A Policy Change
In the interest of full disclosure, not because I have to according to the letter of the law (because it's my blog, after all), but rather because I choose to, according to the spirit of the laws of good will, I have deleted several comments made by the soi-disant Gordon the Magnificent. His comments were nasty and utterly off topic and were posted against entries that were about nothing but my own good fortune in friendships. These were my only criteria for deletion.
In the political posts I have made, all of his comments remain intact and unchanged from their original content. I leave them there because to do otherwise would close a forum that, however feckless it has become due to ad hominem and other attacks, should remain open. I leave them intact, and that's better than the posters deserve, better than they would do for me, better than they have done for me in their own forums.
I have no desire for this to be the first step in the same kind of race conditions that are leading us all towards oligarchy in this country. I desire only to continue posting my thoughts and my ideas without being bogged down by a mob.
Perhaps very soon I can abandon even this small but dangerous precedent and go back to welcoming all comers for all reasons. Perhaps good will may prevail in the end.
Until then, I hope you all understand.