Indeed, this cat is smart, but he has a tendency to play to the base. Now before you get pissed off, Ivan, I mean you like to play devils advocate. Denner is the same way.
But that's just it. Ricter never engages me in economic topics at all. He doesn't answer questions posed to him, he redirects the topic entirely and ignores posts completely. There's no engagement whatsoever in anything Ricter posts. None, zero, zip. As for being a committed ideologue, i am no more committed to my point of view than you are to yours. You are just as adamant about defending your personal beliefs on a litany of subjects presented in this forum as I do on my economic beliefs. People who debate usually DO believe in what they are debating. So, I'm unclear in what your point is outside of simply not wishing to take me on in economics. I do appreciation your retraction of your insult regarding my intelligence.
You know, lets set up an actual debate, shall we? Thesis, Antithesis, and Synthesis. You game? You pick the topic. This is what the basement was originally intended for, right? Pick a topic, Phoenix. The teams will pick themselves, and we will have a solid debate. No ad homs, just opinions, supported by data of some kind. Is that fair?
Maybe they do so because their points are never addressed, I don't know. I don't follow their arguments. But I can tell you I put out the same arguments until they are addressed. And no one, not you, Ricter or bigarrow who have stepped into the economics threads, have ever tried to argue against the issues - just the person.
Not pissed off at all, man. I only present one position. I don't argue against you just to argue against you. I don't waste my time like that.
You'll need a fair debate judge for that. If the topic is something other than economics, I will offer myself to play that part (and will swear to do so fairly, regardless of my personal view on the subject). If it's economics, my "side" will need me on it
Well I have asked Phoenix to put up a topic, and lets have an honest debate. Not a youre an idiot slugfest, the folk down here are smarter than that, really. CO, actually, is the reason I make this call, he says we cannot have an honest discussion about tough shit. I think we can.