# Sam Stone - in your humble opinion **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 9, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827 "2009-03-09T13:20:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/21 "2009-03-09T17:02:20Z")
> [@drm](#): > > I agree with you and I disagree with him most of the time. I’ve got no problems with him at all (with the exception that, if I recall correctly - and I may not - he says he can play Guitar Hero on Expert and I don’t think that’s physically possible so he must be lying). My fiancee can beat every song on _GH3_ on Expert except Through the Fire and Flames (and she’s gotten as far as 92% on that). Extremely annoying, especially since I can barely get through songs on Hard- lose my fingering too often when I have to move to the orange button. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/22 "2009-03-09T17:06:59Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > He seems to be asking why SS is so invested in US politics. My guess at that (this is IMHO) is that US politics affects most of the rest of the world, thus affects, to some degree, north of the border viewpoints. There’s also the simple fact that it’s an interesting topic most people on the SDMB know something about. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/23 "2009-03-09T17:13:13Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I decided to play golf one day and I was put into a group with 3 wealthy Canadian businessmen Nice try, yarn-spinner… but everyone knows that a country that has embraced SOCIALISM wouldn’t have any wealthy businessmen! ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/24 "2009-03-09T17:16:01Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > **Sam** is the best conservative debater on the Boards by a mile… > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > 😃 Oh, I get it. It’s because all conservatives are morons. If they had a brain in their heads they’d be liberal, right? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/25 "2009-03-09T17:18:34Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > Oh, I get it. It’s because all conservatives are morons. Well, they certainly needn’t be. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/26 "2009-03-09T17:21:34Z")
No, hardly, **LA**. It’s about honesty and connection with reality, not basic intelligence. There are dishonest, choleric ideologues among liberals too, certainly. But among the antigovernment types, that’s pretty much all we see here, isn’t it? Yes, **Sam** has a fine command of the English language (in spite of some unorthodox spellings 🙂 ). But don’t confuse articulateness with the quality of the underlying thought. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/27 "2009-03-09T17:41:14Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > Oh, I get it. It’s because all conservatives are morons. If they had a brain in their heads they’d be liberal, right? Just to clarify: that was certainly not _my_ point. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/28 "2009-03-09T17:46:22Z")
Sam is a publicly acknowledged fan of Warren Zevon. This is, in itself, enough to suggest that he has excellent taste, which is often an indicator of sound reasoning. Frequently, at any rate. And it is also true, as well, that he posts cogent arguments. Problem is, he frequently takes the “shotgun” approach: he posits a whole bunch of such arguments, each based on a conventional premise of conservative thinking, and posts them as if they were the accepted truth. To fairly argue, one must contradict each and every such conservative premise in order to argue against each and every conclusion. A tiresome rhetorical stratagem, but by no means illegitimate. Regrettably, he sometimes jumps the track, as in the recent Palin thread. It was a sorry thing that ought not have seen the light of day. All in all, rather like the girl with the curl right in the middle of her forehead: when she was good, she was very, very good, and when she was bad, she was horrid. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/29 "2009-03-09T17:50:25Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Maybe it’s something to do with living at a high latitude? Lack of sunlight makes people mean? That’s why it’s so awesome to visit them in the summer and pound Labatt’s till sunset…ya know…round 10:30pm. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/30 "2009-03-09T17:54:51Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > As ElvisL1ves has noted, this is really damnation by faint praise. I know people say this of him, and for the life of me I don’t know why. Perhaps because he doesn’t swear? > > I don’t think I’ve ever once found a post by him informative. Over the last 8 years, his role has been to mindlessly parrot Republican talking points. His forte appears to be Republican economics, and he spared no uptick in the Dow to come here to tell us how great the Bush economy was. Evidence at the time suggested that it was the weakest, flattest recovery in history, and it sure didn’t have the outcome that Sam promised, but nevertheless his offerings were routinely greeted with the mindless plaudits of the ideologically like-minded. Case in point. He has consistently said US unemployment rates have been historically low, even as they went above 7% and structural unemployment was much worse. I think he might have finally gotten it. He claimed the infrastructure stimulus was useless because all construction crews were working, even after being presented with evidence that projects had been stopped. [Here](http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/business/2009/02/15/D96C5Q600_stimulus_road_crews/) is direct evidence against. A lot of his posts consist of citeless assertions, that others have to research to disprove. It appears that bank regulation in Canada was stronger than here, and has worked pretty well. Maybe the problem is that he doesn’t get how bad it is now in the US. Maybe he believe Phil Gramm that it is all whining. But he is the best the right has got around here, that I agree with. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/31 "2009-03-09T17:55:46Z")
Just to add to the points already made - yes, **Sam Stone** is Canadian and has conservative values that align more with the Rebublican party that the Democrats. This is entirely normal. We are not all one monolithic lefty bloc up North. Like many others have said, **Sam** is a good contributor here, and argues his points well. I agree with him rarely, but value his input. In terms of "why is he posting about US politics… I do so all the time and nobody has called me out about it. Canadians are very interested in US politics, as it has a huge impact on our country. Also, the last election cycle has been very interesting. Also, its a fun topic of conversation around the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/32 "2009-03-09T17:58:49Z")
I don’t understand why people are singling out Canada. Why aren’t people asking why the other 50 states care about American politics? ---
**Author:** ![Peanut\_Gallery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/838e76/32.png) [@Peanut\_Gallery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut_Gallery)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/33 "2009-03-09T18:03:10Z")
I have also wondered the same as the OP. He seems to care about American politics more than most American dopers. I think he just has far more drive to convince people of his ideas than your average poster does. I have pretty much none, and I’ve never gotten that mindset anyway… so his extremity makes him all the more baffling to me. I disagree with Sam, but I value his posts. The biggest reason I read the SDMB is as my own personal “fairness doctrine” for the news. I know I can always get the Right spin on whatever story comes up. Sam usually delivers it in a readable manner. Most of the other Rs around here can’t explain their side without being assholes about it. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/34 "2009-03-09T18:04:28Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] …Why aren’t people asking why the other 50 states care about American politics? [/QUOTE] Such ignorance! Canada isn’t a state, its a wholly owned subsidiary! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/35 "2009-03-09T18:10:35Z")
Canada is to the US as Austria is to Germany. Come on now, people. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/36 "2009-03-09T18:12:38Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Canada is to the US as Austria is to Germany. > > Come on now, people. NHL expansion = Anschluss ---
**Author:** ![Gorgonzola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e480ec/32.png) [@Gorgonzola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgonzola)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/37 "2009-03-09T18:52:16Z")
**Sam Stone** is out working for a living in an office where he (fortunately for his productivity) can’t access the SDMB. I’m sure he’ll be only too happy to respond to this nonsense when he gets home in five or six hours, because for some reason he continues to engage in frequent discourse here, largely unrewarding as it seems to me. I wanted to allow my membership to expire unpaid, but he renewed it for me. We had a little chat about how I didn’t really give two dimes about what appeared next to my user name about the join date and number of posts and all of that. “It’s important to me,” he said. So whatever. He doesn’t ask for much. His unearthly tolerance also allows him to put up with me, so I guess I’ll not complain. He very, very rarely loses his temper in any way, shape, or form. Most Albertans I know, unless they eschew politics as a preoccupation entirely, are very conversant in American political issues. That probably applies to most Canadians, though I have not traveled the entire country and can’t really say for sure. American political news appears on all the network broadcast channels – including Canadian ones – and is written up at length in Canadian newspapers. I remember getting on the school bus one day in grade four. “Gerald Ford is the new president,” announced my seatmate. I didn’t once think to freak out about her unnatural interest in another country’s election results. Any of my work peers can and will tell you how they feel about Sarah Palin and Freddie Mac at the drop of a hat. Why this should be surprising to people is what makes me question your overall ability to think things through – gee, we share a large border, numerous media outlets, and cultural features while having about one tenth the population and world influence of our neighbour? However could that evolve into an interest? Hmmmmmm, goodness, dunnnnnooooo. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/38 "2009-03-09T18:55:36Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No, hardly, **LA** But don’t confuse articulateness with the quality of the underlying thought. I wish Obama voters had taken this advice to heart. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/39 "2009-03-09T18:58:23Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I wish Obama voters had taken this advice to heart. We did. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827/40 "2009-03-09T19:01:35Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I wish Obama voters had taken this advice to heart. Well then, your wish is granted, because we very much did. ETA: Dammit Bosstone! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sam-stone-in-your-humble-opinion/488827.md?page=3)