Donald, I should say I know nothing of Hüseyin Doğru— never heard of him before.
Wasn't he Kim Jong Il's caddy when he shot 36 under par in one round of golf?
Juche!
I bookmarked Ian Welch's blog some years ago, but rarely visit. He is not my kind of lefty. He makes my head hurt.
bc: Lastly, in order to attract conservatives, IMHO, you have to at least want to hear another point of view.
Good to see you again, bc!
Put me down as definitely wanting to hear "another point of view" on any topic at all. Also put me down as willing to challenge any point of view -- time permitting, and if I feel like it.
Is it possible that, unlike you, some conservatives find it frustrating to be challenged when they set forth their "point of view" on ObWi? I mean, "hearing" and "accepting" are different things. Any posted comment is "heard" in a literal(-ish) sense. If it elicits no response, would that be less, or more, frustrating than a bunch of replies "refuting" it?
Hoping you pop up more often, and bring friends with you:)
--TP
Richards and Willie Nelson seem to have inherited the mantle of the Betty White jokes. "Shouldn't someone be worrying about the kind of world our kids will leave for Keith and Willie?"
From back when HP made quality stuff, not just crappy printers.
Sometime while I was in graduate school (Texas, 1976-78) I went to one of HP's sales pitches for their engineering calculators. At one point the salesman asked if there were any petroleum engineering students in the crowd and got several hands up. "You, my friends, will someday soon be walking along a catwalk and drop your calculator, watch it bounce twice, go over the edge, and fall 20 feet to the ground. What will you have if that's a Texas Instruments calculator? Pieces." Then he wound up and throw the HP calculator hard enough to bounce it off the back wall. "With an HP, you'll just yell down and ask your buddy to pick up your calculator."
Keith Richards has been undead since the '80s. He's keeping that phylactery safe and hidden.
That or Brian Jones gave him a ring for his birthday back in 1969.
Death by drowning...hmmm...
...there may be quite a few rotary phone fans waiting for a spiritual home!
You can take my rotary phone after you pull my cold, dead finger out of the dialer!
I've been reading about Neanderthals for the escapism. One difference between them and homo sapiens is the lack of visual art and, with a very notable exception, the apparent lack of sites for religious rituals.
Lack of a site doesn't mean there was no religion and no ceremonies, of course, and Neanderthals did make aesthetic designs both in the form of jewelry (shell necklaces) and in marks on some of their tools--though the marks are just straight lines in limited patterns.
Still there seems to be a difference in mind. What this means, I don't know.
I do like the idea of a thousand (liberal) churches blooming!
But the point of a church endorsing candidates/parties is that its congregants then vote, as a bloc, as their church tells them to vote.
The Sacred Assembly of the Mechanical Pencil probably doesn't have enough adherents to constitute a voting bloc.
Perhaps a "Sacred Assembly of Really Cool Mechanical Tools No Longer in General Use"? You could get the self-propelling pencil folks, and the people who still love their Texas Instruments calculators, their slide rules, and anyone who still knows what a protractor is, and there may be quite a few rotary phone fans waiting for a spiritual home!
In the other hand, getting yourself officially designated as a church is pretty straightforward.
John Oliver did.
But I expect that the IRS (and SCOTUS) will come up with loopholes to the loopholes, although not necessarily of the blatant 'Islam is not a religion' kind that some Kristians(TM) and GOPsters try to push.
Russell is a lot like Hilzoy
Yikes! Are you sure you have the right (R)russell?
You are very kind, bc. I appreciate this, although I doubt I live up to it. If this is a suggestion that we should have political shibboleths for commentators, I'm against it.
Pretty much my feeling also. And I think the suggestion of "just don't engage" is also fine. I know there are certain topics that I'm just not interested in discussing.
The folks that we exclude from here tend to be folks (on either - or any - side of the fence) who are rude or offensive, in whatever way. And we generally give folks ample warning before they get bumped - most of the folks that have been banned have shown that they simply refuse to stop doing whatever it is we've asked them (usually repeatedly) to stop doing.
I'm not sure anyone has been banned simply for their opinion, per se.
Conservative lurkers, c'mon in! Just don't be jerks. We'll try not to be, too.
I just started the Sacred Assembly of the Mechanical Pencil. We meet at 3:30 AM every third Wednesday if anyone is interested. One stipulation is that you have to be able to do The Worm.
The headline leaves out the even more scandalous part: ONLY churches, not other tax exempt entities. Those still have to obey the rule of either partisan or tax exempt but not both at the same time.
In the other hand, getting yourself officially designated as a church is pretty straightforward. And the requirements are far less than you might imagine. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if most PACs could pull it off -- given some of the organizations I've seen do so in the past. And any kind of charitable organization would be a shoo-in. For sure you don't need to express believe in any kind of diety(s).
It seems to me that it's GftNC's personal filter for whom to bother discussing politics with.
Yes, exactly. I did say "valuable additions to ObWi". The question is whether they'll listen to reason.
Personally I believe that anyone who still thinks Trump won in 2020 has shown themselves incapable of listening to reason.
I had a lot to say about the transgender issue and found myself very aligned with GftNC's point of view...
I mostly agree with GftNC's viewpoint, but didn't find time to write a carefully phrased comment when the question was live.
If this is a suggestion that we should have political shibboleths for commentators, I'm against it.
It seems to me that it's GftNC's personal filter for whom to bother discussing politics with.
Every bit of time we spend doing something is time we are not spending doing something else. Our time is limited. Spend it wisely.
It kind of reminds me of a friend's suggestion that I read Project 2025 after I mentioned that tRump was full of sh*t when he said he didn't know anything about it, even though there was a long list of major contributors to it in high-level positions in his administration.
Whether I read it had nothing to do with the point I was making, and I had better things to do with my time than read that crap.
The same goes for arguing with deluded people.
If this is a suggestion that we should have political shibboleths for commentators, I'm against it.
I don't mind discussing whether Trump lost the 2020 election - he plainly did, but I see no harm in demonstrating the fact in response to an honest enquiry.
I like GftNC's idea of checking that someone is connected to the real world. Just two details:
-- while most of us are in the US, and therefore closely attuned to events here, not everyone is. In addition to the several folks in the UK (and lj domiciled in Japan) I seem to recall that Lurker is in Finland. There might well be others, either currently or in the future. Do we need a question or two for reality checks of those elsewhere?
-- Just for equity, we probably ought to have a question or two that would reality check those on the left. (Maybe acknowledgement that such a category exists...? ;-)
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “An open thread on July 4th”
Donald,
I should say I know nothing of Hüseyin Doğru— never heard of him before.
Wasn't he Kim Jong Il's caddy when he shot 36 under par in one round of golf?
Juche!
I bookmarked Ian Welch's blog some years ago, but rarely visit. He is not my kind of lefty. He makes my head hurt.
"
bc: Lastly, in order to attract conservatives, IMHO, you have to at least want to hear another point of view.
Good to see you again, bc!
Put me down as definitely wanting to hear "another point of view" on any topic at all. Also put me down as willing to challenge any point of view -- time permitting, and if I feel like it.
Is it possible that, unlike you, some conservatives find it frustrating to be challenged when they set forth their "point of view" on ObWi? I mean, "hearing" and "accepting" are different things. Any posted comment is "heard" in a literal(-ish) sense. If it elicits no response, would that be less, or more, frustrating than a bunch of replies "refuting" it?
Hoping you pop up more often, and bring friends with you:)
--TP
"
I was a sucker for HP calculators and ending up buying five different ones.
"
Eva Marie Saint, currently the oldest living Oscar winner, is still kicking it at 101.
"
Richards and Willie Nelson seem to have inherited the mantle of the Betty White jokes. "Shouldn't someone be worrying about the kind of world our kids will leave for Keith and Willie?"
"
From back when HP made quality stuff, not just crappy printers.
Sometime while I was in graduate school (Texas, 1976-78) I went to one of HP's sales pitches for their engineering calculators. At one point the salesman asked if there were any petroleum engineering students in the crowd and got several hands up. "You, my friends, will someday soon be walking along a catwalk and drop your calculator, watch it bounce twice, go over the edge, and fall 20 feet to the ground. What will you have if that's a Texas Instruments calculator? Pieces." Then he wound up and throw the HP calculator hard enough to bounce it off the back wall. "With an HP, you'll just yell down and ask your buddy to pick up your calculator."
On “Plus ça change…”
Was historical iconoclasm maybe just an occasional outburst of Neanderthal ancestry?
On “An open thread on July 4th”
Be careful not to get confused with the Rotary Club.
I can't deny a certain nostalgia for these devices either.
"
Keith Richards has been undead since the '80s. He's keeping that phylactery safe and hidden.
That or Brian Jones gave him a ring for his birthday back in 1969.
Death by drowning...hmmm...
"
...there may be quite a few rotary phone fans waiting for a spiritual home!
You can take my rotary phone after you pull my cold, dead finger out of the dialer!
"
I just saw a video clip from Ringo's 85th birthday party. He's four years older than Keith Richards, but looks 20 years younger :^)
"
Texas Instruments calculators?
HP or GTFO.
From back when HP made quality stuff, not just crappy printers.
On “Plus ça change…”
I've been reading about Neanderthals for the escapism. One difference between them and homo sapiens is the lack of visual art and, with a very notable exception, the apparent lack of sites for religious rituals.
Lack of a site doesn't mean there was no religion and no ceremonies, of course, and Neanderthals did make aesthetic designs both in the form of jewelry (shell necklaces) and in marks on some of their tools--though the marks are just straight lines in limited patterns.
Still there seems to be a difference in mind. What this means, I don't know.
On “An open thread on July 4th”
I do like the idea of a thousand (liberal) churches blooming!
But the point of a church endorsing candidates/parties is that its congregants then vote, as a bloc, as their church tells them to vote.
The Sacred Assembly of the Mechanical Pencil probably doesn't have enough adherents to constitute a voting bloc.
Perhaps a "Sacred Assembly of Really Cool Mechanical Tools No Longer in General Use"? You could get the self-propelling pencil folks, and the people who still love their Texas Instruments calculators, their slide rules, and anyone who still knows what a protractor is, and there may be quite a few rotary phone fans waiting for a spiritual home!
"
In the other hand, getting yourself officially designated as a church is pretty straightforward.
John Oliver did.
But I expect that the IRS (and SCOTUS) will come up with loopholes to the loopholes, although not necessarily of the blatant 'Islam is not a religion' kind that some Kristians(TM) and GOPsters try to push.
"
Russell is a lot like Hilzoy
Yikes! Are you sure you have the right (R)russell?
You are very kind, bc. I appreciate this, although I doubt I live up to it.
If this is a suggestion that we should have political shibboleths for commentators, I'm against it.
Pretty much my feeling also. And I think the suggestion of "just don't engage" is also fine. I know there are certain topics that I'm just not interested in discussing.
The folks that we exclude from here tend to be folks (on either - or any - side of the fence) who are rude or offensive, in whatever way. And we generally give folks ample warning before they get bumped - most of the folks that have been banned have shown that they simply refuse to stop doing whatever it is we've asked them (usually repeatedly) to stop doing.
I'm not sure anyone has been banned simply for their opinion, per se.
Conservative lurkers, c'mon in! Just don't be jerks. We'll try not to be, too.
"
I just started the Sacred Assembly of the Mechanical Pencil. We meet at 3:30 AM every third Wednesday if anyone is interested. One stipulation is that you have to be able to do The Worm.
"
The headline leaves out the even more scandalous part: ONLY churches, not other tax exempt entities. Those still have to obey the rule of either partisan or tax exempt but not both at the same time.
In the other hand, getting yourself officially designated as a church is pretty straightforward. And the requirements are far less than you might imagine. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if most PACs could pull it off -- given some of the organizations I've seen do so in the past. And any kind of charitable organization would be a shoo-in. For sure you don't need to express believe in any kind of diety(s).
"
Keyword 'elections'
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-irs-says-churches-can-now-endorse-political-candidates-pulpit-rcna217495
The headline leaves out the even more scandalous part: ONLY churches, not other tax exempt entities. Those still have to obey the rule of either partisan or tax exempt but not both at the same time.
"
It seems to me that it's GftNC's personal filter for whom to bother discussing politics with.
Yes, exactly. I did say "valuable additions to ObWi".
The question is whether they'll listen to reason.
Personally I believe that anyone who still thinks Trump won in 2020 has shown themselves incapable of listening to reason.
"
I had a lot to say about the transgender issue and found myself very aligned with GftNC's point of view...
I mostly agree with GftNC's viewpoint, but didn't find time to write a carefully phrased comment when the question was live.
"
Everyone's wrong about something, possibly including me. The question is whether they'll listen to reason.
"
If this is a suggestion that we should have political shibboleths for commentators, I'm against it.
It seems to me that it's GftNC's personal filter for whom to bother discussing politics with.
Every bit of time we spend doing something is time we are not spending doing something else. Our time is limited. Spend it wisely.
It kind of reminds me of a friend's suggestion that I read Project 2025 after I mentioned that tRump was full of sh*t when he said he didn't know anything about it, even though there was a long list of major contributors to it in high-level positions in his administration.
Whether I read it had nothing to do with the point I was making, and I had better things to do with my time than read that crap.
The same goes for arguing with deluded people.
"
If this is a suggestion that we should have political shibboleths for commentators, I'm against it.
I don't mind discussing whether Trump lost the 2020 election - he plainly did, but I see no harm in demonstrating the fact in response to an honest enquiry.
"
I like GftNC's idea of checking that someone is connected to the real world. Just two details:
-- while most of us are in the US, and therefore closely attuned to events here, not everyone is. In addition to the several folks in the UK (and lj domiciled in Japan) I seem to recall that Lurker is in Finland. There might well be others, either currently or in the future. Do we need a question or two for reality checks of those elsewhere?
-- Just for equity, we probably ought to have a question or two that would reality check those on the left. (Maybe acknowledgement that such a category exists...? ;-)
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.