Justa, we are friends, and good ones, but we have many fine musicians that stay here. There are some who do not.

This place is a very fine resource for general and specific knowledge. Ask anyone who never inhabits the BS sections. They can find history, technique, lyrics, chord structures. It is inhabited by the likes of Jean Ritchie, Frank Hamilton, occasionally Arlo, yourself, Rick Fielding, Glen Reid, Jed Marum .... I could go on and on with Irish, English, Scottish, US, Canadians, etc. It is only in the bottom of the page areas that this stuff happens. In my opinion Max's attitude is the right one, with a little tweaking. But not much. If we just want it to be another music forum, then it won't last long. Having an area where we can talk about controversial issues is an important thing. I have been inspired on a number of occasions to write about the subjects we are discussing.

Where it my decision, I would probably be a little harder on MG and GUEST (you know which one) where it comes to the nastiness. But not their views. Martin clearly has a pro Israeli view of the Mideast. He could, if he chose to, be an articulate spokesperson. But his personal nastiness gets in the way. GUEST often is eloquent in the defense of and promulgation of, the "progressive" left position. But the attempts to belittle folks, often with vile language, gets in the way.

The system we have isn't perfect. But it is unique. We attempt to allow the unlimited debate without intervention. This often means that threads can get heated, but that is the way of it when we live in a world that seems as partisan as ours does. Nothing wrong with that. But when it goes personal, or just plain vulgar, that is where we step in. Some folks don't like having arbiters making that decision. Fair enough, but the decisions are always reviewed by others to maintain some sense of fairness and objectivity. Do we always get it right? Nope. Is our intent to try and be fair? Yep.

Should Joe Offer be Cabinet Secretary for Homeland Defense? Yep, but only if the homeland you are talking about is The Mudcat Cafe.

All the best,

Mick