Yikes!

If they can’t stand up to “hardcore left wing activists,” how will they stand up to Al Qaeda?

spocko @ 152

I know this is probably a dead thread but the comment from Albatross at 31 is very important and I think that it should be understood that the fear of being targeted is very real and it has also been internalized.

And say that you do stand up to the system.
What do you get? A reputation of being “a trouble maker” who doesn’t “get along” and who doesn’t “get the story” because they pissed off “the players”. Sometimes it’s not blatant, but believe me, the WH lets people know when they are displeased. See Eric Boehlet’s book Lapdogs if you don’t believe me. He documents the exact things that are done by the Rove/Huges White House team to punish or reward people for their questions or stories.

Thanks for your kind comments, Spocko. As an aside, this strikes me as inherent flaw in this discussion structure – the give-and-take of ideas lasts only as long as the latest post.

As to what one gets for fighting back, that’s why it takes courage. It’s the same courage it takes to be the point man in a squad in Fallujah: you stand a strong chance of taking one for the team.

But if Time loses editor after editor, if magazine after magazine devolve into transparent propaganda tools of the State (like Fox News), in the end the culture will recognize Tass and Pravda for what they are. The inherited air of legitimacy of Time actually enables the present authoritarian cult in the White House.

The problem right now is that we are all in severe denial. We all want to pretend that the party isn’t over, that everything can just go on day to day “like it always has.” That’s why strikes and protests annoy the mainstream – they are clear indications that the party may be over, that the status quo isn’t any more.

The courage to do what’s right – to strike, to protest, to resign a job that has been gutted of integrity – comes from a populace with enough ethical, moral, and historical education to realize that none of this is new. Corrupt authoritarian regimes happen time and time again, and their solutions are always the same in execution, if not in scope and scale. Somehow they fall apart. Sometimes they collapse of their own weight (think Soviet Union), sometimes by Czech-style velvet revolution, and sometimes by Thomas Paine style bloody ones.

Dumbing down and degenerating the educational system helps control the population by robbing them of the knowledge of how these things proceed, and by preventing them from learning the value of the courageous actions they might take. We celebrate Rosa Parks now, but we don’t realize the abuse she took for her refusal to comply with the system. If we understood history better, we might realize that necessary actions often do not return rewards within the lifetimes of the actors.

If our culture were not deliberately kept ignorant, some of us might have the courage to place our faith in our posterity and take the necessary actions.

Albatross and spocko,

Above all, communities such as FDL need to be kept alive and continually educated by those who post and comment. This interactive print medium is ideal for the the exchange of ideas which can be fact-checked immediately.

The news industry has, indeed, been terrorized and infiltrated by those who despise true journalism. Working to support those who are researching and presenting real news is what a community like this can do.

Becoming an educated community which has eyes and ears tuned for nuance is as important as being the ones out front. It will take all of us.

The work being done to foster civics educations for communities such as this one is absolutely vital for the well being of the United States. Our children are on the line.

CTuttle @ 70

Heh, I’m torn between voting for Edwards, or throwing my vote away and vote DK… ;-)

I will allow enough self triangulation to vote for Edwards if he has a chance at all. (AR primary Feb 5th) Otherwise its all K man for this progressive. End the freaking wars!

Thank you!

Richmond @ 36

Perhaps because she can be counted on not to go too populist on the upper class, by doing things like changing tax codes etc.

the charming eugene mccarthy (i loved the guy) once said, ‘people accuse me of wanting to soak the rich. i merely want to ‘dampen’ them somewhat.’

:-)

That kind of dry humor didn’t make him president either.

I just don’t think Grover Norquist just spontaneously sent in a youtube question…and out of the 5000 it just happened to get picked

I’m sorry I missed that. But, I can imagine him asking them which has the strongest hands with which to strangle the government while holding it under water. I wonder which one he supports.

“Had CNN BUSHCO done its homework, this would not have happened. They either willfully let it happen, or incompetently bungled it. Either way, heads should roll.”

And he calls himself an editor….. gack.

“Had” CNN BUSHCO done its homework, this would not have happened. They either willfully let it happen, or incompetently bungled it. Either way, heads should roll.”

And he calls himself an editor….. gack.

I know this is probably a dead thread but the comment from Albatross at 31 is very important and I think that it should be understood that the fear of being targeted is very real and it has also been internalized.

And say that you do stand up to the system.
What do you get? A reputation of being “a trouble maker” who doesn’t “get along” and who doesn’t “get the story” because they pissed off “the players”. Sometimes it’s not blatant, but believe me, the WH lets people know when they are displeased. See Eric Boehlet’s book Lapdogs if you don’t believe me. He documents the exact things that are done by the Rove/Huges White House team to punish or reward people for their questions or stories.

Thanks for your kind comments, Spocko. As an aside, this strikes me as inherent flaw in this discussion structure – the give-and-take of ideas lasts only as long as the latest post.

As to what one gets for fighting back, that’s why it takes courage. It’s the same courage it takes to be the point man in a squad in Fallujah: you stand a strong chance of taking one for the team.

But if Time loses editor after editor, if magazine after magazine devolve into transparent propaganda tools of the State (like Fox News), in the end the culture will recognize Tass and Pravda for what they are. The inherited air of legitimacy of Time actually enables the present authoritarian cult in the White House.

The problem right now is that we are all in severe denial. We all want to pretend that the party isn’t over, that everything can just go on day to day “like it always has.” That’s why strikes and protests annoy the mainstream – they are clear indications that the party may be over, that the status quo isn’t any more.

The courage to do what’s right – to strike, to protest, to resign a job that has been gutted of integrity – comes from a populace with enough ethical, moral, and historical education to realize that none of this is new. Corrupt authoritarian regimes happen time and time again, and their solutions are always the same in execution, if not in scope and scale. Somehow they fall apart. Sometimes they collapse of their own weight (think Soviet Union), sometimes by Czech-style velvet revolution, and sometimes by Thomas Paine style bloody ones.

Dumbing down and degenerating the educational system helps control the population by robbing them of the knowledge of how these things proceed, and by preventing them from learning the value of the courageous actions they might take. We celebrate Rosa Parks now, but we don’t realize the abuse she took for her refusal to comply with the system. If we understood history better, we might realize that necessary actions often do not return rewards within the lifetimes of the actors.

If our culture were not deliberately kept ignorant, some of us might have the courage to place our faith in our posterity and take the necessary actions.

When these RedStater people have been spewing the “My way, or the highway” choice for so long, they really should either keep offa the highway or at least not scream about getting run over from all the new highway traffic!

Good for the Chicago Tribune!!! That’s what I want to see! Set it straight!