The Democratic Dictatorship of Daily Kos

Warm greetings, caucus99percent.com, and thanks for having me!

I've recently been informed by the anonymous admin Demo-gods at Daily Kos, to whom I’ve contributed 154 articles over the past two-plus years, that I would no longer be welcome to publish there. There was no explanation, no message to thank me for the hundreds of thousands of page views and shares that my articles — they’re called diaries amongst Kossacks, or site members —have generated, without a penny’s compensation. There was just a stone-cold orange skull and crossbones on my profile page to inform me I’d been “bojo’ed,” or banned for life in Kos-speak.

My crime? In the wake of former president Barack Obama’s failure to endorse upstart New York progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress, I published a diary calling him out for it. Obama is universally revered at Daily Kos, and how dare I, especially as a black man, oppose him?

OK If Democrats Do It

My “crimes” during my two years at Daily Kos were myriad, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see this coming. For shits and giggles, I even went so far as to poke this stick in their collective eye to mock their Russia obsession and hasten a departure that was long overdue.

I didn’t do my homework before joining DK. I just assumed after years of reading the occasional DK diary that the site welcomed all progressive points of view, and that there were certain things that all progressives could agree upon. Not arming child soldier armies was one of these things.

The Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA), signed into law in George W. Bush’s last year in office, bans US military aid to countries whose armies conscript children. In 2010, Barak Obama began annually invoking CSPA’s “national security” waiver so the US could keep arming some of the world’s worst child soldier offenders, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia and South Sudan. Hillary Clinton, to whose office the waivers were addressed, accepted them every year of her tenure as secretary of state.

As Daily Kos’ mission is “electing more and better Democrats,” I assumed “better” meant not supporting child soldiers and so I wrote my very first DK diary, “Hillary Clinton: Love, Kindness and Child Soldiers,” so that Clinton supporters would know one of her darkest deeds and perhaps consider backing Bernie Sanders instead. Now, this was during the still-hot 2016 Democratic primaries. It was right around the time DK founder Markos Moulitsas, aka “Kos,” issued his infamous edict banning serious criticism of Clinton after March 15. I didn’t know about this, as I was new to the site. I had no idea I’d just stumbled into a pack of rabid hyenas howling deliriously, “We’re with her.”

Mental and Moral Gymnastics

The attacks and the flags — DK’s way of keeping everyone in line — were immediate. The average Kossack is capable of Olympic feats of mental and moral gymnastics in order to excuse all sorts of inexcusable misdeeds, so long as the perpetrator has a “D” and not an “R” after their name. Remind a Kossack that Democratic presidents waged nuclear war against defenseless cities, bombed millions of Koreans and Vietnamese to death, attacked Serbia in service of NATO’s “credibility” and bombed more countries than George W. Bush and you’ll get flagged, banned or at least roundly ridiculed and derided by liberals who think endorsements from former death squad ambassadors are welcome if they help win elections.

I witnessed an exodus of some of the brightest and most progressive voices from DK. Many of these recovering Kossacks fled after publishing masterful diaries, like this one from Mass Southpaw that remains the definitive case against Clinton. Daily Kos is a much poorer place for their absence, but their loss is our gain. And by backing Clinton, who lost to that man, Daily Kos will forever be inextricably tied to the biggest loser in the history of political loserdom. If anyone even remembers DK, that is.

When Democrats don’t win, things can get ugly at Daily Kos, like when Kos himself posted a diary celebrating when retired coal miners lost their health insurance because, well, they voted for Trump and were reaping their black-lunged comeuppance. “Don’t weep for these coal miners,” was Kos’ misanthropic message. “This is what they wanted!” I now understand why most Kossacks don’t use their real names on the site. Pseudonyms are great for face-saving anonymity. They can serve as lifeboats for those lost and adrift in a sea of shit. I’ve never used one.

“More and Better Democrats”

“More and better Democrats” kept playing in my head. I knew that the Democratic party will never be a party of peace and justice so long as it remains the socially progressive branch of the Big Business Party, aka the Earth Destruction Party. Both Democrats and Republicans support business as usual, that is, the corporatism and militarism that perpetuate social, economic and environmental injustice. But at Daily Kos, pointing out similarities between Democrats and Republicans will get you bojo’ed. So will even a hint of advocacy for third-party or independent candidates, no matter how progressive they are. I was once slapped with a days-long time-out ban simply for asking what would happen if I wrote an endorsement of Jill Stein.

Well, I did vote for Jill Stein, not once, but twice. I had to hide this fact while I was a Kossack for fear of reprisals. “Kossack" is an appropriate member moniker. Like the Cossacks during the Russian revolution, Kos’ followers militantly defend the old guard elite against progressive challengers and change. They’ve called me a Trump saboteur, a Russian stooge, a purity troll and much worse, and that’s before they knew I actually voted for Stein. A few Kossacks have risen to my defense, but they’ve mostly done so via private messages because they fear the consequences of speaking publicly. Vladimir Putin can only envy such self-censorship!

It wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time, Kos, like so many of the centrist hawks hawked on his site, was a bonafide progressive. In those heady early days of political blogging, Daily Kos was a relevant force for positive progressive change. Once upon a time, Kos called Óscar Romero, the Salvadoran archbishop and champion of the poor and oppressed who was assassinated in 1980 by a US-backed military death squad, his hero. If he were alive today, Romero would be sickened by what he saw on DK.

Today, Daily Kos is increasingly irrelevant. It has lost almost all credibility as a progressive voice, especially after the mass exodus from DK during and after the toxic 2016 election season. Increasingly, progressive Kossacks realized that “more and better Democrats” only meant more and not better. Daily Kos supports candidates for political expediency, not for what is good and right. It definitely does not believe in democracy. Kossacks cheered when Democrats sued to keep Raph Nader — who they still falsely and ignorantly blame for the George W. Bush presidency — off the ballot in 2004. They were giddy when Jill Stein was arrested for demanding access to debate Obama, Clinton and the other corporate-owned Democrat candidates. Kossacks are certainly "Big D" Democrats. But they're piss-poor democrats.

GBCW

Democracy means more participation, not less. It means alternatives to the two branches of the War and Wall Street party. It does not mean freezing out, bullying or deriding those who don’t toe a very narrow line of incrementalist orthodoxy. It does not mean red-baiting or giggling gleefully at every sophomoric flagging, every unwarranted time-out, as if these purported punishments actually hurt. Maybe they do sting the armchair politicos at Daily Kos. Those of us with other publishing and life options laugh in their pseudonym-masked faces. DK can ban whoever it wants, but the word is out — Daily Kos is a joke, and a bad one at that. I've been asked why I write there by editors at other publications, and I've noticed more of my submissions are accepted when I leave DK out of my resumé or bio line.

In Kos-speak, this post would be my GBCW, or “goodbye cruel world.” I’ll miss some people at DK —subir, Meteor Blades, TomP, SandraLLAP and the folks at Adalah, Black Kos and Political Revolution are among the handful of truly progressive voices that come to mind — but the overwhelming majority of Kossacks are an insufferable part of the problem; that is, the perpetuation of a political system that is ultimately leading humanity toward destruction. My final parting advice to them: Learn not to confuse the big “D” with the little one. Stop being the second-most enthusiastic capitalist party. And understand that there is nothing progressive about supporting candidates who favor war and corporate greed over peace and human need.

Brett Wilkins is a freelance author and journalist and editor-at-large for US news at Digital Journal. His work, which covers issues of war and peace and human rights, has recently been published or cited in Counterpunch, Common Dreams, The American Conservative, Antiwar.com, Oxford University Press and Cornell Law School Death Penalty Center. www.brettwilkins.com

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mimi's picture

@JtC

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mimi's picture

@dance you monster @dance you monster

THAT'S what this is all about? Gjohnsit posts to the front page and Big Al doesn't?

There have been made arguments for having a front page and I respect them. I have felt a bit suffocated by a couple of writers and commentators and I am sure that is just my own personal impression lately. I am pretty sure it will be over in a while.

I also don't remember the whole story that lead to your Big Al relationship thingy. I can't get that involved in such things.
End of argument.

Can we have peace now?

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Big Al's picture

@dance you monster I can't speak for mimi, but no, it's not about the front page at all from my standpoint. Actually JtC gave me front page authority as well, but I was uncomfortable with that and didn't use it. He made the decisions on whether my essays were front paged. As I said above, I was simply responding to a comment by gulfgal regarding self censorship, stating that it doesn't just happen at Daily Kos, it happens here also. For some reason, it's getting all tangled up in blue. But thanks for admitting you also self censor at times. That was my point.

Why I self censor is something I'm going to have to self censor, because it would open another can of worms. Suffice it to say that this didn't help.

Bottom line, I'm not a democrat and never have been. I was a troll at Daily Kos, that's all.

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mimi's picture

@Big Al
I feel a bit sorry about how this thread has evolved and wished we had given you another nicer welcome.

Hopefully you come back. I would be very interested in what you have to say. Fore sure.

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@mimi

This did get hijacked. But as I said above, c99 is the only place that is able to have a discussion about disagreements as opposed to everyone getting pissed off, throwing donuts, name calling, and bannings. Brett did get to see the worst of us perhaps, but it ain't all that bad. Having said that, you are absolutely right. What a lousy welcome for a noob.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@mimi I think gjohnsit has taken over the front page because he writes more than anybody else does. He certainly writes a lot more than I do. If I dropped two or three essays a day, I'm fairly sure some of them would end up FP'd.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Wink's picture

of blogging and commenting,
@Big Al
in others it's because of the atmospheres created."
Then that's their problem.
Becuz it is the nature of web boards, blogging.
A few women (and men, maybe) have left (or no longer post) becuz of things I've posted.
Others have stayed despite what I've posted.
It is the nature of the beast.
As for the "atmosphere" here... it's a helluva lot better than most places.
If people are whining about these things then they haven't been to very many places like this on the 'Net.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

gulfgal98's picture

@Big Al We do not have bannings based upon topics or roving gangs HR'ing people. It is also the reason why we do not show who has up rated an essay or a comment and why we do not have down ratings.

You and I have disagreed on a lot of things and we have very much agreed on a lot of things. Just because I do not completely accept your opinion on one thing does not mean that I disagree with you on everything. It is called having a simple difference of opinion. And personally, I believe that to be very healthy. You have changed my mind on some things while you have not on others. No one of us is totally right on everything and I am willing to keep my mind open to new ideas and even some old ones. Smile

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Wink's picture

@gulfgal98

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Big Al But there are no roving gangs of bullies doing hatchet jobs on people, even going to the length of organizing on FB so that they can swarm a particular author's diaries and turn each one into a flame war. DK was like high school when high school is particularly horrible: bullies have the run of the place and have all the teachers and administrators on their side, and anybody who disagrees is put through the wringer. The breaking point for me was when a woman was being accused of "making up" the story of her sexual assault so she could "entrap" a man into being bojo'd. People did that too; tried to bait dissidents into saying something that could be construed as a reason for banning. It was horrendous.

What you have on C99 is not a DKos-style abuse factory, where the point seems to be breaking dissidents and driving them into silence, but simply a site where the strongest voices are still pushing an outmoded strategy. That doesn't mean that there haven't been comments I looked at askance, particularly in the argument you bring up here (should we support the Democratic party or not).

As you know, I'm not thrilled that so many here still want to pursue this strategy. That's a mild way of putting it (perhaps I am self-censoring now?) But I'm not going to tell them they can't have their opinion. I just mostly stay out of their diaries.

If you think they have an outsize influence on the site, well, that's because they're the ones, in fact, gjohnsit is the *one*, writing the most essays. If somebody else puts in that much time and effort, they will become equally influential.

Markos' site is a rigged game. This site isn't.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Big Al's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal now I'm completely sorry I even commented to gulfgal, for even bringing it up, for even speaking my mind. What does that say? It says I'll never make a comment about this site again for fear of getting accused of whining and feeling something I shouldn't feel. I never said anything about roving gangs or bojo or whatever. If someone doesn't want to comment or write essays because they don't want to deal with the pushback, that's self censorship. You and everyone else here might not agree with the person self censoring, but that's what it is.
It's no big deal to me actually, I was just making a comment. It wasn't worth the fucking time so I just won't comment or debate unless I have some information to relay.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Big Al Darn it, Al, I'm not saying you shouldn't feel your feelings. I'm responding to the part where you said this is like Dkos. That's all. I don't think it's like DKos. That doesn't mean everything you think and feel is wrong.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

CS in AZ's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

I am (probably stupidly) — and I promise it will be very briefly — coming out of self-sensorship mode for a minute to say, look back at Al’s original comment.

He responded to GG’s subject line and her last sentence saying she opposes self-censorship.

Al said that self-censorship happens here too. He did not say this place is like Daily Kos. Al obviously knows and we all know there’s no flags/hidden comments here.

But good lord, just look at the pile on he subsequently received, for merely mentioning even the slightest point, that participation on c99 also requires self-censorship at times. His words were attacked and misinterpreted and piled on by multiple people. (Also note who was first, and least respectful, in going after him.)

I think Al’s point is simply that for some of us, this kind of pile-on makes it often not worth speaking ones truth, so we don’t. I am definitely self-censoring most of my opinions and views now, and trying very hard to stick to more non-controversial topics. And I am required to avoid the specific high-profile writer who told me in no uncertain terms that I am not welcome to offer my comments in his essays or reply to his comments. And he wrote a popular, much recommended essay in which he stated that some of his comments had been challenged (by me and Big Al), but “should not have been” challenged. He got no push back from the mods or admin or the community (except one person), for that position, thus I assume he’s supported in that stance and is allowed to make rules like that. Result is, I feel muzzled. Woof. Which was clearly the intention.

It’s ok, I’m not whining, there’s other good writers and content here. I’ve been back and forth with myself on whether to stay around and accept the muzzle, or book off. But as many have said, despite this site not being “perfect” it’s still the best thing going that I know of. So I’m still here, and following the rules as best I can so as not to be booted out or give JtC headaches. I feel compelled to apologize for even saying anything about this. I fell off the wagon again. Oops. Self censorship fail. I’ll kick myself, so no one else needs to.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@CS in AZ @CS in AZ Well, unless you feel I compel you to self-censor, hang out in my OT, which will be getting better shortly, I promise. This week I merely had a convulsion brought on by some political literature that got dropped in my mailbox, but that won't be the general trend.

I'd like to think I don't censor people, nor that I encourage self-censorship.

However, I think maybe we should consider the line between disagreement and the pressure to self-censor. If we confuse disagreement with censorship, or an encouragement to self-censor, aren't we going down a bad path? And I say this as somebody who was told, in no uncertain terms, that the reason I and Al were feeling bad was because we were in the minority here on this site. That was in the argument about whether or not it's bad to NOT vote. That's the sort of thing I meant when I said I look askance at some comments. But "some comments" doesn't equal "this whole site:" nor does "a few users" equal "this whole site."

I guess what I'm saying is that I think this problem is more localized than systemic. That's been the heart of Al's and my disagreement all along. I see a few users who are sometimes a little shitty to people with my perspective.

As for gjohnsit, I disagree with most of what he says, but I have no problem with his essays being front and center, because gjohnsit has done so much work that, of course his essays take up a lot of room. If we want our perspective to take up more room, then we need to write more. And I'm pointing that finger firmly at myself. I should be cranking out at least 2-3 essays a week, and I barely manage to crank out my OT. That's on me.

Point is, if we want to take up more space, we need to take it up; if some people--and I don't think it's many--are discouraging to us, we need to move forward anyway. Easier said than done, because it's hard to muster the energy for all that. But I'm not pissed at the site. In order to prevent the behavior we're describing as "encouragement to self-censor," the admins/mods would have to monitor every comment.

I'm not saying there has been no shitty behavior toward people with more radical perspectives; of course there has been some. In my opinion, the proper response to that is to write more. The fact that I haven't embarrasses me. But this place is nothing compared to DKos.

Here's what made me think that Al was comparing the place to DK:

Submitted by Big Al on Thu, 08/16/2018 - 11:48pm
gulfgal made a comment about self censorship,
@dkmich @dkmich referring to Daily Kos. I responded (I should have self censored) that I felt it occurred here also and most blogs in general.

I'm sorry if I misinterpreted that comment to be a comparison of self-censorship on DK to self-censorship here. That's what I thought he was saying, and that's why I responded as I did.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@CS in AZ Please do not muzzle yourself in my OT, by the way. If people do that, the OT becomes pointless.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Big Al

Good for the goose is good for the gander.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

@Big Al I've been attacked here. Not at all the same thing. I've attacked others here for voting for Trump. Not at all the same thing. No one here ever got there tip jar vanished. Here there isnt an organized cyber team censoring the site.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@gulfgal98 I never got bojo'd either, far as I know. I kind of self-bojo'd because I can't stand to give Markos my eyeballs anymore.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

TheOtherMaven's picture

Didn't post a GBCW, didn't say a word to anyone, just up and left. I don't think anybody missed me, or has noticed that I'm not there any longer.

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

gulfgal98's picture

@TheOtherMaven No one miseed me either. Not even the person who gifted me a lifetime subscription. Sad

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

snoopydawg's picture

@gulfgal98

When Janis posted about Riverlover over there some people came and read dkmich's essay and saw our comments and said that they see quite a few of us that they miss our commentary.

I'm still friends with some over there, but we agree to not talk about politics. The community diaries there have always been my favorites. Except the cats ones. I'm a dawg person. Plus the community helps people in dire straits and they have helped me a few times.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

thanatokephaloides's picture

@snoopydawg

The community diaries there have always been my favorites. Except the cats ones. I'm a dawg person. Plus the community helps people in dire straits and they have helped me a few times.

The community (most of it, anyway) was excellent. It's just the despot (and those who support his despotism) that are the problem......

edit: I dropped Ben Norton (source of the "despot" remark) a note asking him to please pay us a visit and consider joining our community.

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

snoopydawg's picture

@thanatokephaloides

“If you’re resorting to cheap sloganeering like ‘oligarch’ or ‘warmonger’ or ‘neocon,’ you might want to reframe your argument in a more substantive, issue-focused and constructive matter,” Kos writes. “Again, I’m not interested in furthering the Right’s hate-fueled media machine.”

That is to say, in the mind of Daily Kos’ overlord, calling an oligarch an oligarch, a warmonger a warmonger, or a neocon a neocon — if that oligarch, warmonger, or neocon happens to be a Democrat (and many Democrats fall neatly into all three categories) — is just right-wing hatred, and will presumably lead to an immediate ban.

Heh! Then here's Markie in 2006. What a difference money makes for someone to change their opinions ehh? I referred to this one earlier today and in the past. Another must read.

Hillary Clinton: Too Much of a Clinton Democrat?

Hillary Clinton has a few problems if she wants to secure the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. She is a leader who fails to lead. She does not appear "electable." But most of all, Hillary has a Bill Clinton problem. (And no, it's not about that. )
....
Hillary Clinton leads her Democratic rivals in the polls and in fundraising. Unfortunately, however, the New York senator is part of a failed Democratic Party establishment -- led by her husband -- that enabled the George W. Bush presidency and the Republican majorities, and all the havoc they have wreaked at home and abroad.

How funny. I've been saying that because Obama was a leader who failed to lead and was part of a failed Democratic Party establishment Trump is president instead of Herheinous.

Our crashing of Washington's gates wasn't about ideology, it was about pragmatism. Democrats haven't won more than 50 percent of the vote in a presidential election since 1976. Heck, we haven't won more than 50.1 percent since 1964. And complicit in that failure was the only Democrat to occupy the White House since 1980: Bill Clinton.

Despite all his successes -- and eight years of peace and prosperity is nothing to sneeze at -- he never broke the 50-percent mark in his two elections. Regardless of the president's personal popularity, Democrats held fewer congressional seats at the end of his presidency than before it. The Democratic Party atrophied during his two terms, partly because of his fealty to his "third way" of politics, which neglected key parts of the progressive movement and reserved its outreach efforts for corporate and moneyed interests.

Remind you of anyone? Over 900 seats lost to the republicans during Obama's tenure seems to be the same thing Bill did during his tenure. Hmm ... anyone seeing a pattern? The rest of the article is a good read, but wait there's more.

Found this blast from the past that Lisa Lockwood wrote on ToP, but she cross posted it here. It's another great read.

#WhichDailyKos ? #WhichMarkos ?

Hillary Clinton:

..."doesn't deserve fairness on this site" because she "fails the test of the guiding principles of this site"...

...may be the establishment's choice, but real power in the party has shifted...

The last thing we need in the White House is another out-of-touch, tone-deaf Bush-style presidency, unable or unwilling to admit mistakes and change course as a result.

Clinton's campaign is counting on low-information Democratic voters selecting Clinton based on little more than name ID. …. SNIP …..
Does she think her audience is that stupid? Apparently so.

And therein lie Hillary Clinton's biggest problems. She epitomizes the "insider" label

….SNIP….
She's part of the Clinton machine that decimated the national Democratic Party

….SNIP….
her advisers have stripped what personality she has, hiding it from the public

….SNIP….
what remains is a heartless, passionless machine, surrounded by the very people who ground down the activist base in the 1990s and have continued to hold the party's grassroots in utter contempt.

Some of that came from his A Clinton Democrat article. Lots of old names in the comments who have stopped commenting here for some reason. Lisa included the link to her diary at ToP and the comments are fun to read. Of course it led to the usual pie fight there. Good times. Good times.

Thanks for the link to the article. I read the one you posted up thread. Nice.

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snoopydawg's picture

@thanatokephaloides

F*cking moran and dumb as rocks

On the flip side, if you think Clinton can’t win against Donald Trump, you are a fucking moron. Seriously, you are as dumb as rocks. “But!” you yell, “Her unfavorables are 54 percent!” Yes, they are! But a big chunk of that is Sanders supporters. Check out the chart below: see that inflection point when Clinton’s unfavorables overtook her favorables? That was April 2015. You know what month Bernie Sanders entered the campaign? April 2015. Most will come home after Sanders bows out.

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mimi's picture

@janis b @snoopydawg
but I remember the community in the first years as a very good one, many people helped out others. I don't remember anymore when it became different. May be after Obama's election. Race and identity became overbearing issues of discussion. Sadly so.

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snoopydawg's picture

@mimi

they are the 'pootie' and dawg diaries that are always posted on the rec list. Then there are the diaries where they list the names of people who are in need and why they are. The most horrible thing that DK did was to ban the person who had helped raise tens of thousands for people because some snitch said that she wrote something on another website or something and without warning she was banned. She was never told why she was banned and for two months people slammed the help desk over it. Finally elfing said some weasel words that closed the subject and she is still banned.

The other diaries did change during Her's run for president during the primary though. The identity politics and calling people sexists and misogynists for any bit of criticism was just out right ridiculous!

I joined in 2005 when a friend of Kos told me about his site. But that was when he was pretending to be a progressive.

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mimi's picture

@snoopydawg
from the early years on. And btw, I bet I changed more than the sites change. It is just a pain to grow old and forgetful. And I am getting less interested too. So, I should keep my mouth shut.

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@mimi that the handwriting was on the wall when Markos banned a brilliant commentator, "toquedeville" for some incomprehensible reason.

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Mary Bennett

Brett Wilkins's picture

@TheOtherMaven I'm debating whether to GBCW. I'm bojo'ed but my GF's account is active if never used. I'm leaning toward posting.

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dance you monster's picture

@Brett Wilkins

Don't go back to post.

Yeah, I know the impulse, and the thought that it will give you a sense of closure. But the comment section of a GBCW is where every rabid asshole over there is going to do their damnedest to get you riled up more (while giving Markos a page-click bonanza he doesn't deserve).

Let it go. Nestle in here. The wounds will heal faster in cooling waters than they will in a bath of acid.

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@Brett Wilkins ... that didn't actually say GBCW. Posted it first here. The next day Kos put up his horrible story wishing ill to poor whites in coal country who voted for Trump. A few commenters speculated that was Kos doubling down after my highly rated diary. They might have been right. Kos didn't like me at all, and I know that last post of mine chapped his ass.

A well crafted story that blows holes in the precious fantasies of the echo chamber would be a very worthwhile valedictory, if you want to bother.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@TheOtherMaven

You would be missed now. What you have to say is important.

I watch for your comments.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
TheOtherMaven's picture

@Pluto's Republic

but I like to think I usually land 'em on or close to the target. Smile

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

smiley7's picture

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Brett Wilkins's picture

@smiley7 Thank you!

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Bollox Ref's picture

at Orange Dead State.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

snoopydawg's picture

@Bollox Ref

Hillary's campaign paid people to go into websites where people were saying things critical about her and telling them how wrong they were. They received such a warm welcome that many stayed and became members. This kept the number of membership up. Most of the Correct the Record folks have numbers in their usernames. I guess that is how they kept track of their comments so they could get paid.

BTW. What her campaign did was borderline against election law. How were the hill-bots any different from the so called Russian-bots? Both were spreading disinformation right?

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Bollox Ref's picture

@snoopydawg

His (her?) every post (seemingly) included an invocation that the Clintons were worthy of complete homage for their unbounded gloriousness!!?

No wonder I received admin notes when taking the p**s in Blackwaterdog's god-awful picture hagiographies.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

snoopydawg's picture

@Bollox Ref

Any diary that has a photo of "The Man" becomes an echo chamber in two seconds flat.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@Bollox Ref

OMFG how I hated those. A Justin Bieber fan club of 12 yos had nothing on that group of beliebers.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

thanatokephaloides's picture

My first Essay here was on the subject of "the Ides of March Decree", as Kos' expulsion of everyone not totally "with Her" is known around here.

The Essay was short, sweet and to-the-point; I warned the c99 community that a huge influx of Daily Kos refugees would soon be arriving here and would need help learning the ropes hereabouts. My prediction came true; you yourself are part of that.

And my remarks regarding asking for help remain true as well. Our c99 community has done a great job mastering the ways and means around here, so JtC (Johnny the Conqueroo, c99's Proprietor) doesn't have to do it all. And that's a good thing, because it's clear that the influx of refugees from Daily Kos isn't going to end any time soon!

So welcome! And do please post Comments, too. I read some of yours over on Kos and I think yours would be welcomed and respected here.

Smile

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

@thanatokephaloides

On the flip side, if you think Clinton can’t win against Donald Trump, you are a fucking moron. Seriously, you are as dumb as rocks.

-Markos

Yeh, he really had it figured out.

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JekyllnHyde's picture

@gjohnsit

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A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

snoopydawg's picture

@JekyllnHyde

This is one of my favorites

IMG_1335_3.JPG

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@JekyllnHyde Thanks as always, JnH.

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Cassiodorus's picture

I have one question: how did you find out about c99%?

(oh and as for me I started posting at DKos in 2006 -- when The Edict was issued in March of 2016 I saved most of my diaries at this site and deleted every last one of them from Orange.)

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

gulfgal98's picture

@Cassiodorus gjohnsit got banned from there because he was deleting his diaries from there and archiving them elsewhere.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Cassiodorus's picture

@gulfgal98 gjohnsit can certainly speak for himself here, though. I managed to get most of my diaries out before the admins had the foggiest idea of what I was doing, perhaps. I'm still a Trusted User over there!

https://www.dailykos.com/user/Cassiodorus

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

enhydra lutris's picture

somewhat long in gestation and slow to arrive, but known to be necessary for a long, long time due to some of that same mind clouding miasma you speak of. There was the constant need to kowtow not only to the official dogma, but also the roving mobs of thought police, completely stifling free and open exchange of ideas, information and opinions. Thanks for joining us.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

gulfgal98's picture

@enhydra lutris

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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 Henry Kissinger's picture

Life's too short to subject your mind and soul to such abuse. You're better off.

Kos is a creep of the highest order, and he and his purposefully dysfunctional site represent the truly worst in American politics - not just for normalizing horrendous censorship and encouraging a gang warfare mentality to political discussion, but for maintaining the outright deception of pretending to work for progressive reform when he and his cabal are actually working night and day to prevent any reform from taking place.

The whole place is built on a lie.

I've recently been informed by the anonymous admin Demo-gods at Daily Kos, to whom I’ve contributed 154 articles over the past two-plus years, that I would no longer be welcome to publish there.

It has long been said that Kos is to blogging what Tom Sawyer is to fence painting.

Welcome to a better place.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Steven D's picture

I posted there from 2005 until 2017 when I was banned out of the blue for, as always, no stated reason.

On the other hand, I saw it coming, having seen the purge of Sanders' supporters there that began in 2016.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Brett Wilkins's picture

@Steven D Looks like you're in a better place. Much better.

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Steven D's picture

is still allowed to post there.

Meteor Blades is a paid employee. He does what he told. I was disappointed most in him because he and I had numerous off-site exchanged via email, and I thought he was opposed to the direction Kos took in 2016, but obviously not that opposed when push game to losing a paycheck.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

CB's picture

@Steven D
at DKos. But I've watched him bend under pressure in the past and felt a bit sorry for him. Maybe he has family to feed. Unfortunately, the longer he continues to accept the more egregious DKos shit the less respect I have for him.

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mimi's picture

@Steven D
and I remember in the early years he made comments about how low or even non existent any kind of monetary payments or reward there were. He wrote til blood popped out of his front head (or soemthing like it) and got nothing much for it. He helped the site to become what it was in the early years.

I think it would be nice if he would be a dkos traitor and would post something here. TOP deserves to be betrayed. I guess he is too much of an authoritarian to deal with this bunch of people here.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@mimi

I think it would be nice if he would be a dkos traitor and would post something here.

It would be sickening to have what he has become in a place such as this. In my opinion, it would defile this site. We surely have some standards and self-respect.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
mimi's picture

@Pluto's Republic @Pluto's Republic @Pluto's Republic
so I am not clear of what he became. I just remember him from the first three or four years of dailykos existence and his articles were educative for me. I remember when I started to 'see' him in a different light, but that I will not write about here. What for? I can change my opinions any time, right?

Defile? Really? Well, then, sometimes I even like a little dirt. So much for your defile judgment.

And you know that I am too dumb to understand most of your comments. I don't like to feel dumb, but that is just life. And one has to face one's own shortcomings, which I hereby do.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@mimi

And it is harsh and emphatic. But it is no reflection on you. You have a kind heart and a different set of memories.

People came here damaged by the bullies that were birthed and coddled at Daily Kos, while he played the role of Pontius Pilate. It is disturbing. I stand in solidarity with a younger MB, who would have been horrified that he ended up so venal.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
mimi's picture

@Pluto's Republic
conditioned itself to only remember the 'better' stuff and leave behind the 'worse'. I want to stay what I consider sane and not go nuts.

Need a break now. Thanks for your understanding.

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mimi's picture

@Pluto's Republic @Pluto's Republic
Good Night and Good Luck.

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Wink's picture

didn't jump to
@Steven D
another site. I know he doesn't buy in to the kos b.s.
Imagine the number of MB followers that would follow him elsewhere!

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Then you wont give DKos hits when you link to YOUR work.

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and welcome. I left immediately after the edict and have never really gone back. I hear what goes on there from those who can stand to go there and it ain't pretty. They're as fascist as Trump really, and not much better than he and his most rabid fans. They're just like the people they revile the most and blame ALWAYS for everything wrong in this country while completely ignoring reality that is the rich against the rest of us at the end of the day, no partisanship about it for our owners, whatever works is good for them. Just like Tea Baggers to me and I grew up with them so no thanks on Baggers from the other "side."

This is also a great place to learn. I did learn a lot on the Kos and I won't regret starting out there as it brought me here. But there's certainly no going back to that for me.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

snoopydawg's picture

@lizzyh7

Red state was. And Rachel has become the very thing she used to say Bill O'Reilly was. Notice that when Bill was the one being crazy he had the number one show? Guess whose show is number one now? Funny coincidence? I think not.

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Brett Wilkins's picture

@snoopydawg I always say, I'd bet my left testicle that if I turn on Maddow she'll be blathering on about Russia this or Russia that. I stopped watching a long time ago.

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@Brett Wilkins @Brett Wilkins
do with your winnings?

i mean ... who needs a second left testicle?

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

thanatokephaloides's picture

@UntimelyRippd

i mean ... who needs a second left testicle?

Any male whose surname is DeMedici.

Wink

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

'round here we call that a merit badge. Welcome.

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CB's picture

You are in very good company here. Most of us wear our as a badge of honor. It takes courage to stand up for truth and honesty in politics.

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snoopydawg's picture

We c99ers are not only being blamed for all the disruptions on ToP during the primary, but apparently we were Russian plants going back to last decade before Trump even decided to run. Apparently we got people to trust our bonifides by being critical of Bush and his policies, but then our real reasons for joining the site became exposed when we started criticizing Obama and his policies. Being against the illegal invasion of Libya? Russian bots just trying to say that Barry was just as bad as George. Have a problem with drones dropping bombs on weddings, funerals, hospitals and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians? Russian bots trying to sow dissenting opinions so people would see that they were both war criminals.

Yep. I'm serious. I've seen people saying this there. But a few people do miss our voices. Especially the ones who wrote lots of diaries.

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smiley7's picture

@snoopydawg

can confound the best minds. I am disappointed to have seen multiple accusations over time on Top that c99 is a site for conspiracy theorists written by people i enjoyed there.

Oh well, beyond my paygrade.

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Brett Wilkins's picture

@snoopydawg I guess we can't let it get to our heads. Maybe they'll get it one day, but I fear it will be too late. The social, economic and ecological destruction wrought by Republicrat corporate imperialism has brought us to a precipice and the DK ethos is helping to push us over the edge.

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Wink's picture

@Brett Wilkins

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

TheOtherMaven's picture

@Wink @Wink

is that it doesn't arbitrarily ban conspiracy theorizing. Here all angles can be studied and considered, and some people will consider some of them more probable than others, and that's just fine.

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Love it.

I posted at dailykos from 2004- 2016. I wasn't bojo'd, I quit. I couldn't stand the gangs, thugs, beatings, and arrogant and immature behavior of the people and admin a day longer. Like Cass, I deleted all my emails, diaries, whatever of mine I could get my hands on. I would rather be dipped and fried than to leave anything of mine behind and within their grubby reach. On the rare occasions when dkos stupidity reaches new heights and someone says, omg go look - I might. When I do, I can't the believe the mindless drivel. I also can't believe that some people have so little pride that they are still there choking down their words. c99 and the gang that went to Reddit maintain a connection. OPOL, DallasDoc, EkHornbeck, and BobSwern blow in and out of here too. There are others but I think you get the drift that dkos has ceased to exist for most of us. lol, MB even came by once or twice, but I think he thought better of it being on dkos payroll. Then we had Sabir sent here strictly for the purpose of trying to convince this group to vote for Hillary. He got more respect from us than the other trolls from there that came for that purpose, but in the end, blue no matter who is never going to fly here.

Well enough about dailykos. Welcome to c99. I hope we will see you more often, and you'll have more time to chat when you come.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@dkmich Then we had Sabir sent here strictly for the purpose of trying to convince this group to vote for Hillary. He got more respect from us than the other trolls from there that came for that purpose, but in the end, blue no matter who is never going to fly here.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Brett Wilkins's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger Wait, subir did that???

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Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@Brett Wilkins

and amusement.

Personally, I consider it one of C99's finest hours.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Brett Wilkins's picture

@dkmich Thanks, dkmich!

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WoodsDweller's picture

Is dKos still around? It's dropped off my radar. I don't have the emotional involvement many here have, I never registered over there, just lurked. There were some good environmental diaries there, but it's a big Internet and there's no point chatting up some girl who isn't interested in you, or offering your words to a site that has a different agenda, or trying to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.

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"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone

lotlizard's picture

“This Modern World” has become totally monotonous — Trump bad, Trump mad, Trump sad, all the time.

It’s a shame, but as others have said above, when you need a paycheck, the situation is what it is and you do what you have to do.

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snoopydawg's picture

@lotlizard

I can't scroll fast enough through that area of the front page. Even when I stop to read the comics I can't understand what the hell its saying. The funny thing about the site is that they are blaming things on Trump that Obama started and they never mention his roll in one. When I see one I scare my dawgs because of my outburst. Poor things. I should put them in the bedrooom when I'm reading the site.

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Wink's picture

welcome to the party!
I wrote something about Hillary's "granny panties" that was my third strike.
I missed it for a few months, as there were some great writers there, but rarely visit these days unless someone here posts a link. Enjoy C99!

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Nice to see you.

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