tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post5421887667217626091..comments2024-03-05T09:00:51.695-08:00Comments on DISSENT the BLOG: Saddleback's Derek Reeve to City Council: "I named my dog Muhammad"Rebel Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00695051285325585662noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-48380718448367104222011-09-19T13:28:46.972-07:002011-09-19T13:28:46.972-07:001:11, read about Westphal v. Wagner case here.1:11, read about Westphal v. Wagner case <a href="http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2011/04/au-hails-settlement-in-case.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.Roy Bauerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10107385463457119300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-56674673776860304362011-09-19T13:11:26.946-07:002011-09-19T13:11:26.946-07:00Westphal case? It seems to have escaped me. Can yo...Westphal case? It seems to have escaped me. Can you please give us a quick refresher on it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-30291835917549635242011-09-17T14:11:48.795-07:002011-09-17T14:11:48.795-07:001:54, you too should invest in a good dictionary. ...1:54, you too should invest in a good dictionary. I never acted as anybody's "underdog." Perhaps you mean to say that, on several occasions, we gave Maintenance workers an opportunity to voice their concerns. <i>They</i>, of course, not BvT, were the underdogs. <br />During those periods, we did in fact regularly delete particularly crude and offensive remarks by some Maintenance workers, among others. We do that routinely, and regardless of the commenter's stand on the issue in question.<br />The Westphal case (I was a plaintiff) concerned whether the district (and some college personel) were violating the First Amendment--whether they were acting to <i>establish religion</i> through such acts as showing "Jesus saves" videos to employees. In the course of that case, the judge did rule that at least two district actions (trustee Wagner's comments during a scholarship dinner and Chancellor Mathur's infamous video) violated the Constitution. <br />The judge is a noted conservative.Roy Bauerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10107385463457119300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-67965398467516319972011-09-17T13:54:43.342-07:002011-09-17T13:54:43.342-07:007:19, lately it’s really had nothing with “quality...7:19, lately it’s really had nothing with “quality of comments” or “rational thinking” and more to do with liberal idealist sycophancy. It’s plain to see how one-sided this blog has been and become.<br /><br />A case in point: when bvt was acting as the underdog for IVC’s maintenance dept. some time ago, there were all kinds of incoherent & dumb comments posted, and never was there any condescension, belittlement, ad hominem or any critique of grammar, spelling, etc… Why then does it happen only with opposing political ideologies? Why do their posts get deleted? I think its self explanatory. If you don’t see the America and our constitution the way they do, than you’re just stupid…<br /><br />9:16, how about your Westfall case? isn't that the same thing, but on the liberal side? I haven't yet heard of Reeve taking any of his battles to court...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-75156402341764220512011-09-17T09:16:30.548-07:002011-09-17T09:16:30.548-07:007:57 am says "Of course Mr. Reeve wanted exac...7:57 am says "Of course Mr. Reeve wanted exactly this - attention, reaction, 'offense.' He set the whole thing up. He's not serving the community - he's serving his own ego and ambition at the expense of the community - and no doubt his students. No more humble public servant, huh?"<br /><br />Close, but not exactly true. He does want attention and he did set the whole thing up, but not to serve his ego and ambition. Derek represents a segment of the community that likes to portray itself as embattled, downtrodden, and unable to exercise its various Constitutional rights. Whenever Reese is attacked, he holds it up to his supporters as an example of how his/their rights are being violated. He's a martyr and hero to them.I fear no fishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-5747822896765036002011-09-16T20:13:15.438-07:002011-09-16T20:13:15.438-07:00The pet's full name, according to another Face...The pet's full name, according to another Facebook post by Reeve, is Muhammad Winchester Boone. <br /><br />Ah, yes, well known fact that pets need a first name, middle and last. <br /><br />Oh my.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-66940294193720369902011-09-16T19:19:08.464-07:002011-09-16T19:19:08.464-07:00I have to say, I don't know how Bvt can stand ...I have to say, I don't know how Bvt can stand it. He has done a huge public service with this blog, with the excellent collaboration of Rebel Girl and others. But he's right: sometimes, as here, the quality of some comments are more to be expected in some sort of (literally) sophomoric setting. Really disappointing--especially those who, no doubt just to dig at BvT, feel compelled to defend troll-speak.<br /><br />I wouldn't blame you a whit if you did retire, BvT. Or at least for your Sabbatical, which should not be taken up with such exasperating forms of stupidity and vice.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-57612447753411974542011-09-16T19:14:55.010-07:002011-09-16T19:14:55.010-07:00"... the less government in our lives, the be..."... the less government in our lives, the better off and more free its citizens are." 5:32, you may or may not be a troll, but you seem not to imagine what our lives would be *without* government. Imagine no public sewer systems, no workplace safety laws, no pollution controls, no traffic lights, no prisons. And the absence of so much more. We would suffer vastly more illness and deaths. We'd have child labor and slavery. Life would be vastly more "nasty, poor, brutish, and short." None of this would amount to more freedom. I can't imagine how intelligent people could say what you do unless they have simply not looked around them at all.<br /><br />MAHAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-42775798310874779192011-09-16T18:46:30.546-07:002011-09-16T18:46:30.546-07:00No retirement please - just forward movement. Reti...No retirement please - just forward movement. Retire the trolls instead. Thanks for the blog. It sustains community and we need it. Keep it up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-53302913278227501072011-09-16T18:41:47.867-07:002011-09-16T18:41:47.867-07:006:34, you don't have a clue, do you? Go away.6:34, you don't have a clue, do you? Go away.Roy Bauerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10107385463457119300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-85534849034644969162011-09-16T18:34:20.798-07:002011-09-16T18:34:20.798-07:00"As I'm sure you are aware, there are a g..."As I'm sure you are aware, there are a great many Western nations that have (and have long had) far more restrictive laws re guns than we have. By the Troll's logic, these nations should have experienced the rise of Naziism. That obviously has not occurred. This neatly refutes the argument."<br /><br />BvT, that is plainly NOT "the Troll's logic." You mistake a necessary condition for a sufficient one. "Manifestly" you have failed to refute the point, "neatly" or otherwise. It does seem time for blog retirement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-86342680116039038232011-09-16T18:21:15.770-07:002011-09-16T18:21:15.770-07:005:32 said: "...bvt's point is that govt s...5:32 said: "...bvt's point is that govt should have too much power so they can reengineer society." --That quite plainly is <i>not</i> my point. If you can't read, 5:32, you shouldn't try to write. Please go away.<br />I've got to say, the generally dismal quality of blog comments in recent days has started me thinking of blog retirement. It's as though fifth graders have suddenly wandered onto it.Roy Bauerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10107385463457119300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-45793505555281119822011-09-16T17:56:15.632-07:002011-09-16T17:56:15.632-07:00Reeve's is a true patriot. Now all he needs to...Reeve's is a true patriot. Now all he needs to do is clean out all those slums in SJC.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-76904349924776147192011-09-16T17:32:50.111-07:002011-09-16T17:32:50.111-07:00And bvt's point is that govt should have too m...And bvt's point is that govt should have too much power so they can reengineer society. I don't believe that's our govt's role. The less govt in our lives, the better off and more free its citizens are. It's not really that difficult to understand. Call me a troll for that...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-2942151672301802592011-09-16T16:22:08.725-07:002011-09-16T16:22:08.725-07:003:28, it wasn't about a few Jews being armed. ...3:28, it wasn't about a few Jews being armed. Everyone knows its about the whole population... And no its not apacolyptic or hysterical to be protective of our constitution we're sopposed to protect and defend as Americans. That's the same argument the National Socialists made in the ghettos when the Jews got word of the gas chambers. They were told they were just being hysterical, to calm down; just get your family into the boxcar so we can take you to the nice family camp, where everything's going to be okay. We all know how that turned out... My point is that the govt. should never be entrusted with too much power.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-69461395841502792772011-09-16T15:39:20.652-07:002011-09-16T15:39:20.652-07:003:18, you are confusing argumentation with bloviat...3:18, you are confusing argumentation with bloviationAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-4327347229818263712011-09-16T15:38:15.616-07:002011-09-16T15:38:15.616-07:003:18, exactly what or who are you responding to? S...3:18, exactly what or who are you responding to? Slavery? Start making sense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-50246068408365676062011-09-16T15:28:42.654-07:002011-09-16T15:28:42.654-07:00I'm sure that a few Jews with guns would have ...I'm sure that a few Jews with guns would have easily staved off the Wehrmacht with no problems--right? Geez. And this apocalyptic crap about "dismantling the Constitution" is just pure hysteria. Read up on Constitutional law a bit before telling us what the founders meant--as far as I'm concerned, it's to have a militia in place for national emergencies, not for gun nuts to openly carry assault weapons and scare the children.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-59155808740308492512011-09-16T15:18:10.883-07:002011-09-16T15:18:10.883-07:00So in other words you're saying our founders w...So in other words you're saying our founders were wrong with the second amendment, like they were also on slavery, and that therefore is what drives the left to dismantle our constitution piece by piece until its rendered insignificant? The slavery issue was already constitutionally corrected 147 years ago, BTW...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-40602992709695237382011-09-16T14:05:29.808-07:002011-09-16T14:05:29.808-07:001:39, again, causal claims (whether one event &quo...1:39, again, causal claims (whether one event "led to" another) are notoriously hard to establish. It is not enough, of course, merely to reason a la "post hoc ergo propter hoc" ("after this; therefore, because of this").<br />As I'm sure you are aware, there are a great many Western nations that have (and have long had) far more restrictive laws re guns than we have. By the Troll's logic, these nations should have experienced the rise of Naziism. That obviously has not occurred. This neatly refutes the argument. But the more important point is that these types of causal claims are notoriously hard to defend. Just where is this confidence about what leads to what coming from? From nowhere.<br />These are logical truisms, not really worthy of discussion, in my opinion, unless one is engaged in remediation. This is one of the reasons I believe that the troll should simply be ignored. He forces us to make very basic points, distracting us from useful discussion.<br />It seems to me that those who speak critically of "social engineers" cannot also be making the kinds of claims you are making regarding what caused or allowed the Holocaust. There is a thread in the "conservative" tradition that is hostile to "social engineering", and that hostility is, I think, based on skepticism about knowledge of such things. We really don't know much about what works and what does not in human communities; hence, we should not seek to "engineer" societies to some alleged perfect or improved state. Conservatives used to insist that reform must always be gradual and careful; never sudden and with confidence. This is an aspect of the conservative tradition that has always made much sense to me. You might take a look at Oakeshott's "Rationalism in Politics." --BvTAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-11318075570896126422011-09-16T13:39:06.613-07:002011-09-16T13:39:06.613-07:00Hey bvt, how is it manifestly weak? The Holocaust ...Hey bvt, how is it manifestly weak? The Holocaust most likely wouldn't have happened if it weren't or the National Socialists confiscating everyone's guns several years before. The social engineers would like to have it both ways; gun control in urban areas. You can't have the second amendment both ways.<br /><br />I do however agree with you on the point re. the guy publically commenting on his dog's name while working in that public capacity. It was in bad taste, equal to the move forward on the ground zero mosque.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-20614268783519370362011-09-16T07:57:33.786-07:002011-09-16T07:57:33.786-07:00Of coruse Mr. Reeve wanted exactly this - attentio...Of coruse Mr. Reeve wanted exactly this - attention, reaction, "offense." He set the whole thing up. He's not serving the community - he's serving his own ego and ambitiopn at the expense of the community - and no doubt his students. No more humble public servant, huh?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-28241534678542460362011-09-15T19:55:57.083-07:002011-09-15T19:55:57.083-07:00Please, let's not encourage the troll and his/...Please, let's not encourage the troll and his/her supporters. The "point" about Nazis and guns is manifestly weak. Causal claims are notoriously difficult to establish, a point plainly foreign to our Tea Partying friends. I want this blog to attract and solicit the comments of thoughtful people who reason carefully. The troll and his defenders--probably foolish young men--are of that loutish generation of "conservatives" who take a sneer to be an argument and a mere assertion to be an essay. Please, let's ignore them. Utterly.Roy Bauerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10107385463457119300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-89148564091766113642011-09-15T18:55:27.417-07:002011-09-15T18:55:27.417-07:00What was the alleged "valid" point?What was the alleged "valid" point?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16908834.post-36162498000623384352011-09-15T18:38:30.471-07:002011-09-15T18:38:30.471-07:00Bvt, that person did raise some good points. Inste...Bvt, that person did raise some good points. Instead of deleting his coments, why not debate him? His point about the national socialist party taking away everyone's guns is valid. We all know how that ended up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com