Reminder about political issues

Hey folks, I know that between Puerto Rico, the NFL, and now the terrible tragedy in Vegas that it is going to be difficult to avoid chatting about current events without at least touching on political issues. That's going to be even trickier given the title and setting of today's release. I don't want to counter that by saying "no politics!" because that really isn't the solution. Truthfully, the condition of our society right now means that political diversity and conflict is on our minds a lot. And 'not talking about it' is actually the worst way to work towards resolving it. 

However, if you ARE going to talk about politics; take responsibility for your part of the conversation. Honestly acknowledge that the answer isn't going to be found in the extremes... its going to be uncovered through compromise and understanding that parts of the issue that concern everyone. And working on those... while avoiding stomping on the parts of the issue that we cannot agree on may be enough. If our conversations prioritize working towards solutions instead of on standing on a point of ideology, we can resolve any problem. 

If I see people being automatically dismissive of someone's ideas or beliefs, I WILL shut down the thread. If you want us to give you ANY respect and leeway to speak YOUR mind and offer your thoughts; you WILL also grant the same courtesy to contrasting views. If not, the only view that will be expressed here will be that of the moderator closing the thread.

That bit of reminder out of the way...

Today we have the very long awaited and hoped for continuation of the Loose Cannons saga... from Bek D. Corbin: "Vegas, Baby, Vegas!"... here is Part 1... of 6.