Recently I invited my friend Ross to write for the sf3am.com/citynews blog, which is one of the sites that I manage and write for. I extended this invitation based on my respect for his independent thinking and skill at writing.

And I haven’t been disappointed. Here’s the first paragraph from his first post:

“From my admittedly modest knowledge of American history, I’m pretty sure of one thing: If Thomas Jefferson had been alive and in attendance at Tuesday’s debate, the first thing he would have done is walk up on stage and punch both candidates in the mouth.”

Anyone who references Thomas Jefferson is going to get my attention, and Ross uses that as a humorous starting point to make a serious point about the two-party duopoly not serving the interests of the American people. I recommend that you read the whole post.

However, I have to say that I don’t agree with Ross on everything that he says. As a Ralph Nader voter in 2000, I understand and respect the decision of any American to support candidates outside the political mainstream–and just as Ross argues that Ron Paul saw much of today’s economic disaster coming years ago, I certainly think that Nader’s rants against unchecked corporate greed should have been listened to back in 2000.

But this year I am supporting Barack Obama. I believe that Obama is sincere when he promises change to the American people, and I have enormous respect for his courageous opposition to the Iraq war which I have long bitterly opposed. And maybe it just comes down to my Chicago-area roots (I grew up in Cook County, Illinois). How could any real Chicagoan vote for McCain after his moronic attacks on the city by the lake?

Anyway, I just wanted to explain that I am proud to give Ross a forum for his views on my site because he is intelligent, well-informed, and well-educated. Having someone like that write on my site is a greater asset to my readers, in my opinion, than offering just another bland voice toeing the traditional liberal line. My policy is to offer anyone like that total editorial independence, and I hope to see many new posts from Ross.