Part of what makes this place special is the avoidance of political discussions in the forums outside of the designated "Politics" forum. Personal politics are just that: personal. Too often even the most innocent remarks can spark uncomfortable personal attacks disguised as arguments, given the current charged atmosphere. Rather than worry that things will go downhill (which, let's face it--they typically do when politics is injected into most conversations), I'm just going to step in and ask you all to resist the urge to hijack this thread with off-topic discussion. We have a Politics forum if you wish to debate topics in their appropriate place.