Ground Rules

As I mentioned in a recent Facebook post, the point of this blog is to open a conversation between people of different backgrounds and viewpoints.  It's my blog, but I welcome guest posts from my friends on both sides.  The problems that face this country are large and complex.  They require bipartisan solutions because we aren't all conservatives and we aren't all liberals.  Solutions require us to find common ground and compromise.  It requires us to recognize that the other side has some valid points.  It requires us to recognize that we aren't going to get everything we want.  So, this conversation needs a few basic ground rules.

1. Keep it polite.  No name-calling.  No baseless attacks.
2. Use actual facts and cite reliable sources.
3. Use the image below to help define reliable sources:

4. Try to stay within the "Mainstream" and "Skews" columns.  The comments on the various bubbles are pretty accurate.
5. Don't just debate the problem, propose solutions.  It's not enough to debate which part of the immigration problem is most important; we have to get to solutions.

I plan to address a variety of issues starting with some of the major policy issues - healthcare, immigration, gun rights, and education.  Eventually I want to get into a couple of the big cultural issues facing us - religious politics, race relations, fixing our political system .  As I mentioned above, I welcome guest posts from my friends - on both sides.  I encourage everyone to keep an open mind, propose meaningful bipartisan solutions.  If you would like to submit a guest post, email it to me.  If you don't have my email, leave a comment or shoot me a PM on Facebook.