To the quiters who threaten to take their ball and bat ...(some commenters had irately threatened to stop writing for the site)
...and go home. Such quiters join the PUMAs, Lieberman and McKinney in the Hall of Quit. Stop whining, don't quit and keep writing your opinions. We know your threats to quit are mostly idle anyway--kind of like Kall does on occasions when we don't respond to one of his daily pledge breaks. But that doesn't excuse him and his first-ammendment-detracting 'editors' from practicing fox style journalism. Real progressives and real journalists don't go after a 17 year old unmarried pregnant girl for political purposes. We democrats don't need to resort to sleaze like OEN and the McCain campaign does. Kalls rationalizations are simply that: rationalizations. He seems to get real defensive anytime he's criticized. Bet he doesn't have a 17 year old daughter. Comrades, we can defeat the war criminals and take back your country without destroying a young tirl who didn't get to choose who would be her mother. Can't we? As always, vote early and vote often.
Pull your head out of whatever you've stuck it up and smell, after proper cleaning, the coffee, my friend.
Read the first six words of the OEN ABOUT page.
OpEdNews.com is a tough progressive website
If Palin was a Democrat, how would this be handled? She would be getting ten times the coverage on the mainstream media that she's now getting.
Why? Because these things DO mean something. She either lied about her pregnancy or she just about tried to kill her baby by doing all the wrong things when her water broke in Texas. Either way, it speaks to her character and judgment.
YOUR Democrats are the Al Gore who didn't fight back Democrats, the Dukakis-- play the good guy Democrats-- the Kerry, don't challenge the crooked vote count Democrats-- and they are hypocrites and/or naive fools who don't deserve to win when they play in a political game that is and always has been tough, ugly and dirty.
Call me names, but your value system is out of touch with reality. From now on, National Enquirer stories are fair game. This is one progressive who puts truth and winning ahead of niceness and propriety. GOT IT YET? You heard me. The national enquirer. This site was founded to further the progressive cause, not to place doilies and pretty place settings in gentle, friendly colloquies and forums.
They say watching politics being made is like watching sausage being made. You watch it and it makes you sick. So... you watch, you get sick. Maybe you throw up. Tough shit Sherlock. You can cast your smarmy, better than thou judgment upon me and all the others on this site who are not going to fall into the losers path that you have, of being very nice and proper.
Meanwhile, we're going to attempt to dig up all we can to expose the character and integrity flaws of the candidates proposed by the right wing corporatist vermin that have infested the whitehouse for the past eight years. Read the MSM if you want nice, pretty, proper reporting.
And I say that any progressive site that is not covering the Palin family's vulnerabilities is not doing its job.
Some commenters say we need to cover the other things going on, like the criminal acts by the police in the Twin Cities at the RNC. We ARE covering that and doing a damn good job. We're covering Georgia and Russia, the hurricanes... the ongoing problems with election integrity, and it's really a miracle that this all happens through the wisdom and the passion of the crowds, because we're not paying anyone to do it.
Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is also published regularly on the Huffingtonpost.com and is a columnist with Northstarwriters.com. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.
To learn more about me and OpEdNews.com, check out this article.
and there are Rob's quotes, here.
To Watch me on youtube, having a lively conversation with John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary committee, click here Now, wouldn't you like to see me on the political news shows, representing progressives. If so, tell your favorite shows to bring me on and refer them to this youtube video
My radio show, The Rob Kall Show, runs 9-10 PM EST Wednesday evenings, on AM 1360, WNJC and is archived on www.whiterosesociety.org Or listen to it streaming, live at either www.wnjc1360.com or here.
A few declarations.
-While I'm registered as a Democrat, I consider myself to be a dynamic critic of the Democratic party, just as, well, not quite as much, but almost as much as I am a critic of republicans.
-My articles express my personal opinion, not the opinion of this website.
... as a true and functioning DEMOCRACY, is supposed to get "down and dirty" at times, especially when we live in this, this "Rightis$t Corporations$ and Profiteers$ Dominated," Phony "News$" Media environment, wherein, YES, of course, they would never even begin to "let up," on ANY Democratic VP Candidate, if they had even a tiny percentage of the huge questions and scandals in her personal and Gubenatorial background, etcetera, that Sarah Palin does!
by
Brian O'Moore (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 43 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 9:07:17 AM
This nation was founded as a republic. Democracy is a scam started by Col. House using Wilson as puppet.
No wonder this country is so screwed up, even the so-called "Progressive" are as crazy as poop house rats.
Yea yea yea...knock me on the head, I don't care. Read Orwell, language does mean something kids. Get your lexicon straight or you'll always have your hat on crooked.
Falling for this Hegellian BS, the 'Republican v Democrat' puppet show will only get you on one of the sanctioned teams. It's Punch & Judy.
Wise up!
by
William Whitten (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 47 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 10:54:42 AM
Your hyperbole about OEN being like Fox News destroyed any argument you may have been trying to make.
If you don't like the reporting and opinion you get here, then please, go somewhere else.
With regard to fundraising, I suppose you don't need to earn money for your work, but most people do. When you complain that a web site shouldn’t be fundraising, you are suggesting that it should just "happen", without any funding for servers, bandwidth, etc. It’s magic, no money required!!
Leave your comments at those web sites that don't have ads, and don't ask for any contributions.
by
John R Moffett (82 articles, 17 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 646 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 9:37:50 AM
that if fighting back by shining daylight on the things our criminal administration doesn't want us to see and calling them out on their lies can lead us to reclaiming our national identity and reenshrining the precepts expressed in our Constitution, it is what we must do.
Failing to do so would leave us with two choices that are supremely unpalatable. These would be to accept the loss of our republic and live with its illegitimate successor, or to resist with armed conflict, engendering suffering that even our first civil war could not match.
So kids, let's try the lights.
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John Sanchez Jr. (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 1266 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 9:57:00 AM
Tough begins with hard-hitting headlines, followed by news or opinion with hard facts.
The latter has mostly been true.
There has been a vast improvement in headline writing.
Like the man said, if you think we're too tough or not tough enough and you don't like it here...tuff! Move on. There are plenty of other places to hang out where the fare they have to offer maybe more yo your liking.
Oh, and Rob, when are we going to get the article along with the comment box for cutting and pasting or just plain rechecking to see if we read something correctly?
by
Sandy Sand (165 articles, 0 quicklinks, 220 diaries, 1490 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 10:10:22 AM
I've been around a long time and been involved in my share of losing campaigns. I'm no friend of George II and have done my share of protesting and carrying banners for all I believe is right. I have taken an issue; Israel/Palestine Peace as far as I know how; all the way to Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem and spread it across the pages of area newspapers and to millions via OpEdNews. You continue to work like a dog, (more like three dogs on steroids), to build your extraordinary progressive site and make room for almost all comers. Now you underline the fact that the end justifies the means in moving towards the disreputable side of mukraking journalism. And maybe you are right, that unless the left gets into the same mud as the right it will find a way to lose yet again. I know Barack Obama doesn't speak for all progressives, but I was proud of what he said. I have a rather strong sense of what I believe to be right. I don't speak for you. But it is a cautionary tale........
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Larry Snider (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 10 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 10:17:43 AM
So much backlash from the poltically "correct", euphemists and apologists, like all the Palin-fawning guests featured yesterday on the supposedly unbiased Diane Rehm Show on NPR. We need to keep up the tough talk and ask the hard questions and demand accountability. Thank you, Rob, for providing a forum where we can air our discussions/ opinions without risk of arrest (presumably). Ruffle those feathers! I've received some negative remarks for my "Where's the CPS" piece, here and elsewhere, from people who found it disturbing. Good. I want to disturb them. Everything about Sarah Palin is exceptionally questionable and nauseating. I'm a literary critic; I choose my words carefully for maximized impact. Keep it up, Rob. I promise to send cash when I get some to spare ( uninsured, under-employed, outspoken liberal woman over 40).You're a stalwart standard bearer for freedom of expression.
by
A Bonifield (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 10:58:42 AM
I hate to sound contrary here, and I respect the fact that it's Rob Kall's site, but...
I do think one item in particular is over the line. That's the video that purports to be of Todd Palin having "private fisherman thoughts," or misgivings ostensibly about his wife becoming mayor.
I've now seen it twice, before and after its authenticity was questioned.
Looking at it before, it seems simply to be an invasion of privacy. Even if it were entirely true / authentic, so what? (What relevance in there merits escalating private statements to a news story on the public record?) I suspect he's not the first--nor will he be the last--person who ever felt inadequate when faced with a turn of events that perhas challenges or threatens the ego. Reactions in private are reactions in private. What was said on the tape cannot be termed "a public statement," and would not have been meant for the public record.
So to post that even when it's authentic means crossing a line and outing private statements to go on the public record. There is no compelling reason to do so; this seems like it was a morning at home, not an admission of wrongdoing. I realize that there is a chain of custody, where that post was not created by Rob Kall; so fingers mostly point at someone else, who would be indulging his prurient urge for salacious tittering as he created that post.
I just see it that a line must be crossed in order to release anyone's private statements on the public record. That's a reason not to post it. So, the reasons on the other side ought to be even bigger to tip the balance in favor of posting it. I don't see it. I don't see redeeming value in the video. I don't learn any more about any political stands on any political issues taken by the Republican ticket. If the public discourse is for public issues, nothing here rises to the level of a public issue, nor even a news story.
Then it turns out the whole thing may have been faked. Todd Palin may now arguably be a public figure; but, if he could argue that he's not, then he could file a lawsuit for slander, libel, defamation. I think that the Internet and "Web 2.0" have made everybody seem to be quite casual as we interact with the public record all the time, but this place is still the public record, and publishers may still need to worry about liability issues.
So, it's even more dangerous to post that video if it's faked. In general, it seems like Rob Kall has gone on a tear of opposition research about Sarah Palin; that is his right, and I value (a.) free speech and free press; and (b.) the fact that Mr. Kall runs a "tough" progressive web site and is willing to ruffle some feathers while pushing the envelope. So I don't object to the anti-Palin tear, but to that video item in particular.
It ruffles my feathers, where I see some boundaries being crossed, like public / private, relevant / irrelevant, news / salacious gossip, and perhaps accurate / faked. It ruffles me, but it doesn't rattle me out of place. I'm not quitting, I'm just raising an eyebrow.
by
John Kusumi (43 articles, 0 quicklinks, 26 diaries, 88 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 12:34:39 PM
I agree. When I first saw that video, it seemed a little strange, but plausible. But the more I looked at it, the less plausible it seemed, for several reasons. After watching it the second or third time, I wondered, who handed Todd the phone? A six-year-old who was also operating the camera? hmmmmmmm.
So, I wonder what the solution is? It doesnt seem reasonable to have behind-the-scenes censoring. But perhaps, when there are items like this posted, the collective opinion of the OEN community might have some input in deciding whether to leave it up or take it down. And if taken down, it shouldn't just disappear altogether, but be replaced with a short explanation of why it has been removed.
I think OEN would be well served by a "flag this" option on every article and quicklink. Seems like that would make it easier on the editors to keep track, too.
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Meryl Ann Butler (47 articles, 51 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 412 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 2:45:46 PM
I still think what I did when Ms Palin first appeared, and the sense of that has deepened since then.
Before her nomination, the neocon repubs seemed to have no chance of winning the Nov elections, other than by rigging the machines. Now, I really hope I'm wrong about this, but I think it's a shoe-in for them. And here's why:
What they most needed was a warm and fuzzy human face on their earlier image. Think abu ghraib, guantanamo, torturegate, halliburton, detention camps, paid militia, 4,000 US soldiers dead, a million civilians killed, war profiteers, home forclosures, trillion dollar costs, "homeland security", spying on all americans, a million names on the Watch List, No fly lists, etc etc etc.
I wrote one post when Ms Palin was introduced, then was offline for a time, and by the time I returned, all the damage had been done (NB: Just my opinion.) In that post I wrote that she was like a trojan horse, and that if she was brought inside the gates, all the evil of the torturegate admin would silently, invisibly enter with her. That is what I see as having happened over the last few days.
All the evils wrought during the last 8 years have been erased from the public mind, and instead, here is a distraught family with reallife problems, very human and very understandable to most voters, with a reallife baby no less, as the brand new image of the once cold, heartless, warmongering, ready-to-nuke neocon repubs.
What a sorry sight.
by
Aurora (0 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 353 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 12:42:08 PM
What is legitimate to talk about depends in part on context. In a small town sometimes you used to find an aristocratic elite that were known and had a tangible personal interaction and effect on those whose station was beneath them. That elite had an obligation to those people. An unkind word in such a situation could ruin a person's chances for employment and social standing. This is not that kind of situation.
We live in a plutocracy where the elite are remote and influence society from afar with money and power and are otherwise unconnected to the masses. And it is obvious they do not feel responsible for the immense numbers of people influenced by their power. The vast majority of the people of this world had better start talking about that fact or we are doomed. Big money in a few hands of remote people pulling strings has created many money-puppets of large numbers of people under them. It is a very dangerous situation.
When someone comes out of the blue and steps into the political arena we are all edgy as to who this person is. The human race is not a race of saints. We all know that even a normal human in the shoes of a politician is going to face bribes bigger, and more deadly if refused, than at any other time in human history. We are understandably curious about those people we CAN see. Our fate may rest with what they do. And in a country that no longer has a free press, other than sites like opednews, we are going to talk about any detail, pleasant or unpleasant, that we can get our hands on.
In a country in which there was a free press and all kinds of information was available we might behave in a more civil manor. But we do not live in a civil society in the way the word "civil" is normally meant to mean. We live in a society where we must pay attention to whatever information comes our way as most of the important facts are being kept from us. So we act a bit desperate when it comes to information. It is understandable.
by
Theresa Paulfranz (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 26 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 1:20:38 PM
After reading the email from today and its reference to this page to comment on, allow me to add my 1.5 cents worth (after the current devaluation is figured in).
The banter here appears to be about Republicans vs Democrats. I’m not a Republicrat. They are two sides of the same bellicose, hegemonic, corrupt system that I have long ago gave up on. Americans who delude themselves into thinking that voting for one or the other will somehow change things are living in fantasyland and are performing exactly the way the elitists want them to perform.
Election after election my Democrat friends would tell me, “This is a monumental election. We can’t let Reagan/Bush/Bush jr win. Don’t waste your vote on third parties. We have to win this one.” I believe there was a Democrat between all those Republicans. Did everyone feel the swift change in domestic and foreign policy when Clinton took office?? Did you see how he immediately implemented and reformed our health care system so we can fall in line, finally, with the rest of the known world?? Did you see how he changed the mind set of the military so that the stigma of homosexuality would become a thing of the past??
Hey, and didn’t he implement strong working measures to help the average American worker, improve the clout of our unions, and provide for a safer work environment?? Wow, when Clinton took office we never used our military force. While he was in office we proudly pushed for Democracy around the world without throwing our military around, right??
And when the Democrats retook the House and the Senate, couldn’t you just feel the change in everything?? Wow, Pelosi stood right up and said, “Mr. President, we are now going after you with all guns ablazing. Your hegemonic ways are history. Not one more dime for these illegal wars and “stay the course” idiocy. We’re cleaning house starting NOW!!”
Every four years I hear the same idiocy repeated ad nauseum, “We have to vote for the lesser of two evils.” It seems that only tweedledee and tweedledum can make it through the primaries and get nominated. The vast majority of Americans merely shrug their shoulders, shake their head, and vote their party. They lament that “the good guy” didn’t make it once again. But hey, there’s hope out there right?? Maybe next time.
Progressives are the latest in this stupid game of smoke and mirrors. They scream their viewpoints, tout their newfound strength, push their candidate, and when they ultimately lose, they shake their heads and mutter, “We lost, but we fought the good fight. Maybe next time.” And no one sees the 800-pound gorilla in the room who’s coordinating the whole charade. He’s the guy who has long ago purchased both parties, owns city hall, the MSM and most of the judges from local to Supreme. I always find it amazing that whoever “wins” the elections cheers wildly right afterward and then spends the rest of the four years lamenting the results of “their” candidate. Pointing fingers at each other is the norm, blaming the others for whatever perceived failure occurs, and promising that “next time” their candidate will definitely take care of these horrible issues.
Let’s start with facts, okay?? The party of “cut and run” “the dove parade” and the “defeatists at all costs” were in power during every friggin’ war of the 20th Century except for the very last one. Look at it. Johnson pushed Vietnam, not Nixon. Wilson was reelected on a platform of “No War” and then promptly sent the Lusitania into open waters with a boatload of arms for England and cabins full of innocent civilians. The Germans took out full page ads in the New York newspapers telling everyone that any boat carrying arms for England would be considered a war vessel. Nice of the Democrats to ensure no war, right?
But what about the Great Depression? Started by Hoover from the party of the fiscally responsible. Nixon decided to take us off the gold standard and make the dollar worth no more than monopoly money. Then came Reagan who upped the national debt into the stratosphere and Bush jr. who showed that he could do Reagan one better.
And the electorate shake their heads once again. They have to choose the lesser of two evils once more. Well, they’ll vote for the lesser of the two this time, but next time there’ll be changes to be sure. We all know McCain is a barely functional corpse, and Obama has promised the heads of the Palestinians to the Israelis. He is fully on board with an attack on Iran even though that might start WWIII. But we can all hope that “once they’re in power” some magical potion will transform them into the fairytale we pretend still exists in our politicians.
I hate to be the one who pops everyone’s bubble, but ALL Democrats and Republicans are already bought and paid for, no exceptions. Simple, elementary logic will show this to be true. If I spend one billion dollars for the Republican Party (and there are plenty for both parties, trust me) I will make damn sure that only those who do what I say will make it into public office. That is the simplest logic of them all, but one that seems to be absent from American debate. No one looks at how much our candidates are receiving from the elitists until they do something obviously stupid. Then Americans act all surprised as if they never knew that this has been going on for well over a century.
And the latest version of all this is called “The Progressives.” These lost causes run around pointing out the problems of the world, ranting and raving that this and that need to be changed, and then touting their new heroes, such as Paul and Kucinich, who would make everything rosy, if only we’d vote for them. Time and time again, these fantasylanders pump each other up with optimism, “this time we’re gonna win, you watch,” and pound their chest in primate unison that THIS IS THE YEAR OF CHANGE!!. Then they lose, bow their heads and console each other that, “We fought the good fight, but lost. Next time though, things will be different.” All the while, the 800-pound gorilla is stuffing himself with all the goodies he can, laughing his fool head off at all the different amalgamations of his plan as they amuse and content themselves with the invariable “this time it’s different” theme, and then slowly move to the hors d’oeuvres while the electorate lament once again, “Oh well, we’ll have to vote for the lesser of two evils once again.” Progressives are the latest form of the elitists puppeteers to console the electorate when they realize that nothing’s going to change. “We fought the good fight, but we lost. Maybe next time.”
If anyone wants to awake from their sleep, let me know. I’d be interested on seeing anyone who can see beyond their own shaking head and dangling nose at the various manifestations provided by the puppetmasters. Republicans, Democrats, Progressives, whatever their name, they are ALL owned. They are owned by the puppeteers, and will perform as required to keep the 800-pound gorilla invisible, and their master plan in tact. How it is that the entire world can see this happening, yet Americans seem to be completely mystified by the obvious, is a paradigm I can’t answer.
BTW, I just said hi to the gorilla. He needs to be fed again. He needs a good, foot-stomping story to show the imaginary difference between these groups so that they can argue over futilities and lost causes. Better hurry up. He doesn’t like to wait.
by
John Little (23 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 70 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 1:31:09 PM
Rob, I hope your “toughness” refers to something akin to “Tough Love”
From my understanding, ToughLove is a lot about separating the behavior from the person. You can love the person and not the behavior, at the same time. Or, in the case of OEN, hate someone’s ideas, and verbalize that without treating them with disrespect.
One can take appropriate steps to communicate about behavior they consider to be inappropriate, and still come from a place of respect. In particular, ToughLove does not condone verbal abuse. Reporting doesn’t have to be rabid to be effective.
So that’s what I’d like to see more of on OEN. Words that are tough, focused, accurate, eloquent if possible, but always respectful.
by
Meryl Ann Butler (47 articles, 51 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 412 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 2:32:24 PM
look like? It looks just like this one. You're looking at it. Rob, the fact that this site has grown and gotten better and better is proof that you're doing the right thing.
Also, consider the fact that no matter what you or anyone does, no matter how noble, how unselfish, how helpful, how truthful it may be, there will be people who are violently opposed to it. If you gave everyone on earth a gold brick, there would be some who would gripe about it and find something wrong with it.
One of the ways I gauge the success of the articles I write here is how many people it pisses off. The more the better.
Don't worry about if or who or how many agree with what you're doing. There will always be those will never agree with anything you do. You have to disregard them as insignificant, scrape them off like barnacles from your boat, and sail on.
by
Ed Martin (122 articles, 0 quicklinks, 34 diaries, 145 comments)
on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 at 5:04:50 PM
