Elphaba

This is an excellent topic, JustJess. You really should spend more time here, if this is an example of the contribution you could make.

I have always been the good citizen in terms of voting, but politics didn't become a passion until about five years ago. A very politically driven poster at another forum convinced me that it was irresponsible of me not to understand what I was voting for or against. I was "ripe" to become more politically aware and then came the 2000 election, 9/11, PNAC, Iraq WMD, and the like. My political mentor "John", who is very much of the same fabric as Host, led me to the international press when our main stream press went silent about important issues.

I consider my political persuasion to be "moderate" in that I can find common ground with moderate democrats and moderate republicans. Like several others have said, I am a fiscal conservative and a domestic progressive, and I see no contradiction in the two stances. My votes for president have been fairly equally divided between the two parties with one vote for an independant. I suppose that explains my annoyance when I am swept into the stereotype of "all you damn liberals are alike."

My foreign policy position is much more difficult to describe, but Mentor John influenced it greatly by pointing me to William Blum's, "Killing Hope - US Military and CIA Interventions since World War II." (I have recommended this book on a number of occasions in this forum.) This book has led me to the belief that our foreign policy intrigues have done more harm than good, both to our country and to those we have tried to manipulate. If the author's name seems familiar, it is because another of his books, "Rogue State" was mentioned in bin Laden's last audio.

Count me as another one who reads as much as she can, and I do favor op-ed pieces. I am fortunate to have a regional daily paper that prints two opinion pieces each day by nationally known columnists, one right and one left. My must reads are George Will, Richard Reeves, and Molly Ivans. I only scan those that wear their politics like a chip on their shoulder like Thomas Sowell.

There are a number of contributors to Truth Out that are also must reads primarily due to their credentials: Sidney Blumenthal, Ray McGovern, and Norman Solomon are among my favorites. (You just knew I would have to mention TO.)

Finally, one of my best sources for background, investigative reading was Host. I will never understand why providing sufficient background information to support a belief is contrary to the administration and flow of this forum. (No surprise that I would mention this particular beef, either).