You must be very proud of your son, as I'm sure he is of his father..That being said, please offer him my heartfelt thanks for his service..'til we meet again, may God smile on you and yours..

Gunney, no, your original comment did not strike a nerve. I post comments to encourage people to engage in honest, cognizant debate. As such I welcome and encourage any and all challenges to my stated positions. All I ask is, if I am wrong prove me wrong, don’t simply state ‘You are wrong’. You will find that I only post comments I can defend either logically, biblically, constitutionally or historically. Regardless of how weak or vulnerable my comments may appear, I assure you I can and will defend them to the hilt. With that said I don’t believe you owe me an apology. Without debates how could we grow and learn? Your comments have been respectful and you have not resorted to cheap shots or insults. That fact alone puts you head-and-shoulders above many of the users on this site and has earned my respect. I agree with your assessment that we both love our constitution. It appears we differ in application. You seem to believe it is okay to violate the rights of the individual in order to protect the rights of the collective. Our Founders believed our rights apply to the individual and that they come from God. They believed these rights to be immutable, not something that can be granted or withheld by government at whim. I stand with the founders on this one. Sorry, I am not a Marine but I feel extremely honored that you would think so. My knowledge of the Code of Conduct, Military values and tradition come from my son, an elite member of the Rangers. I don’t take these comment boards personally and I hope you feel the same. It’s been nice chatting with you.

With all due respect,Jim. I will not question your honor, nor your definition of honest debate. We apparently share a love of our constitution. My original comment struck an unintended nerve, and here we are. You are correct that conspiracy is a plural adjective; ..My bad.. I do not feel that we are as far apart on this subject as it seems. We are just approaching the subject from equally important directions..We cannot allow our government "carte blanche" power..We must, however be cognizant that some individuals "do plan" to commit criminal acts, and our citizens expect, and via the political process, authorize our 3 branches of government to "balance" legislation to protect us from those people. The U.S.Constitution is the principle guiding document for them to follow to that end. So I will again offer my apologies for any misunderstanding that I may have created. I respectfully offer my Thanks to you also for your service and Semper Fi, Marine.. (I get the feeling that you also, are a Marine..let me know if I'm wrong..OK?)

Gunney, Sir, with all due respect… are you nucking futs? It APPEARS as if you wish to continue promoting your untenable position while evading addressing my charges by unilaterally declaring we “put this conversation to bed”. LMAO. Your debating tactics are duplicitous and disingenuous. Clearly “we view some things a little differently” but, unfortunately for you, you failed to consider that when you challenged my position. May I kindly suggest, for future reference, that you choose your battles more carefully? As you mention your service as a Marine may I direct you to the Code of Conduct? You challenged my post, I answered your charges, and you’ve ignored mine. There is no honor in this dishonest means of debate, sir, or has honor been removed from the Code? I would further have you recall your Oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic. You took that solemn oath, sir, to protect ‘We the People’ from (among other things) a corrupt and imperious government. Under the Constitution, Officer Valle is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. Furthermore, how can the state proceed with prosecution in the absence of a victim, injury and/or damages? Here’s a fun question… WHO are the other abettors in this matter? Yes, “Kidnapping CONSPIRACY” requires at least one additional conspirator. (Conspiracy: 1. Plan to commit illegal act TOGETHER: a secret plan or agreement BETWEEN TWO OR MORE PEOPLE to commit an illegal or subversive act). I don’t know what the “computer data evidence” is and I suspect neither do you, but if we are to err in our conclusion, may I suggest we err in favor of the constitution. Thank you for your service, Marine. Semper Fi.

@Jim Schu: Rest assured tonight that I do not agree or accept everything that our government does..I "do" however believe that there are times when there is physical (computer data, per this article)evidence of a plan to commit a crime, is discovered, then it "is" appropriate for authorities to follow the legal process and investigate and prevent the actual commission of the crime, if possible..I served 9 years of Honorable service to our country in the USMC, and will not apologize to you or anyone else for defending all of our constitution, which also includes our citizens the right to feel safe and secure..So let's put this conversation to bed and agree that we view some things a little differently...

Gunney, please help me out here. If you truly are reserving your opinion until more facts are released how is it I’m reading your comment criticizing mine? Also, if you can find the time, please explain to me how we can KNOW whether a person is truly contemplating committing a crime or just talking smack. Is the government hiring clairvoyants? I’d also be extremely interested if you could refer me to the section of the constitution that grants government the authority to charge us with “conspiracy to commit a crime” (other than treason that is). I must confess, I often fantasize about driving in excess of 150 mph on I-275 late at night and once (okay, actually twice) I dreamed of detonating a thermo-nuclear device over the federal capitol. I certainly HOPE my thoughts aren’t “criminal” and I especially hope the government does not attempt to use my dream as a basis to confiscate my thermo-nuclear device. That would be a clear violation of the Second Amendment! My comment is based on the FACTS of the story and is subject to change if and when other facts come to light. I sincerely hope you are not attempting to make the argument that it is wrong to question the motives of government.

@ Jim Schu, et al: Please remember that "conspiracy to commit a crime" IS in itself a criminal act and Can be prosecuted.. I don't know what evidence they have on this guy, so I will reserve my opinion until more "facts" are released..Hopefully, this is one of those occasions when we pre-empt the horrible death of undeserving woman..

Dog??? Oh, um… nevermind. ‘8^)

Oh Jim...Lol! I just try and stay informed. Doesn't mean I visit them...usually putting blocks on to keep the grandbabes from getting to them. Jasper was my beloved dog. He was the only one of my "children" what was always happy to see me, and never talked back or argued when I said no.

JasperMom, I follow your comments and I can assure you our opinions are in agreement quite often. You wouldn’t know that because I typically don’t post in threads where others have pretty much stated my case. (I hate redundancy and repetition). Anyway I am appalled to discover that you have knowledge of such bizarre “chat rooms”. It conflicts with my pristine image of you. (I believe Jasper was the result of an immaculate conception and I refuse to consider any other possibility). Shame on you for destroying my innocence!