I was checking out the online responses to the Thursday morning story about gasoline prices and ran across one writer who started by calling Sen. Bill Wielechowski a moron. Nothing like intelligent commentary to kick-start your morning.
The writer served no good purpose in name-calling. It wasn't done with cleverness or style or wit. The writer had an argument too, but he hurt his case with his opening line.
So here's a request for 2010. Let's raise the level of online discourse. Make it vigorous, challenging, provocative, elegant, warm, lovely and engaging. Lose the name-calling.
And let's not scramble our words. One writer described our "exuberant" gas prices. I reckon the writer meant "exorbitant," but then this mistake may have made a point -- are the refiners a little too glad for the margins they charge? Couldn't they show a little remorse?
I laughed at "exuberant," but in recognition, not derision. Years ago, before e-mail, I once wrote a blurb asking readers to write to the old Sports Mailbag, and urged them to send letters either typed or legibliklty printed. No wonder so few wrote.
I also wrote a six-column Page One lead headline that read, "State OKs hunting for non-residents." I didn't see anything wrong with it until the next morning, when the boss said a caller wanted to know what the bag limit was.
So here's a New Year's wish for all of us -- spirited debate that never touches ugly, with all the right words and none of the typpos.
-- Frank Gerjevic