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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>“The final social pattern is the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Law
of Group Polarization.</span></i> That law, as Cass R. Sunstein, a professor of
political science and of jurisprudence at the </span></font>University of Chicago,
has described, predicts that when like-minded people deliberate as an organized
group, the general opinion shifts toward extreme versions of their common
beliefs.”</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><a
href="http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=56a4b06e77oshwaiq5psszuc2gti5neb">http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=56a4b06e77oshwaiq5psszuc2gti5neb</a>
</span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----Original Message-----<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b>
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Brad Neuman<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> </span></font><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Friday,
December 31, 2004</span></font><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> </span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>1:33 AM</span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> vision2020@moscow.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> RE: [Vision2020] The </span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Superior</span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
Intellects Who Silence Discussion </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Dear Ted:</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Please don’t put
words into my mouth. Dullards is not a word that I would use to describe
any of the participants in the current debate and that includes both those I
agree with and those with whom I disagree.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>In my humble opinion, I
would like to see Vision2020 once again be Vision2020 rather than
Division2020. If we try harder I think we can all find things that we
agree upon, things that we can make happen that would be good for the City of </span></font><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'>Moscow</span></font><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> and it’s suburbs.
I was rather hoping that we could move towards that goal than continuing to
debate those items upon which agreement is almost certainly not going to happen
until after our deaths.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I am also completely
certain that my intellect is far from superior to many of those involved in the
debate. In fact my intellect is so far from being superior that I have
even been known to outsmart myself. An example is my futile plea to find
an area upon which we can, at the minimum, discuss and debate each other with a
chance of finding common ground. As it turns out, all I have done is to
alienate both sides of the debate.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>As for my belief or is it
non-belief in a supreme being. I have absolutely no idea. I live my
life to the best of my ability making those moral decisions based upon my own
personal set of values that, I hope, mature at least some proportional rate to
my own maturity. In this way I am just like everyone else on the site,
rather they will admit to or not. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Mia Culpa</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Brad Neuman</span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Tbertruss@aol.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> </span></font><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Thursday,
December 30, 2004</span></font><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> </span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>9:46 PM</span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> vision2020@moscow.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [Vision2020] The </span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Superior</span></font><font
size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> Intellects
Who Silence Discussion </span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><br>
Joan, Brad et. al.<br>
<br>
That statement that this is your "final word" on the subject of the
Bible and the divinity of <br>
Christ will require a long term commitment that you may find hard to fulfill.<br>
<br>
Brad complained about dullards (not his wording) who pretend to know the nature
of a Supreme Being, but I assure you, this subject will continue to appear on
V2020 for years to come, unless the list is moderated or canceled.<br>
<br>
The V2020 posts that annoy me the most are the ones by people who try to
silence discussion of a particular subject.<br>
<br>
I recall one subject on V2020 that I tried to silence: football. How
cruel! The universe of a football devotee would collapse without
football. <br>
<br>
I hope the V2020 list is flooded with fundamentalists who cannot program their
VCRs arguing for the divinity of Christ!<br>
<br>
Ted Moffett</span></font></p>
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