"Basic research is like shooting an arrow into the air and, where it lands, painting a target." --Homer Burton Adkins (1892-1949, American organic chemist)
"Paranoia will destroy ya" --Kinks
New poll! This is a followup to an earlier diary I wrote wondering why I was banned from commenting on Huffington Post. Several Kossacks replied that they had recently been banned or knew of others who had been banned too. None of the banned knew why, and only one had been reinstated.
I had wondered about every possible reason I could think of why I might have been banned by Huffington Post (or disappeared by AT&T!) and left a poll in my earlier diary. With 50 votes, the top vote-getters were (16 votes) decline to state for fear of being disappeared too, (12) other, (11) Clinton moles, and (4) Dick Cheney/AT&T.
Arianna Huffington replied to my e-mail (after my e-mail to Info was not answered) and apologized, said it was a technical error, and she directed a blog editor to reinstate me. Soon I was undead.
It's such a curious error, now I'm looking for banning patterns, see below, there may be method to this madness.
I went back through HuffPo and looked at comments other banned Kossacks had left to see if I could find a commonality. Many of us had left anti Clinton comments. Many of us were dissecting or questioning poll numbers and/or election results. I noticed two whose last comments were the day before the PA primary. Some of us had questioned Karl Rove. The most inflammatory commenter (calling John McCain a vindictive prick) had not been banned. Those of us who were banned were not inflammatory, indeed quite the opposite. Both of us banned who named our ISPs/routers have or once had AT&T with their 2wire router (see these two unprovoked messages -- http://gateway.2wire.net/... followed by http://gateway.2wire.net/... included in my earlier diary -- that I got coincidentally on checking my HuffPo profile at the time).
I would really like more feedback on this curious situation. Please post feedback or forward to someone who knows how to evaluate my wonderings. I am totally not technical.
Thanks!
UPDATE: Just saw this thread on HuffPo, thought I'd tuck it here to think about:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
- + The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker See Profile I'm a Fan of The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker
I've discovered something curious: I am no longer banned at Huffington Post, but I am not allowed to post any comments pertaining to socialism, Marxism or communism. Isn't that interesting? Over and over and over again I suggest that We the People have an open and honest national discussion about just how socialist we want the Democratic party to be. Apparently the Huffington Post Thought Police consider my suggestions threatening. Why? We're locked in a false dichotomy, this struggle between individualism and collectivism, forced by the Powers that Be into a synthesis. Why can't we talk about it? WHY? What about the new Green Agenda, and the New Democratic Party, is the Huffington Post trying to hide?
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 11:23 AM on 06/06/2008
- + noneIn2008 See Profile I'm a Fan of noneIn2008
Give the Huff thought police time. They must have overlooked your comments. Often, things temporarily slip through that are not Uber liberal PC. But, they come back and make your comments "dissapear".
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 02:28 PM on 06/06/2008
- + lisakaz2 See Profile I'm a Fan of lisakaz2
Then how come your post is here now? The terms are pretty ridiculous and they're unhelpful because by default We the People HAVE to have a measure of collectivism. Individualism is something of a frontier myth, esp. right now when one needs roads, bridges and social policy (infrastructure) aimed to benefit everyone. How can business exist without it? Therefore, private enterprise NEEDS public investment. Privatizing roads is going to be a road to nowhere. Only countries that had cheap, tariff-free means of transport industrialized quickest (England v. France) and that remains important to an industrialized world.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 11:48 AM on 06/06/2008
- + The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker See Profile I'm a Fan of The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker
Mazeltov, they let my comment through this time - AMAZING! I figured if it were censored, at least the Censors read it.
I think it's extremely important that we have this discussion.
I'm from Minnesota, where socialism, individualism AND patriotism go hand in hand. Heck, Minnesota is swarming with towheaded Nordic socialists AND Norwegian Bachelor farmers. I'm the spawn of subsistence farmers. Minnesotans invented the indoor shopping mall, Target stores and the HMO for cripes sake. We're all about efficient life design for the common folk. We drive sensible cars and dig each other out of the snow and ice every winter. Durn it, it's COLD in Minnesota; it's in our best survival interest to be socialists.
Still . . . God FORBID we mention certain things on this site. It's disgraceful. I can't be the only one infuriated by the censorship at Huffpo.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:15 PM on 06/06/2008
- + Wilbur See Profile I'm a Fan of Wilbur
Oops - I meant to write "nuked," not "numed." Sorry.
Wilbur
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:10 PM on 06/06/2008
- + Wilbur See Profile I'm a Fan of Wilbur
Trust me - you are NOT alone in your frustrations! My comments get numed almost without fail any and every time I disagree with HuffPo's "intelligensia" or, Gawd forbid, criticize its Supreme Leader (she who is above reproach, apparently). I'm from Wisconsin - maybe they don't like those of us from the Upper Midwest!
Wilbur
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 03:08 PM on 06/06/2008
- + The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker See Profile I'm a Fan of The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker
For instance: On the one hand, Obama's youth looks pretty Commie to me, but today one of his main advisers is notorious anti-Communist and Trilateralist founder/operative Zbigniew Brzezinski. This tells me Barack Obama is a mixed bag, not that there is anything wrong with that.
Personally I think Marx was a putz, the spawn of elitists who never did an honest day's work in his life. I also see communism/capitalism to be a FALSE dichotomy. It was bad enough that the Clintons tried to make the presidential elections a referendum on race and gender, but I'd also hate to see the Presidential race turn into a referendum on which totalitarian "ism" We the People want to suffer under. How about neither? Cheezuz, there is a middle ground after all.
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 01:00 PM on 06/06/2008
- + The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker See Profile I'm a Fan of The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker
. . . such as Barack Obama's socialist/Marxist/liberation theology affiliations and (presumed, maybe not) sympathies. His murky background is the biggest reason so many people will vote for McCain in the fall. Already I'm seeing mainstream articles attacking Obama for being Marxist.
There is NO AVOIDING this issue. We need to drain this swamp and get to the bottom of this: What do our candidates REALLY believe, and which idealogues are financing and advising the campaigns?
Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:53 PM on 06/06/2008