Good advice, Ganey. Your Grandfather is/was a very wise man.
Of course my great-uncle said something similar, yet a little differently to me. He said, "You can pick your friend, and you can pick your friend's seat, but you can't pick your friend's head over politics..." He had only one friend at the time -- who was running for office. When he finally made it to the office (late as always) he also said, "Never mess around with your cow-workers", meaning never to have physical relations with cattle ranchers.
My uncle was not a drunk, but he did abuse pain medications and hid dirty pictures in his sock drawer; he was a loner -- never married, and was one big, terrible cattle-driver. His advice wasn't nearly as useful and succinct as yours.
You are right about this forum being a place for friends. Even if they are invisible and we'll probably never meet most of them, I say we try not to get them all riled up over things that are core values to them. It's hard to convince a mule to be a horse and vice-versa. It's even more difficult to convince a mule to be an elephant. It's also extrememly difficult preach the wisdom of God to these animals. They'll just look up at you and then put their heads back down and continue to eat hay.
Horace Trahan said it best... "I don't like golf"...no wait... he said, "music is music and people is people."
If we all shared the same views and liked the same 20 songs, we'd learn nothing about golf.
Now for some religious wisdom:
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Psalms 32.
That's pretty good, Nout! Got one of W playing the squeeze box? lol Funny thing is; he's playing a G chord... who's the cat with the soul-patch and Kenneth Cole shirt?
Look closer. He's got his fingers in the right configuration for a G chord, but he's on the wrong fret! The fretted notes would work for Ab, but the open notes would clash horribly.
So amongst whatever other faults he might have, he's an incompetent guitar player too!
Well Rick, look closer; sorry bro, i'm used to watch guitar players hands and feet especially when the PA's monitors are lousy and also when i don't know the song: i can tell ya' that it ain't no G chord. And the timing sucks too i'm afraid.
- The Cole feller is probably B's final defense against too well willing young lady fans with cigars? Or being a Cat just a decoy for dogs sent on to him by former and surely dry-squeezed US house-owners. These animals can run fast:
I worked in the California state capitol for almost three years; I now have a -- gasp! -- government job. You know, lazy good-for-nothing state workers taking two hour lunches, that sort of thing.
Cept, it's about 90 percent baloney.
When you work in politics, you run across competing views from myriad sources. Some of the demanders are loony toons, some with a single interest. No matter what, most people want more and want to pay less. It's a no-win situation that can bring out the absolute worst in people.
Working for the government. I work for the department here in California that takes care of people addicted to drugs or alcohol. We administer both state and federal money for all sorts of programs. People on my floor work their collective butts off, trying to make programs work that are mandated by the government.
I would humbly offer this: don't get your opinions from the media on either side. Get educated. Study history, know your government and how it works. Be responsible for your own actions and do your best to give something back to your country. Don't hate your neighbor. That is the true American Way.
Oh yeah, stay away from dope, and don't drink too much.