Arkansas Blog

We've always hung by a thread. And perhaps it's what makes life interesting...what pushes us onward. Even a casual reading of history reveals people have been moaning/groaning about the decline of so-called civilization since they could find the words for it. I remember coming across a translation of some ancient Greek parents' complaining about the youth of their day...about how those young ens were going to be the ruin of them, their civilization (my words, of course). In the 1950s, Parade magazine had an article about how blue jeans were corrupting the youth...about how civilization was headed over the precipice. And on and on... So I've surmised that this 'woe is me' stuff comes more from the nature of being an old coot (like me) than from any accurate assessment of the Times.

I thank God and my Goddess for the optimism of youth.

If the Times' blog is an accurate reflection of our culture, we're in pretty good shape, warts and all. And, John is, well, an old, cranky fart.

per brummett:

"Somebody posted that the chickens were coming to roost, the possibly ominous meaning of which escaped me." and... "I'm wondering if humanity is in precipitous decline or if we've always hung by such a precarious thread."

well John, i guess the ominous meaning didn't completely escape you, but then many "threads" on net forums are precarious. i will give you the benefit of any doubt for writing this column at this time, as it may well be that the events of this week are somewhat personal and intense, thus haven't yet been distilled into publishable sense. but not enough context was woven into today's column, which is a pity, because it had a good point to make.

The answer to the question is B.

We have always hung by that thread. It is woven from many elements of a difficult reality and our own human nature. We need our institutions more than ever. All of them. Journalism, and religion,and politics, and education, and the family, all of them. That is the purpose of their existence. And, we need REAL leadership in all of them as well. Our society has not displayed much judgement or leadership in a long while. Soon, it may be time to acknowledge that and take it seriously. It is easy to say it has always been this way, nothing is really different, people will respond to a crisis when the time comes but, that is just not the case.

America actually is the world's best hope. Being a leader is not just about having your own way or enjoying you prosperity. The damage done by the last 7 years must be corrected and we do need to stop this childish bickering and give our leadership some direction and support that allows them act more confidently in their expressions and their actions.

Or not.

John, please, please, please revisit your use of the term "begs the question". This nearly ubiquitous misuse of a term belonging to the field of logic is becoming most distressing.

The term, in its Latin form, is "petitio principii", and it refers to a form of circular reasoning that draws its conclusion from the original question, or principal, an error in logic that you are certainly smart enough to recognize and call out, but it has nothing to do with the use you have made of the term.

What you mean to say is that such-and-such a statement or event "calls for" the following question, or simply "asks" the question. The specific words "begs (or begging) the question" have been used since the earliest days of European/British univisersities to refer to the logical error "petitio principii", and should not be used in any other context.

Rant over (but only for the moment--I have yet to convince NPR's reporters and editors of their ongoing error). Thank you for listening. We now return you, etc, etc ...

I have nothing to say about this.

The (other) Times assesses our antiObamism.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/16/us/politics/16arkansas.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

"And, John is, well, an old, cranky fart."

I notice zelda is lately becoming more generous with her assessments as we head to November. John lost me when he bailed out on the Ark. Gazette to join the Hussman gang. Now that's holding a grudge a long time.....right?

Idiots have always been idiots. But now, they have electronic podiums from which to spew their blather to the world.

I, too, was disgusted by the comments. But like 'em or not, they reflect the new age of mass communication and the same hatred and partisanship that have existed among political factions throughout the history of our country.

People have always reacted to tragedy with astonishment, shock, sadness and vitriol. Today is no different. The sensible, the sane and the idiots will all have their say. But often, just like the bathroom walls bring out the wackos, many times, blogs do the same.

With that I say, "for a good time, visit the Arkansas Blog @ www.arktimes.com"

John we all owe Max B a big thank you for running this blog -- you most of all!

"...ventured into blame, partisan polarization and hate." And then he asks "... if we've always hung by such a precarious thread."

I guess The Brum has never seen the cemeteries in the rural north Louisiana woods. They are typically divided into pro & anti Union sides, usually separated by a highway. I'd think the thread of today is much stronger than the one we hung from back then.

"electronic podiums from which to spew their blather to the world"

Rupert Murdoch or Ted Turner?

That's different Rod, CNN & Fox are populated with 'responsible adults' not blithering children (and I'd bet The Brum still harbors hopes of employment there). People like Michelle Malkin and Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann and Cokie Roberts and Maureen Dowd ... oh hell, the list of 'responsible adults' is nigh on endless.

Political violence is part of our history in this state and the south. The murders at the Unitarian church in Tennessee and the murder of Gwatney are similar in my mind. Cynicism is nothing new in human society. One man "knows" the truth and will force others to accept that "truth" at all costs. The fool who murdered members of the Unitarian congregation in TN expressed his "truth" with murder against folks who are merely tolerant of other human beings who don't necessarily comply with the "morality" of the prevailing thought of the majority of Tennesseeans. Somehow, this fellow likely decided Democrats were responsible for quitting his job he obviously hated. His use of the term jocks in his graffiti certainly harkens to the young murderers at Columbine H.S. Murder and mayhem sell and folks who want to make headlines know a murder is always good for it. Maybe these two murderers are and were deranged, but this sort of political violence is always present when fools with guns and a death wish decide to act out their deadly fantasies. The fact that those who knew Gwatney's murderer, if the allegations are true, have stated that he had become a zealot against Democrats, particularly Bill Clinton. The assumption here should be that political violence by a deranged gunman has occurred. I believe there will be more political violence in the south, particularly with the circumstances surrounding this election with a strong black Democratic candidate for president. It's so sad that a man who obviously was an advocate for a better Arkansas has been taken away from all of us, particularly those of us who don't live the life of leisure and influence. Hateful right-wing rhetoric has become the norm in corporate media these days because hateful, venomous, and vituperative rhetoric sells. Ask Ann Awful about her comment in LR joking about poisoning one of the last moderate to liberal Supreme court justices left on the court. Yes, this senseless murder must be viewed from a wider, more troubling perspective despite the fact that this sort of political violence has always been present in our culture.

I think it's way too soon to call this shooting purely politically motivated, if for no other reason than that expanation completely ignores the ABC incident. However, I followed a link to a NYTimes story that someone here posted and read that this shooting was "not motivated by politics" or something like that. I don't think you can really say that either. Seems to me the jury's still out.

I checked in on the Blog several times Wednesday. Almost all the comments I read expressed anguish, sorrow, bewilderment, compassion for Bill Gwatney's family and some anger about the horror of the event.

The only stupid comment I saw, the "chickens coming home to roost" remark, came from one of the three or four right-wing trolls who stalk this Blog. Brummett would know that if he ever kept up with comments other than his own.

Clearly the MSM is trying to do anything but say this killing might be politically motivated, when in fact it's about the only theory out there.

I don't have to point out that the MSM is predominantly owned by Republicans.

Once again we see how the "liberal media" is a falsehood concocted by conservatives to disguise the true and continual bias.

For more examples, see "Obama" and "McCain"

In spite of all your fabulous political "insight" (burp), I am amazed that the Gwatney family is continuing to air those ridiculous "midget spots" or any spots really while this incident has unfolded. The policy is you usually pull your commercials when something like this happens. The spots are fairly insulting anyway.

DBI a right-wing troll? He made an incredibly stupid comment, but being a fan of his posts (especially the Halloween pumpkin one), right-wing troll is a strange description.

I would say the same for Brummett. His columns are great but, today, he is a cranky old fart.

Did Brummett expect that, on a political blog, everyone would remain respectfully silent when a prominent politician was murdered? In a perfect world, that would be the case.

Was everyone respectfully silent about this sad event at work, hanging out with friends, etc.?

I think Johnson was severely mentally ill, likely paranoid and delusional. He went unnoticed by a society that places little value on mental health diagnosis or treatment. I don't think the Republican message exploiting hate and intolerance caused Johnson to shoot Bill Gwatney, but I do think that message attracts nuts just like him. I'd guess Johnson and the shooter at the Univeralist church were both loyal Rush listeners, spewing hate about immigrants, imagining an America armed to the hilt to defend God's Kingdom, labeling anyone who dares to disagree as unpatriotic, and promoting violence as an acceptable, even preferable response. Sound like any gun-packin' Republicans you know?

I dunno kids. Maybe I mis-read Brummett's column. Maybe I hadn't consumed enough Diet Dr. Pepper yet to fully grasp it, but, it didn't come across to me as an attack on Max or this particular blog, itself. To me, it looked more like an observation regarding what people might say about an event such as this shooting and, particularly, what they might say in a public forum when protected by anonymity. Nothing more, really, than what we all do here every day - except JB gets paid for it, and has to sign his name to it and own it. The question, at that point, becomes: which perspective is more honest? Does Brummett always write what he really thinks, or is his pen (OK, keyboard) influenced by the politics of the writing business? Do anonymous bloggers have anything to gain or lose, personally or financially, by what they post? Does absolute freedom of speech lend itself toward "creepy, cowardly, bitter, mean, vile, crude and consumed by ignorance, intolerance and hate", as Brummett suggested? Again, I dunno. He reports, maybe you decide.
To me, the most insulting thing was the "nothing better to do" comment, used in defining "blog" to a handful of geriactic patients out there somewhere who have never heard the term. Face it, anonymous or not, this medium provides substantial competition to print, and that diminishes the value of paid editorialists like Brummett (and to a MUCH lesser degree, myself). I mean, why would people spend the time reading what one paid writer has to say, subject to one publisher's advertising considerations,when they can read what lots of real (albeit unnamed) people can say, unfiltered? There's some bitterness involved. But, again, that's one dude's perspective coming through. He can say it in the paper, using his given name, or he can log on here and say it, calling himself "bitterwriter69". Either way, the important thing, to me at least, is that it gets said.

Amen, John. Well said.

Brummett continues to be right. On the day of Gwatney's shooting, this blog had entirely too many, raging, bitter, angry, impolite, rude people lacking compassion, insight, thoughtfulness, tact or any other attributes that would make a reasonable person want to be in the same room with any of them. To many of the posters on these blogs, their fury is defended or rationalized as simply some admirable type of "passion." Cut the crap. It's just pure and simple bad manners. Even our most outrageous "paid editorialists" in mainstream media don't sink that low even on their worst days, which is perhaps why I prefer them.

When I opined that I was afraid that Mr. Gwatney's death was another "Knoxville-like" death, some people jumped on my observation. The hate-filled rants of right-wingers HAVE led to killings of people considered liberals, or even having D- behind their names.
This villification is done on a daily basis. See Limbaugh. See Hannity. See Glen Beck.
I'm still waiting to see where a liberal goes off and kills a bunch of Republicans, though I doubt if it'll happen. It seems as if the right wing-nut have a monopoly on murdering those who don't agree with them.
I don't want to see anyone die for their beliefs, but I also don't think people should roll over and take being victims of violence. See Jews. See veterans under Hoover.

"These posters . . . hit the send button and . . . commence re-picking their noses."

Ya nailed us, Brummett! Just know that our love for you is no more than yours for us.

"geriatric".
There's one place "print" has the advantage over "blog". The ability to edit typos.

Humans have a very thin veneer of civilization; scratch us very deeply and you'll find a savage.

excellent point rickbaber,

there are diamonds to be found on the blogs, but one has to sift through a lot of dirt sometimes to find them. and as there aren't any Menckens around anymore, it is up to those of us who can log on and type to work out the diamonds of "truth" and "insight" ourselves, collectively.

and it gets done. the process may be messy, but it works. which is more than i can say for paid journalism/opinion for the vast majority of the past two centuries.

jjflash said--"It's just pure and simple bad manners."

Agreed. And amen to what John B said. On the same blog thread he mentions, I posted this:
"Decency should prevail since this is a public blog that may be seen by friends and family of those involved. If you wouldn't say it to their face in a devastating situation, why would you do so in a forum where the only appropriate comments to a story like this are expressions of sympathy and support?".

A later post on that same thread said "Here, commenters belch "inappropriate" when they don't like someone's comment. I'm exactly sure who appointed these would-be censors to the roles, but they sure have rather delicate sensibilities."

Anyone who knows me, knows that censorship is the last thing I would do. I, as well as several others, pointed out that a man's life was hanging by a thread and the blog was filled with hate and name calling etc. We were just asking for people to have some consideration of how they would feel if they were in that situation. We were promoting civility, not censorship. So Brummett is right this time.

Was it the same MISTER Brummett who wrote very opinionated, leftist columns before getting the promotion at Stephens Media plus a bigger, nicer home and moving closer to the right? They say the difference between a lib and a rwingnut is about $40,000 per year. But there are many rwingers who are still free waterboys. That's the genius of Rovian-Pavlovian handlers marrying up with Baptists.
Keep up the snobbery MISTER Brummett, it helps make you appear erudite.

Oh, BTW MISTER Brummett, did you happen to catch Steve Harrelson's link yesterday? Not nice, not nice at all.

Well, it looks like those chickens really are coming home to roost now. I agree with Brummett's characterization of the messages he cites.

A couple of quick thoughts -

Nowadays, a blog that doesn't allow responses isn't a blog at all. It's just another column.

The right of anonymous political speech is protected by the Constitution - but it's not easy to achieve true anonymity on the Internet.

A blog, especially one which practices little censorship, is like the street. You want a waiting room or funeral parlor climate.. you better spend your time where invitation only is the rule.

I've never understood why old christian mourning practices (say nothing, be polite to a point of extreme dishonest hypocrisy) are what they are.. it's the last way I want to mourn someone, especially while in the company of others. I rarely attend christian style funerals.. it's not how I want to say goodbye. And truth be told most waiting rooms, wakes or funerals are best when the real stories come out both good and ugly about the person who passed. You know, when the conversation gets honest.

As for the death of public figures, 99 plus percent of whom most people don't know personally, why should they all pretend otherwise? The public legacy is what immediately comes to minds along with the troubling news of their passing. Is it so impossible or wrong to discuss both in what is the equivalent of the public street or coffee house? (aka a blog thread with photos of the crimes scene in it).

That answer for me is definitely not.. and if I were anywhere near a grieving friend or family member I wouldn't have think twice before encouraging them to turn off a television or computer for a while. Maybe even walking over to the outlet and pulling the plug myself.. if need be.

Most of the worst tensions in times of peoples passing are from what's left unsaid, not the other way around. And we the street people definitely owe it to ourselves to discuss what passing public figures true legacy may be. Life is to damn short to always wait for everyone to decide the proper time.. and nothing like that tragic day need be the reminder of that.

BRUMMET HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD AND FOR SOME THE TRUTH HURTS BIG TIME. THOSE HATEFUL, FINGERPOINTING BLOGS WERE A SIN AND A SHAME. NOT ONLY STUPID AND LIBERAL LEFT WING, BUT DOWNRIGHT RUDE, CRUDE AND SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE. FORT BAPTIST AND THE HEIGHTS ARE NOT AS COOL AS THEY THINK THEY ARE.
A PERSON SHOULD BE AND USUALLY IS JUDGED BY WHAT THEY SAY OR DO WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING, OR LISTENING OR ABLE TO SEE WHO PRODUCED THE VITRIOLIC SPEW THOSE POSTS CONTAINED.
GOD'S WATCHING AND LISTENING, YOU CAN BE ASSURED OF THAT.
WE ALL NEED TO WATCH OUR P'S AND Q'S. TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE, WHAT DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL SAY AND THINK OUT LOUD WHEN YOU PASS FROM THIS CURRENT MESS WE CALL EARTH TO ANOTHER PLANE. COULD YOU STAND TO HEAR IT, DO YOU WANT YOUR KIDS TO HEAR IT. THE TRUTH MIND YOU, NOT THE BS STUFF , JUST THE TRUTH.

THINK ABOUT IT.

the chickens are coming home to roost

DBI a right-wing troll? He made an incredibly stupid comment

100% correct, I typed those 5 words that suddenly appears on America's list of horrible, terrible things to say. My my did Rev. Wright strike a raw nerve. Unfortunately in choosing to phrase my comment that way the point of my comment was completely lost. But I'm glad I phrased it that way because it flushed out a lot of quail I didn't see hiding in the bushes.

My point was that years of anti-Uniting on the part of Cheney-Bush and the RNC, had finally pushed some weak-minded wingnut over the edge and on to cold blooded murder. Nothing more than that. If Bill Gwatney had been a Fuller Brush salesman sitting in McDonalds when he was shot 3 times, I would have just thought......crazy on the loose, random killing, senseless killing, shark attack! But Gwatney was the Chairman of the State Democratic Party sitting in the office of the Chairman of the State Democratic Party. Armed with only the information that he had been shot, it wasn't hard to jump to the conclusion that this was a political killing of some kind. If someone walked into the door of a Catholic Church and shot a Priest dead, one would naturally think the killer was a tad anti-Catholic.

With the information available to us today, there is yet no reason to think it wasn't a politically inspired killing. Hopefully soon we'll know all the details that drove Johnson to kill Bill Gwatney. I hope for the health of an already terminally ill country, it turns out Johnson was mad over a lemon Chevy.

Now.....I have to wonder if it's a race thing that there is so much anger over the use of the term...the chickens are coming home to roost? When that phrase is used, only the no information voter fails to think of Rev. Wright. Is the population of this country so dumb or so inflicted with ADD that all they heard out of Rev. Wright was "Goddamn America?" Like everyone missing my point about extreme hatred being the motive for this crime, did Rev. Wright message get completely blown away by him saying "Goddamn America?"

I tend to think so. In my opinion, after watching the full video of Wright's sermon many times, he was saying that decades of abuse by the US, US deception, the US arming neighbor against neighbor, US military interventions, US backed assassinations, and in general the Government of the US sticking its nose into other country's business had finally resulted in 9-11-2001.

Who knows, maybe Osama just had a bad hair day, but there are plenty of facts to back up what Rev. Wright was saying....but all most of us remember is "Goddamn America."

That he was seen as a spokesman for Barack Obama would explain the instant dislike of Rev. Wright by half the nation. That he was an uppity black man earned him untold haters, some who actually may not be aware of their own racism. But the deed was done and most of the country dismissed everything Rev. Wright said in his sermon. A dangerous lesson for us to NOT learn.....again and again.

When a local tragedy happens in this era of the blog, what posts aren't acceptable and who gets to decide? I think that is entirely up to Max Brantley. Clearly post that say...."I hated that Bill Gwatney and I'm glad he's dead", are unacceptable and as I recall, in those 156 postings, a few got close, but no one actually said such a horrible thing. Good on us!

But blogs are not news, blogs are less formal, more or less factual at times, less polite...blogs are like what goes on in back alleys. I'm a lot rougher sounding on the AT blog than I've ever been face to face. Most of the time we're posting to make a point, not to display our best manners. If you were born with a good filter, it's easy to comb thru the posts and get the meat of the discussion. Then you can think I'm for it or I'm against it. No matter which, you are at least better informed than you were yesterday. That's a good thing.

When I die, I regret already that I won't be able to attend my own funeral or see the comments on this blog (how egotistical can you be to expect blog comments at yer passing), my family will certainly get around to checking the blog at some point and it won't hurt them a bit. If someone says they spent years pitying my poor children who were forced to live with that monster, my children will just laugh because they, better than anyone else know how our family life goes.

If someone says DBI was a sex fiend and I feel so sorry for his little wife, my wife will laugh because someone called her a "little wife." I'm married to a Norma Bates who can dish out equal and above whatever weak serve I manage to get over her net. A good marriage is always comprised of 2 equal partners, loving and fearless, sweet and dangerous at the same time. If you can regularly bully your spouse, you don't have a marriage....you have pet ownership.

Brummett offends me by implying bloggers are lazy people who do nothing but blog and pick their nose. Only Miss Nancy on Romper Room had a magic mirror that allowed her to see thru my TV and into my house. Unlike Homeland Security, she breeched my privacy just long enough to find out who was having a birthday. I do 75% of what I do from home, lucky me, and I can blog and do my work at the same time. I can also stand on my head....bet you can't see that reading this blog either.

I can defrost a chicken, post 12 lines on a thread, turn the chicken over and until the microwave beeps, finish my thought, spell check it, proof read it and hit the Send button, while directing kid traffic via cell phone or IM and kicking the dogs ass back out of the kitchen. And if you don't have 6 computers running in your house at all times....WTF's wrong with you?

I say we buy one of those WifeCatcher Cams and put it in Brummett's office. All I want to know is how many times in one PAY period does John Brummett sit, stare into his monitor and pick his nose?

NO MORE WITNESSES YOUR HONOR, I REST MY CASE .....THANK YOU DBI., UP ON THE BOARD ON THE WALL, ONCE MORE, WHATTA GUY.

YOU JUST PROVED MY POINT" I AM MUCH WORSE ON THIS AT BLOG THAN I AM IN PERSON" .

BINGO, ONCE MORE.

This entire blog is probably closer to death than any of you realize. It is often held hostage by a half dozen or fewer folks spewing sophomoric insults,rants disguised as debate, and psychobabble as ill-informed as can be found anywhere. The news posts from the AT staff can survive just fine without the comment feature, and the e-graffiti addicts can continue playing Debate Club amongst themselves in another venue.

"A PERSON SHOULD BE AND USUALLY IS JUDGED BY WHAT THEY SAY OR DO WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING, OR LISTENING OR ABLE TO SEE..."

Three things:
1. How you gonna judge somebody if you don't see or hear what they're doing?
2. There's a "Caps Lock" key, just above the "Shift" key on the extreme left side of your keyboard. Third row up. If you'll punch that your posts won't be quite so fucking annoying.
3. If anybody should be getting paid for writing (producing entertainment) it's DBI.

Of course, that's just my opinion. Dennis Miller could be wrong.

Good thoughts Rick, you and DBI protect your turfs so well and was enlightened by widj's defining
"petitio principii" which once again reminded me how much we need some html tags on here.
I mean, will you ever see petitio principii without italics other than on a straight text blog?

.

Rick ignore him. We sometimes go for days when his cousin doesn't kick him out of bed.

DBI, go back a little further in history for an offensive, "chickens coming home to roost." I was reminded of that instance by your use of the phrase, not the forgettable Rev. Wrong.

Mr. Brummet was making some good points, but when he referred to Max Brantley as a "real newsman". Well, that is over the top. lol

"univisersities"? Whew! I shouldn't try to type before my second cup of coffee is finished.

re: "This entire blog is probably closer to death than any of you realize."

No way hoss. This blog is the only news in town. (Well, of course it omits many important items like independent candidates and what not) When I say "news" I am generally referring to the comments rather than the initial posts. The comments are what make it roll. Everybody knows that. That's why guys like Brummett are uncomfortable. It's like the musicians who got mad when at the onset of recording sound. They said it would never last. No one would actually pay for a recording of music. They were wrong for about 80 years but it looks like they're right again.

>>(Well, of course it omits many important items like independent candidates and what not)<<

OK Hoss name another Arky media who provided coverage to your campaign as did AT? Where else did you find a state-wide blog to allow free airing of your views, then or now? And next time the opportunity rolls around use the space/audience wisely rather than spewing about things not policy.

You've acquited yourself well, DBI more than made up for the "ulp". I doubt that there were many of us on this blog who didn't immediately think there must be some political angle and hope it wasn't the start of something even more horrible to contemplate (as if Bill Gwatney's murder wasn't bad enough).
Paranoia? I suppose. Maybe it's a result of living in the modern world.
Johnson's being a loner and having a bunch of guns around? Does that make what he did a political statement? I don't think so. I hope not, since hubby and I are both loners and we probably have as many guns in the house. Maybe more. (I will say we didn't buy all of them. I inherited some, and so did he. Hubby did buy a shotgun and a deer rifle, and a handgun for me -- which I'm not particularly enthusiastic about. Then he won another shotgun and later his sister parked her late husband's guns over here. Phew! But just think what the cops might make of all this.)
Walking the dog down the road? Guilty. Dog pooping in a neighbor's yard? Yeah, it's happened. Look at my neighbor as if he was an idiot if he'd griped about it? Yeah, and thought about a Halloween night and a car hood when we came around a bend in the road and saw, er, uh, . . . well, that can't have been comfortable.
Point is, all of us have had lapses, especially in view of sanctimonius neighbors -- neighbors who still think the back seat would have been a better choice.
And no, I'm not dismissing the horror of what Timothy Johnson did. But people who knew him insist his behavior at work and elsewhere that morning was uncharacteristic. Rather than think he was a rabid political hater at this point, I think it's possible that he was experiencing some of the more serious side effects of Effexor. They can range from suspicion to paranoia, to uncharacteristic violence, and beyond that, to murder and/or suicide.
(I tried to raise this issue earlier, but computer problems made that impossible. Maybe someone else has considered and commented on the possibility, but since I've only scanned the blog entries, I missed it.)
Creepy, cowardly, bitter, mean, vile, crude and consumed by ignorance, intolerance and hate?
Lighten up, John. Yeah, some of us probably crossed the line, maybe some of us uncaring, not giving a damn, others of us unwittingly. But don't for a moment think this isn't what's being said at kitchen tables everywhere. And maybe it's best if we are aware of what our neighbors are saying.
By the way, I doubt that members of the Gwatney family are reading many blog entries right now.

Has Brummet not read this blog on occasions when prominent right-wingers have died? The reaction was nothing new--just larger because this occurred closer to home. I could go through the archives and find a couple of those trolls saying "good riddance" to plenty of our celebrated departed of all stripes. Remember when Tim Russert passed, some people here were practically cheering.

What's interesting to me is the total lack of attention paid to the bias in the media over not reporting the anti-Democrat comments attributed to the killer by people he attended school with. And that includes this blog.

Wake up. A discussion about a column about a discussion is pointless when it's more or less open season on the liberals in the discussion.

"name another Arky media who provided coverage to your campaign"

Nobody covered my campaign. Arkansas Times ran a picture of me and Jim Lendall on one page and Elton and Betty White on the other. That's called dismissing us both as novelties. If that's coverage, thanks but no thanks.

" next time the opportunity rolls around use the space/audience wisely"

Please advise me on my unwise use. Did I not fit your mold? Tell me how to win your blessing anonymous sensei.

Also, I wasn't talking about me. I was talking about Ralph Nader not being mentioned at all on the AT blog although he is now on the ballot as an Independent in Arkansas.

"This entire blog is probably closer to death than any of you realize."

The biggest risk this site faces is the DMCA. As far as I can tell, AT has done nothing to ameliorate that risk. If the infringed parties took action, it could be costly, if not fatal.

Sanford -

I am so troubled by your post. I had no idea peeps were being held in captivity and forced at gunpoint to read every comment on this blog!

Since you apparently have access to the internet, please post your GPS coordinates so we can send a SWAT team to finally release you from the dungeon where your abusive parents have confined you and exposed you to free-wheeling democracy in action on this blog and its comments.

Are they feeding you?

Seriously.

I care.

Somewhere, a loving same-sex couple is waiting to adopt you and break the hateful shackles of your tragic past.

Your pal,

Norma

the AT blog is a

Public, Interactive. Real-Time. Letters To The Editor. & Bulletins Page

when it functions as that, it is far more valuable than any printed daily editorial page of any newspaper anywhere

imo

i'm in love with you, norma.

Norman there are no same sex people that can raise a child right! IF there was only one gender then you females or us males who would not be here.. Now do you believe that is weird or queer or something..
You'd have to draw your water from a well in a bucket because there'd be no pipe long enough to reach your house without male and female fittings. Ain't that weird?
Stupid people think stupid dirty thoughts.

"Unfortunately in choosing to phrase my comment that way the point of my comment was completely lost. But I'm glad I phrased it that way because it flushed out a lot of quail I didn't see hiding in the bushes. " - DBI

What a load of crap.

I've very much appreciated both the open forum the AT has provided for discussion of this horrible shooting, and the news coverage that probes details other media outlets seem to be ignoring in a conspiracy of silence.

I know for a fact that people from many places routinely monitor this blog for insights into local news when it has national implications. I have no doubt that this is going on as the events last week are being analyzed.

I can also see John Brummett's point. There definitely are times when threads get going here, and quickly degenerate into stomach-turning cant. The one following Gwatney's shooting was such a thread for me. Wasn't so much the political back and forth. It was just the senselessness of it all, leaving...what?...to be said?

Still, people need some place in which to express shock, to talk about what such an act might mean, to express their sympathies (and their fears). Or so it seems to me. Though I do think we are a fairly tribal set of folks in Arkansas, and when we get going on some of those issues, we generate a lot more heat than light--and a lot of the heat is due to with the tribalism, since we're quick to view anyone taking the opposite side as traitors to the tribe. We're also mighty quick to exclude, with all the vigor (and sometimes, the cruelty) of tribal people--and quick to band together in a punishing silence when someone pushes beyond the boundaries of tribal thought.

All to say that I think this blog provides a great service to journalism in this state, and the Gwatney shooting illustrates (for me) its strengths. At the same time, I do also see John Brummett's point, and wish we'd think more before opening our mouths to engage in the meaningless tribal clatter. It can be maddeningly empty, at times.

I think Mr. Brantley's P.S. above points to the importance of continuing the discussion and probing for as much truth as there is to be found about T. Johnson's motives. Personally, I suspect there's quite a bit more to the story than we yet know.

Somebody read Norma's post back to him when he's sober. Norma proves the point.

Saturday night. Kids in bed? E. Borgnine is 91. He reveals the secret of longevity. 46 seconds video. Click on Cato

Gee, chasv, I didn't realize that god made male and female plumbing fittings. I thought they came from a factory.

"Norman there are no same sex people that can raise a child right!" chasv

chasv, that can't be right. Because a same-sex couple raised you and you turned out to be swell ...

Oops, maybe I'd better rethink my theory.

And remember folks, Earnest Borgnine is one of the few people still alive whose seen Ethel Merman naked!

Well, looks like our little experiment into deeper thinking has failed. We'll just have to accept each other as we are and keep hoping someday evolution will make us all better humans. Those opposed to comments on blogs, no doubt are sorry we're still voting, cause just shutting the FK up always makes it easier for the big dogs to operate. Brummett's blog wasn't interesting enough to solicit much comment anyway. And news without comments is called a newspaper.

Hopefully the Gwatney case will come together and we'll know the real reason Johnson murdered him. I hope it's not another Jon Benet mystery. We need to spend our time trying to figure out how to deal with loners. Most of the senseless killing grabbing national headlines seems to come at the hands of people who can't or won't be a part of society. The 24 hours news cycle feels more like a curse than a blessing and feeds the weak minded.

After a long discussion with my wife, we've decided that anyone who hates is not a Christian. So chasv, you're out of the club. Make up a new name for yourself, cause the last thing you are is a Christian. I think you're a selfish, sanctimonious Apart-er. So found the Church Apart and hate everyone and everything and quit besmirching the real Christians who have love for their fellow man like the Bible says.

We have a political firestorm ahead of us and we should be concentrating on the horrors soon to befall us. Good luck to us all.

"If the Times' blog is an accurate reflection of our culture, we're in pretty good shape, warts and all. And, John is, well, an old, cranky fart." by: zelda

John's NOT the only "old, cranky fart" that reads this blog.

Keep up the good work DBI this little gang-bang is over.

"why use one world when 10 will do."
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
"The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."

PS I've read more of Brummett's columns in the last two years (thanks to Arkansas Blog) than in the last twenty years...ain't it IRONIC!

I'm not sure I entirely get your meaning there bejeeus, but if I've been any help to you and yours, you're welcome.

I love the ATs manipulation of the news. First, they admit that no one knows the reasons for this guys actions. Then they go into a long listing of those things that liberals hate. I believe the manipulaters call that 'guilt by association'. It's ok, guys. You keep on doing the only thing you know how to do and guys like me will keep holding a mirror up.

How serious are we supposed to take blog posts?

To me this is only an electronic, instant version of a bathroom wall on which grafitti may be written, some witty, some not, but all without the urine smell. Nothing more or less.

Post (scribble) away.

dbi, If you say I am so bad why don't you go read what Jesus said to people who are just like you then you'll see I am only saying to everyone on here the same thing He said to them.
Believe it or not, it is God's way or it is hell for those who don't believe in Him.
Everyone who do not believe in Him is lost.
I am not lost but you are.
You must be born again! Do you not know what being born again is?