Dickey & Boyd

BOYD: That was in reference to the League of Women Voters.

DICKEY: I don't have to ask what you mean in order to respond to that nasty, dangerous phrase. With your background in history you know that that vicious little phrase has been the mentality has been behind almost every witch-hunt, pogrom, slaughter and genocide the human race has ever seen--including the Holocaust.

BOYD: Then you assumed wrong. Nothing to do with her ethnicity. Who's killing Jews these days? Look what's happening in Europe again. Who's behind their new Anti-Semitism?

DICKEY: You really offend me when you get into this kind of partisan, divisive, "hate the un-American liberals" rant. I'm a liberal, proud of it, and if you don't like it then tough s**t. I'll kick your ass the democratic way--at the polls in November, and get rid of a President I believe is KILLING this country. But because we deeply disagree about the direction the country is taking doesn't make you one bit more patriotic than I am. Or more right, no matter how high a horse you manage to mount on dallasarena.com.

BOYD: What is partisan about liberal/conservative? My favorite Republicans were Nelson Rockefeller and Charles Percy? What has Bush done that is more severe than what Franklin Roosevelt did in WW II? Bush isn't relocating families to concentration camps like FDR did to Japanese-Americans. We are just as much at War today as we were in WWII. Besides, the country has been split for over 10 years since Clinton won by less than 50%.

DICKEY: And when you start talking about liberals with such Khomeini-like hateful fervor, you're picking a fight, old friend. I'm not going to sit here week after week and just read it without responding. But I have to wonder why you even go there, when you know that me and many other of your comrades-in-arms in the civic battles we've fought over the years are liberals?

BOYD: I write about stuff the council does. Because the council went there, I went there. Did you listen to the council meeting? Did you hear the comments made from the speakers? Did you hear the comments made from Fantroy, et al? The only reason I gave Salazar a pass was because he talked about visiting the concentration camps for Japanese-Americans. The rest of the comments were either exaggerations or flat untrue.

DICKEY: I never knew that deep inside you really secretly hated and feared "me and my kind". What a shame.

Boyd: No -- I am aware of the contempt and hatred "liberals" have for anyone who thinks differently from them. It's OK for me to rant and rave as long as you approve my topic or agree with me. Some of my harshest critics on this are right wing Republicans who think the Patriot Act will allow liberals to take control. Tim, when 3000 people are killed, it is not a disagreement -- it is a war.

If you think about it -- you just confirmed my concerns and assumptions about how "liberals" feel about "me and my kind".

Except in Ron Kirk's case, I don't usually do partisan stuff on DallasArena. That wasn't partisan -- it was personal and still related to civic matters -- what he did to this city.

The Patriot Act issue should have never been a council matter. Our Mayor either got Loza to push it, or she supported him initially. When the council can take care of city business and has the city running well again, then they might have time to waste a morning on national and international issues.

Do you think they are taking care of the city? Do you think Laura is focused on city basics? When she and the council go off on their social agendas, they become fair game for response.

I don't need a Nanny. I was worked hard to elect someone who would try to clean up this city and get it functional again. That's not happening.

In retrospect, I probably was too hard in my response to "Amanda". I am still reeling from what I heard shouted against the SMU Professor by the "liberals" at that Peace Center debate. I only went because I liked Bob Ray Sanders and thought it would be fun to hear him and Mark Davis go after each other. Neither one of them did their homework. Sanders started out by attacking the audience assuming most of us were there because of the Mark Davis show even though the debate was sponsored by a peace group. I was shocked at his obvious hatred and contempt for who he perceived to be the audience.

Davis talked about nothing but himself. The Iraqi woman talked about how wonderful life was under Sadam, read from prepared text and never spoke extemporaneously. The Professor talked about specifics and stole the show. When the audience started shouting anti-Semitic stuff at the Professor, Bob Ray grinned at them. I was sitting two rows from the stage. No doubt about what I saw. When the Professor said "I'm not Jewish", they started chanting anti-Israel stuff.

DICKEY: I hope you feel, as I do, that it doesn't endanger our friendship if sometimes I disagree with you strongly and publicly. The main thing for me is that it doesn't get in the way of our being able to work together on other stuff that's WAY more important to me.

The Liberal bashing DOES get my blood up, though!

Boyd: I am always amazed at the sensitivity of my "liberal" friends. At least you are not ashamed to be called one -- that's why we will always be friends.