The mission of Old Elm Tree is to bring together people from across a spectrum of views, into a true community where they may see each other as fellow human beings, share ideas, and reach some understandings. Everyone is welcome here except those that would spout doctrinaire talking points, take a dogmatic approach to discussion, or treat others without respect. Old Elm Tree will not become an echo chamber for any point of view. We are challenging ourselves and others to let go of pre-conceived notions, and we seek and give mutual support in the effort. We cannot be all things to all people, but we want to be something important to those who choose to join us.
If you are new here, or just haven't read these yet, please make it a point to read the two threads in the first forum, Announcements for All Members.
Before the Revolution, colonists gathered under a great elm tree in Boston to rally together against the tyranny of the crown corporations. The Sons of Liberty hung the effigies of two tax collectors from the old elm tree in protest against the infamous Stamp Act. Ever since then, the old elm tree was called the Liberty Tree and became a focal point and symbol for the resistance to the tyranny of the crown corporations over the colonies.
You've Landed Right Where You Want to Be
This is Old Elm Tree: a great place to meet and talk, relax, think and enjoy yourself. We're new and growing and we need your help. Old Elm Tree is devoted to a couple simple concepts:
We want to provide an online community where each member is respected and valued.
We want to promote Free Speech.
We want to help artists, artisans and small business owners to develop and grow their businesses.
The trunk of Old Elm Tree is the discussion boards. We encourage you to join and take part in sharing ideas. Membership is free and always will be. That includes full functionality for every member. There are no fees required in order to post in any forum, or to have access to search capabilities, or any we have or may acquire in the future. No donations will be requested. There are no membership tiers. Every member is equal. We know that the main value in any discussion board comes from the members who post there. This is our way of recognizing that. We've started out with a sampling of forums and will add more as time goes on. This will mainly be driven by member requests, so please let us know what you'd like to see.
We want you to use the forums as you see fit. Share ideas. Network. Get Feedback. Meet like minds and start planning things together. Present your theories. Talk about politics, art, culture, sports or hobbies. History, architecture, cinema, sociology, or the infield fly rule. Think, create, use your imagination -- just run with it.
We want these forums to be comfortable and fruitful for all members, so we have a few rules:
No personal attacks are allowed. One can disagree with an idea or opinion while still respecting the other person and the other person's right to free speech.
No flames.
No spam.
The discussion forums will be moderated. We expect that in a very short time this will become too big a job for the two of us, so please consider volunteering to moderate your favorite forum, or a forum you'd like to see us start. Volunteering is good for your karma.
Coming Soon
So, what about revenue? How can we afford to do this? We are a small, two person operation. We're doing everything ourselves. We want this to pay for itself, and in the future provide an income for us so that we can devote ourselves to Old Elm Tree full time and grow it for you as much as possible. Our revenue will come from reasonably priced ads that promote what you do. All ads must be tasteful and valuable to the readers. We will provide many types of advertising, from small banner ads to full page galleries for artists and craftspeople.
Reuters: Top News Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals.
Biden meets U.S. troops in Iraq for Independence Day BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden met U.S. troops preparing to mark their Independence Day holiday on Saturday, on the third day of a visit he has used to urge Iraqi politicians to do more to reconcile rival factions.
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North Korea defies U.S. with new missile launches SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea's defense ministry said, in an act of defiance toward the United States that further stoked regional tensions already high due to its nuclear test in May.
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Palin resigning as Alaska governor in surprise move ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Sarah Palin, the brash, deeply conservative governor of Alaska who crashed onto the U.S. national political scene last year as the Republican candidate for U.S. vice president, announced abruptly on Friday she was resigning ...
Hardline Iran editor calls for Mousavi to face trial TEHRAN (Reuters) - A newspaper editor seen as close to Iran's top authority said on Saturday defeated election candidate Mirhossein Mousavi and a former pro-reform president had committed "terrible crimes" which should be tried in court.
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Two U.S. soldiers killed in complex Afghan attack KABUL (Reuters) - Two U.S. soldiers were killed when their base in southeast Afghanistan came under attack on Saturday, the U.S. military said, two days after a major operation against the Taliban was launched in the south.
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OAS set to suspend Honduras as it renounces charter TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Organization of American States prepared to suspend Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya and defiantly renounced the OAS charter in an apparent preemptive move.
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U.N.'s Ban rebukes Myanmar generals over Suu Kyi YANGON (Reuters) - U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon publicly rebuked Myanmar's generals on Saturday for denying him a visit to detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and said she should take part in politics before 2010 elections.
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Rescuers find debris of Yemenia aircraft: government SANAA (Reuters) - Search crews have located a large piece of debris from a Yemeni jet that crashed into the Indian Ocean off the Comoros islands last week and are working to retrieve it, the Yemeni transport ministry said Saturday.
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Massive demand for Jackson memorial tickets LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than half a million fans from around the world applied for 17,500 free tickets to Michael Jackson's public memorial service next week, organizers said on Friday as a massive security operation got underway.
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Pakistani forces attack militants near crash site KALLAY, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani helicopter gunships attacked Taliban militants on Saturday in a northwestern region where a military helicopter crashed the previous day killing 26 soldiers on board, a government official said.
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