Agreed. As I see it there were some perhaps unbalanced responses in reaction to what can only been seen as bigoted posts heavily tilted towards Iran; I understand where that came from but I don't feel that I should have been associated with those efforts. It is worth pointing out that I did make clear my disagreement with those posts. I directly objected to a number of them. That said, I came into the conversation a bit late and probably should have taken a bit more time to do the background reading.

I am a realist. My approach to politics is strictly in the realpolitik tradition which places US interests above all others (in this regard Nixon was a genius). Note that US interests and US (short term) policy often diverge. That is where I feel citizens must step into the mix in order to help bring policy inline with long term interests. Also note that I usually see US long term interests as being closely aligned with issues of social justice.

So here's to moving past direct assaults and towards more constructive dialogue.

Regards.