On Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:47:31 -0700, "Rod & Betty Jo"
wrote:

Why the stream of personal attacks?...


I'm sure there's a corollary or parallel to Godwin's Law that states
something to the effect that "...in discussions of any remotely
controversial issue, the descent into ad hominem will occur not later
than the ...'th exchange..."

The decent seems to be almost universal and occurs for reasons which,
IMO, are pretty well stated in the Wilkipedia entries for "ad
hominem". In my observations, it seems to occur at the point the
responder has nothing left of any substance to contribute, but for
whatever reason, is unable to remain silent.

Tom Veatch
Wichita, KS
USA