Farewell...

:yawn:

I post here because I am astonished by the things I read. I am bewildered by posts from people like the OP that blame America's bad economy on liberals, Keynesian economics, and Barack Obama.

Would you like to know why America's economy is in the shitter? It's pretty simple really. You want to spend trillions fighting needless wars and no one wants to pay any taxes. You don't need to be an economy major to figure out that math.

Here's a few questions for you? How is Germany's economy doing? How is Canada's economy doing?

cya and I can't believe you didn't see it coming.

I Post here because I find all the opinions fascinating and it motivates me to go out and learn more about some of the topics. I like the interactions between people too, although they seem to get a little hairy at times.

I am usually working when I post. Its usually between tasks and waiting for my computer to finish rendering video files for particular jobs.

I don’t care about changing peoples minds. I do like to stand up for particular things I believe in. Although, some people in here have changed my mind about a few things, or helped me to learn more about different views on certain topics. Obviously there are a lot of media outlets that are biased and this is a good place to hear several angles. Also, I like to see how people think and why they came to their conclusions. For instance, I cannot support abortion on a personal level, but I do think that it’s a choice left up to the woman who is pregnant. Or, there are many debates on govt assistance or welfare, and though I am aware that the system is flawed and could use an overhaul, I don’t like how some people don’t think its good for anything.

Regarding your question #4, I see what you’re trying to say… I’ll bet a lot of people would be happy if they could convince people to think like them.. I’d really like it if “creationism” was left for dead and people agreed with me on that because I am adamant, but at the same time, I like the opposition. It forces us to think about our decisions and analyze why we came to that position, as opposed to just doing it because it was the only choice.

Bottom line is, although I disagree with a lot of your opinions, I do enjoy reading your posts and topics and seeing you interact with people. I try to be in the middle on things in here, (im not a liberal/dem or a conservative/republican…so I don’t comment a lot because I am in the middle) but I do see several people who lean right who feel ganged up on and criticize certain opposite opinions as illegitimate or use comments like (seriously, not to be a dick, but to point out why people might get hostile towards you) you said: “realize they are wrong about their pro-left stance later on, once they grow up and learn about the world”..that comes off smug and elitist. But unless you post in here a lot, its easy to let things like that slip out. I honestly dont think its a big deal but it can put pepole up in arms...You just have to be careful how you word things sometimes.

And btw, from a fellow surfer, have fun out in the waves and come back to the train man!

inlet13 wrote:

I stopped and boarded this train as part of a social experiment. My hypothesis was that MT members, would enjoy a different viewpoint from the normal liberal one posted here. From studying the qualitative data, and doing some hard analysis, I've learned that I was wrong. It was a dumb-ass hypothesis.

I've realized that it's easy to get sucked into this stuff, and I don't want to do that. There's nothing gained from it in my opinion.... but, maybe I'm wrong. So, this will be my last thread here for some time. I depart with hopes of never returning to this section of PJ.com, but who knows. Before I go... I leave you with several questions:

1) Why do you post here?

2) What do you do while you are posting here? Do you have a job?

3) Do you really think you're changing anyone's minds?

4) If you don't really think you're opinion is changing anyone's minds, repeat question 1? If you think you are changing people's minds, how does that make you feel? Why does it make you feel that way?

In all seriousness, it's been fun. I'll respond if I can, but I'm otherwise outta here, grabbing my board at 4PM and headed to the beach. So, enjoy.

-inlet13

To address your questions, I think our primary motivation for reading and posting here should be to learn. Even if we don't agree in the end, we can always learn.

1) Why do you post here?
Because it is fun... and work can get boring... specifically when you are rebuilding materialized views that draw millions of lines of data from remote sources. Plus, it gives me the opportunity to question people who actually get their opinions and truths from cable 'news' broadcasts.

2) What do you do while you are posting here? Do you have a job?
Read words, type words.
Yes.

3) Do you really think you're changing anyone's minds?
No. Only a complete idiot thinks debate, specifically hot topics such as politics and religion, is going to 'change anyone's ideas'. Discussion is expession of ideas and the reasons why you have reach the opinions you have reached.

4) If you don't really think you're opinion is changing anyone's minds, repeat question 1? If you think you are changing people's minds, how does that make you feel? Why does it make you feel that way?
Read answer in Number 3.
I am not changing anyone's mind... that is not my objective. My point it to counter commentary with opinons that were formed on data that contradicts the opposing view. It has nothing to do about 'feelings' unless you are a complete nimrod.
How does providing unbiased data from a base source, rather than an article with a biased slant makes me feel? Well, good. I think it is much better to provide a link from the U.S. Library of Congress to the actual bill that is being reviewed, than quoting Glenn Beck or Rachel Maddow. Let you make the call, rather than making the call based on someone else's view.
...
Now... a question for you:
There's surf in Philly?