In my attempt to improve the situation, I'm trying to be more of a moderator than a debator. Nit-picking small points that are out of line, rather than formulating my own argument (which of course itself would be overlooked for any small mistakes I might have made).

I think part of the problem is:
1.) The Mod Squad is disjointed. Some crack down on flame wars and repetiton, others perpetuate them. This makes "the line" blurred.

2.) New people follow the examples of old people. The old people who SUCK have done nothing but teach a new generation to suck, and suck better, harder, faster, and stronger, as is the way of things. In my own experience, asshole theists who go "lalalllalala" everytime someone questions their religion have created Shaggy, and asshole atheists who go "lalalalalal" every time a theist makes a post about why they believe have created Poxpower.

3.) There aren't enough smart people left to band together and make a friggin impact. Trolls rule the board, and the best any of us can do is back the troll who matches our view. "Yeah, they're trolls, but they share our views, so we're gonna ignore their crap debate skils and pretend like the opposition just don't get it".

Heathenry has me exhausted. I can't keep up, and I've not really the patience to find something new, or rekindle that type of debate.

IRL I'm chewing assholes out almost daily. Some listen because they see the wisdom behind it, others think I'm a big jerk. I don't really care either way, as I'm more bemused in my own ability to stomp morons than teach lessons.

I don't dislike the boards. I believe there are some ignorant people around, but it is natural for them to be, since NG does not nit-pick intelligent individuals; as there are ignorants in everyday life, there'll be ignorants here.
I believe your distress comes from the specific sub-world of the politics forum you generally look at, the religion threads. In such topics, there are lots of strong opinions based on emotions well rooted in the individual, tracing back to one's childhood, that are very difficult, if not impossible, to manage and change. Therefore, one needs a mental preparation to face such subject, a certain scientific way of life, that college provides.
Economics, on the other hand, is a science easy to make analogies with, more close to one's life, and more beginner-friendly. I am quite happy with the level of the discussions being held in this forum (especially since the departure of you-know-who), and with the progress and interest some, eh "rookies", such as myself, have had in their debate skills, and scientific knowledge and understanding of the world. The emotion aspect related with religion also applies, but it is focused in the equity-efficiency aspect, and therefore, can be neutralized easily. Altough I must admit it is a recurrent, and usually futile to argue, topic.
I do not dislike ignorants, since I am one myself in many aspects of the science, but there are some arrogant ones that annoy me. Yet, it is not diffucult to put them in their place; the somewhat intelligent ones are much worse, since they have a somewhat valid point, and they will bloat about it, and ignore the major flaws in their argument (if there is one), or in their disrespectful attitudes to others, which is quite difficult to correct.

Onto holidays, they suck. They have only made me realize the major disfunctionalities of my family; my brother's psychological disorders have now increased exponentially with his puberty, and I am very afraid of what he may do, but mostly worried that I find no way to fix him and his attitudes.
But hey, the wise men brought me $100! w00t

The holidays are over. I have class in 3 and a half hours.
My body hurts due to a concert.

Now I'm in pain because of my new braces, and my 0.5 blood donation.
But I had pizza today for lunch, and a rabbit for dinner.

You have not missed much. There's an official obama thread , and probably one official Economy thread as well.