Happy New Year’s Eve to all of our blog family. We will be spending New Year’s Eve at home this year — preparing for our annual New Year’s party on January 1st. I will be toasting to everyone on our extended blog family.
Tonight Leslie and I will share our traditional bottle of Schramsberg Sparkling wine. This is my wedding anniversary. Thirteen years ago, Leslie and I eloped on New Year’s Eve after eight years years of dating. (There is an ongoing dispute over calculating the event, I insist that this is our 22nd anniversary but Leslie insists on not counting the eight years of dating). We always celebrate with a bottle of Schramsberg. This was the bottle I bought after we got hitched at Alexandria City Hall. I used my house school ring to seal the deal.
The kids made it to midnight and watched the painful display of Anderson Cooper trying to restrain Kathy Griffin. It turns out the Mayan Apocalypse merely predicted Griffin’s appearance on New Year’s Eve. This included her attempt to throw cash into the crowd – a moronic idea that had to be physically stopped by Anderson to avert a disaster. If this was Griffin’s idea of a joke, it came across as an unhinged, unfunny person trying to fill time. The kids insisted that we turn to NBC instead.
We are expecting 200 friends to share in Wasabi Bloody Marys) and our traditional soup: The Bowl of the Wife of Kit Carson Soup. I have smoked two turkeys to put into the soup. I also have enough Wasabi to light up Tokyo.
Everyone drive carefully and have fun. I will be giving a toast to our entire blog family tonight (and, of course, my marriage).
stay away from liver eatin-johnson’s soup.
or if cartman offers you any chili.
Keep it up.
You’ll find out.
id707,
I’m sorry, but I just had to laugh at the idea that I might be JT’s alter-ego.
He’s a much nicer guy than I am and I’m allergic to soup made with Kit Carson (or any American frontiersman and Indian fighter).
You’re promising what, Gene. What are the “consequences” of which you speak. I do like to be spanked..but only by women. Well, you might do.
It took me over an hour, from 7:38 until 8:40 to put the above comment together it was written without seeing the comments in between. Just so you know.
Talk about limited resources! Speed in conception and writing it and taking away many grammatical errors etc takes time for me.
Of course I could write shorter comments, but that would not be appropriate when telling my story to NickS.
nick,
I’m not threatening. I’m promising. I’ll finish what you start.
NickS,
I am a special case and my experiences are offered for consideration. I would not dare, as I previously have done, give you advice. Your adult merits far exceed mine.
But here is what I came upon here after a similar warning from GeneH.
To use an analogy that applies to me:
I found the truth in the old saying that honey draws more flies than vinegar.
I also found that there was essentially no one to fear here, so relax (first time in mixed company 😉 )
I found that opinions or anecdotal stories or essentially limited experience without scientific merit´; should not be called proven fact.
To do so here or on a scientific blog is to be asking to be laughed at, if they are generous (for a while) or to be crucified.
Lawyers training or jobs I don’t know skit about. But I can imagine that they are always asked to produce proof: starting from some solid basis and laying stone by stone to it, hoping that is will be favored or not toppled.
Coming here with anything else is asking to be hopped upon, by one or several.
So how do I get by? By learning to limit my opinions effective radii by calling them that, or other restrictive designations. If people agree, they will either offer supporting facts or own opinions. If not, you get arguments just as I did today from Tony C.
But by not being fearful, testerone driven, and fearful of turf or status, I was more relaxed and found it easier to use my limited resources, and to couched them less arbitrarily, assertively, aggressively or snarky simply.
So thanks for standing by me, this last year was one of being forced to learn, and if you’ve always faced peoples’ backs, then it is not easy to learn. If you go the way i did, you get lots of attention from which I learned .
I have ceased in competing in the sense of how am I doing compared to others. I measure myself against myself the day before.
I will still argue with the best, biggest and smartest here and that includes those whose soul power exceeds mine. But hopefully in terms they will accept, but no easy victories are to be found. And´ certainly no clear ones.
Picking at others scabs and disturbing their allergies is not a good habit either. I choose my fights carefully. And watching my tongue was also necessary for me.
And if I must for a principal spoil the party, I will not always do it. Go from there is better for me, if I can not join in.
So now you and others have heard more of my struggles. Good luck.
I won’t abandon you, but I will agree/disagree as necessary.
And now some humor mixed with seriousness. Don’t push your luck with GeneH. He might just be JTs alter ego, although I don’t believe so.
Do it for your own sake. Who knows it might even help as it has mine, IRL.
You have a warm personality. Use it.
PS Did you notice? The ladies go somewhere else when we fight.
I think it is because they think we are silly. You have charmed several.
So forget the fight and make the guys jealous. Said half-jokingly. Your choice on which half.
OS, I agree 100%. Whether the folks here believe it or not, I’m a charmer in person. That’s my 1st and 2nd tactic because that’s my personality. But..sometimes you have to brush them back..and then charm. I’m sure we’re on the same page. Good luck to your granddaughter. I know she has a great mentor. She’ll learn more from you than a professor.
nick, all interrogations are a process of assessment. I do not discuss my success rate with anyone. I find I can get more with gentle nudging than by any other method. The late Dr. Ray Birdwhistell found that about 90% of all human communication is non verbal. It is true. Sometimes something as subtle as shallow breathing or eye pupils changing give me what I want. My granddaughter says that watching Lt. Joe Kenda is spooky, because she says it is like listening to me. She plans to get a combined PhD, JD and wants to specialize in forensic science.
Bron, Thanks. I’ll take your advice under advisement. But, I refer you to his 5:19 comment and ask for your counsel in light of that.
nick:
you are right, you did say you were against torture and that Leon Panetta said it worked.
But you did insult Gene a couple of times as Mike pointed out.
Like this one: “Only a control freak needs 100%. So there’s that.”
It is probably just better to leave the ad hominem at home, it doesnt really add anything to the conversation.
OS, Can we agree that when you interrogate people you assess them. Some will flip if you stomp your foot and others will tell you to shit in your hat no matter what technique you use. I respect what I’ve heard about you. But I’m no ham n’ egger. I know I’m tangling w/ your buddies but lets separate that horseshit from our discussion. If you can.
Sermon from Mount Pompous. You should have remained on the outside because your comment is predictable and stale. Read the transcript and see who threw out “stupid” and “stick it”. Oh..that would be Curly @ 5:19. Don’t let the transcript get the way of the truth, Moe!
You hear that ID, “Boss Gene got your mind right” Well Gene..”are you the man w/ no eyes” Are you “goin’ to get my mind right.” And what are the “consequences” Gene, are you threatening me boss man?
rafflaw, You’re simply irrelevent. You should make a resolution to not say, “I agree w/..”. You’ll have a LOT more time to spend on substantive matters. Read what I said about McCain for chrissake. I’m sure you really revere him. How many times have you belittled him in the past 4 years??
“Three blind mice..see how they run..”
Nick,
I’m sure among your small circle of friends your bullyboy manner is quite the thing. Here it isn’t about swagger, it is about rhetorical ability and logical thought. I remained on the outside laughing at your silly argument being demolished to the point of your virtually pleading to the jury for understanding, while harshly denouncing all who dared disagree with you not with valid argument, but with invective. Nick you’re a lightweight in a heavyweight division and too clueless to know it. I actually feel bad for you simply because you don’t get how weak your argument is here and unlike you who sheds crocadile tears of compassion I actually feel it. I take no pleasure in ripping you, save for the fact that ripping people has been your M.O. here. Your biggest problem Nick is you want to play alpha here, but you lack the chops. Finally, I stayed outside because I was certain you’d attack ànyone who disagreed with you even if their manner was civil. That’s what you do sadly.
Nick,
Also by the way check out any comment I’ve made to you, I always use your name and am critical of your behavior. You on the other hand are quite fond of “nick naming ” people you attack like “pompous ” for me and “Boss” for Gene. Sadly, nasty nicknames are the trademark of those lacking argumentation skills and a hallmark of a bully. George W. Bush loved to give denigrating nicnames to everybody and it seems so do you.
You may well be right about the next decade ID707. There doesn’t seem much indication that forces are working on behalf of a return to sanity and basic values, IMO.
Politics is a reality that shapes our external lives to a considerable degree. Taking that seriously, and speaking out when possible, without fear, is a necessary challenge. Finding some path or way to separate and recognize the very limited moral/ethical/spiritual sphere in which politics wields its influence is also, to me, a necessary challenge.
In some respect the challenge is ‘life’. And, in that game, politics is pretty small potatoes.
Nick,
Just ask John McCain if torture worked or works.
And what OS said.
From Russ Baker:
FDR, a traitor to his class who chose his way so as to avoid revolution and bloodshed, launched the NewDeal in 1932(?).
Accdg to Baker, Grandpa Bush, a senator from CT(?), made his vow to kill it, HW could in his circles proclaim his victories, and Dubja could say that he dealt the “socialist dragon” a mortal wound. With SS up for discussion, while we are still being drained from well-known quarters, it would seem that he succeeded.
And with Obama fumbling enablement. Bad negotiations are worse than none. A war on “IT” should have been declared long ago.
DonS,
Good comment, although a bleak one.
I am not trying to top you, only inspired by you, I predict that the next decade will be worse. They are doing so well at setting us up, from all points of the compass and all entities.
It does at least that we do the same mistakes in not correcting WS et al.
And the surveillance and repression seems to be increasing.
Thanks for the loan of your springboard.
I came out for that empathy (false) and a soft contact seeking voice is the best way to go. That is based on reading one report by a former CIA interrogator.
I am naturally glad that OS avails us of his years of experience.
It is simple as hell, offer the perp what he sees as a way out and you encourage his belief in that and his better half, then he will spill what you want just to get salvation of the guilt that even he feels, as we all do.
It is used daily by the sweettalkers of the world, so watch for it and catch it next chance you get. You won’t have to wait a whole day IMHO.
Not sure if you have to be a psychopath to be skilled at it, but maybe that helps. 10,000 hours of practice would make you perfect say some. Even the talented require that, And being awake and in contact for 8 hours a day should suffice counting from childhood, as the psychopath constantly practices. .
You can try to wiggle out of what you said however you like, nick.
Your assertion to “it worked” is belied by the CIA stipulated fact that it didn’t and you’re basing your assertion that it did on the word of a war criminal. I doubt that matters to the wilfully ignorant.
The rest of your ad hominem bullshit? You keep it up. There will eventually be consequences. Your buddy id707 learned and changed his ways. He’s urged you to do the same more than once. You should listen to him. You’re about all out of charity here.
ha ha. Great minds.