[PLUG-TALK] Reading, Ragheads, Assholes, and Viruses

[gepr at tempusdictum.com]

Keith Lofstrom writes:
 > Mr. Robinson, I suggest that you do some soul searching, and decide whether
 > your combative and inattentive approach is doing you or others any good.

Specific political positions aside, Michael's emails are doing me some
good, as are many others'.

I support our military action in Iraq.  (Let's just say that I'm a
greedy bastard[1] and want more oil. [grin]) And I believe that all
people could easily be diagnosed as "insane", depending on which
psychiatrist or psychologist you happen to stumble upon, regardless of
religion.

However, the _single_ thing that is important, here, is the ability
to express your opinion and be thick-skinned enough to survive the 
ichor and acid spewed back at you from those who either disagree with
you or just don't like you.

So, props to Michael for continuing to speak, regardless of whether
anything he says or ever will say is sensible or persuasive.  (But 
I do wish these opinions would stay on plug-talk.)

p.s. I'm currently debating getting a concealed-carry license.  But,
it's against my firm political belief that my right to _carry_ (which,
if you check the etymology, "bear" seems to extrapolate from "bher",
which means "to carry") without informing the neo-fascists that I am,
in fact, carrying.  So, what I _really_ should do is _not_ get the
license but carry anyway.  But, I have to measure the payoff matrix
for breaking this particular law... Perhaps I should build a game
theoretic model that treats the issue?


[1] I actually _am_ a bastard, by the way: <http://www.bastards.org/>
So, all I have to morally justify is the "greedy" part. [grin] And
I've hung out with enough venture capitalists to know that there is a
pretty large clique of people that believe greed is a force for good
in the world... So, ... [ahem] ... QED.

-- 
glen e. p. ropella              =><=                           Hail Eris!
H: 503.630.4505                              http://www.ropella.net/~gepr
M: 971.219.3846                               http://www.tempusdictum.com