In article ,
 Josh Hill  wrote:

> On Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:36:03 GMT, Amy Guskin 
> 
> >>>>> 
> >>>>> And my question is -- why? I can understand
greed, the sort of
> >>>>> stinking rotten selfish greed that sits on mounds
of cash or amuses
> >>>>> itself with frippery while children go without
dental care. And I can
> >>>>> understand the middle class virtues -- hard work,
self-reliance. But
> >>>>> there's a sort of conservatism that I just don't
understand. 
> >>>> 
> >>>> You should since it exists pretty much exclusively in
your own mind. <<
> >>> 
> >>> Please, everyone who chooses to engage in these kind of
discussions, be 
> >>> careful about being kind to one another.  Many times,
these kneejerk 
> >>> reactions come off as being _very_ close to personal insults.  For 
> >>> example, 
> >>> in the above, Josh was replying to Hammer and didn't say
"You are crazy, 
> >>> expressing that opinion!"  He kept it to the
impersonal third person.  
> >>> But 
> >>> Kurt, that reply of yours was dangerously close to
directly calling Josh 
> >>> outright crazy.
> >> 
> >>   Not at all. I was merely stating my position that he sees things 
> >> rather stridently through his own personal prism and then
correlates that
> >> to the outrageous outliers as if they are the norm. I am a
psych RN, so 
> >> I NEVER suggest someone is crazy, unless they are. Josh
doesn't remotely 
> >> qualify. Heck I can't even suggest a personality disorder
diagnosis (g). 
> >> <<
> 
> I'm really not sure what you mean about the outrageous outliers, Kurt.

  Frippery while people go without dental care is mainstream in your 
view? 



> My own views are a bit left of center -- that at least is what those
> on-line assessments say. If I respond to the [presumably right wing]
> outliers, well, isn't it because they're here? If there were some
> Communists here, I'd disagree with them too, just as I disagree with
> Alan and John over on MW on the occasions when their opinions are to
> the left of mine.

   But the outliers are all you ever bring up. Everybody 

> 
> In any case, in my opinion, the Republican party has, since the days
> of Reagan, fallen into the grip of the outliers. Which is to say that
> if we measure the center by the policies that most Americans want, the
> Democratic candidates are close to it, while the Republicans
> candidates are in varying degrees beholden to the radical right. 

   Both parties have been taken over by their fringes. Which is one of 
the reasons that large parts of the middle sit on their hands and don't 
vote in elections. 



> 
> FWIW, while I like Kurt and have enjoyed our discussions over the
> years, even though he was always wrong :-), I don't read his posts
> anymore precisely because he did make it personal one too many times.
> So it doesn't really matter much what he says about me at this point.

      So, why was so much of this aimed at me??? Hmm?? 
Seems like neither one of us can help ourselves on the the other...
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