By Larry Johnson
closeAuthor: Larry Johnson
Name: Larry Johnson
Email: larry_johnson@earthlink.net
Site: http://NoQuarterUSA.net
About: Larry C. Johnson is CEO and co-founder of BERG Associates, LLC, an international business-consulting firm with expertise combating terrorism and investigating money laundering. Mr. Johnson works with US military commands in scripting terrorism exercises, briefs on terrorist trends, and conducts undercover investigations on counterfeiting, smuggling and money laundering.
Mr. Johnson, who worked previously with the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism, is a recognized expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, crisis and risk management.
Mr. Johnson has analyzed terrorist incidents for a variety of media including the Jim Lehrer News Hour, National Public Radio, ABC's Nightline, NBC's Today Show, the New York Times, CNN, Fox News, and the BBC. Mr. Johnson has authored several articles for publications, including Security Management Magazine, the New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. He has lectured on terrorism and aviation security around the world, including the Center for Research and Strategic Studies at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, France. He represented the U.S. Government at the July 1996 OSCE Terrorism Conference in Vienna, Austria.
From 1989 until October 1993, Larry Johnson served as a Deputy Director in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism. He managed crisis response operations for terrorist incidents throughout the world and he helped organize and direct the US Government’s debriefing of US citizens held in Kuwait and Iraq, which provided vital intelligence on Iraqi operations following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Mr. Johnson also participated in the investigation of the terrorist bombing of Pan Am 103. Under Mr. Johnson’s leadership the U.S. airlines and pilots agreed to match the US Government’s two million-dollar reward.
From 1985 through September 1989 Mr. Johnson worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. During his distinguished career, he received training in paramilitary operations, worked in the Directorate of Operations, served in the CIA’s Operation’s Center, and established himself as a prolific analyst in the Directorate of Intelligence. In his final year with the CIA he received two Exceptional Performance Awards.
Mr. Johnson is a member of the American Society for Industrial Security. He taught at The American University’s School of International Service (1979-1983) while working on a Ph.D. in political science. He has a M.S. degree in Community Development from the University of Missouri (1978), where he also received his B.S. degree in Sociology, graduating Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1976.See Authors Posts (874) on February 14, 2008 at 2:56 AM in Current Affairs
What a bunch of goddamn, Orwellian fascists. Here’s the message waiting for me when I checked in tonight:
Okay Mr. Kos. Here’s a word for you: GO FUCK YOURSELF. (Actually, that’s three words. My bad.)
This wannabee poseur and his gang of Animal Farm pig imitators have lost touch with reality.
About a month ago I had an exchange with Markos concerning troll rating Susan Hu (SusanUnPC), who had the audacity to try to defend one of my posts. He said (and I can’t give you the exact quote until I get back to my puter in Maryland) that Susan was being “disciplined” for not allowing the community to punish me for my anti-Obama postings. The little fucking twerp obviously has never read nor understood George Orwell’s Animal Farm. For the cultural illiterates (and I hope there are none on this blog), Orwell described an oppressed society of farm animals who took control of an overbearing farmer’s property. And before you could say, Barack Obama is incompetent, the pigs began punishing the other farm animals. They assumed the worst traits of the humans they vanquished.
Well Markos and crowd. Orwell was right. Fuck you people. I won’t post and I won’t read. But most of all, I won’t apologize. I have nothing to apologize for other than making the false assumption that you clowns gave a shit about freedom of expression or liberty. You guys are John Bolton and Dick Cheney in drag. You are welcome to kiss my ass.
Wow. That is pretty angry stuff right there.
I have a question about this statement you made:
Is that sexist or homophobic, or both?
On this blog you are allowed to make up your own mind. No thought police to tell you what you need to think. And if the thought of John Bolton allows you to pop wood I will gladly pay for your mental health counseling.
If you had to choose, John or Josh?
Sexually?
You are from kos, arent you?
actually, that was pretty funny.
If you had to choose, John or Josh?
Flirt
Larry - one of the respectable things about your site is the degree of un-censorship. I also cannot express clearly enough for you in the words of any language exactly how much I agree with you about Markos’ Magic Money Machine and his Little Munchkins too. They are about as overbearing, egotistical, and narrow as it gets. Orwell’s book is the EXACT comparison, and I credit you with having easily made that connection.
A lot of liberals and leftists agree with you about Kos. It’s not just about Hillary Clinton being out of vogue at that web site. Anyone that does not embrace the tone du jour or slogan du jour there can expect to be ostracized by a vacuous mob for it.
They’d be a hair less obnoxious if they didn’t imagine themselves so erudite.
Look on the bright side. You’ve just recovered a bit of your personal time that you can use to enhance your OWN career, not Moulitsas’.
Yes I agree! I’ve been censored over at Huffington so I appreciate the freedom here.
Agreed Larry. All my posts have been removed from Huffington and everything scrubbed but oddly…my profile. Over fifty posts totally removed.
Viva Free Press/blogs as long as it’s pro Obama.
yes, me too, every time I put something up at Huff po is never gets approved and I never use bad language, (I love your title by the way) or misleading statements. Anything questioning Obama or pro Hillary disappears
Same with my posts at CNN.
Ok, I’ll try freedom of speech.
Kos is an arrogant dickhead with a tiny little penis.
It’s why he’s so easily threatened.
How did I do, Larry?
Actually Kos has a bidg cock, Larry and his frien Joe Wilson have small dicks that need triple viagra doses to even be noticed.
You oughta know you cocksucking little bitch.
You have seen Joe Wilson’s wife right? She’s friggin’ hot and brilliant, and she kicks ass in THE man’s world. Not as a waitress at Hooters. Oh wait, forgive me, you actually work at Pier One, right? And if I wasn’t married, I’d love to ride Larry like a Grand National winner. With women of taste, it’s talent and intellect. PS You sure loved Larry and Joe over at KOS when they served your needs. Chucked them under the bus as well, eh? Typical Obama tactic.
This is a great site. Taylor Marsh referred to it. I post on MYDD. Markos sucks. I will never read or post on DKos. Extremist suck. Obama is a cult.
mydd getting like kos!
Good for you Larry. I don’t mind telling you that I don’t know why you ever bothered with them in the first place because you are much too good for KOS. They’re all net neophytes who found a little power on the InterNUT and now they play like the typical Stalinists they are. We don’t need no fascist pigs. We need the truth and you (and folks like Taylor Marsh) are digging it out for us.
Keep it up.
A fan,
Hank Roth
http://pnews.org/
(Army Security and NSA trained; worked for Ike in the White House and for General Curtis LeMay in the War Room at the Pentagon)
Wow, way to cross your own T’s and totally miss the point. I can feel the breeze your bat made from here.
Anger is often caused by fear and I think many are very fearful of Senator Obama and for good reason. He is going to win the popular vote and then how are they going to shove Senator Clinton, bought and paid for by lobbists, down our throats.
That would explain the Obama supporters anger, the fear their candidate would get found insubstansive in actualy policy.
You care to explain how voluntary compliance for companies leaking nuclear meterial into topwater is an example of being against special interests, or would you let Obama’s Senior staffer David Axelrod of Exelon do that?
“I agree, it is the change Obama brings, threatening the status quo, it pisses off people like Larry, new power, new people, like Kos.”
This is how you gain entry, they really aren’t able to tell who is friend or foe, Kos so wants to be important, a player, rich and connected. So you can force him into MORE internal chaos. Feed his little knowledge about psy ops “(say irrational exuberance, Polly) his smug arrogance, masking fear, can be exploited, making him think he has control, when he doesn’t. Who is an enemy, who is not?
You want your enemy to attack YOU, in order to gain control of him, gaming asymmetrically, the idea is to destroy the organization from within, understanding the behavioral dynamics.
It is essentially, the same method used against that other effete man, Bush. And koskrew came back with traditional Rovian control methods, yawn.
Koskrew thinks it’s playing on an even playing field, it’s not, that’s the troll, he can’t recognize his enemy, his parameters of battle being traditional, and he’s put himself in a bubble, Obama worship.
So, Kos is insecure about money, his intellect, his ability to compete, and his sexuality, for starters. He’s also become very very angry. So this is fed and played, too, how many times can you provoke Kos to lose control, road rage? And he is not a critical thinker, he is very reactionary, specious.
And off we go.
Also, as an aside, it is given Obama is corrupt, linked to Rezko. What other relationship does this mimic, say, Rezko, Obama and Kos, in relation to the middle east dynamics, behavioral patterns, that is? And it’s safe to assume Kos is socked, too, taking direction from another. So how is it being manipulated, he likes to think of himself as an insurgent.
BTW, this isn’t simply about the election.
If Rezko DOES have ties to terrorism, it is very serious, very, very real.
It’s not a game.
Simon — you’re right its not a game. Obama has been molded for many years for this. How does some nobody from nowhere get his biography published? In this biography he talks about his problems with coke and today its old news. Brilliant!! I don’t know to whom Obama owes his allegence however, its not to us Democrats. Who are the people who gave Obama 130 Mill for this run? As you have stated, at least one is a rich muslim who lives in England. I pray sanity rules and we get a president who loves all Americans and who will bind this nation’s wounds.
As an aside–Oprah who loves to call Obama THE ONE and has turned her program into a propaganda machine for Obama has now gotten permission from the FCC to purchase the Discovery Channel. I’m sure there is no quid pro quo–but it is courious.
wow, you guys are way off the deep end. Maybe a couple miles out! Now Obama is the muslim by way of britain manchurian canidate? This is too funny!
I don’t like to attribute anything to conspiracies; I prefer facts - but you make some really excellent points that I don’t think should be ignored. I guess if it waddles and quacks like a duck, it might be a duck. The amazing part of all this is how much everyone wants to give Obama a free pass. I ask myself why and I don’t want to believe it is because he is Black. I did my part in the civil rights movement and got thrown a lot of places trying to effect change, but I’ve never seen anyone get away with so much without being vetted. Perhaps it is the pendulum effect? It seems like it is wholly the message of “change” and because so many want to be inspired. People want to believe and don’t want any facts. Whenever I bring anything up which questions his veracity I get accused of being a bigot or a liar. It is just too incredible.
Hank Roth
http://pnews.org/
Simon,
As always - well said and right on!
Markos is finished - In his arrogance he just does not realize it yet. The media are just salivating over the Dirt on Obama.
Here is a sample with a Diary I wrote over at Boom - they actually have a few sane people left and it received 2 recommends:
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2008/2/11/19652/5343
What I wrote is confirmed by none the less than Alexander Cockburn:
https://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/16416
If any of the Bama Cultists would bother to google Znet or Black Agenda Report they would see that INTELLIGENT people of color have deep concerns about Obama.
Once Karl Rove and his Corporate Media minions start, Markos, and other members of the Progressive blogs are finished and their credibily competely trashed. Unfortuantely all of us will suffer for this arrogance and stupidity.
Nah he’ll be defended in the same fanatical way that the fictional Bob Roberts or the real GW Bush were defended.
He’s become too big to fail. But McCain has an easy way to beat him.
Alright, I’ll bite–what easy way does McCain have to beat him?
(Btw, it’s nice to read your name outside of Big Orange.)
Hate to see Kos get knocked personally, perhaps he’d discuss this here to clear up some of the feelings and clarify his position.
Wow!
Paging Dr. Frist, paging Dr. Frist, a psuedo-diagnosis is needed at noquarterusa. Pronto!
no quarter Yoshimi Jojimbo.
>Also, as an aside, it is given Obama is corrupt, linked to Rezko
what the hell?
simon, what you just posted is one of the most insanely idiotic things that I have ever read. At no point in your rambling post did you write anything that could even be remotely considered a coherent thought. Everyone online that accidentally read it is now dumber for having done so. May Al’lah have mercy on your soul.
Dufus. Larry’s comments are not about Obama. They’re about Markos. And he’s exactly right.
You have any idea how many people no longer visit DKos?
I agree with you absolutely. I refuse to be exposed to the vitriol and hatred of the Hillary-bashers any more. I guess Larry is just allowing me to get the anger out of my system which is why I can tolerate it from him today.
Anger is also caused by frustration, you know. When humans behave as though they have half the brain alloted to a parrot, and the logic skills of a slug, it does make one despair, and that despair is sometimes expressed as anger.
I never thought so many people could be so stupid as to drink the Believe Bullshit Change Hope Kool Aid, especially when we’ve seen how poorly it played out in a state election, and how badly the citizenry got sold a wimpy, empty suit. There IS an example already out there. It’s not like this shit is new.
When a critical mass won’t learn from history, the rest of us who have are condemned to ride along with those clueless morons as we are driven off the cliff. That does tend to piss some of us off.
“I can feel the breeze “
Alright!! Who pulled the kid’s finger?!!!
Goddammit, that’s no way to treat a guest!!!
Larry - some of us discovered that aspect of “Kos” years ago. It’s an empty echo chamber for retards who want to agree with each other at any given moment. I gave up “Kos” years ago (last Democratic primary) when I discovered that anyone who disagreed with certain premises about Democrats and Republicans or certain slogans (Anybody But Bush) got treated like garbage.
Ultimately, “Kos” is just a career vehicle for Markos Moulitsas, anyway. Being one of his munchkins just means that you are devoting YOUR personal time to enhancing HIS career.
It’s none of those to adults. If right-wing idiots want to censor everything on television, then left-wing idiots clearly want to censor everything on blogs. Since when did saying “Barack Hussein Obama” ever become a bannable offense, as if that isn’t his middle name? So, you can’t even say a man’s LEGAL NAME without getting a warning message? Blogs like Kos and Mydd can drop dead.
Orange Kool-Aid gives me verbal diarrhea.
No thought police ;
Thanks for that.
NQ
God Bless you Larry
Ditto that from me!
This is why I appreciate this blog.
The Peer Pressure game of cliques is nothing new to me. I’ve already sowed my oats in a “progressive organization” and faced this Animal Farm effect.
It was always apparent that this was based on the Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky examples, but what do symbols matter if they only belong to 3 people.
Eli Pariser, Markos, and the others can enjoy their groups, and let the koolaid drinking be their game. But the beauty of expression is if I don’t have to filter it for your delicate ears that are filled with your own ideology and your own values.
Does Larry Johnson engage in comments that offend you? Good, so long as he isn’t being fake in doing so, which he isn’t. That sets him, and others, apart from trolling assholes who don’t even care about the supposed “sexism” or “homophobia” they want to fetch up for a convenient tar and feathering.
There are lots of people here who say things I really disagree with, but because they air them as their views, and not as a sweeping condemnation for those who don’t share their views, I can respect the difference. In doing so, my view expands. I may not change my ultimate position, but I do modify and open up to the other views. They soften the edge on a few topics, and open up options on others.
Having spent the better part of a decade dealing with these types, the list monitors, the moderators, the snobby “i’m so offended” types who use any scrap of humility you may possess to shut you up, I know when I’m being oppressed in my view.
I can write OBAMA IS A FAKE here at No Quarter and feel that I can elaborate on my concerns. Do that elsewhere and see what you get. I bet, I could even take Clinton to task for several things, so long as they are substantive, and not be run off.
The classic overstating of a person’s position is a convenient way to not deal with their actual views. Hyperbole will not help you in trying to answer your critic.
It would be nice if we could all take a chill pill and talk out our differences….how kumbayah. I’d like to think many here could tone down and get to the most substantive explanations too…but guess what…
Righteous anger has its place in dialogue, and respecting the anger of another person is real respect.
Be a good boy.
Be a good girl.
Don’t complain.
Shut up.
Suffer in silence.
If you can play nice, you don’t belong.
Play Nice.
Oppression is filled with lots of little games and mechanisms to make sure you do not vent your concerns. Talking people out of their concerns is coercion.
I recently terminated a ‘friendship’ because the guy could not take “No” for an answer. Every time I raised a concern (legitimate or not) about what I was being asked to do, I was talked out of them without any concern for whether my concerns were met, but so that he could achieve his goals.
This is the same way I’m encountering some of the campaign operators who will not let me air my concerns.
This was also the root of Ahmadenijad’s rant about the Holocaust. When we cannot talk about something, that raises the blood pressure of people who have something to say. SILENCE! YOU WILL NOT TALK ABOUT THAT!
I agree, Fuck Kos. I don’t think they realize what sort of clusterfuck they are. Same with MoveOn and its 15,000 members and their 3.2 million emails.
I have to admit, there are times when someone really needs to call me out on my shit. But it should happen when I’ve overstepped my views and have begun to trample someone else’s view. I try my best to simply stick to how I see it. If you want to vote for Obama, McCain, or RuPaul, then do it. I want you to. Don’t you dare vote for My Candidate.
But you put your hand on my ballot, and you’ll draw back a damn nub. (or a headbutt, my more favourite method of rejection)
“I can write OBAMA IS A FAKE here at No Quarter and feel that I can elaborate on my concerns. Do that elsewhere and see what you get. I bet, I could even take Clinton to task for several things, so long as they are substantive, and not be run off.”
You bet you can. IN FACT, Larry makes it a policy to permit others to post on behalf of their candidates. If we had a writer here who wished to write about Obama — we extended MANY offers — we’d allow it. And Larry’s friend Wayne Williams posted here about John Edwards, as did I because I respect him and think he’s up for the job.
[I think one thing those censoring boobs at DKos totally missed was that Larry has written numerous articles about his concerns about Obama's Kenyan connections and actions during the recent terrible turmoil there -- if they'd bothered to look at the history of his writings, some of which were also put up at DailyKos -- they'd know he wasn't writing racist stuff. Dear god. (OR at least that's what I'm guessing they think is racist, etc., since they never BOTHERED to point out specific instances.]
Susan,
Glad youare here - but concerned that mind is ruling body and body needs to heal!
Those of us who know you and Larry know the current epitaths of Racism and Sexism absolutely DO NOT apply.
These guys are behaving just the the Wing Nuts they spent years mccking. Just goes to prove not ALL members of the political left are SANE!
I trust Larry more than I would trust anyone else on foreign affairs or intelligence matters.
And I have been reading you for years, and completely trust what you always so superbly document in each and every post.
Hope this post goes through. I have been having trouble the last few days. Don’t know if it is my new computer, or if the site is expereincing troubles again.
“These guys are behaving just the the Wing Nuts they spent years mccking. Just goes to prove not ALL members of the political left are SANE!”
Exactly. And not all on the right are insane. I happen to think Newt Gingrich is a first rate thinker. Where we part company is his right of center solutions to problems and issues. But it is always interesting and mind expanding to listen to him. Same with Karl Rove, who knows so much. I just hare his ‘evil’ side.
And I agree. Larry and Susan are trust worthy, as is this site.
but susan, only months ago you were singing the praises of “Kos” as I pleaded with you to get more serious sources of information for presentation here. Now, at last, you can see that, yes, “Daily Kos” is a web site for vacuous idiots and lonelihearts who wish to volunteer to make Moulitsas wealthy and happy.
The issues with “Kos” go much deeper than one person being stupidly ostracized for not supporting this- or that- comment. The Animal Farm effect has been in play at “Kos” for some time.
It is also in play here. Anyone who is opposed to the Hillary candidacy will be ostracized - THOUGH NOT CENSORED, to this site’s credit.
I encourage you to consider that. You don’t want No Quarter to be like “Daily Kos”, do you?
I was banned from posting comments and rating as well, and was warned that discussing Rezko is a “rightwing talking point”. Never mind that my posts were almost uniformly informed, accurate and polite. The obamapods TR’d me over and over again, and when they got frustrated that auto-ban wasn’t kicking in, they went whining to Hunter (or so I understand) and I lost my ability to post. I don’t get that. DHinMi described me as one of the worst posters. I responded that I wanted to see if we could have a meeting of the minds and posited that, to my mind at least (aye, there’s the rub), the worst kind of posters would be people who post hit diaries, and a couple of other things - I can’t remember what. I just went to look the comment up and it’s apparently been TR’d though there was nothing offensive in there. Maybe I just missed it, but if not, I have no doubt that DH would have wanted it disappeared. It certainly put him in an unattractive light.
Well, fuck ‘em, You’re right. You’ve certainly your value to the reality based community.
Hi Lorelynn!
I was wondering where you went. I am also taking a loooon break from DK. I haven’t been banned, but I wrote a GBCW diary that got some pretty nasty comments. Isn’t it great to feel the love from Kossacks, lost in “the wonder of O”?
when the Labour party got rid of clause 4 the purge was similar. At least there are no billy clubs in cyberia.
DKos, has been a turf war for about a year. Maybe some people noticed it or they didn’t but Edwards’s peeps and Obama’s peeps were fighing to own to the site for months.
Edwards people lost. I don’t know if we’d have behaved any better if Iowa had broken our way and Obama had tanked.
A little gang over there gained a great deal of experience in the Israel/Palestine/Iran Diaries over three years in getting rid of anti-Iraeli opinion (probably justified to some extent to make sure Dkos didn’t become asscoiated with anti semitism) and their troll baiting/rating techniques carried over into the candidate wars primarily to the benefit of Obama.
That’s roughly how it went over the years.
Btw on another topic Larry, if you are reading this, do you know Phil Sabin, Dandeker and Lawrence Freedman? They are my old prof at King’s College. They are producing some interesting work these days on Iraq…
I started off as an Edwards supporter and switched to Clinton. I never saw the kind of gang thuggery going on with Edwards, Clinton, or Dodd or even Kucinich.
What’s happening with the Obama campaign is unique and unlike anything I’ve seen in progressive politics for a long, long time. He’s an ugly human being who is bringing out the worst in others. Check out some of the emails Taylor Marsh is getting.
Lorilynn — Damn right no other candidate has done what Obama has. He has split the Democrats but he is not concerned because he wants to be the boss of this country. Anyone who fires up the people must have an agenda to turn the people against each other. History tells us this has happened time and time again. I pray sanity returns and we end up with a sane boring leader who fixes whats broken and doesn’t break what isn’t.
in 2003 i had a disagreement with markos about several comments he made regarding the peace movement. i was immediately pounced upon by his front page darlings and other wannabes … i was informed, in so many words, that questioning kos was not kosher. a couple years later, i forgot my place again, and i openly told the community that kos’ endorsement of a political strategy regarding the supreme court was wrong headed. once again, it was pointed out that i needed not to question my betters or anyone of his sycopants. i have submitted several diaries over the years never to have any published … i was relegated to “lurker” status but i could at least make comments.
well that status suddenly changed around six months ago … i was troll rated when i made several comments questioning obama’s progressive beliefs. it got so silly, i would make a comment and 20-30 people would jump on me and then blame me for hijacking the thread. LOL … blaming the victim of the brown shirted thought police. Larry, i sincerely agree with your thoughts on dkos and the animals who are now in charge … a damn shame … but then again “group think” can not tolerate real debate.
The sounds of the animals
Animal Farm segment 1
Animal Farm segment 2
Animal Farm segment 3
Animal Farm segment 4
Animal Farm segment 5
Animal Farm segment 6
all music mixed live to the reading.
You have done what every
Red-BloodedBlue Blooded American has wanted to do with this little Napoleanic twerp.He says that his blog is not about issues but about getting people elected. It doesn’t seem that he’s done such a good job if you look at his campaign against Joe Leiberman or his support of John Edwards.
I would love to find a way of troll rating this twerp.
The best way to troll rate kos is to avoid his site. It’s a business, so losing visitors will hit him where he lives. If you have to go, use Firefox with the Adblock plugin, which will prevent your visit from adding to his revenue.
Well lets be honest. The liberal blogosphere has always exaggerated its importance. Sure it can raise money, but it doesn’t represent or even understand the rank and file democrat.
No you are wrong. Obama’ success is built on his successes on the net. No doubt about it.
Don’t worry - The corporate National Media will be doing it in spades and starting the beginning of March I posit.
The dkos crowd is in serious need of a professional deprogrammer. Their behavior reminds me of the way cult members react to opposition by trying to silence the offender. Anyone who doesn’t parrot their talking points is suddenly labeled (”troll”) and quickly banished so that true believers don’t have to read things that challenge their beliefs. When forcing people off the site no longer satisfies them because they know “heresy” is still being spread elsewhere, they feel compelled to pursue their adversaries from site to site in order to harass them. It’s not enough to shut you up at dkos; they have to come here and try to make you toe the line, too. Speech that “harms” the object of their veneration has to be stopped and, if possible, punished.
It’s amazing to see how savagely the Obamatons turn on anyone perceived to threaten their idol. Not too long ago, they were quite happy to read Larry’s posts and recommend them. A few posts questioning the Chosen One’s bona fides and he’s persona non grata among Kossacks. Paul Krugman has suffered the same treatment, after years of being lionized by the allegedly progressive blogosphere. At the same time, they are quite eager to offer absolution to former adversaries like Andrew Sullivan, Maureen Dowd and various rightwingers who have heaped praise upon Obama.
This is an extremely familiar pattern of behavior for zealous followers of charismatic (cult) leaders. The fact that so many of them are avowed atheists who disdain this sort of nonsense from religious fanatics would be funny if it weren’t so disturbing.
Many others have as well … see Erica Jong’s essay about the terrible reactions, and the treatment she got, after her op-ed in the WaPo last week. It’s in my story about SUPER Women, just below.
It is a symptom of the behavior of cults — they disallow any dissenting opinions, and drive away people who dare question anything.
they disallow any dissenting opinions
Susan,
I haven’t forgotten how you spoke to Leslie when she questioned you on the Rezko charges.
Cee, I’m not sure of what you speak but I will tell you that I have a rule, that I’ve shared with other front-page writers, that we don’t take down each other posts publicly. Beyond that, I will say nothing because any further communications have been between Leslie and me, and I’ve expressed my deep regret to her for any way in which I offended her. (It’s not an excuse, but I also felt like hell all the time around then, but the doctors didn’t know it was a ruptured appendix and abscess … needless to say, I was not at my best at all times during that period (although god knows I tried almost all the time to be respectful, even when my body had sapped almost all my strength and caused me to feel very cross at times).
If you must bring up such matters again, please do by e-mail, not here. It’s not something I think is appropriate to discuss further.
Cee, I can’t get this out of my mind. It’s been personally very painful and I pray things can be repaired. I care a lot about Leslie.
For Real - Any of you who happen to meet any Moonies, or Scientologists and try to question their leaders will be hearing the same crap as the ObamaBots spew.
Can the brown shirts be far behind????
Correction. “Barack shirts” is the 21 century version of the “brown shirts.”
While I agree that Mr. Johnson got treated extremely unfairly I must point out that comments like these do not help support his argument. How is this comment any less like the behavior that has been criticized at KOS? So you are implying that people who support Obama are Nazis? This stinks of hypocrisy. I for one think that having BOTH candidates completely vetted is an important thing. I will support whom ever ends up being the nominee because Mr. 100 years is an unacceptable option.
I’m sorry that Larry had to be subjected to that kind of intolerance but calling someone a Nazi kind of negates the point that Larry was trying to make.
Thanks Larry for giving me an education in regards to the other topics you cover on your site.
Thank you.
Its less like it because you aren’t going to have Larry and Susan storming around deleting your post or troll spamming your message so you go away. If you’re going to get your ass handed to you, it will be in a public way.
If you are simply talking about the tone, I don’t see anyone here acting like a Clinton cult. Point me where I’m wrong there, but I don’t see it. I see specific reasons the folks who intend to support are doing so. Amb. Wilson was very clear. LJ has been very clear. Susan has been very clear, and others…but Obama supporters haven’t done the same thing here. Its been pedestrian hour for the most part.
I’m open to substantive proposals that I should see. Don’t sell me out to my ignorance if you can show me where Obama’s got the right policy. I may not appreciate it now, but I will in the future if you’re right.
I do believe some of the Obama supporters are like the Germans in the 1930s. And it is important that we not see it from the point of Post Holocaust knowledge, but post WWI knowledge.
In the US right now, many people are suffering due to what Amb Wilson referred to as the Rovian echo chamber. They really want Bush and all the legacy to be gone. They are seeking massive change.
This Has Happened Before
When people seek massive change, it hasn’t historically been optimistic that they make the right choice. They usually overcorrect and go to someone who is either worse, or in many cases, not competent, but had a great pitch.
I will not compare Obama to Hitler. That is gross on too many levels. I will say that the United States is in a state of distress. And countries in distress have often made very poor choices for a while.
I’m glad we can explore these concerns at NoQuarter. As a Scot, I refuse to be a Good German.
Xeno, really well said. They’ve also attacked Joe Wilson for supporting Clinton. Some months ago I spent a morning defending a progressive journalist, Pierre Tristam, who posted a diary there, because BarbinMD and the rest of the fascist thugs at the site swarmed Tristam.
Jesus christ. It’s come to this. They’ve become the people they’ve hated. No wonder they call it ‘drinking the kool-aid.’
Funny isn’t it. Like looking in the mirror and seeing George W. Bush supporters.
Right Larry?
Yeah, thanks for proving that you are stalking people Yoshimi, since you are one of the worst fascist thugs at DailyKos. Now here you are, doing exactly what other commenters have said–not content to do your ugly deeds at DKos, you’re following people around the internet to do them.
Whooo - Deep Breath Dude…! :^0
I don’t post at DailyKos, nor do I got there every day… so I am sure your feelings are valid… but KOS had way more info on the recent FISA - Immunity Scam and the Torture legislation than this one did… I come here for security/interntional/former cia perspective…
Deep Breath - write your blog, don’t post it, wait a few hours and see if your still that p*ssed off. That’s about as angry a post as I’ve read in a while.
– Mitchman
Ahem… Here’s a thought. Watch CSPAN.
OK I’m sorry. I wasn’t making fun of you. My point is that that is what Kos et al are doing. They don’t have any inside information. They just don’t have a real job.
True. At one time there were truly insightful, original writings about issues like FISA but most of those people have departed … mostly because, if one writes a serious policy diary, it gets ignored. I’ve been appalled at the diaries by prominent serious scholars that get ignored SIMPLY because it doesn’t give them yet one more place to RANT, which is all they love to do.
Fire Dog Lake, and Glenn Grenwald have done a great job On FISA. Emptywheel parses things that even lawyers miss.
Fuck Em All!
Go get em Larry! I am so damn sick and tired of the lefty thought police. They and their sanctimonious minions that like to pretend they are oh-so much better than the nasty “conservative” thought police. But say something about Hillary Clinton that isn’t negative and you’ll find out just how interested these Obama supporters are in free speech and all the other things they claim to embrace. Right along with a “level” playing field. Drivel! What they want is a playing field slanted their way.
We are all supposed to be nice little round liberal pegs and march quickly to our place in our appointed round holes. (I won’t take the easy way and continue down that road.) If you are a square peg, and don’t fit in and play nice with all the other folks on the bandwagon then they attempt to pound you into shape.
I forgot, in my eternal naiveté that people aren’t much different whether left or right. They all just want to get their way. And if you don’t want to march in their parade or mouth their slogans or perceive the world the way that they do, then you are an abomination.
The left blogosphere has, for the most part, decided that Hillary is an evil witch and anyone that plans to vote for her or support her is an enemy. While mouthing silly slogans like a bunch of teenagers at a High School Pep rally they say one thing and do another. Unity and hope they say. Such rhetoric is just empty words because while they say them they are also denigrating and trying to intimidate anyone that doesn’t see things their way. I don’t allow conservatives and corporate media to shove their ideas and faux heroes down my throat and I sure all hell am not about to let some so-called liberal do it either.
I was amazed at first to find myself the recipient of more vitriol from Obama supporters than I had been from conservative trolls. I though we were supposed to be better than that. Some of us are. Most alas are not!
Speaking of slogans - I looked up the sources.
“Yes We Can” was lifted directly from Governor Deval Pat