maverick muse on March 31, 2009 at 10:25 AM

On the one hand, page view counts matter. It’s a matter of blog economic survival. So, I can understand the “stirring the pot” posts and allowing trolls to further stir the comment threads. It generates page views. And even when the threads get off-topic, such as your comment and mine, the topics they get changed to are often still relevant in the culture wars between conservatives and liberals.

On the other hand, the inanity of the liberal trolls, the frequent profanity, the bashing of certain types of conservatives, and the internecine warfare between self-identified conservatives (or, as in Brietbart, are some of them just pretending to be conservatives?) can be very tiring, make threads difficult for me to read or follow, and include vast amounts of uncorrected misinformation. So, there are times that I just can’t take it.

I’ve always felt that banning at hotair was about protecting the integity of the site and not giving the left any real ammunition to marginalize it.

I’ve noted two bannings at HotAir, both on the basis of commenters absolutely furious with Allahpundit over a specific issue of being two-faced, as memory recalls. Tempers were hot, and profanity was profuse with the first banning I saw, and the warning was ignored.

It would appear that bannings at HotAir are personal, not actually based upon whether the commenter is leaving false information in the threads. IMHO, also appears that Allahp welcomes trolls, and has an affinity to them.

I could be wrong; but so it seems.

strangelet on March 31, 2009 at 1:02 AM

How much has Obama’s recession sucked out of your retirement.

Andrew Breitbart

“This is nothing more than the Internet version of Soviet disinformation,” Human Events editor Jed Babbin told me. “MoveOn.org and the little boys from ‘Lord of the Flies’ who run Media Matters want to make it appear that there’s huge dissension within conservative ranks on issues on which we’re most united.”

The American right is in a heap of trouble in a media age that doesn’t shun the goons and liars that have poisoned the political process and won the American presidency by breaking the rules of fair play. It is time to fight back, but it won’t be easy. The enemy is willing to do and say anything in order to win.

Obama is willing to do and say anything in order to win. His massive NY email campaign for Scott Murphy is case in point, stating the candidates unsubstantiated claims as matter of fact when indeed there is no proof of the so-called “1000 jobs created”. There IS proof that he will vote for everything Obama wants, especially bail-outs and higher taxes to pay for bigger government, and no national defense as prosecuting the 9-11-01 terrorists would cost too much.

Sapwolf on March 31, 2009 at 7:20 AM

I’m with ya Sap.

Crazy as it may sound I think 2004 was our last free and fair election.

I think both 2000 and 2004 were manipulated by acorn and the democrats and were not as close as they turned out. I live in a county with over a million residents where every republican presidential candidate has won handily since Eisenhower. The election results the last time tried to tell us barry was within 5000 votes of mccain. Now it’s true mccain was a lousy and disappointing candidate but the voter turnout did not support any theory that democrats increased their base at all.

I think something similar happens here at Hot Air, but in reverse: the trolls can’t read their own posts, but the rest of us can.

I would be very disappointed if anything like that took place here. I’ve always felt that banning at hotair was about protecting the integity of the site and not giving the left any real ammunition to marginalize it. Allowing someone to think their views were being expressed when they aren’t is flat out censorship even more then banning someone outright.I’ve made comments directed to allah and ed that caused them to respond directly and if I were banned for something like that I wouldn’t think it was correct but that would be their right. But for a site to stealthly ban someone means that they know that they can’t combat your ideas and feel guilty about banning you for being correct and within bounds.

I think you may be right. Any one know what percentage of the vote was fraudulent? Why do so many assume it was 1-2%? What if it was actually 10-15%? We don’t know. And no one wants to find out.

I noticed here in Georgia, Saxby Chambliss had to have a runoff, the vote was so close. Won the runoff by 10-12%. My contention is, that difference is representative of the fraudulent vote that didn’t have time to create fraudulent absentee votes, and busloads of bought off voters, who may not exactly be fraudulent, but then again aren’t honest voters.

Point is if we do not know the extent of the problem we can not solve it. If the fraudulent vote is 10% can we ever win again? You know they are trying to increase fraudulent voting. We are becoming a banana republic.

There is no big conspiracy to make you look like loons…..you ARE loons.

strangelet on March 31, 2009 at 1:02 AM

Fine, we’re loons and you’re a boring parasite. Are we done here?

i’m not giving up either. keep those phone/email lines to congress going. read what they are considering on a daily basis & inform your fellow bloggers.

we can’t give up because there is no other way for us to live.

kelley in virginia on March 31, 2009 at 7:42 AM

I don’t mean to sound defeatist with my previous post but I don’t like to sugar coat the current situation. He is right when he says “that the American system, the one the Founders created, is still in place”. The people still have the power to save our great republic. I won’t give up till my last breath.

After the 2000 elections the dems had numerous meetings about how they could win elections. They figured that they were so close that that if they used marketing tactics (say the same thing over and over no matter what you say and it’s true) they could win. They even hired some guy who was supposed to teach them how to use words and phrases.

They lost 2004 and they actually fired the guy they had hired and started using even stronger language. They had the media on their side and their lies and propaganda was accepted as truth. No negatives for the dems. but negatives all the time for republicans.

It’s just marketing in it’s most ruthless form and we don’t have the delivery mechanism to compete as of right now.

we are not witnessing the coming of the anti-Christ.

Wrong answer….. Yes we are….

we can’t give up because there is no other way for us to live.

Get the phrase into enough usage, and it begins to come up in Internet searches.

but you complain about astroturfing. in the same post.

On April 16th we will either have a very energized conservative population or we will know that many have simply given up the fight. It will all be in the numbers. Not the coverage, but the numbers….

katy on March 30, 2009 at 11:08 PM

I’m not givin up. I’ll be in the middle of the front row in Evansville at the auditorium/spillover to get the Cuda to sign my poster of her (the one with Gingrich’s sig. already). And yes, I’ll have my McCain Palin shirt with of course McCain x’ed out and 2012 under Palin. Hopefully, a photo too.

So what’s the panic?

A good strategy for political conflicts is to understand your opponent first

Don’t panic with skyrocketing unemployment rates, the stock market losing 1/3 of it value, government takeover of large segments of the economy in industries such as financial services, insurance, mortgage, auto-making, banking, health care and even the press. A national debt slated to go from $1-$2 Trillion to $7-$11 Trillion, a quickly deflating currency, inflation pressures, mounds of new restrictive government regulations on business as well as individuals, massive capital investment leaving America, punitive taxes, and an energy policy based around solar and wind. Not to mention vain attempts to find moderate Taliban, sucking up to Mullahs in Iran, and money for Hamas. OK Dave, I think we understand him, now what?

As annoying as they are, it is best to ignore them and continue the discussion. If their nonsense annoys too much, offer conter-information without referring to them by name, and then spend the bulk of your post contributing to the topic.

I will tell you one phrase that annoys the hell out of them, and that is to use the term “the failed Obama administration.” They go ballistic. Get the phrase into enough usage, and it begins to come up in Internet searches.

Liberal astroturfers are so cartoonish that it’s hard to get worked up about them.

msmveritas on March 31, 2009 at 1:18 AM

You must be in the Republican Martyr’s Brigade, because those of us in the Republican Taliban haven’t started our jihad yet.

Of course, I also advocate the same result for his socialization plans. I love seeing liberal socialists fail at their asinine agendas, and I’ll particularly love seeing this blow up in sock puppets face. I hope the explosion is like molten plastic in his face; Something he’ll never forget, and carry the badge of that dishonor forever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGhipjS-MNk

He’s not the anti-Christ, he’s the anti-Jefferson.

profitsbeard on March 31, 2009 at 2:06 AM

Interestingly enough… lately I’ve been signing things with Jeffersonian…. not Republican, nor Conservative…

Its actualy much closer to what I think, and the label has not been discredited.