byronius
byronius's JournalPlease, tell me I'm paranoid.
Since the hack I've observed long-term posters who faded away many years ago return to engage in what I consider well-crafted and well-thought-out disruption that is always presented under the guise of requesting more evidence or pointing out minutiae that generally leads the discussion astray.
I think it's possible that the hack of the entire user database with emails and passwords was used to resurrect personalities using defunct/abandoned/spoofed email addresses, and that these hijacked personalities are being used to damage the dialogue in extremely cunning ways.
Most of them do not have stars, although this may be coincidental.
I say this publicly because I'm certain other members have noticed. As intelligent and scripted as the penetration would have to be to escape detection, there are certain signs that what I'm saying might be true.
I say it because I love Democratic Underground, and because I believe the hack was not in any way a joke, but a serious act of directed revenge on a well-respected resource as an act of war.
If I'm right, it's just beginning. They may also evolve to personal sabotage of individual lives; this is historically an effective investment for emerging anti-democratic regimes, and the internet provides a new arena for this purpose.
And if I'm right, I'd like everyone to be aware, and study the tactics and methods employed. Not every troll misspells or fails to grasp the basic liberal sensibilities; this new crew is a better breed, smarter and more circumspect.
Given the intense weight of destiny upon these days, I don't believe it would hurt to consider my point. I don't wish to engage in witch-hunting, I just have noticed and wish to remark on a recent phenomenon.
Ancient (1208) Icelandic hymn in a German train station.
So beautiful and haunting.
Árstíðir - Heyr himna smiður
Think for a moment how hard this is for all the good cops and civil servants.
The solidly American FBI agents, the professional CIA operatives, the good-hearted local police officer swimming in a sea of asshole ideology. There are a lot of good people out there doing their jobs right, and for the right reasons.
They've got it worse than anyone. And we need them to stay in and fight. They're getting it from both sides, just because -- human. Now they're going to be behind enemy lines for a long time, without hope of reprieve.
Send them some good thoughts and energy. In the end, they may be the difference between life and death of the human species.
The tale of Evan Mecham -- a close Trump analogy.
Evan Mecham
A Mormon used-car dealer with a bad toupee won the governorship of Arizona in 1986 because of a split Democratic ticket. His first act in office was to rescind the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in Arizona; his second act was to refer to black children as 'pickaninnies' on statewide television. The ensuing boycott of the state cost Arizona its economic future.
He embezzled state funds to bolster the lagging fortunes of his used car dealership after 'technically' ceding control of the business to his sons, and used the state police and other law enforcement agencies as his personal enforcement crew to attack political enemies.
One of his most significant acts was the draconian increase in drug possession penalties -- frat boys started going to state prison for a mandatory three years of hard labor after being caught with traces of marijuana residue on a pipe. Vehicles and houses were seized by the state. Possession of cocaine over a certain quantity meant a life sentence. This led almost all tech companies (Intel, IBM) with manufacturing facilities in Arizona to leave the state, heaping even more harsh devastation on an already-damaged state economy.
He was the only governor of Arizona to be impeached. He was also issued several felony indictments; he and his brother Willard faced 22 years in prison for their actions, although they were later acquitted by a jury.
Some quotes from Wikipedia:
Besides the uproar caused by the MLK Day cancellation, Mecham committed other political faux pas. Claims of prejudice were made against Mecham after he defended the use of the word "pickaninny" to describe black children, claimed that high divorce rates were caused by working women, claimed America is a Christian nation to a Jewish audience, and said a group of visiting Japanese businessmen got "round eyes" after being told of the number of golf courses in Arizona. In response to claims that he was a racist, Mecham said, "I've got black friends. I employ black people. I don't employ them because they are black; I employ them because they are the best people who applied for the cotton-picking job."
Mecham made an issue of his relationship with the press. Claiming that many of his problems were caused by media enemies he had made during previous runs for political office, the governor stated, "The Phoenix newspaper monopoly has had my political destruction as its goal for many years." The governor also claimed, "Every daily newspaper in the state endorsed a different candidate besides me. It's taking them a little time to get used to the idea that I was the people's choice." In response to his perceived mistreatment by the press, Mecham attempted to ban a journalist from his press conferences. John Kolbe, a political columnist for the Phoenix Gazette and brother of Congressman Jim Kolbe, was declared a "non-person" after a February 25, 1987, column critical of Mecham's performance at the National Governors Association.
Another incident occurred during a televised event in which a reporter questioned the governor's integrity, prompting Mecham to reply, "Don't you ever ask me for a true statement again." An aide later asserted that the press "largely misunderstood" Mecham's retort. "Of course, the governor should not have said that, especially with the TV cameras rolling," he wrote.
Throughout his administration, Mecham expressed concern about possible eavesdropping on his private communications. A senior member of Mecham's staff broke his leg after falling through a false ceiling he had been crawling over, looking for covert listening devices. A private investigator was hired to sweep the governor's offices looking for bugs. The Governor was quoted as saying, "Whenever I'm in my house or my office, I always have a radio on. It keeps the lasers out." After this was reported, a political cartoon by Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Steve Benson appeared in the Arizona Republic depicting the governor leaving his house outfitted for laser tag. When asked about this by reporters, Attorney General Bob Corbin replied in amusement, "We don't have any ray gun pointed at him."
I remember all of this like it was yesterday. And here we are again, on a national scale.
jelly belly quelly
well here we are in the Narrative
good guys bad guys shades of gray
twists and turns and stomach drops
secrets plots and money drops
stealy cheaty boredy bad
no one knows what makes it sour
irradiated by the hour
check and balance crack and fall
it means us all so why?
they stay in pictures flat and gray
bathe in fear as if it feeds
judge the giver chop the tree
and turn the world to mud
but narratives are human things
drawn up to talk to future beings
anthropocentric nonsense memes
that do not sway the microkings
just begun their feast.
Sorryeverybody.com is still up. And it still gets to me every time I see it.
I own the book. Beautiful thing.
sorryeverybody
I live in a soon-to-be-embattled free state in an otherwise occupied country.
That's how most days feel.
However -- I believe that there are more of us than there are of them, and that history can turn in a day, and that sooner or later we will prevail.
And when we do, I believe this catastrophe will result in the nation taking a far more serious approach to our election process.
I also think Russia will regret this. I consider them a terrorist gang now, and a clear and present danger to the United States.
May we live to learn this lesson.
'You used to be stupid and kinda mean; now you're a treasonous mass murderer. Darwin Award 2016!'
That's my sign for the coming protests, although it may change.
What's yours?
Bloodthirsty pirates grow concerned with crazy new captain's desire to ram the ship into the rocks.
'We wish we had the old captain back.'
Film at eleven, unless the ship's already sunk.
I predict the Reichstag Fire is going to be in California.
Unless the votes are counted in PA, WI, and MI, that is.
Just lodging my prediction. Not rocket science. It's Trump Payback science.
The Reptile is strong with this one.
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Member since: Wed Feb 23, 2005, 03:32 PMNumber of posts: 7,394
