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[SJC <indexer AT localnet.com>]

rayzentz AT aim.com wrote:
> I find double standards most irritating.?? Bill and Hilary with Chelsea.?? George with Jenna and Barbara, Barry with Malia Ann and Natasha.?? I don't hear you griping about Obama dragging his children from pillar to post.?? 
>
> What's the real problem, 'cause I certainly don't believe you on this one.
You are, of course, not required either to believe me, or to agree with 
me.  I didn't ask you to, and as far as I know, no one else is asking 
you to, either. 

Whatever, I wonder, gives you the idea that I am holding a double 
standard, assuming that's what you mean by the above statement?  
Whatever, indeed, causes you to believe that I think any of the 
above-named persons are parenting their children well, or not well?  I 
don't believe I've ever indicated anything about my opinions in that 
regard.    Since I've not given any opinion about the parenting 
abilities of the Clinton, Bush, or Obama families, you seem to be 
leaping to conclusions based on your own belief about my opinions.

Opinions and beliefs are individually-held.  They, while important in 
many instances, are not necessarily even correct.  But you can't dictate 
mine any more than I can, or would wish to, dictate yours, Ray.   
Whether or not you believe me doesn't even matter:  they are opinions.  
You could try to change my opinion, but whatever one's opinion is, it 
is.   Undoubtedly you hold opinions I'd not agree with, but they are 
your opinions, part and parcel of Ray, and there's nothing I could do 
about that if I wanted.

My comments about Palin were confined to her behavior in this instance 
because she was the subject at hand, and I stand by them.  They are, of 
course, my comments, based on my own experience/background/beliefs.  You 
don't need to go along for the ride; I presume you  to have your own 
wheels.

It occurs to me that a lot of people seem think this coming election is 
going to have more impact than I think it will have.   Or maybe it's 
something else at work, but at any rate this whole topic seems to have 
people pitting themselves against each other over it.  For the record, 
it's hard to hurt my feelings, and I hope others don't get theirs hurt, 
either.  We're all, thank heavens, individuals entitled to our own 
ideas, free to come and go as we wish from this list, so hopefully this 
current tendency to 'categorize' one another into them/us piles will 
wane.  Lumping folks into groups usually gets us nowhere, in my 
experience---simply delineates division lines, which isn't usually very 
useful for learning to get along with each other.  Like minds are easy, 
comforting, but unlike ideas spark new thinking, alternative 
ways.....there is much value in both, IMHO.

Susan Jane, in Maine