird, = eh?  I really miss the days that Democrats were idealistic and could = proudly proclaim they were Liberal (with a capital "L").</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My point?  The same tired ol' = terminology doesn't apply anymore.  So can't we stop throwing around all these = dumb labels?   We're all patriots here, OK?  If we are = passionate enough to argue these points, certainly we care about our = country.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As far as I'm concerned, that's my = wind-up -- unless someone really pisses me off by continuing to rag on Kerry's = patriotism (or alleged lack thereof).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Peace -- and Joy! back at'cha = ;-)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sarah</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>