So, about six months ago I started this blog as a forum for arguing with Ryan. I had no other purpose in mind. This blog is a forum for all the angry things that popped in my head in response to Ryan's personal politics.
Since then, Ryan and I have more or less played each other out on most topics. The UN? We've come to a consensus on as many points as can be agreed upon, and abandoned the rest. Iraq? Ditto, pretty much. Gay marriage? Been there. Done that. That new Star Trek Enterprise series? We haven't talked about that, but I'm willing to bet we both hate it.
Since then, I've moved on to louder, more obnoxious and deeply freakishly partisan right-wing bloggers who have taught me, among other things, to appreciate all the ways in which Ryan is a sane, balanced, considerate human being.
Mostly, I've run up against these people in A Small Victory.
So what you'll see here from now until I get bored with this, is mostly rants against Michele, who runs ASV, and her more frequent commenters. I will try to add context, so that the rants are entertaining in and of themselves and, of course, I'll do my best to make sure the comments here are worth reading.
That said, I have a point about this whole "Those Lefties are saying X!" and "Those Righties are saying Y!" thing. Consider, please, the following two quotes taken off of the ASV comment string, hearings or spanish inquisition?
The horrifying thing to me is that increasingly, when something goes wrong--whatever it is--the reaction of many people in our society is to turn on each other rather than adddressing the problem or the external enemy. I think this is a huge problem, and it seems like it has gotten much worse in the last decade. Anyone agree or disagree? Any thoughts as to causes?
Posted by David Foster at May 18, 2004 08:13 PM
ok David, I'll bite! How about the ACLU, political correctness, our societies lack of willingness to take responsiblity for our own actions. I know a few lawyers, some of them decent, but many more who would sue just for the fun of it.
Posted by Diana at May 18, 2004 09:02 PM
David Foster, a right-winger, asks, "Why must we blame?"
And Diana, also a right-winger, comes back with, "Because of those damn Lefties!"
Now, if I were trying to argue against "the Right" generally, and chose to do so exclusively by picking out contradictions in "their" arguments, this would be a good place to start. After that, I could spend all day just picking out one of these things after another. Some of them would be on "issue" topics, like WMD and al Qaeda. Some of them would be about gay marriage. And so on and so forth.
My point? That whole approach is bullshit. And if you catch yourself saying "The Right wing can't make up its mind," it might be worth your time to stop and ask yourself which "right wing" you're talking about.
Ditto the left.
Also: beware the straw man. I could tear Diane to pieces, and call the right wing vanquished. But I'd be doing David, and myself, a disservice.
Anyway, I have to run and catch a bus now, because I'm one of those Leftie "cars suck" people. You know how they are. And the good news is, that saves you from having to listen to me pound this point into the ground.
i'd have to say, for the record, that johnny huh? is my personal nemesis. that conclusion may be influenced by the amount of participation he has on the mint. and for the record, it is nice to know that, even though we respectfully disagree on alot, he can still provide the mint with solid porn links. we try not to take ourselves too seriously over there.
as for the blogosphere, i'd like to think that it's getting me somewhere. as you point out, it can be fun to take pot-shots at empty barrels (they make the most noise when you bang on them, because their content is vaccuos). though it's a good fri night activity, it's doesn't get you anywhere. blogging, when done in the right locations, can give one a sense of public opinions.
but, i'm not sold. the political issues covered have so many intricacies, and with the vast amount of info available, people make their points, some may be more valid than others, but largely, i am moved in direction. 'course, one could suggest that speaks to my inherent stubborness.
anyway. i enjoy the posts.
Posted by: seed at May 19, 2004 08:22 AMGood luck with that. I don't think it will give you the traffic boost you are clearly so desperately longing for. Just remember, when the resulting depression sets in, there's always vodka and a small caliber pistol. Happy posting!
Posted by: Arbiter at May 19, 2004 01:22 PMEverybody, wave to the nice crazy person who drifted in from ASV.
Crazy person, this is everybody.
Everybody; crazy person.
Thanks for stopping by!
Posted by: Joshua at May 19, 2004 02:18 PM*sigh*
Why are people on the far side of any political spectrum such vacuous boobs?
*sigh squared*
Arbiter depresses me.
Posted by: Ryan at May 19, 2004 02:52 PMJoshua, I think they make twelve step programs for people like you. You should look into it.
Posted by: michele at May 19, 2004 06:36 PMHow pathetic. And the topper is...now I'm bored. You just bring pain to everyone, don't you, cowboy?
Posted by: Leonidas at May 19, 2004 06:51 PMJoshua, I think they make twelve step programs for people like you.
Says the woman who posts about Ted Rall and Micah Wright three times a day. Each.
Leonidas (or Arbiter or whatever):
Luv ya, sweetie. *smooch*
Posted by: Joshua at May 20, 2004 09:34 AM