Why are you being intentionally dishonest?

You know what? Lately, I have had my butt chaffed at the fact that people are being intentionally dishonest here on ATS. Generally speaking, they all show up on the political boards. Let's take a look at a handful of these treasures.

Proof Democrats want America to fail

Nancy Soderberg, a former Clinton aide, was on Jon Stewarts show, promoting her new book. She basically came out and said, that we are winning in Iraq, but there is still hope we screw up Iran and North Korea.

This topic is one of those that get me irritated. Did the Democrats come out and say they hate America? Did a Democrat official make this comment? Is this person a present day leader OF ANYTHING? No. This lady speaks for herself and herself alone.

Let's see some more!

Liberals thoughts based on emotions not logic

I used to think that Liberals were just stupid or ignorant. After looking at the red and the blue it occured to me that those areas of blue are areas where people in general live in fear. Fear of losing there jobs. Fear of crime. Fear of being discriminated against. It is not logical to me.

And that is the only point to post. That's it! He doesn't even assert the point that his topic tries to make. The only thing his argument says is that he doesn't think it is logical the way "the blue areas" live.

(author's notes: To be fair on this, I just spent time looking for recent liberal threads that had this type of problem. Couldn't find any recent ones unless I just completely missed it.)


Now, why are these threads being produced? You should be able to get a good idea of the post before you click on it. And, no I am not saying that these are bad posters. It just hurts what you have inside when it doesn't match the outside.

I do not feel to be part of the collective "you" in your Topic title, but here are some hypotheses as to the serious question of "why":

1. Classic trolling behavior
2. Blind dogma and sycophantism coupled with lack of awareness of intellectucal dishonesty (ignorance)
3. Paid shilling work (unlikely given the quality of propaganda submitted)

A counterpoint to your question of why such threads are being posted, is why are such threads being responded to?

Your critiques are interesting to read. May your emotions be based on thoughts not Democrats and may logic fail America no more.

Honestly, many times that I respond to them is what has been said by others commenting on this. Why they get the posts...dunno. Perhaps people don't realize they are being goaded into a "slugfest". (Lord knows, I have blindly been drawn into them.)

My thoughts, as always are my own. Perhaps I can find some of the old Colonel's work where I tell him about how wrong his posts are. But also, if you are not the leftest person on the board, the Colonel would call you freeper, Republican, conservative, etc...

One of the reasons why I seldom get involved in political discussions here is that they seem to be the purview of far left-wing nutbars who claim Bush is a "traitor" and far right-wing nutbars who believe that Teddy Kennedy should be euthanized.

Both of these groups, the "liberals" and "conservatives', have more than their share of people who are at best overly subjective, and at worst dishonest and stupid thugs.

Originally posted by OXmanK
Now, why are these threads being produced?

Ignorance, stupidity, perversity, regurgitation, subversion, intellectual dishonesty if not a complete absence of either intellect or honesty, adherance to noise, childishness, worship of media, videri quam esse, emotion, insecurity, lack of imagination, laziness, immorality, sophistry, fawning obsequiousness, density, irrationality, sociopathy, deflection of personal failings and shame, and most of all hate (notably self loathing).

And, no I am not saying that these are bad posters.

I am. At least bad thread starters. They are called trolls.

It's a non-discriminatory, non-partisan affliction.

I no more care about the latest daily utterances of bile spewing Ann Coulter than I do grandstanding Michael Moore.

Any and all of the above afflictions are suffered in some degree by us all. Where some semblance of self control should be learned, excercised or enforced is in the worship of each new angry nontroversey upon it's own alter of contempt.

So a conservative in Kentucky farted. Don't start a thread here just because Democratic Underground did. Or a liberal somebody might have heard of said something nasty about puppies. :shk: Leave it on FreeRepublic please.

It's not news. It's not controversial. It's not even interesting. And it's certainly neither a conspiracy or real politics.

Though it all has a place within topics as trivial asides or interesting footnotes, the propagandic elevation of each new "nothing" to a brand new thread celebrating your own ignorance is NOT Denying Ignorance.

And in anticipation of the entry of rabblerousers to argue in defense of ignorance as "freedom of speech" I leave you with this thought...

The truth is the only weapon that remains in the hands of the intrepid defenders of freedom in order to bring down the perfidious agents of aristocracy. He who seeks to debase, to divide, to paralyze the Convention is an enemy... Whether he acts by stupidity or perversity he is of the party of the tyrants who make war upon us. But this project of debasement exists in the very places where patriotism should reign... And what is most deplorable is that this cowardly system has partisans here. ~Robespierre, Discours et rapports a la Convention

Realizing that the quite appropriate sentiment of the quite flawed Robespierre will be ignored by those that choose to focus on his failings, I don't think a more appropriate quote exists to underscore the dire situation our Convention faces today.

[edit on 4-3-2005 by RANT]

Let me just see if I can find a few myself . I know they won't all be too recent, But I'll attempt not to go TOO far back.

Conservatives Are Causing the Political Divide

Depressed about the state of America

Bush Voters: How You Were Suckered

NeoCon Hypocrites

Of coures, there's many more. Then there's one of my posts attempting to bring this to the attention of some...of course nobody replied (I think I'm a thread killer).

Is it really pointless to argue politics?

Originally posted by Herman
Let me just see if I can find a few myself

. I know they won't all be too recent, But I'll attempt not to go TOO far back.

Conservatives Are Causing the Political Divide

Depressed about the state of America

Bush Voters: How You Were Suckered

NeoCon Hypocrites

Of coures, there's many more. Then there's one of my posts attempting to bring this to the attention of some...of course nobody replied

(I think I'm a thread killer).

Is it really pointless to argue politics?

What about this one?

Bush hurts Democratic States on purpose.

politics.abovetopsecret.com...'

[edit on 5-3-2005 by Carseller4]

[edit on 5-3-2005 by Carseller4]

The top one on the list would would have definitly been included in the first post, however, it was written after this one was posted. The others, some are pretty new, some aren't.

I guess the NEOCON HYPOCRITS must have completely slipped my sight. As did Bush Voters: How You Were Suckered. The Depressed one is about him being depressed about some mistruths and assertions from this site. I don't know if I would really count it. If I look at in the right light...maybe.

Herman, don't worry about being a thread killer. You are lucky, they normally start screaming at that point. With having nothing left to say and all...

But, what I am most suprised at, Rant hasn't tagged some more of them.

This thread isn't about partisanship. It is a serious problem here. It makes political debate almost not worth it.