When a good blog goes bad…

It's always hard to recognize that a friend isn't good for you. Even harder to realize that for your own sanity and peace of mind, you must end that relationship and sever all contact.
Today, I realized it was time to say goodbye to one of my favorite blogs. To the comment section, anyway.

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to commenting. Some prefer comment boards to stay on one topic, to never deviate. Others are just another version of instant messaging. In the middle are those comment boards that resemble the ebb and flow of a conversation with good friends, straying from the trivial to the deadly serious and back again. Some are filled with hateful words spewed by loyalists from each side of the aisle, and others are full of fluff.

I'm always amazed when I check out the comment boards of various blogs. Atrios just has so many commenters. The conversation flies back and forth incredibly quickly between a huge number of people. Firedoglake's commenters are just amazing in the depth and breadth of their knowledge. I rarely post because I feel like a kindergartener walking into a class of high school seniors. (And I used to think I was a smart person! )

I often leave comments in the smaller blogs, the less well-known ones that I find while surfing Technorati or Google. It's just to let them know someone is reading – and appreciating – their work.

But, of all the blogs I've read, one in particular really drew me in late last year. After a few weeks of lurking, I stuck a toe in the pool and posted a comment. Over a week or two, I became more comfortable and felt really welcomed. I made friends all over the nation and the world with people who, had we met face to face, may not have looked twice at me. I enjoyed being a part of the 'community' at that blog.

But, like every big-name blog, this one gets a fair number of trolls and trollish thread-jackers. Over the last few weeks the number of trolls has increased exponentially, and before long, they turned into attack monkeys.

Soon, commenters were being personally attacked – either for being trolls, for being too friendly with other regulars and making newbies feel uncomfortable, for not seeming friendly enough – and making newbies feel uncomfortable. For making off-topic comments, for not responding to on-topic comments. For being in a certain income bracket, for not being a part of the lower working-class. For wearing green, for saying, "purple"…not really, but you get the idea.

Some regulars were attacked for engaging trolls, while others were attacked for not engaging. Before long, the entire site had devolved into "with us or agin' us" mentality. Either you support the liberal position, or you're a troll. Either you ignore anyone who doesn't support the liberal position, or you'll join them on the 'ignore' list. Before long, both sides were tossing verbal hand grenades, and discussions became a thing of the past.

The key here is recognizing the difference between a true debate and a raging, name-calling hate fest. Oftentimes, I have told commenters on the 'other side' that even if I can't agree with them, or they with me – they have given me plenty to think about. And I admit to smiling and feeling complimented when a Bush supporter tells me they enjoyed talking to me – even though we've been arguing the merits of this vs. that or whatever.

Sometimes we even learned that our positions on a particular issue weren't as far apart as national polls and party rhetoric might make it seem.

But things have reached a new low. Tonight, someone who – admittedly – is a troll made a funny comment directed to me. Maybe I'm naive, and the intent was to hurt, but it made me laugh. I sent a reply designed to make him/her/it laugh. (Fault me for thinking one should be civil and actually learn more about the whys and wherefores that make someone choose to support the other side.)

Not one hurtful or abusive word was said before that, but whether that person laughed and sent a funny reply back, I'll never know. Their comment was deleted by the site owner as being 'off-topic', and I was jumped on by several people for deigning to speak to this person.

Well, sadly, that incident does it for me. I'm saying goodbye to a friend and wishing them lots of luck. Hopefully things will turn around, but I can't watch this site be destroyed by those who hate it and those who love it.

Another Brilliant Move by GWB

Oh, way to go Emperor Kerfuffle…Your Majesty….Mr. President! See me applauding the brilliance of yet another bold move by your government that will no doubt result in even more death and destruction in Iraq.

Jeebus H. Tapdancing Christmas! How frickin' dumb are you?!

Very, according to a report by UPI:

The Bush administration has told Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari he is unacceptable as head of the next government, the New York Times reports.

Redha Jowad Taki, a member of parliament, told the Times that U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad passed on "a personal message from President Bush" at a meeting last Saturday.

Taki, who was at the meeting, said Khalilzad told Shiite leader Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim that Bush "doesn't want, doesn't support, doesn't accept" Jaafari. Jaafari and other Shiite leaders are not taking the message well.

"How can they do this?" asked Haider al-Ubady, a spokesman for the prime minister. "An ambassador telling a sovereign country what to do is unacceptable."

Excuse me, President Dunderhead, but remember those vote thingies the people of Iraq kept having?? You know, where they decided on a Constitution and chose their own leaders?? The elections that were the fourth or fifth reason you gave for the US military presence in Iraq? (After the first few fell right through the floor…)
Is any of this ringing a bell?!

Let me explain this: You cannot tell another nation what to do. And you cannot tell its leaders to take a hike, just 'cause you're pissed that the people of that country didn't elect the puppets you wanted.

Imagine…

Pretend a loved one has been kidnapped in Iraq. Feel the terror, the pain, the dread.

Now, pretend that while this is happening, during this period of unspeakable fear, you are not allowed to speak, you are not allowed to add your voice to those calling for the release of that person. You are not allowed to be seen on camera or identified. Your existence cannot even be acknowledged by your loved one's family, friends, and collegues. Imagine that a collegue of your loved one is found, shot to death by the same captors who hold your loved one prisoner.

What mental anguish do you suffer? What nightmares keep you from sleeping? What horrors fill your mind?

Dan Hunt doesn't have to imagine it, doesn't have to pretend. He knows first-hand the helpless feeling of being unable to do or say anything for fear of causing the immediate death of his loved one.

Dan Hunt is the partner of Christian Peacemaker James Loney.

While Loney was being held captive in Iraq with other members of his team, Dan Hunt was forced to stay silent and invisible out of well-founded fears that James' Iraqi captors would discover he was gay and execute him.

From the Associated Press:

During his four months of captivity, James Loney’s sexuality was kept out of the media at the request of his family, said Doug Pritchard, co-director of the aid group Christian Peacemaker Teams.

“It’s a sad fact that around the world gays and lesbians are more vulnerable to attack than straights,” Pritchard said. “When Jim was already in a vulnerable position we didn’t, nor did his family, want him exposed to further danger.

WH Chief of Staff Resigns

Update: (3.28.06, 1:38p) Craig Crawford has a list of 5 reasons why Andy Card's resignation won't help Emperor Schnitzel Brain…the President.

* * * *

President Bush announced the resignation of his chief of staff, Andrew Card, Jr, this morning – after saying last week that there were no plans to 'shake up' the WH staff.

From the Associated Press:

White House chief of staff Andrew Card has resigned and will be replaced by budget director Joshua Bolten, President Bush announced Tuesday amid growing calls for a White House shake-up and Republican concern about Bush’s tumbling poll ratings.

[snip]

Card came to Bush recently and suggested that he should step down from the job that he has held from the first day of Bush’s presidency. Card’s last day on the job will be April 14.

Bush said he decided last weekend to accept Card’s resignation.

Bolten is widely experienced in Washington, both on Capitol Hill as well as at the White House, where he was deputy chief of staff before becoming director of the Office of Management and Budget.

[snip]

A veteran of the administrations of both President Ronald Reagan and the first President Bush, Card was widely respected by his colleagues in the Bush White House. They fondly called him “chief.”

He usually arrived at work in the West Wing by around 5:30 a.m. and frequently did not leave until 9 or 10 p.m.

Card plans to stay on the job until April 14, when the switch with Bolten takes place.

Rubber Stamp Fun!

Update: (3.28.06 – 4:46p EDT) According to Christy, the stamp company – The Stamp Maker – is now offering a 20% discount on all orders made before noon Eastern Time tomorrow (Wed, 3.29) Use the SPRING promotion code (all caps!!) to qualify.

Details at firedoglake. 

* * * * 

Send a rubber stamp to a member of the Rubber-Stamp Congress!

From Christy at FDL:

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee has a hearing scheduled on the illegal NSA domestic spying without a warrant. Friday is the hearing scheduled on Sen. Feingold’s censure resolution — so every bit of pressure is helpful on this.

But wait, there’s more. We’re asking you to take the next step in citizen action with us. And it is a doozy: we’re asking you to purchase a rubber stamp and send it to a specified address — which we plan on delivering to a member of Congress. (Since this will be a surprise for them, we’re not revealing to whom just yet.) A huge thank you to Matt Stoller of MyDD for agreeing to be our patriot delivery person.

The stamp will say "Rubber Stamp Republican Congress."

Yep, that’s right. We’re taking the citizen action to the next level. Sean-Paul found a stamp manufacturer that will drop ship to our designated address — at Politics TV. Once we have received a "critical mass" amount of rubber stamps, we’ll make the delivery. And report back to everyone on how it went.

They'd like to have them ordered no later than 11am EDT, Wednesday – so time is of the essence if you intend to purchase a stamp. Also, 10% discount if you use 'SPRING' (all caps!) as the promotion code.

More details at FDL.