Wednesday, July 7, 2010

New Poll

Please note the new poll.  Since I changed the look of the blog my Google Analytics are gone so I can't tell if anyone is even reading any more.

9 comments:

  1. I bet there are lots of lurkers out there, even with comments censored. But this is America, Abel; it's not "censorship," it's "review for quality control."

    If you want to boost readership, you could always opine about the Wal-Mart case. :S Looks like Mr. Barab (or someone on his behalf) did to the New York Times the other day.

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  2. I liked it better when the posts were not pre-censored. I didn't mind reading some of the trash. You can always pull the weeds after they are posted.

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  3. Congratulations RT, your comments passed my quality control standards.

    I'll keep the Wal-Mart idea in mind.

    Anon, the problem with not moderating the posts is how much time I spend on the road, I can't moderate the comments very well. I said it before, and I know some people don't believe me, but I'm not "reviewing for quality control" based on disagreements, but on how disrespectful some people have been and trying to stick with things we can actually change about the agency. Since this is my place in cyberspace, I'm not going to tolerate the disrespect any more than I would in my own home.

    I need to point out that this doesn't necessarily mean I'm targeting Tim or Jesse, most of their posts were respectful enough (although after I started censoring Jesse tried to post a comment that was vile, the kind of mean, disrespectful thing that if I has said growing up, my mom would have washed my mouth out with soap and then told my dad, who would have taken me to the garage and whipped my behind).

    The discussion of whether or not OSHA should or should not exist is a good one to have, when you're sitting around with your friends drinking beer. OSHA exists and nothing any of us say will change that no matter what some people want.

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  4. I think most people figured Tim and Jesse out very quick. They had a single track on each issue: get rid of OSHA. That gets old quick. I think most can read past bad ideas to get to the interesting subject matter.

    The problem with the slow exchange of thoughts and ideas is just that, it's slow. I think most people would like a larger volume of subject matter at a faster pace with some bad ideas (and even some disrespectful material) versus a limited volume at a slower pace.

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  5. Maybe most of your readers and posters are Trolls. Take them out and there is little to nothing left. Your need to have a "continue to exist" poll proved that.

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  6. Arguing whether OSHA should or should not exist is like arguing over whether the American League should or should not have the DH rule. It can be a fun and interesting debate at times, but ultimately, neither are going away.

    Hearings on the Mine Safety Act (with PAWA added in the back) are tomorrow. Riveting C-SPAN testimony to follow. I read one article that pointed out Congress doesn't have a whole lot of time to move on this (but they are moving, somewhat). Being a mid-term election year, most of Congress will be distracted after Labor Day.

    Do you think that the fact that PAWA had to be repackaged under the "Mine Safety Act" spells trouble for it? I haven't heard any peeps from any politicians about it, pro or con.

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  7. Anon I, good point, see the latest post.

    Anon II, good idea, I'll keep it in mind for the next poll.

    RT, I actually think that putting PAWA under the Mine Safety & Health Act of 2010 gives it a better chance of passing this year. It's hard for most politicians to argue against improving MSHA after what happened at the Upper Big Branch mine, and it seems to not be raising much fuss so far.

    Having said that, even if the House passes the bill, I'm not sure the Senate will take it up this year, so I'm still doubtful we'll see it this year.

    I don't know if it's on C-SPAN, but the hearing should be streamed on the House's website.

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  8. PAWA + MSHA seems like pork-barreling. If PAWA is strong why does it need to ride the bloody coat-tails of some dead miners. This seems rash and illogical to me.

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  9. There's logic and then there is political logic. Politically it is logical, it's the only chance the bill has to pass this year (I don't think it will, I don't see the Senate taking up the bill, just my guess).

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