greetings from -- who is the "unblock" character, anyway?

hi!



i've been an active du'er since pretty much the inception. like many people, it has been a great source of both support and sympathy with good and kind souls with much in common regarding politics and life in general and yet also frustration and bewilderment at times. but i've never been tempted to even take a break, it's been a great connection for me on many levels. political, news, humor, etc.

i'm male, white, jewish atheist, late forties, and live in connecticut with my wife (my second and last) and my 5-year old boy. i've been an ardent democrat all my life. i've voted for one and only one republican ever -- bill weld for governor of massachusetts, but only because he was running against john silber, who somehow won the democratic nomination despite being just to the right of attila the hun. i'll never make that mistake again. weld himself was as tolerable as republicans get, but of course he surrounded himself with and appointed the usual republican crowd. no thank you, never again.

i'm a huge supporter of feminism, lgbt, minorities, the poor, etc., mostly out of a simple sense of fair play and decency. i believe strongly the people, institutions, and government in particular should do what they can to build and maintain a level playing field for everyone, to protect and support the powerless, and to keep the powerful in check.

my name "unblock" comes from the term for an elegant maneuver in the card game of bridge, where one player sacrifices a valuable card in order to avoid "blocking" partner. in essence, the idea is that even though you might have a good card, if your partner's cards are better, you should just get out of the way. to me it is the essence of teamwork and good partnership.

my avatar is the all-seeing eye of horus. though its egyptian mythological significance means nothing to me, it was the avatar of khephra, one of the earliest and most prolific duers. he practically WAS the "late breaking news" forum the way the beatles WERE billboard's top 5 at one point. he did more than anyone else to set du's high standard for content speed, accuracy, quality, and linking/sourcing. he very sadly passed from a deep vein thrombosis in 2005. i have adopted it as my avatar in his honor.

i don't often start thread; usually i just read and occassionally put my two cents in, often a joke or a small tid-bit of information i can contribute. i'm not given to extremes, so often i try to give a counter-perspective, or try to offer some insight into other viewpoints, even if i don't share that viewpoint. i love a good, heartfelt discussion, but i like it kept civil.

in a nutshell, i'm a feminist because the notion that half a species should have a laundry list of preferential treatment based on what's between their legs is baffling to me. all people deserve equal respect, equal treatment, equal opportunity.