wow eddie, it blows me away that we obviously have so many things in common yet see things so differenty. in reading your post, i find i disagee with just about everything you had to say. moreso, i disagree with your manner and motive in saying it. i've had to go back and reread your post in order retain everything to which i would like to respond.
did i single you out in asking you to apologize for namecalling? of course i did. this forum is obviously overrun with hordes of individuals who love to bash lawyers and the court system but who are so ignorant of the subject matter as to be unable to find their ass with an indian guide and three pack mules. i occasionally like to correct a factual misrepresentation; you like to "call them out" in a manner calculated by design to provoke an angry reaction. is this your idea of advocacy? if so, i find it ineffective, as my experience has been that you can never win someone's heart and mind by making them feel foolish. that is the approach of one who possesses intellect but lacks wisdom.
i singled you out for the namecalling because i know that you are educated, articulate, and just ought to know better. you know, you ought to go back and read some of your early posts here at madjacks. they were much more engaging, witty and less provocational. but i have watched your presentation slowly erode from satirical to condescending to denigrating to downright insulting. it's as if some manner of bitterness has crept into your soul. i know you often suffer the slings and arrows of those in the forum that are incapable of a reasoned, articulate response, but, as you stated above, more often than not that is the kind of response that you intend to provoke. i sense that other influences outside of the forum may be at the core of your change in demeanor.
i completely take exception to your "calling me out" for mentioning the military backround of my family, insinuating that i did so as an emotional appeal for sympathy and support. if you go back and read the context in which i made mention of the fact, you will see that that i brought up my family backround and geographic location to put into context the perspective of my assertion that kerry is not popular among military types. as a writer, i think you would agree that it is a good practice for an author to set out the context of their remarks on a subject. it aids the reader in understanding bias and agenda. i think a similiar approach would serve you well when editorializing.
i'm sorry but i did not see your post concerning a gambling problem, only a passing reference that you did not gamble. in retrospect, i guess i should have put two and two together. i also did not see any post by dtb demeaning you on this issue. if he did so, then he owes you an apology also. knowing wayne as i do, i wuold consider such a remark out of character, then again, when the purpose of your writing is to "get a rise" out of people, you shouldn't find it too surprising if, on occasion, their response is over the top.
i am unsettled by your comment that attempts to justify some of your hyperbolic content by stating that it is made in the context of an internet chat forum where one is cloaked with the mantle of anominity. redneck that i am, i consider that excuse unmanly, as i am committed to a personal code that does not permit me to say anything to someone or about someone that i would not say to their face. i've been participating in this forum for quite some time, and many of these people are not anonymous to me. the are real, breathing human beings with faces and names, and i consider many of them personal friends, even the ones whose politics differ from mine.
if you chose not to post in the future, that is your perogative, but i'm stunned that you would use that as an excuse to cancel out of the atlantic city gathering. you should reconsider on that subject. i think you would benefit from meeting some of the people i understand will be there, and i think they would benefit from meeting you. hell, there's a good chance i'll be there, and if you change your mind and atttend i'll even buy you a beer.