[Vision2020] (no subject)

[Paul Rumelhart]

I tend to annoy everybody, I think.  It's a special trait of mine.

I haven't met very many people on the list in real life.  I know Sue 
Hovey, I've met Nick Gier, and I've talked to Keely on the phone.

I miss some of the old-timers that haven't been around in a while.  Is 
Chasuk still around somewhere?  There have been periods of time where I 
haven't followed the list as much as I'd like, so maybe I just haven't 
seen his posts.

Although Ted and I are constantly beating our heads against each other, 
I respect his character and can confidently say that he's a principled 
person who cares deeply about the environment.  Nothing wrong with 
that.  As I tend to get a bit snarky in my responses far too regularly, 
I apologize to him now for the many sarcastic and unfriendly remarks 
I've made over the years.

I've talked with Gary both on and off the list (a few times, anyway) and 
find him to be a good guy.  He calls them like he sees them, and I 
respect that.  My path over the last few years is one of realizing that 
even people you differ with have important things to say and that 
everything is not so black and white as people try to make it appear.  
My opinion of Gary has changed for the better since I've interacted with 
him, and that can only be a good sign.

Apart from the last few weeks, I haven't interacted with Joe that much, 
but I appreciate the civil discourse we've had, even though we both 
probably shriek at the walls various unflattering remarks about each 
other after a long back-and-forth.  He's an intelligent guy, and he also 
calls 'em like he sees 'em, too.  That's a good thing.

I've had some good conversations with Donovan, and find him to be a nice 
guy.

Andreas is one of the more reasonable posters on the list, I enjoy his 
posts when I see them.  He seems level-headed and intelligent and wise, 
really.

I enjoy Tom's humorous posts, and appreciate the work he does for the 
community.  I'm not as big a fan of cats as he is, though.  Don't hate 
them, mind you, but I'm not as enamored of them.

I enjoy Keely's posts, even though we often disagree about some things.  
I also enjoy Nicks posts, they are very thought-provoking.  There are 
lots of others I'm missing, I'm sure.  Reggie, Roger, Wayne, Jeff, Dan, 
Dave, Deb, and others.  All of them nice people who think I'm a fruitcake ;)

It certainly doesn't hurt to take a break from the mud-slinging and to 
realize that real people actually exist behind their on-line personas.  
This list is an enigma.  It's full of generally nice people who like to 
yell at each other all the time.  It must be the dehumanizing properties 
of the email medium, I guess.

Ah well, back to the mudslinging, I say!

Paul

Andreas Schou wrote:
> Gary's one of a very small number of conservative commentators that
> I've managed to read consistently since I first became politically
> aware. In part, this may be due to the fact that he is one of a very
> small number of conservative commentators whom I may annoy precisely
> as much as he annoys me. But, even where I think he's wrong, he's at
> least responsive.
>
> He's also a damn good locksmith and, as far as I've heard and
> experienced, a decent human. I only disagree with him about matters of
> life, death, and whether and how the government should acquire and
> spend trillions of dollars. Other than that, we're cool. And he's not
> the only conservative here that's made a positive contribution to the
> community.
>
> Many of you know my wife had a brain tumor a couple of years ago and
> nearly died. I was in Seattle for most of the relevant period, but I
> received an unsolicited offer from Doug Farris to bring over
> casseroles and whatnot. I couldn't take him up on it (because I
> suspect his offer didn't extend to driving the casseroles to Seattle),
> but I appreciated it more than he knows. And I was genuinely sorry to
> hear that Pat Kraut died; in all of my professional dealings with her,
> through the Nazarene church, she genuinely enacted the charitable
> values we so vehemently disagreed about  the government enacting.
>
> I don't know the rest of the conservatives here as well. Glenn isn't a
> real person (though I once had a perfectly civil lunch with the person
> I believe he is). Donovan Arnold probably wouldn't kick a puppy unless
> the puppy really had it coming. Jeff Harkins is sometimes genuinely
> helpful, and bright and dedicated, if sometimes glib.
>
> I realize that it'll soon be time to get back to shouting at each
> other. As we should. Isn't that why we're all here? (Maybe not Paul.
> He doesn't seem like a crank. I mean that as a compliment.) But in the
> spirit Dear Leader proposes, I think taking a moment to appreciate the
> people we will soon be throwing rotten fruit at seems appropriate.
>
> -- ACS
>
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