Jr. High School for Scandal

I would quite happily not mention Duncan Black, who never writes anything worth mentioning, anymore, or the chat room he hosts, a collection of Lady Sneerwells, not a political discussion group, if they'd stop lying about me. I'd happily return the favor of ignoring their existence if they'd do me the favor of ignoring mine and of those other former regulars from the period when he wrote something noteworthy and the place wasn't mostly dedicated to malicious gossip and establishing an adolescent pecking order based on what's kewl with them.

But Atrios ain't hardly no Sheridan - who was courageous enough to fight a duel against a man who defamed his fiance in a newspaper - and his cast of nasty characters are real, as are the people they lie about.  And I won't overlook the lie told about me there yesterday, essentially that I support the murdering of gay men when their killers claim that their victim came on to them.   If Black won't do something about that kind of thing, I will and he, as the host of the lie, is involved.

I have had the suggestion made before that I adopt Disqus as a comment system here so it will be easier for people to make comments.  My reason for not doing that is precisely because I won't host dishonest attacks on other people, at all, and am only interested in addressing those made about me on my terms.  Generally when I can get a bit of humor out of them, as yesterday.  Sorry, they seldom provide more than the material for a wry smile or an eye roll, they tend to be just stupid and middle brow, when they're not stupid and low brow.  Anyway, you're not missing much.  Those are the kinds of decisions people make when they do this, whether or not they want to take responsibility for what they host.  Duncan Black's pose of hands-off libertarianism has been the vehicle for him hosting the kind of garbage he does but I don't see any reason for anyone who is the recipient of the trash flung at them to agree to his pose of having no responsibility for what he facilitates and provides a platform.

Update:  I've read through several of the old, relevant blog threads for the past hour and am kind of shocked at how what was a waste of time back then is an even bigger waste of time now.  I also figured out that if you want to be a persona non grata with the groovy group at Baby Blue, you bring up something for discussion instead of head nodding consensus.   Thus it was, thus it is even more now. Yeesh, what a way to ruin a life of the mind.   I do think I might get some use out of that but unless someone gives me reason to write more about it today I'm leaving it for something that might be useful

Update 2:  ErinPDX?  That dim dolly is all day job and a bit of back beat in a banal band.  A "musician"?  Please.