# When did Quartz become such a tool? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052 "2017-02-17T14:40:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/101 "2017-02-22T09:32:51Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Here’s a challenge for **Colibri** and **Gyrate** : find one - just one - thread in which I have defended Trump against a justified charge. Well there’s [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20013955&postcount=69) where you made the ridiculous claim that opposition to Trump’s cabinet nominees was due to the fact that they were Republicans rather than the fact that the people involved were both deeply unqualified and had previously demonstrated considerable antipathy to their briefs (Rick Perry for Energy, Scott Pruitt for the EPA, Devos for public education in general, Pudzer for labor rights). Never mind that the Democrats have had no problem confirming those nominees that actually were qualified for their roles; no, you’re so wedded to your “the Democrats are unjustified in their criticisms” narrative that you ignore anything that interferes with it. You also persist in handwaving away the experience point on the bizarre assertion that it’s not an issue in the UK despite the rather glaring flaw in the argument that _the US government doesn’t work like the UK one_. And to top it all off, you’re now characterising \*\*all \*\*opposition to a deeply unqualified, unstable, ignorant, incoherent narcissist as pure partisanship (see your “One True Democrat Way” comment above), which mean that you’ve gone from carrying teacups of water for Trump to giant bucketsful. Naturally, I expect you to handwave this point away as well, but perhaps you’ll surprise me. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/102 "2017-02-22T09:42:39Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Really? One court has stopped it; it’s still trundling its way through your legal system. And the hypothetical was not a defence but a hypothetical. One court has currently suspended it but it’s been through more than one court already and failed at each step, and other lawsuits are still being heard in other districts. Trump’s reaction has been to undermine and belittle the judges involved and the entire judicial branch for daring to challenge what is a fundamentally flawed EO. Even Neil Gorsuch has characterised Trump’s behaviour toward the judiciary as “demoralizing” and “disheartening”. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/103 "2017-02-22T10:08:45Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Well there’s [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20013955&postcount=69) where you made the ridiculous claim that opposition to Trump’s cabinet nominees was due to the fact that they were Republicans rather than the fact that the people involved were both deeply unqualified Again no. As I said: > [@](#): > > But with no actual evidence to back that up. To which there was no comeback. And I went on to give the British perspective: > [@](#): > > The best Dopers have managed is to say that they have no experience in the field, which is to us Britons laughable: all that matters is that they quickly master their briefs and do a good job. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/104 "2017-02-22T10:56:33Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > To which there was no comeback. Yes there was. In the very next post. But if you insist, I’ll add some more. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/105 "2017-02-22T12:02:37Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Yes there was. In the very next post. There was a claim, not actual evidence. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/106 "2017-02-22T13:23:39Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I agree that that thread showed mental rigidity. Also, remarkable arrogance. On the part of you, and a couple of others who went with the same approach. > > That approach being “_I personally only know 2 or 3 ways that a certain magic trick can be done, therefore it must have been done one of those ways, and the details must therefore have been in accordance with one of those methods. And if the guy who the trick was actually done on, along with other witnesses, saw with their own eyes that something else happened, well that can’t be so, because after all, I don’t know any way it could have been done based on those details._” > > You’re not that smart. You don’t know that much. There are other people out there who can do things that you’ve not thought of. The fact that you can’t think of a way for a trick to have been done doesn’t mean it wasn’t done. > > This is something you would be well advised to learn and accept, not just in this instance but as a general rule. The whole point of magic is to trick you into thinking you saw something you didn’t. Memory is fallible. That’s how “mentalists” work. Whenever you actually see a video of what they do, you find out that what people remember isn’t what actually happened. What you described was impossible, so people explained how they could trick you into thinking you saw what you described, and thus how the trick works. You, instead of being interested in finding out, just kept shooting everyone down. The whole point of quoting the exchange again is to show that you reject the idea that you personally can be fallible. On its own, it might just be a fluke. But this rejection seems to form the basis of the majority of your arguments. It’s always everyone else who is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/107 "2017-02-22T13:51:25Z")
You are misrepresenting what happened in that thread. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/108 "2017-02-22T15:08:39Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Frankly, I’m deeply concerned that not hating Trump sufficiently (or even - gasp - at all) is grounds for accusations of being a troll or a tool now. I could tell it was deep by the way you knitted your brow, slowly shook your head, and released a quiet, yet distinctly melancholic sigh. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/109 "2017-02-22T16:48:27Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > … To which there was no comeback. And I went on to give the British perspective: Oh… You’re the board’s representative of the British perspective are you? That’s breathtakingly fucking arrogant. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/110 "2017-02-22T17:17:26Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > One court has stopped it; it’s still trundling its way through your legal system. Several courts have ruled against it and the Trump administration has all but stopped defending it opting instead for a do over. > [@Quartz](#): > > And the hypothetical was not a defence but a hypothetical. It was a hypothetical offered in defense of Trump’s actions. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/111 "2017-02-22T17:48:38Z")
Do they use goalposts in the UK or would Quartz be shifting around some other piece of sports equipment to bolster himself and minimize all complaints against Trump? He’s a disgusting worm who refuses to be pinned down and thinks he’s the cleverest fucking poster for doing so. I hope that on his upcoming visit to the States (during which I get to share the same state w/ him ever so briefly, oh joy) he sees and hears firsthand how Cheetolini has affected us but I suspect his money or his cognitive dissonance will shield him. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/112 "2017-02-22T18:47:45Z")
We invented goalposts, we invented everything ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/113 "2017-02-22T19:13:15Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > We invented goalposts, we invented everything Aw, shit - it’s the Romans. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/114 "2017-02-22T19:45:59Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > **Quartz** (who is British) went very slightly off the rails with the Brexit vote and has remained there ever since. He went batshit stupid years before Brexit. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/115 "2017-02-22T19:50:20Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You might try reading some of the computer-related and British-related threads. > > On reflection, you’re just behaving like a bigot who can’t stand people who think differently and dare to question the One True Democrat Way. You aren’t making yourself look smarter by misusing the word “bigot.” It’s supposed to be the liberals who misuse that word to mean “people who disagree with me politically.” Or, worse, “people I don’t like.” You are not knowledgeable about US politics. You even admitted that some of the things that Americans were complaining about seemed strange to you being from the UK, where things are different. You cannot in any way be fighting ignorance about Trump or the political situation over here in the U.S. You said something stupid, so both **Miller** and **Colibri** , who enjoy this sort of thing, insulted you. You don’t have to like them but it doesn’t in any way make them bigots. “Bigot” is not just a generic insult. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/116 "2017-02-22T19:51:20Z")
Also, here’s my tip on Pittings–staying around and defending yourself beyond a couple posts will always, always make you look worse. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/117 "2017-02-22T19:54:47Z")
This might be the first thing I’ve ever agreed with BigT about. But I would go further. Trying to defend yourself in the Pit - even in one post - is a mistake. Your two choices are to 1) ignore it or 2) attack the other guy(s). Never try to defend yourself against attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/118 "2017-02-22T21:26:23Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I could tell it was deep by the way you knitted your brow, slowly shook your head, and released a quiet, yet distinctly melancholic sigh. I actually did. Then I reached for my coffee and took a moment to contemplate the sad state of affairs we’re in when [del]passing ruffians can go around saying Ni at will to old ladies[/del] not disliking the US president enough is grounds for name calling and disparagement on the boards. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052/119 "2017-02-22T21:48:58Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > This might be the first thing I’ve ever agreed with BigT about. It’s your contention, then, that casein _is_ dairy-free? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-quartz-become-such-a-tool/780052.md?page=5)