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

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

Pricknick's picture

Another individual is banned from the orange menace. Your story is like so many others who have come here as a refuge.
Welcome!

up
0 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Brett Wilkins's picture

@Pricknick OMG why haven't I thought to connect the two orange menaces before? Brilliant, and thanks for being the first to welcome me here. I feel like I'm already on the road to recovery!

up
0 users have voted.

@Brett Wilkins
you've had a few other welcoming comments following your first comment earlier. You can monitor your comments and replies by clicking the "My Account" button above and then click the "My Comments" link.

Great to see you publishing Brett.

up
0 users have voted.
Steven D's picture

@Brett Wilkins

up
0 users have voted.

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

detroitmechworks's picture

@Steven D @Steven D I tried to retweet a C99 Link you posted. It disappeared, not just from my feed, but your timeline. Did you delete it?

If not, we have proof of censorship of c99 by Twitter. Or I'm going crazy.

Edit: verified it was just a deleted comment. However, further testing of this theory is making me quite suspicious. Something stinks.

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

detroitmechworks's picture

@detroitmechworks Seriously. Go to @Detroit15 on twitter right now. Search for it, You won't find me otherwise.

Notice how I never say anything about c99?

Wrong. I've been posting direct links to the Logos EVERY day for 41 days.

We are being Censored.

Please, PLEASE prove me wrong. Show me that I'm just paranoid. Show me that if you DO see see the link you look in the left hand corner and notice the redirect before it goes to C99. Because there is no point to me having any social media presence if you can't see my stuff.

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

gulfgal98's picture

@detroitmechworks every day with few exceptions. They should be showing up on our feed if you are subscribed to caucus99percent on Twitter. However, I have not tested to see if we are being shadow banned.

up
0 users have voted.

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

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

detroitmechworks's picture

@gulfgal98

Did a people search. Apparently, it doesn't exist on twitter. Instead I get nice little 6 helpful suggestions on who I SHOULD follow.

Hillary Clinton... Funny thing, I BLOCKED HER.
2 Barack Obama accounts.
2 Bernie Sanders accounts.
and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.

Sheepdog confirmed. Proof saved.

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

JekyllnHyde's picture

@gulfgal98

up
0 users have voted.

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

CS in AZ's picture

@detroitmechworks @detroitmechworks

I scroll through and see many posts linking to your essays on the Logos series here at c99%. I clicked a couple of these and it brought me right to the essay here. No problems.

I’m not a member of twitter myself, so I’m not logged in there or anything. I found your page there by searching google for your username. BTW, there’s someone else with @Detriot_15 (with underscore), so almost the same name but it obviously not you. So I searched again, being more careful on the exact name, and found you right away. All of your logos posts and links appear to be present and working.

Edited to add screenshot for you.

E294FB43-7E7B-41F8-BA0D-01192DF6BC8B.jpeg

up
0 users have voted.
detroitmechworks's picture

@CS in AZ spelling. Try searching for C99 under people.

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Wink's picture

in ALL Twit searches.
@detroitmechworks
Their Search function sucks.

up
0 users have voted.

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.

detroitmechworks's picture

@Wink That I'm totally wrong, and will never bring this up again.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjWHBzkc6E8]

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

mimi's picture

@Brett Wilkins
someone reveals his race and image without hesitation. Respect alone for that. Now that you are here why don't you forget about little Napoleon and his big fights to crash the gates. May be you do not know about that. Do not worry, he put up more gates than crashing any.

up
0 users have voted.
Wink's picture

gates to the inner
@mimi
circle. Then promptly closed them behind him lest the unwashed follow.

up
0 users have voted.

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.

Brett Wilkins's picture

@mimi Maybe I'm just old school, but I don't remember learning anything about screen pseudonyms and avatars in J-school. That's because there wasn't any Internet to speak of, lol.

up
0 users have voted.

I only have an issue with one sentence:

Once upon a time, Kos, like so many of the centrist hawks hawked on his site, was a bonafide progressive.

I think that was a mirage.

up
0 users have voted.
gulfgal98's picture

@gjohnsit Mirage indeed! The little former CIA dude is now showing his true color.

up
0 users have voted.

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

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

TheOtherMaven's picture

@gulfgal98

A lot of us here wonder about that, and whether Daily Kos was ever anything but a CIA psyop.

up
0 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@TheOtherMaven whether Daily Kos was ever anything but a CIA psyop.

Agent Orange.

up
0 users have voted.

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?

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger ROTFLMAO!

I don't know what I'd do without you, NHK.

up
0 users have voted.

"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

JekyllnHyde's picture

@gulfgal98

... find out sooner or later that it is an exercise in futility. The weather is harsh, temperatures sub-freezing, terrain unforgiving, and the journey perilous. At some point, you accept the inevitable and retreat with your tail between your legs -- confronted with a harsh dose of reality and greatly diminished by the experience.

If any doubts, ask the German army or little Napoleon. Neither could tame Mother Russia. Then, you either end up losing badly or in Elba.

up
0 users have voted.

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@JekyllnHyde I really hate the fact that some of those NATO troops on the Russian border are German. Who the fuck puts German soldiers on Russia's western border? What exactly are we trying to relive here? It's foreign policy insanity.

Does anybody else feel like somebody wants to re-fight World War II?

It's a good thing the Russian government doesn't react the way ours does. What we've done is the rough equivalent of having Russian battleships line up along our West Coast, but even that doesn't cover it, since Russians have never actually attacked the U.S. Maybe more like having Japanese guys flying planes over Hawaii.

up
0 users have voted.

"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

JekyllnHyde's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

My comment had more to do with the "Russia, Russia, Russia" obsession that conspiracy theorists centrists like Rachel Maddow have been feasting on for the past couple of years. Too many people have been betting on this as an established fact of Russian meddling as the sole cause of Hillary's defeat in 2016 and arguing for Trump's impeachment. When the GOP took that route in 1997-98, it didn't quite work out for them, did it?

That said, watch this recent video in which Professor Cohen of NYU and Princeton takes Neocon Max Boot(licker) to task about Boot's interpretation of the history of Soviet-US relations. Boot called Cohen "an apologist for Russia for 45 years." "I don't do defamation of people," Cohen replied and proceeded to enlighten Boot about what had actually taken place. Anderson Cooper looked relieved when the exchange was over. (go to about 8:05 mark of the video)

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RToPP-n6YU width:620 height:350]
Stephen Cohen DEMOLISHES neocon tool Max Boot on CNN

up
0 users have voted.

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

Steven D's picture

@gjohnsit has always been an opportunist looking out for no. 1: himself.

up
0 users have voted.

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

@gjohnsit . Markos was CIA from day 1. I was there and caught on quickly. There is a reason the site is set up to ban dissent from progressives.

up
0 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Battle of Blair Mountain He herded us, and we flocked right in, because that's what people do when they have nowhere else to go.

up
0 users have voted.

"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

insurgency", supported by many on this blog. More and better democrats. How else could it be described. It's about electing progressives to the democratic party. I guess the only difference depends on the definition of better.

up
0 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Big Al That's correct. That's why I'm not part of that discussion.

up
0 users have voted.

"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

detroitmechworks's picture

of posting my GBCW there. I posted it HERE. Sorry you ran afoul of that nest of vipers, but unfortunately it's the only "Left" website the MSM will mention. Of course there's a reason for that, TOP follows the party line.

Welcome, hope you enjoy your stay.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ox-XplrKrE]

up
0 users have voted.

I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

WaterLily's picture

Great first post. Reading it, I was sorry you didn't realize what a cesspool you'd stumbled into two years ago ... but I'm glad you found your way here. I think you'll find yourself much happier, and better respected for your unique voice and research. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work!

Only one small quibble: I don't think Kos ever was a bona fide progressive, much as he'd like people to think.

up
0 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

Obama is universally revered at Daily Kos

I read your diary and then the rebuttal to it. I liked yours better. Nothing you said in it was untrue, but it was just like any criticism of Her over there. It is not tolerated. Even when quoting from the NYT or WaPo I was said to be spreading right wing talking points.

Face it. Some of the kos members are so far gone in their adulation of Barry and Hillary that they can't see straight. They refuse to see that they stayed silent when Barry did the same damned things that George did and they were all over him for it.

The funny thing is that Markos himself wrote a diary critical of Hillary in 08 stating that she is "too much of a Clinton Democrat" and that she shouldn't be president. Hey Markie, nothing has changed since you wrote that except that Hillary did more things that if a republican SOS had done them you would have been all up in their git. This my dear boy is called hypocrisy.

a pack of rabid hyenas howling deliriously

Such an apt description.

up
0 users have voted.

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

WaterLily's picture

@snoopydawg Agree, and I have an additional name for it, which happens to begin with the same phoenetic.

up
0 users have voted.
gulfgal98's picture

@WaterLily equines?

up
0 users have voted.

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

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

WaterLily's picture

@gulfgal98 But now that you mention it! Lol

up
0 users have voted.
Brett Wilkins's picture

@snoopydawg So, so glad to be outta there. I am debating whether or not to post this there under my GF's DK account she's never used. But reading the replies would probably just take precious minutes off of my life — both because of the time wasted and the negative effects on my mental and physical health!

up
0 users have voted.
Pluto's Republic's picture

@Brett Wilkins

...that you didn't. Not all pearls should be cast before all swine. Some should be held close to provide inner illumination and not spent on the unworthy.

up
0 users have voted.

____________________

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

@Pluto's Republic

Nothing would be gained by you posting this on ToP. They rejected you and your writing and they would not look at this objectively. It the 'leading a horse to water' thing...

Enjoy our embrace and bring your writing to where it will be appreciated.

up
0 users have voted.

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

Pluto's Republic's picture

duplicate

up
0 users have voted.

____________________

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

@Brett Wilkins

IIRC people had a problem with you saying that Obama was never a

I was going to write that Obama’s endorsement list tears open the old wounds of 2016. But those wounds haven’t yet healed. They’ve festered because Democrats, or at least the ones in charge, have stubbornly failed to learn the lessons of 2016 and are instead hell-bent on blaming everyone from Vladimir Putin to Sanders, Stein and socialists, instead of the bloody horrific candidate they ran

And after this truthful statement the first comment was about your sources. No rebuttal at all about what you said about Herheinous. Then you were slammed for writing at Common Dreams and Counterpunch. Wow! When did those site become right wing in their opinion? Just Wow.

My favorite comment though:

You don’t blame Vladimir Putin? Why?

Your tweet that Trump has been harsher on Russia that Obama was has been verified, but that fact gets in the way of their fallacy that Trump is Putin's BFF in the biblical sense. I first started seeing homophobic graphics on the website that claims it is the most liberal in the nation. Yeah. Going from supporting LBQT issues to hinting that the lifestyle is bad has got to be the most hypocritical thing about that place.

Second favorite comment when you said no such thing:

It’s trashing Obama and promoting Jill Stein that’s the problem

And your defense of that comment is what got you banned. You stated that Stein was not qualified to be president. Nothing wrong with that and you did admit that Hillary was the most qualified person to be president. Nothing wrong with that. But then you added that she had so much blood on her hands so not sure that qualified is such a great thing to be when it comes to being the leader of the world's number one killer of foreign civilians. Nothing wrong or untruthful with that statement either.
That people ignored that fact on the site the last 10 years is just mind boggling.

Your getting banned because of that diary shows me how far the 'most liberal' website has fallen since BHO became president.

up
0 users have voted.

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

@snoopydawg ... if it weren't for the fun of pissing off the personality cultists in Obama's years. NOT having the place as an universal admiration society for Obama was what made their spittle fly. The fact that most of them simply transferred their adoration to Her in 2015-16 is the most completely unsurprising development ever.

up
0 users have voted.

Please help support caucus99percent!

gulfgal98's picture

This is the thing that rang so true with me. I even got into it with Armando that dkos was actually promoting self censorship because if you didn't do it on certain topics, you got bojo'd. I never got bojo'd. I just left because I am vehemently against any form of censorship, be it self censorship or otherwise.

up
0 users have voted.

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

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

Big Al's picture

@gulfgal98 Something some here don't like to admit or even talk about, but it's a fact. Pretty hard to avoid I suppose when it comes to this kind of thing. The majority will push on the minority and many will not feel like it's worth it to challenge. Or some might not feel they're knowledgeable enough or whatever enough to comment on things.

up
0 users have voted.

@Big Al

Something some here don't like to admit or even talk about, but it's a fact.

It's not very effective then! LOL
Maybe we need some training.

/s

up
0 users have voted.
Big Al's picture

@gjohnsit You're discounting what some others are feeling relative to posting here?

up
0 users have voted.

@Big Al
But the comparison was to dkos.
Has anyone been bojod here for an opinion?

To be fair, I self censor a little because of the nsa

up
0 users have voted.
mimi's picture

@gjohnsit
not for fear to get ridiculed or put down by other members of this site, but for fear of being surveilled too closely. Sure people are worried, we are all scared, or folks are talking in tongues (at least it sounds to me like that often) to obfuscate and confuse the search engines for content.

And I think your tit for tat with Big Al isn't going places. A lot of people who posted here in the beginning do not anymore. I really think it would be worth while knowing why that is. At least I miss those voices. And I am for sure the person who understands the least of all commentator's opinions.

I think I saw you for the first time posting a comment on Joe's EB lately. ... Unknw

up
0 users have voted.
Pricknick's picture

@mimi

we are all scared

up
0 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

mimi's picture

@Pricknick

up
0 users have voted.

@mimi

We're small potatoes. Nobody cares about me or us. The only thing I self-censor is wishing someone like Trump or Obama dead, choked by a peanut, using phrases like blow up the party. As far as Al's comments, I have no clue. Whatever he is seeing here is missing me by a mile.

up
0 users have voted.

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

mimi's picture

@dkmich @dkmich

up
0 users have voted.
Brett Wilkins's picture

@dkmich Every now and then this or that publication will cite caucus99percent. But nowhere near DK's level of recognition. That could be a good thing.

up
0 users have voted.
janis b's picture

@mimi

I self-censor, not because of any anonymous surveyors (NSA included) - but because I care about what I say in response to the people here and how it might be received … and because I want to keep my sense of integrity intact for myself.

I too wonder why some former respected commenters have chosen not to continue commenting. There are probably numerous reasons why, one of which I believe is because certain perspectives can seem too extreme or biased to identify with, and can be a deterrent.

up
0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@janis b

up
0 users have voted.
janis b's picture

smiley7's picture

@janis b

Voices shared
walked on
don't know why
yes i do
too much drive through
not enough food

we're here, still
community
in this sky
asking why
giving comfort
don't know why

staying
because of you
not too much longer though
if tides turn the way there are
have been of late
playing songs of hate
must cease to relate
for honor's sake.

Thank you!

up
0 users have voted.
janis b's picture

@smiley7

Keeping the faith will forever be a challenge, but it is an honourable challenge that we are charged with. I hope that we can continue to do it together.

up
0 users have voted.
WaterLily's picture

@janis b Gives me goosebumps still.

up
0 users have voted.
janis b's picture

@WaterLily @WaterLily

I think we often share much in common musically. I find many of Marc Cohn's songs emotive, especially that one. Every time I listen it brings tears.

I know this is one of our favourites ...

[video:https://youtu.be/JccW-mLdNe0]

up
0 users have voted.
WaterLily's picture

@janis b Can't express how much I love this one. So great you remember our musical commonality!

up
0 users have voted.
mimi's picture

@janis b

...but because I care about what I say in response to the people here and how it might be received

I am not good at it. May be because

... because I want to keep my sense of integrity intact for myself.

I am basically too tired to censor my words in order not to hurt other people's feelings these days.

I try, but lately I wasn't. Since I am back in Germany, everything went downhill and I am just unhappy. I also talk personally here. As for Big Al and gjohnsit's disputes, I am on Big Al's side. He is just a little sensitive and too 'unhappy' (boy did I self-censor myself with this expression or what?). Have mercy with Big Al.

I think we should fed-ex Big Al a big German chocolate cake. That might help. Smile

Nothing for Ungood. I can survive here only making silly jokes.

Peace.

up
0 users have voted.

@mimi for self-censorship. I just bowed out of a forum dealing with a practical skill with which I have about 50 yrs. of experience because some of the members were more interested in virtue policing than in sharing techniques and information. No, I was not asked to leave, I simply did not return. Life is too short.

up
0 users have voted.

Mary Bennett

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@janis b I figured it was just because politics is so damned depressing right now, and might even seem pointless to some. We lost a lot of voices after the 2016 election debacle. And I'm not talking about the one in November.

up
0 users have voted.

"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

janis b's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

I think your notion is probably closer to the reason why some stopped participating. On reflection, my comment was likely more a projection of what I myself sometimes felt.

up
0 users have voted.
Big Al's picture

@gjohnsit I now won't post comments in your "diaries" and I know others won't as well. I also don't post essays here anymore, been almost two months and numerous others don't as well. That's self censorship. There doesn't have to be a threat of banning for self censorship to occur. And like I said, I'm sure there are many people who would like to join a debate but don't for one reason or another. That's self censorship. In one way, it's the nature of blogging and commenting, in others it's because of the atmospheres created.
As for the NSA, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

up
0 users have voted.

@Big Al

I also don't post essays here anymore, been almost two months and numerous others don't as well. That's self censorship.

Do you have another place that you feel more free to speak? I ask because there may be something we can learn from there.

As for the NSA, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

You are probably right, but if you aren't that's a huge thing to get wrong.

up
0 users have voted.

@Big Al

Why don't you comment in gjohnsit's diaries or post your own diaires here? What are you afraid of? What is putting you off?

I find gjohnsit totally open to opposing positions, and he puts more effort into disclaimers than I ever would and he still has some people taking issue with his opinions. c99 is a pussycat. If you can't post your opinions here, I don't know where anyone can.

up
0 users have voted.

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

Big Al's picture

@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 used myself as an example but I know other people who are here or have been here feel the same way.
It's being viewed as impossible evidently that it could occur on this blog and that my and others "feelings", which are basically the foundation of self censorship, must be wrong. We couldn't possibly feel that way because there's no reason for self censorship here. All while being told how open this blog is, which is a bit ironic because there doesn't appear to be much openness related to this issue.
And is gjohnsit off limits relative to challenging his opinions?
I'm just going to drop it now and continue to self censor.

up
0 users have voted.

@Big Al @Big Al

Feeling something only makes it so for you. It doesn’t make it a truth. If people here weren’t supportive of your right to express yourself and the opportunity for others to hear you, they wouldn’t be asking you not to retreat. It doesn’t mean you won’t get disagreement and maybe someone will even be rude, but “the group” is urging you to share.

I grew up as what I see as an overly sensitive female. Wearing my heart on my sleeve was not a good thing for me. Coping required me to put my feelings in what I see as their proper place/perspective. In English this means I can be understanding and lack empathy(feelings) because I have devalued them. I only share this to explain my “style” of communication. Many are shocked by my directness. I can see it in their face. If I have said something to you that made you feel bad, it was never my intent.

up
0 users have voted.

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

mimi's picture

@Big Al @gjohnsit
and the atmosphere ain't the same anymore since ... well ... I do not self-censor myself ...since you took over the front page. JtC must have his reasons why he gave you the privilege to do so, and I respect his decisions, but it changed the atmosphere.

I was banned because I said GBCW at dailykos myself in 2015. I remember I have been at dailykos since its beginnings in 2004. I was banned so fast in 2015 that I could not even log off from dailykos. So for the last years if I went over to dailykos I still saw myself in the banned but logged in status. I just checked it. Now I am non existing at dailykos. I am sure you could search for my name there. Try it and tell me if there is still something that is called mimi. I doubt it.

I remember when and how dailykos was created. It came out of a guy named Rusty and his kuro5hin thingy. Without Meteor Blades that site would never have taken off. I am not willing to give no respect and credit when and to whom and where it is due, at least imo.

Thinking about all that makes me really sad.

Clearly there are quite some people who posted and commented here in the beginning in 2015 and 2016 who are not here anymore and that is a big loss. This site had many voices back then and it has not anymore.

up
0 users have voted.

@mimi @mimi

First, gjohnsit contributes for free a ton of work to this site. No blog exists without writers. In return, gjohnsit gets to post directly to a front page that most of agree we never even look at. If the front page exists for no purpose and it is creating divisiveness, JtC should just delete it. How some people can be jealous and resentful over so little is beyond me.

The people who were here and left, left for good or don't blog much anymore and just come to say hello. IMO, those who left because they couldn't deal with c99's unconventional politics and found slight at every turn - yet put up with dailykos bullshit for years - are no loss. They are probably nice people entitled to their views, but snowflakes and hypocrites as well, who have long been replaced by new people less judgmental of c99 and other people.

up
0 users have voted.

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

@dkmich
it's purpose is for those that are not familiar with us and are coming to c99p for the first time. It tells the world who we are and if folks like what they see then hopefully they'll dig further into our content.

It's also a filter that keeps some of the essays that are better off not displayed to the world, such as when we are airing out our dirty laundry pie fights and meta discussions. And also for the occasional essay posted that is not really representative of us but because of our open discussion ethos is left published.

up
0 users have voted.
Pluto's Republic's picture

@JtC

It's also a filter that keeps some of the essays that are better off not displayed to the world...

The front page has served everyone well.

up
0 users have voted.

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

@JtC

You would know better than I if it still serves a purpose. I'm just speaking pragmatically for those of us out in the field.

up
0 users have voted.

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

@dkmich
that comment wasn't meant for you specifically but for those out in the field.

I've seen the front page questioned repeatedly lately and thought this was as good a spot as any to make some clarifications.

up
0 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

@dkmich

I don't understand how gjohnsit's ability to post his essays to the front page would change anything here. As you also said most people don't even look at the front page. IF one wants to find a problem then it's easy to look for one.

I don't feel that I have to self censor myself here. If people don't like what I say that's okay because this isn't an echo chamber where if you don't agree with someone you get kicked off the island.

up
0 users have voted.

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

mimi's picture

@dkmich
who is not that easily to deal with, like Big Al. It is not really my business. What I think about Big Al's comments is irrelevant. I just do not know why everything has become so difficult to deal with. Either I have changed a lot or something has changed in my perception.

Chaqu'un a son plaisir, I guess.

up
0 users have voted.

@mimi @mimi

We all want to support Al. Some of us just aren't willing to acquiesce so as not to hurt someone's feelings when it isn't about them to begin with. I don't mean to pick on Al. According to him, he isn't alone.

up
0 users have voted.

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

@mimi

it's the atmosphere created ....
and the atmosphere ain't the same anymore since ... well ... I do not self-censor myself ...since you took over the front page. JtC must have his reasons why he gave you the privilege to do so, and I respect his decisions, but it changed the atmosphere.

The front page was created a few months after c99p went live in January of 2015. The very first front pagers that were given the ability to promote their own essays were gjohnsit, Joe and Robyn, so I don't know how you can claim that the atmosphere has been changed since gjohnsit was given the "privilege" to promote his own work and "took over the front page". He's been there since day one of the front page.

up
0 users have voted.
mimi's picture

@JtC @gjohnsit
I don't remember he was on the front page since the beginning. I also forgot that he works for free. I am really sorry for what I said. I remember now a couple of comments he made that make my comment a piss-poor one. So, yes, that was a bad comment. Sorry gjohnsit. I just wished we could have more harmony among the different members here.

I think I just do not remember things anymore correctly.

I understand your arguements for having the front page. I should not have said what I felt, it wsas simply my own feeling in the last couple of month and as that not relevant.

up
0 users have voted.

@mimi

It gave you a chance to test their validity. If you had kept quiet, you would be laboring under several wrong assumptions. Now that would be unfair to you and gjohnsit.

up
0 users have voted.

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

@mimi

Submitted by JtC on Fri, 08/17/2018 - 2:54pm
For the sake of clarification...
@dance you monster
Big Al also has editor status and can promote his work to the front page as well, it's been that way for a year or so.

Just thought I'd throw that in for the minds that may inquire.

mimi you have a big heart.

up
0 users have voted.

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

mimi's picture

@dkmich
here
Thanks for helping me out, dkmich. I really did not want to escalate the issue any further, especially because I had made so many wrong assumptions, due to my incapability to keep up things correctly in my memeory.

I just wished gjohnsit would forgive me for my comments and misconceptions.

My doctor said I have too big a heart and that is causing me problems, literally. No kidding. I have a heart condition since I was 21. I just ignored it. Smile

Thanks for helping me through this awkward thread.

up
0 users have voted.
dance you monster's picture

@mimi

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

For anyone who doesn't recall, I think it was my comment to Big Al in a gjohnsit essay that dkmich upthread referred to as "rude." Big Al subsequently admitted that his comment had made it all about him, not about the topic of the essay, and I had called him on that, bluntly. 'Nuff said.

Big Al, I agree we all self-censor for a variety of reasons, and I had been tempted then to self-censor my reaction to your comment. I was right in my reaction, but I was going to let it slide. Then I didn't, and we had a little meta battle for a few days here.

Big Al, I will implore you to self-censor any pettiness, and I will try to do likewise. But do not, ever, self-censor your ideas, your goals, your strategies, your counter-arguments. We need those words and those ideas. They make c99p work; they make us think. I only took you on when you abandoned those ideas to dwell on some perceived popularity contest. We may not agree on everything (though you'd be shocked at how much we do agree on), but without the debate none of us could make a case that anyone would take seriously.

Mimi, sorry to hijack your thread here, but this seemed to need airing.

up
0 users have voted.

@dance you monster

I think it was my comment to Big Al in a gjohnsit essay that dkmich upthread referred to as "rude."

I see the "I think" up above so I know you are speculating or otherwise musing outloud, but trust me, I was speaking in generalities and not to you. If I'm anything, I'm oblivious to my surroundings. If you pushed back at Al, it too probably went right over my head.

I do agree with you and JtC, and I don't get the miffed feelings that lay? lie? dormant around here. If we were anymore open, the wind would rattle through here at gale force.

up
0 users have voted.

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

dance you monster's picture

@dkmich

But I was most visibly at the headwaters of that meta flood.

No prob between us. I'm hoping any problem between me and Al will subside.

up
0 users have voted.

@dance you monster
Big Al also has editor status and can promote his work to the front page as well, it's been that way for a year or so.

Just thought I'd throw that in for the minds that may inquire.

up
0 users have voted.
dance you monster's picture

@JtC

Makes a helluva lot more sense to me than this ongoing whatever-it-is. Yup, I self-censored.

up
0 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@dance you monster I hope to see you next Wednesday. It will be an essay I've been not looking forward to writing, about what stops us from acting. It would be good for you to be around.

up
0 users have voted.

"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

@dance you monster

This dialog would never have happened anywhere else. Everyone would be name calling, throwing donuts, and otherwise flying off the handle. No problem between us before or now. I just wanted to be sure you knew that I wasn't addressing you or anything you did.

up
0 users have voted.

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

Pages