The R.Mackey $100 Bet

[R.Mackey]

Many of you have seen newcomer, CT-adherent TruthSeeker1234's thread, linked here, wherein he promises to pay $1000 to "anyone" who will debate him, defending the scientific theory of WTC 1, 2, and 7 collapse. Several people have accepted the challenge. The terms originally were quite clear, however his behavior since then leads me to believe that he is a mere troll, and will never honor his promise.

While I will not debate him for my own reasons which should be abundantly clear, I will put my money where my mouth is. Thus, I offer the following bet:

I bet that TruthSeeker1234 will never pay out the $1000, or even the initial $100, under any debate agreement.

The terms of the bet are as follows:

1. Only one bet will be made. First person to accept in this thread engages the bet. I will confirm engagement in this thread. Do not accept if you do not agree to these terms, as there will be no review once engaged.

2. The eventual loser of the bet will donate $100 to the James Randi Educational Foundation. No other monies will change hands.

3. I lose the bet if any forum member (not including TruthSeeker1234 himself, of course) accepts his challenge, engages the debate, and receives the promised $100 "down payment." The existence of the debate thread listed above and confirmation by post or PM from the forum member in question are sufficient evidence for me to pay up.

4. The person accepting my bet loses the bet if TruthSeeker1234 retracts his offer, informs us of his desire to no longer post here, is banned prior to the events in term 3. above taking place, or does not visit the forums for fifteen (15) days without first indicating that he will do so (e.g. a vacation).

5. Should either condition take place, it will be announced in this thread, along with supporting evidence conforming to the conditions above.

6. If further investigation is needed to confirm the bet is indeed concluded, it will be challenged and resolved in this thread, within five (5) days of the announcement. Any still unresolved issues will be dropped, and the original announcement considered as true, if the investigation is inconclusive.

7. If no investigation is needed, or upon completion of the investigation period, the loser will transfer $100 to the James Randi Educational Foundation within ten (10) business days of the bet's conclusion.

8. The loser of the bet will confirm payment through PM to the winner of the bet along with a post in this thread, containing sufficient receipt details to verify the transaction.

9. The winner of the bet may seek further verification from JREF at his or her discretion.


So... any takers? If not, I fully understand.

 

[Pardalis]

Guys, talking about money is completely inapropriate.

The only money that should be given is to organisations helping the families of the 9/11 tragedy.

 

[R.Mackey]

Guys, talking about money is completely inapropriate.

The only money that should be given is to organisations helping the families of the 9/11 tragedy.

Not the reponse I anticipated...

I consider the educational mission of the JREF as well as the content here, as an educational resource in opposition to 9/11 Deniers, sufficiently appropriate. If you feel otherwise, I encourage you to support those organizations.

It is precisely such mockery, being perpetuated by TruthSeeker1234, that I am endeavoring to counteract. But I understand this is a tricky subject. My apologies if this falls below the threshold of good taste for any readers here.

 

[Abbyas]

No way I'm taking that bet.

 

[Lisa Simpson]

I personally, do not believe this is in bad taste. However, I'm not going to take the bet either.

 

[Pardalis]

I understand your point, R. Mackey. I always think the very best of your contributions.

Sometimes, the best way to counteract pathetic little bullies like Truthseeker is just to ignore them.

 

[Horatius]

You know what? I'll take that bet.

I figure, either way, JREF gets a few bucks. If I win, we at least get to see what he can do once he stops whining, and if I lose, we can at least say we're willing to put our money on the line.

So, here it is. Will TS1234 comment? Can he step up and take it like a Skeptic?

 

[R.Mackey]

You know what? I'll take that bet.

I figure, either way, JREF gets a few bucks. If I win, we at least get to see what he can do once he stops whining, and if I lose, we can at least say we're willing to put our money on the line.

That's the spirit! Sir, you have a bet.

Hmm, I failed to specify US Currency... oh well, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it.

TruthSeeker1234, we're now awaiting the deal.

 

[Horatius]

That's the spirit! Sir, you have a bet.

Hmm, I failed to specify US Currency... oh well, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it.

TruthSeeker1234, we're now awaiting the deal.

Well, the Canadian Dollar has been going up lately.....

If this goes on long enough, I could just make the donation when I get to TAM V. TS1234 probably could drag this out that long....

 

[Horatius]

So, should we post a link to this over in his $1000 thread, just to make sure he sees it?

 

[R.Mackey]

I've caught him visiting this thread, and also mentioned it in his "Seismic Evidence" thread. That should be warning enough. I think we should probably restrain this discussion to this thread.

 

[Horatius]

Good enough.

 

[Horatius]

So, I was thinking about this point:

4. The person accepting my bet loses the bet if TruthSeeker1234 retracts his offer, informs us of his desire to no longer post here, is banned prior to the events in term 3. above taking place, or does not visit the forums for fifteen (15) days without first indicating that he will do so (e.g. a vacation).

You didn't consider the case of if he just drops it like every other topic he starts, with no formal announcement, but continues to post. Do we just wait until he gets banned, even if that takes years? I'd be willing to do that, but we might end up forgetting about it by then

Perhaps we should set a cut-off date, at which time we can each pay $50, and produce a joint condemnation of TS1234?

 

[Oliver]

So, I was thinking about this point:

You didn't consider the case of if he just drops it like every other topic he starts, with no formal announcement, but continues to post. Do we just wait until he gets banned, even if that takes years?

democratic poll

 

[Foolmewunz]

democratic poll

Yeah, sure! Have you seen Mackey's avatar?

Let's see, I'm going to vote, in public, to give away a hundred bucks belonging to a guy in a sombrero carrying a fully loaded weapon? Yeah, uh huh, and then I think I'll go to Jakarta wearing a T-shirt with "I Support Danish Cartoonists and The Pope" emblazoned on the front (the rear would just have a bullseye to make it easier).

 

[R.Mackey]

You didn't consider the case of if he just drops it like every other topic he starts, with no formal announcement, but continues to post. Do we just wait until he gets banned, even if that takes years? I'd be willing to do that, but we might end up forgetting about it by then

Perhaps we should set a cut-off date, at which time we can each pay $50, and produce a joint condemnation of TS1234?

Yeah, I didn't consider that in detail. That would mean that he stays around, stays active, yet refuses to even talk about the "challenge" he's issued.

I'm hoping, in that case, we can all badger him badly enough that he either goes through with his challenge, or recants. Or runs for the hills like all of his Loose brethren.

I don't know, I guess we'll have to see. It's still early yet.

 

[Foolmewunz]

Or runs for the hills like all of his Loose brethren.

I don't know, I guess we'll have to see. It's still early yet.

Speaking of the brethren.... Has Killtown now become the LC media darling and doesn't come back to play for that reason? I don't think we can say we handed him his hat - the guy's so dense and just plain mean that he'd never see that he was getting whupped! I know someone mentioned that he'd shown up on Dylan's show (or someone else's) and was being lauded for his incredible work (their words, not mine).

Which brings us to the question I asked TS. Are they just here for scalps so they can go back to their closed-circuit caves and pat each other on the back? Or do we sincerely believe we're having an effect on them? I still maintain that I'm fighting for the impressionable lurkers, 'cuz I don't think we'll ever get TS or KT (and certainly not Chris) to admit to having been trumped with facts and logic. They don't know what facts and logic are!

 

[R.Mackey]

Which brings us to the question I asked TS. Are they just here for scalps so they can go back to their closed-circuit caves and pat each other on the back? Or do we sincerely believe we're having an effect on them? I still maintain that I'm fighting for the impressionable lurkers, 'cuz I don't think we'll ever get TS or KT (and certainly not Chris) to admit to having been trumped with facts and logic. They don't know what facts and logic are!

No, they'll never admit it, but that's OK.

In Killtown's case, I think we roasted him to the point that any further posts he makes here are counter-productive. And I think even he realized that after... oh, what was it, about 60+ pages of getting nuked...

TruthSeeker1234 hasn't made any gaffes quite of Killtown's magnitude yet, though he was good enough to bring one of his sources to play (the redoubtable Craig Furlong), who promptly got hammered and quickly disengaged.

I'm looking at the long game. We will never have a capitulation from these sparring matches, but it gives us ample opportunity to understand the competition. In every case, their posting here has not helped their position, and eroded it a little. And at this point I am supremely confident that if any of this ever goes to court (McClatchey vs. Killtown comes to mind), the Loosers are going to get annihiliated.

That's good enough for me.

 

[Horatius]

Yeah, I didn't consider that in detail. That would mean that he stays around, stays active, yet refuses to even talk about the "challenge" he's issued.

I'm hoping, in that case, we can all badger him badly enough that he either goes through with his challenge, or recants. Or runs for the hills like all of his Loose brethren.

I don't know, I guess we'll have to see. It's still early yet.

Okay, we'll play it as it's dealt.

 

[Horatius]

So, he seems to be completely changing the tems of the debate now. Let's hope he doesn't get away with it.