Pat Dougherty Has Completely Lost Control of the ADN Website
Regular readers here know that we frequently disagree with the slanted journalism at the Anchorage Daily News. The bias appears not only on their editorial page (where even the two "conservative" voices, Dan Fagan and Paul Jenkins, are virulent over-the-top Palin-bashers) but in their news articles. We have no problem calling them out on that regularly, or pointing out such stupidity as linking to Trig Truth blogs, or investigating Trig Palin's parentage themselves.
But that's not the subject of this posting. No, I want to talk about a phenomenon that all of us who visit the ADN are familiar with - the absolutely poisonous nature of the "Comments" sections on their articles and blogs. It's been completely taken over by malicious trolls - a common occurence that has been well-described by Andrew Breitbart at the Washington Times.
Don't think that Pat Dougherty, the executive editor of the ADN, or Julie Wright, the managing editor, are not perfectly aware of what's going on. They promised to fix this months ago. In a January 15th blog posting, Wright stated:
We've had more complaints than usual lately about the hostile, crude and uncivil nature of comments on our stories and blog posts. I've spent more time than usual the past couple of days looking at the comments, and I have to agree that they've taken a turn for the worse. We've allowed a relatively free flow of ideas in hopes of stimulating a vigorous conversation about happenings in our state. The problem is that the comments now threaten to become so toxic that they kill any chance for civil, quality conversation among thoughtful readers.
This was followed up on January 21st with another posting which stated people who violated the policy would be banned without notice.
The ADN also modified the user agreement for their website, which had already stated "(Y)ou may not post content that is libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive..." by adding the following addendum (emphasis added):
When we see them, we will delete comments that are off topic, crude, attack other posters or are part of an apparent campaign to spam the boards with messages. We will ban users whose comments are particularly egregious, those who show a pattern of unwillingness to follow the rules and spammers. We will continue to allow critical comments about public figures and subjects of stories, but we will not allow crude comments about them or their personal lives.
I can think of two words that apply to Wright's promise to clean up the ADN website -- EPIC FAIL.
Let me give a few examples that I found on the ADN's website yesterday. (This is going to bother our readers who approve of Governor Palin, but just think of this as "evidence", and of yourselves as jurors looking at crime scene photos.)
On a Zaz Hollander Alaska Politics Blog entry about a Palin relative:
Obama1Fan wrote on 04/03/2009 05:19:44 PM:
Talk about WHITE TRASH.....LOL.
Yosarian wrote on 04/03/2009 05:35:15 PM:
Oh this is hilarious. Maybe Levi's mom could help her out, he he.
BunkerBuster wrote on 04/03/2009 05:47:47 PM: The Palin's are a joke a minute. Bristol already has a new boyfriend too. The Palins = The Beverly Hillbillies.
CrabbyPatty wrote on 04/03/2009 07:22:15 PM:
Goodness - does this mean that Palin is pallin' around with criminals? So, is the new Fox Reality Show going to be called "Palin Family Values"?
ajkrueger wrote on 04/03/2009 07:27:07 PM:
Probably needed some things for the trailer! You betcha!
martha12 wrote on 04/03/2009 07:27:36 PM:
Palins are a family of grifters!
Lelbo wrote on 04/03/2009 07:53:56 PM:
Yesterday Brystals baby's father admitted to Tyra Banks that Palin permitted two minors to stay in the same bedroom and breed. Did these underage sexual romps occur in the govenors mansion, or in Wasilla where she charged the state a perdiem for this "act of abstanence"
SissyHankshaw wrote on 04/03/2009 08:12:12 PM:
Ennealogic wrote:
"And the reason for the theft ... one might infer that Todd's sister-in-law has a habit that needs supporting? Maybe?"
Ha! No doubt. I would imagine that ANYONE who found themselves married into that dysfunctional family would need a little pharmaceutical help to get them through the day! I rule Not guilty by reason of (imposed) insanity!
pmalaska wrote on 04/03/2009 08:46:14 PM: The Palins really are the modern version of Beverly Hillbillies. Trailor courts, drug dealing relatives, child pregnancy and drug busts, and now petty burglaries.
Ninette wrote on 04/03/2009 09:01:46 PM: ooooooooooweeeeeee! Cue the banjo song from Deliverance.
Ninette wrote on 04/03/2009 09:09:45 PM: Or, at what point will the state come in and take those kids away from such a dysfunctional environment where these kids are obviously neglegted by a dad who tinkers and a mom who is more interested in her own ambition?
ikeyboy wrote on 04/04/2009 10:36:13 AM: Yep, them Palin hillbillies are at it again. Every day is another story!
Alaskan4Ever wrote on 04/04/2009 01:50:58 PM: The Palin Family is an embarrassment to Alaska and Alaskans. GO AWAY SARAH! And take your crazy family with you!
This kind of behavior even spilled over into an article about the economic stimulus:
Doggonit wrote on 04/03/2009 10:18:57 PM:
How is allowing your young teen daughter's boyfriend to share her bedroom with her, practicing abstinence?
blueeyedgurly wrote on 04/03/2009 11:29:16 PM:
Shes listening but wont do anything. She could care less about Alaskas kids. She cant even take care of her own. High School drop outs
lived9lives wrote on 04/04/2009 11:28:14 AM:
Oh, sorry about my previous post. I now realize Sarah was busy listening to Levi and Bristol practicing abstinence in the bedroom of HER home. (See Levi's commments @ bedroom) Guess that's why she couldn't read the Stimulus Package.
(I should add that all of the above comments were "recommended" by dozens of other adn.com readers.)
Now, my question to Mr. Dougherty and Ms. Wright would be: How do these types of comments lead to "a relatively free flow of ideas in hopes of stimulating a vigorous conversation about happenings in our state"?
Some might ask why I don't simply flag these abusive comments via adn.com's built-in reporting features. The reason is that I can't - because I've been banned from their website. Shortly after the new comments policy was announced, I began flagging comments that, in my opinion, violated the guidelines. Within a matter of couple of days, the ADN mods banned me.
(I should note that that adn.com uses a particularly weaselly method of banning commenters. There is no notification, and to all appearances it seems that you can post comments as normal. However, the comments posted are invisible to all but the banned user. If you're wondering if you've been banned, log in to ADN and post a test comment. Then log out and refresh the page. If your comment isn't visible anymore, then you've been banned.)
So my message to Mr. Dougherty, Ms. Wright, and the rest of the ADN staff is this:
Your promises to clean up the poison at adn.com have turned out to be completely insincere. Enough is enough. No more invective about white trash, hillbillies, methamphetamine or crack cocaine use, or trailer parks. No more snarky comments about the purported sex lives of the Governor or her children, such as statements that the Governor was listening to her daughter "breeding" in her own home. No more insults towards special needs children, or speculation about the parenting skills of the Governor and her husband. No more assertions that the Governor is not the mother of her youngest child. These claims all appear on your website on a regular basis and are deeply offensive to all decent people.
Liberals understand protest and invective. When they're angry at you, they might write nasty letters or show up outside your offices with signs. Conservatives understand business and free enterprise, so we'll just target your Alaskan ad revenue.
Let me be clear about what we'll do. Every time one of the worst examples of these comments appears on adn.com, we won't flag it as offensive. We won't even contact you. Instead, we'll cache that webpage and make screen captures. Then we'll look at the Alaskan advertisers who have purchased space next to these vile comments, and pass the messages along to them with a query as to why they are financially supporting such toxic garbage.
Let's start with a few test cases, who I contacted today with the examples given above. I encourage our readers to do the same. We'll expand our database of advertisers as time goes on.
1. Alaska Communications Systems - externalaffairs@ACSalaska.com
2. Jack White/Vista Real Estate - info@prualaska.com
3. Witzleben Legacy Funeral Home - james@alaskafuneralhomes.net
4. Sixth Avenue Outfitters - sixthavenueoutfitters@gci.net
5. Shred Alaska - shredalaska@ak.net
I encourage you to take this seriously. This blog may still be relatively small fry in the blogosphere, though we've quadrupled our readership over the last couple months to several thousand readers per day. If I can motivate only 1% of this blog's readership to get involved, I can put dozens of complaints per day into the inbox of an Anchorage realtor or car dealership. And I won't limit myself to the resources of this site - I'll drag in whatever allies I can, from Team Sarah to Free Republic. And there are plenty of those people willing to get involved. When you consider that Team Sarah has almost 70,000 members, or that Governor Palin's Facebook page has over half a million followers, you don't want to face the impact if even a tiny percentage of those people get irate with your advertising clients.
Your lawyers and advertising people can explain until they're blue in the face that, due to fine print in your user agreement, the ADN is not legally responsible for slanderous user comments. But you, I, and everyone else knows that you are MORALLY responsible, because this toxic content appears under the banner of the Anchorage Daily News, and right next to space paid for by your advertisers.
A couple of political realities that you should refresh your knowledge on -- despite 7 months of unending savage criticism in the national media, Governor Palin still enjoys the solid approval of over 60% of Alaskans. And even those who disapprove of her are unlikely to be sympathetic to the evil personal attacks that you host on your website. I'd ask you to look even deeper into the subset of Alaskan small business owners who give you the majority of your advertising revenue - do you think they lean more Republican or Democrat? And do you think they like the idea of funding these toxic comments?
Oh, and I forgot to mention - we'll also continually remind the nice folks at McClatchy Corporate of what's going on at your paper. I'm starting with these folks, but hopefully we can expand our mailing list to include others in your corporate hierarchy, especially members of the Board of Directors. And each message will prominently mention, and link, that Pat Dougherty and Julie Wright promised to clean up this problem, but that they still inexplicably allow hate speech to appear under the banner of a McClatchy publication, next to space paid for by McClatchy clients.
We're asking that the ADN follow one of the following options -- either go to a fully-moderated format to ensure that none of this stuff ever appears on your website, or, if you can't do that, follow the example of the Juneau Empire and eliminate reader comments altogether. After all, you already have another discussion forum for readers to exercise their free speech rights.
Mr. Dougherty and Ms. Wright, keep your promises and clean up your website.
Or we'll do it for you.
UPDATE: Welcome, Atlas Shrugs readers! Feel free to look around our site - we're the ultimate authority on all things Palin, from her Alaskan political battles to her national prospects.
UPDATE II: Welcome, readers from Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis! The ad revenue realized from your visit has just paid for a wolf to be shot from a helicopter!
UPDATE by Sinistar: Thursday, April 2, 2009, Alaska House Majority Leader Rep. Kyle Johansen (R) commented on the House Floor on the subject of the anonymous comments on newspapers' websites.
Posts
80 comments:
Hey everyone. ADN has been like this since they started. There are a few "conservatives" or liberals that get a common sense ideal, but ADN has always been "looney tunes".
I have and don't try to bother with it anymoe other then to not buy their worthless paper (which is only 2 very skinny segments) and not click on their site so that their advertisers stop paying them.
ADN is about to collapse... and I thin it is great!
That's activism you can believe in.
What is your view generally on censorship?
1)free speech is free speech; no matter how gross the GOVERNMENT or any private organization has any right to censure or restrict it
2)private organizations or blogs should not censure the comments section, except if it is defamatory or slanderous and may lead to a lawsuit
3)vulgar language or profanity should be censured not thoughts however disgusting (no to calling somebody a slut, but yes to questioning one's view of casual sex)
4)both vulgar language and unclean, unwholesome or unsavory thoughts or speculation should be censured from private blogs
5)anything of a controversial nature that is unflattering or not favorable to your side or political persuasion could be censured
ny answer is #3; one's man thought may be another man's bane; The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are a tribute to the thoughts and intelligence of many men
Bravo! It's about time our side started fighting back using the free market system rather than hateful name calling.
Should the ADN go the way of the Chicago Sun-Times; good riddance. This is a repulsive propaganda rag that I wouldn't housebreak a puppy on.
upinak did a great job of providing information about Sarah right she was picked by McCain last August at HotAir and has steadily defended Sarah ever since.
I'm glad to see you posting here, upinak.
Thanks for the info. I have always experienced this trash on ADN's web site and knew that the Dem bottom feeders were hired guns from the national Dems. It was how Obama got elected-!!
I support getting the message to sponsors is an effective counter measure and not rebutting the trash with more trash, lets stay above the fray.
I have to second that Betty. Upinak is one of the brightest stars at HotAir, which I sadly can no longer stomach after reading the vicious hatefest by the resident trolls on the Levi/Tyra banks thread. I'm done there.
Actually I lauded Upinak's shooting skill a few days ago on HA. We were talking about putting Poptech out of his misery.
Upinak and Sarah, two great reasons to relocate to Alaska.
Glad to see you over here, upinak.
Good grief.
I feel so bad for Sarah.
Seems she tried to keep Bristol away from Levi, now his poor judgment is affecting her family again. Just when it seems to die down he or his family does something to bring the spotlight back on them.
The Palin's are a strong family. All this brings them closer together.
By 2012 all this will be very old news.
I intend to continue to pray for the governor and her whole famliy.
None of these comments are a surprise to me. I think these are posted by paid trolls. If you go to Huffington Post regarding Levi/Bristol you will see the same and I mean exactly the same wording on numerous posts there. The only thing I think that is positive about these posts is that most adults do not read them. These are kids I think because adults do no write such vile things...adults know that their children could be next and have more class then these trolls.
VO - Great idea! I'm with you all the way. Censorship is one thing but a news site should have decency standards. Sometimes kids or teens are exposed to this hateful language. The "N" word and other derogatory terms would probably not be tolerated at ADN in its comments section, so why is is ok to use "redneck" or "white trash?"
I would love to tell these ADN idiots that if Sarah is "trailer trash" then she is in good company because their liberal icon Bill Clinton actually grew up in a trailer. People called the Clintons "trailer trash" and "Arkansas Hillbillies" too.
Don't these lowlifes know that Democrat Presidents like Truman, LBJ and Carter were called similar things in their day?
Boy are these idiots ignorant! Uggh! I can't bear to stay in that stinky swamp of vileness known as the ADN.com Comments section for more than a few minutes at a time but I will post a couple of comments defending Sarah and make these moronic fools' heads explode.
I will echo that: Great idea. Andrew Breitbart wrote a smart piece a week or two ago where he called on some activism from the blogosphere. The hateful comments of our fellow conservatives on sites such as Politico, Huffington Post, etc. Should not remain unchallenged. We need to take an active role. Thanks guys for the e-mail addresses. Time to get to work!
HAHAHAHA...you guys are funny! Palin fans comments are no better (and frequently worse) than any of the ones you've pointed out.
Not to mention...didn't you guys have to change YOUR OWN COMMENT POLICY (at least temporarily) because of the nasty comments from your supporters on the article about me and the ethics complaint? (I did appreciate that you did that, by the way.)
Kinda blows your "OMG people who disagree with Palin are SUCH evil haters and people who love Palin are such good rule-abiding types" mantra.
Note: I went through and reported a bunch of comments from someone called "Fox_Nation". He/she had an avatar of Sarah Palin and repeated over-and-over "F**K the ADN". He/she continued after I logged off.
The next day, there were a bunch of hidden comments that were completely civil, but totally disagreed with Palin. Reporting comments based on opinion is also completely against the new ADN rules.
I guess if you and Team Sarah can no longer keep up with the negative comments on all of the ADN articles on Palin (as she continues to screw up and her approval rating drops like a rock), the next best thing would be to engineer it so that the ADN removes all comments the way that the Juneau Empire did.
How clever of you!
I go there practically every day to defend Sarah Palin. It keeps me occupied until Iowa.
I personally like to point out to the Palin haters that denigrate her "small town" roots that they are equivalent to STEPHEN FOWLER, often dubbed the Worst Person in the world. Then I add a YouTube video of Fowler's obnoxious anti-Midwest, anti-hardworking american, anti-army words. I point to the comments section that shows everyone to be disgusted with his behavior. Shuts some of them up. The rest will still spew hate, of course.
You know what's really "clever"? Backrupting a family over a jacket worn at an snowmobile race.
oh god, celtic diva.. lol go back to playing your fantasy land in world of warcraft.
CelticDiva,
Is it fair to make fun of your looks or your weight issues?
NO. It's not. And speech like that is not protected by the 1st Amendment. That is for protecting political speech.
The point is that the hate speech has gotten out of control. Also, Fox_Nation is one of your people, not ours. That's a common tactic to log in and pretend you're someone else.
How do we know you are the REAL CelticDiva? Hmmmm?
I've been to all the blogs and the leftist ones are overwhelming more hateful and disgusting than anything you find here.
ADN is going downhill and few people read the blog stuff there anyway. You can't save it yourself. It's what it is: a liberal cesspool.
You Alaskans are going to give Sarah another term and it isn't gonna be close. And you'll waste what little life you have blogging in a world where you'll be preaching to your ever shrinking choir, while gradually Sarah Palin gets more and more in the news and people find out what her real record is. It is already starting. Why would Obama pay you to blog against her if he thought she was no danger to him winning a second term?
You people are so chalk full of fear over a little woman who is a governor of a small population state.
Smell the fear.
Good point VO regarding Stephen Fowler. He is one of the most hated and targeted men in America for what he said on "Wife Swap" which are the very same things that Palin-haters say about Palin.
What hypocrisy once again!
VO,
I don't share the concerns about comment sections as others do, so I'll just disagree with this post.
Linda, what is the source for your authority that "[Palin's] approval rating drop[ping] like a rock?" Is it Hayes Research Group? If so, are you defining a drop from a 62% positive rating in early November 2008 to a 60% positive rating on March 25, 2008 as "dropping like a rock?"
I posted a couple of times over at ADN, long before I knew about this website. I made a comment in regards to the Palin vs. ADN email exchange in January and called out Mr. Dougherty and the ADN on the ridiculous reporting on Trig. Apparently it struck a nerve, because Mr. Dougherty responded to me. I responded in turn and never heard from him again.
As I told Mr. Dougherty, the ADN (as with most U.S. newspapers) are losing credibility in spades. Glad to join the fight on behalf of the Governor, and on behalf of civil conversation.
VidSweet, as I was born and raised in the mid-west (spent every summer on farms in Iowa) and have lived in Alaska for 25 years, you clearly aren't referring to me.
However, it's a nice attempt at completely dodging the subject!
Congratulations on your ability to use a Red Herring!!!!
Your attempts at threats and intimidation towards the Anchorage Daily News reflect the same desperation that Governor Palin has shown all week...which has culminated in the insanity of putting herself on track to BREAK ALASKA LAW unless she appoints someone else for the Senate seat!
I wonder what will happen then?
Linda, you use way too many exclamation points.
Linda, no desperation here - just the free market at work.
Or do really endorse the comments of those people, or think that ADN advertisers support them?
(tumbleweeds & crickets)
I thought so. Now go file another ethics complaint - I think I saw a photo of the governor wearing a Nike hat.
VO, I keep waiting for CelticDiva to file an ethics complaint against Mike Doogan, but apparently she only files them against Republicans, never a Democrat.
Wow..to complain and even insult a newspaper is totally different then doing it to a person. You were doing something yourself...that was petty and minor that causes a financial hardship on someone that drew the comments to you. You could have sent an e-mail to the Gov. and pointed this out and ask her to refrain and if in the future she wore the jacket you would have to file a complaint. That would be the civil way to handle it. Did you do that?? I doubt it...because you wanted to cause Palin another hardship...for what?? Does that make you a bigger person or her a lessor person. It makes you the lessor person because it is so petty. Get over it..Palin is loved by many.
As a contrarian what disturbs me the most is NOT the presence of those dastardly 'malicious' trolls on ADN but the reactions of C4P posters and readers to Dougherty's supposed lack of oversight of the ADN comment section.
Sure the comments are disgusting and toxic, but what is more disgusting and toxic in America is Obama firing the head of GM, bowing to the monarch of Saudi Arabia and apologizing for America's supposed misdeeds. And I haven't even mentioned his socialist-Fascist agenda to destroy American capitalism and deprive 300m Americans of their God-given freedom and liberty.
Let's resolve for the next 3 years and 7 months to focus on the big picture and not allow ourselves to be distracted or sapped of our energy from skirmishes that will not even dent the Messiah's armor of protection afforded him by his personality, the Democratic Party the MSM.
With that in mind, let's be more prudent in which battles we choose to fight, and when we do fight let's fight to the death.
You got that right Techo...If the trolls keep this up there will be a backlash against them. Just like there is now a backlash against Diva and her purpose is being defeated.
Also the troll crap will be so old news and nothing new to say and long forgotten in 3years.
As someone who grew up in Iowa I apologize to all for any hand my state had in producing such a nasty spiteful person as Celtic Diva. Trust me - she didn't learn to be such a petty hateful person there.
celtic diva is a typical lib. makes up some bogus claim like ( I lived in the midwest) to paint herslef as untouchable blah blah Blah.
libearls NEVER win on the issues, so they deamonize and label so they can avoid the truth.
Techno,
Considering that we live in the internet age, and more and more people get their news online, I think a battle over the toxic troll infestation of the major Alaskan newspaper is a very good battle.
I sent an email to the five advertisers you list. A suggestion for others: to make it quick and easy, I listed all of the email addresses on the bc: line and addressed the email to me. Here is what I wrote:
To whom it may concern:
I note your ad in the ADN. Due to the fact that they continually allow, and promote, absolutely vile comments in their reader comment and blog sections I will make it a very specific point to boycott your business for as long as you advertise with them. I also will post on my blog your name and email address so that others can let you know how they feel. The ADN is a disgrace to the people of Alaska.
Respectfully -
A reader and consumer
Also, I have listed this site, C4P on my blogroll. You have a very good site. Thanks for everything.
http://helpmejoseph.typepad.com/puma_for_life/
ramrocks:
We have to agree to disagree. I'd rather spend my finite time and limited amount of energy on exposing every aspect of the Messiah's agenda and to alert the readers of C4P and the American people of the tyranny that Obama is seeking to impose and perpetrate on the American people and how 300m Americans will become enslaved in short order if nothing is done to stop Obama's relentless pursuit of a permanent Presidency and a one-party state.
Count me in! I am soo with you on this.
I see your point, techno, but that is not the mission of this site, called Conservatives4Palin and not ConservativesAgainstObama.
And also there are already people who, though they love and support Sarah, believe the MSM's mission is complete and she can never be a viable candidate. I just read someone say that in today's open thread on Hillbuzz.com.
Therefore, part of the battle is battling the media bias, which I believe is represented by the ADN's refusal to stop the hateful and way off-base comments in their official comments blog.
And now even using it in their own writing with today's immature "Down: Sarah Palin" calling her a belle and saying next she'll stomp her foot.
I see Techno's point, but I think we need to look at the big picture. This is a war, and the ground troops are as important as the air assaults. This skirmish with the ADN's website is a battle that's worth fighting. The other side has a better organized ground operation, and are like the terrorists, they don't play by the rules of war, so we have to employ whatever legal means at our disposal to defeat them.
And I just saw a thread in the TS Forum in which the discussion starter said he had his doubts about her viability 'cause of the 2 stories that came out this weekend. There are 4 pages of comments trying to change his mind - so the MSM hasn't totally succeeded yet. We need to keep fighting the fight.
HRH,
You should also understand the tactics of the "concern" troll who tries to destroy the communities confidence.
Bean Counter:
We must resolve to use any and all non-violent means at our disposal to take Obama down.
Don't get me wrong I will defend Sarah to the death. but in doing so I keep sight of the overall goal (if Sarah runs for POTUS in 2012):
1)to fill the coffers of SarahPAC to the extent that Sarah becomes the de facto leader of the GOP, its new kingmaker and can dictate the electoral fortunes of many GOP members vieing for election and re-election in the 2010 mid-terms based on where SarahPAC money is distributed and Sarah's own battlefield performance to lead the GOP troops into battle and engineer sigificant gains in the House and Senate
2)after the mid-terms, for Sarah to double or triple her war chest; in so doing travelling to early primary states, building her team of politicos and advisors, making several media appearances and to mentally and physically prepare herself for the primary season in the fall of 2011
3)this should ensure an early victory for Sarah in the primaries which will allow Sarah to coalesce her support and the party, raise more money, attract million of enthusiastic volunteers, review VP resumes, and tailor her message to compete head-on against Obama, not unlike fighting for the heavyweight championship of the world
4)this is the nightmare scenario for Obama
Why do think Obama and Axelrod are so focused on taking Sarah out now? Because they don't want Sarah to even get near the first step in the process of taking Obama down.
They failed during the campaign to take her out for good, They're hell-belt to make sure that they don't fail again.
Techno, we're on the same page. Keep our eyes on the big picture and fight every battle along the way.
I'm pouring every spare dollar I can scrape up into SarahPAC, as I know that's ultimately the biggest weapon we've got in our arsenal. That and our extraordinary candidate!
It is far far too early to say she is not viable. This will be forgotten within a few weeks. In fact, it may very well have a backlash. There probably is not 5% of families in the USA that haven't had major problems. Look at OBAMA's life. Didn't hurt him at all. Unless you personally, know these people that are making the comments, I would be very very leery.
One of the tactics they use is to appear to be with you when they really are against you. They want to demoralizes us. I think they are becoming aware that they just can't use thier vile comments any more so now they are trying to do a bait and switch tactic.
This is just a dumb move on the part of Obama, the economy tanking, people losing their jobs, and with his G-20 conference espcades that America is sorry.. sorry my a... and N Korea firing off rockets that can potentially hit the USA, and O is sending perhaps a letter to N Korea, I mean where is this guys focus...if to undermine Sarah Palin is the best the Prez can do...this is going to backfire big time.
Just an example of the way fair minded people response to this story.
Go to Fox Nation. A pic of Levi with the proper heading has been up for 2 days and has not even had one comment. That is just another reason I say, be leery of those that say this makes Sarah not viable.
Good job, VO.
techno, don't discourage from these kind of activities. Everything should be used in our limited arsenal.
hrh-
That "stomp her foot" phrase took me totally by surprise when I read it this morning. I always think of Governor Palin as a warrior on the front lines of this cultural battle our nation is in. Whether it's the economic, social, or spiritual front. She is a mighty leader who is beginning to lead the conservative movement to another level in this war. We have had no one to charge out ahead in national politics that we would follow with everything we have. President Bush, too nice. Name anyone in Congress, too friendly with the other side. Senator McCain, most people were going to hold their nose and pull the lever for him. There was no one standing in the gap for the conservative movement. Then along comes this strong woman who says what we (conservatives) are thinking, not just a talk show host giving voice to our principles, but someone who has skin in the game. She is the first politician I have heard have the same pro life belief I have. She unabashadly loves our military. She thinks gun control is the worst law possible because then only the criminals will have the guns. She wants to "drill baby drill" for economical and national security reasons. She wants the government to get out of the individuals way and let people make decisions about their own money. She governs her state going by its constitution. She sticks it to the opposition without fear. She is witty, smart, sarcastic, beautiful, has common sense, and a servant's heart. The left wanted the country to believe "conservative" women looked like Kay Bailey Hutchison. Older, not hip, irrelevant,not strong on issues, go along to get along, well the cats out of the bag now! God bless Senator McCain for picking Governor Palin. Sarah Palin is not any different in her principles, beliefs and convictions, than me or millions of women around the country. We have not seen anything like her on our side ever. We ask ourselves over and over again, where are the leaders, we yell at our radios, stand up for common sense ideas! Senators, Congressmen, do you hear us? Governor Palin lives it and governs by it!
Anyhoo, what was I talking about? Ha, just kidding!
She is a giant and is the only one in this movement right now. The only reason she will be stomping her foot is to put it through the leftist movement's hearts, and we'll be right with her.
It is spring break and Obama's Alinski- trained minions and moles are infiltrating conservative blogs and sites in attempts to ridicule sepporters of conservative values and polititians. They failed with Rush Limbaugh and they are going after Gov. Palin, and will fail in this attack as well.
Engaging in a campaign against the ADN misses the point completely. The ADN is a McClatchy rag. McClatchy newspapers are basically propaganda rags for the other side, so you can't expect that the ADN is going to cover the Governor fairly. The whole Trig Truther episode should have told you that.
BTW, why are we wasting time with Celtic Diva, a mean little person who is trying to bankrupt the Palin family? Excessive partisanship corrodes the soul, and it certainly has worked its magic on Linda.
Just ignore her. Successful campaigns are about the positive, not the negative.
the ADN Calls sarah "belle" all the time. I find that very sexist
heres the link
http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/748607.html
First of all, Belle is a touch too condescending, The Huntress, or Akhanitsa, really serves the title, although that assumes a great deal of the AD News' readership. Second if she really did stomp her foot, they wouldn't be able to get up. Is it now considered petulant to see that the law is observed when conducting Senatorial appointments, or does Juneau deserve to be a far left sinecure.That's a rhetorical question.
The AD News is hopeless, thanks to the efforts of Doughterty and Demer, the last reported both Trig's condition and thecomplaints against Wooten, thus invalidating their two primary angles of attack. It's dying as is the whole McClatchy Leviathan, like my own local Miami Herald. How did you put it on my blog, Section, "Friends don't let Friend's read McClatchy" the Chicago Tribune affiliate THe Sun Sentinel isn't in really better shape, although it may serve as a host for the former paper.
The ADN shows that they are not a true journalistic newspaper by the way they speak of Palin.
Sarah Palin is the sitting governor of the state of Alaska. In a professional newspaper she should be referred to only as "Governor" or "Mrs. Palin" or "Your Honor". She deserves the respect of her office.
They are like Gibson in not being respectful of her elected postion, and therefore not respectful of their own state.
I am very disappointed in Celtic Diva.
She may not know this but I support the Patriot Guard of Alaska. She emailed someone asking about the "Protesting" that may have happened in Fairbanks concerning a Soldier who was to be buried there.
Celtic, I can get the email concerning that since you also "misquoted" the individual.
Do you really want to get on my bad side? I don't think you do.
Up in AK
ramrocks, hrh and everyone else:
I believe strongly that we must engage in the court of public opinion. If only Team McCain had done that, then at least Sarah's good name, reputation and image would not have been so tarnished in the eyes of so many.
John Ziegler points out in Media Malpractice that repetition is very effective. If one hears over and over, Palin is "trailer trash" or a "dumb hick" then somehow she becomes associated with that image in many people's minds. That's why Axelrod reportedly hires all these trolls and "astroturfers."
One of the most important ways that we can help Sarah is by working to change and improve the public perception of her. It could be as simple as talking to family or friends or posting pro-Sarah comments online or taking ADN and the MSM to task for allowing offensive and misogynistic comments about Sarah at their sites. Letting ADN advertisers know that we're upset is important because news outlets depend on ads.
McCain told people until he was blue in the face that Obama's policies were bad but that was not enough to overcome the MSM and Internet smears and lies against Palin that still exist today.
If you watch Media Malpractice the MSM after the election admitted that the election was less about the color of Obama's skin and more about McCain's white hair (his age).
And remember 20% of self-proclaimed conservatives voted for Obama.
I know I hate to admit this but the narrative that McCain himself was the problem and that his liability with conservatives was exacerbated by the financial meltdown may be correct.
That McCain won 22 states and almost 60m votes can mainly be attributed to Sarah propping him up.
OT- Hey Ram you should put up a countdown clock till the end of legislative session.
put it right under the sarah pac link.
It must really burn Linda-'Celtic Diva's britches to live in Wasilla.
-What with all the Palin-stickers adorning cars (not to mention the numerous 'IMPEACH OBAMA' ones)
73% of Wasilla/Palmer voted McCain/Palin...And Sarah will take >60% of the vote state-wide if she runs for re-election...
'Celtic Diva' is Alaska's own Don Quixote.
-Be sure to stop by Wasilla Lake on April 15th,2-4PM for our Tea Party Protest' Linda'...And bring some friends-
(That will be my black Subaru with the 'IMPEACH OBAMA' sticker in the parking lot)
techno:
You're right in that McCain was one of the main reasons we lost the election. Many conservatives hated him. He was a victim of character assasination too.
I recall the MSM making McCain sound confused and senile over ill-timed "Sunni Shia" remarks; the Vicki Iseman fake controversy; rumors that he was mentally unstable and angry. The Obama campaign ran lots of ads showing McCain as old, out of touch (7 houses and can't use computer) and sickly near death's door.
The NY Times even did some damaging hit pieces on Cindy. I thought voters would see through these smears/lies to focus on the policy issues but it seems that most didn't unfortunately.
Looking back its amazing McCain finished as well as he did. I agree that was because of Sarah.
Very thoughtful writing, Nancy.
We all knew some garbage would be written about Sarah and her family, we saw it begin the moment she was announced as the VP pick for McCain. What we didn't foresee was the viciousness of people who are not Alaskans (but pretend to be), posting comments in 'our' newspapers and blogs.
Next to hit the fan will be a "live" interview with the s-i-l, only surprise is going to be which MSM talking head will front the money.
The diva had her 15 minutes of fame, and the rest of her group with their plans to bankrupt Sarah are now aware we know of the plan.
Not paying for a subscription was our choice to protest the blatant one-sided reporting by ADN.
I am thinking strongly about your idea of emails to advertisers and to McClatchy. ADN just relieved 4-5 folks due to the downturn of the local(?) economy. As someone has said, it won't be long before there is no paper for the litter box.
I want to thank c4p for the soapbox, I'll step down and make room for the next in line :)
Psssst...I live in Anchorage...next to a house with a "Walt Monegan for Mayor" sign.
I think I'll get one myself!
Linda (aka "CelticDiva"), since you and your cohorts are so interested in what a politician's family or even extended family is up to, I was wondering if you are aware of Monegan's daughter? I'll give you a hint: child abuse. She pled guilty to burning her child in a scalding bath that nearly killed him. Police determined that there was no way the water could have gotten to that temperature by the tap only. She actually boiled the water to get it that hot. The child barely survived.
That was Monegan's daughter. And I still haven't even discussed Monegan's "tickle" "wrestling" session with his ex-wife that resulted in her dislocated shoulder.
Hey Diva,
The contributers here allow your comments to remain as long as they are not offensive or insulting. Do you have the courage and integrity to allow the same policy on your site?
The ones I've removed have fit one of these categories:
1) Offensive
2) Insulting
3) Refused to even stay within the same solar system as the topic
4) I figured out the commenter was the one who kept calling me at 4:00 am to be offensive, insulting and off-topic.
We have had to delete comments like that made by anti-Palin trolls.
No 4:00 a.m. phone calls yet. My phone number isn't listed.
CelticDiva said:
FIFY,
The ones I've removed have fit one of these categories:
1) Offensive (i.e. praised Gov Palin)
2) Insulting (i.e. praised Gov Palin)
3) Refused to even stay within the same solar system as the topic (i.e. praised Gov Palin)
4) I figured out the commenter was the one who kept calling me at 4:00 am to be offensive, insulting and off-topic. (yeah, that's bad etiquette, but which side encourages that, AIG executive house tour, or Beth checking on the Governor's house lights, anyone?)
Following Diva's ethics filing against the Gov. she had a post up trying to garner sympathy for all the "hate" mail she had received and the loss of a paying gig. The post on her page was stating how Gov Palin words were "dangerous" in her March 24 Press release: "Are Alaskans outraged, or at least tired of this yet - another frivolous ethics charge by a political blogger?...."
I made my one and only comment ever to an Alaskan blog, which Celtic Diva deleted. So was I out of bounds?
"Do I have sympathy for frivolous ethic charge submitters becoming radioactive? Nope, I say it's about time. Losing income from these shenanigans seems a small price compared to the costs to the state and Gov. Palin personally incurs for this nonsense. I've silently observed this and other progressive Alaskan blogs openly plot day and night, night and day for some way to bring Gov. Palin down. Are you investing the same moral/ethical interest in any of your other elected officials? I haven't seen it. I don't even see partisan hypocrisy. What I see is solely about willfully trying to stick something, anything on Governor Palin. What I see is you, even in this post, still proclaiming the outright lie that she called Obama a terrorist. She never did. She called William Ayers an "unrepentant domestic terrorist", not Obama. Which, BTW, is true about Ayers. I'm sure you know that as fact, but you unethically still misrepresent what Palin actually said. That kind of misrepresentation seems only an attempt to induce hate towards Palin and cast her as the evil opposition. And you have the gall to call Palin's word's "dangerous." Will I be called a "hater" to call you on your hypocrisy or point out your lie? Gov. Palin has her church set ablaze by a still unfound arsonist, a crime that has been upgraded to attempted murder. Are any of you bloggers investing huge amounts of energy trying to find that perp. or solve that very real crime? Haven't seen those efforts on these blogs either. You guys are more interested in speculating on the building of her house, trying to link her to Rove for some reason and on and on and on. You even have posters from the lower 48 come on advising that it's more effective to do multiple strikes simutainiously. Is this the fringe left's idea of "hope and change?" These blogs make the most degrading and hate filled comments about her and her family continually. And you guys get freaked out after getting a note left on a car windshield? Put yourselves in her shoes, she lives the reality of your misguided warring efforts daily. All while trying to Govern effectively. But it appears you've dedicated your lives to her personal destruction. As a fellow American, it's been sickening to observe. I'm a registered Democrat and you've succeeded in solidifying my support for whatever position Gov. Palin should ever choose to run. Well done."
Harassing a governor is a full time job.
Glad to see that one governor has filed charges against harassment.
After all it is unethical to interfere with governmental business and those who serve the public to perform those services.
Malingnant narcissist really only care about themselves and how to make themselves feel good. Ehticical behavior only applies to those who get in their way.
Fa git 'bout it.
I love you, Linda.
Toki, we all love Linda around here. She provides comic relief. It's a shame she's so expensive to the state and to the Palin family. I don't think they find her funny at all. But we try to see the lighter side of things, otherwise we'd be crying in our beer.
Well, Linda, it's a good thing Penny saved the comment she posted before you deleted it. We now have proof of your hypocrisy. Are you going to tell us that her comments were "offensive," "insulting," or off-topic? Please explain. We're all ears.
I expect you'll declare them "off-topic," which will be a hard sell considering that they referenced the post they were made on.
I agree, Penny's comment much more relevant and appropriate than the following:
"Quote" BOTTOM LINE: PALINS ARE TRASH ---WHETHER WHITE TRASH, TRAILER TRASH, VALLEY TRASH OR WHATEVER. THEY ARE JUST TRASH.
by: Dobiemom @ Sat Apr 04, 2009 at 16:07:35 PM CDT
Errr...careful with that "trailer trash" reference
**Looks around at her completely redone mobile home-that-looks-like-a-cottage-inside**
by: Celtic Diva @ Sat Apr 04, 2009 at 19:45:31 PM CDT "End quote"
Note: Diva apparently not concerned by the craptastic comment itself, just by the fact a portion of it hits too close to home. Sigh.
Penny = 3) Refused to even stay within the same solar system as the topic
Are you saying that you have a hard time seeing that? Penny went beyond the solar system and lost us somewhere in the space-time continuum!
If you rant about Obama (especially in that priceless, tin-foil-hat-kind-of-way) in a topic that has nothing to do with Obama, your comment will be deleted. My suggestion, Penny, is that you learn how to debate the actual topic and not try to pull in as many red herrings as you can find.
I'm being nice about it. My blog was never meant to be completely available to the public -- it's called "Blue Oasis" for a reason...it's a haven for Progressives. That's why everyone has to register in the first place so that I can keep a tight reign on comments and diaries. No one could have predicted that my little Alaska community would get some national attention during the election and beyond.
Living in Alaska, there are plenty of places we can go to argue with Conservatives. Completely equal access was never intended.
If you have a problem with that, I suggest you go complain to the Team Sarah people who are about as closed a community as I've ever seen. Non-registered folk can still read everything at my site, unlike theirs.
I enjoy allowing Celtic Diva to post here, she will never be deleted
Its like watching Joe Biden on a video loop.
Every time she posts, it just proves how much of an ankle-biter she is.
People like her are the reason why I respect Governor Palin so much ... look what she has to deal with up there.
God love ya, CelticDiva! You are free to post comments here any time. I am wondering how it's "tin-foil" hat to point out that Obama had his first political fundraiser in Bill Ayers' house? No one disputes that. They sat on the same board. Obama blurbed one of Ayers' books. Michelle Obama introduced Ayers at a speaking engagement. Etc., etc. They obviously respected his work as an edu-crat. No one suggested that Obama was a member of the Weather Underground. I think the suggestion is that Obama seems to fit right in with that strange leftwing world where unrepentant former domestic terrorists can seamlessly become "respected" members of the progressive edu-crat community. If anything, Palin's jab about "palling around with an unrepentant domestic terrorist" was a slam at the progressive community's ability to conveniently forget things like bombings and assassinations. After all, they still haven't come to grips with Stalin or Castro or Che or any other their other mass-murdering heroes.
Living in Alaska, there are plenty of places we can go to argue with Conservatives. Completely equal access was never intended.
Living in Alaska doesn't justify that you go and make a complaint on individuals you do not agree with, who are elected and have done nothing wrong to begin with.
I live in Alaska, I got hunting, snow shoeing, have been ALL over this State for work and play... and yet you sit there and try to justify argueing with a conservative when you really don't have a clue about Alask in general? Please, stop while you are ahead. You are a zit on Anchroage and Alaska as a whole.
I am so damn P.O. right now at individuals like this I can't even spell or type straight!
Linda-aka:Celtic Deva-
-Alaskans don't find you funny at all...Your narcissistic and frivilous lawsuits are costing our state a bundle...
-Ultimately though you're just an inconsequential human mosquito...
-Care to make a little wager?
I'll treat you to a dinner at the 'Moose's Tooth' in Anchorage IF Gov Palin doesn't win re-election by >60%..
-How about it Linda?
-Upinak-
Would enjoy chatting with you over coffee some time..Have long enjoyed your fearless jousts at Hotair with Benny shaker,Allahpundit,etc...
-Folks like you are why I love Alaska so much...
Kenton, Celtic won't "wager". Mooses Tooth isn't good enough, I would guess if you threw in Double Muskgee, she might take a swing at it. But if you win, I doubt she will cough up on her end of the deal.
Coffee sounds great. Let me know, when you come into town.
Why does Celtic Diva complain about being restricted from TS. Their site is "a haven for Palin supporters" - not a place for a nasty anklebiter like her.
No worries. Everyone is welcome here. Conservatives don't fear free speech. We just don't like slander, and we don't like the hypocrisy of the ADN's comments policy.
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