" Karl, Brew - Well said, and they deserved every bit of that.

Those people really need help.

CM, how is your daughter more patriotic than I am? For one thing you know little about me except for what I post here. I could easily argue based on what you post that you and your family are much LESS patriotic by supporting an illegal and immoral war and an administration that uses the constitution for toilet paper.

You are BLIND and don't have a CLUE cm! "

" The first lie out of the mouth of a racist is "I am not a racist." The confederate flag is a symbol of black oppression just as the nazi flag is to Jews. You guys are the same morons that are opposed to native americans rights. This country owes the people it oppressed. That is a fact, deal with it. You are a bigot, deal with it. If you take the text of Reverand Wright's speech and substitute white for black it would not be true. And black churches are not segregated, I have been to AME Zion services before and was welcomed. "

" cm, movedsouth, and Missey--ignorant straw-brains like you guys give me pains in my stomach, spouting off all you Faux-inspired demeaning rationalizations and generalizations--"TYPICAL" O'Reilly SHEEP!!!
YOu three sound so stupid, honestly!--do you even recognize the unquestioning way you've bought into the subtly-racist propaganda spewed by slick closet-racists like the SCUM over at Faux News?
TWO of their OWN ANCHORS over there recently walked off the set because of the racist remarks by two other simpletons over there who were dishing out the racist crumbs for well-trained, slavering doggies like you three!
I can't seriously believe that you three just put your "names" into print beside such idiotically-crafted "talking points" which are specifically designed to inflame and incite simpletons who can't think or research beyond the inflammatory statements.
You know--I don't have the patience this morning to educate you three on why programs were instituted to help blacks crawl out of the holes that were dug for them after the overt Racism of Jim Crow Laws and in the early part of the last century, or to explain why it was inevitable to have the 1960's race riots in order for blacks to call attention to the lingering Racism that lay throughout society like a putrid sludge. My rant against the post here was because THAT REMARK was EXACTLY the kind of inflammatory RACIST remark which whips up the morons like you three. It's simple, it's emotional, and it's ignorant--and you people fall right in line like sheep marching to the drums of a shepherd-demagogue.
Do yourselves a favor--do some research into the root causes of Black poverty, the "Justice System" regarding Black people, and maybe you'll leave just a little of your smug, White superiority complexes and your phony persecution complexes behind. YOu honestly make me want to hurl. "

" The states of Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, and North Carolina have come forth to "Apologize" (yet not using that exact word" to blacks for their states role in slavery
AKA opening the doors to PAY reparations to the decendants!

Why are WE today even thinking about PAYING for what was done 100 years ago??????
My share of tax-paying dollars about to be spent yet I DID not nail a slave ears to a post and whip him for stealing!!
I don't think so!!!! "

" neighbors dog--in a fenced yard- barked for 20 minutes straight-
no biggie--their yard is on the corner where the school bus arrives!!!
"

" Karl, I do have a flag on the front of my car, it's the American flag. I never said or gave any impression I was aggrieved, no one took a slice of my life, I got what I worked for. I always believed we were all created equal and have equal rights to the path in life we choose. I have no problem with FOX news, the people you call racist scum. The 8pm spot is watched by more people than all the other cable news stations combined. Believe me, my mind, eyes, and heart are open. "

" Karl
If a white preacher said what Obama's preacher said(substituting black where he said white), the NAACP and the federal hate crimes people would be all over it.
Since it was a black person preaching hate, it was OK.
In case you didn"t know it there is reverse discrimination in this country.
We can no longer be expected to pay for the sins(slavery), that happened 145 years ago.
To the black militants, please remember that many New York's died in the Civil War so that your ancestors could be free. "

" Today's discussion of race goes to support the thesis of (African-American author) Stephen L. Carter that Affirmative Action is no better for blacks than whites. I just finished a novel by this same author in which all the main characters are part of the "darker nation's elite" -- i.e. wealthy and privileged African-Americans. So, it really doesn't cut it to say Blacks (aka usually poor). I'm sure the precentage of low-income African-Americans is higher than among European-Americans, and we can debate the reasons ad infinitum, but there are still plenty of working-class, middle-class and wealthy African-Americans too.

Because there's a prison in Auburn, which attracts a whole criminal support network inside and outside the prison, and because more prisoners are black from low-income backgrounds (again, another whole discussion), it may FEEL to some folks in Auburn that you can almost equate blacks with poverty, but that really isn't a fair assessment across the board. That's a prejudice, when you pre-judge someone by assuming because s/he is black, s/he is most likely poor.

I have nothing good to say about Al Sharpton or his likes, but it's because he is a dangerous jerk who hypes lies and plays the race card as a game to destroy lives and careers for political reasons -- not because he is African-American. The fact that he is black is an issue with him because he makes it his issue, but it's not why I dislike the man.

There's the difference -- dislike an individual for their actions or words, which may include race words and issues, but not because of his/her race.

Re: Glass houses -- the paper won't print any allusion to something in the letter-writer's past, so my hands are tied from defending my comment. I know zip about Brandstetter, however, and therefore refrain entirely from judgement on that end.

AJ -- I have no doubt that atrocities such as you describe happen in every war -- and are perpetrated by every side. But as the saying goes, the victors write the history books so we only hear about the "war crimes" of those on the losing side (and during war, propaganda insures we only hear of the atrocities of the other side). These are the reasons so many soldiers come back messed up in the head -- actions which would be unthinkable in daily civilian life are accepted as part of life in war, making the transition from one environment to the other difficult for many soldiers. And, of course, witnessing, living through and participating in carnage leaves a traumatic scar which some manage better than others, but it leaves no one unaffected. "

" Wow when were we given notice that the cable rates were rising yet AGAIN? "

" wow-- karl did a black cat crawl up yours??
would you call your rantings POST-BAITING?

1.Confederate Flag is a flag in history. It is no different than any other flag-some people respect it and others dont-FREEDOM OF CHOICE!

2.You seriously "cried like a bottlebaby" about a "remark about black churches and voters" to the paper?--FREEDOM OF SPEECH!

3. Blacks(aka usually poor) do get alot of breaks in todays life. Drive down Orchard and James st, see the stoops full of hard working people getting FREE rent, free food stamps, and free medical care. FREEDOM OF LIFE!

4. stats may be higher for whites in school because more blacks are in jail-FREEDOM OF CHOICE!

I am not racist but everyday in the news there's some jackson or sharpton or wright that blahs blahs blahs on the poor blacks, heck even Bill Cosby Got shafted for speaking the truth about his own color, blacks called him a white person wannabe!
Cosby is a man that worked thru his struggles and made his life what it is, he had help for which he is grateful for. Not like others who expect to sit on the stoop waiting for their check to arrive from the state!

AJ-she has more patriotism in her baby toe than you have in whole cowardless body!
And please get the other half of karls black cat out of yours!

"

" While on tank patrol through the narrow streets of Abu Ghraib, just west of Baghdad, Pfc. Clifton Hicks was given an order. Abu Ghraib had become a "free-fire zone," Hicks was told, and no "friendlies" or civilians remained in the area. "Game on. All weapons free," his captain said. Upon that command, Hicks's unit opened a furious fusillade, firing wildly into cars, at people scurrying for cover, at anything that moved. Sent in to survey the damage, Hicks found the area littered with human and animal corpses, including women and children, but he saw no military gear or weapons of any kind near the bodies. In the aftermath of the massacre, Hicks was told that his unit had killed 700-800 "enemy combatants." But he knew the dead were not terrorists or insurgents; they were innocent Iraqis. "I will agree to swear to that till the day I die," he said. "I didn't see one enemy on that operation."

more at the link:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080407/wintersoldier
Just how do you war/occupation supporters sleep at night? "

" movedsouth---did you "move South" so you could display your Confederate Flag in your pickup truck's window right next to the noose?
You damned whiny crybaby--are you really going to dare to presume to complain here about how you've been aggrieved by the "Black Man"?!?! About how you and yours have lost out in life because of some black person who got your slice of the pie?! Cut me a break and spare me your crocodile tears, you G*ddamned whiner!
What are the statistics on white college numbers versus black college numbers, Einstein? Yeah sure--the Blacks are just THROWIN' white folks out of college left and right cuz they got ALL the breaks, right? WAAAAAAAA!!!
I have nothing but the most deep and bitter contempt for ANY HYPOCRITE who feigned "outrage" at the "typical white person" remark! Like you yourself haven't used the adjective "typical" to define a set of parameters for any individual or group even?
"Typical Polack"
Typical Italian"
Typical Catholic"
Typical Atheist"
EVERYBODY USES THE TERM!!! In varying degrees, with various inflection and conviction! Even ME! JUDGE ME AS YOU SEE FIT! Grow up and DEAL WITH IT! Don't even expect me to believe that your mock outrage is genuine!
Here's a clue movedsouth--turn off Faux News and those racist scum on that channel, and open your eyes, mind and heart a bit! "

" Missed my point as usual, movedsouth. Please go back to school or something to work on your reading comprehension, you're really bad at it. "

" AJ, do you not understand that we have volunteer Armed Forces? We all choose our paths in life, if we don't join the Armed forces, that DOESN'T MEAN SHE IS NOT PATRIOTIC! If you believe so strongly against what the country is doing, why don't you openly join some protest organization? Best of luck cm with you and your family. "

" Karl, try replacing BET with WET, United Negro College Fund with White College Fund. IS THAT RACIST? Let's report what is real, you seem to have free access. Obama said his Grandmother is a typical white person. Did that ever make in the local paper? "

" I actually just phoned Editor Jeremy Boyer about the disgustingly racist remark about black churches and voters. Somewhere in the Citizen's editorial shed, there's a tool that needs sharpening---bad!
Citizen editors, I ask you--who the hell is the idiot in the room over there who lets a broad-brush, all-encompassing racist remark like that slip through?
SERIOUSLY?!?!
What do you people thunk--that only White people read the Citizen Two Cents online?!
Try replacing the "black" in that asinine comment with "Italian", or "White" and see the uproar you would get!
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??? "

" I guess then that she really doesn't feel ALL that strongly that we are being "threatened". "

" Actually AJ, she was considering joining the army, we met with recruiter at our house. But at the end of high school she met a guy who talked her out of NOT leaving him. Since he's very secure in his job, good pay and benefits, and in the name of "love" they have a great life together.
She does however, stay very close to a friend who is in Iraq and we are always sending good packages for the unit to enjoy!!
"

" I can't believe she's not over fighting in Iraq cm. Isn't she patriotic cm? /snark "

" hmm j roget type turf...cheap stuff!!

Now regarding this Brandstetter issue. From what I have read posted by others and my own feelings, the glass house situation d/n hold up. Most feel negatively about it. The editor of this paper admitted he struggled with the issue because this man is a public figure. Its really kind of an oxymoron to be an individual who votes to potentially raise the taxes for all his neighbors however he is the one who can not pay the taxes assessed and then asks said neighbors to aide him. To visualize, its like a person who shoves people off a cliff then slips and falls themselves and then asks the ones who survived to help him! The deliquent tax rolls are public info and there are MANY people on them however when the September public auction time comes nye, a vast majority get their taxes paid WITHOUT crying for help. This man admitted he has seasonal employment which in my book means you are able and available for another job - there are online capabilities now. I know several families that live like this. Even my mother did but she d/n let on she was having probs and was able to get a bank loan to pay for the taxes. A bad idea as that catches up w/u fast. Tuff times befall all of us at one time or another and I dont know of one single person that went this route. "

" Fg, I agree about Brandstetter its totally up to the individual if he/she wants to donate.
I have known a few now cancerous people that beg for help when in the past their police record is way too long to read. I dont begrudge them for asking.
Its my choice or Not to give! "

" "champagne taste on a beer bottle wallet."

that's how all politicians think too!
lol "

" The Mayor of Detroit has about as much to do with leading the country as political party affiliation has to do with sex scandals.. or have you so soon forgotten Mark Foley and Larry Craig, just to name a couple? "

" Today's news, The Rev Wright, Obamas minister, was supposed to appear in FL, to speak at a church but canceled when there wouldn't be enough security.
Apparently, the county sheriff's said it was the city of Tampa's police dept. jurisdiction. The police dept. agreed to provide, with the county sheriff as back-up if needed.
Their services would include crowd control and the church would have to hire private-duty for parking control.
What was NOT included was airport to church escort, or escorts visiting other locations, and escort back to airport.

Is this the president?
I would think if you WANT or feel the need for so much security YOU hire your own like the stars do..
NOW he dares to blame the FL departments for lack of security for HIS personal trip.
Beyond Ridiculas! "

" The Mayor of Detroit was caught months ago -- it just didn't make as big news until our Governor was targeted for his stupid actions. (See the previous Two Cents for some thought-provoking ideas on the timing and the selection of Spitzer in particular to nail for behaviors we all know are prevalent among politicians).

Mr. Gadsby needs to remember about people who live in glass houses when he knocks others for their tough times. Who are we to judge others? If you have no sympathy with this Brandstetter guy's situation, don't send him any money. Simple! If his friends chose to help him out, what business is that of yours? "

" But my taste for champagne is for J. Roget so it shouldn't be a problem. "

" Happy 21st to my daughter! can you believe she expects her parents to buy her a "legal" drink at dinner tonight?
Plus bring presents! lol "

" Lol...luv it "champagne taste on a beer bottle wallet" - how true. When we travel and are asked where we hail from, we say the ghetto and start singing Elvis...Auburn needs to focus on the basics that make a town worth living in. Sorry but turf will look just as cruddy as real grass with all the pollution/graffiti/vandalism on it. Oops lets not forget all the left dog poop too... "