Thursday, October 23, 2008

Folks need to chill out about politics - UPDATE

Pittsburgh political attackAt this point, the fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter whether all of the facts in this story are true (it has yet to be  fully investigated), what matters is that we all realize that:
  1. Whoever wins the election will be president on January 20, and there will be a peaceful transfer of power per our tradition
  2. No matter who wins, we all win by accepting that victory, rallying behind whomever is elected, and if we have disagreements, express them at the ballot box, in the media (including blogs), and in public forums. Peaceful conversation and sharing of ideas, respectfully
  3. We are all Americans. What makes our country great is that we have the right to express ourselves politically without fear of reprisal from the government. When that right is taken from any of us, we all lose.
  4. There are diverse political viewpoints in this country, but we should all assume (unless personally convinced otherwise) that the motives of others are as pure as ours. Don't assume you know another's motivations or morals.
  5. If you don't have enough control of yourself that you become unhinged and/or violent at any disagreement, seek professional help.
  6. Criminals need to be punished.
Freedom is precious, and we all need to stand up, and stand together for the rule of law, and common decency.
--

Nathan 

UPDATE: If you are going to reply to this post with a comment attacking someone across the political aisle, don't expect to get approved. I won't have this site be used in that manner. Read the post, think, then respond if you like.

UPDATE, Friday, 10/24/08: Turns out to be a hoax. To which I say,  please apply point #6 above. Anyone who makes a false report like that needs to be prosecuted. It doesn't invalidate the points made above, it reinforces them.

At a news conference this afternoon, officials said they believe that Todd's injuries were self-inflicted.
Police investigating the report said Todd's story began to unravel early on and they administered a polygraph test.

Investigators asked Todd to return to the police station today for more questioning and to help them release a composite sketch of the suspect.

When she did, police say she admitted that she made the whole thing up and that it snowballed out of control.

Todd told investigators today that she "just wanted to tell the truth" – adding that she was neither robbed, nor attacked.

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