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Quote of the Day

Posted by Jennifer P on Saturday, September 26, 2009 10:01:13 AM
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

--C.S. Lewis
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How to Debate on a Comments Thread and Not Sound Like a Moron Tip #7: Know When You're Wrong

Posted by Jennifer P on Sunday, September 20, 2009 3:23:31 PM
Tip #7:  Know when you're wrong.

People love giving their opinions.  People like to think of themselves as having keen insight and a unique perspective on any given topic.   I don't know anyone alive who's right about everything all the time.   

It's one thing to fight for your opinion.  It's another thing to keep it up when a mountain of evidence points to the contrary--that's just being an idiot.  Acknowledge that you 'effed up and move on.       

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How to Debate on a Comments Thread and Not Sound Like a Moron Tip #6: Read the Entire Posting

Posted by Jennifer P on Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:41:12 AM
Tip #6:  Read the entire posting.

In fact some people can't even finish reading a whole sentence. 

Note:  The sentence ends when you come to a period--not when the little, white, hot spot of rage in your brain ignites at something somebody said in the first half of the sentence.  If you read the entire thing in context, you might find out you agree with more than you realize.

For example, you might read the following sentence...

"Mark DeMoss, a conservative evangelical Christian who owns a public relations firm in Atlanta, has launched the Civility Project with Hillary Rodham Clinton ally Lanny Davis."

...and when you arrive at the words "Hillary Rodham Clinton", you might think to yourself, "WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!  SHE'S NEVER BEEN CIVIL!  SHE AND ALL THE REST OF THE DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN CALLING US LIARS FOR YEARS!"

However, if you wait till you get to the end of the sentence before you erupt, you'll see that it's NOT Hillary Clinton that's launching The Civility Project, but someone else who VOTED for Hillary Clinton.

It's all about context, dontch'ya know?

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The Civility Project

Posted by Jennifer P on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 12:43:38 PM
Check it out...

http://www.civilityproject.org/



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Public Affairs CYA

Posted by Jennifer P on Sunday, September 13, 2009 4:46:06 PM
I'm free to criticize the Commander in Chief and his policies as a private citizen, but I'm not allowed to insult or make derogatory comments about him while representing myself as a military member.   When it comes to the President, he's due the same professional courtesy that we would give to any ranking officer.  Before I start blogging opinions that will get me in actual, no kidding trouble with the military, I need to make a disclaimer. 

Note:  All opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the blowhard author as a private citizen exercising her First Amendment right and DO NOT represent the official views of the United States Air Force or the Department of Defense.  So please don't call the JAG or the Public Affairs Office on me.

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Night of the Race Baiters

Posted by Jennifer P on Sunday, September 13, 2009 1:11:35 PM
I'm really loathe to call people names.  It should be beneath me, but I think Maureen Dowd is a nitwit. 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/13/white-house-dismisses-dowd-claim-wilson-outburst-race-based/

These idiotic racial accusations are nothing more than a convenient way for leftists to bully their critics into silence and avoid having to defend their policies.

And while I'm already name calling, Al Franken and Jeanene Garofalo are two of the nastiest trolls to ever walk the face of the earth.  I've never seen two people who were so obviously meant for each other.  They really should have gotten together.
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How to Debate on a Comments Thread and Not Sound Like a Moron Tip #5: Know When to Quit

Posted by Jennifer P on Sunday, September 13, 2009 12:45:48 AM
Tip #5:  Know when to quit.

Bottom line:  You can't convince everybody.  You're certainly not going to convince the person you're debating.  The people you'll convince are those listening on the sidelines.  There comes a point when you've exhausted the topic and the debating becomes bickering.  That's when you know it's over.

When I was living in the dorms at the University of Nebraska, the RAs plastered the bathroom stalls with plain white paper so we could write on the walls to our hearts content.  One girl on our floor was a very earnest liberal, as serious as liberals get.  The kind of liberal who would go up to people who happened to be in the middle of enjoying life and say, "How can you smile when children are being forced into indentured servitude in Pakistani sweatshops."  She cared deeply about things--so deeply in fact that she thought the bathroom wall paper was an outstanding way to vent her frustrations about the world's injustices.

One day, she got fed up with how un-serious the rest of us were.  I forget what the topic was, but we eventually exhausted it.  Finally, one writer said, "Blah blah blah.  Let's talk about hair and make-up".

This irked Earnestine greatly.  She began to insult the writer and citied her as an example of the type of woman who makes us all look vapid and shallow by obsessing over fripperies.  Another writer chimed in and pointed out that Ernestine's comments were quite unnecessary.  Ernestine responded that this should be a forum where we could talk about serious issues.

Anyone that thinks a piece of copy paper on a bathroom wall is a forum for serious issues, is the type of person who thinks that graffiti is a legitimate artistic expression for the proletariat. 

It's not a forum for the serious issues of the day...it's a piece of paper to jot down our thoughts while we're taking a dump.  A comments threat is the cyber equivalent.  If you want a serious, knock-down, drag-out debate attend a forum designed for that.  If it's the type of forum that requires bottles and chairs, come prepared.  But don't think that a comments thread, chat room, or message board qualifies as that.         

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"You Lie!": Things We Don't Say Out Loud

Posted by Jennifer P on Saturday, September 12, 2009 11:30:21 PM
South Carolina isn't having very good luck with their Republican politicians lately.  First the governor up and disappears, later resurfacing with some Argentinian woman he's been carrying on with and now Rep. Joe Wilson had his recent outburst when he shouted, "You lie!" at President Obama during a discussion on the health care bill.

There are things that a sense of public decorum precludes us from doing.  For example, most of us wouldn't walk up to an overweight person in public and tell them they're fat.  We don't need to--they know it and so does everybody else.  Most people with a sense of basic decency know this.  There are some things you keep to yourself.  Rep. Wilson was rightfully sanctioned by his fellow GOPers.

But then again, come on...we were all thinking it. 


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How to Debate on a Comments Thread and Not Sound Like a Moron Tip #4: A Differing Opinion Does Not a Traitor Make

Posted by Jennifer P on Saturday, September 12, 2009 9:49:50 AM
This tip is dedicated to Carolyn of NC.

Tip #4:  A difference of opinion in the official party line on one or two issues doesn't make someone a traitor to the conservative cause.

John McCain is an outstanding example.  While his stands on immigration and environmental issues don't mirror that of most conservatives, does that mean he's not a "real" conservative?  I don't think so.

I was recently accused of being a secret liberal mole on a comments thread after disagreeing with some of the posters.  The basis for the accusation?  That I was falling all over myself "attempting to sound thoughtful and reasonable".  Huh?  Should my disagreement have sounded stupid and inflammatory instead?  I thought the whole idea was to give a thoughtful and reasoned response.  The poster's comment said more about her than it did about me--namely that she wanted to give her opinion about what I said, but didn't have a good defense.  She was only comfortable defending her arguments against people who are so obviously out in left field, shooting them down would be a cake walk.  It's easy to poke holes in an argument that's obviously stupid.  Arguing against a well-thought out response requires logic and that requires more time than most people want to take to give their opinion.

According to the poster, it's a common liberal tactic to pose as a conservative on the comments thread and try to sound reasonable.  Those devious liberals, trying to sound intelligent and making the real conservatives look like a bunch of hysterics.  How dare they!  I may as well have been the serpent in the garden, slithering around, trying to woo people away from the God's Honest Truth.   

Yes, the truth is that I'm not really a conservative.  I don't even really live in Oklahoma or even a house.  I'm actually an unwashed, perpetually enraged ELF activist who lives in a redwood tree in California and only climbs down to set fire to SUV lots and ski resorts.  I only come in from the cold for my thrice yearly shower and embark on the five-hour undertaking of getting the knots out of my filthy, unwashed hair.  While I'm at it, I troll around on Townhall.com, trying to insinuate myself as a "voice of reason" on the comments threads.  BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Okay, my sarcasm might have been a little gratuitous.  But how come John McCain gets to be a maverick and I'm just a secret liberal troll?
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How to Debate on a Comments Thread and Not Sound Like a Moron Tip #3: Disagreement is a Normal Part of Debate

Posted by Jennifer P on Saturday, September 12, 2009 9:42:30 AM
Tip #3:  Disagreement is an integral part of debate.  People aren't evil, stupid, or naïve because they aren't in lockstep with the party line.

Disagreement is what debate is all about.  It's surprising the number of people that don't quite grasp this concept.  If a comments thread, or any forum for that matter, is only for people of one mind, then it's no longer a debate, but a bunch of a-holes in a big, smarmy fit of agreeing with each other. 

Disagreement doesn't indicate a lack of intelligence, inherent evil, or naivte.  My sister-in-law is considerably to the far left of me on most issues.  However, she puts a great deal of thought into her arguments and doesn't resort to insulting people.  She's also an outstanding mother, great cook, and all-around sierra hotel human being.  In spite of the fact that she's a self-admitted liberal crackpot, she doesn't fall in lockstep with every issue on the far left either.  She also can't stand what she calls "trust fund hippies", University of Iowa students from the 'burbs of Chicago that dress and act like they just crawled out from under a rock.

If you only hear opinions that echo your own, you'll never learn how to form a good defense.
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Michelle O's Internet Potemkin Village

Posted by Jennifer P on Saturday, September 12, 2009 9:21:21 AM
Military OneSource is a site for, you guessed it, military people.  It's focused on the well-being of military members, where we can get help for various issues, that kind of thing.

Like every other website in the free world, it has a blog roll.  It has three whole blogs and one of them is titled "Michelle Obama is Bursting With Pride.  Read the Posts".

This peaked my interest, so I clinked on the link.  The blog popped up with absolutely no postings. 

http://www.militaryonesource.com/MOS/OnlineCommunity/ViewourBlogs.aspx
http://www.blog-brigade.org/archives/category/president-and-mrs-obama

Only a message that apologizes for the fact that there are no postings on the President and Mrs. Obama blog.  She's so proud, the blog is bursting at its cyber seams with, well...zippo. 

I thought the Obama finally being nominated made her proud, but apparently that wasn't enough.  He was elected, but maybe that wasn't enough either.  When will Mrs. O finally be proud of America?  Maybe if the health care plan gets railroaded through and we're all finally living in a worker's paradise?

Right now that blog is nothing more than an internet Potemkin Village (a type of architecture at which Marxists excel).  A facade that gives the illusion of concern and pride in The Troops, but look behind the wall and there's nothing but a hollow shell.


 
Tags: The Big O  
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Ask the Boss: A Special Q&A for America's Troops

Posted by Jennifer P on Saturday, September 12, 2009 9:02:50 AM
A few days ago, those of us deployed in Iraq were afforded the grand opportunity to Ask The Boss.  This was the title of the event.  Not just any boss--THE BOSS.  No, not Bruce Springsteen.  The Annointed One, the Second Coming, the Big O Himself (just ask Chris Matthews about that sensation he got down his leg).

We could ask our most burning questions and Public Affairs would vote on what would be asked of the Great and Powerful Ozbama.  We could ask anything.  I submitted the following...

Mr. President, you campaigned on the platform that you would be America's first post-racial president, but now your supporters are only too willing to throw out the racist label. People protesting tax hikes are called bigots and people that oppose the health care plan are accused of not wanting black Americans to receive health care. It's nothing more than a convenient way for your supporters to avoid having to defend their own arguments. Do you have a serious plan for racial reconciliation?

I'll be surprised if my question gets answered by The Boss.  I think The Boss is going to be given questions about burn pits, when are we getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan, why don't I get paid enough, why is this my 4th tour to Iraq, my superiors treat me like crap, you're throwing my tax dollars down a rat hole, etc.

There were some very pointed (and good) questions about health care.  I doubt those will get answered either.  The Boss will answer questions about issues that military people are "supposed" to care about. 

But they said we could ask anything.  
Tags: The Big O  
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How to Debate on a Comments Thread and Not Sound Like a Moron Tip #2: Read the Entire Thread

Posted by Jennifer P on Saturday, September 12, 2009 5:26:18 AM
This blog entry is dedicated to CherDash of SC.  You stay classy, cupcake.
 
Tip #2:  Read the entire thread.
 
It really helps.  You may be absolutely DYING to come out on something and fire off an immediate reply.  Scroll down, and down, and down some more.  Keep scrolling, you're not quite there yet.  It may be long, it may be tedious, but you won't run the risk of feeling silly later.
 
One poster on a recent thread lifted a quote I made from an earlier post and answered it in her own backing it up with breaking news.  Her tone was triumphant.  Hah!  Take that bluechick!  She certainly showed me--except that she didn't.
 
I acknowledged her exact same point two posts ahead of hers.  I pointed this out to her and RRREEEEWWWR!  Cyberspace was instantly filled with a cacophony  familiar to all members of the fairer sex and to many an unfortunate male.  Miss Kitty's claws shot out and the hissing and spitting commenced.  Let the games begin!  She accused me of being "snotty" and Miss Kitty, having no intention of being the type to be duped into taking the high road and therefore giving up her opportunity to get in the last word, proceeded to get dragged down into the snotty muck with me by making some choice comments of her own.  Yeah, baby!
 
Her real problem was that because she didn't read the entire thread, she didn't have her facts straight.  She was proven wrong and ended up with her pride injured, feeling embarrassed and miffed.  She compounded it with her second post by accusing me of being snotty, then by being snotty herself. 
 
Note:  Pointing out an error isn't snotty.  If you can't handle that, you have no business posting on the thread.
 
Lesson for the day:  Read the whole thread.
 
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How to Debate on a Comments Thread and Not Sound Like a Moron Tip #1: Ignore Trolls

Posted by Jennifer P on Saturday, September 12, 2009 4:51:40 AM
I've come to realize that more people love to give their opinion than actually know how to intelligently present an arguement.  This is the first in a series of tips on forming an arguement and not sounding like an dumb bunny in the process.
 
Tip #1:  Ignore trolls.
 
We all know who they are.  It would be more appropriate to call them seagulls.  They fly in, crap all over everything, and fly off.  They live to flame and annoy.
 
Suppose somebody walked up to you for no apparant reason and began poking you in the eye with a stick.  What would you do?  Would you poke them back?  Yell at them that they're a moron while continuing to allow them to poke you in the eye?  Would the two of you continue standing there jabbing each other in the eye with sticks?  Most people with half a brain would remove themselves from the situation and just walk away.  So why don't people transfer that logic to trolls?  Why continue egging them on?  These bozos thrive on the conflict they create.
 
Just walk away from it. 
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Post Your Comments: Fight Club on the Net!

Posted by Jennifer P on Saturday, September 12, 2009 1:25:01 AM
After participating in a lengthy and ultimately pointless thread, I remembered a long forgotten adage I read on www.afblues.com.

"Fighting on the internet is like competing in the Special Olympics.  Even if you win, you're still retarded."

Maybe not the kindest comparison, but certainly apt.

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