"I consider myself a free thinker and do not categorize myself
as a democrat or republican. Frankly it seems to me that those
two parties have melded into some kind of republicrat at best.
Am I liberal or conservative? Again, I find it hard to categorize
myself. I believe what I believe and vote with whomever happens
to share the biggest part of my beliefs....or in the last few elections
who I felt to be the lesser of two evils."

I'm not sure I agree with the comment that the two parties have melded
into some kind of republicat. I see stark differences between the
parties and the very premises from which they begin their discussions.
The Democrats seem to think that government is the answer to every
problem, that most people aren't smart enough to run their own lives
and that my money is really their money. The Republicans seem to
start from the view that the free market economy can take care of '
itself by and large and that government should stay as much out of
people's lives as possible; that the average person IS smart enough
to run their own lives and that with enough drive and determination,
anyone can accomplish anything; and lastly, that the citizens of this
country should be able to keep as much of their own money as possible.

I know this is oversimplifying the two groups, but I don't want to
write a novel on the indivual issues.

You say you're a free thinker, not really a liberal or conservative and
that you vote for whomever matches your beliefs the closest. Or in
the case of the last election, the "lesser of two evils." Can I ask
you, who was the last conservative republican you voted for? I'm betting
there isn't one. My point being that when you say "free thinker" and then
you state the viewpoints you have here, I find it hard to believe
that any of your free thinking has brought you to the same positions
as conservative republicans.


"I think our "free press" is no longer free and we are being fed
propaganda." Keep in mind that the press almost always has and always
will be in it for the ratings. When the polls came out that most of
America supported the war, don't you think that the executives at
the networks said to themselves, "We better be supportive of this war
or we'll killed in the ratings." Another way to say it, "We're gonna
lose a lot of money."

Secondly, aside from Fox News, the other networks are all run by liberals
and have for years been against everything republicans and conservatives
have done. They still are. So to say that ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN
are walking in lockstep with the President it I believe wrong. I just'
don't agree with you. I think what is happening is that most of
America is tired of the liberal slant they have been forced to watch
for most of the last 30 years and now, finally, there is something like
Fox and conservative talk radio. It's backlash to some degree, but
its real.

"I think this war has absolutely nothing to do with the reasons
we have been given." Then what do you think this war is about? Oil?
I think that is ludicrous. Can I ask you this? What did you think
of all the people in the "vast right wing conspiracy" buzzing around
Clinton? Did you find those people to way off base, a little wacky and
basically unfounded in their beliefs about Clinton? Well, to me,
what you posted from Gore Vidal sounds exactly the same way.

I don't have much time to finish my thoughts on this, but specifically
I want to address the following: "'When the theory about learning to fly this well at the puddle-jumper
school began to lose ground, it was added that they received
further training on a flight simulator. THIS IS LIKE SAYING YOU PREPARED
YOUR TEENAGER FOR HER FIRST DRIVE ON I-40 AT RUSH HOUR BY BUYING HER
A VIDEO DRIVING GAME ... THERE IS A STORY BEING CONSTRUCTED ABOUT THESE EVENTS'."
This sounds like a credible statement, except for my own personal
experiences refute it. I worked for about three years for a program
that had a number of jet fighter similuators. On those sims, I learned
from my boss (a former F-14 pilot) and books and manuals all the
complicated ACM (Air Combat Maneuvering) techniques or dogfighting
techniques. Well, I finally had a chance to go to Atlanta and fly in
a real plane with a group called Sky Warriors. Keep in mind, until that
moment, I had never flown a plane before in my life. During the flight,
with the safety pilot in the back and me in the front, I did everything
from loops, to Full Cuban-8s, to barrel rolls, and dogfighting two other
aircraft. I flew the entire time practically myself. Because I had
spent so much time on those flight simulators, I absolutely creamed
the other two people dogfighting against me. And I have a video to
prove it.

My point is this. Planes are not that hard to fly, especially if you
don't intend to land them. Secondly, you can learn a lot without ever
flying a real plane.

You're making too much of all this stuff and letting your fears and
imagination take control of you.

More later.