Tim Blair

I just want to know, Tim -- did the public ignore Al Gore's endorsement of Dean, or did they respond to it by voting against him? It can't have been both.

Robert,

Do I actually have to explain to you that the words "it sure was" were intended to convey the opposite meaning? Is that where you're got the big problem? With the complicated sarcasm?

Anyone else confused by this? Anyone? Maybe The Bulletin should publish a special Slow Learners’ Edition for Western Australian legal students.

You imply that Gore's endorsement harmed Dean (in fact, according to you his endorsement is so harmful that it can change the weather), when you had previously said nobody cared one way or the other.

Jeezus, what a nitpicking idiot you are turning into, Mr. Corr. No -- worse, you're turning into a picker of nits that don't exist. Try a new medication.

I mean, Tim, did Mr. Corr fail to pick up on the use of italics which is often used to convey the concepts of sarcasm and irony in one's post? I didn't think so...

Speaking as a real solicitor, and not a law student, I'd have to say that Mr Corr needs to improve his reading skills. Otherwise his career in the law is going to be very short-lived.

Ah, but of course, he won't go into private practice, he'll probably end up in some government department or authority or in some "community group".

Rob's first client, upon receiving a 30-year sentence for littering: "Oh, great strategy, legal dude! Really excellent work. You're a total freakin' genius."

Rob: "Thank you!"

Sure, it's nitpicking. I never claimed it was anything more than nitpicking.

Roger, they're my italics, as I mentioned in the post.

Hey Tim, you better be careful or a number of hit-starved blogs will start saying silly things about you just for the hyperlinks.

Well, then why haven't you picked up on Tim's use of the same?

Sorry, now you have me nitpicking...

Sorry, where did Tim use italics?

This is like when Trekkies fall out.

Only more pointless.

Charles, stop reading my mind! I guess it's kind of like Frank J.'s filthy lies about Glenn Reynolds...

Also, Rob, you should probably give up. Your argument is very weak and it's like you're picking a fight just for:

A) A bit of extra traffic; or

B) For no really good reason at all.

I'll take option B, thanks Marty.

I've had a look at Robert's kick and scream blog. Robert recently bought a car - 92 Hyundai Excel Sprint. Very, very practical but it's imported from an asian sweatshop.

Robert

You have waaaaaaaaaay to much time on your hands

I read it as sarcasm, stating, by intimation, that the endorsement sure WASN'T a momentous event.

Disclaimer: I like Tim Blair's writing and am sympathetic to many of the views he expresses.
Hitherto, I had no knowledge of Robert Corr or his views and, consequently, had no view. Now I think him to be an utter wanker. Whose fault is that?

I believe young Mr Corr has envy issues related to Tim's being bigger than his.

So Rob, if there was no real reason why you picked this fight with Tim, why are you so vehemently defending yourself when it's clear to me now (given your choice of option B above) that you know your argument is half-assed and, more importantly, an almost completely pointless attack?

Robert:

Uhhhhh, maybe it was here?

Sorry, was gettin' my wank on. It's a Trekkie thing...

What, a 92 Excel? Did someone lose a bet recently?

That's the vehicular equivalent of Godwin's law. I hereby declare this thread terminated.

Is Robert Corr the guy with the Gilligan hat?

I'm with Robert. Why just recently Blair posted on that Dean flap and described "Dean’s genitals-in-a-blender howl". I saw the video and Dean's genitalia were clearly untouched. Blair is obviously a liar.

I am also a real lawyer. As a matter of fact I work for a Trade Union. I certainly can't see the point (if any) this law student is trying to make. TB's comments were completely accurate and consistent.

Roger, those italics indicate nothing more than that Tim was quoting other people. It's his standard formatting for block quotes.

I don't think my argument is half-assed, but that doesn't mean it's massively significant. It's a blog, fer chrissakes!

I offered Bob some constructive advice involving his pointy head and a deceased carnivore known for its malodorous bottom.

I gotta side with Blair on this one (and I've previously sided against him several times, including the Great "Ennui" Scandal Of 2003). Here's the deal. Tim's "It sure was" was sarcasm directed at Krugman's opinion, which was clearly that the endorsement helped Dean. Tim was saying it hadn't helped Dean. However, he didn't say that the endorsement had caused the decline in support - he mentioned that only to point out how badly Krugman's prediction had been wrong.

Like Angela said: nits that aren't there. It's fun trying to trap big bloggers into contradictions, especially when about half their posts are doing it to other people. But you need better ammo than this, Rob.

Dean has made plenty of goofs since he entered the race. Gore showed poor judgement endorcing him IMO, but it didn't affect the outcome. Dean said he thought the Iowa caucus was a waste of time a week ago. Then he showed up at a DesMoine meet and greet sporting a Palestinian Fatah Movement keffiya (just like Arafat wears). Face it, it would take a bigger man then Gore to save this turkey.

I'm one of Tim's biggest fans, but I don't think Rob is insane - I can see where he's coming from.

Tim didn't completely sew all of the rhetorical holes shut. Sure, one post kind of implies that endorsements are worthless. The other kind of implies that Gore's endorsement is the kiss of death. But - kind of not.

When it's Internet High Noon, talking shit in public to a professional shit-talker (I mean that in the most complimentary sense, Tim) is just bad tactics. Of course, this is all just internet bullshit, so using the word "tactics" is extraordinary import inflation.

This back and forth is giving me a headache. Get Nedra Pickler on the phone and let her parse it out.

Papertiger - Dean was wearing what where? Link it, champ.

The Dean photo is at LGF.

Sorry, here's the link.

i know a union rep who'd break robert 'pimply' corr's knees for a carton of beer. anyone want to chip in?

Hell, I'll do it for a thimbleful of Amstel Light.

I break his arms for FREE!

Just ask him nicely to put his pens and pencils away, and tell him to go and play with his Lego set. If he argues, send him to his room.

"...those italics indicate nothing more than that Tim was quoting other people."

[SUMMONING PATIENCE] Robert, the things in print that indicate someone quoting someone else are called quotation marks.. See the things on either end of the sentence above?

Since Tim's second comment was clearly ironic, there was no inconsistency.

However, I think he was wrong on a point of interpretation. From memory, Krugman's column thought Gore's endorsement important, not because it would deliver primary or caucus votes to Dean, but because an endorsement of a fringe left-wing figure like Dean by a mainstream figure like Gore indicated that the Democrats were taking a sharp turn to the left.

The Iowa results would indicate that this is not so, at least as far as their broader base is concerned.

Italics don't mean nuthin

Tim, why do you care what this guy says? The only thing I can figure is that you find him somewhat promising in a lost-puppy kind of way. I'll read his blog with new eyes now, I guess.

I'm playing a long game, Bovious. Rob is currently a law student. He will eventually become a wealthy conservative lawyer, and he will thank me for his conversion to the right by giving me several million dollars.

Robert Corr is my pension plan.

Coming in very late and not having the patience to read all of the preceding comments but for Fck sake does someone have to explain to this retard (and by the way sport couldn't get into UWA law could we??) that irony is not related to steely and bronzy

I just wasted 5 minutes of my life reading Roberts crap. Can I have them back please?

Now I don't want to get too rough on the poor guy, but he has suffered major head injuries at some stage, right?

the things in print that indicate someone quoting someone else are called quotation marks

Not if it's a block quotation. And Tim's stylistic habit is to italicise every block quotation. It doesn't mean he thinks everything in a block quotation is sarcastic.

(and by the way sport couldn't get into UWA law could we??)

Oh, fuck off. I was offered a place at UWA, I declined it. I encounter enough petulent wankers reading this site, why would I want to meet them in person every day?

The point, Rob darling, is that italics have nothing to so with quoting. Admit it: you started a stupid argument with a stupid premise, you have been solidly pounded into the ground.

And I forgot to add that you have the temerity to insult the other commenters here, and then complain that you were slammed in return. Welcome to a taste of the real world.