The Right is targeting liberal websites. Because we scare them.

[WilliamPitt]

A few days ago, one inflammatory post on DU out of 10,000 got scooped up and used as a propaganda tool by a variety of right-wing screeders. Bill O'Really took one post on MoveOn and used it to characterize the whole site as being nothing but a pack of commies.

Both took some work to find; they had to bat aside all the excellent data that cricifies them to find one nugget that the winger audiences will get all fired up about. That means they put the time in. DU last week and MoveOn this week = a pattern.

Effective? To a degree, perhaps. I've heard in a few documentaries that the White Power website 'Stormfront' is utterly appaling, so I have never been there, because I don't want to blow a gasket. A number of people, I suppose, will hear that we are communist troop-haters here on the internet Left and never come to visit us.

BUT

It also tells me these wingers have come to the conclusion that we are a threat. We are online think tanks that work to devastating effect in gathering, compiling, processing, and disbursing data that just kills them to death.

Am I saying we should 'moderate' our comments here because of this? No way.

Am I saying we scare these guys?

Yup. :)

This = good thing. Keep it up, DU.

[La_Serpiente]

1. LOLOLol

OK.

Oh, by the way, we were in the Sunday Times of London. However, they also mentioned FreeRepublic as well.

[RICHBUM]

37. FAIR & BALANCED, What a Laugh!

Fair and Balanced? What a Laugh!
November 7, 2003
By Gerald Plessner

This is the Article that was Scooped up by SEAN HANNITY and Annouced on his Radio Talk Show in a Rare Attempt by him to absorb what was clearly a Disturbing Blow to his PERFECT RECORD...

I e-mailed Gerald Plessner to congratulate him on his commendable work and he thought I was kidding about his article making it all the way up to the likes of SEAN INSANNITY himself, but I was just as shocked as he, that an Anonimous Writer and this Underground Website could have such a powerful impact on the Conservative Face of America.

Keep it up and NEVER EVER give up!

[tom_paine]

65. "Fehrundbalinst"...because the Fox slogan sounds so much better

in the Original German.

[Melinda]

2. They should be scared.

We're pissed. Very, very pissed.

[RICHBUM]

38. www.INFOWARS.com - ALEX JONES the ULTRA-LIBERAL

Listen to this guy to learn the Truth about 9/11.

[Gato Moteado]

49. i wouldn't call alex jones a liberal......

alex jones, while extremely critical of the bush administration, had an equal disdain for clinton. he's more of a libertarian, and an angry, paranoid one at that.

he's no liberal. but, as long as he keeps the pressure on the bush admin, i'm behind him.

[bicentennial_baby]

52. Not quite

More like ultra anti-choice Libertarian, definitely not liberal.

[bitchkitty]

51. I'm swiping your voting error graphic! n/t

[whirlygigspin]

3. will the change the date of the covert revolution?

same time, you know where.


http://national-anthems.net/cgi/find.shtml?from=real&what=v_russia_long

[La_Serpiente]

5. LOLOLOLOLOLOL

It is time for the revolution. Stand up brothers & siters -- we're marching homeward to destiny and beyond.

[frogbison]

9. Soros

Was listening to Fox news reporting of Mr. Soros' generous (to put it mildly) gift with the aim of unseating pResident Bush. It was obvious to me that they are scared!

Edit to correct name in title.

[Renew Deal]

56. Oh yeah.

They were freaking out all over TV yesterday. Rather funny,

[Renew Deal]

55. That's too good.

:toast:

[Don_G]

4. I Enjoyed Superman When I Was A Kid

I guess I never outgrew "truth, justice and the American way."

The wing-nuts still maintain their subscription to the "Weakly Reader."

[ibegurpard]

6. And PLEASE people...let's not turn into a pile of mushmouths

simply because we're afraid of what the wingnuts might say about us. They will ALWAYS find some little nugget to distort or take out of context no matter HOW well-behaved people think they're being.
By the way: FUCK YOU BOORTZ, OREILLY, SULLIVAN, BOW-TIE BOY CARLSON AND ANYONE ELSE I'VE MISSED WHO TROLLS THESE BOARDS.

[imax2268]

39. Let's give them all a wave shall we...

:hi:

Hey guys...keep up the great work...keep lurking on DU and then tell all your little sheep how evil we are because we want to vote your puppet boy out office...keep coming around takeing words out of context to fit your agenda...

[mhr]

7. When People Fear The Government, Tyranny Prevails.

When Government Fears The People, Liberty Prevails.

Thomas Jefferson

[xray s]

8. Like the old saying goes

First they ignore you, then they make fun of you, then they attack you and then you win!

[Dr Fate]

12. the other old saying- "no such thing as bad publicity"

...folks who are inclined to enjoy DU will only become curious when Bush/media tries to bash us...

[JailBush]

10. Check out http://www.jail4bush.org

Just after I launched it, my ISP pulled the plug, claiming it violates the Patriot Act. I asked HOW it violates the Patriot Act and WHO filed a complaint, but they had no information to share with me. They just said something about their "upstream servers."

A few months earlier, a few people filed complaints about an image that is now on Jail4Bush. One claimed he contacted the Secret Service, but the government has never paid me an official visit. (He warned me on a chatboard to keep listening for a knock on the door. Typical right-winger - I have a doorbell!)

One filed a complaint with my other ISP, who forwarded the complaint to me but took no action.

The other weird thing is that it appeared that Jail4Bush was being blacklisted by search engines. The weird thing is that they registered the MIRROR site, which was simply appended to another website.

Jail4Bush is now back online, and it shows up in Google, though virtually no sites - conservative or liberal - will link to it. I even ran for public office and made it a campaign issue, but Seattle's liberals were apparently all asleep, as usual.

But I have big plans for promoting it, after I revise it. :)

[Andy_Stephenson]

19. Your in Seattle?

www.andystephenson.com

Help me beat back BBV.

[JailBush]

27. Wow, I like YOUR website, too!

I'll be sending you an e-mail shortly.

[proud patriot]

22. Welcome Underground Jailbush

Great website ...I bet GlobalFreePress.com will link to you

:hi:

[JailBush]

28. Thanks for the tip.

I'll check it out!

[frank frankly]

11. agreed. don't worry about what they will say because they are LIARS

they are liars.

we have to call them on it, however possible, wherever possible, and with as much passion/anger as possible.

we are in Big Trouble. anger is the appropriate response.

[madrchsod]

13. gee i`m a commie....

you brought up stormfront i check their site a couple times a week to see what they`re up to. it`s pretty much the same but sometimes they surprise me. in all honesty i can deal with stormfront alot better than freeper or lucy,you know exactly what they stand for and they certainly don`t use "code words" they`re just-for a lack of a better word-honest

[jpgray]

14. Nah. They attack them because they're no-risk targets

Most liberal websites (with the possible exception of Moveon) can't fire back effectively, and it's a cheap and easy way to associate liberals with any manner of crazy thinking that happens to pop up on an open forum. Your "Stormfront" analogy is good--people will hear one comment and associate the whole shebang with it.

Now with a white power group, often the official statements are just as nutty as the craziest unsanctioned comments. On the liberal sites it's more a case of picking out the looniest post on a free forum--a post that is very rarely representative of, and often contrary to, the website's ideals. The effect, though, is probably about the same--the quote is so preposterous or offensive that the impression is made and no further research will be done to see how representative it is of the group.

Are they nervous about Moveon's fundraising potential? Yeah. I think the potential of our web power is enormous, but I believe they are targeting sites more for free hits than for fear at this point in time.

[WilliamPitt]

15. Why the change?

We've been free hits for two years now.

[frank frankly]

20. because they are losing this war and its getting harder to spin

this is pre-emptive spin. innoculating the dittoheads with smears about "us", in case the loyal robots stray or hear something.

it also means "we" are gaining strength.

[jpgray]

24. The polarizing effect of Bush has been snowballing like crazy

And it is crunch time for the upcoming election? I'm just giving my best guess. I wouldn't doubt they are worried about the internet's power, given Moveon and Howard Dean putting its financial power on the map, I just think it's more pettiness and easy hits than anything else. Despite my considerable mind-reading abilities, I don't KNOW any of this for sure.

:)

[salinen]

16. shut down

look. they gragged and own the media. they stole the presidency. what makes us think that du is not in the crosshairs? we need a strategy for this inevitability. i have no idea what that strategy is, but if this site ends abrutly, what then? how will we communicate? let's think this through. any ideas?

[WilliamPitt]

17. Taken care of

The DU Underground Railroad has been intact since just after 9/11. Send me your email addy.

[uhhuh]

30. I gotta find out about that

Let me know about the Underground underground, Will. I sent you a PM. I would like to keep up with everyone if they come after us.

[juajen]

31. Will, I, also sent you a pm

It's scarey thinking of having to do without this forum. Thanks for being who you are kiddo. Your Grandmother is proud.

[Andromeda]

43. I sent you my e-mail addy...

The thought of being cut off from DU sends shivers up my spine.

[av8rdave]

50. Count me in too!

av8rdave

[RapidCreek]

42. I'd be willing to bet

this forum is mirrored real time to several other severs....I wouldn't worry to much about it disappearing.

RC

[in_cog_ni_to]

46. THAT is my greatest fear.

I have no doubt that the internet is the fascists target. They will eventually "outlaw" sites like this. They will start shutting down dissenting sites and eventually, we will have NO voice. :scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

[Cat Atomic]

21. Exactly.

And on top of that, they've run out of targets.

They can't complain about the White House, Congress, or the Supreme Court.

They can't even complain about the media anymore with a straight face.

They're down to attacking everyday citizens now. It'd be disturbing if it wasn't so pathetic.

[stevedeshazer]

23. I doubt that

Why waste time on no-risk targets? They've got bigger fish to fry.

The internet is the last bastion of free speech, where any freedom-loving doofus like you or me can get a message out....and there's no limit (yet.)

We've got almost 35,000 registered, and MANY more than that read this site. I think they really are frightened. The truth hurts them, and they know it. We shine a lot of light in the radical right's latrine.

[maggrwaggr]

18. and they can't buy us

they're not gonna control this content.

[Tatiana]

25. If I was as corrupt as they were, I'd be afraid too.

I'd be very, very afraid that all my shameful lies and manipultations wouldn't just be discussed on the partisan forums like this one, but instead will become disseminated into the mainstream conscious.

So when are they gonna shut this place down?

[salinen]

26. thanks guys

i needed to hear that. think about this. a young person commits an act that they know is wrong. they justify this act by telling themselves something that is similar to a personal pardon. so another indiscretion follows. another pardon. soon this person is committing attrocities and has zero remorse because his power of denial is advanced. this is my definition of psychosis. now this person is a walking nightmare. we all know this guy. we know him because he is who we are fighting. now scale this up and we have the right wing. these are twisted children with anger. it's much easier to find solutions and comprimise with adults.

[Old and In the Way]

29. Thanks Al!

Thanks for the foresight to facilitate it's application on a global basis. I'll bet the Right had stuffed this idea back when they were consolidating their stranglehold on broadbased communication media channels.

The 'net has revolutionized the dissemination of information and commentary, and there's not a damn thing they can do to stop it.

[VolcanoJen]

32. In the immortal words of Chimpy McFlightsuit...

... I say, "Bring 'em on."

Maybe they'll learn something, but probably not. At any rate, you put it very well, Will, when you characterized us as a liberal think tank. It's exactly what we are; free-flowing ideas, and often arguments, among good, left-leaning folk. I'm proud of us, and I know we'll keep fighting the good, good fight.

:D

[gardenista]

33. "kills them to death"

I love that phrase.

You're so right, Will, and what is wonderful is that they have to wade through thousands of excellent, well reasoned posts to find the "nuggets" they seek.

At times I wish that DU'ers would think about that wider audience before they post some of the more "nuggety" bits, but you know what? Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke. If the RW excoriations of DU lead the Freeper faithful to our doorstep, then they might larn a thang er 2. And I think that's just great!

[grasswire]

35. rats....

...I had an article bookmarked about internet activists being paid by the right to infiltrate message boards and chat rooms, etc. Now I can't find it. But I'm sure it's going on, with a tie to the RNC. They'd be stupid not to do it. If only Dems would get off the dime and do the same thing.

[kodi]

34. well mr pitt get your butt on oreilly's show and cut his nuts off

challenge the son of a bitch to have you on to refute his accusations.

go right back into their faces.

these rightwingers are just like the old communists. they only fear strength.

[Skittles]

54. If I ever hear that William will be on The Factor

I will just have to take the day off of work. Can you imagine? Bill would be foaming at the mouth so damn quickly. :thumbsup:

[radfringe]

36. spinning Baghdad Bush's statement a bit sideways

....these attacks are a sign of desperation by the gaggle of goose-stepping GOPers

[JCMach1]

40. No doubt there are sleepers on DU

put here just to provide grist for the right-wing mill.

Unfortunately, it's part of having a higher profile.

Of course, when was the last time you saw a mention of what the 'right wingnuts' were saying on the internet...

:grr:

[NJCher]

41. hahah

I'd like to see Will bitchslap O'Reilly.


Cher

[desoc]

44. Free republic

Check out this thread, terrifying stuff :)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1019607/posts

[kaitykaity]

45. Eww Eww Eww

Have to go wash eyes now. :puke:

[Vogon_Glory]

47. Of Course We Scare the Right-Wingers

Of course DU scares the right-wingers. The right-wingers want a permanent lock on political and economic power in this country and they want progressives to be voiceless, isolated, and helpless. An independent web site where progressives can meet, discuss ideas, and organize to halt and then reverse the right-wing reactionary counter-revolution currently underway frightens them.

I personally suspect that one reason the Bush Leaguers and their fellow reactionaries are being so ruthless is because they rightly fear that their ideas and their agenda aren't going to prove popular when the dumbed-down electorate finally wakes up from its trip to Lah-Lah Land and sees what the Republican Party's leadership REALLY has in mind for them.

[sendero]

48. this will backfire...

.... the problem is people can come here and see for themselves. When they do, many will stay, and now understand the depth of the spin and propaganda when they compare the reality to the report.

Bring 'em on...

[Skittles]

53. HOWDY DESEO

:hi:

I absolutely agree. If I hear someone waxing on about a website, it is easy enough for me to check it out for myself.

[farmbo]

57. Also, we need to watch out for DU ringers posting fringe material...

...which can then be "outed" by Hannity, O'Really, et al.

Keep in mind, the right wing stink tanks have paid goons posting flame bait on internet sites and campaign blogs. We need to abide by this simple formula:

Low posts + goofy fringe commentary (especially attacking our troops in combat)= Ringer post= Alert moderators.

[WilliamPitt]

58. Got one the other day

posting at 2am. :)

[VelmaD]

61. Did you mount his head...

over your fireplace? :-)

[WilliamPitt]

63. No, but Skinner almost mounted mine

:(

[VelmaD]

64. I read that wrong the first time...

bet you can imagine the mental image it conjured up. ;-)

Seriously though...what on earth did you do to the poor troll?

*note to self - start staying up later so I don't miss all the fun* :-)

[phillybri]

59. What was the inflammatory DU post?

Just curious...

[farmbo]

66. Getaloada This:

http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=8796

[9215]

67. And you'll notice

that littlgreenfootballs didn't say that the topic was locked.

[MadHound]

60. Of course they're targeting liberal web sites

The internet is the only media left that the wingnuts don't already control. Hell, they've got a lock on the broadcast and print media(excepting a few courageous publishers, editors, and film makers). The internet scares them because they don't control it. Remember, these people only believe in freedom of speech for themselves, anybody else threatens them, because they know that their positions and arguements don't hold even against the mildest of opposition.

But I expect that this situation is going to change, it is changing even as we post. We not only have the overt slamming done by the likes of O'Really and his ilk, but there will covert attempts to discredit and dismantle liberal web sites. There are already sites that are getting hacked repeatedly, this will continue. There are already disinformation agents post inflammatory stuff to discredit us in the eyes of the public. This will continue. You can also expect stiffer laws dealing with "terrorist", "inflammatory" or "treasonous" web sites, thus scaring ISPs into not carrying certain web sites. We've seen and heard this since the Patriot Act, I think it will only get worse with the Patriot Act II, and other repressive laws coming down the pipe. And then there is the big tool in the box, monopolize the ISPs. This is how the right silenced the "liberal media" and turned it around for their own uses. The same tactic will be used for ISPs, in fact it is already underway. I can easily see our country being dominated by ten ISPs within ten-fifteen years, or less. And conviently each and every one of these ISPs will deny hosting to any liberal website or blog for reasons of "National Security". Bank on it.

What can be done now? Well, first off, get off that big behemoth ISP you're using, and support your local guy. Diversity is the key to keeping a free internet(and a free media). There are many fine alternatives to AOLMSNYAHOOEARTHLINK etc. Most areas have some local provider, usually for the same or lower price. When I moved out into bumfuck MidMo even I found a little local ISP(a co-op one in fact).

Second, vigorously oppose any internet "security" laws, or any laws that propose to loosen the monopoly laws for ISPs. This is where we fell down when it came to the media, let's not make the same mistake with the Internet.

Third, have a back-up plan. If all else fails, we need to have a way to communicate. BBSs or however, something that won't have to pass through an ISP. The time to put these into place is now, not after DU suddenly disappears one morning.

Fourth, fight fire with facts. If you hear some dittohead spewing the latest garbage that he recieved from Pill-boy and his ilk, invite them over to DU or whatever site he's going on about. Have him check out the truth for himself. It is amazing what the facts will do to counter dittothink.

Fifth, perhaps we need to look into overseas hosting or mirror sites. Putting the sites out of reach of US law could help keep them going. But what am I thinking. When the right wing powers that be start cracking down on the "liberal internet", it is a stone cold guarantee that they will start blocking overseas sites. Can't have that pesky LeMonde or Guardian revealing the truth now, eh.

So be forewarned and forearmed. This shit is going to come down the line, as sure as we're posting here. No facist regime can ever let the light of truth in, no matter how small. But with a bit of preparation and forethought we can combat, counterattack, and work around their blocking of the truth

[mrgorth]

62. stormfront

Are unabashed nazi racists. Ironically, I read some stuff their guru, Don Black, had to say in "Blood in the Face" and it was actually a little better than what the neocons and freepers believe. If they could just drop the racism they would'nt be half bad.

[9215]

68. Stormfront in Florida backing Bush (selection 2000)

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0046/ladd2.shtml


villagevoice.com exclusive


Claiming an 'Implicit' Racial Angle, Stormfront Leader Joins Bush Protest
Conservatives, White Supremacists, Take to Florida Streets
by Donna Ladd


WEST PALM BEACH, NOVEMBER 16-Every Thursday evening, downtown West Palm Beach hosts a colorful, profitable street party drawing everyone from blue-haired retirees to Harley hoggers to the stroller brigade to young area hipsters. "Clematis by Night," which runs from 5:30 to 9 p.m., has been a tradition around Centennial Square since June 8, 1995, after Mayor Nancy Graham approved it to help draw residents back downtown. The event is usually a middle-class bacchanalia of sorts, where crafts and lemonade vendors rake in the bucks, adults drink beer and listen to live music, and West Palm Beachers enjoy pleasant, mild weather and breezy talk, even in mid November.
This week, however, on November 16, the mood is likely to be a bit darker. A coalition of angry conservatives-neo-Nazis, Second Amendment zealots, and Confederate flag wavers, among them-are planning to crash the party. Many of the same Gore-haters who forced Reverend Jesse Jackson off the stage across town Monday at the Governmental Operations Center are planning to stage a demonstration to protest recounts in Florida and tell the world, "No more Gore!"
Unavailable for comment when this story was filed yesterday, the organizer of the rally, Joshua Light, says he wants no part of racial hatred or prejudice. But his event has nonetheless drawn the vocal support of the white supremacist Don Black, founder of the Florida-based Stormfront.
Describing himself as a Jewish kid originally from Philadelphia, Light says he intended only to rally Republicans and conservatives, because he believes Democratic "partisans in Palm Beach are trying to take the election away."
Light has been advertising the rally on NewsMax.com, a national conservative news wire that has peppered protests all week with signs printed with its URL. On the site, Light's ad <http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2000/11/14/171414.shtml> calls for "troop enforcement" from local (and distant) conservatives who feel "outnumbered by the marches led by Jesse Jackson."
The ad exhorts, "Stop the madness of anyone trying to steal this election away from the American people and what they believe in!"
Light appears to be drawing troops he never intended to invite. Black, the founder of the Internet's first "hate" site <http://www.Stormfront.org> is claiming he'll help lead the rally. Black has been using his site to promote the event to the world from his home in downtown West Palm Beach, two miles from the voting action this week at the Emergency Operations Center. Black, a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, will be there with his 11-year-old son, Derek (the webmaster of Stormfront for Kids.) Both father and son are featured in the HBO documentary Hate.com, airing this week.
The Pat Buchanan supporter-who voted for George W. Bush to keep Al Gore out-said Wednesday that he participated in the Jackson protest Monday, which he insists was more anti-Gore than pro-Bush. "I was right in the middle of things," Black said with a laugh. "Not a single reporter recognized me. My ego was deflated in a way."
That is not entirely surprising. Although Black is a former deputy of KKK leader David Duke's (and actually married Duke's former wife, Chloe), he tries to stay below the media radar in his wife's hometown of West Palm Beach, where they moved in 1987. Likewise, Black said that he is counseling fellow "pro-white" extremists to show up to support Bush, but not to emphasize their controversial stances such as support for the Confederate flag.
"That's the kind of thing that I'm sure the Bush campaign doesn't want us to get into. That's not the focus of it right now," he said. Still, at heart, the protests are about race. "It's an implicit racial issue here, which most people understand. But it's probably not to our advantage to turn it into an explicit one."
It would also be detrimental to Stormfront and other conservative groups if Thursday's protest turns violent. Frustrations in the state have escalated as the contested election has become entangled in a web of court rulings and appeals. "I told everybody not to come if they can't control their temper," Black said. "Everybody's doing that; apparently it's worked. The Jackson rally did get pretty tense for a while, though."
Black said mainstream press coverage has been skewed in its assessment of who actually lives in South Florida, especially when it comes to the potent minority of "pro-white" Palm Beach voters. "Palm Beach being exclusively Democratic and of course very Jewish and very cosmopolitan is not entirely accurate," he said.