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A Letter from Danny


deeshopper

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I'm not sure why the heck the NFL keeps sending me Potomac Drainage Basin Indigenous People news, but here's the most recent one.

 

March 24, 2014 To Everyone in our Washington Redskins Nation:

Several months ago I wrote you about my personal reflections on our team name and on our shared Washington Redskins heritage. I wrote then - and believe even more firmly now - that our team name captures the best of who we are and who we can be, by staying true to our history and honoring the deep and enduring values our name represents.

In that letter, I committed myself to listening and learning from all voices with a perspective about our Washington Redskins name. I’ve been encouraged by the thousands of fans across the country who support keeping the Redskins tradition alive. Most - by overwhelming majorities - find our name to be rooted in pride for our shared heritage and values.

“There are Native Americans everywhere that 100% support the name,” Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Chairwoman Mary L. Resvaloso told me when I came to visit her tribe. “I believe God has turned this around for something good.” She told me that it was far more important for us to focus on the challenges of education in Native American communities. I listened closely, and pledged to her that I would find ways to improve the daily lives of people in her tribe.

What would my resolve to honoring our legacy mean if I myself - as the owner of and a passionate believer in the Washington Redskins - didn’t stay true to my word? I wanted and needed to hear firsthand what Native Americans truly thought of our name, our logo, and whether we were, in fact, upholding the principle of respect in regard to the Native American community.

So over the past four months, my staff and I travelled to 26 Tribal reservations across twenty states to listen and learn first-hand about the views, attitudes, and experiences of the Tribes. We were invited into their homes, their Tribal Councils and their communities to learn more about the extraordinary daily challenges in their lives.

“I appreciated your sincerity to learn about our culture and the real-life issues we face on a daily basis,” Pueblo of Zuni Governor Arlen Quetawki told us after we toured his reservation. “I look forward to working together with you to improve the lives of Native Americans in any way possible."

The more I heard, the more I’ve learned, and the more I saw, the more resolved I became about helping to address the challenges that plague the Native American community. In speaking face-to-face with Native American leaders and community members, it’s plain to see they need action, not words.

Yes, some tribes are doing well. And in our candid conversations, we learned that we share so much with Indian country. We find their appreciation of history, legacy, caring for their elders and providing a better future for their youth inspirational and admirable.

But the fact is, too many Native American communities face much harsher, much more alarming realities. They have genuine issues they truly are worried about, and our team’s name is not one of them. Here are just a few staggering, heartbreaking facts about the challenges facing Native Americans today:

-- The official poverty rate on reservations is 29 percent, as determined by the U.S. Census.
36 percent of families with children are below the poverty line on reservations, compared with
9 percent of families nationally. Jobs are scarce, and so is genuine opportunity.

-- Rampant diabetes, alcohol and drug abuse, violence, and heightened suicide rates afflict Native American youth, adults, and veterans. Life expectancies in high poverty Native American communities are the lowest anywhere in the Western Hemisphere — except for Haiti.

-- Tribal reservations can lack even the most basic infrastructure that most Americans take for granted. For example, according to the independent, highly respected Millennium Project, 13 percent of Native American households have no access to safe water and/or wastewater disposal, compared with just 0.6 percent in non-native households. Similarly, 14 percent of homes on Native American reservations have no electricity, compared to just 1 percent among non-native households. It is hard to build for a better tomorrow without the basic needs of today.

These aren’t rare circumstances. These are the unfortunate facts found throughout Indian country today.

I’ve listened. I’ve learned. And frankly, its heart wrenching. It’s not enough to celebrate the values and heritage of Native Americans. We must do more.

I want to do more. I believe the Washington Redskins community should commit to making a real, lasting, positive impact on Native American quality of life — one tribe and one person at a time. I know we won’t be able to fix every problem. But we need to make an impact.

And so I will take action.

As loyal fans of the Washington Redskins, I want you to know that tomorrow I will announce the creation of the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation.

The mission of the Original Americans Foundation is to provide meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities for Tribal communities. With open arms and determined minds, we will work as partners to begin to tackle the troubling realities facing so many tribes across our country. Our efforts will address the urgent challenges plaguing Indian country based on what Tribal leaders tell us they need most. We may have created this new organization, but the direction of the Foundation is truly theirs.

Our work is already underway, under the leadership of Gary Edwards, a Cherokee and retired Deputy Assistant Director of the United States Secret Service, as well as a founder and chief executive officer of the National Native American Law Enforcement Association.

Because I’m so serious about the importance of this cause, I began our efforts quietly and respectfully, away from the spotlight, to learn and take direction from the Tribal leaders themselves. In addition to travelling and meeting in-person with Tribal communities, we took a survey of tribes across 100 reservations so that we could have an accurate assessment of the most pressing needs in each community.

The stories I heard and the experiences I witnessed were of children without winter coats or athletic shoes; students in makeshift classrooms without adequate school supplies; text books more than decades old; rampant and unnecessary suffering from preventable diseases like diabetes; economic hardship almost everywhere; and in too many places too few of the tools and technology that we all take for granted every day — computers, internet access, even cellphone coverage.

In the heart of America’s Indian country, poverty is everywhere. That’s not acceptable. We have so much, yet too many Native Americans have so little.

Our work has already begun:

-- As the bitter Arctic winds swept across the Plains this winter, we distributed over 3,000 cold-weather coats to several tribes, as well as shoes to players on boys and girls basketball teams.
“It’s been one of the coldest winters on record,” Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Vice Chairman Boyd Gourneau told me. “The entire Tribe is so appreciative of the coats we received for our youth and elders. It’s been such a great relationship, and we hope it grows.”

-- We assisted in the purchase of a new backhoe for the Omaha Tribe in Nebraska. The Tribe will now be able to complete the burial process for their loved ones even in the coldest winter months, as well as assist in water pipe repairs which, without a functioning backhoe, has left the tribe without water -- for days.

These projects were the first of many and we currently have over forty additional projects currently in process. We look forward to telling you more about these as our work proceeds.

For too long, the struggles of Native Americans have been ignored, unnoticed and unresolved. As a team, we have honored them through our words and on the field, but now we will honor them through our actions. We commit to the tribes that we stand together with you, to help you build a brighter future for your communities.

The Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation will serve as a living, breathing legacy - and an ongoing reminder - of the heritage and tradition that is the Washington Redskins. I’m glad to be able to launch this vital initiative today.

With Respect and Appreciation, DMS-signature-DAN.png Dan Snyder

P.S. Throughout this journey, there have been many incredible moments. One of my favorite fan moments took place in Gallup, NM - to the cheers of dozens of Washington Redskins fans. As Pueblo of Zuni Governor Arlen Quetawki noted, “We even had an unprompted welcoming party of Washington Redskins fans from Zuni and Navajo greet you when you departed from the airport!” The passion and support for the Burgundy and Gold throughout the country has been overwhelming.

 

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Yeah I like the line towards the end...

 

"For too long, the struggles of Native Americans have been ignored, unnoticed and unresolved. As a team, we have honored them through our words and on the field, but now we will honor them through our actions. We commit to the tribes that we stand together with you, to help you build a brighter future for your communities."

 

He didn't say the struggles of the redskinned people

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/03/25/oneida-indian-nation-responds-to-new-redskins-foundation/

 

 

Oneida Indian Nation responds to new Redskins foundation

On Monday, Redskins owner Daniel Snyderlaunched a foundation aimed at providing aid and assistance to Native Americans. On Tuesday, the Native American group most loudly opposing the team’s name responded.

“We’re glad that after a decade of owning the Washington team, Mr. Snyder is finally interested in Native American heritage, and we are hopeful that when his team finally stands on the right side of history and changes its name, he will honor the commitments to Native Americans that he is making,” Oneida Indian Nation representative Ray Halbritter said in a press release.

“We are also hopeful that in his new initiative to honor Native Americans’ struggle, Mr. Snyder makes sure people do not forget that he and his predecessor George Preston Marshall, a famous segregationist, have made our people’s lives so much more difficult by using a racial slur as the Washington team’s name.”

Snyder’s gesture will do little to change the minds of those who firmly have decided that they are for or against the continued use of the team’s name. His target audience presumably resides in the middle, where folks either don’t have an opinion on the team’s name or haven’t adopted the opinion so strongly that change is unlikely.

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Aren't you over in Howard Co? If so Bmore and Wash are fighting over that area.

 

Yes, but I'm not sure why the NFL would send me a Washington press release when they have me listed as a Ravens follower. I've never received anything Ravens-related from them.

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They are very good about IDing who is interested in what. Google et al are very good at tracking what we look at.

 

Well shit, why am I not getting pictures of boobs sent to me every day then? Maybe I need to google boobs for 12 hours a day instead of 11 to get on the mailing list.

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PS. Redskin Nation, In the meantime if you have unwanted tickets you can now sell them on game day to others in a safe secure area covered from the weather and elements. Just stop on by the Redskins Scalpin' Tee Pee to sell those unwanted tickets! Cash only, no beads or gems!

 

Dan "Im Takin' This Stuff Seriously" Snyder

Edited by Spen
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/redskins/2014/03/25/daniel-snyder-washington-redskins-original-american-foundation/6885161/

 

 

 

Critics: Redskins' Snyder misguided with foundation

 

Clinical psychologist Michael Friedman thinks Daniel Snyder is running a classic misdirection play with his newly created foundation that will give money for select American Indian causes.

Snyder said in a letter to fans of his Washington NFL team that the foundation, formally announced

Tuesday, was born of his discovery that American Indians live with high rates of poverty, suicide and alcoholism.

LETTER: Snyder seeks "to do more"

"Racial discrimination is one of the things that perpetuates these kinds of problems," Friedman told USA TODAY Sports. "It is a false dichotomy to say Native Americans have to decide between either working on problems like poverty or being concerned about a dictionary-defined racial slur. By juxtaposing that, he seems to be trying to say that you can't do both."

Friedman's social science research shows a link between use of racial epithets such as the one he calls the R-word and the self-esteem of native peoples, which he said is precisely what's at stake with such pernicious issues as suicide and alcoholism.

Snyder's letter said that Native American communities "have genuine issues that they are truly worried about, and our team's name is not one of them."

"Imagine when the Miami (Dolphins) bullying scandal broke, if anyone said: 'Doesn't the African-American community have more important things to worry about than Richie Incognito using racial slurs?'" Friedman said. "That would have been absurd."

The National Congress of American Indians issued a statement that said it was "encouraged to see that after decades of insisting their team name supposedly honors Indian country, the Washington football team's owner is dedicating time and resources to the challenges facing tribal nations.

"However, this foundation will only contribute to the problems in Indian country if it does not also address the very real issue of how native people are consistently stereotyped, caricaturized, and denigrated by mascot imagery and the use of the R-word slur."

The letter said that Snyder and his staff visited 26 reservations over the last four months where he learned about the endemic problems facing American Indians.

"He's just finding out? Really?" said Suzan Shown Harjo, a leading figure in a long-running trademark suit against the Washington team name. "It's not like it was a secret to anyone. This just shows he was losing the PR battle and so he's going to throw money at it."

The letter said the name of the new entity is the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation.

"Why didn't they call it the R-word Foundation, if they're so proud of that name and say that it honors us so much?" Harjo said. "But they didn't, did they?"

Oneida Indian Nation representative Ray Halbritter, who runs an organized campaign against the team name, said he wondered how Snyder addressed American Indians when he visited their reservations.

"In all these trips, is he really calling people the R-word?" Halbritter said. "Does he hand out a gift and say, 'Here you are, you poor R-person'?"

Betty McCollum, Democratic co-chair of the Congressional Native American caucus, issued a statement that said the NFL and its Washington franchise "have exploited a racist Indian caricature, turning it into a billion dollar brand while completely ignoring the needs of real Native American children, families, and elders. Now, team owner Dan Snyder wants to keep profiting from his team's racist brand and use those profits to attempt to buy the silence of Native Americans with a foundation that is equal parts public relations scheme and tax deduction."

Gary Edwards, who will run the foundation, is described in the letter as a Cherokee and retired deputy assistant director of the U.S. Secret Service. Edwards said the foundation affords him a platform to help more people in a short time than he ever thought he could in a lifetime.

"I'm concerned with helping people," Edwards said. "Is there any downside to helping people?"

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/03/27/washington-redskins-orginal-americans-gary-edwards-inspector-general/6983217/

 

 

Redskins foundation head drew criticism in I.G. report

The head of the Washington NFL team's new foundation for Native Americans also oversees an association that a 2012 government report said provided "no benefit" in exchange for almost $1 million in federal funds intended to help Native Americans.

Gary Edwards, a Cherokee and retired member of the U.S. Secret Service, was hired to run the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation, a charity created by team owner Daniel Snyder. The charity aims to assist Native Americans as Snyder continues to rebut criticism that his team's nickname is offensive.

"Even though I am a Vikings fan, I hope Dan Snyder does more background research on his team's potential draft picks than it appears he did on his foundation's CEO," U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), a co-chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus, told USA TODAY Sports.

MORE: Snyder announces foundation to help Native Americans

MORE: Critics say Snyder misguided with foundation

Edwards is CEO of the National Native American Law Enforcement Association (NNALEA), a nonprofit whose contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs was scrutinized in a report by the federal Office of Inspector General. The May 2012 report said that the NNALEA took advantage of the government in a contract that called for the NNALEA to help recruit "critically needed" law enforcement officers to work in Indian Country.

The government "received no benefit when they awarded a recruitment services contract to NNALEA, thus wasting almost $1 million," the report states.

The report says the NNALEA provided the government with 748 applications, "none of which were of use to" the Office of Justice Services, the report states.

The government reviewed 514 of the applications for various requirements. Of those, the report states that 104 of the applicants were too old or too young.

The report does not mention Edwards by name, but instead refers to him as NNALEA's CEO.

"NNALEA's CEO stated that he would focus his recruitment efforts in Indian Country," the report stated. "We found that recruitment in Indian Country was ineffective, with only 22 of 514 applicants (or about 4 percent) having Indian preference."

The report mostly blames the government's Bureau of Indian Affairs, saying management failures led to a "poorly written contract… developed in conjunction with the NNALEA."

In a statement released on Thursday night by the football team, Edwards responded, "The NNALEA believes it met and exceeded all of its obligations under the contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Justice Services, and subsequently was paid after the contract was completed."

Team spokesman Tony Wyllie said the club had no additional comment. In a previous interview posted on the team's website, general manager Bruce Allen said, "We have the right leader in Gary Edwards."

Allen said Snyder introduced Edwards at the recent NFL meetings in Orlando and said Edwards received a rare round of applause from team owners.

Oneida Indian Nation representative Ray Halbritter criticized the hiring of Edwards.

"This is part of a disturbing – but sadly not surprising – pattern of behavior," Halbritter told USA TODAY Sports. "First Mr. Snyder insisted that a dictionary-defined racial slur is a way to honor Native Americans… and now he has hired a person who has financially harmed Native Americans to run a foundation to defend his team's name. These aren't accidents – this is a systemic campaign to denigrate Native Americans, orchestrated by a team owner who will stop at nothing to keep the team's name."

The report said that after government officials initially interviewed Edwards about the contract, he declined to be interviewed further on advice of counsel.

Among other findings in the report:

— ''When NNALEA's CEO proposed significant modifications to the statement of work, BIA officials simply accepted them in part because they said that they were under pressure to get the contract out."

— "NNALEA reported that it conducted an onsite recruiting event at the Crow Fair Celebration, held August 13-17, 2009. The contracting officer's technical representative, however, told us that they attended the Celebration and did not observe a NNALEA recruiting booth or representative in attendance."

— "NNALEA reported that it placed recruiting advertisements in the Aberdeen News, a news publication that is circulated in South Dakota, for October 11, 2009, and October 18, 2009. An Aberdeen News representative, however, told us that they had no record of NNALEA placing the advertisements."

To address the problems, the report recommended that the government's Bureau of Indian Affairs improve the management of its contracting program.

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  • 4 weeks later...

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/04/22/snyder-says-team-name-isnt-an-issue-halbritter-disagrees/

Snyder says team name isn’t an issue, Halbritter disagrees

When it comes to the Redskins name, the two sides have become as entrenched as they can be. The question becomes whether enough folks who don’t have an opinion — and enough of those who have an opinion but not a strong one — will ever swing one way or the other.

Until then, the team will continue to defend the name, and the opponents of the name will continue to challenge it.

On Tuesday, owner Daniel Snyder revisited the topic, from the perspective of the foundation that recently was created to assist Native American tribes.

“We understand the issues out there, and we’re not an issue,” Snyder said in rare public remarks, via the Associated Press. “The real issues are real-life issues, real-life needs, and I think it’s time that people focus on reality.”

Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter has responded to the remarks.

“If Dan Snyder thinks it is acceptable for a billionaire to market, promote, and profit off of a dictionary defined racial slur, then he’s living in an alternate universe,” Halbritter said in a press release. “If he wants to focus on reality, here’s a reality check: The longer he insists on slurring Native Americans, the more damage he will keep doing to Native American communities, and the more he will become synonymous with infamous segregationist George Preston Marshall, who originally gave the team this offensive name.”

The opposition to the team’s name, which has lingered for more than 20 years, gained momentum in 2013, fueled in part by Snyder’s aggressive “all caps NEVER” position on when the name will change. A high-stakes P.R. game has followed, with the Redskins spending plenty of money and effort to shape their message, and the opponents of the name spending plenty of money and effort to fight the name.

The issue will continue to percolate until the name changes, or until the opponents grow weary of the effort. It doesn’t appear that either will happen any time soon.

 

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I would like to see him change the name to the "Washington Savages", or the "Washington Scalphunters" and see if they like that better.

Heck, just call them the "Washington Whiteskins" and you'll never hear a peep out of anyone.....

So ridiculous it's laughable, they might want to look in the mirror and see that they do have red skin, what are they ashamed of their color or their heritage ?

And before the 3 butt buddies chime in, I am 1/4 Cherokee Indian, so save it for the crapper....

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So I could call you an Asshole and you couldn't get offended because we'll... Part of you is one. Right?

 

 

But more seriously, classic case of not understanding privilege above. First and foremost, I couldn't care less about who is offended if anyone. I care much more about what is simply and plainly right. The term is and was a racial slur traditionally used in a derogatory manner. We don't get to just decide otherwise.

 

A friend on here once argued that, "when I hear redskin I don't even think of native Americans anymore " ... Therefore the term doesn't matter and we can move on.

 

It would be nice if history and morality worked that way, but they plainly do not. What that statement reflects is really the sentiment that, "I forgot my past transgressions, so should everyone else." It's a hoax and a fallacy. In fact, what that really represents is that we clearly do not even engage our understand our own past week enough.

 

Personally I think we should all think of the atrocities committed against native Americans every time we hear that word. Instead we run from it. We get to say, "oh it doesn't matter!" Ignoring the term's past is a privilege of not having to face the consequences of it because, well, we are in charge. But ignoring the terms meaning is mainly us covering our own asses and the truth of our history of destroying those cultures.

 

Comparable to "whiteskins?" False on many levels. It's more comparable to using anti Semitic terms and saying, "oh I didn't know these were offensive anymore!"

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So I could call you an Asshole and you couldn't get offended because we'll... Part of you is one. Right?

 

 

But more seriously, classic case of not understanding privilege above. First and foremost, I couldn't care less about who is offended if anyone. I care much more about what is simply and plainly right. The term is and was a racial slur traditionally used in a derogatory manner. We don't get to just decide otherwise.

 

A friend on here once argued that, "when I hear redskin I don't even think of native Americans anymore " ... Therefore the term doesn't matter and we can move on.

 

It would be nice if history and morality worked that way, but they plainly do not. What that statement reflects is really the sentiment that, "I forgot my past transgressions, so should everyone else." It's a hoax and a fallacy. In fact, what that really represents is that we clearly do not even engage our understand our own past week enough.

 

Personally I think we should all think of the atrocities committed against native Americans every time we hear that word. Instead we run from it. We get to say, "oh it doesn't matter!" Ignoring the term's past is a privilege of not having to face the consequences of it because, well, we are in charge. But ignoring the terms meaning is mainly us covering our own asses and the truth of our history of destroying those cultures.

 

Comparable to "whiteskins?" False on many levels. It's more comparable to using anti Semitic terms and saying, "oh I didn't know these were offensive anymore!"

No surprise, the chief butt buddy shows up first with another of his feminine views.....You need to click your heals Dorothy, this is the real world, not a make believe tv show, and there is and will always be things that offend in one way or another.....You are the biggest phony on here with your I don't think we should say anything to offend someone yet all you do is follow me around like a puppy dog trying your best to offend me....

Problem is, I know a wus when I encounter one, and you are nothing more than another coward hiding behind your facade of being some moral saint...... You're about as righteous as a pile of cow dung.....Have a nice day, puppet boy.....snicker !!!!

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I would like to see him change the name to the "Washington Savages", or the "Washington Scalphunters" and see if they like that better.

Heck, just call them the "Washington Whiteskins" and you'll never hear a peep out of anyone.....

So ridiculous it's laughable, they might want to look in the mirror and see that they do have red skin, what are they ashamed of their color or their heritage ?

And before the 3 butt buddies chime in, I am 1/4 Cherokee Indian, so save it for the crapper....

Was the Native American in that old ad crying because you claim similar heritage?

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Was the Native American in that old ad crying because you claim similar heritage?

And butt buddy 2, better known as the coward of the county.....One thing is for sure, you have no Indian in you, only Fairy Dust....

 

coward.jpg Meeeeeow Meeeeeow.......hahahahahahahahahehehehehehohohoho....Soooo easy !!!!

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I'm not going to stick around in this thread. It's an opinion thread so let opinions be opinions. But three parting thoughts:

 

1. If you actually read my post, you'd read that I literally said it had nothing to do with who finds it offensive. It has everything in my mind to do with institutional injustice. We erased a culture and nearly eliminated a race - in some cases we did entirely eliminate civilizations - but no one ever thinks about it. I think that's sad. We're taught to remember the Holocaust and the Irish Potato Famine and all these other injustices, but we turn native americans into sidekicks in movies and half-witted friends who need our help and ignore the realities of our history with them. As has been discussed in a different thread (not even on a Redskins topic), Andrew Jackson destroyed so many of these groups and we put him the $20. I simply think the name "Redskins" is another in a long line of Americans not even realizing or recognizing who they are.

 

2. If you think I am offended by you calling me feminine or insinuating I'm gay, that's fine. It says more about you than me. I honestly couldn't care less. I don't particularly care what a "tough guy" says is manly or not. In fact, as I said in my post, I view it as an issue of "right and wrong" more generally anyway. You did prove me wrong on one thing though, you jumped straight from step 1 to step 4.

 

3. I still don't understand why you seem to think you get to control who responds to you. While I can't speak for anyone else, I'm not seeking you out. This is all of the second thread you're in that I've responded to? But I must be after you. If you want a place to share your opinion without hearing others', a message board is probably not the place. Go start a blog. Even in a thread where my post was entirely on the substance of yours, you jump up as if we're about to throw down (woohoo!). Your post even included an attempt to incite, which I ignored. But apparently, now that we're "sworn enemies" of the message boards, anything I post that doesn't agree with you must be vanquished! This isn't a fifth grade playground. I don't have a nemesis. I was responding to a thread. Grow up.

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