Wow. The changes at TOP: Beginning of the end?
First, I am now Officially Thrilled to have found this place. It will be some time before the shell-shock of the changes at TOP have provided me dissipates. Thanks for this.
This morning I posted a piece on a group of people somewhere - 4chan was blamed - for making up a fake meme about Bernie buying an expensive car with donor's money.
Unbelievers try to tar Bernie with expensive sports car claim. And fail.
It is sourced from Snopes, properly documented and all, but it has functioned as a Rorschach test. The word I used - "unbeliever' has just ruffled all sorts of undies, most likely of those who are not in support of Mr. Sanders, but I have no real proof. (rolls eyes, whistles cutely)
"Unbeliever" has been like pouring bleach on the ground to draw up worms. They have come out of the woodwork to wail and whine and gnash their teeth and...you know. It's insane.
Yesterday, at the landscaping job (that I went to college and grad school and worked every hard to avoid getting but now enjoy because the economy is so fucked) I mowed for 6.5 hours. An hour and a half in the rain. Provided me with a long time to meditate on the shit that is happening at TOP.
Kos has opened the door to bullying. Plain and simple. Suck up to Hillary or your days are numbered and all the partial personalities are running with the impunity of kittens playing near a dog that is chained.
I am more than capable of dealing with bullying but Kos has hobbled defense of Bernie, essentially. Not in so many words, but an excellent example of oblique strategy.
The other thing is it looks like - and please correct me if I am wrong - but it appears there is huge attrition of Bernie supporters there. A mix of people just giving up, folks terrified by not knowing what's OK and what's not (and rabid Clintonites blurring the boundaries), and those who maybe said Hasta La Vista and just came here.
While I am feeling significantly muzzled, it is my nature to not give up easily (usually) and to find a route through or around. While I suck miserably at chess, it has provided me with the idea that one needs to look for more and more angles to win something that might appear doomed at first glance. That's what I was doing while mowing yesterday: thinking about angles.
However, mulling it over for hours left me with little doubt that the site is morphing significantly into something that it was not just a year ago and that is going to have no place for me or my views or beliefs.
I am not sure what will happen after the primary and we have an actual (versus theoretical) nominee. Will this shit calm down?
It might settle down, like it did after the Obama -Clinton primary war but I don't know.
The flavor has changed though. Attacking Bernie supporters has been greenlighted and defense by Bernie supporters is hobbled.
Unsure if it will pull out of it or if Daily Kos will become something that it was not just a years ago (in my estimations) and that would a place where what I call "weenieism" is rewarded.
And I cannot deal with that.
Comments
I really like how photos post.
Sweet!
I think I lost my taste for the place
and 40% of the kossacks are not in my make nice book. I think the bullies have been given lots of slack in their leashes and that things will never be the same. I like this place. I don't have to worry about what I say.
There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties.. This...is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.--John Adams
If Hillary wins the primary, it will get worse.
Zero criticism will be tolerated because you might tell the GOP something they don't know and make her lose. lol.
Welcome to c99. We are an issues-oriented site. Many are Bernie supporters, others are Green. I think we even have one Hilllary supporter here. Please check out welcome new members, top left hand link. What we are is civil to each other. There is no civil conversation when someone is in your face wagging their finger in your face. (Hear that Hillary.)
Poke around. Check out the membership list. We understand people need time to climb down off the ledge after being a member of dkos. Welcome.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
No more clicks for Kos
I don't care that if Bernie gets the nomination Kos does a 180 and pledges fealty to his new overlord I will not go back. Every click on GOS is money in Kos's pocket and now that he's shown his true colors I'll help him no more.
Is it a "no-no" to post a link?
Just wondering.
I totally get the rest of it.
No - I think its totally fine to share a link
There's just a group of us who won't go back for anything. But you can do what you like and share what you like - no worries!
Although, for those of us with DK PTSD - anytime you can excerpt or share relevant info from the link will be appreciated, too.
And welcome!
Nope...
not a no-no.
Please be sure to label it as such.
TOS is totally Taboo for me. I don't want to ever give that Machiavellian slime-ball another click, intentionally or not.
Acronyms TOP, TOS, GOS, I know they refer
to DKOS, but what do they stand for?
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
mostly
top = the other place
tos=the orange satan?
gos=great orange satan.
umm.. there are others.
I like my acronym for .. well you guess. PCI APO = probale CIA psyops operative.
you're not alone , all the acronyms have my head spinning too.
With their hearts they turned to each others heart for refuge
In troubled years that came before the deluge
*Jackson Browne, 1974, Before the Deluge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SX-HFcSIoU
That Other Place
That Other Place
That Other Site
Great Orange Satan
TOP = That Other Place. That's a C99 neologism.
GOS is longstanding usage at TOP, meaning Great Orange Satan. TOS generally means Terms of Service, but in the comment you cite I think it's just a typo.
Hillary Clinton 2016: I'm a proud progmoderate!
My take...
top = that other place
tos = that other site
gos = great orange satan, which belongs to them.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Why bother?
Know it an be difficult to let something you have invested in go, but it really is for the best. There is nothing for you to gain from posting TOP, and even less to gain from posting about it here.
So grateful for the welcome this site has given to so many people. Why crowd the bad width with stories or complaints about another website?
Everyone can see what's happened to Kos and his website. And that is what he's proving: it is HIS website. Yes, many people gave him money, and more than that, their time & talent, and he abused those people. Not much an be done about it now, except to let it go.
You can't get back the time, money, or energy. Seems wise to now apply all in a better way.
I've been stealing back my diaries
at least the ones I think other people might be interested in. I've been sneaking in the unlocked back door via Google and doing discreet copy-paste-save to local files. Some of them will need links re-established, or verified to make sure they are still there, and some probably want updating (like my series on Boujemaa Razgui and his flutes - he was able to replace them, though it took him quite a bit of time and trouble, and he is still performing).
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
Good news!
News to me, and I am glad to hear it.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
I joined DKos for the freewheeling discussion, and now that's
at an end. It's interesting that even though people here have similar political beliefs, there's more discussion. I like to learn new things. Just today I've looked up information on Jane Hamsher and Charlie Chaplin because of comments here. I can't tell you the last time I learned or was prompted to learn anything new on DKos. It's been a long time. There's certainly nothing new in all those Hill is Great! diaries.
I'm staying at DKos for now for the community. If I don't get banned. I'm kind of having fun "giving Hillary constructive advice" and seeing how much I can diss her in the process. The more my community moves over here, the more time I find myself spending here, though. One of the best things over there: The messages behind the scenes with the Bernie groups.
DKos will go back to something like it was after the election. But many people will stay gone, so it will be a shadow of itself.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
The photo thing is so stupid.
If something like this is going to work, it has to have an element of the truth.
Bernie was interviewed somewhere about what car he drives. Answer: red ford. The 1 indulgence: it has a good sound system.
1 of his daughters said if it were up to him, his car would still have roll up windows.
OMG, he's my dad! lol.
OMG, he's my dad! lol. Seriously, my dad I think still has roll up windows. Though he just got a new car so maybe finally moved on.
Ha! My 2002 Echo has roll-up windows
I always say that it will save my life if I drive off a bridge...
I must say, though, that sucker has never broken down, and its almost 15 years old now... Cheap but reliable.
He said a small Chevy...
...the smallest one they make...
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/04/politics/town-hall-takeaways-clinton-sanders/
I want my two dollars!
Pfffftttt...
noting wrong with roll up windows. My car is equipped with them. The only thing I am missing is the windows (neighbors thought breaking two of them a good idea).
I am pretty sure that was a Chevy.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Our 2008 Cobalt has roll-up windows
Got it from Hertz Car Sales at a great price -- the one "luxury" is the Sirius XM Radio which is great for long car trips down I-5 when all you can find on terrestrial radio is country music, Mexican stations, Christian talk and Mexican Christian country. Also great for us as sports fans -- we can listen to any baseball, football or hockey game. Music-wise I love the "Decades" stations (60s, 70s, 80s, et al) and the classic rock sounds of Deep Tracks and Classic Vinyl.
in just the past month even..
in just the past month even...
"Attacking Bernie supporters has been greenlighted and defense by Bernie supporters is hobbled."
the thing is... it may have the appearance of hobbling Bernie, but this whole "Bernie thing" that is under attack is NOT just about Bernie, the man or the candidate or even this election. It's not just a catchy slogan: NotMeUs. They are attacking us and an awful lot of "Us'es", people who've never heard of DKos or blogs or twitter but they know Bernie is speaking truth to power.
The upjack of the level of absurdity & vitriol I've seen at TOP the past few days convinces me more than ever, we've turned the corner.
That Fight Song "Im So Sick" moment on youtube? 667,445 views now, in less than 24 hours. That moment occurred in real time at the same time thousands were lining up to see Bernie speak in The Bronx. (Bernie made The Bronx white now too I guess, heh)
We're close. Not there quite yet but close.
Don't let them get to you, Doc, chill out with us here for a while and b r e a t h e...
It has opened many eyes.
Although people's feelings get hurt by being banned or insulted, seeing the place for what it ism, with both good and not good, is important.
BNR has raised over $50,000 for Bernie there and still survives. On the other hand, bullying and suppression of speech is there.
What this says about the Democratic Party overall is beyond the scope of this comment.
In 2001 and 2002, people like Gephardt, who was pro-labor, anti-trade deal, but not a leftist, wanted to bring the Greens, the Nader voters back into the Democratic Party. If Bernie does not prevail, will they try to bring Bernie voters back in, or will they just demand votes and money without any influence over policy?
Class struggle pops up all over the place when some least expect it.
Good comment LL.
If history is any guide, it will be a lot of derision
and condescension followed by "STFU and vote for our person." I will probably end up writing in Bernie in the general election, because I live in Illinois and it is highly doubtful a Republican will win the state. It will take a lot to convince me otherwise--the DNC needs a heavy dose of reality before they will even attempt to move leftward.
Nah, you'll be checking the
Nah, you'll be checking the box for Bernie!
And this is when I gave up that place.
When I posted I would write in Bernie, never vote for the former SoS, that is when I got multiply flagged. When that became bannable, I was done.
My personal vote, not third party,not Green, not a no vote, a vote for a Democrat, not in a diary, was bannable, straight from the top, that was it.
I never advocated jack.
So live with your decision, Kos like rose.
what does TOP mean? embarrased to ask
i missed that one.. I think it refers to DK, I know that GOS refers to the Great Orange Satan... got to keep up
Tx.
Sea Turtle
TOP = That Other Place.
I don't know who coined it, but it's become pretty much standard usage here.
Hillary Clinton 2016: I'm a proud progmoderate!
Ahh,, tx. now I know, appreciate it
Sea Turtle
It's a euphemism for DK!
It means "The Other Place." So we don't have to refer to it by it's real name
PS: Don't feel bad for not knowing -- I just happened to stumble on the explanation in an earlier comment.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare
ta, 'ppreciate it! :-)
Sea Turtle
Considering how much they hide
their heads in the sand about the foibles of their candidate, I think it should stand for That Ostrich Place.
Maybe someone can color this in:
Red, white, and blue, with stars?
(Picture died...imagine, if you will, a large flightless bird, thrusting his head into the sand.)
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
what does TOP mean? embarrased to ask
Thanks so much for asking! I also was embarrassed to ask. Now we both know. And I am glad that someone placed a link to This Place at That Other Place so we can follow them here. I will still have to go play with the PWB Peeps but for the grit, I will be here.
Thanks for the hearty welcome!
Mufftootuff
There will be insistence
that we take the Clinton loyalty oath. I wish Hillary cared more about expanding democracy in America not trying to stifle it when it conflicts with her own selfish interests.
Beware the bullshit factories.
Roll up windows save lives!
Bernie's smart!
If it's below zero and your electric window gets stuck down, you freeze to death trying to get home.
If you drive into deep water and the electric window won't open, you drown!
Got a fire in the car and the doors and electric windows won't open? that's not gonna be good.
All these life threatening situations are removed with roll up windows.
Bernie's no fool.
With their hearts they turned to each others heart for refuge
In troubled years that came before the deluge
*Jackson Browne, 1974, Before the Deluge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SX-HFcSIoU
Mythbusters
Mythbusters showed that even electric windows will roll down if the car is in water.
" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "
I love that logo.
I do not understand how the battery could fail to
short-circuit, at least in salt water.
Hmm.
Maybe it just depends on how whether there's a bubble under the hood where the battery terminals are above the water.
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.
To many variables...
Saltwater? did they test in salt water?
Collision damage to the car wiring system or battery? That's the biggest one...
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
hmm
1: I dress for the cold
2: Have never driven into deep water. Drove into a clear creek once till water was lapping up on top of the hood of my truck and backed out. 4x4s - yay!
3: Only had small fires in the car, inhaled the smoke, everything was fine when the fire burned out.
4: I still like electric windows, so as a compromise, I have manual windows in the 4X4 and power windows in my car payment.
Just to be clear:
I didn't leave DK: I was told, time and time again, I was not welcome. Constantly, over and over. They finally made it clear and locked the door for a few days.
The day I got my first warning, a week long TO for flagging the comment by the asshole bully that flagged OPOL's diary (I am NOT a flag offender) was the day I ignored the warning (FUCK NO! - I'm not going to "acknowledge to continue",) simply logged off and will likely never participate as a member (logged on with a user name) ever again.
This is not a hard decision, particularly if you have no penance, apologies or amends to make. I sure as hell don't.
I'll back up my diaries, log on one last time to delete everything I can and never have to be a member again. Same thing I did at numerous other sites in the last 30 years when they jumped the shark (remember Huffpo requiring FB sign in? - I just never signed in again.)
It's not difficult to do if you have a basic understanding of the rules of etiquette. I don't stay where I'm not welcome and I am definitely NOT WELCOME. I can take a hint. When they are ready to apologize to me, I'll consider returning. Trust me, I won't hold my breath.
Until then, hasta la vista, baby...
I was there from 2008-2011
And by then the pattern of ousting leftist writers had become quite clear. They also run authoritarian, so considering your score on the political compass test, likely a waste of time for you to even try there.
They used to say people were sometimes bad fits. By the fourth site upgrade they'd invented a logo for banned users indicating that we're poison.
Or pirates, if you prefer
Stay on track. Stay in lane. Don't throw rocks.
Arrrrr!
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
Did somebody say Pirates?
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f55CqLc6IR0]
Hey, c'mon, it's ME. You think I'd pass up a perfect opportunity to celebrate the Jolly Roger?
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
I had no problem ditching DailyKos
I registered with DailyKos in 2006 but I never got as invested as some people seem to be. Mostly I write for a group blog in Utah which is nothing like the DKos rat-race. It was easy for me to ditch Markos and never look back.
"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."
You sure the car thing isn't April Fools?
Bernie drives something which would be considered a clunker from an average upper-middle class perspective (a no-frills and not especially new vehicle) from what I understand.
Welcome whatever he drives.
'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member
The meme came up a couple days ago.
I was rained out of work today and saw it come across twitter. It's not an April Fools thing.
Man you really stired em up
with "unbeliever." It brought out the word police big time. Pretty funny stuff, and very telling as well. Nice to see you here by the way.
I chose it off the cuff, expended 9 whole seconds considering it
But seriously, those who remember the Clinton-Obama Primary wars... it was a clash among believers and all the folks wailing and yammering over there this morning - Hillary believers.
It seems a whole lot like this....
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qac1IHtCzi8]
This video is blocked
so it forced me to find something even more ridiculous.
[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrfZPMH-CEg]
Hillary supporters seem at huge risk of becoming like this.
WHEN Bernie wins the nomination and the presidency...
... can you imagine...??? The hysterical screams, moans, groans, wailing, heart-rending cries, gnashing of teeth, charges of stealing the nomination and the election...???
Note to self: Buy a few pints of Häagen-Dazs & soft drinks for the Schadenfreude Shindig. Rulz for the party: You may watch and read, even laugh with glee, but you may not comment.
I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute ..., where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference. — President John F. Kennedy, Houston, TX, 12 September 1960
Ever time I read something
Ever time I read something over there now, I find myself thinking about how I can't wait until they choke on their words.
Gawd, I've been feeling that since June! n/t
'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member
Either I matured in the past 11 years (well, but...)
There was a major shift in the past year or so OT where discussions with differing viewpoints morphed into adversarial contests. Yes, that's a Presidential Primary year complaint, but now the vicious arguments have little logic, just red-herring tossing. The ridiculous argument defending Hillary as only relying on donations from gas station attendants or rig workers (not mucky-mucks in the industry) was to turn that to "But you all drive cars!!!". Logic? That's like comparing how much tax money goes to MIC to dairy farmer subsidies. A 7th grader should have more sense.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I saw that
I saw that whole {pile of pooh} yesterday and just sat here shaking my head. As my daughter says: "sounds fake but okay" Also laughed at a couple of the good snarky replies, lol.
Seriously, just in the last day or two I've shifted. I have posted a couple of pushback 'heres the facts' kind of replies in a couple spots, just very short and simple, thinking there was some value in doing so, but now... satire is the only thing that makes any sense at all in the face of that blind bullshit. I dont really "do" satire myself (usually!) but theres a few talented DFH rebels still kickin it there, heh.
Only the Court Jester
can criticize the Queen.
I used to think sarcasm was safe
But even humor "that made some people uncomfortable" got me timed out for two weeks, and I wasn't getting flagged.
That's a bad sign of totalitarianism right there, when even humor is unacceptable.
"Polls don't tell us how well a candidate is doing; Polls tell us how well the media is doing." ~ Me
When they tried to lynch Ted Rall for the way he draws...
It was a very bad precedent. Because a bunch of people didn't like the fact that Rall goes after EVERYBODY in power, they decided to find his cartoon style "Racist".
Not the first time they went after cartoonists, and I was always VERY uncomfortable with that. Political Cartoons are effective, ESPECIALLY when they get a gut reaction.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
That was pretty effectively debunked
By those who pointed out that Rall draws common people with all shades of skin, and draws them close to identically. Politicians he makes ugly, and examples were found of white politicians whom he drew almost identically to how he was drawing Obama.
He was upset about the accusations and asked friendly parties on his blog whether they thought them true. I got the sense at the time that he was being scapegoated by Markos to throw a bone to those who had accused Markos of racism in the past.
But Rall will always be controversial because that's how he rolls, he pushes limits. So it's hardly surprising he would not fare well on a rather authoritarian blog. What was disturbing, though, was how vicious it got.
Stay on track. Stay in lane. Don't throw rocks.
I have a Love/Hate relationship with Rall.
I agree with him about as often as I disagree with him. Which I like because it means he's an individual with his own thoughts and opinions...
I agree, he does push boundaries, but I personally find that to be admirable. One thing I'm loving about Berke Breathed's return to comics is that he is once again pushing the limits, which really is a good thing, IMHO.
Art doesn't need to SHOCK, but it does need to elicit an emotional reaction, IMHO. Fawning cartoons don't elicit anything to me.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Rall's pissed me off at times
But, y'know, defend unto death your right to say it, etc.
He's a button pusher. He's harsh. He can be vicious. Remember how he drew Bush at times? Some of those were just grotesque. But what he said at the time of the DK debacle was that the artistic process does not allow editing of content from outside, or it kills the spark of it. That it is of a whole, and when you are a political cartoonist and somebody says "don't draw this person like that," it cuts close to the bone.
Stay on track. Stay in lane. Don't throw rocks.
Also, the argument was "you should listen to black people
About racism," and while I agree wholeheartedly, the problem people get into is translating that into "only POC get to have opinions about racism and they can never be questioned or challenged in any manner by white people," which is dishonest as it implies that POC never misrepresent anything about race, ever.
Stay on track. Stay in lane. Don't throw rocks.
It also says implicitly
that only African-Americans are POC, which was part of the reason for the whole #BernieMadeMeWhite twitterstorm, since there's apparently no true "diversity" in Hawai'i or Alaska or Washington, dontcha know. The thing that is the pisser is the same people who discount other racial and ethnic groups as POC in this instance sure consider them POC in every other way. It will be a wonderful day (which none of us will probably ever see, sadly) when qualifiers like gender, race, sexual orientation, etc. are considered insultingly superfluous because everyone knows we're all just PEOPLE.
The smaller the mind the greater the conceit. --Aesop
pooh
Dear Lady Libertine,
Please don't use the term "pooh" (with an "h") when describing such poo as you're talking about above. There is a real difference, and it's important. Especially to me.
I thank you with all my bearish heart!
All my Love,
Winnie (the Pooh)
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Do you live
in the forest all by yourself under the name of "Sanders", by chance?
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
Pooh at Bernie's house!
I forgot about that little aspect of Pooh's life! He lives at Bernie's house!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Sorry for reposting this, but want those still at TOP to see it.
I have a huge request for everyone that still must go to TOP:
If you must go, please either use Firefox or Chrome, and install an Ad Blocker, like uBlock Origin or AdBlock Plus when you visit there. Not only will it make that horribly slow site much faster, but it will block the ads, thus preventing TOP from getting ad revenue.
Thanks!
Thank you!
Good advice! I did it.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
I should do this
About once every week or two I click on a Snorg Tees or a Road Kill Tees ad, just so all the ads I see are cute girls in funny t-shirts, then it doesn't even seem like I'm dealing with ads. But it would be nice to put even a small dent in his revenue stream.
"Polls don't tell us how well a candidate is doing; Polls tell us how well the media is doing." ~ Me
The ultimate...
Is to use Mozilla Firefox with the NoScript add on...
Not only will it block the ads but I believe it will block the Google Analytics & Quantcast scripts from delivering site data measurements...
Check to be sure but it used to do that...
It gives a list of what was blocked...
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
OMG Doc, your promotion was what made TOS tolerable!
I'm pretty sure its because of your professional ability to understand human behavior. Because for me, your voice however snarky or laced, provided a rationale I could consistently trust. Admittedly, I am one of those intolerable
lurkersreaders from the demographic of kossacks who always show up at presidential primary time, so I apparently earned their scorn.Fortunately this past season of South Park helped me understand the purpose of that mentality, i.e. election strategy, via the character of "PC Principal." It is perfectly apt given their current insanity. Glad your here, our future is brighter!
Hi, really glad to see you here
I keep visiting TOP on account of habit, curiosity, stubbornness, LieparDestin and pootie diaries, but it feels kind of hollowed out. Notice a lot of diaries today with zero recommends, for example. Hillary is up to 50% of the Rec list now, compared with consistent Bernie dominance in recent past, so in those terms, management got what it wants. Only...
Used to be like a pub where I'd drop by often for a pint, good cameraderie, but now management has made changes and no longer has so many brews on tap, and the crowd seems different. Say something controversial, and people start yelping in chorus. Pity.
Great to find another familiar face here!
Euterpe2
Thank ya!
Thank ya furry mush!
/Elvis
"Yelping in chorus."
Perfect.
"...but it feels kind of hollowed out."
That's my impression as well. I pretty much only read the BNR over there anymore. Then I come here.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
I've always ignored most of the front page
and just headed to the diaries. I only go there maybe once a day now, sometimes not even that, and scan the diary titles. If I see something I want to read, I will read it, but I won't log on anymore and the comments.....well, I may scan a few and then quickly get to some lame rationalization or Bernie smear, and then leave.
I won't give them any more revenue from me. The diarists I most liked are here now anyway. For me it was the idea that an 'edict" would even be asked of that community. I've lurked and commented for maybe 3 years or so? And I learned a LOT there. I was just about ready to formally subscribe. But now, it does seem hollow, and there are not as many comments or numbers of recommends except for the Hill rox stuff, seems to me. Why bother? I see new names too, and have to wonder about that whole CIA or DNC manipulating through marketing thing and just don't see the point of reading that. I can get that shit from the NYT, thank you very much.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Do much of my lurking
on the mobile site (m.dailykos.com) on my phone -- I can read the posts without even seeing the comments which makes the site a bit more palatable, and I'm not logged in there anyway. I'm still logged in on the regular computer because I reserve the right to go back and do an "I toldya so" when Clinton gets us into another war somewhere.
It's been corporatized
Just like that friendly pub that gets taken over by a multinational chain. I use to go to my neighborhood Peets coffee every morning. It was only the second Peets ever created after the original in Berkeley and it had a unique kind of inviting funkiness and lots of available conversations. Peets sold out to a big multinational a few years ago and they finally gave our store a corporate makeover. Now it's a sterile, cookie cutter Starbucks clone with much of the great atmosphere and conversation destroyed.
Beware the bullshit factories.
Once a web property
loses the trust of the majority of its users there is only one way for it to go and that is down. The history of the internet teaches us that these collapses are spectacularly fast and often happen in weeks not years.
Markos made a series of very bad decisions and I doubt if their is any way back. He will become richer through his other ventures but Dkos is now toast.
Staff at TOP really need to be updating their resumes.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
The one I worry about is Meteor Blades
MB is a Bernie supporter and wrote a few posts about Bernie. I'm assuming he's been told to STFU about Bernie, go forth and vote for she-who-shall-not-be-named.
MB does write some terrific posts about the environment and pollution, so that's always beneficial to those who follow climate, environmental, and agricultural events.
I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute ..., where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference. — President John F. Kennedy, Houston, TX, 12 September 1960
Agree completetly re MB
Always read his posts. He has posted here as well.
I don't wish any of them ill but I have less time for the ones who have 'adapted' to the new DKos mission. The ones who have been consistent throughout have my respect even if I don't agree with a lot of their writing.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire
Love your sig line!
It is particularly apropos in this situation!
I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute ..., where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference. — President John F. Kennedy, Houston, TX, 12 September 1960
I've also appreciated
Jen Hayden and Walter Einenkel writing about a variety of topics -- which have NOT included the Bernie/Hilary flame wars.
Euterpe2
MB,no matter how terrific,
Will not be seen or recommended by many.
I imagine he knows he lost his audience, and why.
He could choose to post diaries here. He doesn't.
He made his choice.
Kos is now a DLC Democrat
No more crashing the gates for Mr. Kos-man. Now it's all about "screw you buddy, I got mine."
I just read a very interesting and revealing interview with Tom Frank at billmoyers.com, in which he discussed the class divide which has now fractured the Democratic Party.
Basically, Frank contends that just as the Republican Party's true constituency has long been the wealth class -- i.e., the top 1% -- so the Democratic Party in recent decades has more and more come to represent the professional class, which is essentially the top 10%. Accordingly, the party has adopted a highly elitist and non-inclusive world view.
And so one of the points I make about the meritocracy — meritocracy being the ideology of the professional class — the idea that people who are on top are there because they deserve to be, because they’re the smartest, because they’re the best.
Neither of the two main parties now cares at all about the middle or lower classes, except in the sense of being a ripe target for economic exploitation. And I think this goes a long way towards explaining a lot of the dynamics now in play at DailyKos. Moulitsas himself has now become a successful entrepreneur as the result of his website. And I would venture to guess that a big majority of the Clinton acolytes on DK are themselves members of the professional class -- people with advanced degrees, secure jobs, and a strong conviction that those who are struggling are in dire straits in large part because of a lack of ambition and initiative.
In their minds, it's in the natural order of things that the strong prosper, and the weak fall by the wayside. Back in the bad old days of Ronald Reagan this mindset was derided as dog-eat-dog Social Darwinism, but lately it seems to have gotten a new lease on life thanks to "enlightened" Third Way Democrats such as Obama, the Clintons, and their legion of loyal briefcase-toting supporters. What's ironic is that except for a fairly narrow spectrum of social issues, there's really not that much difference between a Reagan Republican and a Clinton Democrat. If you loved Ronnie and you're pro-choice, you should have no trouble at all accommodating yourself to Hillary. Especially given the recent "Thou shalt not speak ill of Our Nominee" edict, DailyKos now very emphatically reflects that reality.
inactive account
Excellent commentary.
Thanks.
I have started saying that the "Gates have been Crashed enough".
And, lo...it is true.
Someone posted a link
to the Quantcast stats for the site -- overwhelmingly white, upper-class (over $150K annual), well-educated (grad school). Surprised they put up with me and my blue collar family for so many years.
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