The Askville Nanny Rules

[bobquasit]

Askville has instituted "guidelines" that state that any complaint - anyone who says they are insulted, hurt, or offended by a post or answer - will be basically accepted as valid. The offending comments will be deleted, and the author will be warned. Repeated offenses will lead to suspension or banning.

This seems really stupid to me. But then, Askville management doesn't seem that smart when it comes to actually dealing with the interpersonal dynamics of maintaining a smoothly-functioning community.

Because any post can basically vanish at the first whine, I'm going to by copying anything that I'd regret losing here. Here's a comment in response to a question that asked "Do you think that the news media has been a little too obvious in their support of Obama?".

Nonsense.

I'm not supporting either McCain or Obama; I'm one of those people who is "throwing their vote away" on a third-party candidate. So I don't have a dog in this fight. And between McCain and Obama, I have to say that the bias and stupidity in the press has been fairly equal in favor of both candidates. Both of them have done some sleazy, corrupt and dishonest things, and the media has pretty much covered it up on both sides. Which makes sense; both candidates are really working for the big money interests of this country, the same interests that own the media. It's all one big corrupt party.

I find a certain comfort in the thought that whoever wins, America will get the leadership and fate that it deserves.

In any case, I find this sort of question rather contemptible. It's such obvious propaganda; the phrasing requires the acceptance of a postulate that is by no means proven.

It takes a certain degree of contempt for the intelligence of others to post this sort of push-poll question...but then, that's what I've come to expect from partisans. They really do believe that they can somehow dazzle everyone with BS, and we'll all fall down foaming at the mouth and screeching the party line. "Down with Brand X!"

If the American people can't learn to think for themselves and cut through the fog of BS generated by the parties and the media, they deserve what they'll get.

Comments

[ocean-state.livejournal.com]

I'm also pondering how to throw away I mean use my vote. I was a huge McCain supporter in 2000 --and I swear I'm still dumbstruck that that fucking moron won the nomination instead-- but now... not so much. There's so much about Obama that makes me want to vomit endlessly with my GERD superpowers, but the man has his good points and I'd say he's both more intelligent and more diplomatic than McCain.

I had an odd moment of discord this morning when I cracked open my Times and read left-wing talking head David Sirota write, "Obama has raised $9.8 million from investment houses (more than McCain.) For economic advice, he relies on people like Bob Rubin -- the NAFTA architect who gutted market regulations as Bill Clinton's treasury secretary and who then tried to rustle up government favors for Enron as a $17-million-a-year executive at Citigroup, a bank embroiled in today's implosion." Owch.

OF COURSE Obama will carry Rhode Island and our electoral votes. If the president was elected directly, I might have to think a little harder about who I really wanted as the leader of my country. If I don't vote for McCain (out of sheer cussedness, and a desire to flip the bird to RI's hopelessly corrupt Democrat machine), I'll vote for whoever the heck the Libertarians nominate.

As far as the news media being biased towards Obama, well, I kind of get that impression too. I check Google News multiple times every day, and there was a period when the headlines were so glaringly pro-Obama that I thought about making a collection of screen captures. Post=Palin, McCain has a newfound popularity and the headlines reflect this. (Although just now, I checked Google News to find "Gov. Palin more a token than a feminist" as the top Elections headline.) McCain was a media darling (because there's nothing like a Republican who goes against their party to make the media swoon), but the blush has been off that rose for awhile.

[klyfix.livejournal.com]

The Libertarians chose somebody quite a while back; former GOP Senator Bob Barr.

Third parties seem, alas, to be vulnerable to being Flags of Convenience for people with some fame and reputation who want to get on the ballot easily, and maybe gain some resources; see Nader and the Greens in 2000, and Pat Buchanan and the Reform Party in 2000.

Not rightly sure what can be done about that.