A couple of comment from an exchange where in Don Pogreba is going all James Conner on us and isolating himself off from criticism are apropos here:
“I’d love to have debates on issues. I still hold onto this somewhat naïve belief that we can learn from each other when we battle over ideas, even fiercely, but how often does that really happen online or elsewhere anymore?”
This is an expression of groupthink – Pogie wants to define the issues and be the center of reason, but does not realize that he brings nothing to the table. Still, he wants the debate limited to the finer aspects of the color gray – his boring, stilted outlook wherein all political debate centers around good Democrats and evil Republicans. When it is pointed out that both parties are the same animal, he goes toxic on us, and resorts to personal attacks. In this thread he haughtily suggested to JC that mental treatment was in order,when exactly the opposite appears oto be the case.
The assaults from the left I find more disconcerting. I’ve always figured that we lefties are in this together and we know who our enemy is. I guess I’m wrong.
Pete is a victim of address change without his knowledge, as after eight years of Obama, the “left” stayed home, and Democrats became just another right-wing pro-war pro-austerity pro-surveillancee party. Just as Cowgirl’s banner calls that blog a voice of the left, so too does Talbot’s invocation remind me that the quality of horseshit is not determined by closer examination of its makeup . ID, Pogie and Talbot are, unknowingly now, right wingers, even Neocons, who should not be surprised when they feet are held to the fire by true lefties.
Elsewhere Norma Duffy extolled in the importance of the upcoming 2016 election, utter nonsense. She also said:
I try and stay above the fray. but your’e right, the anonymous posters have always been a problem.
Norma is among the stupidest and most vicious of commenters, laying in ad hominem and rarely making a cogent point. She is a major problem, but Pogie does not see I that way. In a groupthink environment, it is censorship of divergent viewpoints that creates difficulty. Those viewpoints are never given a hearing, and those holding them are driven away. Pogie cannot stand to be called out for his own bankruptcy. Norma, such as she is, harmonizes, and so gets away with murder.,
That’s all that is going on there.
I’ll have more to say about this later today as I discuss the bankruptcy of candidates and issues in our system, part two on why our political system is a dead issue. Part of is a brain-dead electorate, seen in Pogie’s post and the comment thread below.
