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Why I’m here

By: Viet71 (Diary)  |  February 10th, 2010 at 09:17 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I come here to find my blog voice after three years of arguing and finally being banned on Dkos and FDL.

The tipping point was the Citizens United case.

As a lawyer who studied the case and a bunch of First Amendment cases before it, I could see the case was correctly decided.  I could also see that a lot of lefty activists were misrepresenting both the facts and the  law of the case, in order to whip up anger.  I told these people they were wrong.  They banned me.

I’m not one to shy away from honest debate.  That’s in large part what the  First Amendment is about.

I love the First Amendment.  I have utter contempt for those who would trash it.

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  • Viet71

    E Pluribus: I understand COMPLETELY that RS is not a debating society. My remark was about the dishonesty of the Left.

    My creds:

    – lifetime NRA member

    – believer in small government and low taxes

    – open-minded about climate change

    – voted for Nixon and Reagan and never for a Dem

    — loathed Clinton and feel much worse toward Obama

    Good enough?

    Richard: When I started Dkos and FDL.blogging in 2007, I was politically naive. I only learned about RS after I started blogging on Dkos and FDL. Truth is, folks there say awful things about RS.

    I got into fights all the time but came across a few good people who would fit right in here.

    • Beasley Beesmeal

      I’ll haze you later….

    • Richard Mullins

      even better with all that. You sound so much like a good member here. Dkos hate our guts because they know there wrong. Besides, there suicidally leftist. You might want place your Twitter name in your sig(provided you have one). That way, you’ll be getting on board around here.

      • http://www.dcworksforus.com Kenny Solomon

        You’ll find some gen-u-wine good people here.

        As Mr. Bushmills says, keep it all honestly you and life is beautiful.

        I haven’t had the pleasure of conversing on any of the sites used by the other side of the aisle and I don’t foresee my ever doing so.

        My idea of reaching out to leftists is with one open hand…… and an AR in the other, After a while of hanging out here, you’ll understand why I’m personally at that point.

        Cheers !

        • Viet71

          I prefer the .308 round.

          • http://thesandsinstitute.org Vassar Bushmills

            …actually it goes without saying, but we’re from a time when no one said that.

            Cheers

          • Doc Holliday

            the nose trick with the .308 :)

        • yoyo

          Take it from someone who has been flamed before – save the sarcasm until a couple of members get to know who you are. It will save you some time backtracking and ‘splaining your humor. Just to be safe.

          Thanks for your service, albeit before I was born! And I will forgive you the “Army” part, because it is best to forgive. ‘:o)~

          Again, welcome aboard. Looking forward to your insight and input. 501 conservatives are better than 500.

          • Viet71

            BTW, I’ve got a very thick hide.

    • nessa

      Welcome to RS. Keep your thick skin handy, just in case, lol.

    • hickorystick

      Welcome Viet 71. Rep Tom McClintock posted the other day about the Feds cutting off water rights to Central Valley, I’m interested in following that story if you know anything about it.
      Challenging the integrity of pet issues or candidates is a sure way of making yourself a target. Stay out of the Palin desert right now, questioning her motives is the surest way of becoming another skull alongside the road.

      • Viet71

        Don’t know anything about the Central Valley issue.

    • E Pluribus Unum

      Those are pretty good creds. Just please understand, most of the refugees we get from Kos and FDL (et al) are not conservatives, and not even moderates.

      So you’re a lawyer? We got a few here. Good insights are welcome.

  • http://andrightlyso.com/ civil_truth

    First, though, a warm welcome to RedState.

    Are you a Vietnam veteran? Does the 71 refer to 1971 – and what is the significance?

    You don’t have to answer, of course, but there are a fair number of the Vietnam War generation here at RedState, who have to remind the younger ones of the bad old days – especially since the 60s-70s radicals have taken over the Executive Branch.

    You’ll also really discover the personalities and varying expertise of the regulars here as you follow diaries and comments.

    We’ve had some great diaries and commentary on Global Warming Climate Change already that have quite effectively skewered the claims of its religionists – and exposed their financial interests (follow the money as usual leads to very revealing outcomes).

    Also, know who the moderators are because they define and enforce the rules of the house – we’re all guests here.

    • Viet71

      I was an army military intelligence officer (ROTC, not RA) in II Corps, 15 Sep 71 – 14 Sep 72. Ran and helped run HUMINT collection operationss aimed primarily at getting info about American POWs.

      • Viet71

        not II Corps

      • Justin_Case

        Welcome. I served in the 1/52 198th LIB Americal Division in Southern I Corps in 1970 in an infantry unit.

        You will find several younger vets and active duty soldiers who post here.

        This is a great place for learning.

        • Viet71

          I have been alone and lonely since Viet Nam.

          Great to hear from you.

          • Laura

            …I am one of the 300,000,000 who rest easy and have the rights I try not to take for granted at the cost of you and other “rough men on the wall.”

            Your service is truly not forgotten, and I hope we as a country live up to your hopes for what you fought for.

            God bless you…and welcome, Viet71! I guess time in Vietnam makes time behind the lines at DKos and FDL look like child’s play, but sheesh. You must want a good shower now that you’ve found your way home!

          • Viet71

            You’re correct all the way around, imo, but especially about the last part.

            As for the fights I got into on Dkos and FDL, my attitude was, sticks and stones….

          • joliefleurs

            Thank you, all of you, for all you did and continue to do for all of us.

          • http://erickbrockway.wordpress.com/ Erick Brockway

            USN ’78-’82 (DDG-46), USN Seabees ’94-this year sometime hopefully (Res).Persian Gulf ’81-’82, Iraq ’03.We’re 24/7 between here and Twitter #Hashtag #rs and #rsrh, so you don’t have to be lonely either.

          • belcatar

            I’m just as new as you. I started out as a DKos insurgent myself. It was enormously entertaining at first. I couldn’t believe that there were that many people who believed that stuff, and I took great pleasure in pointing out pesky little facts that poked holes in their fantasy bubble. Lately, it’s just gotten tedious, and I needed to find a place where people use reason, rather than emotion, to address the nation’s problems.

            I was in the Marines during the first gulf war, but it was over before I graduated from my MOS school. I have nothing but respect for anyone who takes up arms in the service of the nation.

          • Viet71

            I really don”t care about political labels.

            I want truth.

            The Leftist leaders don’t.

      • Doc Holliday

        he was there then and other years dropping things on bad people, well at least they were doing bad things at the time.

  • penguin2

    any era. RedState is an amazing community, and a great neighborhood to hang out in. You will find intelligence, knowledge and passion here. Sometimes folks get out the boxing gloves, but they always get untied and put away for another day.

    Welcome :)

    • Viet71

      I am full of ideas for how Republicans can win.

  • Viet71

    I am honored.

    Truth is, I’m honored to be here.

    I’ll try to be a good citizen.

    • discerningconservative

      and welcome to Red State.

    • Viet71

      for my service, thanks in return.

  • Deskpilot

    Here @ RS, the coffee is always warm, and the company is warmer.

    We are here knowing that we have influence. Our value, our strength, and our brand is strong thanks to Erick. RS is respected and feared by the SCM. Erick has no fear in entering the lions den and coming away with a few of their scalps everytime.

    Erick is what the President of the United States should be, representative and respectful of the people and the legacy of the U.S.

    Make good cases and references for your points, diaries, and comments, and you may soon find yourself on the top of the Members Diaries list.

    Salute /:-)

  • Viet71

    The Warbird from Mt. Alaska.

    Cannot rid the image from my mind.

    Darn you.

    • gekster

      The price you pay for freedom off speech.
      And I did say it in jest.

      • gekster

        And you’ll find out that Achance a valuable commodity around here.

      • Viet71

        I was never admitted to that club. But I was invited into to it..

        I dealt with West Point officers, junior and senior, in Viet Nam.

        You have my respect.

        • gekster

          for those who don’t know, RA stands for Regular Army
          I wanted electronics, but the best I could do was Wheeled Vehichle Mechanic.
          In the Infantry at that. Not much marching there.
          I was in Ft Knox in 73, then Ft Dix for AIT (mos 64B20, I think) before my overseas vacation in 74.

          • Viet71

            RA was special.

            As a USAR officer, I always understood I was a notch below an RA officer of the same rank.

            Never bothered me. Just something I noticed and observed.

            How did an EM become RA?

          • gekster

            It’s been a long time

          • Viet71

            Just Viet Nam era speak.

  • E Pluribus Unum

    Just a word to the wise, though. RedState encourages healthy and reasoned discussion, but it’s not a debating society. We’re a conservative/Republican advocacy site. If your leanings are predominantly left, you’d better be good at it, polite, and charming.

  • Richard Mullins

    here, conservative,republican viewpoints. If you remember that, then you should be ok, other wise we’ll have to invoke the Hinz rule on you. We only do that because like good debate not useless rants. I’m wondering why all the posting on Dkos and FDL? Were you infiltrating them and they finally picked up on you?

  • http://thesandsinstitute.org Vassar Bushmills

    One of my first dairies was about reaching out to the Left in polite debate, and got the cold shoulder. But not the bum’s rush.

    But it’s a theme Bernie Chumm (who’s been thrown out of more Leftie sites than I have bars) and I will run by them again…and again…not so much to get them to open up the airways here, as to remind them, as “protectors” of the Constitution, they (we) have a kind of duty to reach out at least a little. Conservative “country clubs” usually end up becoming mutual admiration societies, at which time it will be time for me to go as well.

    But these guys are right, keep it honest, no chants, rants, or vain repetitions, etc. What you believe, especially what you are for, matters to a lot of us.

    VB

  • Viet71

    n/t

  • gekster

    A lot of new people come here and just start trashing the room.
    Some come in and try to rearrange the funiture.
    Read for awhile and get a lay of the land.
    It helps to read the comments in a diary before commenting, (Impossible at times, especially when the mouse pointer is thrice as big as the scroll bar.).

    As a warning, when saying anything nice about Sarah Palin, you risk having The Great War Buzzard from Mt Alaska swoop down on you, tear your body into shreds, stand on you while it picks your eyes out, eats them, then discharges them on your tattered body before flying back to Mt. Alaska to sit and wait for it’s next victum.
    You have been warned.
    (LOL)

  • Viet71

    Where and when?

  • nessa

    that’s awesome. I’ll never be able to read another of his excoriations on any subject without visualizing “The Great War Buzzard.”

  • Beasley Beesmeal

    The Great War Buzzard from Mt Alaska

    LMAO…pic later

  • Laura

    The Great War Buzzard from Mt Alaska! Bwa ha ha ha ha!

    I mean it literally, too…Diet Coke up my nose. I have to read with care or drink only when I refresh….

    Good one!

  • eburke

    Oh, and btw, you owe me a new keyboard. This one has coffee spewed all over it.

    I think janis has some spares lying around a Tennessee truck stop somewhere.

  • DONTREADONME

    of the buzzard from mt Alaska, (LOL)!

  • Achance

    about She Who Was Once Governor (SWOGG) when I can think of something nice about her; happens occassionally. But anyone’s fairly warned that hagiographies might get a reaction.

  • gekster
  • gekster

    second .

  • Viet71

    have acquired a number of West Point Glee Club and Quartet records from the 1950s. I’ve found ‘em in thrift stores mainly.

    Have about 11,000 records and about 25 tube-based record playing systems.

  • aesthete
  • Viet71

    with the Chesterton and Lewis quotes.

  • Brian Hibbert

    I’ve occasionally tried to post at KOS. Last time I was “outed” as an RS poster immediately, though I never never tried to hide it. I was banned after a few replies when I insisted that conservatives are not racists and still stick to the principles of Lincoln and MLK. Of course they also hid my posts. They didn’t want to pollute the minds of anyone who might see a reasonable argument from a conservative.

  • aesthete
  • Viet71

    you were banned.

    I lasted longer. Truth is, much of what the posters there said rang true with me. Distrust of government. Distrust of the major parties. Some gun rights.

    But almost EVERYONE was a sheep willing to be manipulated by the political activists. This hurt me. I wanted people to seek and find the truth. Instead, they sought and clung to lies. It was painful. Some of those people were smart and well educated and well intentioned.

  • qixlqatl
  • http://www.BTWsociety.org racvt

    …fellow Vietnam Vets… even if y’all seem to be young uns’.
    ( I served ’66-67 1st Infantry Div.)
    Sorry I wasn’t able to make that part of the world safe for you all then.

    Clearly, we’re all doing our darndnest to help make the world a better place for all kids now.

  • Viet71

    Lai Khe?

    I retraced my steps in those places when I went back in 1994.

  • Marcus_Traianus

    Don’t put that on your back brother, it was out of your hands. You guys did all that could be expected from super humans.

    Take it from someone who has three family members that served in the Marines (they were the black sheep) during that war.

    God Bless and patriots are always welcome. Just bring your honest debate and verifiable facts.

  • Flagstaff

    If you want to answer off-RS, my email is on my profile. I’d like to talk vinyl with you.

  • Achance

    I still have some vinyl that I acquired “back in the day.” I bought one of those turntables and the software for digitizing them all. The brand name is ion, but I’ve seen what seems to be the same turntable with other brands. I’ve just started doing it and am about a 20% user so far, but I like it. You can leave the scratches and pops in if you like but even the freebie software has some pretty sophistocated cleaning tools. You can get one these days for about $100; you might consider it.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    See if you can get “lossless encoding” when you digitize. It’ll take extra storage space on your computer but you lose nothing in the transition if you do that.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens
  • Achance
  • gekster

    I have undo respect for you and your opinions.
    And it goes without saying you have great knowledge of Alaska and it’s politics.

  • Achance
  • Doc Holliday

    or anyone who really loves their country. I mean, I handle it, but I have a purpose there, I have done them more harm than good I promise.

    Anyone who is honest with himself, and has spent time there, must see that they jump at every opportunity to disparage this country and the military. I know this because I have seen it over and over and over. Sure they will say they care about the troops from time to time, but they post EVERYTHING negative written about any American soldier!

    I still have an account there, but I rarely go anymore, it is just such a depressing place.