A A A A A A A A R R R R G G G H H ! ! !

[WilliamPitt]

There's so much tension here!

People are mean!

Or judgmental!

Or contrarian!

Or anti-Democrat!

Or anti-Obama!

Or anti-anti-Democrat!

Or anti-anti-Obama!

...and just kinda generally pissed off.

Good.

I have my opinions, you have yours. They have theirs. We have ours.

Etc.

It's been tense around here of late.

But tension is what the Founders intended. If they wanted this shit to work seamlessly, we'd have no separation of powers/three branches of government/free speech/voting rights/printing presses/TVs/internet...and it'd be a whole lot easier that way.

Thank God/Yahweh/Allah/Buddha/Vishnu/The FSM/etc. it isn't like that.

Me raging against you, you raging against them, them raging against us, us raging against those guys, and all of us motherfucking each other with bull-throated ferocity...

...well...

...maybe it wasn't what DU was originally intended to be, but it surely is what it is today.

And thank God (or whom/whatever) for it.

We don't agree.

We're not supposed to.

Welcome to democracy.

[Robb]

1. I am outraged you would even say such a thing.

I'll have a derogatory name for you shortly. Give me time.

[WilliamPitt]

3. Your candidate sucks.

[Robb]

5. Damn right. Yours too.

[WilliamPitt]

7. Ha ha, you're my candidate!

Neener neener!

[Robb]

9. Well.. your MOM's MY candidate!!

...Actually, your mom kind of rocks. So a "your mama" joke doesn't work well with you.

DAMN YOU!!! PIIIIIIIIITTTT!!!

[WilliamPitt]

10. I'm rubber, you're a dingbat

Whatever you say bounces off me and doesn't stick to my mom.

Cuz you're a dingbat.



Yeh, I said it.

[goodboy]

16. +1+1+1111! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!! (jk, love ya will!) (nt)

[JeffR]

2. Hey, shut up!

[WilliamPitt]

4. Elderberries

is what you smell like.

Ni!

[lpbk2713]

6. Don't forget the unreccers.

[WilliamPitt]

8. Everyone needs a hobby.

[malaise]

54. Here's a Rec

for a great OP

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

11. I'm sorry, there are only three R's in "A A A A A A A A R R R G G G H H ! ! !"

Use spellcheck for Chrissakes!

[Soylent Brice]

12. dammit. i thought this was going to be about pirates.

[Robb]

13. And I read YOUR post as "...about pilates."

DU could use a good core strengthening, for sure.

[Soylent Brice]

18. you do not want to see me squatting on a mat.

and tights are very unflattering to me.

[WilliamPitt]

22. Sez you

[Soylent Brice]

33. okay, you asked for it...

[WilliamPitt]

34. Raise you

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"

His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.

Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

[Soylent Brice]

35. i call:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[WilliamPitt]

37. Raise again

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Yeah...

[Soylent Brice]

41. ...

you win.

[WilliamPitt]

43. Best. Thread. Ever.

[Soylent Brice]

45. in that case:

Soylent Brice Wuz Here!

[WilliamPitt]

20. Yarr.

Better?

[Soylent Brice]

31. a little. but please know, i love pirates. and i loathe being disappointed.

[WilliamPitt]

36. Yarr, I'm an online pirate

Note: this was the first pic that came up in a Google Image search for "Online Pirate."

P.P.S. Yarr.

[jus_the_facts]

14. WHAT FUCKIN' DEMOCRACY?

....there is no such thing!

[WilliamPitt]

19. This one

The only one we've got.

[jus_the_facts]

26. I was bein' facetious....

....sorta.

[WilliamPitt]

29. Me too

Kinda.

[rudy23]

15. I would be able to handle the tension more if it didn't seem so obviously manufactured.

You have people who---without naming names---are very obviously shilling, name-calling, and automatically unreccing every healthcare story on behalf of the healthcare industry.

I respect all shades of liberalism, but how does being pro-insurance company in the healthcare debate fit into the Democratic platform exactly.

What we're seeing is not genuine tension and disagreement. We're seeing people who have an agenda to derail any serious debate on healthcare, or on some of President Obama's more pro-corporate stances---usually by vile name calling, and other typically RW tactics.

[WilliamPitt]

21. Again...

...welcome to democracy. And free speech.

Bring a helmet. And blood-pressure meds. You'll need 'em.

[rudy23]

28. I thought Repubs couldn't post here?

Where's the "free speech" about the privately run Democratic Underground? Repubs can't post here, and rightfully so.

When my "free speech" gets unrecced by 30 paid bloggers whose job it is to unrec and derail every healthcare thread, that's not exactly free speech is it? Do you realize you're taking the same stance as those who say corporate funded elections = "free speech"?

[WilliamPitt]

32. Plenty of Dems have some Republican ideas.

Which is where your coping/coaxing/convincing talents come into play.

[rudy23]

49. Plenty of Republicans have Dem ideas. Why can't they post here?

Because their constant trolling and name calling is disruptive to progressive debate?

That's not exactly what's happening now?

Put your money where your mouth is, and come out for the right of Republicans to come on this board and join in on the debate. Why, all we'd need is our coping, coaxing, and convincing talents to stave them off!

[WilliamPitt]

50. ...pzzzzcheeeezzz...

I've been here since May of 2001. Fought every battle worth fighting.

Try again.

[rudy23]

51. I'm familiar with your work--not calling you a troll. A DLC troll enabler sure, but not a troll.

Maybe when Democratic Underground was being formed, someone should've come up with a plan for dealing with those inside the Democratic Party that want to turn the party Republican from the inside. Because the DLC is not a shade of any kind of a Democratic hue, but runs counter to most of the Democratic platform.

So what's next, should we accept that Joe Lieberman is a Democrat with a few conservative leanings, since he caucuses with Democrats? What happens when this site turns into Joe Lieberman Underground and runs off all the real progressives?

[WilliamPitt]

52. Yeah, I'm a big Lieberman fan

http://www.truthout.org/1103098

...or something.

Try again.

P.S. Do you feel any embarrassment whatsoever when you barf up phrases like "DLC troll enabler"?

If you don't, you should.

And you should also go outside for a few minutes.

Just to try it out.

Vitamin D is good for you.

[rudy23]

56. No--your denial of the present state of DU helps to enable DLC trolls. I'm not calling you DLC.

Are you embarrassed when you have to revert to phrases like "barfed up" to describe an opposing viewpoint?

[WilliamPitt]

57. (facepalm)

[rudy23]

58. self delete nt

[rudy23]

59. Yeah, I don't get it b/c I'm not cheering on the trolls who are derailing serious debate online.

I think it sucks, and I think they're doing a very effective job of derailing arguments, sewing discord, and causing a profound lack of distrust in the blogosphere in general--which was once our most effective organizing tool.

So forgive me if I'm not thrilled about being "bright-sided" about the new tone that DU has taken on since the healthcare debate revved up in July. The unreccing crew started knocking every good thread about healthcare down or off the greatest page, Dennis Kucinich was very distastefully attacked along with Single Payer, Rovian twists of logic have been used to brand defenders of basic progressive tenets, and serious conversations are being knocked way down the screen by the paid shit-flingers.

I think it sucks, and it's high time somebody did something about it.

[GCP]

17. It's a ridiculous system guaranteed to accomplish nothing

There, I said it.
Checks and balances my ass. Give me a good parliamentary system any time. At least stuff gets done and if you don't like the results, you get to kick the whole lot out at the next election.

[fascisthunter]

23. I thought you were reacting to WEEI

[WilliamPitt]

24. That's for the Spoirts forum

[fascisthunter]

46. just kidding Will

[WilliamPitt]

47. I know, I know

[NYC_SKP]

25. Nice Post, Hitler.

I've always wanted to do that.

I'm JOKING!!!

[WilliamPitt]

30. No prob, Stalin

Rubber...glue...you.

[keepthemhonest]

27. This may disappoint you but...

I am going to have to go ahead and agree with you on that one.Thanks for that it made me chuckle.

[lonestarnot]

38. Don't you have other business Satan?

How's dat HB? Meeeeeow?

[WilliamPitt]

40. Content

and large.

[lonestarnot]

63. Das es good!

[Peacetrain]

39. Can I AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH in a two part harmony

I know what you mean..

[WilliamPitt]

42. Do re me fa so la ti

A A A A A A R R G G H H !
..A A A A A R R G G H H !

!!Harmony!!

[lonestarnot]

44. neener neener neerer.

You change his name?

[WilliamPitt]

48. No way

[bridgit]

53. A Replubican will stand up in Congress and say, "I've got a really bad idea." And a Democrat...

will immediately jump to his feet and declare, "And I'm gonna make it shittier."

[PeaceNikki]

55. Factor in passion for specific topics.

Some of us have massive "hot-button" issues. Gay marriage (civil rights), abortion, health care, etc... and we can sometimes get rather "rabid" in defending our positions. We are obviously all passionate people who feel very strongly about our issues or... well, we wouldn't be here would we? Mine is choice. I admittedly see (and type) red when I see people on DU who are anti-choice and/or defend anti-choice positions. And when someone on DU says abortion = eugenics or murder of "baby killin'"...

Whaddya gonna do?

[gleaner]

60. Good post ...

My sentiments so well expressed. For the OP who wanted pirates? Arrrrr, Matey, let's board this post and rec it.

[johnnie]

61. I never noticed anything you are describing

This place is one big sloppy love fest.

[EFerrari]

62. Tension is what the Founders intended -- for other people.

lol

[WilliamPitt]

64. Needs a kick