As far as I know, he never asked to come back. Maintaining some idealistic balance of conservative and liberal is impossible. Besides, in case you hadn't noticed, this part of the BBS makes up one of the smallest parts of it. Hardly anyone gets banned in here - the majority are in the Rockets forum - and when it happens, it is usually for something pretty far gone.
Quality parrot? Uh, I mean quality poster? I'm not saying he should have been banned, but he was far more full of bile than information, far more full of mimicry than analysis. I am a lefty who truly enjoys quality posts that express views that oppose my own, angles that I've yet to consider, and I cannot recall a single such post from t8675309 (not that I've memorized his legacy). However, it may be true that certain lefties get more leeway than thx1138 with lame reactionary posts. This includes some very rude, name-calling style posts directed at conservative posters. We'd all be better off respecting the "opposition," in my view. At the very least, I think polite argumentation persuades many more minds than hostile argumentation. Persuaded? (I can hear it now: NOT PERSUADED. ARGUMENT REJECTED. )
And you get tired of hearing how much I care about my son. Just don't go to oxygen.com. Be careful RM95, T_J might not give you his invaluable free financial advice.
I have a feeling TJ idea of a balanced, thought provoking, debate is between an extreme ideological conservative (Barry Goldwater clone, or even a Pat Buchanon or Keyes clone for exemplars of more reactionary cultural or religios conservatives) and an extreme political conservative (Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, clone). Personally, I think the ideological conservatives add a lot to the debate, though most of the political conservatives are lacking either in style (condescending, arrogance), clarity in reasoning that reveals deep biases, or both. TJ, though I actually think he is more ideological in orientation, sometimes tries to come off like a snide reactionary political conservative (I guess he want to please that crowd too) and gets his potential contributions lost by degenerating the debate. Too bad he doesn't try to stick to substance little more often.
