We've been noticed...again!!!

This time by "Holy Hal." (Find all of "Holy Hal's" posts here.)

I know I shouldn't do this. I know it, I know it, I know it. But I can't help it, so here goes...

I'm going to engage this discussion.

First of all, I wish these folks would start by recognizing one simple fact. Adopting a pseudonym known only to you and your friends does not diminish your status as an "anonymous" poster. So, Holy Hal, if you want to talk about "cloaking your identity," you are doing so just as surely as someone who posts with his or her initials or just under "anonymous." I am not really sure, then, why you seem so bothered by people who post anonymous comments when you do the same thing.

In fact, if you spend time on the local blogosphere and on the Tribune forums, you will find that the vast majority of people post anonymously, including yourself. In fact, off the top of my head, Mary Jolley, Dona Stebbins, Larry Kralj, Ed McKnight, Chuck Johnson, Dave Sherman, Aaron Weissman, A.J. Tooley and I are about the only ones I know who aren't anonymous.

Yes, I am a conservative/small "l" libertarian. Does the blog lean right "so far over it tips?" Maybe, but I am not sure why I need to apologize for my political beliefs. Especially when they're right out in the open and I defend them daily (and not anonymously, I might add).

And, while I tip right, I try to encourage discussion by every point of view. In fact, I recently posted a letter to the editor from Stuart Lewin, hardly a bastion of the neocons. Likewise, the fellow who seems to be the biggest thorn in your side, non-anonymous Holy Hal, is Larry Kralj. I even let him talk. Maybe that will tend to stop the tip.

I am not sure what you mean when you say I "bash almost everything." Do I have opinions? Absolutely. If you disagree, challenge them. Do some things even piss me off? You bet they do. If you disagree, call me on it.

As far as my criticism of public officials, I stand by it. If you can point out where I am wrong, do so. I will reconsider.

Yes, I am a "casino-owning lawyer." Since you are anonymous, Holy Hal, I guess I can only assume you do the Lord's work. Do tell.

And then you lied. You stated that I encourage anonymous posters to "denigrate and demean others." That is a flat out falsehood. And it is also extremely hypocritical coming from you:

Mary Jolley "is a loose cannon, without specific direction."

"If you have ever attended a meeting and listened to "Johnny Angry" and Mike Witsoe ramble on like idiots, you would thank your lucky stars for the three minute rule. Every time they get up to speak, I cringe."

"When you have HSCC staff selling donated dogfood out the back door, that's a problem. When you have HSCC staff transporting illegal drugs in an HSCC vehicle, that's a problem. When you have HSCC staff protecting friends from animal complaints, that's a problem."

"No, this guy isn't as smart as Oscar. Hey, how about a 3 PARAGRAPH RULE? That wouldn't work on this guy - he doesn't know what a paragraph is."

"Some people shouldn't be allowed out in public until they take their meds."

"Did anyone notice the close family resemblance between HSCC president Jim Donahue and convicted (now pardoned) Scooter Libby on the front page of the paper?"

"And a lot of us "recovering" Catholics will never darken their door again."

I have a proposal for you, Holy Hal. And no, this isn't intended as some sort of big challenge, or calling out. It is a sincere invitation made in good faith.

Come on to ECW and identify yourself. Tell us who and what you are. Then participate in the discussion. If you feel you are treated with disrespect, if you feel denigrated and demeaned, you let me know. I will do something about it.

Maybe, though, by joining in the discussion you might help us advance it? Or you can sit on the sidelines and call us all names.