Thanks Red,
I logged in tonight only to give you a Big Thumbs Up.
You say it all so well.
Live here and live and let live... there is a political forum to get into fisticuffs :boxing2:
Me? I'm a moderate.
I actually come from a place where there was such a thing as a Liberal Republican... give you three guesses where that was...

Well said Red and Whelan and PT and the lot of you. We are mostly grown ups here who are considerate and respectful of other peoples thoughts, values and politics. It is the FIRST reason I love this place.

I think you will find that any opinion that someone dosen't share is "biased'. We are all biased by our viewpoints. If you don't like to read the opinions of others who differ with you don't read the Opinion Page in The Daily Sun. Read the news and the activities page and call it a day and get your validating political spin from the online pages of The New York Times or The Washington Post. We have plenty of diversity on the web. Is this a great country or what?

I didn't know is was possible to retire from our social responsibilities. I plan to continue my contributions to society until the day I die.

But talking (and arguing about it) isn't in any way shape or form making any contribution to society as far as I can see. I make my contributions but I don't talk politics or religion.

I, too, have grown weary of discussing politics, especially in the style of today. We start counting down election cycles years in advance; cable news, of which I don't watch at all anymore, spends it's time doing point and counter-point style shows, with little fact checking. As TalkHost said in another post, it's about ratings. You put on what sells. Put on the most bizarre, the craziest people, and you have ratings. Everyone loves a train wreck. And with the mergers allowed by big corporations in the media industries and the scrapping of the old rules, they are worried about ratings and money, and little, IMHO, with accurately reporting News.

I have my political beliefs, and will share if asked, and even debate at a philosophical level, but I refuse anymore to be pulled into an argument. Most times with people it's as Dean Martin says during one of his Rat Pack skits with Frank Sinatra. "If you want to discuss facts, I don't want to chitchat."

Back to the original topic, yes there are several Democratic Clubs in The Villages. I've been to some meetings of the Villages Sumter County Democrats held at the Canal Steet Rec center on Saturday. You can check at Canal and they'll give you the time and dates. There is also an active Lake County Villages Democratic club that meets somewhere on the north side. During the presidental elections there were numerous Obama signs in people's house windows along with political events, many held outside The Villages. I've heard the statistic quoted that The Vilages is comprised of 60 percent Repubs, and 40 percent Dems and Indep's.

There is no doubt that The Daily Sun is biased in its reporting. Most people I know just read it for local info, and read other sources of news to get the "real" story.

There is a place for the "loyal opposition" but that does not include outright attacks by either side. And that is it for me!!!

Welcome Friend! Where are you hiding? haha - I've been here 1.5 yrs. and have discovered that if you're a Democrat, you'd best be 'in the closet' in order to live peacefully. Sometimes it is just too much to bear, and I would welcome a club just to be around progressive types. Our new hometown does offer so much and the developers were genius in that vein, however, the media here is so biased, it's laughable. I only subscribe for the activities and don't even read the rest...Boston Globe online is my choice.

Let's face it, the paper is owned by the developer and it is 1) a marketing tool and 2) a megaphone for his political views.
He wants to sell homes, thus a minimal amount of negative news (e.g., a few weeks ago a vehicle plowed through one of the structures in rotary at Buena Vista & Odell; three days later it is minimally mentioned but no info on who the driver was, when it happened, was any ticket issued?).
There is nearly no news about what happens in the state capital and rarely are we told how our elected reps vote on any measure in Tallahassee or Washington. The paper recently noted that our House of Representative person loudly bragged that she voted against the debt ceiling requested by Obama...but neglected to report that she voted for every debt ceiling increase requested by Bush.
His political views are clearly stated by not just the selection of columnists (both home-grown and national) but also the six-figure donations he makes to the GOP and his underwriting of the Palin/Beck gigs at Lake Sumter Landing. He wants business to be completely unfettered by laws and regulations. Are you ready for another Wall Street fiasco bailed out by we common folk? Did our paper tell us that Citizens Wholesale Mortgage took TARP money from the feds?
There is an alternative for news outside of the cocoon: you can get home delivery of the Orlando Sentinel...a fine paper from the Tribune chain.

WALA translated to VIOLA

Now I'm confused. What's all this have to do with a musical instrument?

WALA translated to VIOLA

Voila!

I'm going to guess voilà! (pronounced vwä-lä)). French for HOLY COW!

voilà!