No politics.

[VINMAN]

It's amazing, the 3 other BBS I belong to, do not allow political disscussions. Everyone gets along great. There is no name calling, finger pointing. hurt feelings, etc.... Everyone on there just has a great time talking about anything but politics.

Hmmm... Might be on to something there?

[island911]

you are free to hold that view. . . wait. ..was that political?

Are you campaigning for a rule change? . . oh-no. ..was that political, again!??

[mikester]

I tell you what, I feel like I'm more informed from this BBS. I feel more confident in my Democratic views.

A healthy discussion is always good.

A name calling session isn't something I particularly take part in.

Commie pig.

[turbocarrera]

lol mike

[VINMAN]

Originally posted by mikester
Commie pig.

Being someone who is usually called an ultra right-wing conservative, warmonger psychopath, I take offense to that!!

[djmcmath]

I think you're trying to restrict my right to freedom of speech. My lawyers are on the way over right now to serve you with papers. In all seriousness, I get fed up with the politics sometimes too, but when I get fed up, I just don't read the political threads for a while. I find that reading opposing viewpoints on the issues is really helpful, and a good complement to just reading CNN+Fox+CBS+whatever else. For the most part, if we can manage to keep civil and mature, I find the discussions to be excellent, even entertaining sometimes.

Just my pair o' pennies,

Dan

[VINMAN]

Dan, I totally agree with you! It justs crack me up how some people take things so personal. Thats why I try to avoid politcal crap. You aint changing my opinion and I aint changin yours! It just seems that whatever the topic is it turns to a political fight.

[project935]

Looking at your avatar saying "Can't we all just get along?"

[Overpaid Slacker]

I think most folks still get along pretty well here; then again, I was raised in a quaintly combative Irish household so I've got a pretty thick skin. As a reasonably vocal, reasonably conservative Pelican, there are only a couple of the Lefties here who make me cringe -- and it's not nec. their opinions, it's their delivery. If I don't feel like a fight, I don't click on the thread. No big deal.

On the "commie pig" front, I've got an apropos anecdote. My final semester of law school, I'm taking a bankruptcy class with J.J. White (the undisputed heavyweight God of commercial transactions law, who wrote a good part of the Uniform Commercial Code, including the bankruptcy sections). J.J. is a tough guy and a very demanding professor. I hadn't taken the prerequisite Commercial Transactions class (which curricular omission he pointed out to me on several occasions had theretofore uniformly resulted in failure by previous students). So he knew exactly who I was but had never had me in class before. I was squarely on his radar screen as a big, fat, probably-gonna-fail-anyway blip.

Anyhoo, one day we're going over creditors' committees and representations thereon by parties owed money. It turns out that usually the more established creditors (banks, insurance companies, etc.) get much more "say" in the process than the mom 'n' pop type creditors. I mentioned that it seems inequitable for the big, deep-pocket creditors to have almost unfettered discretion over the committee when a loss to them would be less than a rounding error in their financials, whereas a mom 'n' pop creditor could be crushed by an unfavorable bankruptcy payout structure.

J.J. looks up in disgust and erupts with "You know, I've got to hear this all the time from goddamn bleeding heart liberals like you!" and goes on for a minute about how we liberals are all kinds of clueless.

Given my vocal participation in other classes throughout my career and the opinions I'd voiced, I was not the only shocked party in the room... Many other students turned, staring in disbelief. I stood up, banged on the desk and said "Dammit, White! I've been called a lot of things in my life, but never Liberal!"

The next day I wore my G.O.P. hat to class. White and I got on fine, and I passed comfortably.

JP

[Neilk]

Well however misguided some people's politcal views are , I will still gladly help them however I can on the tech boards.

[Superman]

One of my union leader/friend's most charming statements, which he will actually make occasionally in a meeting, goes like this.

"My two favorite things to do are ****ing and fighting, and I don't get enough fighting at home."

Another: Wrestle with a pig in the mud long enough, and you'll notice that it gets you very dirty, and the pig likes it.

I personally like a good, respectful informal debate. To the degree disrespect happens, the actual debate falls away (which is what I am interested in), so I can ignore. Not forgive and forget, but forgive and remember. Indeed, anger is a good indication that someone is out of rational input, and has lost the argument.

But overall, I would strongly assert that the debate itself is FAR more important than the hirt feelings of my thin-skinned brethren here. Public policy is a terrifically important debate in my country, and it should be drastically accelerated, rather than being usually swept under a rug. It is my very very very virogrous opinion that the ordinary voter has a very twisted view of how public policy is made in this country. We desperately need to have this debate, in the clear light of day, in the Town Square, with all the villagers in attendance. Government is not "them." Government is "us." We. The People.

[mikester]

Originally posted by Superman
One of my union leader/friend's most charming statements, which he will actually make occasionally in a meeting, goes like this.

"My two favorite things to do are ****ing and fighting, and I don't get enough fighting at home."

Another: Wrestle with a pig in the mud long enough, and you'll notice that it gets you very dirty, and the pig likes it.

I personally like a good, respectful informal debate. To the degree disrespect happens, the actual debate falls away (which is what I am interested in), so I can ignore. Not forgive and forget, but forgive and remember. Indeed, anger is a good indication that someone is out of rational input, and has lost the argument.

But overall, I would strongly assert that the debate itself is FAR more important than the hirt feelings of my thin-skinned brethren here. Public policy is a terrifically important debate in my country, and it should be drastically accelerated, rather than being usually swept under a rug. It is my very very very virogrous opinion that the ordinary voter has a very twisted view of how public policy is made in this country. We desperately need to have this debate, in the clear light of day, in the Town Square, with all the villagers in attendance. Government is not "them." Government is "us." We. The People.

Well said. Again.

F'ing liberal.