Monday, April 14, 2008

Don't Bottle It Up

Another wave of recalculation letters must have gone out. The PERS discussion group has a bunch of new members who've just discovered the group. They got their letters last week and are wondering what hit them and what to do. Many are just plain pissed. It is nice to get new readers. In addition to getting some useful advice, new members of OPDG are getting a serious dose of the politics of the PERS discussion group. If you are a liberal, you'll find yourself outnumbered and outgunned on OPDG. The conservative viewpoint seems to dominate all political discourse (I use that term loosely), and any attempt to interject a liberal opinion or point of view gets strangled by the chorus of conservative, libertarian views espoused there. It is somewhat surprising to find a group of mostly retired public employees so anti-liberal as one finds at OPDG. I guess it is true that as one gets older, one gets more conservative. I certainly haven't found my "conservative voice" yet, although I confess to be a bit more intolerant as I get older. I guess it is that "cranky curmudgeon" in me that comes out every now and then. I tune out most of the rhetoric and just participate in the PERS discussion. My life is too short to become enmeshed in the animosity expressed by the head-bangers there. They just don't bottle it up, which is healthy, I suppose. God help you if you are an Obama supporter, or even worse, a Hillary defender. I haven't decided yet who I will vote for in May. I have decided that I won't be voting for McSame.

In the meantime, we still don't have any progress on the PERS front. Judge Kantor seems to be spinning his wheels and there are no extant rumors that suggest or even hint at the timing of a ruling. Perhaps Judge Kantor feels that if he never rules, we'll all just go away. We may not go away voluntarily, but we may all die and our estates may not want to pursue this any further. I hope it doesn't go that far. I hope that Greg Hartman is right that a decision may be made by June. I'm sure getting tired of writing all these blog posts that report no news. I'm getting mighty tired of reading all the political rants everywhere. I hate election years.

9 comments:

TruthSeeker said...

I am well aware of the right-wing bias of the PERS discussion group. I have had 3 comments supporting liberal views censored by moderators. I no longer join in the political or near political discussions there.

mrfearless47 said...

Timing is everything. I'm a moderator there too, but the moderators get to the posts at different times. If one of the conservative moderators hits your posts first, they may be rejected. On the other hand, if one of the liberal moderators hits the post, it will be allowed. Moreover, any of the moderators can delete posts. Some have less tolerance than others. I only delete spam.

Michael said...

I truly know that age seems to bring some sort of unreasoning conservatism. I am 65 and almost every single one of my peers has embraced a stance that seems to demonstrate a great fear of change. I have been a socialist all of my life. Liberals are mostly to my right. Perhaps it is because I was taught socialism as a child. It still makes sense to me. It is rarely done well. There are exceptions.

Unknown said...

Old Scout said...
I am well aware of the right-wing bias of the PERS discussion group. I have had 3 comments supporting liberal views censored by moderators. I no longer join in the political or near political discussions there.
8:16 AM
mrfearless47 said...
Timing is everything. I'm a moderator there too, but the moderators get to the posts at different times. If one of the conservative moderators hits your posts first, they may be rejected. On the other hand, if one of the liberal moderators hits the post, it will be allowed. Moreover, any of the moderators can delete posts. Some have less tolerance than others. I only delete spam.
8:21 AM
http://tinyurl.com/3vfw69


Well, I did checkout Marc’s blog and the above comments. What I found read patently untrue to me. If the Liberal side of the discussion seems under represented then it is because the Liberal side chooses not to engage the opinions or viewpoints made by the Conservative posters. Nor do many Liberal posters put forth much more than a few lines of dissension or disapproval rather than counterpoints, viewpoints and actual opinions that can be challenged. I know of no bias on OPDG. And, bias will not be tolerated on OPDG. I will not call “Old Scouts” comments untrue, but I do find Marc’s un-researched sycophant response disturbing and alarming. Any removed messages are logged and can be searched on OPDG. If “Old Scout” would like to back up his or her statement with what ID he or she posted under on OPDG (approximate date would also help), I will be glad to research the validity of this charge against OPDG. [As can all moderators.] To posit the theory that one of the OPDG moderators is deleting posts based of their political leanings should be considered untrue until proven otherwise.

I didn’t just stumble upon my political views out of “old age” as suggested by Marc. I have held my views for many years. My views come from thinking about the issues, observing and watching a life long process and comparing good intentions with actual outcomes. This type of condescension feels akin to Obama’s latest revealing elitist slipup.

Dana
OPDG Owner

mrfearless47 said...

Anyone who reads the non-PERS related threads at OPDG can infer the politics of the group. However acquired, there is no denying the fact that the overarching political spin in OPDG takes its cues from Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Lars Larson than from Al Franken, Thom Hartman, and Randi Rhodes.

As I said in my original blog post, I hate election years and the posts on OPDG are the precise reason why. Religion and politics are two subjects I generally don't get into outside of my small circle of friends. Those subjects seem to bring out the worst in people and reveal them for their true selves.

Dana is free to keep his politics out of my blog; I'll keep mine out of his newsgroup.

Devout Reader said...

I've been chatting with several other elder retirees who hang out - a healthy mix of liberals and conservatives, etc. - who have developed a distaste for what has developed in OPDG. Several refuse to visit that group and get all their information from your blog, so thanks very much for your efforts to keep us all informed. We all agree that we would be extremely grateful if you or someone else would develop an alternative group, so we won't have to go there and wade through so many objectionable entries.

By the way, a previous commenter referred to an element of your blog posting as "condescension". It sure is annoying to see that word abused. Also, his comment equating your comment to a candidate's "revealing eletist slipup" are amazing. Sure seemed like one of those bizarre Bill O'Reilly hit and run attacks. Give a guy some rope and . . .

Unknown said...

You know, in my years of working for the state I found state workers as a group the most anti-government types in the state. They thought they were under worked and overpaid. I think this is reflected in the posts showing up. I don't comment because I think the group should be PERS related and leave the political stuff to other blogs. Nonetheless, I am on the far left and disagree with most of the political posts. Thanks Marc.

badgergirl said...

splendidPlease clarify. In a previous post you indicated that Judge Kantor was retiring and that his case load was going on to someone else. Doesn't he have an obligation to explain his own ruling before he leaves his position? Do you know anything about his successor? Is it "thumb-twiddling" time again or is there some action we window retirees can take. I feel like the window just slammed shut with my neck on the sill.

mrfearless47 said...

badgergirl:

Check the date of the post about Judge Kantor retiring. It was April 1. Does the date bear at all on the veracity of the post? April Fools!

mrf