Muscatine

Yeah, I wasn't quite sure to begin with, but I re-read it after I posted and really got to thinking, "hmmm...I wonder if he was talking to me..."

But no worries here either, nedl.  Text-only communications is an invitation for social screw-ups now and then.  Sorry for any ruffled feathers. 

I genuinely do hope mobaydave takes my post(s) with the spirit they were intended though.  His heart is in the right place; he just needs help with his delivery.

aloha well mahalo for the respect and I do understand what you are saying. you are most likely right about my delivery and grammar. I really do wish I wrote as you do, but I don't. I had a pretty rough childhood with different kinds of abuse, learning disabilities and just an all around dysfunctional family. I figured I was destine for the shops like the rest of my family. wah wah poor me. nedl you have to do better with the insults then that. no what gets my goat is I can't get a decent debate out of you guys, all you do is insult me. like I said before I just became a grandpa about 8 months ago and that is who I do this for, my sweet grand baby. nedl I know that you are one of the king of comedies on the nl. lawdog thanks for the respect. I myself, after the all the crazy stuff I see, am very concerned with this year and the election. we have a march on Washington D.C. , the recreate 68 in September (I think) and the election in November. I see a lot of things, I have read a lot of things and it makes me wonder if the hardcore stuff(which I have not posted) is true. I don't post the totally off the wall stuff like star making, aliens, Zionists, Illuminati and other things I see and read. the nau, the Texas trans corridor, real ID act, federal reserve, the Illegal IRS and chipping away our rights is happening and that is a fact. they can pretend it is not true but that does not make it go away. I have to work like 60 hours a week and raise my two teenage kids so my time is short. like now I am into my sleep time. I don't have the time to prove (with links and cross links ) all my post. like most posters I am working a couple of sites. this site is my home and I feel way more duty to my home than to Cali or Florida. I post in hopes some more will join the cause and help spread the word that people in our government are doing wrong. the corruption is rampant, the blatant disrespect is over whelming and the criminal activity is out of control. they are destroying this great country and no one seems to give a rats behind. they spend money like its their rich unlce's money. I feel that a vast majority of the down trodden would and could have had a better life if not for this widespread disregard for the people of this country. in 1913 we were the number one country for lots of reason. we were the strongest country in the world. now look all the good jobs are gone, wages are way down, we have become invaders and we have become a country of oppression. it is like as long as I have my ipod and cell phone who cares. I care I want my grand baby to know the American dream and not be a witness to the end of America. like you said Germany voted hilter to power, he did not over throw his government. with the jury of nl they only help my post to get read. if just one person starts to help spread the word then I have not failed. I wouldn't know where to go to learn the grammar I lack. I do try to learn as I read . but it seems that most people do not understand what freedom is. people are ok with someone else not being free as long as they are free. like beer drinkers that believe that drugs should be illegal or straight people who are ok with gays being denied their rights.  does anyone understand the words "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."  peace

mobaydave said: "you are most likely right about my delivery and grammar. I really do wish I wrote as you do, but I don't...I wouldn't know where to go to learn the grammar I lack. I do try to learn as I read ."

Brother, you know how you get proficient at text communication?  Practice.  I wouldn't say I'm a great communicator by any means, and I appreciate the compliment...But I write every day, and I've done a great quantity of writing in the past.  In an earlier life, I was an engineer and I did network security for the Federal government.  I did plenty of research and as you can imagine, I wrote a lot.  I even got published here and there.  Back then it was all about telling people how to do something.  Nowadays in my new career, I have to write to tell people how something happened.  It's all about practice and experience.  Over the years, whether you're a good writer or not, you do get the hang of it; it's a learned skill just like anything else.

As I see it, you have an opportunity here to become proficient at a skill that you admit you want to get better at.  This place is all about writing and nothing more.  Nobody can see or hear you here, so all you've got is how you come across when you type.  Just like we make our minds up about someone in real life who looks "rough around the edges," we make our minds up here about people here who communicate poorly with words.  A guy who looks like a ratty bum just might be one of the smartest guys on the planet.  Likewise, someone here who can't type out a coherent thought to save their lives just might be a highly intelligent fellow too.  Sad as it is, people usually make up their minds using incomplete information and/or personal biases.  So unfortunately, it's up to the individual to change because society wont.

If you have doubts about your abilities, simply start with the following three easy things:

1) Insert paragraphs in your posts.  Every half dozen sentences or so, hit that "Enter" key (as a general rule; paragraphs can be two sentences, or they can be ten).  There's an art to paragraphing, but don't worry about the rules for now...Just break those massive posts up a little and you will be 10 times easier to read automatically.

2) Capitalize!  Capitalize the first letter of all your sentences, proper nouns (names and places, primarily), and acronyms (USA, UN, NAFTA, etc.).  Assuming you keep up the punctuation at the end of sentences, caps make what you're saying soooo much easier to read.

3) Spell check.  Your spelling is already pretty good so this isn't a huge issue for you.  But if you're not already, either write your post in a word processing program and paste it here, or copy it from here and paste it into a WP program for spell checking, then make corrections accordingly.

These things will improve your posts so much you wont believe it.  People WILL start to read them more, I promise.  Just like no one wants to talk to a guy who looks like a bum, no one wants to read stuff from someone who sucks at textually communicating.  Get these 3 things done and people will automatically start reading your stuff just as a matter of course, even if they don't like you or agree with you.

As for the other rules of the English language, you'll catch on to them naturally as you read what others have to say and write what's on your mind.  Just pay attention and let time do the rest.

mobaydave said: "I had a pretty rough childhood with different kinds of abuse, learning disabilities and just an all around dysfunctional family. I figured I was destine for the shops like the rest of my family."

Sounds like a good background from which to communicate the message of Freedom.  You just have to figure out how to use your life experiences to make connections with people.  Few people have had a perfect life, and there's a thousand experiences we can all relate to...So tap into the resource that is your life and connect with people when you post.

mobaydave said: "no what gets my goat is I can't get a decent debate out of you guys, all you do is insult me."

First thing you need to figure out Dave, is that it's a lot easier to insult someone rather than engage them in polite discourse.  Debating someone requires that you actually understand the problem after all, and your detractors may not wish to expose themselves as idiots.  So, they just cop out and write you off as a loon or an idiot.  Debating politely requires maturity, and we all know how that goes...

The second thing is understanding that no one wants to talk to someone who isn't communicating well.  Again, if you start doing the 3 things I listed above, people will automatically be more attracted to your threads.

Third, lay off the conspiracy theories.  From what I gather after reading some of your posts, you don't necessarily believe in the theories, but you often wonder if there's something to them because of the massively corrupt state of the government.  The problem is though, that it's hard for folks to discern that when you talk about them all the time.

Lastly, I suggest laying off a bit.  10 political hate posts a week is enough to make anyone sick.  We ALL know things are messed up and we ALL want things to be better for ourselves and our kids...But we don't like being bombarded with depressing shit all the time!  Hearing about how Big Brother has screwed us again today and every day is enough to make even the happiest guy wanna slit his wrists.  So just stick to only one or two political subjects per week.  You'll get a lot more responses that way, I promise.  Also, it would be good for you to involve yourself in other peoples' conversations too.  Get social with everyone here.  You seem like a nice guy and it sounds like you've probably got some interesting life experiences, so I'm sure you have a lot to offer in a conversation.  When you're "just one of the guys," it'll be a LOT easier to take your political rantings.

mobaydave said: "the nau, the Texas trans corridor, real ID act, federal reserve, the Illegal IRS and chipping away our rights is happening and that is a fact."

Each one of those things is a subject unto itself.  Instead of bitching about all of them at once, pick the North American Union this week and educate everyone about it.  Next week, do the Texas Corridor.  Week three, talk about RealID, and so forth.  Again, it's all about information overload, so break things up into bite sized pieces for easy mental digestion, one subject at a time.  Don't be afraid to take time on a subject either...There's no rule that says you have to get everything out there in the same post.  People are a lot more apt to read a shorter information post through to the end than a great big, long one.  If a subject is huge, then pick a couple key elements to touch on Monday, then Wednesday or Thursday, talk about a couple more.

mobaydave said: "I have to work like 60 hours a week and raise my two teenage kids so my time is short. like now I am into my sleep time. I don't have the time to prove (with links and cross links ) all my post."

All the more reason to stick to one topic at a time and keep it simple and easy to understand.  You'll save yourself a lot of time, not to mention stress.

mobaydave said: "the corruption is rampant, the blatant disrespect is over whelming and the criminal activity is out of control...now look all the good jobs are gone, wages are way down, we have become invaders and we have become a country of oppression. it is like as long as I have my ipod and cell phone who cares."

No matter if we're an "R," a "D," or an "I," we ALL agree on these things!  This is the miracle that everyone always overlooks.  It's always about Democrats versus Republicans or who will screw us faster or slower, Obama or McCain?  All of us know deep down in our guts that we're being screwed, so your job is to link these things to the aforementioned list of subjects, what our government is doing to help or cause these problems, and how the Constitution applies to solve them. 

Leave political parties out of it too.  It doesn't matter if Hillary is a Democrat; it only matters where she stands on an issue and whether or not her position is Constitutional and therefore legal.  So just leave the party hate out of the picture and you'll get a lot more responses that way too.  There are lots of folks here from both sides of the aisle, but we're all Americans.  Parties do nothing but divide us, so just stick to the facts and leave the party politics to the talking heads on the nightly news.

mobydave said: "lawdog thanks for the respect."

You needn't thank me.  Respect is something that should happen as a matter of course and I do my best to give it every time it's deserved (I do have emotions though, so I do make mistakes sometimes; we all do).  A lot of folks have forgotten that respect is an essential virtue, and that it's entirely possible to be respectful to people even when disagreeing.  That's another reason we see people jump right to the insults during a disagreement.  Plus, it's a lot easier to be an asshole to someone when they're on the other side of a monitor instead of being within range of a quick fist. 

Your heart is in the right place, Brother.  You want to keep America free and are using your First Amendment right to defend the Constitution.  And while your delivery may suck, you are acting in good faith, with honor, and that deserves respect from everyone, most especially those who just cut you down and write you off.

Keep the faith Dave.  America with all her problems is still the greatest nation in the world.  There is much to be happy about still.  Take that new grandbaby for a walk and think about how you can move about without needing papers.  Next time you post, think about how you need not worry about being censored.  Go shooting next time it's sunny and warm out and think about how the majority of people in the world do not enjoy that freedom because their government does not trust them, and consider how your firearm is a symbol of freedom--a tool used many times to defend this great nation and the lives of millions of individual Americans here at home.  Next time you step through the door of your home, remember how you are safe inside from the police walking in unannounced on a whim and digging through your stuff looking for something to arrest you on without cause...And on and on. 

We still have much to be proud of Sir.  Remember that, and keep a lighter heart for it. 

Lawman - GREAT post.

Mobay - remember the old saying -it's not what you say but how you say it.