By the way...

This "Rob" who I off and on rant "to"...

He's a friend. A real person. "His" name may or may not be "Rob." Indeed... "he" may well be a "she."

"Rob" is a busy guy...gal...guy..girl... er... person. 

He/she doesn't have time to "play" here on my blog.

In a sense ALL of my newsbites are "conversations." I use them to inform and comment. Sometimes I address the reporters/editors/pundits by name during newsbiting... usually I don't. (But since I always provide links... they're always identifiable - except where the reporting has no byline.)

Anyway... my point... don't take the "tone" as anything besides what it is - my writing style. (And, yeah... my face to face style as well - for good or ill.)

For a variety of reasons I don't get much feedback here at my blog. I do get a fair amount of hits. Many are no doubt random views. But I do have my regulars.

(*SMILE*)

Most of my regulars are... er... important... important in the sense that they have public personae to safeguard; professional reputations to keep clean. (Heck... a few have federal security clearances!)

Agreeing with some of my more... er... "robustly stated" contentions publicly might well cause some of my regulars "problems" of one sort or another down the road.

Even disagreeing with me here requires... er... creating a public record which could come back to haunt someone. (Hey... there's a reason lawyers tell their clients to keep their friggin' mouths shut!)

Anyway... just wanted to make clear that what might seem to the casual reader an "attack" on "Rob" is really more of me thinking out loud and continuing real conversations that he/she and I have had.