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Ah yes! It's a wonderful time to be a liberal! And not actually be held accountable! By KennethSchustereit in KennethSchustereit The Old Bolillo! September 22, 2009

Delving into how writing and research are done, I began to see what I have been doing for many years with opinion compilations has been right down the line with how writing ad research are taught in college.

In fact, I’d say that Glenn Beck has been doing the same thing for years too.

Paraphrasing HEAVILY from a sixth edition “Roberts and Jacobs” text book on reading and writing literature I see a familiar pattern.

Because thinking and writing are interdependent, it is essential to get ideas into visual form so they can be developed further. For many it is psychologically necessary to carry out this process by writing down ideas by hand or word processor.

I have done this many times. I’d keep a note pad handy and jot down news items I’d hear or see and keep them to write about and comment on at a later date. With the advent of the Internet and cut-and-paste it became easy not only to quote an article, commentator or writer but to paste in the entire article. I found this to be complimentary to my comments, actually adding credence to my comments on that particular issue or article but it has irritated some who just feel I have plagiarized the work of others in spite of the fact that I gave proper credits and quotation marks.

Those who need to build a picture in their minds of what they are writing about, like myself, should use post-it notes or only one side of 3X5 cards so they can be laid out in sequence so an adequate picture or thread of connection can be woven together.

When putting political commentary together in this fashion, I have found it necessary to cross-reference between the various pieces of the story or commentary in order to document all sources prior to composition in order to be factually correct about what I opine on! In today’s increasingly litigious and acrimonious political society this is imperative!

If one writes political commentary often it is also imperative to remember that “In a day when actual truth is not cherished, “proof of facts” and documentation mean very little!” Once again, the specter of cross-referenced documentation is stressed if one expects to be taken seriously by the general public.

Building a visible, written picture of what one intends to write is most often a work of art in itself! It must be clear and each small issue in itself must be tied into the whole framework. I have often sat at a desk and moved post-its around the “canvas” in order to tie the thread together in a credible, and most importantly, easily readable manner. Done correctly, this method will give you a physical overview on how the thread of your story or commentary ties together. In this manner everything will tie together and nothing will be hidden in the back of your mind. You have jotted down all of the pertinent facts and ideas, cross-referenced them for accuracy and can now comment on them with confidence.

I must admit something here. I love a good “broadside!” An old English term, a broadside happened when a ship’s captain fainted in one direction and turned at the last possible moment in order to bring all his vessel’s cannon to bear on his opponent’s vessel at one time. A volley was fired in order to cripple the opponent in preparation for a boarding party. Thus, a political broadside was usually an unexpected and devastating volley of facts exposing one’s political opponent in such a way that he is unable to respond.

Interestingly enough, it is assumed, often mistakenly, that one’s opponent is intelligent enough to know when he has thoroughly been bested! I get tickled nowadays at those who still wish to go down fighting, with moot, often irrelevant and critical postulations concerning the motives behind the broadside to begin with!

This is the case with Beck. His well-documented facts are called “props” and he is decried as a “right-wing, hate-monger” while those who brow beat him fail miserably at actually commenting on, refuting or disputing what he has to say! Beck makes an effort to lay out a picture for the American public to see. So the public can actually ties all the facts together and create a proper thread in their own minds.

I have often, over 27 years of writing, thoroughly researched a given subject I commented on and deliberately left myself wide open for a “broadside” by omitting certain facts. Then when someone decided to opine in a particularly acrid and incendiary fashion, I’d let go with, as Paul Harvey used to say, “The rest of the story!” I must admit, over the years, I have very much enjoyed this style of writing!

With the advent of, computer files, high speed printers and copiers one can print drafts in the initial stages of compilation and once it begins those files can be printed out, lad out with hand-written notes and a well-composed compilation can be written. Once a draft is put together and compilation is finished marginal notes and corrections can be made to add polish lending to credibility.

I would admonish the writer to add a reference or bibliography and in some cases even footnotes. This is often a tedious, and more often, an unappreciated and ignored part of compilation but necessary in today’s political climate.

As with Beck’s critics, mine most often fail to read and fully comprehend what was actually written but prefer to postulate and denigrate on the motives of the writer. I feel this is an indication that the critic does not have the actual intellect to debate the actual issue at hand. Worse yet, when challenged to actually read, refute and/or dispute, these folks most often fade back into the shadows waiting for another opportunity to demonstrate their lack of intelligence!

Regardless of your writing/compilation methods, one should remember that “unwritten thought is incomplete thought!” Have you ever been driving down the street and heard a news story on the radio unable to stop and write down notes on the story and later wish you had so it could be commented on? Been there! Done that! A thousand times!

Remember, you can’t lay out a proper picture on a computer screen! Not possible! Don’t even try! Lay it out in paper! Paint a picture! Put it together! Punch it up, then edit it down! Revise the draft and then revise that! Make yourself accountable! Check and cross-check the facts. Typos and mis-spelled words should be correctd as they are a distraction from the overall content and to some even take away from it's validity. And THEN write! Put that picture together in such a credible fashion so as to leave critics with the last refuge of the ignorant; name-calling!

Finally, PUT YOUR NAME ON IT! Using a handle or “screen name” as so many of today’s bloggers do is cowardly and demonstrates a lack of confidence in what they have written, indeed, a lack of confidence in the picture they’ve painted!

Author's note: As I have stated I have paraphrased heavily from the "Roberts & Jacobs" text book I did not include quotation marks. I changes certain personal values like the word "student" but not the context of what was written. An intelligent person with adequate reading comprehension skills can easily tell what I have added from what the text book states. As I have now given the proper credits, I trust I shall not be accused of plagerism.

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