tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post3226997945469453020..comments2023-03-26T01:08:27.768-07:00Comments on Last Left Turn Before Hooterville: What Regular People Are HearingAlicia Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14458700009032102949noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-67151099559070195312008-04-16T02:39:00.000-07:002008-04-16T02:39:00.000-07:00A friend fell victim to the Bush propaganda regard...A friend fell victim to the Bush propaganda regarding Obama's not participating in the Pledge. This friend should be exposed to differing ideas by reading Last Left. Thank you, Alicia!Yoga Koruntahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04025840328976351307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-52598236693199990772008-04-07T08:37:00.000-07:002008-04-07T08:37:00.000-07:00nunya: I'm always astonished that people - and I m...nunya: I'm always astonished that people - and I mean <I>smart</I> people - will send me the most ridiculous crap without bothering to go to Snopes and check it out before email-bombing their entire address book. Especially when it's something like 'Bill Gates is giving away money' or some such pantsload that's been done a thousand times! What makes them so gullible? Sometimes the more thoughtful of them will e-mail back an apology after someone points them to Snopes, but why do they fall for it in the first place? The 'missing child', the gas boycotts, all the things that have been around forever, and still they get sucked into it. "<I>This</I> one is for real!"<BR/><BR/>I just don't get it.Alicia Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14458700009032102949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-44353630946852342702008-04-07T08:30:00.000-07:002008-04-07T08:30:00.000-07:00BAC - It was great to play at the AU party for Har...BAC - It was great to play at the AU party for Harry - he is an amazing activist and still sharper and more engaged and passionate than people a fraction of his age. It was also nice to see Barry again. My friends in the band who didn't know about AU were very impressed, and I may have gotten a new member or two! :) I hope to see you in November - if I'm invited back, I'll be there with bells on!<BR/><BR/>Dusty - I know what you mean. The frustrating part about trying to combat the propaganda is the 'eyes glazing over' factor. It makes me crazy.Alicia Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14458700009032102949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-5820176792534663912008-04-07T08:18:00.000-07:002008-04-07T08:18:00.000-07:00You are sadly right. My brother forwarded some bs ...You are sadly right. My brother forwarded some bs emails along the same line and it was hard to get him to click the link to the explanation that I was trying to offer that exposed the lies.<BR/><BR/>It also comes down to the fact that people will readily accept a negative as fact and our media does more harm when they falsely put something out there in a 30 second soundbite on the evening news. <BR/><BR/>My Orthopedic Dr has four gigantic tv's in his waiting room..all tuned of course to Faux Noise. That is the ONLY time I watch that crap, because I am basically forced to. <BR/><BR/>When I hear and see them promoting their neocon agenda with lies and half truths..I start muttering to myself and clicking my tongue. Occsionally people will ask me what is up and I try to explain where Faux is lying..and their response:<BR/><BR/><I>It must be true or they couldn't say it on the air. They would get sued or in trouble for lying.</I><BR/><BR/>Try dealing with that one..without coming unglued. Then I start sounded like a conspiracy theory wingnut when I try to explain about the neocon agenda and Murdoch and I see their eyes glaze the hell over.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06698117410778232102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-63127473931393590232008-04-06T22:49:00.000-07:002008-04-06T22:49:00.000-07:00Alicia, excellent post! Don't get me started on t...Alicia, excellent post! Don't get me started on the media ... they make me crazy! I began my career in media, and point to the Reagan years as the beginning of the end of "broadcasting in the public interest." And once they go digital it's definitely all over.<BR/><BR/>On a different topic, I hope the event went well on Saturday. I"m so sorry I couldn't be there, but as it turns out I needed to be in DC that day. I lost a good friend on Monday to cancer, and her memorial was Saturday.<BR/><BR/>I hope you are planning to come back to DC in November. I can't wait to see you again!<BR/><BR/><BR/>BACBAChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04394238321236592123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-71090294127472629182008-04-06T17:19:00.000-07:002008-04-06T17:19:00.000-07:00Tha's what's so astounding, d-cap - we're hearing ...Tha's what's so astounding, d-cap - we're hearing it from <I>liberals!</I> It's the fucking 'telephone' game.Alicia Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14458700009032102949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-3403614591531605442008-04-06T16:59:00.000-07:002008-04-06T16:59:00.000-07:00aliciamy liberal, dyed in the wool, raised in a pr...alicia<BR/><BR/>my liberal, dyed in the wool, raised in a progressive jewish home mother says to me "i cant vote for Obama because he is a Muslim --- i cringe -- and frankly, i yelled at her. i dragged her to the computer and showed her article after article about him being christian -- she buys it<BR/><BR/>then reverend wright hits. and now she says wright hates the jews. so i have to drag her back and show her what a complete asshole and scumbag mccain is --- <BR/><BR/>at least she didnt think obama's 37 in bowling was a deal breaker<BR/><BR/>what we go through because of the internets and our parentsDistributorcaphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10149154929149577121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-80696893055563945842008-04-06T12:13:00.000-07:002008-04-06T12:13:00.000-07:00When I get the fReeptard emails I usually send the...When I get the fReeptard emails I usually send them back with a <A HREF="http://www.snopes.com/" REL="nofollow">snopes</A><BR/> link that debunks it.nunyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08833886980442919570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-68143317529486129082008-04-06T07:40:00.000-07:002008-04-06T07:40:00.000-07:00I guess I am on a similar path:1. my blogging has ...I guess I am on a similar path:<BR/>1. my blogging has been a way to find my own political voice and exercise my mind with fact finding and examination of what the right course might be...granted it was actually the total fxxkup of this country since the 2000 election that pushed me to realize we were seriously off the rails and maybe even formerly apolitical me needed to pitch in.<BR/>2. yes, it has a "preaching to the choir" aspect [a problem you have explicitly tackled] but it also entails discovering who is in the choir...and that helps because we tend to feel isolated and alienated in overworked and impersonal 21st century america. Connecting with other progressives when you might not ever open your political mouth at work or family gatherings [both problems in my situation] is positive and reinforcing and sure-fire compared to the more dubious goal of "persuading" anybody.<BR/>3. I go over to places like Townhall.com now and then just to remind myself that there really are bogeymen and bogeywomen and to note they live in a separate and parallel universe. Its hard to imagine reaching those poor, willfully ignorant and obviously scared folks with my blogging but there must be some who are on the fence...and it is exactly those who will actually determine the outcome this November. Are they reading? Am I writing in a way that is too off-putting for the fence-sitters?<BR/>4. I can't listen to talk radio...I am not a trash can, a one-way receptacle, for ANY BODY's opinions but rather need a voice and want a conversation [maybe that is difference between right and left in the political spectrum and has something to do with the poor economics of left leaning vs right leaning talk radio.] Bottom line: I need a "reply" button, I need my own soap box because I trust my own judgment too. Gotta blog.GreenSmilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07126239521640810895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-2981753910122242592008-04-05T22:52:00.000-07:002008-04-05T22:52:00.000-07:00Wow, greensmile - that is quite an eye-opener of a...Wow, greensmile - that is quite an eye-opener of an article! As for me, I don't blog for profit - I blog to say what I feel is important to talk about, and to connect with other progressives, and to be one cog in the wheel of change.<BR/><BR/>I'm not competitive, and I don't care about stats or clicks or how many readers I have. I don't do advertising, except for unpaid plugs of organizations or causes I feel are worth notice. <BR/><BR/>The readers that do come here mean a lot to me, and I feel with a smaller blog that I can get to know them and have conversations that mean something.<BR/><BR/>I honestly don't know how we're doing or whether we're making a difference. Nobody really knows, I guess. What I do know is keeping silent or standing on the sidelines is not acceptable any more. <BR/><BR/>Whether I get the desired 'result' is completely beside the point. The point is that it's necessary to stand up for what I believe is right, and offer a counter to what I believe is wrong. Whether I get what I want doesn't matter. It only matters that I do it.<BR/><BR/>I do feel that the dialogue is getting out there, and I think that bloggers have an important part to play - not so important as some of them may think :), but important nonetheless. For me, blogging has translated into action - writing a book, getting involved on a local level with groups that I feel are doing important grassroots work, such as Progressive Dems of America and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. I don't know if I would have gotten involved in that way except through what I've learned by blogging.<BR/><BR/>So - I hope it's making a difference, but if it's not, it's still worth doing.Alicia Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14458700009032102949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-63959058099345830662008-04-05T16:47:00.000-07:002008-04-05T16:47:00.000-07:00Great post, Alicia. It is exactly the bottom feed...Great post, Alicia. It is exactly the bottom feeding consumers of the info-dregs that we NEED to reach. I go to the busy intersections with placards when MoveOn gets us riled up...just because maybe some of the thousands driving by NEVER thought there was anything to know or care about the war.<BR/><BR/>This link to a nyt article kinda implies that blogging has both its writing-for-a-cause [as you and I do mostly] or writing-for-clicks which is literally killing some bloggers and making a very few of them rich. <BR/>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/technology/06sweat.html?ex=1365134400&en=31ff8262bb73cea2&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink<BR/>So what you say about MSM :<BR/>"and I started talking about news programming and the fact that since news is now expected to draw ratings like a sitcom or game show, we get more flash and spin and less substance...<BR/>seems to apply to some stratum of the blogosphere.<BR/><BR/>so how do we reach people? You make some serious and creative efforts I know but how are we doing?GreenSmilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07126239521640810895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-85865301500847069582008-04-05T12:49:00.000-07:002008-04-05T12:49:00.000-07:00Not only is it okay, it's de rigueur - knowledge i...Not only is it okay, it's <I>de rigueur</I> - knowledge is suspect these days. Ignorance is celebrated - look how proud Bush is of not knowing shit.Alicia Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14458700009032102949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-64830765641578352682008-04-05T08:08:00.000-07:002008-04-05T08:08:00.000-07:00It is so easy to think that you're informed but to...It is so easy to think that you're informed but to not really know what is going on. Proof that ignorance is ok in our society.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246047045851719992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-47333146784803099502008-04-04T15:34:00.000-07:002008-04-04T15:34:00.000-07:00The relative in my family who is like that is my b...The relative in my family who is like that is my brother, who I love dearly and I know is a decent person. He lives back in Florida, and I don't even bother to get in those discussions with him because I know he can't hear me. <BR/><BR/>That is a hoot about those faux-'liberals' - give me a break! Liberal my ass!Alicia Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14458700009032102949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9194369.post-20265872041406416822008-04-04T15:16:00.000-07:002008-04-04T15:16:00.000-07:00Don't even get me started about the shit my parent...Don't even get me started about the shit my parents tell me, and they don't even get e-mail. It's all just right-wing demented fucking wackaloon propaganda they absorb from the teevee. I ignore it until I get a couple fucking drinks in me, and then we have some "interesting" discussions. Fortunately, we all love each other very much, so it never gets acrimonious, but there is just no convincing them. I really start to go haywire when they tell me that even some "liberal"--who turns out to be one of these token fucking pretend liberal douchewheels they trot out on Fox News or whatever--believes that Obama is a muslim America-hater who is going to be sworn in on a Koran and make all women wear burqas.PhysioProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11046093902090839375noreply@blogger.com