Jackson Jambalaya

Hope springs eternal.

I can still call her out when she lies about me.

I can still call her out when she lies about me.

You can, but consider the drawbacks (speaking as someone who has been in the same situation):

- You and Donna Ladd have many mutual friends/colleagues who are put in an awkward position by stuff like this, and that group includes 90% of the people who have any idea what you're talking about.

- People who don't have any idea what you're talking about will think you're starting drama with her for no good reason.

- There is no imaginable scenario where you confront Donna on this stuff and the situation subsequently improves.

I've found that the least stressful policy for me is simple nonengagement. I'm not scared of her, and I'm willing to stand up to anybody if there's something to be gained from it, but blogosphere drama--particularly blogosphere drama with someone as politically gifted as Donna Ladd--just doesn't have a good cost:benefit ratio in most cases.

YMMV, of course. I'm not telling you or anybody else how to blog, and lord knows I haven't always followed this advice myself. But it just doesn't make much sense to me to get into an argument with Donna Ladd anymore. Life is short, and I've got bigger fish to fry.

- People who don't have any idea what you're talking about will think you're starting drama with her for no good reason.

That is only if you pre-buy into a conclusion that the community viewpoint mirrors Donna's own perspective in the first place.

Betcha a statistically valid sample that she's remote from the Fondren group-thunk.

Well, I'm referring more to people who don't know who Donna Ladd is or don't care than I am to people who have taken her side, but you may be right.

Still, I'm reminded of the great advice given in Ptahhotep's Maxims of Great Discourse (ca. 2200 BC):

If you encounter a disputant in action who has authority over you, bend your arms and bow your back. Do not seize your heart against him. He will never agree with you, and will belittle you in the evil he will say. Do not try to oppose him in his moment, for he will be called a know-nothing when your self-control is contrasted with his piles of words.

If you encounter a disputant in action who is an equal to you, your peer, you will cause your excellence to surpass him by silence when he is speaking wrongly.

If you encounter a disputant in action who is beneath you, do not oppress him due to his weakness. Give him land and he refutes himself; do not answer him and your heart will be content. It is a wretched thing to inure a poor man.

Not that I always follow this advice, and there are times when you have to deny or refute something. But in most cases, it's best to let your critics flail and just go on your merry way.

That should be "a wretched thing to injure a poor man." My J key is flaky this week.

And besides, how mad can one get at somebody who can write a nastygram and then turn around and write something like this?

Life is short. I'm done arguing with Donna Ladd. Done being her buddy, too, but certainly done arguing with her. I'm happy just dusting off my heels and moving on. There's no argument worth having with her anymore, for a variety of reasons. It's just not worthwhile.

I found great use for the Jackson "Free" Press! I used it to wrap up a bunch of fish guts and heads before tossing them!

Don't do that--she counts the fish guts and heads as additional readers!

you left out the multiplier.

((ducking))