Rules - Standards

Argument Clinic is intended to be a place for people to blog and engage in passionate and respectful debates on current events and ideas without regard to social, religious or political Point of View (POV) but also to eliminate the static caused by folks who resit the temptation to think for themselves and or are unable to express ideas clearly, thoughtfully and backed up by facts and or engaged in internet distractions. 

This is a FREE subscription Blog that allows anyone to read posts and comments,  but only subscribers can post articles (with the proper permission) and comments. Therefore there needs to be several ground rules that need to be adhered to.

• While this will not necessarily be a “G” rated site, pornography, incitement to violence, threats to persons, and illegal conduct will NOT be allowed.
• This site is hosted by Google on its Blogspot system and all Google/Blogspot rules must also be followed.
• We cannot condone the theft of intellectual property or copyrights that are not in the public domain or otehrwise licensed and encourage subscribers to be thoughtful of this legitimate restriction.
• If you choose to post materials created by others - proper credit must be given to the source. It is often wiser to LINK to a work if you want to use it in full or substantial parts of it to make a point rather than quote it.
• Google provides a wealth of resources, such as Youtube for media that can be legitimately used. 
• Argument Clinic is free and does not possess, or expect to possess any special licenses to use copyrighted materials and will remove same if it is discovered and will potentially ban subscribers who are found to be repeatedly abusing others intellectual property.

Anything legitimately posted here will be the copyrighted possession of Argument Clinic.  Opinions and comments posted here are the ideas of their authors and not the management or sponsors of this blog.

BEHAVIOR WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE

• Authors who post fact based and ORIGINAL articles. 
• They must also be prepared to defend the positions they take with facts from legitimate and credible sources.
• Those who ask legit questions that seek to understand or pose thoughtful remarks that seek to enlighten and or advance respectful dialog are also valued and encouraged.
• People  who have shown a capacity to think for themselves and make reasoned arguments for the positions they take.
• People who  enjoy the dialog and respectful debate and the intellectual stimulation that comes from an exploration of ideas that often reveal a) divergent points of view may NOT be so far apart from each other b) all parties gain a better understanding of how we can work toward a more perfect union.
• Truth is factual and not something that merely comports with your prejudices. To paraphrase former Sen. Moynahan "You are entitled to your own opiions, not your own facts"
• Folks with a sense of humor ---  We want to have the ability to argue passionately on whatever topic and still remain friendly and be able to poke fun at all the stuff that goes on out there that humor may in fact be the only rational comment that can be made.  
• We want folks who can be friends who share our curiosity and desire to explore the world of ideas and can respect others with different perspectives. We expect and hope everyone will debate passionately, but with a respect that can lead to a a respect for your adversary after the debate has ended.

Argument Clinic will work best when everyone doesn't agree on everything but is sharing a common goal to understand how we can make this a more perfect union and express ourselves more clearly.


BEHAVIOR THAT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED

• Flamers and folks unable to rise above puerile personal name calling or solely ad hominem attacks

• Parrots - who seem limited to what talking points the media told them to think or what they learned from the echo chamber and lack sufficient intellectual inquisitiveness to question information they have been fed.
• We personally would be insulted by being called a "dittohead" by anyone who dares to think they can assume we will always agree with what they say
• Chumps - Who actually believe spam, "hit job" stuff (e.g. ambush interviews), conspiracy theories(e.g. birthers) and the rest of the crap created by the looniest fringe - those folks that swallow without chewing
• Fools - Folks who simply don't think or make much of an effort to do so
• Internet trolls - Folks who post inflammatory articles from the “restaurant media” (folks more interested in serving red meat than balanced facts or truth)  then failing to explain what THEY think about it and what it is believable or why we should care with facts from the real world.
• Bigots who don't believe in America to not know its our evolving diversity that makes us great
• Diversity comes in many forms, ethnicity religion ideas experiences the whole gamut of being. E pluribus unum is our greatest secret weapon, its what makes us what we are, truly special. 

 Folks who are unable to avoid this behavior will have their privileges withdrawn and or subscriptions deleted.  We do not seek to censor opinion, but do intend to eliminate static caused by folks unable to contribute to respectful debate.

This is an evolving standard that will be subject to change by the founders of this board whenever and however we see fit....This blog is only democratic to a point.

Remember:

• Do not try this stuff at home, this blog is being performed by professional drivers on a close course. 
• Always were approved safety devises when operating this or power equipment. 
• Eat your veggies and brush your teeth daily
• Have fun