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There are valid points, but rather a lot of bullshit inbetween for my taste. Legolas Send a noteboard - 14/06/2017 07:07:10 PM

View original postI think this column is highly apropos given the events in D.C. this morning. A few caveats: I don't know anything about this author. I just remember reading this last week and agreeing with it. If the author turns out to be some insane person, I don't care. I agree with what he wrote here not somewhere else.

Let me be clear: what happened in DC was awful and it looks likely that the demonization of Republicans by the left played a large role in it, so I sympathize with the general thrust of the article. But on the other hand, there's so much bullshit in it that shows the author is partisan enough to ignore facts in favour of ideology whenever convenient, that it doesn't seem particularly helpful in de-escalating and actually doing something about the problem.

Unlike, to give credit where credit is due, the president's statement.


View original postImmediately after their loss, Democrats did not turn introspective and try to discover why, after eight years of a personally popular president, voters across the country had rejected them in record numbers at every level of government. No, they turned in anger at those who beat them, and no one has had more of that anger directed at them than President Trump.

Rejected them in record numbers at every level of government? That's funny, considering Democratic candidates won the popular vote for the presidency by 3 million votes and for the Senate by 11 million. Of course the point that the Democratic elite could do with more introspection about the election outcome is valid enough, but as ruining a valid point by throwing in completely unnecessary bullshit goes, this paragraph is almost Trumpian.
View original postHe’s the accidental president, in their minds, someone unworthy of even the basic respect for the office that used to be the norm in politics.

That might be because he fails to reach even the basic semblance of adequacy and competence that used to be the norm in politics. Let's not confuse the issue by trying to pretend Trump is a normal president who deserves a normal amount of respect. Here as well, the issue at hand didn't even require such nonsense and the point could've been made without it; ask yourself what things would've been like with, say, President Ted Cruz, and you'll see that a large part of this atmosphere of hatred on the left would've been there even with a serious Republican president, except maybe for the kind of Republican who is so moderate he/she'd never win the primary anyway.
View original postWorse, they are stoking fears to the point that even the casual observer is left with the impression they’re hoping someone “corrects” that accident.

That rather depends on who 'they' is - certainly, some people on the left are doing that, but if 'they' means Democratic leadership, that's a pretty far-reaching accusation.
View original postHow else can one interpret the left’s continual equating of the president to Adolf Hitler? What is implied in saying the man’s actions on an otherwise insignificant international agreement “is a grave threat to our planet?”

Comparing Trump to Hitler is asinine and, I agree, the kind of hateful rhetoric that we can do without. With you there. The second part is another big stretch, though. Not that Pelosi's statement isn't hyperbolic and cheap, but interpreting 'a grave threat to our planet' as a call to violence is pretty silly.
View original postBillionaire liberal financier and green energy profiteer Tom Steyer said pulling the US out of the Paris accord would “be committing a traitorous act of war against the American people.”

Well, okay, that one's just batshit crazy.
View original postSupposed journalists stripped clear all standards to proclaim their outrage. “Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Rick Perry & Steve Bannon walk into a bar & the bar is the earth & it overheats & we all die,” was but one example of their calm “analysis.”

View original postCelebrities and politicians all pronounced the president to be an enemy of the planet, of the people; a threat to life itself.

View original postThe Huffington Post declared, “Trump To Planet: Drop Dead.”

View original postAll this was made more ironic by the fact this gaggle of pearl clutchers had, just a few years ago, accused Sarah Palin of inciting the deadly shooting in Tucson that gravely injured former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

View original postHuffPo itself ran a piece entitled, “Words Have Consequences,” which preached on the dangers of over-the-top rhetoric. It read:

View original postToday we have seen the results of this rhetoric. Those with a megaphone, whether provided by public office or a media outlet, have responsibilities. They cannot avoid the consequences of their blatant efforts to inflame, anger, and outrage. We all know that there are unstable and potentially dangerous people among us. To repeatedly appeal to their basest instincts is to invite and welcome their predictable violence.

View original postOf course, we hadn’t “seen the results” of anything of the sort. The killer was a left-wing rabid hater of President George W. Bush who’d never seen the “crosshairs” on Palin’s website and most likely hated her just as much.

Basically agree with the above, except that a quick check on Wikipedia doesn't back up the bit about Giffords' attacker being left-wing at all (hater of GW Bush, yes, but if those two things were one and the same, one would have to conclude most of the Tea Party is left-wing). Possibly further research would change that.
View original postBe it declaring the president a traitor, equating him with history’s greatest monster, or a danger to the continued existence of our species, the political left clearly wishes him and anyone who agrees with him on any issue to be a threat. And, in the mind of the unstable, threats, especially on that scale, must be eliminated.

You could write the above paragraph about rather a long list of left-wing individuals and it would be more or less accurate. That doesn't make it okay or even remotely helpful to write it about 'the political left' as a whole, though. You don't solve the problem of political polarization and demonization of the other side pushing people into violence, by further promoting polarization and further demonizing the other side.
View original postIt may not be an attack on the president they inspire. Maybe it’ll be a speaker on a college campus, or a member of Congress, or a local city council. Whatever the case, the hatred they’re stoking is boiling, and for the sake of fundraising and to appease their base, they’re more than happy to turn up the heat.

Pot, meet kettle. Kettle, pot. Though the point remains valid even so. There's nothing wrong with focusing first on the faults of the other side, it's what anyone would do - as long as you have the intellectual honesty to then reflect on your own side as well. Maybe not necessarily in the same column - possibly I'm being unfair on this guy. But, like Joe, I can only judge him by the one column.
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The Left Won’t Rest Until Someone Gets Killed - 14/06/2017 02:47:58 PM 2002 Views
Totally agreed with this article... - 14/06/2017 03:58:40 PM 1298 Views
The funny thing about violence is you can't control it. - 14/06/2017 04:31:35 PM 1244 Views
So you thought that would scare me Tom? - 14/06/2017 09:30:34 PM 1204 Views
especially since the gunman has been identified - 14/06/2017 05:42:14 PM 1274 Views
And the penny drops... *NM* - 14/06/2017 05:59:30 PM 679 Views
Bernie isn't a Democrat, though - 14/06/2017 06:31:28 PM 1245 Views
How embarrassing that he accidentally ran for their presidential nomination! - 14/06/2017 07:18:57 PM 1162 Views
Not an accident - 14/06/2017 07:28:12 PM 1149 Views
And in Wonder Woman the Movie they wore different hats!!! - 14/06/2017 09:09:57 PM 1143 Views
You mean the Clinton cabal stopped him - 15/06/2017 04:22:41 AM 1133 Views
I think you give too much credit to the Clintons - 15/06/2017 04:49:26 AM 1222 Views
I would have actually respected her more... - 15/06/2017 07:07:08 PM 1099 Views
well no other democrats wanted to run against her there was an opening *NM* - 15/06/2017 09:41:50 PM 679 Views
There are valid points, but rather a lot of bullshit inbetween for my taste. - 14/06/2017 07:07:10 PM 1382 Views
Obviously excessive hyperbole is a problem from both sides - 14/06/2017 07:20:59 PM 1191 Views
Sure, I will admit that. - 14/06/2017 07:23:24 PM 1160 Views
There you go again. - 14/06/2017 07:52:47 PM 1221 Views
Yeah, that part sucked.... - 14/06/2017 09:14:10 PM 1100 Views
You know what I did? - 15/06/2017 04:16:08 AM 1211 Views
Good Idea.... - 15/06/2017 06:59:47 PM 1126 Views
Yup. Isn't it shocking? - 14/06/2017 09:18:45 PM 1193 Views
I find myself drifting more and more to the right - 14/06/2017 08:26:26 PM 1141 Views
I don't, or at least not in an American context, but I agree about the dead horse. - 14/06/2017 09:32:23 PM 1241 Views
That's not correct. - 15/06/2017 04:19:06 AM 1231 Views
I agree with Tom's premise, if not the content. - 15/06/2017 09:46:57 AM 1198 Views
I really should post more. We're letting Tom and Cannoli get away with far too much. *NM* - 15/06/2017 10:12:53 AM 607 Views
YES, YOU SHOULD - 15/06/2017 11:09:34 AM 1141 Views
Agreed. *NM* - 15/06/2017 02:45:40 PM 1055 Views
It would still be a pretty right-wing site - 15/06/2017 02:58:30 PM 1230 Views
funny you would say that - 15/06/2017 03:20:58 PM 1207 Views
I so miss Camilla. - 15/06/2017 08:50:36 PM 1113 Views
Camilla and the Aussies were our lefty leaders - 15/06/2017 09:04:12 PM 1242 Views
God I miss Wads - 15/06/2017 10:29:38 PM 1242 Views
D'oh! *NM* - 15/06/2017 03:20:58 PM 642 Views
*NM* - 15/06/2017 04:37:56 PM 697 Views
I never could tell when you were being sarcastic and when not. On the whole I'm thinking yes. *NM* - 15/06/2017 08:48:54 PM 571 Views
Hmm... I miss Camilla too. - 15/06/2017 08:55:04 PM 1011 Views
Sad but true - the left is truly unhinged, full of violence and hate - 15/06/2017 03:36:20 AM 1128 Views
I was considering making a post called "what the fuck is wrong with progressives?" - 15/06/2017 06:49:10 AM 1259 Views
It's because they have begun to eat themselves. - 15/06/2017 02:14:23 PM 1164 Views
Yeah, but... - 15/06/2017 02:46:51 PM 1223 Views
yes, that - 15/06/2017 03:20:00 PM 1157 Views
The day I realized that I didn't know every damned thing was when I at last gained a little wisdom. - 15/06/2017 03:30:07 PM 1099 Views
I get where you're coming from, but... - 15/06/2017 05:01:13 PM 1155 Views
Isn't that a good characterization of much of the Left? - 15/06/2017 04:09:10 PM 1108 Views
Maybe? A large section of the academic left, anyway - 15/06/2017 05:17:14 PM 1067 Views
Well, yeah - 15/06/2017 04:36:37 PM 1161 Views
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass... - 15/06/2017 10:40:42 PM 1236 Views
I can promise you they haven't read their history. - 16/06/2017 12:25:56 AM 1020 Views
No offense intended, but have *you* read it carefully? - 16/06/2017 01:41:19 AM 1335 Views
I've read it somewhat carefully. I think I said my point poorly, though. - 16/06/2017 03:23:26 AM 1145 Views
An obsession with the rule of law in Weimar Germany? - 16/06/2017 04:26:30 AM 1095 Views
She blocked me after telling me to go fuck myself. - 16/06/2017 04:38:43 AM 1049 Views
Sounds like a winner, that one - 16/06/2017 02:20:19 PM 1182 Views
Poor Weimar. - 16/06/2017 12:32:09 PM 1117 Views
Ha! - 16/06/2017 03:00:38 PM 1090 Views
Their shenanigans actually hurt their cause. - 15/06/2017 03:32:09 PM 1156 Views
Also, they're just puerile. Pussy hats? Seriously? If you want to be taken seriously, dress properly - 16/06/2017 12:36:36 AM 1207 Views
A short webcomic for you ghavrel - 16/06/2017 01:54:00 AM 1166 Views
Most Americans laugh at "microaggressions" and phrases like "toxic masculinity" - 16/06/2017 04:31:40 AM 1022 Views
I unironically use some of those - 16/06/2017 04:42:21 AM 1253 Views
Quit gaslighting me, dude *NM* - 16/06/2017 02:18:17 PM 598 Views
Why do you hate the word gaslighting? - 16/06/2017 08:42:34 PM 1084 Views
It's used by progressives whenever someone disagrees with them. - 16/06/2017 11:24:03 PM 1231 Views
So let me come at this from a different angle - 17/06/2017 04:48:37 AM 1136 Views
You're overthinking this. - 17/06/2017 10:28:47 AM 1214 Views
What are you even talking about? - 17/06/2017 11:01:42 AM 1261 Views
POC - 16/06/2017 01:54:31 PM 1117 Views
I would assume "POC" meant "piece of crap" - 16/06/2017 02:17:07 PM 1099 Views
Point of Contact - 16/06/2017 03:09:26 PM 1313 Views
WTF? "Good needs"? That doesn't even make any sense! - 16/06/2017 05:55:45 PM 1191 Views
I have some good needs - 16/06/2017 06:07:35 PM 1086 Views
I'll just bet you do. *NM* - 16/06/2017 06:13:23 PM 601 Views
Neither does "handicapped", honestly - 16/06/2017 07:18:15 PM 1159 Views
It will stop, the robots will one day take over - 16/06/2017 08:41:03 PM 1184 Views
My opinion on this - 16/06/2017 08:39:40 PM 1353 Views
No - 17/06/2017 07:11:17 AM 1087 Views
Belas, a rhetorical question, where do monsters come from? *NM* - 17/06/2017 08:58:00 AM 605 Views
These come from institutions of higher "learning" *NM* - 17/06/2017 05:07:47 PM 647 Views
under the bed or in the bedroom closet. d'uh. *NM* - 17/06/2017 05:30:05 PM 605 Views
POP - 16/06/2017 09:07:28 PM 1209 Views
Thought you were going to make a People of Penes / Penii joke - 16/06/2017 09:43:31 PM 1154 Views
That is the way I started to feel about the conserative movement - 15/06/2017 09:41:07 PM 1131 Views
President Mike Pence - 15/06/2017 03:53:15 PM 1160 Views
LOL - 15/06/2017 03:56:37 PM 1128 Views
Too much Jacobin. Not enough Jacques. - 15/06/2017 09:58:27 PM 1201 Views
RAWR, bows down to the sexiness - 15/06/2017 10:45:41 PM 1098 Views

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