Starting the Year Off Right

I thought I'd start 2006 off with a review of the rules here in my Corner. There aren't many, and I reserve the right to modify, change, throw out, or add rules as I go along.

1. This is my blog, not yours. I choose what I want to write about. I express my opinion which may differ from yours. I have the right to disagree with you as you have the right to disagree with me.

2. You may state your disagreement in comments or in your own blog. If you leave a comment, you will be respectful. I will not condone the use of words I don't like. These are generally words that in another time would have gotten your mouth washed out with soap. Don't be foolish, you know the words I am referring to. You use those words and I will delete your comments without a second thought. That's my right as owner of this Corner.

3. You don't have the right to not be offended. Again, you may state your side in comments, and you may leave if you so choose. Don't call me names, don't call my parentage into question, and don't think you'll be missed if you decide to not come back. I'll delete your comments and forget you even commented. Don't just say I'm an idiot, ask where I went to college so that you won't send your kids there, and not explain why you question my intelligence. As far as I'm concerned, if you don't bother to tell me what the problem is, the problem is with you.

4. If I make a mistake, please feel free to point it out to me....respectfully. Please be able to prove to me that you are correct if I ask. If I am, and I'm to first to admit that I make mistakes, I'll be happy to either simply make a correction, or to write about my mistake in another post. I may or may not give you credit for the correction. It will depend on how you presented your correction and the context of the original mistake. And yes, my mood at the moment will play a part.

You might notice a theme here: Respect. I will show you respect if you show respect for me.

5. I hate the PC movement. As far as I am concerned, it's simply a form of censorship. As I stated above, when you are in my Corner, you don't have the right to be offended. I will never deliberately write something designed to be hateful, mean, or to hurt someone's feelings. I can't help how you react to what I write, only you can do that. If I offend you, then perhaps you would be happier reading another blog, or publishing your own.

6. I am a Christian. I don't apologize for it to anyone. I don't write much about religion simply because I haven't. If I publish a prayer I received in email, or publish a post on religion, and you don't want to read it, then either go on to the next post or leave. That's your right. You don't have to read everything I write. At Christmas time, I will say "Merry Christmas". I will not be offended if someone offers a "Happy Holiday" to me. If I am aware that you are not a Christian, I may offer a "Happy Holiday" to you instead of Merry Christmas. I don't care if someone wants to display a menorrah between a Nativity scene and a Christmas tree. If you insist on calling it a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree", that's your right. It's my right to say I think it's stupid if I so choose.

7. I am a government employee. Some people think that government employees are stupid, or too lazy to hold a job in the "real world". This may be true of a lot of government employees. I work with, or have worked with some of them. I am neither stupid nor lazy. I work hard at what I do. I assume you do too.

The bottom line is, when you come to my Corner, you have come into my online home. Behave.

Show respect. I don't think it's too much to ask.