Hope all is well with baby.  You might indulge, if you haven't, in my editorial.

I get the sense that the answer to our concerns is "start your own blog"

I agree with you completely. Hope all is well with mama and baby.

S6 I look forward to it, and I like your signature.

"...terrorists portray themselves quite successfully among Muslims as the exponents of true and pure Islam...(Robert B Spencer, author)

itchyhitch.blogspot.com

...for reasons that really aren't so mysterious, but I'll spell them out for you if you really want me to:

• It shouldn't have been posted in the first place. I know: hypocrisy! hypocrisy! There was a post about MLK! Well, MLK has his own national holiday, so he's more important than ol' Chuck.
• It was basically a gun thread. Need I say more? Apparently so: they go down hill here for reasons we've been over ad nauseum.
• Until there is an acknowledgment of the wider social dangers associated with gun ownership by the NRA crowd around here, there will be no more gratuitous gun threads (i.e., not about something actually happening in Olympia). You've had your chance to have a reasoned, fact-based discussion and you never seem to come up with any facts. That's not being intellectually honest and thus violates the social contract. (Note: your own personal fears and anecdotes don't count. Peer reviewed, social science research does.)

the thread down hill.

As for the dangers of guns, I know the gun is a horribly dangerous machine. At least once a week, my gun will go off for no known reason. Sitting in safe, on the table, nightstand, who knows when it will happen again. The anti-gun crowd will never get it.

Thanks for framing how the gun posts will be allow though.

"...terrorists portray themselves quite successfully among Muslims as the exponents of true and pure Islam...(Robert B Spencer, author)

itchyhitch.blogspot.com

Rb, wht ws th pnt f ths? r vn gttng n tht thrd if dn't cr bt th g? Ths s nt wht wntd t wk p t ths mrnng nd dn't thnk w'r dng rslvs n fvrs b nt ddrssng t. thnk Rb shld hv hs cmmntng blts sht ff ntl h psts thr hyprlcl strs.

"n prncpl, m n nrchst. Krt Vnngt nc sd h ws n gnstc wh rspcts Jss Chrst. m n rchst wh lvs dmcrc." - Knzbr

Rob's mistake was his attempt at humor was way too soon and way, way lame. Rob, in comedy, timing is everything. Futhermore, there's nothing funny about Sawzall. Norm, as you said, it was a poor attempt at humor. Let it be. Rick, you were the only one who hit the comedy mark.

That said, the original posting and the discussion that followed was not that interesting and clearly not hyperlocal content. I'm still unclear as to exactly what hyperlocal is, (the wikipedia def is thin at best) but I feel a discussion of C. Heston isn't it. His death changed nothing in the political economy of Greater Olympia.

There are bigger fish to fry in the local blogoshere than the death and 2nd amendment significance of C. Heston. Grudgingly, I think it was right to end the thread.

Meanwhile at the Olympia school board...

I agree!

"A point of view is only a view from a point..." ~ Unknown

And if ever there were the seeds for a gun rights thread, they were cast at the passing of "the president." Rob really should have butted out this time and S6 should simply have been warned that the thread needed a local connection.  I hope we do better next time, including some thought about the utility of posting about someone as devisive and non-local as Heston. It helps to imagine that your audience is bigger than four like-minded fellow Olybloggers.

As for the sterility of Olyblog lately, I'm not sure what that means other than we don't argue as much as we used to. If the result is more of this then I think it's well worth it. Olyblog is more than the 10 of us who like to argue when ever there's a chance to do so.   

There's a lot I'd like to say about the people who reacted strongly to my comments, their chosen hobbies, and their behavior on other current threads, but I don't want to start a big argument here, instead let's ALL take a moment to look at how we can be better neighbors to one another.

"t's nc t s ppl's drms cmng tr sn't t?"

S y chsts thrs fr thr rctn yt y sm prtty nnchlnt abt clbrtng th dth f smen whm frm wht 'v sn nd n my pnn, ws a dcnt mn. Sys lt bt yr chrctr Rb, prtclrl n yr stndrds f bng a dcnt. t gs bth wys hr bb.

"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something." - Mitch Hedberg

So it's okay for Rob to attack others and condemning them for their remarks?  Rob said:

"There's a lot I'd like to say about the people who reacted strongly to my comments, their chosen hobbies, and their behavior on other current threads"

So if I make comments about the docents in general, that's okay? I'm confused. I got my Wilson College Edition Football right here.

"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something." - Mitch Hedberg

Is that burnt thread?

I wouldn't accept an apology from Rob at this point.  I've got a better idea.

I don't feel like I very often personally attack anybody on this blog. You and Tschida constantly attack me every opportunity you get. I understand that I have opinions about death and heroes that you disagree with, it seems we can't reconcile that. Where did I call anybody a name or otherwise personally attack them? Point out where I've used my power to my own benefit. I mean really show me some examples, let's break them down one by one. Perhaps I do things that offend you without even knowing I'm doing them and would stop if I knew about them. Labeling me and ostracizing me in public isn't going to do anything to resolve the real problems you have with my behavior, only non-judgmental communication is going to do that.

...can't we all just get along?

t's bn stblshd tht Rck wll B-Gd dfnd hs rght t dbl-stndrds - dn't lk t, bt t's hs wbst, pprct th fct tht h's t lst hnst bt t. Rb s smtms grt g, smtms jrk - jst lk y nd m - ths tm h's bng jrk - cll hm t n t ( dd v PM) - bt ngh wth th trchs nd ptchfrks.

[Disclaimer: Unless you can't read this disclaimer, no Docent disemvoweled me.]

I'm sure Rob was just playin around......... 

It appears to be ok for some to 'attack' others for what they perceive to be inappropriate behavior but when it is turned around, it's passed off as 'playin around' or bad attempts at humor. 

Sad really.