Our Kenneth
What I love the most about Ricochet is the community. Even those of us who are, um, former members of the community, for one reason or another.
(I'll pause here for a moment to say, once again, that if you haven't joined as a member, please do. Right now. We'll wait.)
Okay, with that said, many of you will remember a former member, Kenneth, who stirred things up with his acerbic wit and -- let's be honest -- sharper-than-necessary language. What's he been up to lately?
There's lots of funny stuff over there -- he calls his blog "The Full Kenneth," which means pretty much what you expect that it means. But I especially enjoyed his recent screed against the huge amount of land the government owns:
The federal government owns more than 30% of the land in the United States. Here in California, that share is more than 45%.
Now, no one would object that national treasures like Yosemite and Yellowstone should be preserved, in perpetuity, for the enjoyment of future generations.
But the problem these days is that federal bureaucrats and their environmental enablers increasingly militate for a regime in which the public who owns those lands are barred from enjoying them.
Take Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, for instance. Established in 1968, this 316-square-mile preserve spans a magnificent part of the high Sierra Mountains. But it’s tough trekking, so, for many years before and since the establishment of the park, dozens of small, family-owned companies have provided horseback tours that allow flatlanders to enjoy the area’s beauty.
No more. An outfit calling itself High Sierra Hikers – essentially two fanatic environmentalists who live in Lake Tahoe, hundreds of miles away from the park – recently sued the federal Department of the Interior, claiming that by allowing a few hundred tourists each summer to visit the park on horseback, the Department was violating the 1964 Wilderness Act...
...those two guys in Lake Tahoe found a big-time San Francisco law firm to file the suit. And, by coincidence, the federal judge who heard the case was a former lawyer for said big-time law firm. And when the two guys won the case, the judge awarded the big-time law firm millions of dollars in legal fees, while the small companies that had offered horseback tours for generations were put out of business. And hundreds of citizens who might have enjoyed the back country each summer were out of luck.
I know I'm stirring things up myself when I say this, but if you've got a moment and are so inclined, head over to Kenneth's blog and say hello.
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Comments:
Dec '10
Re: Our Kenneth
The "sock puppet" I suspect has not chimed in on this thread, but I'm 100% sure he's reading every last word. We'll see.
Oct '10
Re: Our Kenneth
Basil Fawlty
Mike LaRoche
EJHill · 9 minutes ago
I am not a number, I am a free man! · 10 hours ago
6 hours ago
Ha, I love it!
Aug '10
Re: Our Kenneth
Samwise Gamgee: I thought all the libertarians were leaving Ricochet...
Turns out they were all just one person...
You mean Mollie Hemingway is just Kenneth in drag?
Sep '10
Re: Our Kenneth
I never had any tiffs with Kenneth, but I don't miss his style of discussion much. Kenneth was (or is) the Bill Laimbeer of Ricochet. He'd go right up to the line or beyond on people here, and if someone pushed back even slightly he'd call it a personal attack.
My personal breaking point was when he ridiculed Dave Carter's friend, a disabled veteran, for one of his views. Dave furiously took him to task for that and he apologized, but I was done with him.
Nah, not missed much.
May '11
Re: Our Kenneth
"It isn’t thick skin we lack. There have been plenty of sharp, pointed even angry disagreements. There will be plenty more. We want to keep Ricochet a place where sharp and pointed doesn’t auto-devolve into ad hominem Trashville. This is an artistic balance, if you will, not a scientific one. That is why you can discern in this thread a groping about for where to draw the line. But it’s not because we are out of things to talk about or can’t handle rough treatment over our ideas."
Artistic balance indeed. Well said.
Jul '10
Re: Our Kenneth
We of the DC Soirees are blessed to have shared time with Molly. And her husband, marvelous Mark, and her father, and her wee ones. There is no comparison. Molly strikes me as being far more comfortable in her own shoes than the Kenneth. I also count myself, Richard Epstein, Franco, Michael Labeit, and at least a few others as somewhere in the huge range of libertarian views.
Dec '10
Re: Our Kenneth
The Great Adventure!
The "sock puppet" I suspect has not chimed in on this thread, but I'm 100% sure he's reading every last word. We'll see. · 3 hours ago
So, here on Ricochet we also get mystery and intrigue and it's all included for just the cost of a cup of coffee ... cool :)
Apr '11
Re: Our Kenneth
This is a peculiar and unnecessary discussion.
I am, naturally, fascinated.
Nov '10
Re: Our Kenneth
I can see where you and Midge are coming from here, but my problem was not only that Kenneth was, as Michael so eloquently put it, a schmuck, but that Ricochet was and is consistently advertised as a place for "smart and civil" conversation. Kenneth was not civil, not interested in conversation, and while he may have been smart, it was frequently lost in the bile, yet not only was he tolerated, he was elevated.
Mar '11
Re: Our Kenneth
Umbra Fractus
I can see where you and Midge are coming from here, but my problem was not only that Kenneth was, as Michael so eloquently put it, a schmuck, but that Ricochet was and is consistently advertised as a place for "smart and civil" conversation.
Exactly. Every family may have and tolerate an obnoxious boor, but we don't pay that guy $3.67 to listen to him bloviate.
In fact, some of us pay $3.67 for a respite from such people in our daily lives.
Apr '11
Re: Our Kenneth
Rob, if you're still following this thread, just out of curiosity, why did you post this? Were you hoping for a discussion about federal land ownership, about the relative merits of the Ricochet CoC, about Kenneth himself...?
I'm having a hard time identifying your intent.
May '10
Re: Our Kenneth
Now you've done it.
Dec '10
Re: Our Kenneth
Certainly can't click "Like" on your comment EJ, but I agree with the sentiment.
Dec '10
Re: Our Kenneth
I'm such a slacker. I missed the whole kerfuffle until the wreckage was apparent. Drat.
Jun '10
Re: Our Kenneth
Charlotte: Rob, if you're still following this thread, just out of curiosity, why did you post this? Were you hoping for a discussion about federal land ownership, about the relative merits of the Ricochet CoC, about Kenneth himself...?
I'm having a hard time identifying your intent. · 3 hours ago
Ditto. I joined Ricochet early on, I like it here, and I'll stay--but one can only wonder about the marketing theory that lies behind lauding a guy who spent a good part of his time insulting other members and who got kicked off the island not once, but several times.
Rob: Try to remember that it's the current members (the ones that Kenneth insulted) who are diligently paying for the grande latte every month. We're the ones who month after month put our "skin in the game," as you are wont to say.
I hope Lance reconsiders. He, unlike Kenneth, is a man worth keeping on Ricochet--but I understand his feelings.
Edited on June 25, 2012 at 7:03amAug '10
Re: Our Kenneth
Let's face it - Rob stepped in it big time with this post. Members are dropping like flies and I believe the business model calls for adding members, not losing them.
I like Rob but he's not perfect. I'll chalk this one up to all the time he's been spending with the writers of his "racy" (his words, not mine) new sitcom on CBS - you know, one of those networks that no one watches anymore.
The GOP primaries strained Ricochet's seams but it held. How ironic that a self-inflicted wound may tear it apart. Expect a mea culpa shortly...
Aug '10
Re: Our Kenneth
Either I can't read or Long just--for some reason-- put a lot of distance between Ricochet's reputation and Kenneth's blog. I'd say the purpose of having the post on the main page was so that you all could inadvertently help him.
Edited on June 25, 2012 at 9:59amNov '11
Re: Our Kenneth
I did not experience Kenneth, but after reading the entire thread, I would say that this cannot be called a conversation without at least a minimal response from Rob Long, and at this point, I would argue, also from others among the powers that be. It does make one appreciate even more those many contributors, such as Claire Berlinski and Paul Rahe, who,at least in my experience, do not walk off from their posts.
Sep '10
Re: Our Kenneth
Just. Sayin'
Edited on June 25, 2012 at 2:28pmMay '10
Re: Our Kenneth
Do they still sell Bad Idea jeans?