There are plenty of folks who comment once, and some who comment regularly but erratically (that is, in bursts around specific issues or themes or when the spirit moves them), but it is still the case that there are a handful of people who comment ALL THE TIME, to a degree that they dominate the conversation. I have just counted all comments, inc “stopped watched” etc from the beginning of January to the end of March this year, and certain people in the categories I named commented more than twice, or more than three times, or even nearly five times as much as any one else. Someone else can count thru April, May, and June, and prove me wrong, but the beginning of this thread–before I got testy–doesn’t disprove the stats I have collected.

This is a different issue than the toxicity of the mLive comments, but I find it stifling; I also do see it as highly motivated. It’s both boring and a pity that this is what we seem to have.

They point out that this will mean a loss to the state’s General Fund (because the use tax has been going into the General Fund and would now be rerouted).

They also say that if the referendum is defeated, the PPT will continue for the next year. But Murph hinted in his tweet that there might be a lame-duck rollback of the PPT that would not have a hold-harmless provision for local governments. This is, of course, only speculation and was presented as such from a political insider.

Murph (Richard Murphy) replied to my query on Twitter, which is how I got this information. He now works for the MML. Info can be found on their website. I also found this Balletopedia article helpful. [link]

Does anyone know anything about proposal 14-1 on the Aug 5 ballot? I hadn’t heard it even mentioned until I saw my absentee ballot. Even after reading it I still don’t know what its import is.

You wrote,” For all I know, people using pen names are Republicans from Idaho.” Now maybe you were just being flippant but I find your choices to be interesting. This website is available to pretty much anyone, anywhere in the world. Why do you assume that all posters live here? And I guess it follows that since all posters live here, they must also be democrats, because this is liberal Ann Arbor. Wow. You might want to assume less and focus on what you actually know, which in this case are the words that someone writes. The difficulty of dialogue is focusing on just what is being communicated, without filtering it through our many biases. Is the speaker young or old, poor or wealthy, slovenly or slick, female or male, and of course, non-white or white? And as we all know there are many more biases out there.

The internet levels many of these biases and allows people to be judged by the content of their communications. Shouldn’t that be embraced?

Credibility lies in the words; the product of communication. We, as a people, put up with ‘credible’ authority figures, who lie to us all the time. Are they credible because we know their name and their job title? And one of the hardest things is to recognize the truth when it comes from an unexpected source; the child who observes a reality well beyond their years, or a non-expert who points out the problem to a befuddled expert. We all have heard that it is hard to speak truth to power. It may be harder for power to heed the truth when told plainly. Credibility is not bestowed, it is earned. And if I am not credible, to you, because you do not know my name, that’s your problem, not mine.

I also participate in the comments on the dotcom or mLive or whatever it is now. It is not difficult to be the most reasonable commenter on that site. Amusingly, at about the time the dotcom editorial board endorsed my opponent in 2013, at least in part because of a perceived flaw in my temperament, I received a very nice email from the community engagement person at the publication complementing the quality of my on-line comments.

I recognize why an individual would want to remain anonymous when commenting. Too often public discourse devolves into verbal bullying. I post under my real name because I just do not care what others say about me. On the other hand, I also recognize how tiring it gets to be the target of shallow name calling and how some decent folks would want to avoid that. I enjoy a good comment whether posted anonymously or not.

I would just conclude this rambling comment with a reminder to provide financial support to the Chronicle. Quality is worth supporting.

For all I know, people using pen names are Republicans from Idaho.