holy s&*t : read these reader comments on tapping ABC news

[gWbush is Mabus]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/05/federal_source_.html

Americans are scaring me more and more every single day.

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Read this one. Very telling.

You do realize people are being paid by the Bush administration to attack the press publically on comment pages like this. I personally was offered a job doing it.
Look at the similarities in the comments."Aid the enemy" "leaking security" ABC is simply telling it's viewers what it's ELECTED GOVERNMENT is doing with it's money-destroying this country's power in the eyes of the world!
I want to know what my government is doing. I want to have some measure of control over my life. I am tired of living in the constant fear this administration has subjected us to in the name of patriotism.
Who are these jackasses who think the press is giving aid to the enemy. What blind nonsense.



Just as we suspected. Paid to do it.

[azmouse]

2. I read that and wasn't surprised one little bit!

[zanne]

3. Yup. Professionals on "call-in" shows...

When I hear right-wing talking points on call-in shows, like Washington Journal, they're always repeated verbatim. Some people actually talk in a monotone, obviously reading their "opinion". And if you pay close attention, you'll notice that it happens mostly when not alot of Republicans are calling in. It's as though these people get an email saying "The Republican line is quiet! Call in now"!

[Pathwalker]

18. Larry King has one named "Joe Ketchum" from "Georgia"

who calls in regularly with ALL the right wing talking points. He's one of their most "regular" callers.

[Virginia Dare]

7. Yes, I've heard that as well...

supposedly there is a call center here in Northern Virginia where the individuals do nothing but troll the Internet and political talk shows spewing Bushbot propaganda.

[greenbriar]

13. man, I want that job

really

[Virginia Dare]

15. join the Young Repukes....

you might get a shot.

[greenbriar]

37. naw, I am not young nor a repuke

I couldn't even fake it

[Julius Civitatus]

24. Yes. They do that. I know

Back when I was in the Salon.com boards, we exposed several pernicious trolls as paid hacks. Their IP addresses pointed back to prominent DC think-tanks.

[annabanana]

32. I would LO-O-Ove to see an expose on such a phone bank...

I would SO hide in the bushes with a camera & a mic for this one!

[hwmnbn]

12. Can I get a job doing that for the dems? ......

and if not, why not?

[lildreamer316]

30. Why don't WE do it?

Organization.........
Really; I dunno. The whole thing is crazy; and of course not very fair.

[DBoon]

19. Do you have a link or something to back this up?

I suspect this is being done as Slashdot and other sites.

For example, stories on global warming are immediately followed by a host of comments denying and such thing is happening, ful of denunciations of Kyote and environmentalists, etc.

After a few hours, the "normal" posters prevail, but I've always thought the initial flood of ideologically biased posts was weird.

Evidence of dirty tricks is always appreciated.

[Midlodemocrat]

20. It is about 1/2 down on the link that the OP posted.

[DBoon]

22. i waded through that sewage

and found a mention that this happens, but no hard facts.

Has anyone exposed this operation?

[Midlodemocrat]

25. No. But, interestingly, there are a lot of anti-bush comments up now.

[Julius Civitatus]

23. Conservative Think-Tanks and marketing firms do that dirty job

I remember that back during the 2000 elections, we caught lots of similar phony comments in several web boards. Liberal sites got inundated by relentless trolls that would post non-stop, 24/7, all sorts of right-wing propaganda. It seemed unreal.

The IPs of the posters pointed back to 2 prominent right-wing think tanks in DC. Behind each alias there was a host of paid operatives, interns or volunteers that would rotate their turns and post relentlessly, with a ferocity and passion that seemed unreal and somewhat artificial.

The only other time I saw a similar thing in real life was soon after the 2000 elections, when the GOP flew hundreds of Republican operatives to Florida to stop the recount. It was the infamous "recount riots" that the media reported as genuine, when it truth was nothing but a well choreographed Republican operation.

As I have heard, they've gotten more sophisticated over time, and now there's a lot of "outsourcing" from the GOP to paid operatives in call centers, the same way they outsource their infamous push-polling.

[DBoon]

27. who are these think tanks and marketing firms?

Someone needs to expose this with names and so on.

Even if it is only an article in The Nation.

[IndyJones]

34. I'm picking my jaw up of of the floor after reading those comments

I believe they are paying people to post on those comment boards. I do not believe that most Americans think that is okay.

[iamjoy]

4. Why Don't They Tap Government Employees

I mean, if this is oh-so-important to National Security, why don't they monitor the phones of people who have a security clearance for classified information? That could be part of the job requirement or condition of getting the security clearance. It's hardly ideal, but I don't understand why they are going after the news rather than going after the leakers.

[radfringe]

31. they probably do

as well as all elected official's phones...

wonder if this little story will be enough to get the media to stop licking bush's face and start biting his butt for real

[Virginia Dare]

5. Freedom and Democracy are just empty words...

spouted by ignorant fools who have no concept of what those words truly stand for. I swear, these people would be much more at home in China, a country that has zero tolerance for privacy or free press, many of the citizens there would gladly change places with them.

[genie_weenie]

26. Freedom & Democracy have ALWAYS been

empty words in America. Mostly to convince the poor and middle class that they control the Nation...

[Virginia Dare]

28. Excellent point...n/t

[genie_weenie]

36. An unfortunate point... n/t

[LoKnLoD]

6. You can tell they are talking points

the posts are all spelled correctly, freeps can't spell worth a damn.

[Lautremont]

8. There's a solid division between the ones who can't spell

- they're all for the surveillance, of course - and the ones who can. It's the ones who can spell who are appalled by both the illegal surveillance and the attitudes of their moronic countrymates. What does that tell you?

Here's one hilarious example:

"I am tired of thae news media leaking secret information in order to hurt PREDIDENT BUSH. I would prosucute the news media leakers for treason like LINCOLN did. We are at WAR with a enemy who whants to take over the world by force or kill all of us"

Thank you, numbskull.

[Jara sang]

9. Those fuckwads see "enemies" in anyone who doesn't believe GOP agenda.

[grasswire]

10. I believe we need some countering posts there.

Come on, DU. Encourage ABC to stand firm.

[RedStateShame]

11. I wish these Bush-backers would just join Al Qaeda already

and quit acting like they love this nation and what it stands for. Don't worry, meth-huffing, wife-beating Red-Stater, Osama Bin Laden doesn't want gays getting married, either.

[SmokingJacket]

14. These aren't Americans -- they're freepers.

Seriously: not a representative sample of Americans, just a campaign by that crappy site or one of its in-bred cousins. No offense to the inbred intended!

[Oilwellian]

16. I liked this response

I will bring Dick Cheney to his knees.
Posted by: Federal Source | May 15, 2006 12:55:40 PM

:D

[progressivebydesign]

17. I just posted that on another thread here. UNBELIEVABLY scary!

One guy was stupid enuff to use his work email for his posting... he's lucky we're nice, unlike the Freepers who would call his boss and tell on him for using company time and ID for personal use.

Those people are either paid by the GOP, or they're mentally ill in some way (I don't mean that flippantly). Remember the good old days when the republicans were crying all the time about Bill Clinton and the black helicopters? Now they seem to be fine with the govt snooping up your ass all the time. If it were fox news during Clinton's time, it'd be different.

[DBoon]

21. When they start throwing people out of helicopters into the ocean

these people will cheer

[radfringe]

29. what surprised me

is that the reporters were surprised their phones were being monitored. Did they think they were immune from the bushies invasion of privacy?

heck, if I were in charge of monitoring phone calls the first ones I would be tapping would be ALL government officials, all ELECTED official, all media outlets, all political/activist groups, all corporations/big businesses and then all of the peons.

No one is immune from the bushies - not even lapdogs and butt kissers

[NoSheep]

33. Holy shit. It's worse than I thought. It's really worse than I thought.

I thought the approval ratings were a sign that folks were waking up. What a bunch of sick fucks. Pitiful.

[walldude]

35. This looks like a coordinated effort to me

some of the responses are so lame :eyes: The base will always be the base and nothing we can say or do will change their minds. However, on a lighter note I was at a Country and Western concert Saturday night and a local DJ mentioned Bush and he got soundly booed. These were hardcore rednecks too, American flag shirts and hats everywhere...

[NoSheep]

39. Now THAT IS good news! Thanks. I needed a little boost.

:toast:

[BlooInBloo]

38. The weak point of any democracy is its electorate....

Though I must admit that the glee with which republican voters give away THEIR OWN RIGHTS never ceases to astonish me.

Americans deserve the country they vote for - with that in mind, it's perhaps surprising only that we're not WORSE off than we are....