So you are admitting that everything you know about Thomas is what you read in a Molly Ivans column? And by reading Molly Ivans' inane drivel I could "learn something?" I used to read her easily refutable nonsense when our local paper ran her years ago. The only column she wrote that made any sense was after the Waco massacre. She roundly condemned the government's actions and defended the victims. After a couple of months she wrote another column retracting her condemnation of the government and said, essentially, that the victims had it coming. She apparently saw that the liberals loved Reno's Gestapo and the conservatives were horrified by the massacre. Since she is an intellectual coward, she made sure she stayed on the "Left" of the issue. Her columns are full of half-truths and otherwise easily refutable bilge. She belongs on the funny pages.
I actually like Ellen Goodman. I rarely agree with her, but she is a good writer and, a rarity among liberal columnists, she actually THINKS before she writes. She has well-reasoned views and has always remained civil, another rarity for liberal columnists.
George Will is brilliant. Every time I read his column I learn something and get a fresh angle on the issue.
It takes practice to tolerate somebody's opinion, even if you don't necessarily agree with them.
You'll get a lot of practice around here.
The risk is that you might learn something.
Only if you have an open mind. Otherwise you just get angry.