Some background on the latest hero, blogger Michele Catalano,

[pnwmom]

Last edited Fri Aug 2, 2013, 05:08 AM - Edit history (2)

the one who wrote about the NSA sending the storm troopers to her house one day, and then retracted it the next. It turns out that her husband’s ex-employer reported him to the police – Google and the NSA weren’t involved.

And it turns out she was NOT visited by the joint terrorism task force. She was visited by the Suffolk County Police.

And it turns out she’s got more in common with Michele Malkin and Ann Coulter than with any DUer. When she's not blogging as "Security Mom" she's writing fan fiction mocking John Kerry.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/01/new-york-police-terrorism-pressure-cooker

Late on Thursday, Suffolk County police confirmed its officers had gone to the house, but explained that it was as the result of a tipoff and was not due to monitoring of home internet searches.

http://blogcritics.org/blogcritic-debate-michele-catalano-vs-neal/

Representing the right is self-described “security mom” Michele Catalano, the brainchild behind asmallvictory.net and command-post.org. As an A-list blogger, Michele is in the advantageous position of expressing not just her personal opinion, but also influencing a rather healthy number of other’s opinions. She wields her power with laser-like precision, putting heat on media figures whom she feels represent a viewpoint that undermines the values and morals of the average American, or at the very least her own.

Michele has no reservation promoting her pet causes, while simultaneously skewering those for which she has contempt. Depending upon where you sit, Michele is either your staunchest ally or your most reviled enemy. As a Long Island mother of two, she is not easy to pigeonhole. Standing up for gay rights and pro-choice, Michele is also firmly and unwaveringly behind Bush and his strategy to fight the war on terror.

______________________________________

And here's some admitted fiction by Michele.

http://michelecat.wordpress.com

all i want for christmas: john kerry vietnam fanfic:

Aware of the villagers for the first time, John looked around in wonder. All these short, brown people! And all wearing funny clothes and hats.

“Santa’s elves,” he whispered with wonder. He stood up, brushed himself off and hugged the little woman by his side.

“Where’s Bongo?” he asked. “Where’s my pony?” The woman looked towards the other villagers and shrugged. They all shrugged in response. No one knew what this American whack job was talking about.

A village man, much taller than the others and much whiter, stepped out from the hut then. He sauntered over towards John and whispered to the woman holding John’s arm “Bad trip.” The woman nodded knowingly. . .

[zappaman]

1. Wow.

And the usual suspects here at DU fell for this bullshit hook, line, and sinker.
Thanks for posting this!

[DevonRex]

4. And ever other embarrassing

conspiracy theory out there, too. Nothing is too crazy for GD now. But don't listen to me. Word's going around DU that all of us ex-MI people are evil.

[Rowdyboy]

2. "Firmly and unwaveringly behind Bush and his strategy to fight the war on terror..."

Pretty much says it all.

[Cali_Democrat]

3. So it turns out a bunch of DUers got hoodwinked by a Republican

DUers bought her shit hook line and sinker.

Fucking pathetic.

[kestrel91316]

10. Broad brush insult of your fellow DUers.

You people don't even try to hide what you are about anymore.

[pnwmom]

14. I think that ever since the Rethugs started their campaign of fake scandals

people here have been all too quick to take any bait that's dangled in front of them.

[SunSeeker]

18. Sad but true. And this place has been the worse for it. nt

[freshwest]

22. +1. I didn't even care until it was refuted. It's so common now, it's not remarkable.

Those who pile onto the threads and gin up the fear, don't come back and say they were fooled. They go straight to work and to find another story to show their inner demons.

Whatever's going on, won't stop, since the pattern is too consistent. Are those who post nothing but the 'it's hopeless, it's a trick and a plot, it's all over' gloom and doom or things that turn people inside out, really terrified?

No way to tell, but the stuff posted is designed to incite deep visceral feelings, and to have others give support for the fear. I won't focus on anything designed to make a person freeze up with fear, because there is some really bad stuff going on and we must work on. But it won't stop as we are a media driven site and that's what they put out.

[MADem]

33. Those who pile onto the threads and gin up the fear, don't come back and say they were fooled.

Nope, they never say they're sorry for shit stirring.

Sometimes, they'll even double down with excuses like "Well, it COULDA happened" or "It doesn't matter if it wasn't true, it reflects the attitude..." nonsense! We see that a lot from those small crowd-lotsa porta-potty people.

It's pretty obvious, too--not subtle.

[freshwest]

64. I think some seek stories to validate their world view. It comes in several flavors.

The one I'm most familiar with is the Infowars reality road show. I know the dog whistles. The passion and fear generated with these slick productions have metastasized the electorate, been cited by GOP candidates, governors, mayors, etc. Take a peek to see how it all lines up:


Welcome to US Police State by Info Wars (OpEd)


That Marshall Law (sic) that is always just around the corner but doesn't seem to stay for long if ever.


The Obama = Bush meme, and more, free on Youtube, really terrifying stuff.

Once you have gone down that rabbit hole, all roads lead back to it, unless you are willing to burn the bridges after seeing it for the entertainment show it really is, with a rather nasty. Koch funded agenda behind it. Every piece of information, no matter how groundless it is, will be seized to validate that underlying belief system that was put in place subconsciously or subliminally.

I went the journey a few years ago for researching. I could talk the talk with the Paulites, the Baggers, etc. But they've gotten so much worse post-2008, more of a cult that demand instant, enthusiastic validation of their faith, that I don't bother any more. They are more hardened in their views than ever before.

It's addictive and gins up that stomach gnawing fear to put the mind in a state that is suggestible. That's what Fox News does, keeps a low level anxiety to freeze up the person's attention. The information bypasses the frontal lobe and goes straight into the permanent record of the subconscious, where it never leaves.

I go back to check where some stuff I see posted is coming from, usually the un-sourced 'cries for help' appeals, searching for kindred spirits. Which we all do, however.

If one doesn't respond to the dog whistle they call you a 'sheeple.' More often than not, checking out key words show they are the latest Infowars radio show program topic.

I'm immune after riding the wave, realizing its addictive power and that is one thing I hate, being mindless in that way. It's consuming something and repeating it, without a lot of mental reflection:



I don't find fault with people who go with it, as media and the internet are now the educators, even if it's woo. What can you say to those souls looking for safety in numbers without them saying you are victimizing them, just like any other cult?

There is no looking ahead to what this particular form of nihilism results in. Few people seem to know basic civics, act like everything that happens is created by some unseen force or alleviated by some mood online or in the media. The real truth of life, not The Truth©, is tedious and aggravating. In that sense, the GOP is more reality based. They do that work consistently.

No wonder so many go with 'false flag' stories and 'outrage' on a regular basis. One of the Infowars theme songs is abouit how 'it's all rigged.' So why would they think it's worth their time to do grunt work on the precinct level?

Give up and promote the Paul Revolution. They learned what to be outraged about from the rantings put out there daily. It's sad they don't see real things hurting people they could help, instead follow only what media provides. It is more entertaining and satisfying.

They don't see beyond their feelings, as media consumers it is not pragmatic or based in real life reality. Politics is just another TV show to them. Just a feeling to experience. I see so many memes taken straight from the mouth of Alex Jones.

'It's all a lie and they are out to get you!' is what half this stuff is and it really does get people going. I read a piece on the Infowars syndrome. The persistance is akin to self-medicating.

The person is in that reality after hours of exposure to media. And now they have a predisposition to resist all facts to the contrary. The CT reality has truths, myths, history, science fiction, the battle of good and evil, arch villains and heroes all mixed together. Fascinating, exciting even.

The person so afflicted is not aware of it, but they are given enough repetition to make them sense a crisis over thing that are out of their control, or so it's presented to them that way, that is going to cause them grave harm. That keeps them listening, it's instinctive to pay close attention in matters of survival. One might call it Cold War propaganda for a new generation, but this time it's about destroying the government for freedom and liberty. Never mind those Koch brothers pulling the strings.

The writer said this process creates a steady cascade of brain chemicals from arousal to fatigue, with the adrenaline depleting over the course of a day that is programmed by Infowars, Beck or Fox.

It's like getting depressed over and over again. To regain that sense of heightened arousal to the stimulus, that feeling that one is hyper aware and alive, the person must return to the CT water hole without fail. Or else be forced to face a boring, mundane world that seems grey and unreal in its place.

People love joining groups. They found an subculture that gives meaning to lives that would otherwise be boring. JMHO.

Hope the graphics don't offend, I'll remove them if they bug you, but I post them in order to show how much information can be shot to the part of the brain that isn't buffered by things liberals value, like facts. That's why rebuttals with facts are ignored. I find that is why some things are as they are.

[freshwest]

65. MADem, more to the attitude I think you refer to here and where it leads:

http://politicalgates.blogspot.com/2013/07/down-rabbithole-through-looking-glass.html

[MADem]

70. What a fantastic post, it should be an OP.

It does break down the vibe and the attitude, perfectly!!!

It is funny, in a sad way, that those who are most afraid are the ones who are finding "evildoers" behind every small-b bush! And conflating everyone in public life with the big-B Bush!!!

I think I went to grad school with a fellow named "Marshall Law" !!!

I have to say, I am getting VERY sick of the "personal insult as argument" around here, and I'm a-gonna point it out every time I see it!

I agree with you that liberals value facts....which makes me wonder why so many of these conspiracy clowns feel a need to hang around a Democratic, progressive and liberal site like DU?

[freshwest]

72. TY. I edited and added a reply to it for you to read below that. As far as the question:

'I agree with you that liberals value facts....which makes me wonder why so many of these conspiracy clowns feel a need to hang around a Democratic, progressive and liberal site like DU?'

Because like all cultists, they need converts, and facts are irrelevant to faith. And DU is possibly the best interactive site on the world wide web, bar none, and has a high level of use.

This is attractive to those who seek sensationalism, they want to feed on the energy. They are feeding off DU like the Libertarians do, but are all libertarians by default even if they don't admit it to themselves.

They simply do not have as good a venue elsewhere, they must come here to do what they do best. Promote their world view, which hates the Democratic Party as it stands in the way of their desire to end the USA, replace it with anarchist communes or true third world societies.

Both visions are paths to RW theocratic tyranny, but they imagine somehow it will be different this time in history. It won't, but they will still push the idea it COULD happen if the USA and the Democratic Party are gone.

Mind you, they want the GOP and all parties gone as the libertarian idea of everyone will act in their own enlightend self-interest will come true, if the mean 'statist' anti-liberty forces are defeated. But that never happened and never will, but it's a belief system.

They see third world places as freer than this country because what evil they do is out of sight, and the oppression is largely born by women and the poor who never make it to the media. They are not able to leave this country, so they want to do it here. They don't get they are doing the same thing to us as the Koch brothers, ironically.

And no use to make an OP, it would sink like a stone, be hidden or locked as flamebait. I don't look to denigrate anyone but am just answering what I see in your comment there. Glad you found something worthwhile in the response.

[MADem]

74. They see third world places as freer than this country because what evil they do is out of sight....

Wow, did you hit THAT nail hard on the head!!!

Between the cheerleading for the Boligarchs and the Yeehawing (despite the despair of the masses) in "Cuba Libre" I know what you mean....and of course, if you dare point that out, they automatically revert to the "Oh you must be a supporter of (name an enemy of the regime in question)."

They never consider that a person might not like ANY of it, and find that it does, indeed, fuck over the "women and the pooor who never make it to the media."

They never get to the nuanced discussions, where it's not a question of "teams" or "sides" or if you love X you must hate Y--or vice versa. Sometimes, it all sucks--but try getting to that kind of conversation here--the minefields are just too many!

[pnwmom]

83. Thanks for both of your thoughtful posts. We need more of this, especially lately.

It seems like DU has gone crazy over the last six months or so.

[Number23]

80. What an AMAZING post. And what's really interesting is the number of people who have decided

that it's the people that aren't screaming, lying and ready to throw this administration in the Potomac that are the ones that are "perpetuating propaganda" when it is as clear as the nose on their faces that THEY are the ones with an agenda and trying to set "the tone" with their incessant and very, very often completely dishonest criticism.

Once you have gone down that rabbit hole, all roads lead back to it, unless you are willing to burn the bridges after seeing it for the entertainment show it really is, with a rather nasty. Koch funded agenda behind it. Every piece of information, no matter how groundless it is, will be seized to validate that underlying belief system that was put in place subconsciously or subliminally.

Perfectly said.

[Cha]

84. Here's to those who aren't addicted to conspiracy theories and don't FEAR

the government now that Obama is the President, fresh!

But, have a healthly fear of sworn enemies of innocents who do nothing more than be citizens of the USA.

Great post, fresh!

[freshwest]

86. Agreed, perfectly said here:

...a healthly fear of sworn enemies of innocents who do nothing more than be citizens of the USA.

It's rather blind to ignore what they have done, are doing, and plan to do. In the words of a classic trophe of understatement:

They Are Not. Nice. People.

[Cha]

85. Not all of DUers of course.. and the OP in LBN warning about "Big Brother is coming"

was "self-deleted" So, that's some sort of retraction.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014554344

[HipChick]

5. Bush supporter? No wonder this sounded like some made up BS...

[Cha]

6. "Latest hero"? I'm out for some sunshine and fresh

air and come back to all these "michele catalano" threads. Only they were after it was discovered she hadn't known what she was talking about when she was babbling about nsa-google accusations.

And, turns out she some kind of swift boater idiot to boot.. could she sound like anymore of a dumbass with her fiction crap?

[JI7]

7. a swiftboating cheerleader ?

[pnwmom]

8. Who knew? n/t

[kestrel91316]

9. "Hero"? Oh, my. Someone's mask is slipping.

[pnwmom]

11. I know you believed her yesterday. And so did a lot of others.

For example:

"Proof NSA reads the contents of Americans' internet searches - Meet journalist Michele Catalano" (56 recs)
"A woman with spirit"
"I totally understand her point of view."
"OMG. They're watching every keystroke."


Are you aware that she changed her story today? It turns out that her husband's employer reported him based on something he looked for on a work computer. This had nothing to do with the NSA.

Oh -- and also, they were police from the Suffolk Co. Police department -- not people from the joint terrorism strike force. Except in Michele's over-active imagination.

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/10023390810

[frylock]

56. that's very true, but where does this "hero" crap fit in?

can you provide ONE post where she was lauded as a hero? one?

[pnwmom]

59. People didn't call her a hero, but they treated her like one.

They gave her instant credibility and defended her against any skeptic who wanted actual information.

[woolldog]

12. Can't believe so many DUers fell for this. nt

[Egnever]

16. You must be new here.

While I love this place. Critical thinking is often not one of its strong points.

Typically I find there's a few gems buried in a sea of lemming like behavior.

[woolldog]

66. When I read it yesterday morning, I knew immediately something was off.

I thought to myself: I bet this is debunked in 24 hours. Turns out it didn't even take 24 hours.

[Zorra]

15. Never heard of her. nt

[Chakab]

20. Neither have I.

Even time that I quit lurking for a few days, all of the conversations are way over my head when I come back.

[Maximumnegro]

40. For me it's up to my knees...nt

[ismnotwasm]

17. A bushite?

Gross.

[JDPriestly]

19. If that is the kind of stuff she writes, I hope she has a real job somewhere like washing dishes

or cleaning kitty litter boxes for people or something similar, something useful. I for one certainly would not pay to read her pathetic attempts at jokes or writing or whatever the words she puts together are supposed to be.

I understand the picture in the Atlanticwire was taken from another article.

Pathetic attempt to get attention.

[jtuck004]

21. While I understand the scorn, and the person behind it may be someone who has earned it,

still, for doing nothing more than searching for kitchen items or sporting goods it appears they got a visit from the police.

Innocent unarmed people, their children, and their dogs have been shot for less.

"the result of a tipoff"?

A tipoff for what? Checking out Walmart.com under the category of home accessories? A freakin' pressure cooker? Everyone knows there is nothing magic about a pressure cooker, right? It's the same as a pipe bomb, very likely chosen because it looked innocuous without any packaging or modification, and was easy to carry. One could get some pipe with threaded ends at the right-wing Home Deport and build JUST as destructive a device and throw it in a backpack.

Planning on doing any canning this year? You may need to be interviewed. And, then they see you next to the knife you were cutting tomatoes with...

I realize the rush to trample on the Teabaggers is strong, but be careful what you mention at work tomorrow, or look up on the computer, or stop too long to look at in the store (those cameras? They are not just filming shoplifters, they are filming EVERYONE to mine their behavior for marketing purposes - just ask any of the major retailers what those massive databases of you looking through the kids section are doing on their servers - and they are there, please know that. Wait, no kids? Maybe we should tip off the police - you just might be a pervert, or holding young girls hostage in your home...careful when you answer that door, dearie.

You may SAY that chain you are pricing is just to lock a gate up, but perhaps we better send some armed people to your house, just to make sure, eh?

Again, not defending her - she's an adult, and apparently having hot FOX blood in her veins thinks that posting sensationalized fiction about the government has no consequences. Though she will be laughed at for a long time for this one. And that's too bad, because she might have done everyone a service if she had put a little more thought into it and used that experience to discuss the privacy issue.

On the other hand, you (not you, personally, but "you", you know?) are a fool if you don't pause for a moment and wonder what the imagination of the network person is going to come up with as we look through the logs of everything you do (yeah, we got those - it's just standard), or maybe we transpose a number that you called and report your ass for calling a porn line, or maybe you accidentally go to whitehouse.com at work...and find yourself explaining that you just fat-fingered your keyboard, and yes you know there are people sending them resumes every day for your job.

There is a larger issue here than her writing (then, most things are larger and more important than her writing, it appears) and it shouldn't be overlooked or forgotten about when she is. Which should be any time now.

Just thinkin' ...ok, back to the Right-wing Piñata.

[pnwmom]

23. It is not at all clear what the employer found on the computer

that led the employer to report him to the police.

The day before she said it was only for the items mentioned. But today she's saying she has new information about something the employer found on his work computer -- but she's not sharing what this was.

So what we know now -- according to her -- is that the searches involved "things" her husband "looked up at his old job." That the piece she wrote the day before was "misleading." And that "there were other circumstances involved" that she was unaware of when she wrote the original post.

Also, she wasn't there when the police came, so her first report was second-hand. Maybe the police told the husband more than he initially acknowledged to her -- there's no way to know. But we do know she wasn't there.

https://medium.com/something-like-falling/2e7d13e54724


We found out through the Suffolk Police Department that the searches involved also things my husband looked up at his old job. We were not made aware of this at the time of questioning and were led to believe it was solely from searches from within our house.

I did not lie or make it up. I wrote the piece with the information that was given. What was withheld from us obviously could not be a part of a story I wrote based on what happened yesterday.

The piece I wrote was the story as we knew it with the information we were told. None of it was fabricated. If you know me, you know I would never do that.

If it was misleading, just know that my intention was the truth. And that was what I knew as the truth until about ten minutes ago. That there were other circumstances involved was something we all were unaware of.

[jtuck004]

25. I know, but this is just one we heard about. And if you are non-white, or your name is Sayeed,

or Mohammed, it is happening more, but doesn't make the papers unless something happens.

The stuff makes me itch - I don't like what we are becoming...

And like I said, she isn't my point.

[jtuck004]

34. I should also mention that I was in OKC when the Federal Building got blown up, and

I am pretty sure I knew one of the two "muslim-looking" men that got beaten by a mob in an alley afterwards...

I heard the same shit - "they must have done something". Actually, no, they were freaking innocent and as horrified as anyone else. Now we may have new enemies. So where people probably had nothing to worry about from them before, they may have created exactly what they were afraid of from their own depraved minds.

Working in networks I've been up close in a couple of other incidents that were similar in nature to what happened to the woman in this incident. I've found that imagination is great tool, but sometimes people use the only tool they have for everything, and that can get people hurt.

The writer, that lady, is fast and loose with the truth, I'll grant you that, and certainly blows crap out of proportion for some goofy political bent, I think.

But what's really important might be lost, and it may be that it won't matter how many times they show the educational episode of Twilight Zone, "Monsters on Maple Street".

[jeff47]

57. You're still buying her story.

Her claim was it was just a search for kitchen items or sporting goods.

That's just as untrue as her claims that the JTF was raiding her house.

And then you charge straight ahead and take that false story to it's extreme.

[jtuck004]

63. What I am buying, contrary to your unsubstantiated opinion, is that her work reported her to

the police, like good little Stasi stooges, and her home was visited by police. That was confirmed by the police.

Speaking of making things up, the post above pretends to know jack shit about any details of what prompted the nosy little buggers at work to snitch to the police and cause armed people to be sent into their home.

Unless she had a something like a recipe for Molotov cocktails and a time schedule for their delivery, which no one is near claiming, it sounds like baseless suspicion caused men with guns, bullets loaded in the chamber and ready to kill, entered their home based on imaginary fears, and questioned her family about nothing. If there was a threat, then she should have been arrested, handcuffed, and jailed, and the threat neutralized.

Wasn't. Did she embellish a story on the Intertubes? That's a first, eh? But that doesn't justify people who kill unarmed people far too often being sent to the house.

I can find no justification for police being sent to their home, other than imaginary fear in the small minds of little people. And you offer more fabrication.

Great.

[jeff47]

87. Boy, you really aren't paying much attention to the story.

Just what you want the story to be.

is that her work reported her to the police, like good little Stasi stooge

Nope! It was the husband's former work. But hey, she lied about damn near everything in this story. You might as well continue it.

the post above pretends to know jack shit about any details of what prompted the nosy little buggers at work to snitch to the police and cause armed people to be sent into their home.

Ah, so I see you're utterly unfamiliar with who owns "work" computers. It's the employer. They can do anything they want with that computer. So no, there was no evil snooping required. Their machine, they can install a program to watch every fucking thing her husband did if they are so inclined.

Unless she had a something like a recipe for Molotov cocktails and a time schedule for their delivery, which no one is near claiming

Actually, the only claim is from her. And she lied about it - she claimed it was from searches at home, not what her husband did at work. So we should believe her because it fits in with your worldview?

bullets loaded in the chamber and ready to kill, entered their home based on imaginary fears, and questioned her family about nothing. If there was a threat, then she should have been arrested, handcuffed, and jailed, and the threat neutralized.

Really? You think those same evil armed SWAT team of doom hauling her down to the station in handcuffs would be less of a problem?

I can find no justification for police being sent to their home, other than imaginary fear in the small minds of little people. And you offer more fabrication.

Based on the story of a woman who has admitted she was lying about the story. My, that's a fantastic basis for determining that.

The woman is a right-wing blogger. She is trying to drive a wedge between Democrats by lying. You are doing an excellent job completing her work for her.

[jtuck004]

88. You obviously have more time to care about what you write than I have.

Work, perhaps in retaliation against a terminated employee, informed on them to the police who entered their home with guns ready to shoot. Because that is how cops work, for good or bad. Your work could do it to you, or anyone else, tomorrow, and that's wrong, if no crime has been committed. It's nothing more than informing on neighbors, something the Stasi encouraged, and is now something being encouraged here.

Your fear of right-wing bloggers is noted. Sorry you aren't stronger.

[Number23]

24. And there are actually people on this web site that are shocked, SHOCKED when people note the

glaring similarities between some of the "left" and some on the "right" or comment on the myriad times that the two have joined forces in order to deceitfully slam this administration.

[MADem]

29. +1,000 !!!! nt

[Hekate]

32. +1001

[uponit7771]

61. +1

[tallahasseedem]

62. +1002

[great white snark]

77. Hell yes.

[Luminous Animal]

26. I think you meant to say 'cause celebre'

[pnwmom]

27. I think she was more than attention-getting. People were making

gushing comments like "she's a woman of spirit" without knowing anything about her.

It turns out she's a woman of spirit like Ann Coulter is a woman of spirit.

[MADem]

30. Spirit...like vodka, and chardonnay? nt

[Luminous Animal]

36. It's a big stretch from 'woman of spirit' to 'hero'.

[pnwmom]

41. There was an OP with at least 56 recs lauding her for providing

"proof" that the NSA was monitoring people's individual web searches, and dozens of posters who instantly jumped on board.

And then the "proof" went "poof." But the highly recommended OP with the misleading title remained on DU's home page for hours.

[Luminous Animal]

42. I know. I've read it but I see no evidence of anyone coming close to calling

her a hero. I also didn't see anyone calling her a 'woman of spirit' but that may have been a characterization in one of the other threads.

[pnwmom]

43. They weren't calling her a hero. They were behaving as if she were a hero.

They were swallowing her exciting story with great enthusiasm.

[Luminous Animal]

44. Indeed. Believing a story means that the story teller is a hero.

So the next time we hear someone telling a story about a swat team entering the wrong house, holding their family down on the floor at gunpoint and shooting their dog, we can conclude that those who comment on the story also consider the victim a hero.

It's time to pencil in this new definition of hero into my dictionary.

[Cali_Democrat]

75. "I also didn't see anyone calling her a 'woman of spirit'"

Ask and you shall receive:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3388610

[zappaman]

76. Who cares if she is a RW shill!

She's spirited!

[Skittles]

45. there's one with over 200 recs thinking the NSA shit is just peachy keen

[pnwmom]

46. Where? n/t

[Skittles]

47. I have long since put that nutcase on ignore

[pnwmom]

48. Then how do you know what was in the post? I haven't seen anything like that. n/t

[Skittles]

49. look up the definition of the word SINCE

and I am slowly but surely ignoring all the swooners, which puts DU back the way it was when I first came here as an outcast in TEXAS - an oasis of rational thought

P.S. I don't even know who that Michelle gal is

bye bye now

[Number23]

81. Notice the lack of answer/proof? There's a reason for that, you know.

[Union Scribe]

50. Of course, but that doesn't help the OP attack other DUers

so to hell with the meaning of words!

[MADem]

28. I smelled a little horseshit, but I was trying to be civil. I said I'd wait until the folks doing

the digging into the details came up with the details...

And here they are! Well done, you!

What a despicable cretin--not only is she a bullshitter, she's a lousy writer as well.

Wish I could rec this more than once!

[pnwmom]

35. And this is the tip of the iceberg of what's out there.

She's got a lovely website called "Command Post" as well.

Thanks for the thanks!

[MADem]

39. I bow down low to your impeccable sleuthing talents!!!!!

[Hekate]

31. Fear and anger make people gullible. Thanks for lifting up the rock, pnwmom.

There's way too much fear and anger here these days....

[pnwmom]

37. You're welcome. And you're right that so much of this is fear based. n/t

[geek tragedy]

38. My favorite quote of hers:

I get more and more discouraged, more upset at the tone the AWC [anti-war crowd] has taken. I will not this time apologize for calling them traitors. I will not back down from those words. When you support an insurgency against your country's soldiers, when you declare that you are in bed in with the enemy, then you are a traitor. And you should be treated as such. I wish that every vet who has returned home from Iraq would see those signs and act upon them.

[Pholus]

51. I knew she was off right away. Her statement implied the NSA program works!

[FSogol]

52. C'mon, that was yesterday. What will today's outrage be?

[TeeYiYi]

53. I don't believe she was intentionally misleading...

She may be a shrub loving, swift boating, teabagging piece of shit in real life but her mistake appears to have been an honest one.

Why pile on? Let it go.

TYY

[pnwmom]

55. The purpose isn't to pile on. There are a lot of people who believed her

and should learn that what she said isn't true. Her situation had nothing to do with NSA and isn't proof of anything.

[frylock]

58. why would you refer to her as a hero unless your intenet was to pile on?

[pnwmom]

60. Because people were treating her like a whistle blowing hero.

Instead of a right-wing Ann Coulter type with an over-active imagination and a taste for John Kerry/swiftboat fan fiction.

[Baitball Blogger]

54. I'm sorry to hear this, but she definitely overreached on her assumptions.

It is always good to do your homework and have documents to support your every claim, if you're going to be a whistleblower.

[Marr]

67. I'd be very interested to see a single post where this person was lauded as a "hero".

I assume you can provide one.

[pnwmom]

68. The "woman of spirit" was treated as a whistle-blowing hero and had instant credibility.

She was lauded as someone who had provided "proof" that the NSA was spying on all our google searches.

[Marr]

69. I'm afraid I've seen your group claim "hero worship" a bit too often recently

to take this claim seriously without a link to back it up. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've seen people accused of "worshiping" their "hero", Snowden or Greenwald, for instance, when they were doing nothing of the sort.

I'll settle for serious swooning, however-- I don't need the actual word "hero". Just one link will do it.

[Bluenorthwest]

71. I missed this entire dust up! Can you show me any proof that she was called a hero by even one

person on DU. I get sick of trying to decide where hyperbole ends and sheer dishonesty begins. So link me up!

[pnwmom]

73. She was lauded as someone providing "proof" that the NSA was targeting

Americans based on google searches. She was treated as a hero, though not officially named as one.

And those who questioned her background or her story were attacked.

[great white snark]

78. And now the walking back begins. The perps and their clan.

Clean up on aisle FUD.

[dem in texas]

79. has she been on Shawn Hannity Yet?

The fox viewers lap this kind of stuff up, so I am sure she will be on one of the fox shows soon.

[Scurrilous]

82. K & R