viking01 on May 28, 2008 at 7:22 PM

Well, fine then. I’m rubber, you’re glue. :)

viking01 on May 28, 2008 at 2:43 PM

You’re certainly making a number of presumptions (speaking of insecure…) My original point remains: Conservatives are not wise to claim they are the repository of logic, ideas, etc., then breezily dismiss the highest academic degree attainable. The left already likes to claim that they are the smartest people in the room–saying something akin to “We don’t need no book-larnin’” doesn’t exactly refute that effectively.

To acknowledge accomplishments, whether in oneself or others, shows neither insecurity nor hubris–it is a simple recognition of facts. To dismiss oneself (“I’m surprised they let me through”) may be viewed as humility or false humility, depending on the context. To dismiss others is simply rude or, as I recall stating in my original post, wearisome. To insist on pursuing this dismissal when another objects to it, while steadfastly ignoring that person’s points and instead absurdly claiming to know what motivates him/her, smacks of defensiveness, insecurity, or arrogance.

You scoff?

I will not impede your right, and perhaps determination, to be offended and insecure.

I’m not dismissing your oak leaf clusters and, er, disdain for the peasants, merely hinting that the self-effacing and modest tend to be more substantial than preening self-promoters. Most of our nations greatest leaders valued humility over vanity and symbolism. A fine example of that would be the stark contrast between George Washington and Jimmy Carter.

viking01 on May 27, 2008 at 10:29 PM

You are correct, the humor was (and is) lost on me–and using the “you’re so sensitive” defense when you use breezily dismiss the efforts and accomplishments of others smacks of hubris, itself. If you’ve earned a Ph.D. and wish to dismiss it, you certainly may, but I may also speak up if I don’t appreciate it.

Old Country Boy on May 27, 2008 at 10:08 PM

I am well aware of the flaws of many academics (as well as engineers, architects, medical doctors, and other “artisans”). My point is that this wearisome dismissal is hardly worthy of the group who claims superior use of logic, and reason–many times in this very thread.

In my experience, conservatives generally are better thinkers, because the left is so busy feeling–this is certainly true in the academic world. But if conservatives want to make a true difference in our country, they will support the segment of the conservative population who earn Ph.D.s and endure the nonsense so they can enter the academy and fight against the indoctrination that the left would otherwise do unfettered.

.

Why didn’t you just say that was your fear in the first place. Holmes on May 27, 2008 at 7:21 PM

My only “fear” are the morons that are eating the candy-canes made of koolaid while thinking Obama is the second coming. The empty suit is all the evidence needed.

and you can actually hear me yelling at them to “get.”

I heard you Colonel_prop!

Each time the protesters stood, the crowd chanted “John McCain, John McCain…” This is something the media did not report.

BRAVO!

Y’all were great! I think this is going to be a precedent setting response .. kinda like the passengers on the airliner who wrestle the terrorists to the floor and hold him until he is carted away!

*applause* to you all today who stood up and took charge of the hecklers!

A zero grade for humor. You’ve heard about what happens when you assume.
*****
In my graduate school we used the name for the regional mental hospital and the graduate school’s interchangeably. That too being tongue in cheek but an old tradition. Only a joke, for those here sensitive on the topic.

The only PhDs and PhD. candidates which really seemed to give trouble were the insecure ones (e.g. “studies” majors) or those whom quite literally never left college while expecting to be addressed by their students as “doctor” as though they were addressing a patient prepped for neurosurgery.

Old Country Boy on May 27, 2008 at 10:08 PM

Well said. Been there. Seen that. Felt its presence earlier.

But I will surrender to the Democrats.

I realise that as a PhD you have completed a bit more university than I. However, in one of my other lives, this little ol’ engineer had lots of Government technical projects with university PhDs to issue contracts to, supervise, and try to some usable product to the G. I have a very high opinion of many of the PhDs with which I have interacted.

However, there is the other group, in the majority, to which I refer as academic whores. In their own opinion, they can do anything, be experts on anything, and solve any problem – all I had to do was give them a contract. When their results were illogical, not factually supported, with a poor DOE (design of experiment), they told me that they were much smarter than I and had PhDs. All they wanted to do was publish progress reports, not results. Their results, as analysed by a (self procalimed) good ol’ country boy engineer were not worthy of a senior from a good engineering school. Be careful of your degree hubris. One Aerospace company had over 80 doctorates working in union production because they couldn’t make the pay elsewhere. Actually, some of those were pretty good.

Publishing a paper that says nothing under the publish-or-perish doctrine, does not add to the body of human knowledege. The universities are full of PhDs that evaded the draft during Vietnam war, with their anti-war professors giving automatic “As” to keep them out of the draft. Don’t try to BS me with your hard earned PhD unless you really earned it, you published really original additions to the body of human knowledge, and have stayed current in something useful. One interesting thing about PhDs is that once they get it, they never have to prove it again; as opposed to engineers, architects, medical doctors and other artisans that have to keep up and prove it on a regular basis. If they have to use their degree to win an arguement, they are acting like a liberal. Notice how similar this discussion on credentials is the to AGW dialog!

The items the media missed completely – the crowd shouted down all five groups of protesters.

After the first set stood up, my wife picked up that they seemed to be signaling each other.

My wife noticed a young man in two rows ahead signaling to the young man sitting next to her. He nodded his head and then he took pictures with his cell phone. Shortly thereafter, the man sitting next to her stood up with a protester sign but the man in front of him grabbed the sign and held it down so he couldn’t show it.

The third group of protestors (actually the man signaling to other protesters in the crowd) stood up with the same exact sign. These two were hustled out very quickly and you can actually hear me yelling at them to “get.”

The fourth was spotted quickly, by someone in the crowd right next to me, and was escorted out before saying anything.

The fifth group said something about Iraq but the crowd drowned them out very quickly.
Each time the protestors stood, the crowd chanted “John McCain, John McCain…” This is something the media did not report.

It was obvious they were planted groups of two throughout. Judge them for their actions – they could not even stand up to a pretty vocal crowd – just looking for attention.

They are the “usual suspects”-Code Pinkos and leftist whackjobs.

Lonetown on May 27, 2008 at 6:44 PM

Being lead out means never having to say, “Don’t taz me, Bro.”

- The Cat

Remember that “PhD.” stands for “Piled higher and Deeper.”

viking01 on May 27, 2008 at 3:10 PM

Spoken like someone who doesn’t have one. I have an earned Ph.D., with Distinction, and I am a bit tired of people who so blithely dismiss what it means, and what it took to earn it. I realize that a large number of academics are total ivory tower knuckleheads, but if conservatives want to be considered the group who uses logic and reason, they need to steer clear of this sort of nonsense.

They should first contemplate their immune system (endless war for cellular and organism survival) before they start shooting their silly little smarmy mouths off.

Every bite is “war”.

Dinner, and otherwise.

Fine, take all these issues that provide your profound disdain for McCain—–multipy by tenfold—-and you may get 10% of the policies and agenda’s Barak Obama will reign down on this nation

Rovin on May 27, 2008 at 4:11 PM

So that comes out to your Senator John McCain doing only 1% of the, as you put it, “reign down on this nation” as that other one of your Senators would. Why didn’t you just say that was your fear in the first place? Watson is that you fooling around again with your convoluted math when you should be out looking for evidence? I may have to dock your pay. Well if I paid you anything I would have to dock your pay anyway.

Lonetown on May 27, 2008 at 6:44 PM

Protesters have been ragging him for weeks. I was watching a speech where Code Pink got him.

Nixon brought in fake protesters at Westchester County Airport when Eisenhower finally endorsed him.

Just saying, McCain looked really good in this.

juliesa on May 27, 2008 at 6:34 PM

Your assesment is correct.

BTW, Big D, so what if his father in law influenced him.

The argument could be made that Reagan was influenced by Nancy’s father.

In fact, I have often wondered if his political affiliation is a tribute to Cindy’s dad, since he doesn’t seem to have any genuine personal love for the party itself.

BigD on May 27, 2008 at 3:25 PM

BigD, no offense, but that’s not true. I understand that you have a very personal, visceral dislike of McCain, and nothing will change that, but I wish you would use facts instead of speculation. You could read one of the McCain biographies, or one of the books about Bud Day, for example. Day, who was confined with McCain in Hanoi, says that one of the things they really enjoyed talking about was politics, and McCain turned him into a Republican. Even back then in Hanoi, they both thought that this Governor Reagan fellow was someone who might be good to support in the future, if they ever made it home.

McCain became even more interested in politics while serving as the Navy’s Senate liaison, and he became good friends with many of the Senators. Senator Tower was his big political patron. It’s true that his wife and father-in-law were critical to his career, but he didn’t become a Republican because of that.

Sorry to ramble. I don’t care if people have different opinions from mine, but opinions should be formed on the basis of facts.