I said it was a general operating principle in liberalism, not a unanimously held belief by each and every liberal.

For example, the more strongly liberals hold their beliefs, the more likely they are to author blogs, or comment on blogs.

Those who don’t care all that much, well, they don’t care all that much.

That, of course, is your subjective opinion.
I also respectfully disagree. I believe all politics is subjective. For that matter, all ideology is subjective.

What should I do?

My honest answer is try not to take it so much to heart, Frank. I’ve re-read a bunch of your posts. try not to make it about you.
Okay?

Because there are 8 people saying the same thing 5 different ways, does not mean they are presenting 40 different ideas.

It is very important to realize the difference between an opinion and a fact. No matter how many facts you have to support an opinion, you still end up with a well – supported opinion.

If the point were to see which opinion is better supported, or supported at all, then we could declare some kind of “winner.”

But if I have an opinion, “A” supported by facts b,c and d; why should I change my opinion to “E”, because it is supported by f, g and h?

I think that is why these “discussions” degenerate into flamefests. You said it yourself: “It’s just that after 30 or 40 posts when you refuse to see the validity of other people’s points that the discussion turns south towards the schoolyard.”

And what about when, after 10 posts of mine, and 60 posts by 6 different people, all saying the same thing in different ways, no one sees “the validity of my points”?

What should I do?

The facile answer is, “You’re a conservative, so you’re never right — you’re here for our amusement ["I'm glad you're back -- you make it funny around her"].

But that’s not a legitimate objection.

Neither is “You don’t belong here — this is a liberal blog.”

I have certainly read enough conservative blogs. The liberals on those threads are truly trolls — they’ll say any damned thing to get a rise out of somebody.

{I certainly don’t believe that Jay, Dugger, Dr Pedro (who I suspect has left here for good), or myself ever did that.}

Whatever they are told, they are never told “they don’t belong.”

I hate to tell you this, but liberals believe they are right, to a degree nowhere near that of the certainty of conservatives.

It is an operating principle of conservativism that politics is subjective — not so of liberalism.

So, that’s all I have.

Can’t you see I’m just playing with you? I honestly like reading your posts and diatribes, but you just get so worked up when people disagree with you, very often quite reasonably and calmly. It’s just that after 30 or 40 posts when you refuse to see the validity of other people’s points that the discussion turns south towards the schoolyard.
As far as that swf file is concerned, I just thought it was funny. I thought you might too. And feel free to copy and keep it and use it on me sometime.
We can agree to disagree. I still wouldn’t mind having a beer with everybody here, and that includes you, Frank.

I prefer the latter to the former. Perhaps as you make that difficult transition from adolescence (liberalism) to to adulthood (conservatism) you’ll change your mind.

A few points:

1. What the hell does that have to do with anything?

2. This is why I called you a crochity old man. It’s because you hate youth.

3. How is believing in magic anything BUT childish?

4. For the point of the ACTUAL topic at hand, have you ever heard of “The Boy Who Cried ‘Wolf’”?

Yes, NG, the lessons to be learned from the life of an obscure Welsh politician would surely be helpful in this conversation.

Maybe you could tell us about Alfred the Great, or King Canute.

Ok, here’s one

I’d rather be an intellectual elitest, than a stupid prick.

-Zython

And Frankie, if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

If I couldn’t deal with it I would just go away and not come back.
And, by the way, telling me to “jack up the zoloft”, and calling me buddy are not winning any points for you.

I don’t know why you pass yourself as some kind of peacemaker when you’re just as obnoxious as your fellow schmendricks. [as in that oh - so - humorous swf file]

Here’s a link for you, and N G and R M

Seriously, I don’t understand why you come in here and poke at the bears with a stick if you can’t deal with the chilly reception you get as a result.
Nothing seems to have changed with you, man. You demand attention and then get all bent and feel hurt when you get it.

Jack up the zoloft, buddy. It really helps.

Oh, wait…

“Fairness freaks”? You mean, actually thinking that there’s room for justice in this world? Thinking that maybe poor people deserve medical care? Thinking that the inherent imbalances outside of a person’s control (e.g., their race, their upbringing, their gender) maybe could be accounted and adjusted for? Yeah, that definitely makes us “freaks.”

Perhaps conservatives have the skewed sense of morality, caring more about the sexual behavior of consenting adults behind closed doors, or of “dirty language,” than about things like sending people to kill and die in a foriegn land for no reason? (This doesn’t apply to all conservatives, but seems more true for them as a group than for us “bleeding heart” liberals).

And for you to brand conservativism as the ideology of “thinking”, of rationality, is truly comedy at its finest.

Do you think before you type this nonsense up, or do the words just flow from your fingertips in some sort of reflexive, subconcious way?

By the way, the answer to your previous question is, “Not much.”

Seriously, liberals share many qualities with adolescents:

distrust and suspicion towards authority

they are “fairness freaks” (the rich should pay more taxes, CEO’s make too much money), “this, that and the other thing is just not fair — like health care, everyone should have it free, whether they want it or need, regardless of the consequences.

they have a skewed sense of rationality — why can’t we curse and swear all over TV and the movies? What’s wrong with ______? Why can’t we _________?

Get what I’m driving at?

Conservatives, on the other hand, are fuddy – duddies, spoilsports and party poopers; always saying, “Hold it a minute, let’s think about this ”
They take all the fun out of everything!

I would venture to say it’s impossible for me to be either narcissistic or pompous amidst an avalanche of mindless insults — but, hey, what do I know?

Congratulations, you win the prize of being the most pompous, narcissistic, and deluded individual here.

“Dickwad”, an obscene term? Perhaps, but you have yet to demonstrate that it’s not an apt descriptor.

But not in a condescending way, mind you.