Wow, being around here can be dangerous to your mental health.

[Jackpine Radical]

Not content to just go crazy in ordinary ways, the Fringe Left™ is deteriorating in whole new ways that are generating entire new diagnostic categories.

First it was

[font size=5] Obama Derangement Syndrome[/font]

and now we're collectively exhibiting the defining symptoms of--

[font size=5] Malignant Amnesia Anti-Obama Syndrome[/font]

Whoa, what a bunch of sickos we got around here.

[DonCoquixote]

1. to be fair

ODS was coined about Republicans.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. and applied "liberally"

around here.

[frylock]

5. Actually, BDS was made up by Charles Krauthammer to shield Shrub against any criticism..

it was no surprise to see conservative Democrats pick up the ball in defense of Obama.

[sabrina 1]

68. We have people on the 'left' who talk about the 'left' the exact same way the Right talks about the

'left'. They have a set of talking points that were designed specifically FOR the left.

The 'left', the real 'left' is a huge threat to the ruling class.

They don't buy propaganda, don't get hooked on politicians to the point of being blinded when those politicians are wrong, they will say so.

Which is why the 'left' gets attacked from the Right and the 'Corporate Left'.

We are still RIGHT, no matter how many talking points they use.

[daleanime]

3. And getting crazier ever day....

thinking we can win and stuff like that.

[orpupilofnature57]

4. Pretty sad when people adopt the Limbaugh school of discussion .

Frustration toward the wrong people .

[djean111]

6. Don't forget - we are also haters, bashers, our hair is on fire, and our heads are exploding.

It is tiring!

[Jackpine Radical]

7. Damn right it's tiring.

For one thing, practically all my hair has already burned off, my head hurts from exploding, and my arms ache from bashing the people I hate with my cudgel.

[Enthusiast]

27. I want a cudgel.

[Jamastiene]

31. I do too.

My fists can't take much more.

[Jackpine Radical]

41. Here's one from my collection that I especially like.

/revision/latest?cb=20110525180450

[Maedhros]

8. We're also, apparently, "in favor of anti-gay and anti-choice characters." [n/t]

[djean111]

9. Um, I went to the thread I believe you are referring to.

The sickos are not the Fringe Left........

[orpupilofnature57]

10. The Centrists are neurotic using ambiguous logic to force facts to

do what they want .

[malokvale77]

11. Yes...

this is definitely not my father's Democratic Party.

Republican (not so) Lite. What a pity.

[RoccoR5955]

12. There are plenty of descriptions for all sorts of "crazy."

Show me one clinical description of "normal."

[Jackpine Radical]

13. Within ± 1 SD of the mean.

So there.

[delrem]

28. You're deranged to think it's normal to be mean.

[B2G]

36. Jury results

On Tue May 19, 2015, 08:45 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

You're deranged to think it's normal to be mean.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1280&pid=7253

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Really "you are deranged to think it's normal to be mean" this post is so wrong on so many levels. First it is hurtful, calling another DU'er "deranged" second it kind of proves the point that it does appear to be pretty normal to be mean. Please vote to hide this verbal assault on another poster.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Tue May 19, 2015, 08:51 AM, and the Jury voted 3-4 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Seriously? You can't tell that was a joke? Maybe you need a break from the internets to get some perspective...
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I think the alert misunderstood the definition of mean /-.
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: This is kind of ironic.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Jackpine Radical]

37. As the "victim" of this post, I can't believe three people

would be so obtuse as to want to hide it.

It was a funny line, a great reply to my smartass remark; I loved it.

[B2G]

38. Agreed

- Juror #2

[Jackpine Radical]

39. Thank you for your injection of sanity.

We used to be able to poke a little fun at each other around here. I posted things in the old days that would now get me instantly banished.

I remember one long, involved post I made imagining all the DUers rounded up by the Bushies into the same FEMA camp. I remember that Cali, Will Pitt, DemoTex, the Magistrate, and a bunch of others were featured, and I teased them about their foibles. Everybody thought it was great fun.

[delrem]

49. Haha, thanks for seeing the context and the joke!

I think the 3 who went for the hide could see the context and that it was a joke, too, but voted to hide anyway. That's how my alert stalker(s) thrive

and nice, I finally get to use this one

[orpupilofnature57]

50. I think there should be alerts for the over sensitive .

[TBF]

14. Purist, unicorns, ponies, etc

it never stops. Last week I was accused of not being a good democrat because I hadn't personally figured out how to make all of Texas vote for leftists. I'm sure the same is true in your case Jackpine, how could you possibly have any clue what is going on while Scott Walker is governor of Wisconsin? You are personally responsible for having him elected & you shouldn't be allowed to speak until you replace him with Russ Feingold.

I finally put that particular sycophant on ignore but there are a bunch of them.

[smokey nj]

15. Those are probably the same people who justified the Democratic party for abandoning Barbara

Buono when she ran against Chris Christie.

[TBF]

16. I guess the positive to take away is that they really are scared

and that bodes well for Bernie. Here is this independent guy with his funny hair and he is gathering fans like crazy just by telling them the truth. That is probably difficult for them to see.

[smokey nj]

17. I think Bernie terrifies them.

[merrily]

22. I notice you didn't even personally convince Bernie to run for President. Or Hillary. Or Webb.

Or Chaffee. Or O'Malley. Or anyone else.

Slacker.

[Jackpine Radical]

40. That was me.

I went after him after I couldn't get Liz to run.

[merrily]

53. Thank you so much. Well done.

[Scuba]

30. I saw that bullshit. Incredibly lame.

[Jamastiene]

33. I saw that obnoxious OP too.

Don't you love being held accountable for how the majority in your state voted and told you didn't vote when you know you did vote and that it's your own fault for being stuck with right wingers? It must be nice to live in such a comfortable world that they can blame Democrats on a Democratic message board for how Republicans vote and feel self righteous about it.

[BrotherIvan]

18. The Hillary supporters/BOG are less than 10% of the site

But you would never know it. In the last thread I just read, a poster said this to cali

"Take care of your blood vessels... you are going to pop one will all that venom in your blood."

It was voted to leave 0-7. These are the same people whining about how they are mistreated by Sanders supporters, yet visit any thread and you will see the pile ons and knife fights. No discussion is allowed, just demands for compliance and feigned victimhood. It makes DU look like a madhouse.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. One particular poster

demands things she learned in an alternate version of US history. If you read her rants, which are adorable, labor came fully firmed out of Seuz's head, like Athena...err FDR. And those damn far lefties at a certain square in Chicago in a fine May Day are just a figment of our collective imagination.

[BrotherIvan]

21. I've been called a racist

And even when I pointed out that I am a person of color, the poster still kept going. And then claimed to be a victim. They throw the word "hate" around so often, but the only hate is coming from them against the left. Reality is being made up daily by the "pragmatists." So we can never talk at all about issues because they don't care about issues, just teen beat identity politics, along with being incredibly ignorant of history and the rest of the world.

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. Well there are several words

that are misused constantly

1.- Hate.. obvious one

2.- Treason... nope it is not as widely applied as some of these folks seem to believe, and that is a good thing.

3.- Conspiracy... after seating in court I can truly say this is misued ten ways to Sunday.

[BrotherIvan]

45. And the goal posts/definitions keep shifting

Most definitely.

[nadinbrzezinski]

46. Yup

[merrily]

23. Coincidentally, I was thinking something similar a couple of hours ago, that there's some kind of

collective personality and it's not a healthy one.

[BrotherIvan]

25. The fight is not about issues

It's about manipulation. The same people who will twists themselves in knots supporting neoliberalism are now claiming the mantle of "social justice." I saw one of our African American posters discussing with someone her important issues, namely incarceration and drug policy discriminating against the black community. This same person who claims to be fighting for social justice totally dismissed her concerns and said, "Well this is important to ME." So they only put on the costume when it fits. Blech.

[TBF]

35. Right - and it really makes me wonder where

it's originating. I don't know if these are really DLC operatives or if they are hired by someone else. It's very interesting.

[Jackpine Radical]

42. On the other hand, I don't doubt for a minute that there are operatives

seeking simply to drive wedges. When a poster with 30 posts shows up bashing Hillary unmercifully, just reiterating the same stuff and bringing no new information or perspective, the hackles at the back of my neck go up too. The thing about long-time posters is that we sort of know who we are and where we're coming from, while you can't really judge whether the n00bs are legitimate, or just messing around in the kitchen, shit-stirring and trying to bake FUD.

I believe in legitimate analysis and criticism of the positions of all candidates, and I consider evidence about character to be relevant to the discussion, but I also know that there is some slight chance that Bernie won't get the nomination and we'll have to use our votes for harm reduction. I wouldn't want anyone's disgust level raised to such a point that they would be unable to do that.

[merrily]

54. I don't think the DLC is hiring anymore. If it is any think tank, it would be

one of the ideological successors to the DLC, such as Progressive Policy Institute, Third Way, New Democrat Network, Center for American Progress (which the Daily Beast claims is Obama's favorite, whatever the heck that is supposed to mean*), No Labels, etc.

However, someone who used to work for the DLC has confirmed to me--and I believe him or her because as I said, it confirmed what already seemed obvious to me-- that the DLC and every politician has at least 2 or 3 paid posters. And we know from media that government agencies have them as well or employees whose job duties include posting. Plus, I imagine that people with government jobs, whether they are paid to post or not, will have a certain POV.


*http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/17/obama-s-favorite-think-tank-we-should-prepare-to-bomb-iraq.html

[BrotherIvan]

57. "Correct the Record"

Clinton's Super PAC that because it does not run media ads is claiming it can legally coordinate with the campaign. Their work will be done online. So our new spate of posters, some with name changes, who have old accounts with no activity and now TONS of posts are highly suspect. Those millions of dollars worth of contributions that she and Bill are now whipping up rather than campaigning and talking to the press can buy a lot of blog posters. DUers should look at the information and think about it (perhaps an OP).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/05/12/how-a-super-pac-plans-to-coordinate-directly-with-hillary-clintons-campaign/

[merrily]

58. I have little doubt that some of the billions spend on campaigns is spent on posts.

Again, if it's not paid posters, it's posting as part of someone's job. I noticed months ago that people who signed up years and years ago, yet don't have thousands of post suddenly got interested if posting at DU. It could be coincidence, meaning they only get interested in posting when a Presidential election is looming. Or, they could be shills. We'll never know for sure. However, I think most who post at DU, even most who lurk at DU, have made up their minds whether they will back Hillary or not.

Hillary has been running for this job for a long time, I'd say from the start. In 1992, Bill was saying that we'd get two for one if we voted for him. If you look at ebay, you can find campaign buttons from 1996 showing and naming both Hillary and Bill. And campaign buttons from 2000 showing Hillary and saying Hillary for America. Not for US Senator from NY, but Hillary for America, with no mention of NY or the Senate. And, even if you don't view that as I do, she's certainly been running without declaring since 2008. That's a long time for political junkies to consider whether they are really ready for Hillary or not.

[BrotherIvan]

59. Yes it will be interesting to see what happens this time around

People assume that she will be embraced this time when she wasn't last time. Some posters on DU swear that she has released her platform and we all know what it is. They also swear she has plans to fix a number of issues such as education, jobs, wealth inequality, you name it. They might be taking from the 2008 primary or they might not. Who knows.

All I know is, Hillary is trying to run a different campaign with a different image, but I think that will be the absolute worst mistake of all. Trying to "rebrand" herself will be as successful as New Coke. It will be the reason why people will say, "Hey, wait a minute." And one of her biggest unfavorables--trustworthiness--will be front and center. I mean, be real, you're going to make campaign finance reform a Citizen's United one of your "Four Pillars" and at the same time crow about how you can raise BILLIONS of dollars for at least two super pacs???? How fucking stupid do they think people are?

[merrily]

60. They may be going by this:

http://www.ontheissues.org/hillary_clinton.htm


If not, ask for a link.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts is connected to the rest of Massachusetts by a couple of bridges. It has a fragile ecosystem and gets flooded with tourists in the summer. So, people who live there year round are highly resistant to further development. One Cape Codder who was trying to get a building permit mentioned to me that, as soon as peopl move to Cape Cod, they want to pull up the Bourne Bridge behind them so no one else can move there.

That's Hillary with the money. As soon as she finishes running for officce for (please) the last time, she wants to pull up the money bridge behind her.

Thing is, though, that repealing Citizens' United will require a Constitutional amendment and that is simply not going to happen, no matter who gets to be President.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12776799

So, I guess Hillary has a tripod, not four pillars.

[BrotherIvan]

61. But the trouble is her positions have changed and are still changing

So we aren't allowed to talk about her past record such as her stance on gay rights, immigration, or Iraq. We're only allowed to talk about the policies where she did vote as a Democrat. The others, well, that's just hating.

[merrily]

63. I have no clue whether her positions change. Her rhetoric has been "evolving," that for damn sure.

And her most devoted fans have moved off trying to defend her DLC-type positions to claiming there is no difference between Hillary and Warren, and barely any difference or none between Hillary and Sanders.

The shift in their posting claims is quite obvious and not at all suspicious.

It has been entertaining, though.

[BrotherIvan]

64. I find it to be alternating between infuriating and jaw dropping

I have not encountered this kind of extreme partisanship in the real world. I'll be interested to see what happens.

[merrily]

65. Geez. I should try to get you on the mailing list of my former classmate.

After I saw a movie that reminded me of a kindergarten classmate, I looked him up. Turned out he now has a conservative webcast and sends tons of stuff out to his mailing list. It's so hard to believe that the sweet little kid I knew in kindergarten inveighs against Democrats like that--and not only politicians.


But, the general rule in American politics, maybe all politics everywhere in the world, is: if someone derives some kind of benefit from being partisan to the point of ugliness, he or she is likely to be partisan to the point of ugliness.

The benefit may be economic or it could be emotional, such as acceptance as a valued member of one group or another.

In fact, that is probably just part of being human. If the upside of something outweighs for an individual the downside of that same thing, they will engage in it. This is why, for example, people smoke cigarettes, even while knowing smoking cigarettes might result in damage to their bodies, even death.

[BrotherIvan]

66. I tend to ignore partisans in real life if you can believe that

I guess I didn't know how great I had it living in California. Being liberal is pretty much a given and even the few Republicans I have met were from the old school and just fiscally moderate. Everyone is for different reasons and I'm going to try to find out who people are supporting and why. I think name recognition is still a significant factor right now.

[merrily]

67. My kindergarten classmate grew up in a blue state. I don't know what happened to him and,

once I saw what he was spewing, I did not inquire.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Yes, yes it can, but has little to do

with those new criteria in the faux DMSV alternate reality.

[merrily]

24. We need a fundraiser.

[Enthusiast]

26. There's an ointment for that.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Jamastiene]

29. Sometimes, it is bad for my physical health.

When I hear right wing talking points by all the moderates and conservatives that rule the place here, my blood pressure goes up. Ignore helps a lot with that. I wasn't going to use ignore on DU3, but decided I liked life without conservatives and moderates and moderates who claim to be liberal. Why let them back in when all they do is irritate the hell out of people and claim everyone left of Reagan is anti-Obama and not really a Democrat? Yeah yeah yeah. Those of us considered the Fringe Left™ know how much Obama admired Reagan and now is bending over backwards to please his Republican buddies in Congress now. That doesn't mean we are not real Democrats. Apparently, anyone left of Reagan is now considered the Fringe Left™.

What gets me is that we are automatically considered racist by some posters if we don't agree with one or two things Obama is trying to do, but I never hear those same people call Republicans racists, despite ALL of the evidence out there that proves they really are. If that one fact, alone, doesn't make someone's blood pressure go up, I don't know what would.

[Scuba]

32. I love this thread.

[Doctor_J]

34. And you know it's all because of one issue!

[Jackpine Radical]

43. Yeah. The issue of species survival.

The Turd Way agenda is a death trip. Just a little slower than the Drooler agenda.

[eloydude]

47. And there's this...

Hillary Adoration Syndrome.. HAS-beens!

[Jackpine Radical]

48. Speaking just for myself,

I see no particular need to pathologize those who disagree with me.

[orpupilofnature57]

51. + 1000

[Autumn]

52. Are we sure that

we are the fringe?

Okay to tell the truth I just get a kick out of this
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026592890

[darkangel218]

55. We are not the fringe. We are the masses.

They just want to call us "fringes".

[HappyMe]

56. 730 people like fringe!

Damn, it has gotten rough around here.

[L0oniX]

62. Gotta save that one. Just kicked it again.