Doug, I know you know I think you are a good guy, but there was no reason to turn this thread into a partisan political attack. Many people like myself are disgusted by partisan politics and the people who espouse those views. I want to temper my personal feelings towards you when I see you make these attacks because I do genuinely think you are a nice guy, but I want to tell you it is not easy. Why post anything that you KNOW is purposefully pissing people off although you may write it off as "joking around?" Your comments in this thread offend me. I am sure I am not the only one. Why is this necessary? It was a simple effort at humor related to gas prices. You used it as a personal vehicle to attack Obama by using his ethnic background as your sword (among other snide remarks about Democrats and the Democratic party). Hussein (it its varied forms) is a respected surname in the Muslim world even though it was attached to a brutal dictator in Iraq. His parents gave him this name, he did not choose it. I hesitate to call this a racist attack, but it certainly crosses the line of promoting racist feelings. You KNEW you were doing that and you KNEW by doing so you were purposefully offending people by doing so, and if you did not, you should. Why is there the continuing need to infuse partisan politics into our hobby on this board? Partisan politics do nothing to change anyone's mind. It is meant solely to demean others to try to prop up your own beliefs. I am saddened you feel the need to do this on a continuing basis. I sincerely hope you will discontinue this activity unless it is your intention to continue to garner anger by the words you post.

With sincere respect,
Steve