Susan,

Thank-you for your explanation. I thought the discussion was both thought-provoking and mostly civil. I did not see that it was "political" in the sense that we did not debate the upcoming elections or political parties (and here I realize that I am being USA-centric, apologies to residents of other countries). Banning such discussions is a slippery slope. I recall much discussion surrounding the Komen/Planned Parenthood issue, most of which could reasonably be termed "political."

I would hope that we could continue to discuss issues freely. Perhaps labeling the thread appropriately as you suggested and/or starting new threads if existing ones drift too much will help. Of course, if (when?) the thread devolves into name-calling and ranting, you, as the admin, will have to step in. I did not think the current thread had arrived at that point.

I would hate to lose members of the community over a flame war, and I realize I am saying this as a fairly new poster.