Fred asks Mike about age and political discussions,

Over the age of 30. Do you find that those
under the age of 30 are more open/reasonable in political
discussions?

Fred, to answer your question, those under the age of thirty are my
future leaders when I'm really old and tired. That's why I invest my
time in them.
I'm currently working with 3 young men all under the age of 25. While
their knowledge of history is rather weak, their ability to understand
why things are the way they are today is refreshing. They don't enter
the debate with bias. They clearly understand the meaning of the
following phrase, reward of freedom is responsibility.
The majority of my friends (40 - 60 years of age) are stuck in the
eighties. Many willingly support the established system of government
social _AND_ corporate welfare programs. "Get "it" while the gettin's
good." they all say. That's what I mean when I say we as a
nation have lost our moral compass.
But hey. When you're dealing with a general populace that wants to
blame "government" for everything and then have a "government" willing
to accept that blame, what more could a career politician, bureaucrat
or lobbyist hope for?
Example - I think the tradegy at Waco is my fault. Had I voted for
George Bush instead of Ross Perot then maybe Bill Clinton would not have
become President. Same holds true for China's "most favored nation
status", NAFTA, the bombing of the WTC, our embassys, and the U.S.S.
Cole, Bin Laden's escape from justice, 9/11, the Iraq war, the price of
oil, all my fault. Not "government".

Best Regards - Mike Baldwin