In the beginning, Marc realized that this forum was different. It is basically political in nature. As with politics in real life, it can and it does get contentious. It is not like a forum on how to feed and care for engines. It is not even lilke the Clubhouse where the nice people hold nice discussions. This one is passionate. Tempers flare, opinions differ and that is to be expected. Marc realized, early on, that trying to use the same standards for moderators in a politically based forum was not going to work. There are rules here, very basic, simple rules. Elwood has made them clear in a recent post he made.

Personally, I maintain respect for most that I cross swords with. Bill Lee, Horrace Cain, Jim Branaum, Red Scholefield, Bill Vargas and Marc Vigod come to mind immediately. There are many others. Maintaining respect does not equate to holding my tongue when it comes to my opinion. A lot of my posts deal with facts about the AMA that are not opinion. I try, not always successfully, to let the reader know which is which.

Anyone trying to turn this forum into something that is a-political will be much better served by researching the web for answers to things like insurance questions. Here, there will undoubtedly be attacks against, and defense of the AMA, in almost every thread. They do get personal... it's the nature of politics.

To my surprise, Marc has the stomach and guts to continue to host this forum. Thanks Marc.

JR