OK, the last few hours have really irritated me on this site. People have gotten completely out of hand with politically charged topics, just about anything in current events automatically becomes something just barely short of a flame war. I'm not going to tolerate it any longer. Every registered user on this site had best know and understand the rules of this site before posting. I'm warning everyone here and now. Break the rules, 24 hour ban, automatic. I'm done with being the nice mod for a while.
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Sometimes I think that government fits that old-fashioned definition of a baby: An alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
- Ronald Reagan
Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,his upper rooms by injustice,making his countrymen work for nothing...Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?Did not your father have food and drink?He did what was right and just,so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy,and so all went well...But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain,on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion. Jer 22:13, 15-17
none for me tonight, gotta be up at 6am for some testing for my new job then it's back on the road back to NC for more R&R with my family.
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Sometimes I think that government fits that old-fashioned definition of a baby: An alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
- Ronald Reagan
Oh, I don't know Blue, I'd say that the vast majority of the politically charged threads are very similar to a group of friends sitting around in a bar, and having a friendly discussion, which includes debates, and at times becomes argumentitive. Barbs are traded, but usually it's in the vein of buddies giving each other some good natured guff.
Let's face it, as far as the regular regulars go, KS enjoys the role of left-leaning devil's advocate. JB and Tripleblack are the pillars of insightful intellect and reasonability. County and MGTS are the voices heard from the right, SaleenOwner is one of my favorites from this camp. And I guess I'm like the jester or something like that. Most other members, non-regulars and future regulars alike, who find their way into these things, make valid positive contributions.
I'd say that we're all friends here, even though most of us have never met. Some of these discussions are pretty interesting, and are just not for the feint of heart.
I can see how newcomers might get the wrong idea, and think that these discussions are all-out firefights. But the exchanges themselves are less irrational than some of our arguments.
I don't know what the solution is, perhaps it's a "private room", for which prospective entrants must prove their mettle for maintaining respectfulness when pontificating on such weighty topics, and their ability to keep it civil. I just don't see that much uncivil behavior here. The vast majority of flames here, are from the debris of crashed arguments.
But then again, you can't let the inmates run the asylum either...
Heck, these threads are apparently what it takes to awaken the deeply slumbering political animal within me.
That's just my couple of rolls of pennies on the subject.
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1992 Deep Emerald Green Mustang GT Hatch, 5 speed, 2.73s, Mac fenderwell cold air intake, '93 Cobra MAF, Mac 70mm throttle body & spacer, Explorer intakes, Mac unequal headers & offroad pipe, Magnaflow catback, Walbro 110lph fuel pump, Jet adjustable FPR, MSD Blaster coil, Accel 8mm wires, FRPP aluminum quadrant, UPR firewall adjuster, stock cable, Granatelli upper control arms.
Waiting to go on: Granatelli lower control arms, and GT40 Iron heads!
Oh, I don't know Blue, I'd say that the vast majority of the politically charged threads are very similar to a group of friends sitting around in a bar, and having a friendly discussion, which includes debates, and at times becomes argumentitive. Barbs are traded, but usually it's in the vein of buddies giving each other some good natured guff.
Let's face it, as far as the regular regulars go, KS enjoys the role of left-leaning devil's advocate. JB and Tripleblack are the pillars of insightful intellect and reasonability. County and MGTS are the voices heard from the right, SaleenOwner is one of my favorites from this camp. And I guess I'm like the jester or something like that. Most other members, non-regulars and future regulars alike, who find their way into these things, make valid positive contributions.
I'd say that we're all friends here, even though most of us have never met. Some of these discussions are pretty interesting, and are just not for the feint of heart.
I can see how newcomers might get the wrong idea, and think that these discussions are all-out firefights. But the exchanges themselves are less irrational than some of our arguments.
I don't know what the solution is, perhaps it's a "private room", for which prospective entrants must prove their mettle for maintaining respectfulness when pontificating on such weighty topics, and their ability to keep it civil. I just don't see that much uncivil behavior here. The vast majority of flames here, are from the debris of crashed arguments.
But then again, you can't let the inmates run the asylum either...
Heck, these threads are apparently what it takes to awaken the deeply slumbering political animal within me.
That's just my couple of rolls of pennies on the subject.
Is this the first page of your thesis?
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2008 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner SR5 Reg Cab
2.7 4 banger
No mods (yet...)
I tried taking ks off for a while, but that didn't last too long...
__________________
I Hate GM, deal with it.
One shot, One Kill! Don't waste ammo, it's pricey!
2005 GT Screaming Yellow: SLP Loudmouths
Ibanez guitars, S&W revolvers, Glock Semi's
Republican write in Presidential Candidate 2012
A pillar of insightful intellect and reasonability? Wow, thanks, Meangreen. (No sarcasm, I really mean it - thanks.)
I think Meangreen is right. Not about my being a pillar of intellect, etc. - although I'm certainly not going to argue with him about that - but about our discussions. However, I do think that Bluestreak has a point, as well.
There are those who would say that discussions of a political, economic or social nature have no place in a Mustang forum. I disagree. After all, we don't drive our cars in a vacuum. As many world events impact the price of gasoline, for instance, and our cars require gasoline to operate, it stands that those world events, directly or indirectly, impact our enjoyment of our cars.
Also, in the time I have been a member here, which is a little over a year now (wow, time has flown), I have come to think of AFM in much the way that Meangreen describes it. Rather than being simply a place where we can discuss our cars, it is a community, brought together initially by our common interest in Mustangs, where we can hear and discuss the thoughts and opinions of men and women from different walks of life, different parts of the world, not just this country, and different age groups. What a testament to the enduring legend and mystique of the Ford Mustang - what a measure of it's appeal to so many people - that it can draw such a diverse group together and bind us into a more or less cohesive unit, despite our differences and disagreements! To me, that is what AFM is all about and the reason it is superior to any car group that only allows narrow discussions which focus specifically on cars, or one type of car.
I think that we can discuss issues rationally and in an adult manner. We can be smarta$$es from time to time without damaging the comraderie. I know that, with my 'offline' friends, being sarcastic and sharp-witted is often a part of our friendship. In fact, that shared sense of humor is probably a big part of the reason we are friends in the first place. It can, sometimes, be hard to convey that sense of sarcasm in a non-verbal manner - especially for those of us (like myself) who really don't like emoticons. Let's remember that and do our best to make sure that sarcasm doesn't come across as belligerence. The real problems occur, and I think Bluestreak will agree, when things move from good-natured ribbing, past argumentative and become downright combative. We all, and I include myself in that, hope that we can present our ideas, opinions and arguments in such a manner as to influence the opinions or ideas of others - or at least have those others acknowledge where we are coming from, even if they still think we are completely wrong. However, we must realize that 99.9% of the time we aren't going to change anyone's opinion. All we can do is present our own, for what it is worth, and present points to back it up.
The problem comes not from these discussions but from a rising desire to 'beat' our opinions into others. Among rational members of any community, this cannot work. Let's not forget that we are from different backgrounds and that a subject that seems silly or insignificant to one of us might be very important to others - and our interpretations of those things will be different. For instance, we have discussed the problem of illegal immigration at great length in at least one thread on AFM. In those discussions, many folks have expressed an opinion of Mexico that is none too high. GTRaptor, a central figure on AFM, lives in Mexico. Imagine if he decided to 'crush' any member who expressed such opinions. Our community wouldn't last very long, at all. Imagine if he decided he no longer wanted anything to do with us. The loss of his vast amounts of Mustang related knowledge would be a terrible blow to our community. The maturity, rationality and restraint that he shows by not throwing his administrative weight around in such discussions while still being willing to help us with our car-related questions and problems should be an example to us all.
It is easy for a debate to degrade to the point of all-out confrontation, especially when we have had those same debates, to the point of becoming infuriated, with offline friends, co-workers or acquaintances. It is even easier when most of us don't know each other outside of this forum, live in different parts of the country, or even the world, and know that we will probably never meet in person. That fact sometimes makes it difficult to remember that the other members of AFM are more than simply screen names and words on an electrictronic page - they are people, fellow community members and even potential friends. Of course, in any community there are always going to be bullies. In this case, identifying the true bullies, confronting them in the correct manner, banning them and, eventually - when other options have been exhausted - kicking them out of our community is probably the best and only way to deal with them in an online setting. Also, any and all of us may need warnings from time to time to keep our discussions civil. Once we decide the discussion is pointless and frustrating, it would probably be better to tell our 'opponents' in the discussion that we are going to simply have to agree to disagree and then move on to something else. As JEB has suggested, if it comes to the point that anything and everything a particular member says sends us off the deep end, perhaps it would be better to add them to the 'ignore' list for a certain period of time rather than constantly argue with them. After all, why ruin your whole day being angry over something said in an online forum? Besides, one thing to remember is that resorting to threats or insults in a rational, logical debate only weakens our point as it appears as if we have resorted to yelling to cover the fact that we really don't have a very good or valid argument. If we fail to do these things, if we fail, as individuals, to respect the rules and tenants of being a community, perhaps a 24 hour ban will give us time to step back, cool off and remember what the idea of an online 'community' is all about. In that respect, I feel that Bluestreak is absolutely right.
Also, let's not forget that our Mods are human. They have their own lives, their own problems and frustrations, and their own time constraints - not to mention their own deeply held opinions regarding our topics of discussion. We all know that Bluestreak, for instance, is going through some turmoil right now. There is no reason for us to add to that stress by forcing him to respond to uncivil actions toward fellow members. We certainly don't have to agree on every subject, and we likely won't - even if we did confine our discussions to topics directly related to Mustangs. That being said, let's at least try and be civil to our fellow AFM members or, failing that, simply ignore the ones who really get under our skins. Let's save the flaming for the trolls.
Make no doubt about it guys, my own personal turmoil and change at the moment has absolutely nothing to do with any of this. I've grown very good at keeping my personal life aside from everything else.
What triggered this is in no small part due to being completely ignored and poked at when I posted a warning to keep a particular thread on topic, per the thread starters intentions. I was ignored by one particular person and then not 10 minutes later I read another post where an all out flame war was beginning. Numerous personal attacks and slashed were thrown about concerning intelligence levels and things of that nature.
I can deal with the political threads, when they are political threads. But every single thread about current events, no matter what they are, have been turned into a urinating contest about left vs. right and what president is to blame. That needs to come to a screeching halt. If you want to discuss that type of stuff, start a thread. Don't hijack someone else's thread that was started for a completely different reason.
__________________
Sometimes I think that government fits that old-fashioned definition of a baby: An alimentary canal with an appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
- Ronald Reagan
I Hate GM, deal with it.
One shot, One Kill! Don't waste ammo, it's pricey!
2005 GT Screaming Yellow: SLP Loudmouths
Ibanez guitars, S&W revolvers, Glock Semi's
Republican write in Presidential Candidate 2012
Make no doubt about it guys, my own personal turmoil and change at the moment has absolutely nothing to do with any of this. I've grown very good at keeping my personal life aside from everything else.
What triggered this is in no small part due to being completely ignored and poked at when I posted a warning to keep a particular thread on topic, per the thread starters intentions. I was ignored by one particular person and then not 10 minutes later I read another post where an all out flame war was beginning. Numerous personal attacks and slashed were thrown about concerning intelligence levels and things of that nature.
I can deal with the political threads, when they are political threads. But every single thread about current events, no matter what they are, have been turned into a urinating contest about left vs. right and what president is to blame. That needs to come to a screeching halt. If you want to discuss that type of stuff, start a thread. Don't hijack someone else's thread that was started for a completely different reason.
Perhaps it doesn't come through, but on where the buck stops my tongue was firmly in cheek, and I think I posted that to make sure everyone knew when there was a question.
I mean, who can get angry about words on a page?
Anger always originates in fear and my sensei taught me when you are angry, ask yourself what it is you fear . ..
I just can't get worked up by y'all . .. though, I just get a good chuckle, every now and then.
I think the only time I've ever gotten angry was with an inappropriate attack on someone else that I didn't want my son, Jasmine's nephew, or anyone else to use after reading it.
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Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,his upper rooms by injustice,making his countrymen work for nothing...Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?Did not your father have food and drink?He did what was right and just,so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy,and so all went well...But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain,on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion. Jer 22:13, 15-17
Perhaps it doesn't come through, but on where the buck stops my tongue was firmly in cheek, and I think I posted that to make sure everyone knew when there was a question.
I mean, who can get angry about words on a page?
Anger always originates in fear and my sensei taught me when you are angry, ask yourself what it is you fear . ..
I just can't get worked up by y'all . .. though, I just get a good chuckle, every now and then.
I think the only time I've ever gotten angry was with an inappropriate attack on someone else that I didn't want my son, Jasmine's nephew, or anyone else to use after reading it.
Sorry but this is classic passive aggressive posting. No, seriously, it is.
When you (or anyone) upsets someone, it is easy to then turn it around and somehow blame THEM for being upset. The easiest and most WRONG statement made is that if you are upset you are “afraid” of something. This makes the other person look weak and fearful of you in some way. This most often times is pure hogwash. And you can tell your “sensei” that from me.
And it is very easy to get angry about words on a page. To act otherwise is pure bunk.
Do not judge what is appropriate or not to get upset over by your own standards. Simply put it is easy to upset people with mere words posted on a page. Wars have been fought over words on a page. Riots have been started over words on a page. And long lasting anger, hurt, and disappointment are often caused by “words on a page”.
I find that those who seem to thrive on causing anger or as I like to call it “online soap operas”, often try to act as if nothing wrong was done and everyone else was the problem because they somehow didn’t “get it” and that nothing should bother anyone as long as it is “just words on a page”. Again, this of course is hogwash. People should be mindful and respectful of those around them. They should have SOME level of sensitivity towards others and realize that on most forums the membership comes from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Members should be mindful that there is a huge difference between honest discourse and those who make it their goal to cause that discourse.
As the saying goes, if the shoe fits. We all know the deal. We all know what rolls we play and the decisions we make.
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- Sam
The shackles of opression and dependence are most easily slipped on with a smile and kind words of hope.
Sorry but this is classic passive aggressive posting. No, seriously, it is.
When you (or anyone) upsets someone, it is easy to then turn it around and somehow blame THEM for being upset. The easiest and most WRONG statement made is that if you are upset you are “afraid” of something. This makes the other person look weak and fearful of you in some way. This most often times is pure hogwash. And you can tell your “sensei” that from me.
And it is very easy to get angry about words on a page. To act otherwise is pure bunk.
Do not judge what is appropriate or not to get upset over by your own standards. Simply put it is easy to upset people with mere words posted on a page. Wars have been fought over words on a page. Riots have been started over words on a page. And long lasting anger, hurt, and disappointment are often caused by “words on a page”.
I find that those who seem to thrive on causing anger or as I like to call it “online soap operas”, often try to act as if nothing wrong was done and everyone else was the problem because they somehow didn’t “get it” and that nothing should bother anyone as long as it is “just words on a page”. Again, this of course is hogwash. People should be mindful and respectful of those around them. They should have SOME level of sensitivity towards others and realize that on most forums the membership comes from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Members should be mindful that there is a huge difference between honest discourse and those who make it their goal to cause that discourse.
As the saying goes, if the shoe fits. We all know the deal. We all know what rolls we play and the decisions we make.
yep, that's me!
Your friendly, neighborhood mentally-ill, passive-aggressive, online-soap-opera star!
I cause all the bullying, threats, and name-calling becase I'm clearly not sensitive enough. I clearly need to get in touch with my feminine side. I'll work on planting some flowers and taking long baths in scented water.
-And start on the lithium as soon as I get a prescription.
(P.S. This is a joke!)
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Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,his upper rooms by injustice,making his countrymen work for nothing...Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?Did not your father have food and drink?He did what was right and just,so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy,and so all went well...But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain,on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion. Jer 22:13, 15-17
Open thread to all site users 
