DUmmie FUnnies 04-25-05 ("DU as target of gross misuse by the right")

Let us all now take a moment to shed a tear for the poor DUmmies. They feel ABUSED by the Right as you can see in this DUmmie THREAD titled, “DU as target of gross misuse by the right.” Apparently the residents of my DUmmie Ant Farm don’t like being looked at and commented upon. Even worse for them than to be angrily criticized is for them to be LAUGHED at as happens in the DUmmie FUnnies on a daily basis. And guess what, DUmmies, all it takes is for Mary Matalin to give the thumbs up to the DUmmie FUnnies book (with CD-ROM insert for the related comix stories) and an MUCH BIGGER audience will be laughing at you. The DUmmie crybabying about being abused is in Bolshevik Red while the commentary of your humble correspondent, peering even more intently into his Ant Farm, is in the [brackets]:

DU as target of gross misuse by the right

[Sorry but we do have to have our FUn. Continue with your tale of woe, DUmmie cloudythescribbler…]

At least twice now, the Democratic Underground has been the victim of gross misuse by the right. This may have been a topic before and I missed it, but it seems that one of the top people at DU should write a proposed column for the NY Times oped page, now expanded, and get hundreds of not thousands of DUers to sign it, and then send it in for publication.

[And I shall write a DUFU of that very column for the NY Times oped page. Continue DUmmie cloudythescribbler…]

One point that should clearly be made is that this is an OPEN forum, where anyone can express a view -- including quite a few rightwingers and freepers. It may be that the notion of the tsunami as a CIA conspiracy or of the pope as a Nazi are not the most refined of views, but they are expressed in many venues, such as callers into WBAI, and here at least they have a chance to be vetted and rationally debated and countered with facts.

[Trust me. The wacko posts of the DUmmies are NOT isolated, they are the norm. Any visit to Dummieland will prove that right away. Continue DUmmie cloudythescribbler…]

Taking such comments out of context stifles the kind of free discussion forum that this is, and represents one of the many misuses of the internet as a forum in recent years. The notion of the internet as some kind of "authority", as cited by Sorensen and Baraka is part of the mythmaking that conservatives are here trying to exploit. There is also the issue that there are rightwing sites that utter the most unbelievable improbabilities AS PART OF THEIR OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS, like quoting Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Lenin and Che Guevara in the same breath, and these sites are considered respectable and never held up for ridicule -- because progressives don't have the kind of partisan access to the mainstream media to exploit to this end.

[Taking comments out of context? Sorry to destroy your theory, DUmmie cloudythescribbler, but I like to quote my DUmmie Ants fully since it gives full flavor to their rich nuttiness. In addition, each edition of the DUmmie FUnnies ALWAYS provides the link to the DUmmie thread being DUFUed so as to give the readers an opportunity to check out the threads as they are posted in DUmmieland. And now that you are done with your sob story, DUmmie cloudythescribbler, let us give your fellow DUmmies the chance to whine on this same theme.]

NRO for god's sake. C-SPAN let's these people on like they're, uh, a credible organization -- and they say some of the most outrageous things. I actually had a personal communication with one of them, and he was a total know-nothing ASS.

[Believe me, if I had it in my power, I would have a TV program featuring ALL the DUmmie rantings 24/7. Perhaps I should call it Comedy Channel 2.]

I would write semi-long, intelligent letters, and he would write a three-line, misspelled, ad hominem-rife reply. And it wasn't just NRO that was publishing this idiot's columns -- he was actually employed by MSNBC as an "analyst" and, of course, was a big wig in the Bush I administration. I was just stunned at how inarticulate and poorly informed this person was. I just thought, "Wow. So they're like this in person, too? What pathetic losers."

[So you would prefer ad hominen-rifeless replies, my semi-long “intelligent” DUmmie letter writer?]

why not do it back to them start posting ridiculous stuff on free republic and then send it into the MSM

[Go ahead and get the Zot. In the meantime I enjoy reading the ridiculous stuff posted in DUmmieland.]

That's an idea. Post a question in Free Republic to get wackos to come out. Send it to whoever will accept it or just show it on your own website.

[Yes. That post will show up in the thread titled, “I'm so stupid, I signed up and got the Zot.”]

Why aren't these questionable post removed right away, why was the tsunami thread allowed to remain up if the source was in doubt?

[Why was last Friday’s DUmmie thread titled, "Kerry still working on stolen election” allowed to remain up? The source for that thread was a comment posted on a Blog about something a phone solicitor said in order to shake some cash out of the fool who posted the comment.]

And if discussion is chilled by the fear that anything can and will be taken out of context and used against you with a rightwing that has access to the mainstream that we lack, democracy suffers. This point needs to be made in the mainstream media, where the quotes have been used, in a column written by those who run DU

[What about discussion chilled by the fear that you will be LAUGHED at? Oh, and I would love to read a column written by the DUmmie inmates. More DUFU material!!!]

I have a shirt that says You have the right to remain silent, anything you say will be misquoted and used against you. Just wore it yesterday.

[Would you like a T-Shirt featuring a cute, cigar-smoking beaver?]

welcome to DU and please everyone, if you see a post that looks suspicious hit the "Alert" key.

[I always hit the “LOUSY FREEPER TROLL” key.


DU has moderators that follow up on any and all alerts sent by our members.

[Unfortunately many of those DUmmie moderators are often LOUSY FREEPER TROLLS. Hee! Hee! (Note: Except for IndianaGreen. He is not a LOUSY FREEPER TROLL. Please believe that.)]

People are too afraid of ideas and words. I know the corporate media is a propaganda machine for the right and the b*sh regime but expressing ideas is what is going to bring them down. They can't bear the fact that there are people out there thinking thoughts they have not promoted. DU is getting to them and they can't do anything to stop it because it would stop their propaganda machines as well.

[Actually you better PRAY that they corporate media doesn’t publicize Dummieland via a DUmmie FUnnies book (with CD-ROM insert for related comix stories).]

at this stage.. for us... the only bad publicity is NO publicity. In the words of the old show-biz axiom "Say what you like, but spell my name right!"

[D-U-m-m-i-e-s]

There is a problem though. The problem is that DU isn't being given the cachet of being 'banned' or a subject of great publicity -- it is being cited in an entirely unfair way to make it seem marginal, a place where only tin-foil hat ideas are discussed.

[BFEE, LIHOP, MIHOP, PNAC, etc… Now where did we ever get the crazy idea of DUmmieland as a marginal place filled with tin-foil hat ideas?]

The main problem is that DU is being ignored.

[Believe me. I am trying to rectify that. YOO HOO! Mary Matalin! Over here! YOO HOO!!!]

DU Ain't What She Used To Be. A year ago, this place was growing and hopping and getting a good share of mention across the net and even into the corporate media. These days I rarely hear DU mentioned...and not anywhere near I do other sites such as Kos, Atrios and Talking Points.

[When the DUmmie FUnnies book (with CD-ROM insert for the related comix stories) is published attention will be focused once again on DUmmieland as the hot comedy spot on the Web.]

I see DU as full of great people who care about their families, their neighbors, and their country.

[I see Dummieland as a great source for comedy materal.]

Anyone who comes to DU and looks around can see the value of this place. That thrills some and infuriates others.

[And makes most of the rest roll over in laughter.]

Also DU isn't exactly open to all: it is intended as a platform of discussion for democrats, about democratic issues. While RW-ers are allowed, they aren't allowed to discuss/propagate RW issues - if they do, they'll be banned. That's why RW misinformation operatives have to be careful not to go so far as to expose themselves for what they are. In the mean time they'll try and go far enough as to actually influence DU's public mind. That's not easy, and many fall through during their first few posts. Some are clever though, sometimes it can take years and many 1000's of posts before such an operative is exposed.

[I must be VERY CLEVER since I haven’t been caught yet. (Note: I am NOT DUmmie IndianaGreen. Please believe that.)]

on the "bright side" the mere fact that the DU is a "target" means we are viewed as a threat to the rabid-reich means the DU is being read by alot of people - more than we probably know, many people "lurk" for quite awhile before deciding to join in, and many more people just lurk

[And many more yet read the DUmmieland rantings via the DUmmie FUnnies Blog. Plus MILLIONS more if the DUmmie FUnnies book (with CD-ROM insert for the related comix stories) gets published.]

I say DU has no reason to be defensive. DU is successful. It works very well.

[Absolutely, DUmmie marions ghost. Dummieland is the Comedy Gift that keeps on giving.]