The Hickory Hound

Thursday, September 18, 2008

4 comments:

Unknown said...: jtshell, would you stop with the snarky "free-thinker" crap?
There are more than just liberals and conservatives. I was merely pointing out that I consider myself neither, not that all liberals were free thinkers.
You talk a good game of being open to all points of view, but your actions speak differently. It seems you have already made up your mind and clamped it shut.
I can see why 1984 is one of your favorite books because you like putting it in practise. Try reading something else than Suze Orman books (who has a great way to make money selling her spiel to gullible people).
So please, stop trying to be witty (for you fail at it miserably) and just "stick to the facts" without trying to taint someone with what you perceive to be a derogatory remark. It makes you sound like a Rush Limbaugh wannabe.; September 19, 2008 at 2:07 AM
James Thomas Shell said...: DW,

I should be allowed to have an opinion and you should be too. That's the reason why your comment here won't be deleted, like it would be in so many other places.

I like Suze Orman, because she was a person that learned from her gluttonous ways and she has very good ideas about personal finance.

For someone that talks about being open minded, you sure do try and silence people. I should be able to like the books and have the opinions I have. I shouldn't have to sit back and shut up just to please you.; September 19, 2008 at 2:18 AM
Unknown said...: I feel I have been miscounstrued, and for that I apologize.
I was only trying to raise the tone of the debates to an adult respectable level, and to try to show people how the words they choose (and of this I am guilty also) and the manner in which they are phrased does nothing to help whatever side of an issue you happen to be on.
In case you missed it, hear is what I posted yesterday in the HDR:

Consumer, just have to point out, that Chris never once used derrougatory language in talking about Senator McCain.
Yet you deam it necessary to call Senator Barack a "little" man.
Language can be a very powerful weapon, as can be seen by the events in Rwanda in 1994 and the recent shooting in the Unitarian Universalist Church over in Knoxville.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/sep/13/tv-show-shock-talkers-may-have-motivated-church-sh/

Before I'm pointed out as a hypocrite, let me say that I too have been guilty of such a use of words. For this, I apologize, and offer only in my defense that I occasionally let my passion on certain issues rage unchecked. I must strive to do better, because I earnestly believe we all can benefit when we can debate issues calmly and rationally.
For instance, I used to be totally against any form of privatization by our government. However, after a lengthy conversasion with a local conservative, I have changed my views. Now I see that some privatization is okay, as long as the proper oversight is put in place, enforced, and the process is kept wide open to the public.
On the other hand, it seemed (though you can never tell with another person what is actually in their minds) that I convinced him that public assistance wasn't bad as long as it was used for what it was originally inteded to be, to help someone back on their feet when they've been knocked down through no fault of their own (and yes, I know. A lot of people feign being knocked down and could do better if they tried harder. Again proper oversight strictly enforced comes to mind).
So let us all, when we hear what we consider to be a wrong view of an issue, take a deep breath, count to ten or a hundred (however long it takes), and try to respond to another in a calm, rational manner. I'm sure that if we just "hear the other side," as the
ancient Roman Christian theologian Augustine so aptly stated, then we will all be the better for it.

The nsarky little comments that you (when you say them) and I (when I say them) think are funny can have very powerful effects.
And, by the way, I have come to agree with you that the current financial crises was caused by certain people thinking they were above the law and certain people who were supposed to be watching over them didn't think they needed to.
In other words, while some regulation was in place, it wasn't enforced.; September 19, 2008 at 8:01 AM
Anonymous said...: DW, those of us that have been subject to your rants will believe it when we see it in action.

Even for those who agree with your point of view at times, you have little credibility because of the caustic manner that you approach what ought to be intellectual discussion.

You're going to have to go twice the distance to try and gain any credibility based upon your prior attacks and actions. Just saying that you've seen the light and found redemption won't do it -- a lot of people will have to see a significant change in both demeanor and attitude before they'll begin to believe it. In the meantime, I suspect many others do what I do - see your name on the Letter to the Editor and skip right over it without bothering to read it.

If you don't like The Hound's writing style or attempt to create a forum, I believe you can start your own on here at no charge. I bet the Hound would even let you put a link up here to your sight, if you asked nicely.

One last note - for those of us who would very much like to see Rep. McHenry replaced at the next election -- there's a good shot this year. You're not helping, and if anything your diatribes serve to energize McHenry supporters. Please recognize that and curb your ego and your computer until after the election.; September 22, 2008 at 12:02 PM

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