The Associated Press reports that the Justice Department "secretly obtained two months of telephone records" of its reporters and editors in what appears to be an attempt to discover the identity of a leaker. Not to stop a terrorist or save a hostage or rescue adorable puppies from the Grinch, but to figure out who gave the AP information that made its way into a 2012 news story. For crying out loud, John Boehner's
Individuals are always vulnerable, indeed. And when we are victimized by governments, we have to push back. How? Well, through the press, mainly.
Attacking and subverting the press is qualitatively different from targeting individuals, or even persecuting a religious or racial group. It's like attacking and subverting the courts: it's a central structural pillar of the whole edifice of democracy. If the press is loud about this, it's not because it's being self-serving and egocentric, but because without the press there is no way to even know when individuals are abused, much less do anything about it.
I object to any tendency to downplay what the administration has done because a) the Press is a bunch of assholes and we hate them; or b) Obama did it, so there's probably a justification or it wasn't that bad; or c) anyway, look over there: someone is abusing another group, and Republicans did more of it.
as do most, for lack of a better term. True trolling is a serious skill. Any fool can go on a political board and post something about Obama/Palin/Bush/fill in the blank and proclaim them the bestest thing ever or the worstest thing ever and get a ton of replies. that ain't trolling, it's flame bait. Real trolling is going to an MJ story (where ten thousand people are chiming in about how marijuana is no worse than booze,blah,blah,blah) and telling the story about how one of your dearest friends died from an overdose while shooting up pot and waiting for the sparks to fly as all ten thousand try to argue with you- keep insisting that you witnessed it first hand and make yourself some popcorn. Real trolling is proclaiming Europe the best and/or worst country in the world and getting ten thousand geography lessons. I once watched some talented person tie up a Nature story thread for 2 days by offhandedly referring to dolphins as a fish and continuing to do so without ever actually arguing with anyone- people were furious. One of my personal favs (and yes, I convinced quite a few people that I was right) was my assertion that all the electricity generating windmills one sees on the slopes along I-10 in California are really a plot by the L.A. city council to dispose of all their air pollution by blowing it right out of the state. Real trolling is an art form, stringing people along either getting them to believe or keep them arguing about something completely stupid and nonsensical- the fun is seeing the light bulb come on as they realize just how far down the rabbit hole they've been willingly led...
"I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
the Nancy Grace effect- only cute white missing co-eds are newsworthy. The couple dozen poor kids of color or "other" religion who went missing that day- not so much...
1. Republicans outraged by shitty use of shitty law. 2. Obama proposes fixing said shitty laws. 3. Republicans filibuster legislation, because Obama. 4. Everyone wonders why we're all stuck in this fast-moving handbasket.
(#2 is fiction, for purposes of illustration only.)
Yeah, that&#039;s what <a href="http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/justice\/2013\/05\/13\/2005021\/doj-yemen-aqap\/" target="_blank">ThinkProgress&#039; take</a> was. If I were a CIA source inside an Al Qaeda affiliate, I&#039;d be both furious and terrified if my existence was revealed.
Individuals are always vulnerable, indeed. And when we are victimized by governments, we have to push back. How? Well, through the press, mainly.
Attacking and subverting the press is qualitatively different from targeting individuals, or even persecuting a religious or racial group. It&#039;s like attacking and subverting the courts: it&#039;s a central structural pillar of the whole edifice of democracy. If the press is loud about this, it&#039;s not because it&#039;s being self-serving and egocentric, but because without the press there is no way to even know when individuals are abused, much less do anything about it.
I object to any tendency to downplay what the administration has done because a) the Press is a bunch of assholes and we hate them; or b) Obama did it, so there&#039;s probably a justification or it wasn&#039;t that bad; or c) anyway, look over there: someone is abusing another group, and Republicans did more of it.
ah. i see. twitter.
so my white walker / zombie comment was prescient.
that&#039;s the point- shooting it up is just the icing on the cake,so to speak-guaranteed to get pro weed posters in a tizzy
yet another reason to avoid the twitiots
In fact, the FBI wants to know why you made this comment.
as do most, for lack of a better term. True trolling is a serious skill. Any fool can go on a political board and post something about Obama/Palin/Bush/fill in the blank and proclaim them the bestest thing ever or the worstest thing ever and get a ton of replies. that ain&#039;t trolling, it&#039;s flame bait. Real trolling is going to an MJ story (where ten thousand people are chiming in about how marijuana is no worse than booze,blah,blah,blah) and telling the story about how one of your dearest friends died from an overdose while shooting up pot and waiting for the sparks to fly as all ten thousand try to argue with you- keep insisting that you witnessed it first hand and make yourself some popcorn. Real trolling is proclaiming Europe the best and/or worst country in the world and getting ten thousand geography lessons. I once watched some talented person tie up a Nature story thread for 2 days by offhandedly referring to dolphins as a fish and continuing to do so without ever actually arguing with anyone- people were furious. One of my personal favs (and yes, I convinced quite a few people that I was right) was my assertion that all the electricity generating windmills one sees on the slopes along I-10 in California are really a plot by the L.A. city council to dispose of all their air pollution by blowing it right out of the state. Real trolling is an art form, stringing people along either getting them to believe or keep them arguing about something completely stupid and nonsensical- the fun is seeing the light bulb come on as they realize just how far down the rabbit hole they&#039;ve been willingly led...
&quot;I&#039;ve always been mad, I know I&#039;ve been mad, like the most of us...very hard to explain why you&#039;re mad, even if you&#039;re not mad...&quot;
the Nancy Grace effect- only cute white missing co-eds are newsworthy. The couple dozen poor kids of color or &quot;other&quot; religion who went missing that day- not so much...
lol, true dat- kids these days don&#039;t get it. Why, I walked ten miles in the snow every day just to get to the top of a thread...
damn. now i have to take the challenge.
fortunately, all the wingnuts will be too freaked out about the irs and BENGHAZI!?!!?!?! to worry about a far more worrisome development.
1. Republicans outraged by shitty use of shitty law. 2. Obama proposes fixing said shitty laws. 3. Republicans filibuster legislation, because Obama. 4. Everyone wonders why we&#039;re all stuck in this fast-moving handbasket.
(#2 is fiction, for purposes of illustration only.)
Yeah, that&#039;s what <a href="http:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/justice\/2013\/05\/13\/2005021\/doj-yemen-aqap\/" target="_blank">ThinkProgress&#039; take</a> was. If I were a CIA source inside an Al Qaeda affiliate, I&#039;d be both furious and terrified if my existence was revealed.
You forgot:
0. Republicans jam through shitty law, accusing anyone and everyone daring even to ask what&#039;s in it of treason.
I bet he giggled every time he said it, too. How the fuck did America elect that idiot man child? Oh that&#039;s right, SCOTUS did.
OK, clearly this and the IRS mess are the Obama administration&#039;s last-ditch effort to get the GOP House to STFU about Benghazi already.
Silly POTUS: try impounding someone&#039;s guns.