Reply to Anonymous

A week or so ago, I posted an email that I sent to Bill O'Reilly. Yesterday, I received a comment from an "anonymous" reader. I started to reply in the comments, then I decided my response would be better as a post. Here we go. Anonymous: I cannot speak for every progressive, but you have never had a conversation with me. If you employ the tactic of calling names at the beginning of a conversation, it is no wonder that you don't have very productive discussions with progressives. Personally, I spend a great deal of time trying to "see the other side". It just so happens that I very rarely agree with the conservative view of things. You see, I happen to believe for the most part, all people are good. It seems to me that commentators like Mr. O'Reilly think the only people that deserve respect are those that look, act, believe and belong to the same socio-economic class. In my limited experience of viewing, it seems that anyone who disagrees with Mr. O'Reilly is ridiculed as being "liberal" or "far left". Time and again, I see him attacking the messenger when he disagrees with the message. As for your assumption that I am a fellow traveler with Air America, I guess you are partially correct. I rarely listen to any of the shows since I listen to NPR when I listen to the radio. However, I do like Al Franken and Randy Rhodes and tend to agree with them when I do hear them delivering a message. I do find it very interesting that you think Air America should be "banned from the airwaves". Once again you show that you are incapable of the flexibility you claim for seeing the other side. In your opinion since voices on Air America offer a different view point on issues, they should be censored. That's a nice, facsist statement on your part. Although I think Mr. Bill is full of shit, I would never even hint that I thought he should be "banned from the airwaves". Despite your lack of civility and your apparent intolerance for the First Amendment, I would be more than happy to discuss any issue with you. I promise to address each issue directly and state sources to support my positions on each. I have a funny feeling that you will be unable to reciprocate and you will resort to "talking points", name calling, using capital letters and belittling my point of view rather than providing support for your arguments. Try me, I dare you. I'll even start you off with one of my opinions. It is my stated position that we never should have gone into Iraq and the best thing we can do is to get out of Iraq right now, starting today. Go ahead and tell me why I am such an idiot to believe this. Technorati Tags: Politics, Congress, Rebeleyeball, Paul Gavin IceRocket Tags: Politics, Congress, rebeleyeball

Exercise in futility

Ah, tilting at windmills - my favorite past-time. I have no idea why I chose today to write this email to Bill O'Reilly. But since I did, I thought I would go ahead and share it with you. Here it is: Mr. O'Reilly, I have no idea why I am sending you this email. Even if you do read it, there's not much chance you will pay attention to it. But for some reason, I feel the need to say this to you. Although I cannot stand to watch your show for more than a few moments at time, I occasionally take the time to read your talking points just so I can see first hand the garbage that you spew. If you actually believe the things you write and say, I truly feel sorry for you. It is very obvious that you have absolutely no understanding of reality. It seems to me that you simplify every issue to be black and white. Additionally, you presume that you are right on every issue and that any disagreement is treated as a "war" where you most not only refute the other person's opinion, but you must destroy the messenger. Any intelligent progressive or as you so snidely refer to us "liberal" would be more than happy to discuss any topic with you, but I highly doubt you have any idea of how to have a rational discourse on any topic. This statement is based on my admittedly limited viewing. However, I would be willing to place a sizable bet that you sneer the words "liberal" and "far left" at least one time in each one of your broadcasts. Contrast that with the rare occasion (if ever) that you have mentioned "far right" or "christian fundamentalists" in the tone of voice that you reserve for smearing godless liberals. If, on the other hand, David Lettermen was right and you actually know you are completely full of crap, then you really are a despicable human being. Either way, your unending negative commentary about everything that is progressive or liberal is really an affront to a large segment of society. I believe you do more to divide the people of this country than you could ever possibly do to unite people. You claim to be on the side of reason. However, you words portray hate and venom towards other human beings just because they are different or have an alternative value system than you possess. All I want for Christmas is for you and your pathetic network to go away for good. Sincerely, Paul Gavin Technorati Tags: Fiction, Online Book, Chapter, Rebeleyeball, Paul Gavin IceRocket Tags: Fiction, Blook, Chapter, rebeleyeball

New toy

Today I made the best purchase I have made in a very long time. I went out today and bought a record player. No, I did not say a CD player, or a DVD player or even a MP3 player. No, not a turn-table to hook up to one of my many receivers, I purchased an honest to goodness record player. I even have to tilt my albums into the hole in the back because it isn't wide enough for the whole album to fit inside the wood cabinet. Even though this sounds exactly like the ones we had back in the days of AM radio, this is a brand new record player. It is fairly well made and it is capable of playing 33 1/3s, 45s and 78s. It came equipped with 2 built-in speakers, an on/off button and a button to tune in the radio. Other than that, there aren't any other knobs or input/output ports. Nothing but a record player. No bass adjustment, no graphic equalizer, no hookups for a sub-woofer, no fade, no balance - nothing but music. This is quite a day for me. Over the years, I had collected almost five hundred albums. It's not a huge collection, but it is substantial. Then about fifteen years ago or so, I seduced by my first CD player. She came into my life sweetly tempting my ears with sound quality I never could have imagined when I was a teen-ager during the long hours that I laid on my bed listening to my record player. Back then my collection was small only a few albums. But they had the sound, so I played them over and over eventually wearing deep grooves into black vinyl. But that all changed when I got that first CD player. The sound was so incredible, the discs didn't skip and they were virtually indestructible. For these reasons, I immediately abandoned my round, black friends. After building up a healthy collection of smaller, shining silver discs, I unceremoniously boxed up my albums and banished them to the basement. Even though, I didn't think I would ever listen to them again, I kept them. In fact, I moved them twice. Not an easy feat. If you've ever picked up a box with a hundred or so albums, you know what I mean. Anyway, I have been considering doing something about my turn-table, which I kept around as well in spite of the fact that the needle broke off long ago. Then today, I just decided to go to Best Buy and pick up a new turn-table. Of course, they didn't have one, but for less than fifty bucks I could get the record player - SOLD! After I made the purchase, I excitedly hurried home because I already knew the first song I was going to play – “Sympathy for the Devil” from “Love You Live” which is my favorite album that I never got around to purchasing on CD. Oh, the sounds, the sounds, the sounds. Now, I am in heaven. Not just because I feel like I am hanging out with old friends, which I am. I tell you, there are some stories in these records. But this is what music used to sound like. Remember when music was about music and not just all about production? Remember when we didn't have to get clobbered in the head with bass to find the rhythm in a song? I know, I know, I sound like an old fart. So what, any one under forty reading this will get old some day and pine for the days when you could sit around and listen to your CDs. I have to go flip over the album, so I’ll wait for another time to tell you about the thought’s I had while listening to the song “46 Bye Byes” from another great album called “Fourway Street”. Let’s see how many over forty’s there are out there reading this here blog – name the band. Anyone? Anyone? Technorati Tags: Fiction, Online Book, Chapter, Rebeleyeball, Paul Gavin IceRocket Tags: Fiction, Blook, Chapter, rebeleyeball