Stormy Daniels in court.

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
No but a biased one.

In an article I read this morning -----

Benjamin Franklin was perhaps the pinnacle of this mindset. At the Constitutional Convention, Franklin said, “I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects … It is therefore that the older I grow the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment.” In his autobiography, Franklin advised readers never to use the words “certainly” or “undoubtedly” when stating our beliefs. Instead say “I imagine it to be so; or it is so, if I am not mistaken.”

Franklin liked to tell a short parable. He said there was a “French lady, who, in a little dispute with her sister said: ‘I don’t know how it happens, sister, but I meet with nobody but myself that is always in the right.’”

Franklin’s point was that we are all that French lady. We all believe we have a monopoly on the truth. I know I feel that way most of the time. But I fight that inclination. I try to remind myself: What are the odds that I, one of 8 billion humans on earth, happen to be that singular person who has discovered the correct take on politics, literature, the environment, religion and all other topics? Probably two to one. Maybe even three to one.


It's tough to change your mind about things - but to be fair about an issue, you have to take a page from our Founders, who did it often. Because like scientists, the answer is fluid and science is not dogma.

Hemi is not totally unreasonable as he is able to discuss reasonably on subjects not as charged as politics - unlike others, who can somehow bring TRUMP into a discussion on food, gardening or home improvement.

This is fascinating to watch because Hemi has proven over and over that he's nothing more than a flamethrowing troll, and yet he makes one lucid point and all of a sudden he's freaking Ghandi.

Becky and I are discussing this in the Religion forum right now.
 

Kyle

Beloved Misanthrope
PREMO Member
In the earliest days of the internet, after AOL and Prodigy chat rooms were pretty well established and, well, overrun by a lot of what we see in forums across the internet today, a lot of us moved to IRC's (Internet Relay Chat) such as DALNET and UNDERNET. That was about a year before the flame wars started, and it finally got so bad that a lot of people, myself included gave it up entirely. People just can't help themselves.

But anyway, imagine the worst of the wild, wild west combined with a sh*thole 3rd world country combined with a post-apocalyptic dystopian future, and you'll get an idea of how bad it was. A day didn't go by where somebody wasn't wishing or threatening death on somebody else.

There are still places on IRC that I'm scared to even visit.
I find it amusing.

Watching how emotionally invested people can get, stirring up so much hatred and anger, over strangers on an internet link. :lmao:
 

HemiHauler

Well-Known Member
In the earliest days of the internet, after AOL and Prodigy chat rooms were pretty well established and, well, overrun by a lot of what we see in forums across the internet today, a lot of us moved to IRC's (Internet Relay Chat) such as DALNET and UNDERNET. That was about a year before the flame wars started, and it finally got so bad that a lot of people, myself included gave it up entirely. People just can't help themselves.

But anyway, imagine the worst of the wild, wild west combined with a sh*thole 3rd world country combined with a post-apocalyptic dystopian future, and you'll get an idea of how bad it was. A day didn't go by where somebody wasn't wishing or threatening death on somebody else.

There are still places on IRC that I'm scared to even visit.

Yes, remember the good ole days of IRC. It’s still alive and well and I use it still. Even helped port an irc client to DEC Ultrix in the mid 80s.
 
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BOP

Well-Known Member
Yes, remember the good ole days of IRC. It’s still alive and well and I use it still. Even helped port an irc client to DEC Ultrix in the mid 80s.
I don't remember that; maybe GURPS does. I didn't start on the www until about....'92? ish? We were still using 1200 baud dialup and local bulletin boards at the time. Then came search engines where you had to type in gargantuan urls, and you better not make a mistake.

 

Kyle

Beloved Misanthrope
PREMO Member
I don't remember that; maybe GURPS does. I didn't start on the www until about....'92? ish? We were still using 1200 baud dialup and local bulletin boards at the time. Then came search engines where you had to type in gargantuan urls, and you better not make a mistake.


:yay:

Spent a lot of time on the newsservers up until 2009-2010.
 
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BOP

Well-Known Member
Hey, I appreciate the love! But as I say, I give what I get. There are but a few reasonable people here with functional minds. Board Mommy ain’t one of them.
My perspective of her is that she is very sharp. I think that for a lot of things, she's a lot more tolerant and exercises far more patience that many of us are not, do not.

However, and I dare say she and I are alike on this: she doesn't have much bandwidth for mindless spewing from either side; left or right. I mean, until the age of Obama, who knew that the left could be such angry, intolerant, war-mongering, totalitarian bigots? They've long accused the right of such things, but the right (unless one looks a long, long way to the right) is merely a mirror that reflects the ugliness of the left.
 

Kyle

Beloved Misanthrope
PREMO Member
I mean, until the age of Obama, who knew that the left could be such angry, intolerant, war-mongering, totalitarian bigots?
Me.

Just get them away from the cameras and microphones and the ####bag comes out in them.

Annapolis is filled to the brim with them.
 

BOP

Well-Known Member
Yeah, well, until the Won came along, I was pretty well checked out from politics. I was a registered Libertarian from 1976 until the old duffer and the hot chick from Alaska ran, at which time I switched to Independent. I long considered myself a classic California liberal, which was more of a live-and-let-live, my experience is not your experience kind of mindset.

Now, we can't seem to leave one another alone. We're like a bunch of sober drunks "None of you people are doing this right!"
 

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
In the earliest days of the internet, after AOL and Prodigy chat rooms were pretty well established and
Back in the old days of Usenet - heard plenty of stories of anonymous persons shooting up windows of some person they met online, due to some perceived sleight. Knowing and armed with that, I've striven to do two things -

Keep my identity more or less anonymous - and behave as though EVERYONE knew me.
 
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HemiHauler

Well-Known Member
My perspective of her is that she is very sharp. I think that for a lot of things, she's a lot more tolerant and exercises far more patience that many of us are not, do not.

However, and I dare say she and I are alike on this: she doesn't have much bandwidth for mindless spewing from either side; left or right. I mean, until the age of Obama, who knew that the left could be such angry, intolerant, war-mongering, totalitarian bigots? They've long accused the right of such things, but the right (unless one looks a long, long way to the right) is merely a mirror that reflects the ugliness of the left.

The entire concept of left vs. right or Democrat vs. Republican is a false choice.

One bird. Two wings. Both power hungry and corrupt. That whole dichotomy just doesn’t translate well.
 
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BOP

Well-Known Member
The entire concept of left vs. right or Democrat vs. Republican is a false choice.

One bird. Two wings. Both power hungry and corrupt. That whole dichotomy just doesn’t translate well.
Some days, I whole-heartedly agree with this; other days, the behavior is so diametrically opposed that I wonder if leftists and rightists (is that a word?) are even the same species.
 

HemiHauler

Well-Known Member
Some days, I whole-heartedly agree with this; other days, the behavior is so diametrically opposed that I wonder if leftists and rightists (is that a word?) are even the same species.

I’d say so diametrically opposed such that they almost meet at the ends. Ergo, no different at all.

They only want people to think they are 180° apart. They aren’t. They are the Ruling Class and the ruling class always wins. Always. This is immutable fact.

And don’t be fooled. Donald J. Trump is no different. Not a smidge. He’s not an outsider.

He even said in a recent interview of his presumed ascendency to the 47th POTUS that he’d do things differently this time because he now knows his way around Washington. Meaning: “I’m an insider.”

I can only say two good things about him: he’s a teetotaler because of bad behavior he witnessed from an alcoholic uncle. It happened at a young age and that is huge to recognize and decide to abstain. Secondly, released several non-violent drug offenders from their prison sentences. But he didn’t go far enough. And he only did that because a Hollywood type with a prestigious surname and big tits was involved.

He’s already planning more tariffs in his 2nd term, while we are still fighting the ill-effects of his first-term tariffs. No good will come of that - you think inflation is bad now?

I get why people like him. He’s a textbook populist. He also loves to play victim to a large group of voters who also see themselves as victims for one reason or another. So they identify with victimhood.

Just because I and many others aren’t a fan of the man doesn’t mean that same group wants the other doddering old fool in office.

Me? I’ll vote for the Libertarian candidate, assuming they aren’t bat-chit crazy. Have no problem sitting it out if they are. I’d love another Barry Goldwater.
 

CPUSA

Well-Known Member
Hey, I appreciate the love! But as I say, I give what I get. There are but a few reasonable people here with functional minds. Board Mommy ain’t one of them.
:killingme:killingme:killingme

My GOD you are a sad example of human decency, while at the same time, the perfect example of dogshit drying in the summer sun...
 
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