The most important characteristic of a truly free society is minority rights. The best way to eliminate those rights is to have someone in position of power choose what's acceptable.
This blog used to be the best thing on the web for me since I discovered it in 2004. It probably helped elect a democratic congress in 2006 and Obama in 2008. Do you know why? Because in addition to Markos, a variety of other anti-corporate, pro social change, pro reason and anti-war voices were heard loud and clear. If the idea was good, readers read it and commented. Ideas got better with honest exchanges of opinion.
Now, when we really need it so that we may reelect a great president, its just as bad as FOX news, and I think its because of this silly "Community Highlights".
There are a few Markos Moulitsas admirers that think for all of us what KOS would have liked, and place it on the "community highlights" part - and its usually not very important. Its entertaining - its baffoonery - its tooting our own horn - but who the !@#$ cares? (Unless you really think that the KOS is just a cheer leaders outlet.)
(example: the brilliantly funny but useless:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
. If this entertainment or passion-arousing diaries were few, so be it. but its the only thing of note here anymore).
Even if it was Markos himself that chose those diaries, its still wrong. Its anti progressive. Its pretentious. Its like Pravda in the Soviet Union and Fox News choosing to only show what the Kremlin and the Murdochs family think is important.
Those that tried to keep this progressive outlet going by keeping it honest were demoted to diaries that no one reads, and no one of opposing progressive opinions is recommended by the die-hards teacher pets.
I am back to old fashioned support of the ACLU and some local politicians, but honestly, Citizens United means we are going to lose congress, and the senate, and, god forbid, maybe even the presidency. Oh how I wish the true KOS was back!
So if you are really trying to help the president re-elected, and get progressive causes back on the agenda, kill the bloody community spotlight, and start responding to opposing views with an open mind. In times of crisis, those creative people and creative ideas are the only chance we have!.
Oh, I know what you would say: That it is "the community" that you are concerned with. That others are doing it. That I should get my own blog.
Really? Last I have checked the number of responses diaries has plummeted to one third its volume in 2008. More importantly, way fewer people in position of power read this, or any, progressive blogs.
Taboo issues by our censor brothers and sister seem to be:
LEGAL immigration reform. How else will you grow the number of productive workers to support and increasing elderly population?
Graduate pay with better pay for teachers in federally supported technological and scientific education. How else will we be able to compete in the world? (No graduate pay means communism. Obama is NOT a communist, and progressive is NOT a communist.)
Both of these ideas, for example, have been touched upon by Obama, but not picked up because of an idle congress and then a militant congress. Both of which have zero chance of happening under a Republican president. The next stimulus will have more after effects if we do these changes. (In a sense, that's what the space program of Kennedy and LBJ did to spur the industry for the following 40 years. )
Other taboos:
Estate tax reform (increase it! lower cutoff rates if parents died after age 26! same as the age kids are off parents health care).
Support for a 10% tax on the upper half of the 48% of people that do not pay any taxes.
Defeating tea-party crazies not all republicans. Making sure that we bring John Boehner back to the table on the brilliant Obama plan of combination of tax increases and budget cuts that all sane industrialized countries need now instead of the European austerity and Republican tax cuts. Most economists agree on this. Only some sneaky millionaires don't.
Oh, but should I be optimistic about this blog?
Oh, not really. Not on the watch here at The Daily Kos. Some are social scientists, and who dares tell them that they are not going to be the bread earners for this country in the future. Some are psychologists and by god they will charge me for my temper tantrum here and that's how they will fund the budget. They have never cleaned a public bathroom or picked tomatoes or flipped burgers, and the economy doesn't need them to because their trust-fund parents paid so much for their education. Their interpretation of Paul Kruger says that it will never come to that. They wouldn't need to because they are smart.
They ask: how dare you say we may need austerity, tax increases for individuals, and tax cuts for companies? (again, something Obama supports but some progressives reject because some democrats from the past 100 years opposed tax cuts for corporations)?!
They ask: How dare you tell us that we are like FOX?
If I see this abomination gone, I may believe it.