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.
Toyota to halt Sai, Lexus hybrids production: report (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp will suspend domestic production of its Sai and Lexus HS250h hybrids, which are to be recalled for faulty brakes, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday.
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Obama's healthcare summit sets stage for end-game WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's call for a bipartisan healthcare summit sets the stage for a final push to get the stalled legislation through Congress, but skeptical Republicans said on Monday the only solution is to start over.
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Workers accounted for at Connecticut blast BOSTON (Reuters) - All workers at the Connecticut power plant construction site rocked by a massive explosion on Sunday have been accounted for, leaving the death toll at five, the town's mayor said on Monday.
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Another big snowstorm forecast for East Coast WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another big winter storm was forecast on Monday for the U.S. mid-Atlantic still struggling to dig out from a blizzard that dumped two feet (half a meter) of snow and closed the federal government.
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NY Governor is not resigning: spokeswoman NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Democratic Governor David Paterson is not planning to resign, his spokeswoman said on Monday, calling blog reports "entirely fabricated."
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Yanukovich, monitors, press Ukraine PM to concede KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich pressed rival Yulia Tymoshenko to concede defeat on Monday after a narrow victory in a presidential election that could tilt the ex-Soviet state back toward Moscow.
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Pressure grows for Iran sanctions over atomic plans TEHRAN (Reuters) - International pressure for new sanctions against Iran grew on Monday after Tehran announced plans to make higher-enriched uranium and add 10 nuclear sites in a year, raising Western fears it wants to develop atom bombs.
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Envoys go to North Korea for nuclear talks push SEOUL (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official met North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Monday and a top U.N. political envoy was slated to arrive a day later in a new push to get the reclusive state to return to stalled nuclear disarmament talks.
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Haiti studies Colombian town for quake rebuilding BOGOTA (Reuters) - Haiti's interior minister on Monday toured a Colombian town rebuilt after a huge 1999 tremor as his own country considered plans to reconstruct its wrecked capital city after last month's devastating earthquake.
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Sentiment, success, adventure make Saints "America's" team MIAMI (Reuters) - The Dallas Cowboys have long been known as 'America's team' but the New Orleans Saints, who triumphed as underdogs in Sunday's Super Bowl, can now make a good claim to that title.
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