Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[AlabamAlum]

You do know that's a quote from "The Office"?

[entropy]

[lineygoblue]

Don't forget that they're threatening nearly every day to incinerate Israel.

I guess that's just a "bonus".

[Dr. Strangelove]

Good news for Geezer! Some serious voter fraud exposed!

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/26/steve-bannon-florida-registered-vote-donald-trump

[entropy]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/26/us/college-student-migration.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Student migration... how some states lose more students than they gain.

[Da Geezer]

Nice job wrecking all the tension, jerks.

In hopes of restoring it I'd like to point out that Hannibal has called me plenty worse and never got Stanned for it. This is bullshit. I personally liked how those two didnt depart the issue. They kept at it. That is respectable.

Jeff: I think we are perfectly capable of policing ourselves on this thread. A couple of months back, SLF called me out on what he said was a "dick post" by froot. I went back and read what I said, and then apologised to froot because SLF was right.

I think that is the model for how we should handle conflict here. Every poster here (and those who are just reading) knows that this is a valuable forum for the exchange of strongly held views. It wasn't always so. A couple of years back, hack and I used this thread for what was essentially a private conversation about the way we viewed the world. Now, this thread is active and lively.

I don't like censorship. When this thread shuts down for an extended period because of censorship, that's bad. The only post you censored from me was one where, to my reading, you agreed with Mike's proposition that Geezer was the primary cause of the friction here, and I asked if you thought that was correct. When I post ideas and say "OK boys, fire away", that's a good thing. I expect conflict. Mike characterizes me as one who "bulldozes landscapes and destroys public education" to which I didn't react. What is bad about censorship is that one person is determining what constitutes a "personal attack" and what is a statement of fact. Let the interchange of ideas determine outcomes.

Jon and I are fine. I called him a liar and shouldn't have. I apologised and he accepted. Froot pointed out that the voter ID law is enforced differently on the east side of the state. OK, I accept that, because it comports with everything I know about the east side. Jon clarified that he had heard from a teacher that her starting pay was $ 23,000. OK, to me that's different. Jeff, just let us work it out like men.

[hack]

Don't forget that they're threatening nearly every day to incinerate Israel.

I guess that's just a "bonus".

They are closer, behind closed doors, than one might think. Shared interests. Most recent example: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.734846.

[Mike]

Geezer, I think Hack accused you of bulldozing landscapes. I'll take credit for you undermining public education.

[Da Geezer]

Fair enough. My addled brain sometimes can"t keep the insults straight.

[Da Geezer]

from the admin thread, Jeff said:

So, let me get this straight. The general claim is that the three posters who engaged in blatant personal attacks on each other, that would be Stan, Geezer and Jon, in the Off Topics Thread, are being singled out or targeted unfairly, while others get away with this all the time?

I can't speak for unfair treatment in other threads where some of that snark is considered to be within the rules, but I can speak for the Off Topic Thread that linesmen has asked me to moderate.

I asked first that the name calling stop. Those engaged in it that I mentioned above, continued to post without regard to that warning. So, they got moderated. Two of those involved, Jon and Geezer, posted apologies to each other. Fair enough. I think that says all I need to say about the matter.

Carry on.

And that warning that was ignored appeared when? As near as I can tell it was about 3:30 yesterday. And what "blatant personal attacks" happened after 3:30? You can have your own opinions, but not your own facts.

On the bright side, the phrase "got moderated" has now entered my lexicon.

[UMStan White]

Kumbya my lord Kumbya oh lord Kumbya! Can't we all just get along? Fluffy puppies for everyone!

[Mike]

Everyone but you, Stan. You're an asshole and nobody likes you.

[The Oracle]

For you Stan:

[Da Geezer]

I was trying to find an article from Forbes Magazine from June 7, 1993. It had the innocuous title "the Michigan Mafia". I simply cannot find it and need help. I did find an editorial in the Westland paper that refers to the Forbes article. Page 17A

http://www.westland.lib.mi.us/pdf/observers/1993-06-17.pdf

I figure some of the out-of-state folks on this thread might wonder how and why Michigan has the highest paid teachers in the US (by about 8%), and how the MEA provided the leadership for the NEA during the 1990's. Beyond the polemics, the article has some history that is useful.

[lineygoblue]

Everyone but you, Stan. You're an asshole and nobody likes you.

Correct.