Time to part company

myself | 4/1/05 | hchutch

[Godebert]

You spent all that time on that post and decided not to use paragraphs? Why? I'd bet only one in ten bothered to read that big glob of words. I'm with the nine who didn't bother.

[johnb838]

thank you. it is good to get some support because I'm getting flamed but this makes me really angry on such a somber day.

[johnb838]

Thanks, I couldn't think of that at that moment, momentary aphasia, but I wanted the allusion to goose-stepping to be in there so I wanted to use geese instead of ducks.

[andysandmikesmom]

I agree with what you have said...my advice, just take a breather, that is what I did for a while...

We all have real lives(I should hope we do), that have nothing to do with FR...go back into real life for a while, and then return to FR time to time...you might be pleasantly surprised...

[Congressman Billybob]

I have appreciated VERY MUCH our conversations over the years. We have not always agreed, but I have always respected your comments. Even though I agree with much of what you wrote, I believe the game is worth the candle.

I hope you will reconsider.

Cordially,

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, "The Fatal Attraction of the Inside Straight"

[BobS]

"I do NOT think immigration is a problem.

I do. Our health care system is breaking down and hospitals are closing due to bankruptcy because of it. Prisons are largely populated by violent illegal alien criminals. These things cost money.

You declare you are for lower taxes.

What the HELL do you think your taxes are paying for?

[Dog Gone]

I agree with most of what you said, but I can't buy this:

For every thread calling M.S. a murderer, there was one accusing the Schindlers of glorying in the media attention or being out for monetary gain.

That's some alternate universe. An easy search of the archives will prove that to anyone. And it's just not a count of the threads, but the behavior on those threads. Anyone who defended the rulings of the judges based on the actual legal issues before them was shouted down.

The truth is that the Schindlers did not have very good attorneys. They made the wrong case and they did it in an awful way. Even when that was clearly demonstrated, most here felt the judges should have been activists in the cause of Terri and ruled on matters not even before them.

I understand the passions involved and I even understand wanting the judges to be activist judges when the cause is so dear, as hypocritical to the conservative movement as that is.

What I don't understand is the nastiness in which that was expressed. The countless calls for Greer's and Michael Schiavo's death from pro-lifers? Calling people here with long track records of reasonable, intelligent, and conservative posts "nazis", "pro-deathers", ad nauseum? Even when some of those posts got pulled, the damage is largely done.

We've had people here calling for the drawing up of lists of Freepers they hate so they can do something with it; I'm not sure what.

So, I don't buy that it was even-handed or merely rough and tumble stuff here at the forum. It was ugly, and it was largely one-sided.

[nopardons]

The DEAD THREAD has 65,000+ posts.

[arasina]

With all due respect, you just congratulated a cry-baby who couldn't take the heat.

So? Maybe I like some cry babies.

Well, maybe I don't, really, but I do like and appreciate hutch, don't consider him a cry baby and I'm truly sorry to see him go. You, on the other hand, I know nothing about except that you chose to criticize my post.

[TheForceOfOne]

That's your opinion and I respect it. Commenting on what I said would be more useful. I guess you're more interested in finding a flame war to fill your Friday night. I'm not biting.

[Critter]

The extremist kookery took over sometime around the 2000 election. Before that, this was a grassroots conservative forum making a positive difference.

Then came the mad dash to the left and GWB worship....

[doug from upland]

Thanks. It is very difficult to get through to his show.

[Godebert]

Reformat with paragraphs and maybe I'll comment on what you said. I'm not going to read it as it is now.

[TheForceOfOne]

Thanks but no thanks, it was purely for hchutch if he wishes to read it as is.

[nopardons]

And I really did lurk, for almost a year before I signed up, so take that !

[BobS]

People come and people go. I've been here in concentrations of time a couple years before the software change in '97 or '98? Maybe folks just don't have contigious time anymore to frame an argument and follow a position for weeks? We had mud-fights on and off for so long around here about ideas that some have actually passed into law!!

This guy is not a "Braveheart" sort of man. Yet.

Get the I.D. card from him and keep it at the guard shack for when he wants back in:):)

[nopardons]

Tell it to someone who cares.......newbie.

[Dog Gone]

Well, two long-time posters who I think have earned the respect of most of the people here, whether or not they were in agreement with them all of the time, have left tonight.

So, my comment seems to be reasonably accurate so far. I hope they are the only two, but it's really not disputable that the ugliness that has pervaded FR in recent weeks was the reason.

FR will survive, I think. We'll see how the fundraiser does, and I'm still a member of the dollar a day club. I'm hopeful the forum will return to normal. If it remains a hostile environment, I'll reconsider that.

And let me make one further point. I didn't take much abuse on the Terri threads. Way more than I liked, but not much compared to others. Maybe it's because I made it clear that I thought it was wrong without any new tests. Maybe it's because my comments were more of a legal nature. So, this isn't about me. It's about what I saw on those threads. We were eating our own.

[G32]

Do you hold your signon date with some sort of pride or something? Like it's a rank? That it actually matters?

[Hildy]

So you actually admit you post without reading the article? Paging Laz, paging Lazamataz.