It would be one thing if he actually cared to reply when people address his points. He ignores everything he doesn't have a ready, snotty response to, and then he acts all petulant when people don't take him seriously.

Petulant? I don't think so. I never expect to be taken seriously by this group unless the logic or documentation is irrefutable, and even then denial is the next step. If someone asks me a real live question, I will happily answer. But if I have to guess whether a reply is rhetorical, I won't. For instance....

Uh, you mean like the Republicans, who promised to reduce spending, and beat all previous pork spending records by Democrats?! How can you even write a sentence like the above?! Do you even understand what words mean?
Just complete bollocks through and through.-- prunes

I'm pretty sure you weren't interested in a reply.

If you really believe the things you say, shooter, you should have the sack to defend them. Otherwise, FOAD, you're wasting everyone's time.-- prunes

If you have a question ask it, if you want to be a dick, don't expect me to fight the tide. Otherwise do the smart thing and start from the bottom of the page and skip my comments.
As for "Iokahave fallen and can't get out of the well", he's on permanent ignore for having nothing but bile to offer. No loss, certainly.

I'm sure its pointless for me to mention this to shooter, but for the sake of prunes and others who might mistakenly take shooter's word for the efficacy of the Israeli Wall, it is well known in Israel that the wall is in fact not effective at reducing the number of suicide bombers.-- zeezee

Then why are you providing a link that states "Israel has been enjoying a considerable respite from suicide bombings,"? Are you having difficulty understanding that was the point I made?

So, although it is impossible to give an exact figure, it is reasonable to suggest that during the last two years, while Israel has been enjoying a considerable respite from suicide bombings, the number of undocumented workers coming into the country illegally from the West Bank has been in the low tens of thousands."
http://lawrenceofcyberia.blogs.com/news/2006/12/western_news_me.html

Perhaps you'd like to find a source that illustrates there is another reason for fewer bombings, or that the number of illegal workers is higher or unchanged? You know, something that makes sense in this context? Otherwise just say you agree with me. Jeebus.

I have repeated ask you legitimate questions in comments (UT) and letters (Salon) over the past 1 and 1/2 years, and you have very rarely made substantive replies. I do not abuse you the way the men do, but have gotten the same supercilious non-response more often than not. You statement above is simply false. -- Holly McLachlan

Obviously, you mean to say, not as true as you would like. There are three considerations I offer you.
* Sometimes silence is golden. I just went off on zeezee below, and now regret it. Perhaps no reply is my way of being polite.
* I don't always read all the comments and may have missed some of your questions.
* Since I have answered at least SOME of your questions, I haven't ignored you categorically.
In the verbal sparring between philosophies, sincerity is rare and easily recognizable. I like to think I appreciate it when I see it.

On inauguration day It would be very amusing to see the President declare Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld enemy combatants, and order them held indefinitely.-- jayackroyd

So let's see. The front runners are,
* A freshman Senator with ethics problems,
* A populist rich guy who is the very image of a fat cat capitalist,
* another Senator whose claim to fame is someone else's last name. And ethics problems.

That seems problematical, plus you know how Republicans have the voting machines all rigged. It's early, but I wouldn't buy the curtains for the White House just yet.

It suddenly occurs to them that just as they know St. Bush in his righteous cause would NEVER abuse such a power they also know antichrist Clinton would have destroyed America with such authority. They seem to suddenly remember why ‘Checks and Balances’ exist. -- thorin01

What makes you think Clinton hasn't disappeared anyone? He also abused both the FBI and IRS, while inventing extraordinary rendition. And I'll even let you in on little secret that is truly awful.... he cut taxes and then all that money came rushing in to balance the budget! Horrors.

In actuality, when Dems actually win again, I'd worry more about yourself than an Al Qaeda wannabe. His rights will be protected, but if you are in the wrong place at the right time, you'll be an acceptable loss.

Then, out of all the wealth and property appropriated from rich corporations, the top 10% of wealth holders, and of course, the right wing megachurches, we could build magnanimous re-education facilities.

An appropriate label for Mrs. Bill Clinton heard the other day, the Chavez of Chappequa.

Into these re-education facilities we of the UNOA-HRC would place the moron Republican authoritarian robots who foolishly gave such power to Chairwoman Hillary and who were quickly rounded up and detained as 'questionably oriented residents' and held forever.-- El Cid

But I see you're rooting for her to become the next leader of the "Cultural Revolution" like China's. How many millions died in that grand experiment?

That's what you get for thinking he was kidding!

I understand that we'll all be required to face Mecca to pray as well. -- Paul Dirks

Who here thought they'd see the day it was illegal to pray at all in some places of the US? In our lifetime that would have been labeled a paranoid delusion as well.