Fear and Loathing at DailyKos (or "Rabble South")

[jbg]

DailyKos is fast showing that it is indeed very illiberal when it comes to a great American freedom, freedom of speech.

I posted a diary substantially identical to this thread (link) (link to DailyKos version) on the installation of Muslim footbaths at University of Michigan, and a few other diaries, including my Primer on Muslim Anger Towards West (link). I was banned after both of them were posted. Oops, I forgot this one on Al Gore's daughter and endangered fish (link). In the latter, here are some of the comments:

1. ... one of them praising the traitor Thomas "Amnesty, Abortion and Acid" Eagleton. Yeah, JBG is pure troll;
   
2. It's just a weak hit piece, by Organic America; and even though it was shown (further down the threads) to be factually wrong - the concept of trashing Gore and Suzuki - if they do from time to time not manage to get every element of their life in perfect environmental order - is a shallow and juvenile attack;
   
3. Well now we know who JBG is... by - "Everybody doesn't like something But nobody doesn't like Sarah Lee." JBG clearly doesn't like Sarah Lee.... ergo....
   

It seems they are too thin-skinned over there for real debate. Or maybe my IQ is so low and they're operating so many levels above me that they don't need to.

[jbg]

I left the best part off the original post.

Their comment about me on a thread called "The Invasion" (link) is telling:

Quoting me,

"Cultural diversity (0+ / 2-)Cultural diversity implies playing a role in society that the majority can tolerate, not setting yourself apart. by JBG ",

The comment then is:

You see boy? You do like we tell you. You be happy we Christianists allow you to have your little Kwanzaa.

I mean it’s obvious these are not forays into understanding us better. These are angry desperate wingnuts bored of their tiny and quite pathetic echo chambers wandering over here to get their asses handed back to them in a real fight.

I think that this is ultimately a great thing that is happening. Their tiny powerless corners of the blogosphere are being crushed by liberals.

Unhappy and bored, a gut full of anger, al this tends to make one quite peripatetic. So they come over here and try not to engage us, but to convince us that their disastrous ideas are actually working.

Edited August 5, 2007 by jbg

[ScottSA]

Daily Kos is fast becoming the laughingstock of the net. After the moderator at yearly kos chased a soldier away, even the moonbats and nutroots are uncomfortable with it.

[jbg]

Daily Kos is fast becoming the laughingstock of the net. After the moderator at yearly kos chased a soldier away, even the moonbats and nutroots are uncomfortable with it.

As a left-winger, that site should be my standard bearer.

[jdobbin]

As a left-winger, that site should be my standard bearer.

You're just too much on the left for them.

[jbg]

You're just too much on the left for them.

Yes. They want Democrats, not Wobblies (members of International Workers of the World).

[jdobbin]

Yes. They want Democrats, not Wobblies (members of International Workers of the World).

It is why I don't fit in with the Republicans. They chase me away because I'm a fiscal conservative.

[Sulaco]

It is why I don't fit in with the Republicans. They chase me away because I'm a fiscal conservative.

Persecution complex. A neo-con conspiracy - right?

Edited August 7, 2007 by Sulaco

[Black Dog]

Clearly jbg is unfamiliar with the terms of use of the places he signs up to rant at:

Daily Kos is owned by kos. The servers are his. He pays the bandwidth charges. He makes the rules; we are here as his guests. If he decides tomorrow that anyone not posting in iambic pentameter will be banned, your options are either to brush up on your poetry skills or find/start another forum

Personally, I suspect folks like jbg sign up just to get banned so that they have something to whine about.

[jbg]

Clearly jbg is unfamiliar with the terms of use of the places he signs up to rant at:

Personally, I suspect folks like jbg sign up (at dailykos) just to get banned so that they have something to whine about.

If you read my posts there, they are very moderate.

Simply not true.

[Black Dog]

If you read my posts there, they are very moderate.

Simply not true

Interestingly enough, your rehashes posts are still up and available for anyone to read. The Thought Police of Teh Left sure are a sloppy bunch, stifling your freedom while maintaining your content.

In any case, the point holds: sites like kos or MLW or rabble have the right to ban people and delete content as they see fit. If you don't like it, I'm sure there are many places where no such restrictions apply (granted, "real debate" at such places tends to resemble a shit fight in the monkey house, but hey: you want freedom, doncha?).

[jbg]

In any case, the point holds: sites like kos or MLW or rabble have the right to ban people and delete content as they see fit. If you don't like it, I'm sure there are many places where no such restrictions apply (granted, "real debate" at such places tends to resemble a shit fight in the monkey house, but hey: you want freedom, doncha?).

Of course they do. But what's more stimulating, a site where there's discussion and debate about ideas or a site where people grunt, in effect, "hey, hey, hey hey hey"?

[B. Max]

Of course they do. But what's more stimulating, a site where there's discussion and debate about ideas or a site where people grunt, in effect, "hey, hey, hey hey hey"?

I was banned at rabble the first time I was there. They don't like the truth over there. If you won't put on the tinfoil hat and drink the kool-aid you're gone.

[M.Dancer]

I was banned at rabble the first time I was there. They don't like the truth over there. If you won't put on the tinfoil hat and drink the kool-aid you're gone.

I banned myself from rabble within 20 minutes.....I was invited, joined, read the posts (it had only been up for a month or so at the time) saw the kind of site it would be and left. For about a year afterwards I would get emails from Judy Rebbick trying to panhandle money from me........

[jbg]

I banned myself from rabble within 20 minutes.....I was invited, joined, read the posts (it had only been up for a month or so at the time) saw the kind of site it would be and left. For about a year afterwards I would get emails from Judy Rebbick trying to panhandle money from me........

On each of the upwards of 12 names I've been banned on, they still shake the tin cup at me for money (on the e-mail address I gave them).

[B. Max]

On each of the upwards of 12 names I've been banned on, they still shake the tin cup at me for money (on the e-mail address I gave them).

That's got be like having twelve purple hearts.

[Black Dog]

Of course they do. But what's more stimulating, a site where there's discussion and debate about ideas or a site where people grunt, in effect, "hey, hey, hey hey hey"?

First, I think it's prety presumptuous of you to assume that you bring anything they want to the table. Arrogant, even. Maybe consider toning down the messiah complex. Secondly, I used to frequent rabble quite frequently and it was never to monolithic agree-a-thon you make it out to be.

I was banned at rabble the first time I was there. They don't like the truth over there. If you won't put on the tinfoil hat and drink the kool-aid you're gone.

I'm not surprised you were banned: they tend to be pretty ruthless with trolls.

Edited August 15, 2007 by Black Dog

[southerncomfort]

I disagree about rabble, they will not tolerate any opposing opinions. I wouldn't go near dailykos right nasty, its the comments you have to read on there.

[Black Dog]

I disagree about rabble, they will not tolerate any opposing opinions. I wouldn't go near dailykos right nasty, its the comments you have to read on there.

Having been booted from the excerable "Free" D*minion on two occassions for having the temerity to disagree with the conventional wisdom of the board (banned outright once and "voluntarily" left a second time after the site's proprietor issued a thinly-veiled threat to contact my then-employer about my posting there), and having seen similar cases at site like L*ttle Gr**n F**tballs, I can't say the tendency to stifle other opinions is exclusivly a trait of "Teh Left".

Edited August 15, 2007 by Black Dog

[jbg]

First, I think it's prety presumptuous of you to assume that you bring anything they want to the table. Arrogant, even. Maybe consider toning down the messiah complex. Secondly, I used to frequent rabble quite frequently and it was never to monolithic agree-a-thon you make it out to be.

I bring "nothing to the table" in debates? You may not agree with me on much but I always argue on the merits.

I'm not surprised you were banned: they tend to be pretty ruthless with trolls.

A troll being someone who disagrees with them?

[Black Dog]

bring "nothing to the table" in debates? You may not agree with me on much but I always argue on the merits.

I'm not talking about the content of your oposts. I'm talking of your paternalistic attitude towards other boards and rather arrogant self-assessment of your own contributions. A litle humility might go a long way.

A troll being someone who disagrees with them?

Don't be daft.

Troll: In the context of internet culture, an internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who intentionally posts messages about sensitive topics constructed to cause controversy in an online community such as an online discussion forum or USENET groups in order to bait users into responding.

Given rabble's stated purpose as a board for left-wingers, and given B.Max's political orientation (to say nothing of its delivery), the troll moniker is apt. Put another way: it's probably pretty easy to enjoy a long career as a right-winger even on a progressive board, but that tenure would probably not entail calling posters "moonbats,' "tin-foil hats" or making references to "Bush Derangment Syndrome" or any other such bullshit, which, come to think of it, is pretty much the extent of our friend here's rhetorical arsenal.

[jefferiah]

Rabble-"Babble" is aptly named. Nowhere else have I seen so much babble in my life.. But I must admit they do an exceedingly fine job of living up to the leftist standard. For, over at Rabble, they are all collectively sharing a brain cell.

(Too bad not one of them has a spine they could all share as well.)

Edited August 18, 2007 by jefferiah

[B. Max]

Given rabble's stated purpose as a board for left-wingers, and given B.Max's political orientation (to say nothing of its delivery), the troll moniker is apt. Put another way: it's probably pretty easy to enjoy a long career as a right-winger even on a progressive board, but that tenure would probably not entail calling posters "moonbats,' "tin-foil hats" or making references to "Bush Derangment Syndrome" or any other such bullshit, which, come to think of it, is pretty much the extent of our friend here's rhetorical arsenal.

So BD it looks like you've been over to rabble for some refreshments while I've been away.

[Black Dog]

So BD it looks like you've been over to rabble for some refreshments while I've been away.

Aw cute: it's following me. Sadly, I don't think I'll keep it.

[jbg]

Rabble-"Babble" is aptly named. Nowhere else have I seen so much babble in my life.. But I must admit they do an exceedingly fine job of living up to the leftist standard. For, over at Rabble, they are all collectively sharing a brain cell.

(Too bad not one of them has a spine they could all share as well.)

That's not fair.

Rabble is a very cerebral board. For example, a poster named "Banff Tourist", apparently hailing from Kapuskasing, posted a link from a New York Sun article about Christmas at the White House. Excerpts from article are below.

Publication:The New York Sun; Date Dec 23, 2005; Section:Editorial & Opinion; Page:9

Incongruous Scene

Herbert London on the joys of Chanukah at the White House

Herbert London

U.S. troops stationed in Saudi Arabia to protect the Royal Family from terrorism are obliged to sail into the Red Sea in order to celebrate Christmas. This practice is designed to avoid any offense to their Muslim hosts.

So sensitive are Americans to the religious tradition of Muslims that crosses are covered up and any outward signs of Christian observance avoided.

****

I could not conceive of a more incongruous scene. Here in what is ostensibly a Christian country, in a White House led by a born-again Christian, one can find chasidim praying in the Dolley Madison room.

All I could say to my wife was “only in America.” I stood there frozen in astonishment. After all, Jews mostly lean Democratic. More significantly, my mind kept returning to the intolerance Jews and Christians face in the Muslim world. How would the Muslim Brotherhood respond to this White House scene? In fact, who cares?

My heart swelled; I was simply filled with pride. Despite all the criticism from the naysayers, despite all the braying from the left- detractors, America is a magical place. You don’t have to hide your religious beliefs; you can even display them in the White House.

*snip*

Perhaps it was hyperbole when Nathan Hale said: “I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” Hyperbole or not, that is the sentiment that should inspire us for 2006. It is the spirit we need to sustain us. For doubters,I refer them to the scene I described in the Dolley Madison room. Only in America could it be found.

Mr. London is president of the Hudson Institute. He is also the author of the book “Decade of Denial” (Lexington Books).

I felt that Banff Tourist's post of this, and accompanying text, was rather well done (link to thread).

Here are a sampling of some of the very cerebral reactions (all within minutes):

beluga2

rabble-rouser

Babbler # 3838

posted 25 December 2005 12:01 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, I'm confused: is the emphasis on non-Christian holidays an illustration of America's magnificent tolerance and openness, or a sign that evil commie ACLU Jesus-haters are sadistically smothering America's true Christian faith?

I wish these guys would keep their propaganda consistent.

[ 25 December 2005: Message edited by: beluga2 ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: urban forests | Registered: Sep 2004 | IP: Logged

Makwa

rabble-rouser

Babbler # 10724

posted 25 December 2005 12:27 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Banff Tourist:

A short story of U.S. patriotism and the reasons for it. The US is an extraordinary country, truly. And that is not to denigrate our beloved Canada.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was the most mawkish, sentimental tripe I've forced my eyes to water over in a long time. Last I heard, even the US was not a theocratic state. We needent fall down weeping with gratitude to find that we are generally allowed to pray in public. However, there is prayer, and then there is prayer. I have been beaten for public prayer. Mind you, Cree prayers tend to be loud, and I was in a mood to argue with some security personnell. I also think a Rastafarian Binghi would not go over quite as happily. So, B Tourist (love your hot springs) why the cheap propoganda?

[ 25 December 2005: Message edited by: Makwa ]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: somewhere beyond puerile | Registered: Oct 2005 | IP: Logged

Sandy47

rabble-rouser

Babbler # 10648

posted 26 December 2005 10:55 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Continuing the theme of denial, Alexander Cockburn has made some hitlerian comparisons to the WH bunker boy...

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Start with Bush. Never at ease before the cameras, he now has the glassy stare and mirthless smile of a cornered man with nowhere left to run. Nixon looked the same in his last White House days, and so did Hitler, according to those present in the Fuehrerbunker. As Hitler did before him, Bush raves on about imagined victories. Spare a thought for the First Lady who has to endure his demented and possibly drunken harangues over supper. The word around Washington is that he's drinking again. At this rate he'll be shooting the dog and ordering the First Lady to take poison, which I'm sure she'll have great pleasure in forwarding to her mother in law.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn12242005.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Southwest of Niagara - 43.0° N 81.2° W | Registered: Oct 2005 | IP: Logged

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Michelle

Moderator

Babbler # 560

posted 07 January 2006 09:43 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Stargazer:

Banff what's your story? Did you come to show the deep hypocrisy of the US government or to toot it's horn? If the former, welcome aboard, if the latter, your time here will be a short stay, and I imagine by your rude comment re: can't you read, a short stay it will be.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually, he's Algonquin Park Visitor, who has been banned in several incarnations before, which is why his stay is being cut short.

Edited August 18, 2007 by jbg