The Dreaded Site Meta #4
This is yet another in a continuing series of Meta Posts aimed at fostering a happy, healthy community here at c99.
If you're new to the site, please see the previous episodes to help orient yourself to our community:
There are a couple of things that have come up lately that we'd like to focus on in this essay.
First to get ourselves into the correct framework, here's a concept we'd like folks to keep in mind from Dreaded Site Meta #2:
This site is a non-partisan site. It does not endorse any candidate. This site is issues-oriented and is about the interests of the 99%.
There are people here who support a number of different candidates and there are even some who think that participation in the elections is a total waste of time and effort. Those views are all welcome here.
We have a diversity of opinion and we like it that way. What we are working toward is agreement and action on the 99%'s agenda - not which candidate wins the swimsuit competition. ...
Meanwhile, informed, polite discussion of candidates and issues is welcome here.
Advocacy for candidates is fine, too, with a caveat.
The caveat is that advocacy of candidates cannot be couched so as to state or even appear that it is the site's policy or purpose.
Despite the fact that many people here are focused on the Great Electoral Spectacle of the 1%, this site is not (as some other sites familiar to many here are) primarily a site about elections, promoting the fortunes of the corporate parties of the 1% or their candidates.
The community that initially formed around this site (which, in its current incarnation was breathed into existence by the copious technical skills of JtC /hat tip) has been around for quite a while. Many of the original community were involved with Occupy Wall Street, the anti-war movement and a variety of left causes. Most of us identify with our left/liberal/progressive ideas much more than any party affiliation.
We are reviewing this information because lately we've seen people (both on this site and elsewhere) go to some effort to identify the site inappropriately as a "Bernie site," or an "anti-Hillary" site.
So let us put it in large, friendly letters for people both on and off this site to see and appreciate:
This is a site for the 99%.
We are for the 99%, not any candidate or party.
Because of our orientation, as a practical matter, discussions here will tend to stray far out of the bounds of the rules imposed on partisan blogs. Many people here reject corporate-dominated, corrupt party structures and candidates as an impediment to the interests of the 99%. Partisans may feel uncomfortable with that, but they are welcome here nonetheless provided that they, like everyone else here maintains a civil and polite respect when engaging others on this site.
Now that we've got that out of the way, on to blog wars...
We understand that a lot of people have made their way here from another site and many of those folks feel attachments to that place (whether positive or negative) and seem to want to talk about it and the site's owner.
We'd really like it if folks would please come to a bit of perspective on that site and its owner.
While that site's propaganda naturally tends to toot its own horn about its importance in the political universe as does its owner, in real life, its impact on the public mind is vanishingly small. Large numbers of average Americans and people who pay attention to American politics outside of the US do not, in fact, hang on every word of the site's owner, nor of those who post there.
When was the last time you walked into your local grocery store and found people avidly discussing the content of commentary posted either by that site's owner or by anyone else on that site in the checkout line?
Breathlessly posting about what is going on there assigns significance to the material there that it does not deserve. Furthermore, it tends to signal to people from outside of the community that your focus is on something other than issues:
There really are more important things going on in the world worth paying attention to.
Comments
One other thing I'd like to see avoided.
I've often called Daily Kos a "hate" site because a preponderance of diaries are about republicans, how they hate them, how they despise them, etc. Not just republicans but about anyone that doesn't agree with their partisan democratic party pov. There's always been a tribal aspect to Daily Kos as there is in electoral politics as a whole.
This site bills itself as the C99, the 99%. Makes railing on certain segments of the population a little oxymoronic when the title itself indicates an inclusive atmosphere and a common opposition of only one segment, the One Percent.
So I'd suggest we need to be cognizant of hate seeping through against the republicans, libertarians, anyone who isn't a "progressive". Actually I'm not a progressive so I'd really not like to see that. I may have progressive values and progressive positions on issues, but I'm sure as hell not going to call myself a progressive when I would share that label with people who support Obama's wars.
So we need to be careful about turning into another hate site.
I think some people get off on the drama that is Daily Kos. The little CIA dude and his edicts. I think we'll certainly lose some people by trying to limit discussion of it. But it does no good, it has no value and I think this blog was setup to provide value, to do something, ANYTHING. We're searching here and following the daily bullshit isn't going to help.
The election is a different story. That is an issue and it's understandable to provide focus on it now. But there are many side issues to the election that should be discussed as well.
morning al...
well said, with one quibble:
i am not specifically trying to limit discussion. i am trying to do something that is a little more difficult, but has a better payoff.
i would like to persuade people that it is not in their interest (as members of the 99%) to obsessively focus on kos or his website, that it harms their efforts to make change in making their case to the public at large.
Morning joe.
Yep, agree with that. Good approach.
Well sir,
were I someone with a vested interest in a certain website who wanted to sabotage this website and at the same time skew search analytics in favor of my brand, then I could post to this site often with clear mention of the site name or some of its prominent bloggers would be one way to do it, or do I misunderstand how search analytics work?
I am in no wise accusing anyone on this site of being a troll, sock puppet, or bot spanker or whatever one calls them.
Love you all!
Peace and love be with you, reader.
wise enough to not accuse anyone,
but I was dumb enough to having had some sort of thoughts of that nature, which seem to be better unexpressed.
I am not sure how that works, either
but it's a good consideration--I usually always call it GOS or TOP, I never call it by its given name. This is mostly because there seems a streak of major vindictiveness there, and there are surely people poring over case law, looking for ways to harass us for something obnoxious ("besmirching Our Good Name" or whateverthefuck).
I have to go back and look up how all that analytics stuff works. I used to know, but it changes like most people change socks or underwear, so not sure what it looks at lately...
that's
not happening. Nobody is poring over case law, or plotting harassment. Peeder's site, pff, and its successor, fsz, trafficked in actual libel, and Kos & Co. didn't give two shits.
Good to know
it's something that wouldn't have surprised me a bit, though. Only if "just because they could", they probably would, because they seem very vindictive under some circumstances...thanks for the heads-up, though!
the thought had crossed our minds...
and on the rare occasions when we see questionable activities on the site it is a consideration.
Well they won't/don't last long
here as it's got to be boring for one thing and secondly they won't get any traction as most of us could give a rats ass about vindictive partisan infighting or continuing the endless backbiting political Dem. establishment blog war. If they are trolling they are barking up the wrong tree for converts to their authoritarian pov as most people here have had it with that mind set. Who knows maybe it will open them up to read outside the gates. I have noticed that the true Dem. partisan believers who come here get pissed off and take off in a huff. They can't handle the fact that nobody has to toe the Dem. line and reading the non censored opinions of heretics blows their minds.
Joe... Do,you guys have a way to know how many people LURK here?
One of the things I LOVE about your site is that "whose online" button. It's the first thing I click when I come here BUT the other day over there someone put up a GBCW diary asking for suggestions of other sited to check out and I was quite surprised at how many DK/HRC a holes claim they regularly lurk here
it made me laugh... For months these people literally screamed for us to GTFO but when we moved to other sites these same people followed us. Lol
Orwell was an optimist
LOL, reminds me of an old boyfriend who broke up with me:
Well then later on he wanted me to come back and was upset that I wouldn't even consider going back. I said, "You told me to leave, and I left, so now you should be happy!"
Sheeesh, you just can not please some people!
Guess they never really believed that we would actually move on..
Wait! have we moved on?
Well, it's a process, we're moving on, and I believe that we will get there. Hope it's sooner rather than later.
Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons
i don't think that we have metrics on lurking...
i think that jtc's stats show things like page views and unique users, but i don't know if there's any way to distinguish between people who are site members viewing pages and people who are not. jtc would be the one to ask that.
yeah, people have sent me links to comments in some of those diaries and i've had a pretty good laugh. a lot of them are quite outraged that former kossacks have gone somewhere else and they are not following kos' posting rules! clutch the pearls!
i've also seen some comments bragging about how some kossacks have been over here trolling. these guys must just have too much time on their hands.
on the other hand, i suppose if they're busy watching what we say over here, then it's time that they're not spending getting a bloodthirsty warmonger elected.
This!
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when we are afraid of the light.
--Plato
Agree, Plato--that was a good one! ;-D EOM
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Pretty sure you don't have to log in to read.
So they could lurk.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
And they obviously do lol
With Len and paper in hand to be sure to take names for later OUTRAGE in their own neighborhood cyber bar.
Orwell was an optimist
Speaking of Obsession
Two monks were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was falling. Coming around the bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.
"Come on, girl," said the first monk. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.
The second monk did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he said. "It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"
"I left the girl there," the first monk said. "Are you still carrying her?"
From The Little Zen Companion, by David Schiller, Workman Publishing, New York, 1994.
Or, as my wife puts it: Obsessing on something or someone gives it/them great power over you. Why would you do that?
Now interviewing signature candidates. Apply within.
I love this post! (n/t)
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
evening tt...
well said!
I'd say that's a problem with being a monk
that doesn't sound holy to me....at all!
Sooo perfect. The only time Kos ever actually addressed me
For something I posted there was when, after yet another round of BERNIE IS A RACIST diaries I suggested DOV and Nina Turner debate on DK radio. I was surprised by how quickly Kos responded and he said he was disgusted by my suggestion and called it RACIST and demanded to know why I didn't want to debate DOV....
I calmly pointed out that anything I might say would be immediately dismissed as racist WHITESPLAININ and a debate between DOV and Nina would not give anyone the opportunity to use the whitesplainin dodge...
And THEN I added the "I left her on the side of the river" parable. A favorite of mine. Not one person had a thing to say after I did that.
That parable and the 10 cookies on the table one are a great way to shut down the attackers... They never don't work.
Orwell was an optimist
Amen, Big Al. After the "issues" topic, that is the 2nd most
important thing for us to read, mark, and inwardly digest. (Old Anglican here :=)
DK was and is a hate site. Hate is it's main personality characteristic. C99 must never become that ever.
Which requires dilligence from the community and proactive leadership, as JtC and joe have been doing, as today.
We have to be real clear about this: we cannot become that which we hate.
AJ Muste said, "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."
Thanks for this very important reminder, Al. Have a great day today,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
I struggle with this balance, Big Al
On the one hand, coming from a family of religious right-wingers, I know that they are generally good-intentioned people, at least in the microcosm. But yet they'll vote for things in a macro sense that they would never do personally. My parents would never deport a needy refugee, they'd go out of their way to help them, and yet - they support someone who wants to deport and demonize them in the aggregate. It frustrates me. I DO get angry and occasionally paint with too broad a brush because I can't understand supporting policies that represent actions an individual would not take or support in their personal life.
So - what does one do? hate the ideology but not the person? That still comes too close to general hating - and hate is probably too strong a word, anyway. But severe frustration and incomprehension is about right.
If it weren't for certain issues of intolerance, I think the working class on the right and the left could come together quite nicely. I can't figure out how we can cross that ideological divide....
Main thing: Don't make it personal.
To me, that's the key to a successful forum. That fosters the best kinds of discussions, IMO.
Don't make it about the poster. Make it about the issues at hand. If we all would stick to this very simple "rule" of sorts, I think the vast majority of "drama" would be avoided.
An example: You're posting on a sports forum, as a fan of the team at the head of that forum. You've been posting there for sometime, and it's pretty clear you're a long-time fan. But you're also not afraid to be critical of your own team when it does X, Y or Z. So you address some issues you find problematic, without discussing other posters, directly or indirectly. It's clear your post was 100% about the team.
Another poster attacks you, viciously. Personally. Instead of debating the merits of your take on the team's problems, etc. etc. This soon spirals out of control, etc. etc.
Mature adults would debate the merits of the criticism, without resorting to personal slams. It's all the stranger when personal shots are taken (online) against people you know nothing about. It's one thing to do so in person, in the real world, with people you do know. It's another to lob these against anonymous digital souls on the Internet. Though, ironically, we tend not to do this in person. We tend to have better manners when we can see the other fellow, etc.
Anyway . . . . it's my own pet peeve. Don't make it personal.
There is in me an anarchy and frightful disorder. Creating makes me die a thousand deaths, because it means making order, and my entire being rebels against order. But without it I would die, scattered to the winds.
-- Albert Camus
If one is using the word "you",
they are doing it wrong. Never, ever talk about the person. I agree with you.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Shameless plug: Consider writing for the Resilience Group: if
you have a heart for those things that are within our immediate, practical control, we'd love to hear your thoughts. That's our only definition of resilience: things within our personal and local control.
For example, Lovie and daughter-in-law are pickling asparagus in the kitchen right now.
So we could write a post about how we pickle asparagus and folks who do that and folks who want to do that could chat about it and we all learn from each other.
Or we could introduce pickling to the village fresh food volunteers who meet once a week to pack individual bags of fresh fruit and veggie from the delivery truck for villagers who pay $10 a bag. And write a post about that. (Only Lovie goes now: I tried but the ptsd make it miserable. Sigh. So I write, eh, and that's a contribution.)
The reward for writing about resilience is real big. You could count on a small but friendly and happy readership who add real helpful comments that teach us all a lot. The feel-good factor is sky-high. No one is angry about anything! You will go, "Ooh," and "Ah," at the creativity in this community and enjoy adding the new-found practical tricks to your repertoire :=)
Write about something you love, add the tag, "resilience," and enjoy the discussions and the close friendships you develop.
End of shameless plug :=)
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
My main interest is
My main interest is imperialismo and neo-colonization in Latin America and the Caribbean and why and how it relates to American culture and policy. I come from a completely different political/social/economic culture the expression of which is difficult to find acceptance in many American venues. The racial politics within all "mainstream" American politics is toxic.
I am particularly sick of Clintonians and some Bernistas going on and on about the "Hispanic vote", the "Black Vote" and the "Womens vote". It feels like cultural genocide to me as if we are some sort of monolithic racial and/or ethnic block dependent on crumbs from white power which controls world economics and, to the degree they can get away with, imperial control.
Hispanics are more behind the racial/ethnic eight-ball than African-Americans. That is because Blacks are considered Americans of color, whereas Latinos are considered foreigners of color who can't even speak sacred English correctly. White Hispanics are considered by some to have "white privilege until they start speaking, all while their browner family members are "foreign". Latinos are one and all oppressed by the whole race baiting discourse on "illegals" and "immigrants" and "a legal path" There is a whole overlay of oppression related to having to speak English without an accent and losing much of our culture. That whole ignorant race-baiting of the ELAC protest ("thugs", "goons") was breathtakingly nauseating.
---------------------------
Today in the Puerto Rico Press the OP-Ed comes out in favor of dictatorial control of PR by a newly formed commission made up of non-Puerto Ricans appointed mostly by the Republican Party. The main purpose of the Commission is to suck Puerto Rico of even more resources to pay off vulture funds. That means a lowering of minimum wage from $7 to $4, closure of schools, hospitals, a huge hike in electricity and water rates and buying up properties at fire sale prices. The commentary to the article is 100% against the Commission, but doesn't translate well to English sort of like dubbing an English language movie to Spanish sounds ridiculous. I wanted to share this one comment with any Spanish-speakers here.
Pierluisi probó que es más colonilista y cabizbajo que los populares que tanto critica. Tembló ante el rugido del amo, se arrodilló como esclavo sumiso y aunque aquí decía que la Junta era vergonzoza, la aceptó y la avaló. Buen ejemplo de carencia de dignidad... y ahora resulta que la estadidad es la que resuelve nuestros problemas, el cunto de nunca acabar; esto a pesar que en el Congreso nos han pateado el buche. Patético. - zorro47 at http://www.elnuevodia.com/opinion/columnas/unpasoalfrenteparaenderezarap...
From the Light House.
Hi Alex, I'd like to see more about "imperial culture." BTW,
how familiar are you with Freire and conscientization back in the 70s and 80s? It's a topic I'd like to introduce here. But if you're an expert, I'd rather see you write about it. Could we talk about conscientization? Best wishes, mate,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Storytelling
Practically zero. Different field completely. I worked in the sciences.
At the same time I am the oldest of my family. Family includes about 100 individuals and many of their friends of all ages. My political education is pretty much confined to engaging in political dialog (family, barrio, community activist, university) in Bolivia and Dominica and numerous marches from over 25 years. I also, for personal reasons, have been a strong proponent of freeing Palestine and am proud that Bolivia declared Israel a terrorist state during the 2014 massacre of Gaza. Has nothing to do with anti-antisemitism btw.
I am almost sorry I have become attentive to the sinkhole of internal American politics. At my age I can barely scratch the surface of the literature and much of what I read makes me ill. That said, it has been interesting over the past year or two to put the narrative into a broader perspective.
What I am good at is listening, observation and storytelling (narrative, gossip) from the experiences I have had over the past seventy years.
From the Light House.
Good position on Palestine? An unusually revealing litmus test.
So many people are “PEP” (progressive except on Palestine).
This primary election season has exposed a lot of people for what they really are.
That includes the truth, in too many cases, of the rule of thumb that if someone’s not progressive on Palestine, perhaps they aren’t really progressive at all.
O ese commentario
Colonialista hasta el cabo.
destruir el pays, tomando todo como ladrones que ellos son, y luego venderlo de nuevo a las victimas.
Mafiosi di tutti i mafiosi.
como a esa letra deberia haber escrito el maestro brasileno:
coracao americano, um contagio sim constrangimento
!impulsa, corazon! !que fluya en las venas el sangre de todo ese mundo, el sangre que nos alimenta y nos mata!
paz y amor con Usted el lector
all i can say is, you write from your particular perspective,
and i do not doubt there is merit there; nonetheless, as a white middle-class male, i can state with absolute certainty that ranking my preferences, i'd rather be an american-born latino than a foreign-born latino, and a foreign-born latino than an african-american. from inside the belly of the beast, i can tell you that there is nothing in america as deep and dark and ugly as the fear, animosity and disgust with which a large fraction of the white population views the african american population.
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.
bunsk guessed that TOP was "The Old Place"
I liked the idea of transitioning to that meaning as a way of leaving the site further behind. In the sense of "the old neighborhood ain't there no more" which it certainly isn't.
A possible "umbrella" guiding principle, if you will...
I worked for a few years very closely with Native Americans (I am not NA), which is where I learned about: Seven generation sustainability. From wikipedia:
Losing that perspective, of choosing to do right by our grandchildren's grandchildren, is a large part of the rot that is eating away our civilization. The lust for short term profits by the oligarchy is leading us all by the nose to our doom.
I love this!! Thank you nt
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
Native Americans and The Amish
are a model for the future. They embrace a sustainable culture that puts people first. This includes respect for their mother - earth.
If the Amish embraced science, I might consider trying to convert - though I'm not even sure that is possible!
Peace out, tmp.
Agreed, tmp, those are the best models for us to build resilient
communities. Another one is the Transition Network: its a secular community renewal process begun in Totnes, England and gone global. They create community renewal (town-sized) based on local food, RE, and local skills-building. Works very, very well, most everywhere.
http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/
cheers, mate and best wishes,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Very promising!
Hopefully alternatives will continue to grow, though I worry we will come up against the realities of an overheated and overpopulated world all too soon.
Peace out, tmp.
Right on! I'm very interested in Amish culture. Their low-tech
culture is a very good model for us into the future. I wrote a post in resilience about learning to use air tools the Amish way in the workshop. And the First Nations cultures that promote practical living at one with nature provide the model for rehabilitating humans on earth. Cheers, mate,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
I imagine that the references to TOP will abate forthwith
Once the Democratic primary ends for real.
Why?
There is a cyclical nature to that place, and it plays out every four years, just like clockwork. Once all of the current sturm und drang dies down, so too will interest in the latest pie -fight there over the nominee.
As a candidate for office this year, I'd be interested in hearing about local, down-ticket races from the readership. Are these people pursuing the the votes of the millennials, the rising new majority of the Base of the various wings of the Left in American politics? What issues are they campaigning on? How is social media impacting decisions of everyday Americans to run for office?
Politics is not the be-all or end-all issue for everyone, nor should it be. But politics influences what is possible or probable in so many ways and on so many fronts that often-times one simply must address the impact which politics has on the issue as a segue to discussion of 'what can be done' in light of that political reality.
For example, the Keystone XL pipeline. It's a economic, ecological and local issue which was brought to the public as a political football. Which aided in getting the result the economic and environmental organizations fighting against it wanted.
Just my $.02
www.Angie4Congress.com
#StrongerTogether for a better future for OUR posterity
Yanno, as a gos member for over a decade I don't see what you do
This primary season seems very different.. There are some serious bridges being BERNED over there and some heavy veils that seem to have been lifted and some pretty wide divides being exposed.
There are some MAJOR assholes being given free reign to attack progressives... Some of them Front Pagers and I don't see a way for this divide to be filled in.
IMHO what we are watching is the death of the DLC stranglehold on the democratic electorate.. Some are happy to swallow large buckets of crap and fall in line because Democrats.. Period
But a whole lot of the electorate is genuinely FED UP and falling in line is the last thing any of them plan to do
Places like DK and the other establishment run blogs are still playing a game many voters no longer want to play . And even though these blogs have an outsized voice on the inner tubes people just don't care about what they are selling.
IMHO the D party is now following the path the R party followed in the last election cycle.. The path that brought so many teaparty members into congress but put Romney at the top of their ticket. And the end game for the R TRUMP
By hook or crook the D party will put the unpopular Clinton at the top of the ticket... And with that the D party continues to support their own demise.
Please,pass the popcorn and continue to support Bernie and the progressive revolution
(Smile)
Orwell was an optimist
I have invested a lot of my online life at said site
I was so happy to finally find a place that I thought was impervious to the brain-washing that made it ok to provoke a war in Iraq. When the TV was showing scenes of so-called elated Iraqis celebrating their freedom by pulling down a statue of Sadaam, or when everyone's eyes were riveted on the "rescue" of Jessica Lynch or the "heroic" death in battle of NFL star Pat Tillman or the fear inducing reporting of the terrorist alert color system and all the other bullshit propaganda that was flung at us by the media, I was desperate to find a source of reliable information and that site seemed like a savior to me. I put full trust in it. Now I realize how badly I've been betrayed and used and I need some time to process that. A lot of people have been hurt by this betrayal and have come to a new, sober, realization about how big the authoritarianism really is in this "oldest democracy in the World". We need processing time.
Beware the bullshit factories.
Meta:
pertaining to or noting a story, conversation, character, etc., that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features, often in the form of parody.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Thanks Joe.
I will add Dreaded site Meta 1,2, and 3 to my reading list. As well as housekeeping. (Housekeeping in my mind is the dreaded.[insert smiley face]) I appreciate this site and would like to do my part to help maintain the goodwill etc. here.
I'd like to thank all the people here
who saw so many of us rush into your living room. Thanks for scooting over and letting me plunk my pink self onto your couch. I was feeling low down after having spent 10 years at Kos. I had formed and still have - long friendships with many there. I've met then in California, DC and here in Portland.
But I did not say good bye. I did not have a comment about leaving even. I just left. I went back a few times to T&R but I could no longer read comments there - which was some of the best things to do there. Read the comments. I couldn't watch the attacks on writers like OPOL. After seeing how Aspie was treated in his GBCW diary... I just am not going back.
At the time of the exodus, I was going through a truly tragic time. Life piles on. My estranged father was going through hell, still is. I had just started a new job that has a lot of stigma to it but it's something I believe in. So new job stress, my father was found beaten into seizures by the rats who use him and his Navy pension for drug use. Fighting with the fucking VA here. Calls all the time from paramedics, police and my brother's health is failing due to the fact he's always been the one contacted in regards to our father. I've seen him three times in 20 years.
I so wanted and needed that community but it wasn't there any more. I just started posting here. I didn't want to make waves or be that "guest" who jumps on the couch and demands to be fed.
But... I like it here. Hell Raisers, Resilliance and now we have a Fuzzball diary and I got to share about the loss of our dog three years ago last night.
I won't be going back. Not even if Bernie wins. It's like driving past your exes house. What's the point.
Besides the host there hated who I represented. First, I am a radical woman who won't be told how to vote. I am a street action anti war hippie type. My family practices "what did you do once you knew?" which means trying to walk your talk and make daily decisions. Also for a long time I was involved with Code Pink. I had to step down because of work and health issues but I am no ready to fight for Election Reform and continue the fights my family deem need fighting. Poverty, Hunger and Peace.
Oh and boy did he not like OWS!!! I loved it and I am the 99%! In fact, this entire household is OWS! So I think I will fit in nicely here.
We strive to live more sustainably. We try to also have fun.
Anyways... thank you. I am hoping that my presence here can be a plus and not a burden. Please tell me I can stay!
Oh and don't ever be "Morning Joe"
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
thank you Janet...
it's stories like yours that makes all the hard work that's gone into this site worthwhile. We have a short time on this rock and the best we can do is grab onto each other and hang on, and try to make it a better place for those that come after us. Peace.
Thank you JtC
I forgot the most important part: Mi casa is an extreme HOCKEY casa. We live, breathe, eat and shit hockey.
My kids only sense of family is our hockey family. They have been there for us all for over 23 years. I love our hockey family which is also a progressive political blog in it's own way. We've been booted by the best blogs. LOL
Our oldest is autistic. He is a hockey savant and due to some incredible people and his skills and hard work ethic, he is with the Winterhawks organization. Has been for almost 5 years. Hockey is huge in our house. Because it's what left leaning libs do after they march on Washington. We relax with a spot of ice hockey.
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
Janet, love your comments and so glad that you are
here with us fighting against poverty and hunger and for peace.
Sustainable living and fun should always be part of the mix also.
Love your photo, it definitely says let's have some fun while we fight the good fight.
You are a huge asset to c99.
Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons
Live hard, play hard.
Thanks JayRaye. I always feel like I'm cramming for a test when I read your diaries. I love them. They could be a PBS documentary on their own. Molly Ivins voice comes through a bit for me when I read you.
I am hoping to soon once my fight for my son not to be disqualified from a OJT program for disabled people due to a drug test policy... and my voting rights returned... I want to write about my beloved dude. He does Meals on Two Wheels and I always promised OPOL I would share that story. I will do so. But only here.
He does it once one week and twice the next week - rain or snow. He delivers on his bicycle. But it's more than just delivering food. He's a life line for so many. Sadly for many, he's the only one they see on a regular basis.
He's my hero. Everyone in my house is a hero of mine. I just feed em and annoy them.
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
Janet, you're a miracle woman! All that, and hockey too :=)
You Sharks fans! Seriously, your man sounds like one cool dude. And you have far better manners than I do. [Scuffle toe a bit] I waltzed in here, ordered a beer, put my feet up, and acted like I owned the joint :=) Embarrassing, compared to your elegant guest etiquette. Well, enough of etiquette, eh? Say to yourself, "I'm on a power play for a couple of minutes" and go for it! We have lots to learn from you and your life experiences.
What c99ers need is a Yuuuuggge dose of Code Pink. There really are far, far too few hell raisers here. Somehow, we gotta get folks out into the streets in mass nonviolent resistance along with the youth to demand back everything the elites have stolen. Every damned little thing. Cheers and enjoy your day, my recycling friend :=)
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
Thank you! I'm not that experienced :)
Well, I did date a few sailors... but... anyways.
I am still learning. We made some big mistakes but nothing too fatal. I once wanted a "normal" life. But there is no such thing as normal. Normal is just a setting on an appliance. I run in the opposite direction when someone informs me that they are "normal".
Thank you, I have no intentions of leaving. Have a great day, too.
Gotta skidaddle and take my son out to lunch. Ciao for niao.
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
afternoon janet...
you're welcome here. your fights against poverty, hunger and war - those are our fights, too.
thank you for being here and thank you for your enthusiasm!
Code Pink ought to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Medea Benjamin is one of the few real reporters left. Actually goes to places and connects up with people our government and its allies are attacking.
Medea is awesome!
I've met her several times. Diane Wilson is amazing, haven't met her yet. Her son is also autistic and she's a shrimper and was a nurse in viet nam. She's been in prison too many times and she's written about the heinous conditions on women in prisons. She's a hero.
"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison
Never get tired of linking to Diane Wilson’s book
An Unreasonable Woman
A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas
Thanks joe
I like the dreaded meta. It helps keep me from drifting to a place I don't want to go back to. Uncharted territory can take you out of your 'comfort' zone but when you become comfortable with having your brain washed and getting your fair share of abuse, hate and fear it's time to let it go. I understand the pull as I go back but at this point all TOP does is make me feel bad and makes me mad. You can still be a political junkie but why chain yourself to anti-democratic politics or buy into the lie that nothing else is possible. Everything is possible.
afternoon shaz...
glad you're here charting the territory with us. i look around at all the talented people here that are largely treating each other decently and i can't help but think that we've got a shot at making something interesting.
I feel like I should say something.
So, I'm just going to say it sounds good to me, joe!!
Thank you.
Another 'letter perfect' Meta Essay--thank you, Joe! ;-) EOM
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Great Meta, Joe.
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 --
I saw folks wondering what issues. They surround us, and
history is an endless supply, as are current events. People just need to start writing about those that grab them personally and lists will self propagate.
For grins, some might consider reading the Port Huron Statement.
Also for grins, I was once working on something to illustrate how to develop an agenda, and in the purpose came up with this off the top of the head ever so partial list:
End Racism ( and other bigotry) (make use of SPLC teaching tolerance materials)
Restore & Increase Civil Liberties (voting rights, speech, press, assembly, etc)
Police Reform (De-militarize police, stop over policing and police abuse)(XRF Racism)
Prison Reform
End Wars
End Imperialism, regime change, assassinations, meddling in internal affairs of others
Women's Equality (address dominionism,)(XRF Civil Liberties)
End "free trade" agreements & agenda
Economic fairness
Ending poverty
Revamp economy
Climate action (This has a natural priority as a crises)
Ungame the Market - transaction tax, etc.
Election Reform (Citizens United, etc.)
Separation of Church & State (& End blue laws)
End the war on drugs
End the war on terror
Abolish the death penalty
Yur job, should you choose to accept it, is to complete the list and fill in all the missing bits
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 --
That's a relief
I'm very happy to learn about the broad scope of this site and it's welcoming of the whole 99%. As for that other site, to me it has committed the greatest sin writers can commit. It has become so boring.
To thine own self be true.
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