Aw, I was waiting for someone to notice that… You made MY day.
And I hope no one takes that personally. It was just a little joke I thought was somewhat clever.
[QUOTE=John Mace;12862455Maeglin: I think you’re missing the point. Sam is simply saying that their arguments carry more weight than, say, George Will’s. It’s not an indictment of liberals.[/QUOTE]
I am definitely not missing the point. The arguments don’t carry more weight just because there is robust internal criticism all the time on the left. They may carry more weight than George Will’s due to Will’s own personal inadequacies, but that such criticism exists is absolutely not noteworthy.
Of course, shouting down an argument because it’s partisan is also self-evidently stupid. If that’s the audience these days, then I suppose I am glad I spend less time in GD than I used to.
Maeglin, you are talking about should be, whereas Sam is dealing with what is. Of course no person’s opinion on an issue should carry more weight than anyone else’s (when it’s not a technical issue that requires specialized knowledge and experience), but to some here on some issues, some people’s opinions do carry more weight than others.
However, I think where Sam’s argument falls apart is in assuming that his audience will actually regard these people’s opinions more highly because they were once Obama supporters. I think it is more likely that they will conclude that the former Obama suppoirter has switched teams for various nefarious reasons, so now their opinion cannot be trusted.
Also, Sam, the same criticism applies to your arguments about uncertaintý. The idiots you are talking to are absolutely incapable of putting themselves in the mindset of a business owner. They don’t think that way. They think people with blackberries are suckers that are tethered to work. They just want to show up and tune out for ar0 years then collect their pension.
This is why I hope you realize that your posting here should be regarded as for your own amusement only. You will never change the minds of those who so loudly argue against you because they don’t have the ability to actually think about your arguments.
I thought “Why Do You Hate America” was kinda clever but sarcasm can be hard to read on a message board. I do find it perplexing that a Canadian gets so wrapped up in US politics, and posts in agent provocateur fashion. I first ran into this Canadian fetish from Les Csorba, who still going strong I guess but now has a US passport and calls himself a Texan. Be that as it may, it’s the side issue.
Are we talking the same Mortimer Zuckerman and this speech?. Seriously? WTF? If anything it’s pretty balanced.
It’s like most of your political posts, once you scratch the surface it’s just partisan con. Dick Tuck would be proud.
Part of the point is that there is not robust internal criticism by the left on the SDMB. WIld exaggerations from the Left pass unremarked, while everything even mildly critical of St. Obama or his policies is dismissed out of hand. See Sam’s example about “1% of the population has 99% of the wealth”.
Regards,
Shodan
To add on to Maeglin’s point, there are plenty of people who supported and voted for Obama who are now dissatisfied with him, not because he’s too left-wing, but because he’s not lefty enough. This isn’t a binary game; it isn’t necessarily true that because people are getting dissatisfied with a Democrat that a Republican must be the answer.
I think this just isn’t true. First, what I meant by robust internal criticism had nothing to do with the SDMB but with the left at large. Second, I have no doubt that you are more sensitive to wild lefty exagerrations than I am. I just roll my eyes and scroll down, whereas I’d probably be more prone to respond to the same shit from the right. I’ve only got so much time in my life, and policing my own is quite frankly less fun than arguing with the other side.
Did somebody promise you guys something else? You were drafted and sent to the SDMB against your will? You didn’t lurk around, check it out, get some idea about who and what was going on here?
What do you want us to do? Leave? Or do you want some sort of statement of respect, every time we stomp on one of your lame-ass arguments?
“Your arguments and positions are very sound, and solidly founded. The only reason I retain my previous position is a rock-headed stupidity and a blind devotion to Adlai Stevenson.”
No? Well, then, what? What do you want from us?
This is one of the reasons why it is true that there is so little robust internal criticism on the SDMB.
Regards,
Shodan
At least I’m honest about it. The next time you tell one of your fellow travelers that he’s being a moron, I’ll send you a prize.
Hey, I tried to back Sam up in the original thread. I think I deserve a cookie.
Well, not sure about my fellow fiscal conservatives, but as for me:
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I’ve been lurking and posting here now for about 11 years–the board composition has changed quite a bit in that time.
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I only want to keep being amused by your petulent flailing and gnashing of teeth. I labor under no presumption that your mind can be changed by listening to facts and reason. Therefore, please keep up the good work.
If I’m the one who loses so many arguments, how come you’re the one who’s pissed off?
Who says I’m pissed off?
And I don’t think you “lose so many arguments.” I think that very few actual arguments take place here. Sam does yeoman’s work by posting his well-researched and well-reasoned OPs, and then you monkeys start flinging poo at him. That’s not an argument (first Monty Python joke wins a prize).
Sam, I did a search on the threads started by you in the past year. I stand by my comment. You may be a renaissance man for all I know, but if you spend your Sundays carrying an “Obama sucks” sign outside town hall and raving about Austrian economics, that’s what people are going to remember you for.
As another (I hesitate to use the term ‘fellow’) Albertan, I have to ask: when did he lose? The up ‘n’ coming party around here is run by a Reagan-quoting libertarian economist who professes skepticism regarding climate science.
Amazing how much climatology they teach economists these days.
It’s amazing how little economics they teach climatologists these days.
No, that’s not their job. This is a really, really lame attempt to turn around the phrase. Even someone as blindly partisan as you should be able to see there’s no comparison here.
Still waiting for your facts…
I think the reason for the delay is that even you know how sorry the evidence is for your say so’s.
Yeah, let me model something up for you by completely subjectively choosing inputs until I get the exact results I want. Those are the kinds of “facts” you seem to like the most.