BEWARE OF GREEKS CAUSING RIFTS IN YOUR POLITICAL PARTY/MOVEMENT …

I’m on a mission. I’m utterly angered and repulsed that so many people on the Left are bamboozled by a phoney shill, who purports to be a Progressive.

People need to learn to think critically and investigate the background and modus operandi of every media talking head who puts forth an idea as fact. If you don’t, you just aren’t thinking. The saddest thing that can happen to a person is for his intellect to stultify.

There’s a particular media person who’s really getting up my tits at the moment. Just like I had George Bush pegged as the ineffectual frat boy that he turned out to be, I’ve had this one pegged for the last 28 years, ever since her rather ignominious departure from the United Kingdom after brazenly trying to appropriate a place amongst the serious British media intelligensia. (Don’t be fooled: the fact that Kirsty Wark – the most dipshitbrained political commentator and ‘pet Scot’ fo the BBC – interviewed her recently only served one purpose – Huffington’s stupidity made the equally vapid Wark look good).

I suppose our fathers and grandfathers, the so-called Greatest Generation, had to deal with Tokyo Rose and Axis Annie. Now we have to deal with the Greek Whoracle. I always thought, being the grandchild of three, that naturalised Americans came to this country to savour freedom. Instead the Whoracle came to enhance her brand and further her own interests, all the while criticising any and all Administrations which got in her way. I suppose Michael Huffington’s loss to Barbara Boxer in the Senate campaign and his subsequent ‘outing’ (and thus ending of the business arrangement that was her marriage) put paid to her ultimate ambition of becoming a First Lady with an ‘intellectual political salon.’

She’s weighing in on everything with no experience or expertise, shouting down people whose knowledge is better, and criticising everything our President does with no basis whatsoever. In her past two television appearances, she’s managed to shout down both Jane Mayer and John Podesta, both of whom have infinitely more experience in matters Afghan than she can ever hope to have. As she’s adamantly demanding President Obama reveal all his strategy behind his escalation of troops in Afghanistan, I’m absolutely gobsmacked at this assertion.

Lady, this is war. And in war, sometimes you have to keep your cards close to your chest – mostly, so assholes like you can hazard second-guessing. You show everyone your hand and your enemy has you by the short and curlies … or maybe that’s what you want? Maybe you’re the obvious spy, the dog in the manger, whose demands are so ridiculously silly that no one would ever think that you’re working for ‘the other side.’

Ah, but who is the other side? Well, we haven’t heard much from the teabaggers and the birthers lately, have we? But we’ve been hearing a lot of the Left’s base who’ve obviously been breathing in the toxic fumes of the Whoracle’s Koolaid. These are so-called rational people – well, I’m rational too; and I never believed the Damascene conversion the first time around when it happened to St Paul, and I’m sure as hell skeptical about someone who promoted Newt Gingrich as the saviour of America in the 1990s, blatantly and openly campaigned for Bill Clinton’s impeachment at the same time, supported John McCain in 2000, hurrah’d George Bush’s surge and voted him in a second time, enabled Ahhnold in his bid for governor after her own laughable ‘campaign’ tanked, and suddenly woke up the morning after the 2004 Election to ‘realise’ she’s a Progressive?

As the Brits would say, ‘Pull the other one. It’s got bleeding bells on.’

Like Rupert Murdoch, she runs with the hares and hunts with the hounds; and at the end of the day, it’s all about herself and her ego. That someone of the calibre of George Stephanopolous keeps giving her the kudos by allowing her to appear on his roundtable and spew her toxic venom and ignorance is a disappointment. Perhaps it’s something to do with the Greek connection. Well, Major Hasan’s a Virginian too, but I’m not about to land on the side of someone who opens fire on and kills 13 people.

Nope, the reason we haven’t heard from out teabagging friends on the Right is because their seemingly more intelligent counterparts on the Left, having drunk the Koolaid-flavoured retsina offered up by the Whoracle, are doing the job of debunking and discrediting President Obama for them.

Perhaps when President Palin ascends the Oval Office throne, there’ll be a place at her side for the Media Whoracle too. Two good ones together, and all enabled by the totally puerile and immature base of the left, throwing a massive hissy fit and not voting for a reasonable, rational, sensitive and intelligent man. We thought we’d done something right, only to be told by a media shill that we haven’t, and she’s telling us what to do about it.

Hello?

One great Progressive voice recently said, ‘Faith is the absence of critical thinking.’
But I wonder how long he will continue to be a ‘progressive voice?’

Just remember this: In the end, you get the government you deserve. Maybe y’all deserve Palin.

And in the meantime, read the bloggings of one Greek who’s not afraid to call out a Media Whoracle out for the phoney she is.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/12/13/17647/726

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Mogamboguru
Member

So that you know:

The greek bitch killed your’s truly poster Mogamboguru in her forum this morning.

Mogambogugu doesn’t exist any more on the HuffingtonBitch.

And the best thing is: She did so without reason!

I did hardly comment on anything over the past days, because I was busy elsewhere!

I was butchered from behind completely out of the blue!

Says a lot about this bitch’s and her shills’ characters, doesn’t it?

SAYONARA, HuffingtonBitch!

kesmarn
Admin

Mo! You were missed here, if that’s any consolation.

You’re not the first to have been banned without notice or reason. I have no idea what is going on “over there.” It seems almost entirely random.

Nevertheless, welcome back here.

Mogamboguru
Member

Hi, kesmarn.

I was never gone here. I only used to drop in at Huffy’s for an occasional short, sharp shot every once in a while for fun. When I am going to seriously contribute, it will alwways be here – rest assured!

TheRarestPatriot
Member

Ahhhh…a Pink Floyd reference…nice.~

Mogamboguru
Member

🙂

kesmarn
Admin

So good to hear that. I guess I had just missed connecting with your posts over the last few days here. Good to know you’re here for the duration!

Chernynkaya
Member

All I can say, Mo, is you look none the worse for wear. In fact, you look swell! But I’m sorry anyway. That place was fun for many months for me. Welcome “home.”

Mogamboguru
Member

Even if we have to cook a goose among the two of us every once in a while…?

Hi, Chernynkaya! 😎

Chernynkaya
Member

Goose–yum! Of course! We can agree to disagree, can’t we/ Plus, over here it’s not so combative. I found that when I’m there, I am just nasty.Here– not so much. In fact, I’m downright sweet! ;~)

escribacat
Member

Cher…you are so right about that. I always put my claws on before I start posting over there. They can be pretty sharp, too!

Mogamboguru
Member

Heh! 😎

escribacat
Member

When I was first posting there, I thought they had a lot of software bugs that caused random posts to disappear and people to disappear. Now I just think they are either psychotic or it’s a frat boy party back there in the scrubbing room and they get their kicks out of messing with people.

Mogamboguru
Member

Arianna hates it if someone posts comments running detrimental to her own political agenda.

Seems like I was too critical on some of her “darling”-topics over the past days.

escribacat
Member

I’d say about 75% of my posts are about how HuffyPuff slants the news and tries to get people worked up using incendiary headlines. I don’t know why I haven’t been scrubbed yet.

Mogamboguru
Member

Enloy your days at Huffy.

Your clock is counting down the hours over there too, for sure…

zizyphus
Member

Great article! I will say one good thing for Arianna, if she hadn’t set up HP, which we all enjoyed so much in the beginning, would we all be at this site today?

The big change that occurred after she got the hedge funds to invest and the computer moderation program running, have pretty much wrecked HP for now. Maybe forever. Just doesn’t have the same feeling there.

I am glad to see that this site continues to grow and improve, and am enjoying reading the articles, thanks to all.

SueInCa
Member

So true and for that we can be thankful. As it gets worse and worse, more will come here for respite.

escribacat
Member

I’m not at all a conspiracy theorist, but when I looked over that list of Oak Investments, I noticed Whole Foods was on there. Then I remembered the CEO of Whole Foods coming out against health care reform.

Okay, I know. That’s a stretch.

Hopeington
Member
Hopeington

Yeah e’cat. I thought the same thing when I saw that.
I guess I’m flexible too and stretched that right out.

KevenSeven
Member

Hairyanna is obviously a hoot, and we all get our jollies bagging on her. An interesting point is that she clearly detests HRC. Any Clintonista who ventured to HP during the primary can tell you all you need to know about that. Hairy did all she could to deny the nomination to Hill.

So what was she thinking? That Obama was great and Hill terrible, and Dog forbid that Hill win the nomination? Could Hairy be bent that Obama appointed Hill SecState?

Or is it all just a need to be in opposition? The whole Contrarian thing gets you more ink than agreeing all the time?

On the other hand is the PUMA attitude which has not receded. A prime dealer in that mess was Jane Hamsher. Jane at least is consistent. I don’t know that she ever had a kind word for Obama. That’s OK. What is strange is that Jane pretended to believe that HRC was more liberal than was Obama.

Cough. HRC was more pure than Obama. Well, I suppose we can all convince ourselves of anything under the right circumstances. Certainly Obama is insufficiently pure today to satisfy Hamsher.

Who are the pundits in the business of burnishing Obama’s image? I watch so little TV, I’m behind the curve on this one.

kesmarn
Admin

I can think of Donna Brazile and James Carville off the top of my head.

Hopeington
Member
Hopeington

Thought I’d bring bito’s link back up to the top. for Oak Investments. http://www.oakinv.com/
I counted 13 health care type business out of the 450 they are affiliated with. So yes, I do believe they are just picking up the slack because it’s not really tea party weather right now.
Excellent reasoning Marion. The Greek Whoracle was the absolute best I’ve heard yet, and thanks for that disgusting picture because I thoroughly dislike like the way they put up the most unflattering pics, the last one I complained about was Chelsea Clinton and her fiance, they had the happy couple looking like miserable dogs.
I only started posting over there during the election, but right from the beginning I knew not to click any of the whoracle’s stories, and judging from the comments left, no one else was reading them either.
I started getting scrubbed so much, I got another profile and handled it differently to see if they scrubbed me as much…they didn’t, so sometimes I use rollingballafire and just post sane little trite things. They wipe more than half of what I say as Hopeington, so why bother trying at all.
On a positive note, all that banning got me here, where I feel like I can exercise my intelligence and actually grow. I don’t know how long this site has been here but I’m glad to get in on the ground floor and look forward to the coming years and growth of the Planet…long winded but going to continue.
I will say I’m disappointed, I had a great many days over there and enjoyed getting fanned for my words and not my looks or actions.
I learned a lot and found other great places that could have taken days to find.
I love the Planet though, I had been looking for another place and it was so hard to post comments at other sites, like media matters and FDL because they were heavily monitored and if you didn’t get you comment in before 5pm, you either didn’t get posted or, on Friday you waited til Monday so there was no dialoging.
For a while I was pissed because the righties were taking over, I remember when they came on board and said that was their intention, now I just don’t care, they can have themselves, when I went there today, that’s about all there was……pure negativity,( I will admit I left a comment)
I’m a fan of everyone here and I appreciate you all soooo much
I love being on the Planet!!! Hugs and kisses!!!

Chernynkaya
Member

All righty friends, dinner is served, and I’m out for the day. You all have a great evening!

bito
Member

Cher, g’nite young lady.

kesmarn
Admin

Enjoy your dinner, Cher! (Am I to infer that your hubby has been cooking as we have been chatting? What a guy! Keep that one.) And good night!

bito
Member

Pepe, you said earlier that you just got turned on to Think Progress. Be sure you check their links and the other posts on the site. Mathew Yeglasias, Wonk Room, progress report…..Lot to learn on that site.

Chernynkaya
Member

Gawd. I just took a peek at the “Authors’ Corner” tab, thinking I’d eavesdrop, and found out it’s for US!

All this time, (well, all the week I’ve been here)I’ve been thinking that there were real authors, and then there was us. I could have asked for tech help at the authors’ corner because –Hello?– I AM an author here!

~Light bulb~~

kesmarn
Admin

You most certainly are an author here. One of the best.

Khirad
Member

Still haven’t been in there. Never occurred to me.

Kalima
Admin

Good night everyone, I might not make it back in time to see many of you. Have a good what is left of your evening. Take care and be safe,

DOWN WITH FLUFF&PUFF!

kesmarn
Admin

K’alima, have a peaceful night, sleep well. And I hope all goes well at the hospital for you.

nellie
Member

Me, too.

nellie
Member

Maybe I’ll catch you at the Morning Blog. If not, have a good evening and a good night!

Chernynkaya
Member

Sleep well, Kalima.

bito
Member

Kalima, hope it goes well at the “horsepital” to day!!!

TheRarestPatriot
Member

I swear I can’t stop looking at that profoundly disturbing mash-up of AH’s face above…LMAO~

Guess who’s gonna’ have nightmares?….LOL~

kesmarn
Admin

Saw her on TV Sunday, and this pic is not too far off the mark. Her Word Of The Day was–ta da!–“lackadaisical.” She used it over and over and over again to describe her perception of Obama’s responses to just about everything. How do you describe something that’s a cross between being irritating and boring? Boritating? That’s what she was.

Chernynkaya
Member

Irksome? Tedious? BLOVIATING??

kesmarn
Admin

Heh. All of the above.

bito
Member

K’esmarn, they critiqued the Pres. last month saying one year after the election, this month they are grading him. Next month what? Can they at least wait a year from when he was in office or does he have to solve everything in 6 days?

kesmarn
Admin

b’ito, isn’t it exasperating? My one hope is that the public tires of this endless critiquing and bashing and, in response, begins to have more sympathy for the Prez (as the endearing underdog, if for no other reason…even though there are many nobler reasons to have sympathy for him). At least there’s a good amount of time for the tide of public opinion to turn in his favor. He has three more years (7, Lord willing) and many things can change in that time. After surviving the horrors of the Bush years, we have to pray that things can only get better from here on. When voters see that, maybe it’ll take some of the wind out of the critics’ sails.

TheRarestPatriot
Member

Well examined, Marion. I called her out about 4 months ago and got banned…not just once, but 4 times. I even wrote her a direct letter about how I felt with regards to her website slowly, then rabidly (and rapidly) becoming an obvious safe-haven for trolls and right wing lurkers. I had been a contributing member of Off The Bus (a feature blog spot of election volunteers)so it’s not like I was coming in off the street as an unknown. I was taken OFF the bus and had my account banned. Seriously, for asking a fucking question. It reminded me of Catholic school, where I asked too many questions and was stabbed by a nun with a pencil! I still have the pencil lead embedded under my skin !
In any event, AH is a media whore now. All of your history of her is spot on and SO many do not know or care about it. People don’t want to admit they’ve embraced a golden calf. She is dangerous and within the last 6 months she’s gone full tilt banshee. So has her site. I was just there reading the posts and not only do I see a vacuum of intelligent conversation, I literally see trolls as the majority of MOST posts! Any new headline is swamped immediately by the FOX News crowd absolutely destroying way any for the Libs to speak. It’s become a Town Hall meeting of tea-baggers! I was/am shocked, yet not surprised.
She is dangerous…’nuff said….

Pepe Lepew
Member
nellie
Member

One of my favorite places to go for a laugh.

Hopeington
Member
Hopeington

Pepe, that was crazy, I got to Cats, now on cd, and was busting up,great distraction after a long day that just keeps getting longer.

javaz
Member

Welcome to the Plant POV, Marion!
And thank you for a well written article.
I deleted my account on HP last week and let me tell you that was liberating.
I think the best way that we can deal with AH is to ignore her and her site.

The best way to get back at a person is through their wallet.

And the more of us who boycott AH and don’t go to her site and click articles, the less money she will receive.

Let it go.

Don’t give her the time of day.

There are other sites better, and one of them Planet POV.

Just as I refuse to watch Fox News, I refuse to visit HP.

The more of us that turn her off, the better it will be.

The more we talk about her and her site, is similar to talking about Sarah Palin.

Don’t make AH or SP relevant by clicking on their sites or giving them the time of day.

FrankenPC
Member

This is sad. I used to look up to AH. This is one grand lesson for everyone: Greed corrupts always. No one is exempt.

nellie
Member

I think the greedy come into the spotlight because of their greed.

AdLib
Admin

Roy Sekoff of HuffPo was just on the Ed Show being the smarmy dick that he is, assailing Obama for answering a question from Oprah about what grade he should be given for his first year in office.

Obama said B +, for averting what looked like an inevitable second Depression, for getting Health care reform to near passage, etc.

Sekoff instead said it was far lower and stabbed him in the back, blaming HIM for Congress’ action on Health Care, Congress’ action in changing the Stimulus bill and many other CONGRESSIONAL actions. He kept repeating “timidity” as Obama’s style of leadership.

Is Sekoff really so poorly informed as to what Congress does as opposed to the President? No. He is Arianna’s point man in trying to smear and undermine this president under the guise of sticking up for Progressives.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what damaging the public’s view of Obama and the Dem congress would mean in 2010 and possibly 2012.

A smaller Dem majority in Congress which won’t be able to move ANY Progressive issues forward and by 2012, maybe even a GOP majority in one or both houses.

This is what Sekoff and his boss Arianna and HuffPo are working towards. And how many of the faithful Progressives blogging at HuffPo recognize that they are being stabbed in the back?

(BTW, I showed a bit of restraint here, I was so pissed off at seeing that interview that I was going to insult Sekoff by referring to him as Suckoff but decided not to. Whoops!)

Kalima
Admin

Never holding much credence in conspiracy theories, I find myself seeing a concerted effort on Huff to try to discredit the President. Why this is not more obvious to long time posters still slogging away over there is beginning to puzzle me. Surely there must be some doubt after the garbage turned out over there during the time the President took office and in many cases much before then, I don’t understand it at all.

nellie
Member

I think part of it is that a lot of people are still in anger mode and can’t turn it off. HP has realized this and is taking advantage of it. Unfortunately a lot of other sites, like AlterNet and Firedoglake, are in the same mode — and these are respected Progressive sites. They spend all their editorial space comparing Obama to Bush.

Kalima
Admin

There is no similarity between Obama and Bush, this is so highly insulting, not only to the President but to the very people who voted for him and even the ones trying to distance themselves from him now. They wanted too much from the beginning and are now like spoiled kids who have pestered their parents for a puppy or kitten, only to lose interest when the furry, little thing becomes a larger thing that’s not so cute anymore. They need to grow up, let him do his job and get off their annoying, whining arses to help him accomplish the goals he promised then, not the goals he did not. Maybe they needed a few more years of Bush or 4 years of McGrumps/ Palin to make them understand the chances they are squandering by demanding too much, too soon.

nellie
Member

And in a backhanded way, it gives Bush a pass.

The Bush Administration was possibly the most criminal in our history. It shouldn’t be compared to ANY other administration — much less the current one.

escribacat
Member

And if Obama is so much like Bush, why are people like Beck, Limbaugh, and the rest of the rapid class so foamed up about him?

Kalima
Admin

Oh it absolutely gives him a pass and if we could check on the origin, it is more than likely a trend started by the Repubs to take eyes off the Bush debacle.

Must dash and get ready to go out. Hope to see you later.

nellie
Member

TTYL, Kalima!

escribacat
Member

Nellie, I backed off a bit from firedoglake when they were promoting the “all or nothing” health care petition. They are “purists,” as K7 would call them.

nellie
Member

Was Jane Hampton a Hillary supporter? Sometimes I wonder if there’s a little “I told you so” in all this negativity.

Pepe Lepew
Member

My brother-in-law just clued me in to “Think Progress.” I like that one. I like “Open Left,” too, but it’s got an ugly layout.

bito
Member

AdLib I was emailing the ed show (with a link to this site and this post, when Sukoff was on the show. Certainly made me add another dozen lines to my email. Who knows if they ever get read but it is worth a try.
What was that shit that Ed brought up about Obama and his legacy? Where did he pull that out of…..?

nellie
Member

Be prepared for an FU as a response. That’s how Ed answered my last email!

bito
Member

I remember, nellie, I have never even warranted a reply from him. You struck a nerve. “You people just don’t want a progressive,like me, to make money!” (pats self on back)

javaz
Member

B’ito.

email me please and thank you.
🙂

AdLib
Admin

After hearing about the FU nellie got and growing tired of Ed’s BS populist rants, I have lost an enormous amount of interest and of course respect for him.

He is a left wing blowhard that Jon Stewart also shows now respect for. KO and Rachel are smart, informed and not emotionally driven into their opinions, can’t say the same about Ed…and his overly emotional outrage makes me suspicious of how much he truly believes of what he says and how much is pandering for ratings.

nellie
Member

Like Arianna, he is a former Republican.

escribacat
Member

Nellie…seriously? Ed Schultz is a former republican? Wow. What is this anyway? True media whores.

nellie
Member

You have to wonder when people make radical switches like that. Take David Horowitz. He was a hippie radical in the 60s.

Then there are the sincere ones like Frank Schaeffer and David Brock. It’s impossible to go by the labels, it’s what people say and do that matters. I wish progressives would figure that out. Anyone trying to turn them against this administration is not their friend.

bito
Member

Oh I agree AdLib, I have written to him about a few time about progress and radicalism. “If I don’t get my way, I will ruin it for everyone.” In the back of my mind lurks the fact that his first try at elected office was as a republican.

KevenSeven
Member

I’m not sure that Obama is not missing a chance to lead at this time.

Rumor, which I am careful to not accept on face value, has it that Rham is pushing Reid to make Loserman happy.

I have my doubts about Rham.

AdLib
Admin

Check my new article. Sadly, it appears that Rahm will be one happy DLCer.

Chernynkaya
Member

Just FYI everyone, I got this from Huffy in my inbox this morning:

Hello!

My name is Stephanie, and I am one of the comment moderators at the Huffington Post. I

Kalima
Admin

Oops!

Saying “Hello” and greeting friends is not allowed, sounds like a “chain gang” policy to me.

That is really quite funny considering the amount of on topic posts that have been and still are trashed there every day.

Chernynkaya
Member

No talking to your neighbor!
Put your heads on your desks!
Stand in line!

And for those of us in elementary school during the fifties:

DROP!

escribacat
Member

LOL. Would you like to share with the class what’s in that note?

bito
Member

Did you bring enough candy for everyone? 🙂

Chernynkaya
Member

Always. ;~)

Kalima
Admin

Very progressive, I’m sure. Quite ridiculous when many of us made friends with people we met there that have carried over into our private lives, they are simply nuts and don’t deserve the respect they are trying to attain for themselves. Many of us know the truth about them, it’s too little too late. The cat’s out of the bag and running up the street.

bito
Member

Morning Kalima. I wish you a Good Morning.

Kalima
Admin

Good afternoon bito, I’m all over the place trying to get ready for the horsepital, no not a spelling mistake. After all the poking and prodding, that’s what I feel like when I’m done.

Hope that things are alright with you. LOL, is this was Fluff and Stuff, we’d be pending without ending.

Pepe Lepew
Member

I’m kind of a believer that threads are like a living organism. They go in whatever direction they want to go in, and you should just sit back and enjoy the ride for the most part, and not try to exert total control over the content.

AdLib
Admin

To be generous, perhaps this is a Mod trying to convince the Admin over there to agree to this experiment.

There are myriad other possibilities but what this still sounds like to me is a kind of bloggers ghetto. No free expression anywhere else on HuffPo…and yet there will be censorship there too, especially of anyone who dares insult The Queen or the site.

And if they made this happen, it would only make them feel more righteous about being even more oppressive about wiping posts on every issue-oriented post, saying, “If you want to talk freely, you’ve got somewhere else to do it!”

And, what good is it to have an open thread to try and discuss issues where trolls will run wild and personal conflicts will abound? It will be a mosh pit that is still censored and freedom of expression on all other posts will be even more restricted.

I wouldn’t contribute to such a proposal, even if the Mod behind it is earnest. It will only further denigrate freedom throughout the site and in return, only provide a messed up and hypocritical Open Thread since censorship will continue there as well.

javaz
Member

Let’s stop talking about her and her site.

We had the most wonderful dialogues here, and it’s time to stop talking about AH.

She’s no different than the MSM talking about Tiger Woods.

There are far more important things to discuss than AH.

escribacat
Member

Huffington Post has a powerful impact on the progressive movement in this country and that impact has been increasingly destructive. I think it’s important to fight against them and do whatever we can to expose their agenda.

Kalima
Admin

I agree 100% escribacat, she is a traitor to the progressive cause and some of her bloggers have joined her in her Rumba line.

Chernynkaya
Member

I hope that eventually, there will be nothing to talk about. But for now, Javez, I kinda feel I need to go there and fight. But notice how much less time I am there– I’ve been here almost all day.

nellie
Member

Not to mention that it sounds like a rip-off of Daily Kos.

Chernynkaya
Member

I think they are actually flummoxed by the fact that the posters have taken over the main page thread every night. To scrub them would mean entire pages– dozens– gone. I honestly think they don’t know how to regain control. I like that.heheh.

I don’t think they care about finding a place for the people who do this, unless they can set up a page riddled with ads. They are just stumped.

escribacat
Member

Cher, Yes, I think that’s what this is about. I heard about another prominent poster getting this email.

Chernynkaya
Member

Yes, but she got it a couple of weeks ago. Should I feel insulted? (Kidding)

escribacat
Member

LOL. Huffy pecking order, clearly.

nellie
Member

I’d love to know what moderation policy allows the n-word to stand in a comment thread for hours upon hours when thoughtful, inoffensive posts are scrubbed.

AdLib
Admin

Example of HuffPo posts that will and won’t be wiped.

1. Obama is a (N-Word). – NOT WIPED
2. Hi. – WIPED
3. Progressives are (N-Word) lovers. – NOT WIPED
4. You are so kind, I love you. – WIPED

You see, as a rationalization for purposely agitating Progressives to keep clicking and blogging and making HuffPo more money, HuffPo is apparently claiming that racism is on topic and treating other blogers with respect is not.

TheRarestPatriot
Member

Exactly Adlib.
I have purposely sent posts with very Obama negative remarks that were posted, no worries. I also posted my interest in a less progressive thread as was wiped.
Something has happened over there and it’s all encompassing. It’s like someone with a ton of money told AH to ramp up the fights, keep up the scrubbing and any article that involves naked girls/guys, slebs, or any other NON-news story runs on the front page ALL day..where stories of people losing their homes, lives, self worth, etc…slip past in 2 hours. They have endorsed the blank check over there…

AdLib
Admin

Oak Invetments bought in with $25 million for a $50 million valued stake in HuffPo late last year.

The change clearly started them and as hedge funds will, they hammer their investment vehicles to produce increased returns each quarter.

It is the natural progression of such unprincipled greed that HuffPo would begin and continue a cycle of increased degradation and pandering/manipulation to increase traffic and thus ad revenues.

It can only get worse.

They are right about something, conflict does work to attract more people. How many folk slow down to look at a perfectly parked car as opposed to a terrible car accident.

However, if you prefer getting to work on time, using your life and time more productively and not being stuck in a nightmare of angry traffic, you’d prefer not to have to have to deal with such “accidents” on a daily basis.

TheRarestPatriot
Member

Holy moley….I just went and looked at what other investment ‘ventures’ this Oak was involved in. They got their finger in everybody’s pie, brother….

bito
Member

TRP, and those are just the ones that are public knowledge.

AdLib
Admin

Which includes health insurance and health industry businesses.

And as a hedge fund, has skin in the game on opposing financial regulations.

On and on…

bito
Member

From Oak Investments:
HuffingtonPost.com

Huffington Post is a leading news website that has aggregated the best online sources through creative editorial and well respected bloggers. The site covers several content verticals including politics, entertainment, media, living green and business as well as an local news initiative starting initially with Chicago.

bito
Member

Quick search on Oak investments
http://www.oakinv.com/
I didn’t get much. I wnt to go deeper on them.

kesmarn
Admin

b’ito, a quick glance at the companies they have a hand in sure leaves no doubt as to whether or not they have a vested interest in controlling the tone and content of the health care debate!

Thanks so much for posting the link.

kesmarn
Admin

Cher, this communication from Huffy is very interesting. (Just got off duty for a while from taking care of my favorite 3d grader, with a virus, so I’m a bit late to the topic.)

Does anyone else think that Huffy may be more than a little aware of the increasing traffic on this site, and that this proposed “open thread” on HP is an attempt to win back the posters who have become fed up with the current state of affairs over there?

Methinks someone is feeling a bit threatened!

Do they think that people with functioning brains are going to be content to be relegated to some little corner while they go on with their mission of undermining Obama’s presidency unimpeded? Why would anyone want to funnel cash into Aryana’s bank account while being confined to the “kid’s table” at the dysfunctional family dinner?

Chernynkaya
Member

Isn’t it pretty to think so?

I don’t think so– they have millions of posters, and I just think they want to regain a tighter control of the thread.

kesmarn
Admin

LOL As you said, the mere fact that they seem to have lost control is happy news in itself

OT: I really loved your article on Hannukah.
When religion is bad, it’s really bad.
But when it’s good, it is a total joy!

Your article was a joy.

Chernynkaya
Member

Thank you Kes!

I can’t remember who said this, but it speaks to me:

“Religion is for people who are afraid of hell. Spirituality is for people who’ve been there.”

As an aside– Judaism has no concept of hell. But that’s still how I feel about it. :~)

kesmarn
Admin

Oh, yes, Cher! I feel the same way. And you don’t have to have experienced death to know what hell is! (I’ll leave further discussion of that to another day.)
I treasure that quotation, as well as the marvelous Einstein one you included in the article. I vote for the school of thought that says that everything is miraculous.

Khirad
Member

Great quote. And no, the hell thing came from the east, with the Magi, metaphorically. 😉

AdLib
Admin

I think it’s a combination of things.

First, they want the justification to be more oppressive and delete more posts that don’t fit their agenda. Creating this Open Thread, whether or not some Mod may be earnest about it, will accomplish this.

Secondly, they are no doubt suffering a big turnover of readers and members who grow disgusted at what transpires there on the blogs. They may indeed feel that through stringent censorship, they can dial up or down the tenor of conversation that produces better numbers.

This is all about one thing in the end, HuffPo’s Hedge Companies and Arianna making the most money they can through the manipulation of Progressives.

Chernynkaya
Member

AdLib, are they really suffering from a turnover? I’m not doubting you– just surprised and delighted. I read many of your comments on this thread,and I agree strongly– It is important to call them out on this. I consider it a sort of mission.

AdLib
Admin

Turnover and what is called Bounce Rate are issues for HuffPo in their quest to keep raising their quarterly earnings.

There are a set of users who are active bloggers, a set that are frequent visitors and readers but don’t blog and those who come occasionally to read an article or headline.

It is the last group which a blog like HuffPo wants to “capture” because for them, it is the only path for growth.

So they have a problem,the nastiness they’ve created has attracted and addicted a certain amount of people.

At the same time, those who just want news and thoughtful discussion are not prone to stay long.

How can they serve all these groups?

Create an Open Blog ghetto for members to go to have their hostilities and keep the regular blogs censored to reflect a more controlled conversation and message that matches their agenda.

Many people are upset by seeing people be hateful to each other, that and the growing realization, reflected here, at Daily Kos, etc., that HuffPo is a travesty is indeed driving more regulars away.

Is this about The Planet? Not solely but we are a reflection of the reality that members are indeed leaving HuffPo.

Chernynkaya
Member

Fascinating, Ad Lib– thank you. Just so interesting to me.

nellie
Member

I don’t see how they’re ever gong to attract people who just want to check in for the news — unless they’re checking in for the entertainment news.

Their news coverage is really poor — getting worse by the day.

Khirad
Member

Pretty much covered it. As much as I see more than nefarious ulterior motives, it would be smart on their part. The ones going OT are generally regulars (myself included).

kesmarn
Admin

AdLib, this reminds me of a question…and, believe me, you need not feel obliged to answer this! How do you feel about advertising on the Planet? Do you have a policy regarding that? Or would you rather keep it an ad-free zone?

Khirad
Member

That’s the e-mail I heard about.