My vision of C99P
Unlike a certain web site, which claims that a militaristic neoliberal is a "progressive", C99P actually is reality based.
In that spirit, I'm going to state the obvious: Bernie's chances have gotten pretty slim.
As far as I'm concerned, a candidate's chances have absolutely nothing to do with the decision of whether you should vote for him/her or not. Personally, I almost always vote for someone who is obviously going to lose.
But don't try to sell me with the "rah, rah" stuff. Let's keep it real.
If you came to C99P just for the Bernie campaign I would just like to say, "Thanks for visiting. I hope you are enjoying your temporary stay."
The same is true if you came only because you were mad at Markos.
This essay is for everyone else.
While it's cool to check out a new site, I'm trying to make C99P my new blog home.
That's why all the 2-sentence essays are starting to get annoying. I consider them the blog equivalent of "tagging".
If you are seriously fed up with GOS, and you want C99P to be your new blog home, then put some effort into your essays.
I've seen the list of user names. Pretty much everyone here is capable of making wonderful essays, and has a history of doing so.
So just do it! This place can be special with a little bit of work.
My idea of C99P is a place for sharing cutting-edge leftist thought, with no allegiance to a political party.
I cherish values and ideologies, not team uniforms.
If you feel differently then let me know, because then I'm under the wrong impression about C99P.
It's obvious that most Democrats simply aren't ready to revolt against the establishment like Republicans are doing.
But that will change in the next four years, because we are about to elect one of the most unpopular presidents in American history, and it will only keep getting worse. (for reasons of both recession and imperial overstretch)
GOS is going to look more and more out-of-touch and hysterical as the years go by, and Hillary becomes hated by almost everyone.
So this place needs to be more than just an "I hate GOS" blog.
It needs to have its own identity.
This site IMHO needs to expand the Overton Window, and challenge assumptions.
Assumptions like, we have to be at war with bad guys everywhere.
Assumptions like, we have to accept whatever our ruling elites will allow us because its "pragmatic".
Anyway, give me some feedback. I'm curious what everyone else thinks.
Comments
everyone
has their own vision. Mine, today, is "Q: Why is a mouse when it spins? A: The higher, the fewer."
Poe wrote on both
I believe that is the best possible answer. There might be others but that one fits the question the best.
Isn't that "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
Which, IIRC, was a riddle posed by Lewis Carroll in one of the Alice books.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
I think it can work for any question
but yes, that was the first time it fit.
Mine is what mouse where?
The higher the fewer I agree with 99%, a good answer. A spinning mouse is going to require some research. Do you have a linkie? Prove it. My vision for today is now the visual of a spinning mouse. He's cute but kind of blurry, if I can focus will he be scary with nasty rodent teeth?
he's blurry
because he's spinning; the faster you go, the rounder you get. He's a cute mouse, like you say, with no nasty rodent teeth. Here is a link to a spinning mouse, of the Mickey variety.
Here's another one: "Q. What's the difference between a duck? A. One leg's both the same."
Oh Mickey your so fine
but you never filled my mind. Plus your creator was a right dick. The oldest Mickeys look more like a rodent. Mini kind of freaked me out as a kid. When I grew up bought a pair of bright yellow Mini mouse shoes and wore them to corporate meetings to pitch my latest design.
Fredrick Brown wrote a short story about Mitkey in outer space. He was sent to an asteroid and they gave him a super mouse brain and sent him home. No spoiler so no ending
As for the duck, how can it walk like one on one leg? Two legs better in this case.
the guy
who actually designed Mickey I don't think was a dick, and he also had one of the coolest names ever, like somebody the Kirks would encounter on a way-out planet: Ubbe Eert Iwerks, or Ub Iwerks for short.
I love that you wore the Minnie shoes into the meetings with the corporados.
The duck has two legs. It's just that one leg's both the same. ; )
Two of the three art schools
I attended in LA over a long span we're Disney schools in one way or another. As a former 'wrist' I have nothing but awe and respect for animators and cartoonists. I love the art work and creations of early Disney movies. I used to go to a life drawing class in the Valley on Saturdays that was chock full of animators and young artists who plied their skill creating the movement they we're called go-betweeners. This was in the day when not just the Japanese did old school animation that was actually drawn by human hands. I don't know the name of the guy who actually created Mickey or the early Disney films and cartoons, but they were all wonderful artists.
is this the Babe Ruth of such insightful brilliance?
Two elephants were sitting in a bathtub. One said to the other "Pass the soap". The other said "No soap, radio".
That's so well known I paused and debated finishing it. I knew "Pass the soap" should be enough. I thought maybe the two elephants in the tub would do the trick.
So if this is something you already have heard (probably 99% of you, thus the site's name) consider that I stopped after the word "bathtub".
the bathtub variation
I've heard involves ducks. It goes: "So two ducks are sitting in a bathtub. The first duck asks, 'would you pass the soap?' and the other duck says, 'what do I look like, a typewriter?'"
also, "the bathtub variations"
is a little-known Bach piece for kazoo and harpsichord.
yes, the Rube Goldberg variations
well known around here
see below
Bach practicing the Rube Goldberg Variations.
Doing the best I can to not concentrate on the election
I figure that we have a LOT of people like that. I think I personally do better when I discuss underlying ideas and policies, so that's what I'm going to stick with.
I appreciate all the feedback I'm getting, as always, because even the disagreements help me hone my ideas.
So, I'm not even referring to that other website any more. Just gonna call it TOP (That Other Place) whenever discussion calls for it, but I certainly won't be doing a lot of essays on meta over there. (Did 3 right at the start. Think that's about enough)
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Agreed
I want reality based discussions and enjoy facts. We need to keep fighting and understand the reasons why. I do not want to be dead-enders. To me this community is thinking about and fighting for our future!
What do mean dead ender's?
I thought dead ender's we're people who defended pols R and D long after they were revealed to be the dead end of democratic or even universal lawful human governance. Obama defending comes to mind and the authoritarian HRC true believers. Fighting for what and who? Reality is not really a political partisan concept their is nothing real about politics these days. It's a kabuki show. Although as kos once said back when he was into crashing the gates to get him some power, reality does have a liberal bias. Fighting for the future is my vision of this site also but I think that if your talking about pragmatic political partisanship it is a dead end. Perhaps taking it back via the Democratic party was possible but we the people got bamboozled, bait and switched and now it's in lock down with we the people locked out.
though I can't write much content to contribute
some cutting edge leftist thoughts, I am with you. I really like the reading (and learning) part as a lurker. I like the content and the links, the essays and the discussion of the essay's content and links. I like the EB for that reason.
I'm sure this probably dumb, but
what is the EB?
'Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd "
EB stands
for Evening Blues. It is published each evening by joe, Monday through Friday.
Of Course!
How dim could I be?
Thank you, hecate
'Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd "
Mimi, I think if you write about your thoughts, feelings and
reactions to politics, based on what you encounter f them day-by-day, you'll bee contributing PLENTY!
I know I've benefited from reading the comments you've written here already.
I think there are diary-writers, comment-writers, and people who do both. And I think that all of us here have seen (elsewhere) that comment-only people contribute A LOT to the discussion and the community.
So I hope you will feel good about what you contribute, whether you participate a little of a lot.
Best CW
Excellent essay, gjohnsit!
I think you know where I stand on this too. Content and well reasoned essays that promote cutting edge ideas from the left viewpoint is exactly what I want to see too. The version most people see today is over a year old and we had two earlier iterations on different technical platforms prior to that. We never were founded or intended to be the anti-kos. Every one of us early members felt very strongly about that. Instead, the basic principle behind this site has been about issues and policy.
I truly appreciate your contributions and the depth to which you research your material. You are one of the people here that I silently mentor to help improve my own essays. It has been a wild week and a half. And I think we are starting to sort ourselves out and this site appears to be heading in the direction that you have so ably stated.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Spot on g...
the movement Bernie has coalesced needs to go forward, with or without him. IMHO the movement and the message is more important than the man. That's what c99p should be focusing on.
Time for c99p to grow it's own voice. Onward to the issues.
Agreed, mate, it's about the progressive movement. Bernie,
the primaries, and the general election are central issues over the immediate and short term until 8 Nov. And democracy is on ongoing concern. But we need to also build resources here for some of the higher priorities of the progressive movement on our continent.
For myself, I am interested in nonviolent resistance to domination. I am particularly occupied by the historical lessons, philosophy, and spirituality of NVR. If you folks want, I will contribute essays on such topics.
I'm also interested in protest music and will contribute essays with Jayrae on Saturdays.
I'm interested in mental health issues, particularly PTSD and the psychology of the oppressed. I could contribute on such topics over time
I think we would benefit from clarifying the mission of c99. (Heavens spare us from mission analysis, but a simple slogan would help. ("Making more and better Democrats" worked well for GOS.) Ours could be something simple, like "Help the progressive movement" or whatever.
I also think we would benefit from a shortlist of highest priorities in helping the progressive movement. Examples could be:
climate change activism,
promoting democratic socialism,
promoting local activism and activist organizations, such as BLM, etc.,
promoting nonviolent resistance,
promoting youth and female political engagement,
creating avenues of communication with other progressive blogs and whatnot,
etc.
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
These are some great ideas! eom
The smaller the mind the greater the conceit. --Aesop
Spellcheck
It's 'essaies'--correct spelling of essay in plural form.
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Actually...
in US American English, the correct spelling is "essays" for plural. See Spelling: Plural Forms of Nouns
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Isn't that French?
Am I missing something. I am not feeling too sharp today.
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
I would love to see your ideas
and discuss them.
Sounds like a great way to spend my time.
Thank you for offering
'Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd "
I would like to add...
one more. Teaching.
As has become obvious to the most casual observer (it was already obvious to some), many people in the US America are not familiar with what real progressivism is. The fact that the term has been co-opted by moderates and that people think they are being progressive by voting for one proves that.
Between politicians and the mass media and the very non-progressive agenda of corporations, education of the masses has been gutted in order to develop a more pliant electorate. We are seeing the results of that now.
How do we change that? We teach. In doing so, we can also effect the current reliance on the narrowly focused and undermining media.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
I support this site as being
I support this site as being truly progressive.
Perhaps 2 line diaries could be shifted to the Open Threads?
One thing that I would like to be a little different than DK is the ability to talk about issues deemed Conspiracy Theory. As a former political blog owner, I understand the concern about not being taken seriously if the content gets too far from the mainstream. However I think that we have missed out on reasoned discussions about events and issues that would have helped uncover real conspiracies sooner.
Case in point is the finance stuff that Catherine Austin Fitts talks about. The stuff that she reveals could easily be written off as CT except that she has the brains and credentials to be taken seriously about what is going on. And she is able to explain so that the average non-finance person like me can understand.
Also 9/11. I found a video on youtube that recorded a scientific conference that was held in Toronto, I think in May 2015. Various experts, engineers, chemists, physicists, materials specialists, and so on presented their thoughts and investigations on the particular piece of the puzzle that interested them. Personally, I think a discussion of this type of information is worthwhile and warranted for progressive people. Not sure how the management here feels about it though.
I believe you have 911 folks here.
As far as I know, there is no ban against 911, voting machines, or anything else. Who is to say what a CT is or isn't? Have we hand any diaries on any of these subjects? Not that I remember. I do recall comments here and there in support of these theories.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I would like to propose one rule
No really, really, stupid CT.
I personally like CT. But if your CT involves Elvis shooting JFK, or how Bigfoot is really a space alien, then I have to draw a line.
RIDICULOUSLY Stupid CT is fun.
Garden variety really stupid CT is just dull.
Networks collaborate with Major Political parties to rig system and debates: Believable CT
Networks collaborate to push an anti-white/anti-male agenda: Stupid CT
Networks collaborate with Space Aliens to turn us into docile slaves for the coming invasion: Ridiculously Stupid CT, and fun.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Oh, I don't know...
if that last is so far fetched. I would not put anything past the media at this point. = )
Meanwhile, in case we lose joy in life, I think pursuing some ridiculous CT here could be fun. Humor has a way of rejuvenating brain cells so critical work can continue.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Heh...
One of your best mashups yet! (n/t)
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Not mine...
I cannot take credit where credit is not due.
Shh, you'll make Elvis cry...
lol - I don't post CT. While I'm cynical enough to believe anything could be true, I also cynical enough to believe everything is a lie. I agree gjohnsit. Balance, a sense of humor, it's all in the presentation. We'll know nuts when we see it.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I actually did hear Bigfoot. It was 1965
I was ten years old. We were at the Spirit Lake Campground at Mt. St. Helen's. Well before it blew it's top. We were in our tent and around 11 PM we heard this weird shrieking, very loud and long. Everybody was yelling and getting out of their tents wondering what the hell was going on. Then somebody yelled, "It's Bigfoot!!". The whole campground was a witness. Nobody could go to sleep so we had a giant weenie roast until the sun started coming up.
True story man.
I was talking to this guy in a bar once
And he was explaining how he was out in the woods riding a horse one day when he came across Bigfoot.
He described in detail how he slowly took out his rifle and had Bigfoot just about sighted when a space ship came over the trees and scared Bigfoot away.
Otherwise he'd have a Bigfoot-skin rug right now.
Perfect!
From a story in the San Diego Union, 1876
I can't find the actual txt right now, since I don't have my computer, but here is a partial/sort-of-quote:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/aug/04/feature-death-alley/#
Turner Helm was my great-great-grandfather's younger brother. L.T.H. was his nephew, my g-g-gfather's son, Lineus (Liney) Helm, father of my Aunt Marilyn. In actuality Turner was one of the biggest liars in the county, second only to my g-g-father Weid Helm...but he really had no reason to lie in this case. Nobody had heard of Bigfoot yet, and he really had nothing to gain by this story.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
How great is that!
I was told by my uncle we were a part of a special group within the Cherokee tribe. They were called the Slut Whore Doggies of Tsalagi.
That made a lot of sense to me. I'd rather not say why.
'Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd "
Stupid CT can just be ignored
Or giggled at. It seems like a perfectly effective way to deal with that, without getting my anywhere close to censorship.
What is or isn't CT
is pretty much open for debate here. CT is subjective and ones man's CT is another mans factual interpretation or some such nonsense. Conspiracy is rampant and the truth is often stranger then fiction. While I do not believe that Leonard Nemoy or Spock or Obama killed Scalia. I find the current official story line that many believe is real and were told is reality as unbelievable as the crazy tin foil upside down ass backward obvious examples. Nothing surprises me anymore in this surreal world as we find it.
scalia
was smothered to death by a time-traveling Bill Gates. Everyone knows that.
perhaps an injustice to the prostitute who really did it
although, and I'm not saying this is necessarily what happened...just a possiblity...perhaps a time-traveling Bill Gates impersonated a prostitute and was hired by the other John Poindexter for the weekend's activities which enabled ....ha....here I must mention there will be a foot note...which enabled the Windows Man to gain access to Scalia's room. Yes, that could be what happened.
the footnote: There is a writer's trick to avoid repetition with names. When writing about Paul McCartney you get tired of "Paul said.." or "Paul went to the cupboard..." or "McCartney this..." or "McCartney that..." so, and I've seen this mostly from British writers, they'll call him something descriptive like "The Hey Jude singer" as in "The Hey Jude singer announced he was no longer in favor of one-legged wives. 'They're alright for some', the Yesterday warbler said, 'but I'm right off them'".
I imagine the conversation beforehand...
involved Scalia re-negotiating a price based of the "Original Intent" of his sailor suit and ball-peen hammer party.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
the prostitute
opened the window to allow Gates access to the room, and then sat on Scalia's legs while Gates went to work on the head with the pillow.
It's in the coroner's report.
And speaking of Beatles, here's a George Martin piece you might like, about the challenge of realizing John Lennon's musical ideas. Martin called Lennon an "aural Salvador Dalí."
I see no problem...
with CT as long as it is backed up with factual material. It helps hone critical thinking skills. It can also serve as an early alert system. If something doesn't feel right, we should be looking under the hood.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
I agree completely.
I'm all in for Bernie because he represents the kind of progressive values I espouse, but he is not the sum total of them - who could possibly live up to such an expectation and why would we put that heavy burden on such a nice guy?
There's much progressives can agree on but we're no more monolithic than any other group and so many good discussions and unexpected possibilities can be missed when we forget that. My ideas about what this site should be are pretty vague but your post offers a good starting point.
I guess what I mostly look for is a place where progressive ideas can be realistically and truthfully discussed, warts and all, without the acrimony; where people can give their honest opinions without being demonized as traitors to some group - Dems, liberals, feminists, whatever. Whether that's achievable - who knows? But it would be a nice goal.
I've learned so much from members of this group, both here and before that at the other place, on any number of subjects I knew very little about. And the knowledge, experience and simple wisdom shared here is as important to me as being able to spout my opinion without fear of being dogpiled.
The smaller the mind the greater the conceit. --Aesop
Say it, Brother! And 'thanks' for your hard work. ;-)
(Music City) Mollie
elinkarlsson@WordPress
"The standard of living of the average American has to decline," he said. I don't think you can escape that."--Paul A Volcker, during Congressional testimony, October 1978
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Another thing that would be nice
is when we crosspost at GOS, we don't post the entire essay but only parts and link to it like any other source. Force people to click to learn more.
There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties.. This...is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.--John Adams
Now that is clever! Great idea, kharma.
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Agree 100% with this:
And I would further qualify "values and ideologies" as "pro-people-pro-earth values" and as to ideologies I would say democratic socialism without being doctrinaire about it.
Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons
I always did have a bit of a problem with Dkos mission statement
I would have much preferred if the "more" in "...more and better Democrats" had been left off. For me better is far more important then more, particularly with regard to HRC.
The older I get, and the more I see of the state of our two party system, the more I realize I never really belonged to either. When I did vote, which was only rarely in my youth, it was when a candidate struck me as a possible improvement over the status quo. Almost always my vote would land on the Democratic candidate, sometimes as a vote for the lesser evil, but only rarely as hope for a meaningful shift in our body politic.
I have now sworn off voting for the lesser evil. I believe it was Godfrey Cambridge who pointed out that centuries of "voting for the lesser of two evils can get you a whole lot of evil".
Bernie's campaign, his whole political life actually, made me realize just how far I had wandered in settling for the better of the two candidates offered up by the D's and R's. No more settling for me. I will only cast my vote for, never again against.
C99P looks to be friendlier territory for a leftie extremist like me, and I also can do without uniforms and exhortations for party unity.
“What the herd hates most is the one who thinks differently; it is not so much the opinion itself, but the audacity of wanting to think for themselves, something that they do not know how to do.”
-Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
Well Done, gj! Very well done!
I couldn't agree with you more! In particular, I applaud --
Comments I particulary agree with (at time of writing this) --
Added, as comments continue to come in . . ..
I completely agree
I'm truly hoping C99P can become the focal point for Bernie's movement -- which is really a populist/progressive movement which started before Bernie and will end long after Bernie. Part of what makes that work is good writing.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
Well said gjohn!
I agree completely. I followed joe shikspack and several other truth-tellers over here several months ago for that very reason. C99 has always been blessed with outstanding writers and with the recent influx of new members that number has grown. But like you said, we need to keep it real.
All I want is the truth. Just give me some truth. John Lennon
Understood, I will try to do a better job with my essays.
However the Great Orange Sheep can go fuck itself and I will pound that message here until ya ban me
Markos Moulit$a$ the Great Moderate
Fundamental problem with DK
One individual now owns all the resources created by subscriptions from the user base. Even the threat by Markos causes instinctive self-censorship because of the power he wields. He handled it very poorly, could have gotten what he wanted with a much gentler approach and with far few ruffled feathers (takes one to know one).
We want to create institutions that are not vulnerable to purges and censorship. That are responsive to and representative of the membership (however that's defined). How do we define what we our goals, principles are? What are they?
My elevator platform pitch is: Climate Change , Wealth Inequality, Institutional Racism, MIIC/Police, Trade Agreements, Immigration, Equal Rights, Abortion Rights & Access, Progressive Taxation, Workers Rights, Minimum Wage. Those are my top hair-on-fire issues.
The whole Military-Industrial-Intelligence-Complex, Police & Wall Street are the synergistic heart of the beast. We need to crack those apart and diminish them greatly or we will never be secure in any progress we make.
Climate Change
I would love to see you or someone else write on climate change. I think it is extremely important that we get a deep understanding of just what we are facing.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
I don't know if there's an accepted/acceptable way
to voice disapproval here, but I have to say that I feel sorrowful, disappointed and disgusted after reading your comment.
I expect all of us here have pretty much seen through kos's BS, and I know there are people who hate him with a white-hot hate, but geesh! --
The members who purchased these pixels to create a forum for reasonable discourse on progressive issues -- for discourse without rancor -- don't deserve the disrespectful actions of anyone who use this safe space to bundle up a spitball of hate and use this space as its launching pad.
And I groaned inwardly to see that you quoted the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King's words (even if they were words spoken in disappointment) to somehow validate your spitball and your hate, to make it seem that you were waving his flag proudly after he literally spent his life working against the forces of hate.
Do you imagine that Dr. King would ever have shouted 'Fuck you!' at anybody? Do you imagine that Dr. King (his name for a blessing!) would ever have put that hate in writing? Do you imagine that Dr. King would ever have put that in writing in a medium that will still be read in a thousand years?
Get your head right, hater. Get your head right. Please.
CroneWit I love Dr King but nobody is beyond reproach
not that I have any desire to take him to task for anything.
My apologies if you felt the f-word directed at the moderate web site GOS which disguises itself as a progressive website therefore making a farce of itself and its members was offending.
And please always feel free here to take me to task as I'm certainly not beyond reproach either.
To clear up confusion re: me-darkle dialogue (w reply to darkle)
I'm doing two things in this Reply (which may post as a Comment):
1. Documenting how I click 'Reply' and end up posting an unattached comment, for JtC to consider; and
2. Replying to darkle
PART ONE
I know, who cares, huh? But both yesterday and today my Replies didn't attach to the Comment I was replying to, creating confusion. So I'm posting this for JtC to look at when he has time. Are other people having this problem? Or is it something unique to my computer system?
To avoid receiving further snark, I'll say that before writing anything in this reply-box, I made sure I clicked the Reply tag under darkle's reply to me. The page I am working on has darkle's reply (title 'CroneWit I love Dr King but nobody is beyond reproach'), while the page header say 'Add new comment'. (Hmm. Is that where the problem lies, JtC? Some cross-wiring between 'Reply' tag and which page it opens?)
So, to help with confusion (if anybody cares) and present JtC with some diagnostic details, here is how the darkle-me dialogue would have run if my reply had attached to his comment. (I'll be adding my reply to darkle below that.)
PART TWO
Okay. Now -- because I'm worried that using the Reply tag under darkle's reply to me will only toss up another unattached comment, confusing people and hurting feelings, here's my reply to darkle's 'I love Dr King but . . ..' reply to me --
What in the Heck are you talking about?
Was that even aimed at me?
It was aimed at me :), i got taken to task for telling GOS
to go fuck itself and then quoting Dr King. I offered sincere apologies I did not intended on sullying Dr King with my post. I love Dr King!
it was for dakrle
Some people are having trouble understanding that to reply to a comment, one must click "reply."
Not at ALL, gjohnsit
It was a reply to darkle, which s/he has responded to.
I did leave a comment (not reply) in your diary, with title 'Well Done! Very well done!' that gathered my favorite phrases from your diary and from its replies (at the time).
Did my reply to d. show up as being attached to you, or another person? If so, I apologize, although I don't know what cause that. While I was filling in the 'reply' form, I kept scrolling up to check what darkle had written (to keep myself on point), so I know (well it certainly looked like!) my reply was being attached to his/her comment.
cronewit,
this "Important Site Announcement" from JtC will assist you in properly placing replies to comments.
A reply to hecate -- I hope it attaches properly
I used the 'Reply' tag, yet the reply showed up as an unattached comment. I documented that here, for JtC --
http://caucus99percent.com/comment/35451#comment-35451
A refresher course in the Greeks would be good
Your point about talking to the issues and avoiding ad hominem attacks is absolutely right.
For this place to succeed it benefits from being for, not against.
If you're for something then by nature you are against something
This is a world of duality. Although I suppose you could take a page out of Hillary's book and be foragainst everything
Do we ever attack Republicans because they are for something we are against? They are for tax breaks for the wealthy are we not against tax breaks for the wealthy?
If one choose to emphasize what they are against what the is the problem?
You are correct
What do we agree on? What do we want to fight for?
The answers to your questions naturally flow from that first step.
Well one thing we want to fight against is tax breaks for the
wealthy. I believe we agree on that.
Another thing we want to fight against is burning more fossil fuels.
We want to fight for criminal justice reform and against police abuse...........
Let us not become GOS, we have the perfect example of what NOT to be and that is moderate. We need to fight for radical ideas and to do that we need a benchmark. Then benchmark for the near future will be GOS and once we win some legislative victories with our radical ideas we can then become the benchmark.
go c99p go!!
Indeed we do, and agreed!
Unless you are a poststructuralist, like Foucault, then
everything is a discourse rather than binary opposition.
I'm sorry for not contributing more
however, my health means I can't do what I otherwise would. When I retire in less than a year, I will be here more.
Thing is all I see is depressing trends and worse than depressing.
My closest relative and only heir is a Trump voter. Believe me, I have been working on her for 15 years. No luck.
I find myself wishing Old Yellowstone will take out what we can't. It might save the rest of the planet from global warming too.
I have always been a hopeful person. Trump cum Hillary is enough to make anyone sick to death.
People here don't seem to be interested in my current passion: creating a new monetary system.
I looked at Forbes list of billionaires last night because I wondered if Trump wasn't lying about that too. He is listed around 500 down at about 4 billion.
That list is about 1,500 people long, but on 60 some own half of the planet's wealth.
I've gone so radical, I don't even believe in socialism anymore. Socialism is just a bandaid. We need alternative monetary systems which make Trump's money useless. Post socialism will force us to coalesce into smallish survivable communities.
I am encouraged that Tesla is getting some media this year. We may have always had alternative energy sources.
If I sound strange, it is because I feel strange. . .
May the dolphins, whales and furry things inherit the world. Humans, unless we do an about face, have just about proven we don't deserve this beautiful planet.
Take care of yourself and get well. eom.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
About changing the monetary system,
This is why they killed Gaddafi.
The people in Libya loved him. Our government and media have been projecting him as a tyrannical clown for decades upon decades.
Now he is gone and we have destroyed their land, and their people. All for gold and oil.
Gaddafi did his best to share all of the country's wealth with the citizens, and he did so much more.
All of this makes me sad and furious.
'Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd "
I'd like to see NO monetary system!
But interested in hearing about yours.
Money is Poverty
Then you need something else
If what you have expressed is what you want then you need a few things.
You need to define what the site is and who its for. Basically a mission statement.
You need an identity. (working on a logo presently)
You need some rules (loosely defined as to not be absolute)
Lets face it ... you need some flame wars, some trolls, some opposing ideas, and some passion.
You need lots of different kinds of writers.
You need lurkers, temps, and a solid large core group of regulars.
I could be a bit off on my dates but, Docudharma received a lot of great writers for the GOS because of the Markos Proclamation that the Official Story for 9/11 was not to be questioned. With all those great writers it never captured the fire to draw people in.
If you want to "keep it real" then we need to be honest with ourselves. What brought you and kept you at DK for all those years? Was it the long essays? Was it the issues? Was it how those issues were discussed and questioned? Was it the occasional troll you could debate and name call?
Of course the alternative ... What is it you do not want here? The roaming pack of wolves that will pile on anyone that doesnt toe the accpeted line? The censorship?
Ideas are a great starting point but an idea that can be easily grabbed by anyone is a movement. Ghandi, MLK ... you cant kill an idea.
My 2c
You need to define what the site is and who its for. Basically a mission statement.
How about liberal populism. By that I mean liberal ideas aimed at improving the life of the 99% and reducing the grip of the plutocrats.
You need an identity. (working on a logo presently)
This sounds like fun. Maybe I'll try to come up with one also. Logos are arguably one of the most stringent tests of graphics design.
You need some rules (loosely defined as to not be absolute)
Agreed. It wasn't the rules over at GOS that went bad.... it was the interpretation of those rules through the lens of hyper partisan politics. For instance, the idea that saying the US is an oligarchy is a conspiracy theory.
Lets face it ... you need some flame wars, some trolls, some opposing ideas, and some passion.
I'm not sure if you need trolls or flame wars. I'd just as soon do without them. I just don't think they are avoidable on an internet discussion board. I think we can safely say that people do not behave at their best when they are anonymous.
You need lots of different kinds of writers.
More than anything else in my opinion. GOS's great writers is how I developed a fairly large amount of my relatively new-found political knowledge. Rooster's recent piece on how to take over a political party is a great example.
You need lurkers, temps, and a solid large core group of regulars.
I suspect that you get this automatically just by having "people".
I could be a bit off on my dates but, Docudharma received a lot of great writers for the GOS because of the Markos Proclamation that the Official Story for 9/11 was not to be questioned. With all those great writers it never captured the fire to draw people in.
I'm very leery of proscribing "CT" because a great many very important stories started out as CT. A great many very important stories of today (for instance, the ongoing efforts of SIGINT) are stillconsidered CT by most Americans. I have some questions about vaccines that cannot be discussed on GOS because the moment you use the word "vaccine" in a sentence someone will say CT. Somehow we need a better system of handling ideas which are not widely accepted if we want to actually be reality based.
If you want to "keep it real" then we need to be honest with ourselves. What brought you and kept you at DK for all those years? Was it the long essays? Was it the issues? Was it how those issues were discussed and questioned? Was it the occasional troll you could debate and name call?
For me, hands down, it was the wealth of political knowledge as I was struggling to grasp what had happened to American politics and what I can do about it. I still lurk there for that same reason.
Of course the alternative ... What is it you do not want here? The roaming pack of wolves that will pile on anyone that doesnt toe the accpeted line? The censorship?
I can live with the wolf packs. A way to hide users and/or collapse sub-threads would be greatly appreciated though. Often times on GOS you could look at one comment and know right away that everything attached to it was going to be worthless. A way to visually skip past the wolf pack would be handy.
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
75/25
How about liberal populism. By that I mean liberal ideas aimed at improving the life of the 99% and reducing the grip of the plutocrats.
The mission statement embodies a belief system of ideas. Its the core of the group. Even the DK had a core belief system even if all they could agree on was no repubs.
This sounds like fun. Maybe I'll try to come up with one also. Logos are arguably one of the most stringent tests of graphics design.
This is true.
I'm not sure if you need trolls or flame wars. I'd just as soon do without them. I just don't think they are avoidable on an internet discussion board. I think we can safely say that people do not behave at their best when they are anonymous.
Here we disagree. In the conflict we galvanize ideas.
Not all appreciate the struggle but to me this is the an important aspect. Arguing an idea passionately keeps you, your opponent and other readers engaged. Now it doesnt have to be to the point of talking about someones origin of parentage but at the same time making your FACT based point and applying a little stank on it can even give lurkers entertainment.
More than anything else in my opinion. GOS's great writers is how I developed a fairly large amount of my relatively new-found political knowledge. Rooster's recent piece on how to take over a political party is a great example.
And it should have an educational value. But relating to the point above and my point about Docudharma, only the most highly partisan want to hear their own echo chamber. Where is the engagement if post after post is so well researched and so complete that it leaves no room for discussion because you agree with everything written. You need some controversy to shake it up. This is how the DK grew so large was because there was room for battling out ideas and theories in real time.
You need lurkers, temps, and a solid large core group of regulars.
I suspect that you get this automatically just by having "people".
But as gjohnsit said above. Thanks for stopping by. The idea is what keeps them here and keeps them coming back for more. Now he was using it as single issue bloggers ... but the idea needs to be larger. We want to not only capture exDKers but become the voice of the progressive movement. Where people come to shape the dialog.
I'm very leery of proscribing "CT" because a great many very important stories started out as CT. A great many very important stories of today (for instance, the ongoing efforts of SIGINT) are stillconsidered CT by most Americans. I have some questions about vaccines that cannot be discussed on GOS because the moment you use the word "vaccine" in a sentence someone will say CT. Somehow we need a better system of handling ideas which are not widely accepted if we want to actually be reality based.
I will say this ... applying a CT [tag] to it is just a way to marginalize the writer and not address the argument. Much like attack the perosn not the idea because you have nothing to counter the argument presented. My point was that was my reason for ending the relationship with DK. Much like "Vote for CLinton or get out"
Is there one right answer? Ultimately the community will decide. There may be many right answers ... I think you need a mix of a lot of things as different people come for different reasons. I'm just "keeping it real" by pointing out being too stale, and too nice could also be a blog killer.
Hear! Here! gjohnsit
I agree completely. I am here because this site is not about partisan politics per say. It's about issues, unfettered information, news history and discussions that offer varying points of view with no self censorship. . We are in my vision here because we do not want our visions for a better world, country spoon fed to us under the guise of reality. Political discussions play a large part here but they run the gamut and tend not to be solely about beating the Republicans or buyi9ng into the great divides of partisan bull shit. I have learned a lot from my fellow 99%'ers who are free to speak their minds. I'm free to disagree but have learned to listen and appreciate the different voices. There are Bernie supporters here and Democrat's and yet I can say whatever I want about Obummer, Bernie or the Mad Bomber HRC. It has made me much more aware of what's really happening in this mad world
As for flinging 3 sentence essays or diaries about willy nilly why not use the morning (sort of) OT or the EB? That's why they are here. Just my suggestion but it would help make the site better to follow. I realize people are flocking here from dkos but I vehemently do not want this site to be an anti-kos site or a Dem. partisan electoral site. Issues, policy, ideas, criticism, politics, culture, arts, history are great to read and talk about but my vision of this place is not short term electoral politics but trying to figure out how to get some justice, democracy, peace equality and a world that's livable for all god creatures. Prying the blood sucking vampire off humanities face can't be done by marching in lockstep with the powers that be. My two cents.
Forgot to say we have some really good writers here and a great humanistic community developing. We also feature fun, set to music and some good laughs and humor. We talk about our own lives, loves, interests and feelings. Respect for others is easy when they are not your adversaries even when you disagree. Dkos is what is and I sometimes go over to see what the brainwashed idiots are up too. But at this point it's flipping boring and I might as well hang out at Red State. So that's my vision. Some of the people who have come over will take time to decompress and all of us will have to learn how to adapt to the content formatting. But hey this is a democratic site so not too much herding of these cats is possible. Thank god.
Thanks
First and foremost thank you for creating this new site and for allowing me to participate. I wanna take back our country from the Oligarchy that has subverted our republic, our party, our country and turned it into a money making machine, that doesn't give two cents for the people. I've used my same user name so other can look me up on the old site and see where I'm coming from, which is heavily influenced by Thomas Paine, our original Democratic Socialist (imho).
I can be quite acerbic at times, but I do mean well.
C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote
Thank you for the video.
This is something that I have been aware of for quite some time, but seeing it encapsulated sure brings it home.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
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