Previously Recorded from the TOC

I mean, we'll never be as alive as O'C and company...

Anyhow, I demur from the previous comment that all's well in LDLand. The state of debate is dire. Read on.

The internet access in the tournament hotel is painfully slow, but then again, it does exist, so I should stop whining. Since quarters are now in process, and HoraceMan is watching a round somewhere, I've got some time on my hands. It looked early on as if I wouldn't judge octos, but I got put in late after some moving around. And gee, I can finally say that LD actually is doomed. The level of discourse proves that the State of Debate Nature has become nasty and brutish, and one wonders why judges don't penalize extraordinary bad behavior on face. That is, if you are so rude that you show simply no respect whatsoever for your opponent, do you deserve to win on any other criterion? Is that how we're going to decide a national champion? Other than that, well, it's finally happened, a round so fast that I couldn't flow a word of it. I mean, that's certainly happened when I've watched policy rounds, but never LD rounds. And I'm not all THAT rusty. But I am certain that, if that's what LD aspires to, i.e., one-person policy, it will be aspiring to it without me.

Last night, during the bubble round, there was a Legion of Doom meeting. From this, one strong recommendation I'll be making is that the Legion distinguish between its members and the merely curious, and that it open itself to dialog with the latter. Obviously, if ever a group believed that discourse can lead to good conclusions, a hundred or so dinosaur debate coaches ought to be that group. The whole perception of the Legion as, well, monolithic and closed to certain arguments and deaf to change is counterproductive and needs to be erased. Further, talking about change that affects those being changed is a good thing to do. I still don't believe that educators should yield the direction of education to the educated, but if the educated can add to the discourse productively, they should be encouraged to do so. Even at last night's meeting, there were more than just Legionnaire voices, and that was good. The Legion isn't out to stifle debate, it's out to keep debate alive. Presumably, so are the debaters. So, discussion would be good. Walling off the combatants would be bad. Simple as that.

And we had a lovely Italian dinner, the highlight of which was determining how poorly we could convoy ourselves over there in 4 cars. In the rankings, I was dead last. In other words, I can't find buildings, I can't flow rounds, I can't even drive anymore.

It's almost time to turn in the old Dr. Grips.