Quotation for our times
"Among all the dichotomies of our times -- doves and hawks, liberals and conservatives, elites and masses -- there is one that seems especially crucial: the distinction between those who focus and those who blur.
"When people blur, it is usually either because they are not capable of focusing or because a sharp picture of the issues would make their case collapse. Currently the blurrers are riding high."
--Thomas Sowell
Thanks, David.
"When people blur, it is usually either because they are not capable of focusing or because a sharp picture of the issues would make their case collapse. Currently the blurrers are riding high."
--Thomas Sowell
Thanks, David.
When you insist on focusing--and call the blurrers on their blurring--the results can be interesting.
An opposing lawyer once accused me during settlement negotiations of being "too legalistic." I asked her if she thought her client should get the money simply because he wanted it more than my clients did. She said no. I then asked her what criteria she thought we should use to settle the lawsuit, if not the material facts and the applicable law. She had no answer. I was focusing, and she was blurring as hard as she could.
In effect, the lawyer tried to make it a contest over who could be more stubborn. We never did settle.
I moved for summary judgment. The lawyer, still blurring like crazy, responded by misquoting to the court the applicable statute. She misquoted it in five places, as I recall. I replied by pointing out the misquote and accurately quoting both her misquote and the statute itself. The contrast was vivid. The judge correctly ruled in my favor.
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