July 1, 2014

If you have an actual issue to present please do so.

Otherwise please stop clogging the Jury System.

I just served on a jury where the alerter did not bother to provide an explanation of why he or she alerted. Not a single word about why he or she found a post offensive.

It was obviously easy, very easy for him or her to click on buttons of disapproval.

Unfortunately A lot more difficult to actually explain that disapproval. Yep, it actually does take some time to make an argument and explain one's self.

The alerter must have clicked on the alert button and the submit buttons with wild abandon.

Unfortunately the alerter didn't take the time to explain in the rather large text box what he found objectionable.

That is correct. The alerter didn't provide the least bit of explanation for why he might have been offended.

When I clicked through to the original complaint there was nothing, nothing at all explaining why he was offended and alerted. NOTHING!

If you wish for me to hide a post you'd better give me an argument that is a lot more than NOTHING.

June 26, 2014

No more "Buffer Zones." Limited "Free Speech Zones" still legal.

I can't say I am surprised by the Court's decision about buffer zones. I am disappointed. In this day and age where we have designated "free speech" protest zones approved by the Court it seems we could have carved out the same sort of thing to protect women and workers at these clinics.

This isn't really about gentle little old ladies who are trying to persuade women to not have a legal, very safe medical procedure. This is about violent people who harass women on their way into clinics.

I have no doubt that women who seek a safe, legal medical procedure at these clinics have thought thoroughly about their decision. A decision that I have no doubt they have considered and angsted over for some time. One that is probably the most difficult decision they've ever faced and made.

Not to mention, the VAST MAJORITY of women going to Planned Parenthood are going there for preventive health care. Like Pap smears and breast cancer screenings. Or reproductive health care including HOW TO GET PREGNANT AND BEAR A CHILD.

What could be more "Pro-Life" than providing people with preventive health care? Care that might save their lives and make it possible for them to reproduce when and if they choose to do so.

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2014/06/you-wanna-keep-harassing-women-at.html

June 23, 2014

A note on Jury Service. (edited)

Please, PLEASE jurors, let the buffoons deservedly reap what they sowed. Don't hide their posts. Allow their ridiculous posts to get the shitstorm of disapproval they deserve through replies to those posts.

It seems to me that we may have recently passed the tipping point at times of being too quick to hide posts as jurors. I serve on juries and about the only thing that will get me to vote "hide" is if a person used the typically banned "n-word," "c-word," or was overtly bigoted, racist, homophobic or misogynist. Yet, I still allow quite a bit a leeway for those opinions if they do not venture into the "stone the heretics" territory. And yes, there have been some of the most vile posts about killing, maiming and otherwise harming others here on DU that certainly deserved to be hidden and their author banned. I would happily vote to ban them and did so when I was on MIRT.

I read the alerted post in context of the thread and in context of the post to which the person replied. If someone is a bit bigoted, racist, homophobic or misogynist then I feel a response to their post is more in order than hiding it. We cannot battle ignorance by ignoring and hiding it.

If you serve on a jury you MUST be willing to read the WHOLE thread and the context in which the alerted post was entered upon that thread. You cannot just read the single post that was alerted upon and make judgement.

Vulgar language is not going to get me to vote to hide a post.

When someone posts something that many of us think is out of bounds of normal discourse, that's not necessarily out of bounds with the TOS of DU.

I'd find it far, far better to leave their posts public and make intelligent responses to them rather than just hide them. How else can we hope to educate? Some people we'll be able to educate and change point of views. Others will be hopeless. We just have to recognize the difference between the two and put our efforts toward education.

If we continue to try to hide EVERY post we find objectionable this will no longer be a discussion board. It will be a campfire with all of us holding hands and singing "Kum Bah Ya"

I don't think that is what any of us desires. I think we are here on DU because we like lively debate. So don't squelch debate, but feel free to berate what you believe is nonsense and keep that nonsense public just to ensure everyone can see the paucity of some people's arguments.

ON EDIT:
Thanks BainsBane for pointing out where I was just wrong.

I'll admit that I was wrong about reading the "whole" thread. The content of a sub-thread between a couple or few people is usually enough to get the context and make a proper decision on an alerted post.

However, I still scan the whole thread for tone. To me, at least, that is important.

On Edit 2:

This OP was only meant to share how I do things and how I feel we ALL may need to adjust our thoughts from time to time. Why else would be here on DU if we didn't want a lively debate and an opportunity to have our beliefs challenged? We need not take offense to such challenges. We should appreciate them. I know I do when I stop being pissed off about those challenges to me.

I apologize if this was taken as some sort of instruction manual for people. That was not at all my intent. It was, however, my intent to get people on juries to think a bit before hitting the "hide" and offering no explanation of why they voted to hide. I find that very frustrating.

My intent, in concert with the purpose of DU, was open debate and have a discussion. Not at all to be overlord of sorts telling anyone what they should or should not do.

June 19, 2014

I am SO, SO going to miss Jay Carney.

Carney has been, IMHO, one of the best Press Secretaries. He has parried and foiled the most obnoxious questions from the press staff with dignity and aplomb. I hope Obama's next Press Secretary is as skilled as Carney.

June 17, 2014

The STUPID - It burns.

I'm not sure how these people manage to breathe and live on their own.

Pluto is still out there and it's not the 50th state. That would be HI. Yes, Pluto has been downgraded from being a "Planet" but it's no where near how far your head is up Uranus you Einstein.

http://themetapicture.com/dumb-people-on-the-internet/

June 11, 2014

WE, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY need to GOTV this off-year!

This is probably the only post I've ever made that I think I'll get little disagreement with.

I see Cantor is losing to a Tea Bagger. We have to GOTV in races like the one to replace him in order to keep the real fringe nuts OUT and to get Dems IN!

We sure as hell don't need more Tea Bagger nuts in the mold of Cruz in office - say like Joni (pigs are squealing) Ernst.