Vaughn wrote:
"George Z. Bush" wrote in message
...

Who the hell thinks that? If you take the time to read what I said
(you quoted it above) you will find exactly the opposite idea. This is,
and always has been, an international group. We should not be junking it
up with OT discussions about domestic US politics like the one that started
this thread.

On re-reading what you said, I must confess to a bit of confusion about what
you were trying to say.

Thanks

Actually, though, I don't think that the world is so
uninterested in US politics that it'd be inappropriate to discuss it in NGs
like this.

Only that part that is related to the charter of the group.

We all need to keep in mind when our country roars, other less powerful
or influential nations perforce quake or at least shake a little. They might
very well think that it'd behoove them to pay attention to what's going on
over here in our domestic political lives.

As it would also behoove us to pay attention to what is going on over
there. Remember the "Asian Contagain" when a drop in the Asian stock markets
spread to ours a few years back? But we have many newsgroups that are
appropriate for discussing that sort of thing and where your input would be
very welcome and appreciated.


Of course, it'd only be courteous to identify such OT subjects for the
benefit of foreign
*And Domestic!*
readers who might choose to skip such discussions. However, to
suggest that we ought to keep such discussions out altogether shows no
respect for the rights of Americans to exercise the free speech guaranteed
to all of us by our Constitution's First Amendment.

You have a very warped idea of the First Amendment. Perhaps you need to
go read up on the Constitution. The government has no authority to limit your
right to express yourself, but you are not guaranteed access to any forum of
your choice. For example; you are not allowed to sit in the middle of the
public library and write your own thoughts in the library's books, also the
librarians have the right to enforce that "Silence" sign. You also do not
have the right to insist on speaking without restriction at virtually any
public meeting. Just try it and you will see. Also, you do not have the
right to continue OT chatter that is against the charter of any newsgroup,
even though there my be little that anyone can do about it if you have the
lack of social conscience to persist.

Your problem is that you don't have the right to enforce that charter unless it
was set up for a moderated newsgroup. You might as well get used to the idea
that people will say whatever they feel like in NGs like this completely without
restriction. You're criticizing others who do that while, at this precise
moment, you are doing the very same thing. There isn't a word you've posted in
this exchange that has anything to do with aviation or military other than you'd
like everybody to shut up and stick to those limited areas. That's a bit of a
dichotomy for someone up to his eyeballs in a discussion of the meaning of our
Constitution and/or its First Amendment. Are you suggesting that it's OK for
you to stray from aviation and military to discuss those matters, but nobody
else should? If we all went along with that idea, you'd end up talking to
yourself.

George Z.