J_Mortimer

• 2 years, 3 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  UPDATED: Oh, TXU. Shame on you.

  I'm not sure what amazes me more... The TXU "regional manager" or that someone admits in public to being a TXU customer.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Road Rules

  April,

  Again, I am confused by the relevance of the comments. Pedestrians aren't typically on the road so I cant see a comparison.

  When was the last time you made a blog post on Pegasus because you saw a motorist run a stop sign, or red light, or engaged in excessive speed? My guess is you see that far more often; perhaps even daily. I would argue those activities are far more dangerous to more people and kill more people.

  It seems odd to me to complain about that proportion of cyclists that engage in illegal risky behavior while at the same time not complaining about that proportion of motorists engaging in such behavior in light of the following facts. Motorists do it more often and the consequences are potentially more deadly to others.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Road Rules

  April,

  I'm not sure how your comments relate to mine.

  The web page you provided contains a "Cyclist Rights" wallet card thing which seems to back up my point. Why would they feel a need to produce a cyclists right wallet card and the other kinds of legal information on their website? Partly because of the concerns I raised in my earlier comment.

  http://bicycleaustin.info/laws/Cyclis...

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Road Rules

  Many cyclists are killed or injured by motorists who are not even aware of traffic laws regarding bicycles. I wish people spent the same amount of effort they do whining about minor inconveniences that are supposed to have been caused by cyclists on assisting people not to be, ya know, killed.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Booming Latino population helps keep Dallas-Fort Worth economy afloat

  "These people come here to earn money, provide for their families and seek a better life (Isn't that the American spirit?) and aside from not going through the lengthy, expensive, and arduous immigration process, they are law abiding, hardworking, and family oriented people who contibute to our economy at least as much as you may feel they take away. We need cheap labor to compete in this global economy."

  and we and they would be better off helping others where they originated rather than bringing a drop in the bucket here. Unchecked immigration, as far as I can see, can only help a limited few who happen to be lucky and it comes, possibly, at a cost of weakening the long term ability to solve broader problems in these other countries.

  "The culture is always going to change in this country. It is not static. With every foriegn [SIC] war or upheval [SIC], there is always an influx of immigrants. It seemes to me growing up, Dallas was a White, Black, and Hispanic city. Now, we have a huge Asian population."

  I don't think anyone claimed it was static so that's a straw man. The difference between Asians is that there might be a lack of willingness to assimilate amongst many Hispanics. Asians, as a general trend, keep their language and assimilate.

  If resources here must be sucked up by language, education,and other economic issues then that diminishes any long term hope of offering widespread prosperity to their countries of origin. A few get it now but in the long term it gets harder if it drags on parts of our society. Frankly we have an embarrassingly difficult enough time dealing with our own social problems.

  but my point is that stating economic numbers doesn't express what some see as a deeper problem.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Booming Latino population helps keep Dallas-Fort Worth economy afloat

  Terry,

  No. Johnyalamo2000 was sort suggesting (if i may have HUGE liberties in interpreting his comment) that the evidence in the article says we ought to "not build a wall" which I took, for my selfish purposes, to be literal and figurative.

  I merely suggested that ultimately the arguments one could directly draw from the article were quantitative when actually the biggest problems caused by illegal immigration (as far as I can see from people who get upset about it) are qualitative.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Booming Latino population helps keep Dallas-Fort Worth economy afloat

  Well I'll take a stab at that question.

  Although I don't necessarily agree with building a wall, figuratively or literally, the issues involving illegal immigration and immigration are not necessarily quantitative issues but qualitative issues.

  Lets say for argument's sake that illegal immigrants boost local economies some huge measurable amount. (Yes I understand that is not what is being said in the article but work with me please.) That such an increase happens would then happen at a qualitative expense of the local culture. Such an increase, so the argument goes, can't happen without the current culture being changed or even destroyed. The argument then goes that if the incoming people aren't willing to assimilate or learn English then the culture is effectively eroded.

  What good is a quantitative increase if the qualitative result isn't worth living in?

  I'll leave you to ponder whether that's a good argument.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Dallas police officer gets hit with Taser in what sounds like a totally plausible chain of events

  Chad,

  Yeah, I remember that Star Trek episode.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  UPDATED: John Pierson comments on Michael Moore and Sicko

  Bill,

  For both propaganda and argument I quoted a dictionary. I was hardly "backtracking."

  Further, I offered, rather clearly, that propaganda and argument were NOT mutually exclusive. To quote myself, "That activity is distinct from argument although it happens to be the case oftentimes that the best argument is sometimes the best propaganda."

  You further state, "And, having lived a good deal of my life in Canada, in no way could anything in Sicko be remotely called propaganda." That you lived in Canada has nothing whatsoever to do whether or not Moore's film is propaganda or swiss cheese. That is a non-sequitar. Propaganda does not mean "false." Moore's purpose is more to present "ideas, facts, or allegations ... deliberately to further one's cause" than it is to create a "course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood."

  Even Moore, responding to criticism, excuses himself from offering "equal time" by stating that he doesn't have to do that because insurance companies and other parties already have equal time through other sources. That statement and other Moore statements indicate to me he is interested in the activity of convincing people of his position and not providing a complete and coherent set of statements to which a conclusion or conclusions could/can be drawn.

  Now people may view that distinction as negative, or they may view the very act of pointing out the distinction as some attempt at negative criticism but that's up to them. I am more concerned with getting to the fundamental nature of what people are doing.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  UPDATED: John Pierson comments on Michael Moore and Sicko

  Who referred to it negatively by calling it propaganda? Surely not I. I simply issued a qualitative distinction between the two.

  If you think for a second that I introduce the distinction between propaganda and argument merely to make pejorative attacks then you clearly haven't understood the distinction being made. The purpose of propaganda is to convince; it is not to establish truth.

  Making a distinction that Moore does not usually engage in substantive argument and giving reasons why that is so is hardly "lazy." Nor does it mean that I disagree with his ultimate positions. In many cases I do, but mere agreement with a conclusion is no excuse for believing in things for the wrong reasons or as is more often the case with Moore: insufficient reasons. In other words, mere agreement is no reason to be taken in by sloppy so called "thinking" and be wowed by film making.

  The question here, Alan, is to ask how it is that we come to believe that certain things are true about states of affairs in the world? Divine inspiration? opinion? Because Michael Moore said it? science? Its in the Bible? How?

  I would suggest that propaganda, strictly speaking, does not, in any reliable sense, help us establish what is true about the world. Argument, strictly speaking, CAN do that. Coherently formed sets of propositions where those propositions are believable and wherein a further proposition whose truth value may be hitherto unknown can be constructed such that the truth value is believed with near certainty or with relative degrees of probability can yield us things that are true about the world.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  UPDATED: John Pierson comments on Michael Moore and Sicko

  Alan,

  propaganda - "ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause".

  argument - "A set of statements in which one follows logically as a conclusion from the others" or "A course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood".

  I didn't use the term "sound argument." Soundness would typically be a companion to validity. A VALID argument is one where the conclusion follows as true from the premises if, hypothetically, the premises are true. A SOUND one is one where the premises are, in fact, thought to be true.

  J

• 2 years, 4 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  UPDATED: John Pierson comments on Michael Moore and Sicko

  On the contrary, allowance of dissenting views strengthens an argument; its does not detract from it. Showing that a viewpoint stands up to counter argument is much better and more convincing than not hearing those counter arguments. That alternatives fail, makes the original proposition all that more believable.

  I don't think Moore is "very good" about building arguments at all. In fact, he's poor at it and I don't think Moore is actually trying to build arguments. He might rope in people who are already converted and he might rope in more who are easily converted. That's a hallmark of building convincing propaganda and not necessarily of good argumentation.

  You say "Being the daughter of a former attorney, I know how to build an argument." If its true, then your parents taught you that part of being attorney, to a great extent, is not the production of arguments in the strictest sense. What they do is produce sets of propositions which convince people of certain positions. That's called propaganda. That activity is distinct from argument although it happens to be the case oftentimes that the best argument is sometimes the best propaganda.

  Moore produces propaganda. He rarely argues.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Richardson City Council names Steve Mitchell new mayor

  (This comment was removed by the site staff.)
• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Jewelry wholesaler DGSE sells corporate HQ site on Forest Lane to TXDoT

  I heard from another property owner very close to DGSE that TxDOT wants their property also. I was told that about 18 months ago.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  UPDATED: John Pierson comments on Michael Moore and Sicko

  "I saw SiCKO and nothing resembling bullsh*t came to mind."

  If you really believe all that crap about Cuba in the film then someone can sell you ocean front property in Nebraska.

  Also, you'll find the claims about other countries like Canada, and France are exaggerated.

  Moore would be more credible if he would allow dissenting views in his films. He doesn't and as a result he is often just takes up the tactics that he seems to condemn.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Valet parking shakeup on Lower Greenville leads to towed cars

  Mr. Adelman,

  I do not plan to "argue" with you so this is the last thing I'll say.

  We all agree that Lower Greenville has these problems. Repeating that as if I or half the world, doesn't know it does not change that fact. That Lower Greenville has problems does not imply that all attempts to solve problems are productive. Some, such as yours, may just be counter productive. I am not shooting the messenger but I am shooting the strategy for solving the problems contained in the message.

  I have dealt with issues involving municipal government in a few cities in several areas. I hold the opinion that your mode of operation has a high likelihood of getting oneself ignored very quickly in most cities. (Not all – Most) Given your experiences with Dallas so-called government, it seems reasonable for you to ask yourself if your strategy can ever get your problem solved.

  So why repeat the same strategy if it doesn’t work? As Ben Franklin said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

  Do you want your problems more or less permanently solved? If so, then why not critically reexamine how you are trying to solve these problems and kill the sacred cows of how you operate?
  

  I don’t think you will do that. Why? Because I have two hunches. First, you would have to admit you were wrong and that has only barely happened on rare occasions as far as I can see and not about anything significant. Second, I believe you thrive on this sort of conflict so in actuality being able to drum up the conflict is more important than solving problems associated with it.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Valet parking shakeup on Lower Greenville leads to towed cars

  Given Mr Adelman's behavior, why would anyone be surprised that people urinate on his lawn?

  I surmise that part of why Adelman and crew's problems haven't been solved for a very long time is because of their concentration on solving their problems through negative means. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" is not always true because some people do not want to be associated with cranks.

  Mr Rawlins: I agree with you. I stopped going to Lower Greenville long ago for mostly the same reasons you describe and I, too, lived there at one time.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Monica's family and the immigration debate between law and low prices

  I find this comment to be odd: "The debate rages between two waring parties."

  There are far more opinions than two.

  The rest of his well spoken comments would seem to indicate he knows that.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Today may be the day the "rainiest June" record falls

  Got the numbers myself:

  Record: 11.58 inches in 1928. So far this month: 10.85 inches through the 27th.

  Other factoids: 31.83 inches since January 1. So called normal is 18.67 inches to this date.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Today may be the day the "rainiest June" record falls

  So what are the official numbers?

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Richardson City Council names Steve Mitchell new mayor

  With reference to your first statement, I am only the reporter. People close to the situation are using your words.

  I am confident that Slagel's displacement was NOT voluntary.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Richardson City Council names Steve Mitchell new mayor

  (This comment was removed by the site staff.)
• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Richardson City Council names Steve Mitchell new mayor

  Sadly this might signal the end of Richardson as a tech center. This maneuver was, for practical purposes, a coup. Some of the members voting against Gary Slagel lied to their supporters and said they would support him in weeks running up to the election.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Coyotes thrive in Old Lake Highlands

  My sad attempt at merging humor with the pedantic:

  If you'd known some of the cats I've known, you'd agree that their average lifespan indoors would be 3 minutes if they weren't let outside. They would meet -- how shall we say it -- unnatural ends.

  For my sanity and that of my cat, one of ours goes outside. He's a smart cookie and we don't have coyotes. He's been doing it for about 10 years.

  A coyote eating a cat is indeed aggression as aggression is part of nature. To say that aggression isn't part of nature is to say that nature contains no qualitative distinctions.

  J

• 2 years, 5 months ago
  J_Mortimer's comment on:

  Trivia smackdown Tuesday night

  I don't think L.A. Woman was a single.

  J

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