When Standard-Times Editor Tim Archuleta put the online comments on hold for a month, he quoted in that editorial Publisher Robert Aguilar, "Frankly, it's gotten ugly", and frankly, it had. Archuleta announced the S-T would no longer allow anonymous comments and hoped that would cure the sometimes slanderous verbiage posted by less responsible posters.
Now, I grant, given the sheer volume of the FLDS comments, it must have been a chore to police the comments and remove or even ban egregious violators. Still...
An example Mr. Archuleta cited was from the police chief race where a poster "inaccurately called someone a criminal", and the post was removed. While Archuleta did not say whether the target was a candidate or another poster, absent documentation to support the term, removal of the "criminal" comment was appropriate, would have happened on our site I'm sure. As I have mentioned in other posts, S-T had the tools under its agreement with posters to do more of this, they failed to excersize the authority.
Now, Thursday AM, I look at the "for attribution" letters on the editorial page and find one from one Dr. Smith on health care reform. Dr. Smith devotes the first three paragraphs of his missive to proclaiming that the Bush/Cheney administration , "have committed some of the greatest war crimes since Adolf Hitler".
I will generously assume Dr. Smith is young and lacking in personal memory of the WWII era. Just for fun, since he said "since" Hitler, let's leave off Hitler and Joe Stalin, and start from that moment of history. Just to avoid historical quibbles, let's assume that every Moveon.org accusation is actually true, Bush is a Cheney puppet and both are willfully evil. I don't, but just for sake of arguement.
From Mao's cultural revolution, to Pol Pot's killing fields, to today's China v Tibet, to Darfur, to the Balkans, etc. ad infinitum; Bush couldn't make the cut to be in the top 100 of war criminals in my lifetime if he was trying.
Understand, I have real problems with a lot of "Homeland Security" laws. I am missing the first Republican State Convention since '94. A clean bill of health I will not give Bush on these items. Otra vez, Lincoln was the first President to suspend habeaus corpus , and that for US citizens, yet he has an impressive memorial on the north bank of the Potomac.
If Dr. Smith's comment is an exemplar of the improvement in tone we are to expect from doing away with anonymous comments, the S-T might as well re-instate Steppenwolfe and other banned posters. If you follow our Blog, JWT gently chided one poster for using uncomplimentary nick-names for persons of interest. That stands as an example of how we intend to moderate comments on our more ethereal "ink". Mr. Turner is the "publisher", if you will, and has final call, but we discuss the problem regularly.
To put it simply, neither JWT nor I intend to let this Blog go runamuck. We look to, and appreciate discussion of issues, even philosophy, not so much personalities, unless a direct relevance to the point at hand can be shown. To that end, JWT as "Benevolent Monarch" of the site, privately owned and published, has final authority. Recent history suggests we will moderate comments more freely but more responsibly than has the local paper.
It really hasn't been a problem. Our readers and posters deserve credit for the civility of comments to date. I thank you all for the interest shown. Digger, ex_pat, others I think I recognise, but leave to them to identify beyond "anonymous", good to be talking again.
Dr Smith is a fine person and a good Doc, but obviously misguided about the BushHitler thing as many Democrats are. I do wonder about the editing. I know that letter writers in the past have been contacted concerning revisions and or removals.
ReplyDeleteSince the Hitler comment wasn't related to the topic at hand, why didn't the leave that out.
The only reason that I can think of is to fan the flames and sell more papers.
Ignore the San Angelo Standard Times. Your letter gives them credence they don’t deserve.
ReplyDeleteSteppenwolfe
In response to the story, "Media Shirking Responsibility," I made this post and it was censored - I mean removed. Below is exactly what I said; I have not changed a word. I can put my hand on my bible and swear that EVERY SINGLE WORD is true.
ReplyDelete"There are many stories that you do not hear about from the media. Here are just a few:
1) Senate Bill 1959 - This is a bill that will put an "official" end to free speech in America. It is a bill that will criminalize any speech against ANY government agency, including the FDA. It also makes it illegal to say ANYTHING bad about the president or speak out against the war in any way. It has already passed the House with flying colors. For more info, please see:
http://www.911omissionreport.com/1959.html or google “Senate Bill 1959.”
2) North American Union - The government is not doing anything about immigration because the UN (aka David Rockefeller) has already created the North American Union. This is a plan to combine Mexico, America, and Canada. Construction of the Super-Highway has already started in Texas. When over a dozen local small-town papers spoke out against it, they were bought by large corporations so that the papers could be silenced and controlled. A new currency has been created called the “Amero.” No more pesos or American dollars. Everything will be switched to the Amero. The reason for the collapse of the dollar is so that it will set the stage for the Amero. For more info, please see:
http://www.911omissionreport.com/north_american_union.html, http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/cover121406.htm,
http://www.911omissionreport.com/nafta_super_highway.html
3) A well-kept secret is that Bill Clinton is actually David Rockefeller’s nephew. In fact, 42 of the last 43 presidents have been directly related. And here are just a few of his crimes: http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/billclintonscriminalbackground.htm
4) The Department of Homeland Security has put chips in our computers that track every single keystroke we make. Also, the Feds can now tap our cell phones remotely, turn on the microphones, and listen to any conversation in the room. For more info, please see:
http://www.911omissionreport.com/police_state.html
5) The U.S. Government has made it legal to seize your food and water. This will make you dependent on them.
6) Concentration camps have been built by the hundreds in America. Please read:
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/uscconcentrationcamps28jun01.shtml
These are just a few things that have been going on right under our noses. If you want more information, you can visit these websites: www.911omissionreport.com, www.projectcensored.org, www.911truth.org, http://justanothercoverup.com/?p=404#more-404, http://www.prisonplanet.com, http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/
And one more thing: Look at your dollar bill. The words directly above “The Great Seal” are Novus Ordo Seclorum. This is Latin meaning, “New Order of the Ages.” NEW WORLD ORDER! The reason for the UN is to create a One-World-Government. The man who built and runs the UN? David Rockefeller, of course."
Also, do you want to know the real story on gas prices? An insider speaks out about the human manipulation behind it. Please see http://fightoilprices.com/.
ReplyDeleteHere are a couple more very informative websites: http://www.jonesreport.com/articles/281006_rockefeller_911.html, http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/905/
Also, the reason this doctor spoke about Hitler was because the doctor has more information than most people. He knows that the Bush "Administration" includes individuals who financed Hitler and used Aushwitz labor to work in their factories. These financiers are still alive, and still continue to make the laws in this country.
Looks like the lunatic fringe has crawled over here already. It's sad. I was hoping this space would remain mental disease-free.
ReplyDeleteanon @ 4:25,
ReplyDeleteWe will tolerate a bit of truthseeker here from time to time. It is always the challenge to draw the line between healthy skepticism and paranoia. There may not be facts behind such rants, but if you can't produce facts to counter his points, who has the fantasy?
Still, we need to remind our readers that this blog is focused on local issues. We can solve many of our local problems. Then we can grow the solutions to larger levels. Don't lose focus.
Anonymous the first; I hope I didn't come across as disparaging of Dr. Smuth as a doctor or person, that was hardly my point. First sentence of your second paragraph, "why didn't they leave that out" was pretty much my point.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous the Steppenwolfe; assuming you are indeed our old friend, I dissent in terms that the local user of "ink by the barrel" automatically has "credence", earned or not. In this case, I disagree with some of the S-T judgement calls, but my complimentary language was not just feel-good fluff. I have lived in larger cities with way more obviously biased papers. S-T really does have some fine people on news staff. Aside from that, welcome in, the water's fine. Our rules are short, sweet and we hope, easily abided by, on both sides, posters and us.
truthseeker: I feel a little guilty about this following, I "opened the door", as the TV judges say, when I got into the Bush/Cheney/war crimes issues, but really, that was only by way of segueing into local editorial policy.
This Blog is dedicated to local, ie city, county, state, as such has effect locally, issues. Truth here, Mr. Turner and I had a friendly discussion over this missive of mine on just that point. After sleeping on it, he agreed I had a primarily local point, I revised some language and we printed that to which you are responding.
As we develop the "testbed" section, that may be a forum with room for more wide-ranging, national, even wordview issues. For the time being, this Blog intends to keep a local focus. Obviously, from the citations you put forth, there are many places dedicated to the issues you bring up.
I am familiar with most of what you write about, I leave to another place and time my opinion of it, but we really do hope to keep a focus on issues pertaining to roughly the Concho Valley region.
Mr. Ryan - I am really impressed by your response. I would like to address a few points: First of all, I respect the fact that you have always used your name. It is very honorable, and I have always wanted to tell you that. However, I do not have that luxury. Despite was others have ASSUMED, I am not a “he.” I am a “she.” A petite, blond “she” with some kind of weird gift for attracting unwanted male attention. It is exceptionally easy to find a home address and I am simply trying to be smart. Second of all, with all due respect sir, how are these issues not local? I just watched an 8 year old girl die of cancer whose family lives a few doors down from me. Now my neighbor right next to me is dying of cancer. Why does that bother me? Because a cure for cancer was already found in the 1940s by a doctor named Royal Raymond Rife. He was able to isolate the cancer with a microscope that he spent over a decade designing. The American Medical Association - answering to the “Global Elite,” shut him down. Then they confiscated his microscopes and made it illegal to use anything related. Dr. Rife spent the next 30 years fighting them, then finally gave up and retired to the shores of Mexico to die peacefully. Since then many cures have been discovered that are harmless, cheap, and painless, but the doctors who cure their patients using them get thrown into jail. The government and the United Nations are hiding this information from the public. Every single person that you know who is dying of cancer is dying in vain. That is very local, sir. Our schools have no money; our city has no money; the residents of this town have no money … do you know where it is all going? The United Nations. They are developing weapons to attack us and spy on us WITH OUR OWN MONEY! These men created the Department of Homeland Security, and now this agency is trying to gain total control over the US population - including the residents of San Angelo. The gas prices have climbed to record levels and will continue to climb until every last one of us is broke. At the same time, these guys control the Federal Reserve (which is a private bank owned by them) and manipulate our economy. The money that the citizens of San Angelo send to the IRS goes directly to the Federal Reserve. Few people know that the IRS does not keep the money. They also control the airlines and are telling us - the citizens of San Angelo - that they need to charge us for drinks and bags to make up for the costs of fuel. Another lie. All of this money is going into the same pockets. The laws that they have made apply to us and OUR officers enforce them without realizing who passed them and that the true intent of these laws is to protect the government from us. A few years ago, they tried to pass a bill that would effectively combine Mexico, America, and Canada. Sir … THEY ALREADY TRIED TO PASS THIS BILL AND NOW THEY ARE REVISING IT! What difference does it make who the police chief is if we no longer have a country and a constitution? I have been reading the comments in the newspaper since the beginning, and I have heard everything that you have said. I have seen your leadership skills, your courage, your intelligence, and I have seen your dedication to fix things. I wish everyone was as involved in their community as you are. Please do not take this wrong, but as I watch you tackle these issues on a daily basis it saddens me because it is as though you are wasting all of your gifts fighting causes that do not matter. Please let me explain: I love flowers, and so I am plenty familiar with weeding a garden. When I go to pull a weed, I go straight for the root, otherwise it will simply grow back. To me, what you are doing is clipping off a small, insignificant tip of a very small leaf. While you are wasting your time, energy, and resources doing that, the weed just continues to get bigger and bigger until you can not even see that small section that you clipped. They say “ignorance is bliss” and that is SO TRUE! The truth is, Mr. Ryan, I simply can not sleep unless I am doing everything that I feel like I can do. There are many local families who have been torn apart by drugs … where do you think those drugs came from? There are great citizens fighting state agencies like CPS - who do you think wrote the laws that govern CPS? I know the men who wrote them and I know what their motives are, and because I have that truth, I have to do something about it. I know what is in store for the people of this country and the people in this community. I know how the world works, and I know how to change it. People would be amazingly surprised to discover how easy it is and to completely eliminate poverty, drugs, and illness. Mr., Ryan, I need your help. How do I get people like you - the informal leaders - to see the seriousness of the situation? Tell me how to do it! We have kids as young as 4 years old being sold as sex slaves so these Americans can make a profit - our leaders of government! Everything from the extreme poverty in this country to drugs to human trafficking can be traced back to the leaders of OUR country. If Americans would just WAKE UP and fight their government then we could prevent them from causing so much human suffering. So tell me, Mr. Ryan. What do I do? It would be exceptionally easy to go somewhere else and join one of the groups that I referenced, but I have been told to stay and educate the people of this town. But I can not do that because I do not know how to get through to these people! I know that people love to make their unproductive rude comments, and I have never understood why people intentionally put others down just to make them feel bad. But I have to do something. People are starving and kids are being tortured and I do not have the luxury of not knowing. With knowledge comes responsibility, and the least that I can do in a day is pass on that information, even if it means a little ridicule. But please tell me - why does your friend simply think that I am paranoid? I have given numerous sources from respected individuals, and I can not even get people to even open a link! Much less wake up and stand on a united front against these people. These are not “conspiracies;“ these are facts. None of these issues are denied; they are just not on your 5 o’clock news. What am I doing wrong? Mr. Ryan, please mentor me. You are older and have been dealing with similar issues - on a smaller scale - for years. How do I get people’s attention? How would I get yours?
ReplyDeleteConchoinfo people, please find truthseeker/fablefinder some help of the mental health variety.
ReplyDeleteTruthseeker, you are falling into a trap: "If you think of yourselves as helpless and ineffectual, it is certain that you will create a despotic government to be your master. The wise despot, therefore, maintains among his subjects a popular sense that they are helpless and ineffectual.", Frank Herbert, The Dosadi Experiment.
ReplyDeleteIt's far too easy to see an overwhelming, super efficient, all encompassing conspiracy and surrender control to the lluminati. The reality is that there are myriad conspiracies -- some local, some global.
Look at the budgets for the city, county and school district. They aren't in trouble because of someone "stealing" their tax money to fund world domination. Their budget problems stem from short sighted decisions, like cutting maintenance, that don't extend past the next election. At some point you have to remember: the people making these decisions are often people you went to school with, and they are just as goofy now as they were then.
Learn to use Occam's Razor. The essence of it is in this quote from H.L. Mencken "There is always an easy solution to every human problem--neat, plausible, and wrong." The big problems that you enumerate have at least a partial local solution if you go looking for it. They are not monolithic, one dimensional problems. They are multi-faceted, multidimensional problems, but you have to make the changes that you
can.
It is easy to suspect that there is some "conspiracy" to suppress "the single cancer cure." It is harder to face the fact that cancer covers a broad spectrum of diseases with a variety of causes. The reality is that medical tourism countries like India or "our system is better than yours" countries like Cuba would love nothing better than an exclusive on an effective, universal cancer cure. Few people will take a long term, disinterested view. To quote Robert Heinlein, "Never appeal to a man's better nature. He may not have one. Invoking his self-interest gives you more leverage." Effective advocacy and politics depends on accurately identifying the self interests involved. And remember "all politics is local."
Your education is incomplete, truthseeker. Some more Koans to think on might be helpful
All persons act from beliefs they are conditioned not to question, from a set of deeply seated prejudices. therefore, whoever presumes to judge must be asked: "How are you affronted?" And this judge must begin there to question inwardly as well as outwardly. -- Frank Herbert
Justice belongs to those who claim it, but let the claimant beware lest he create new injustice by his claim and thus set the bloody pendulum of revenge into inexorable motion. Frank Herbert.
And of course the Classic: "All of the true things I am about to tell you are
shameless lies." --The Book of Bokonon / Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Jim Turner
webmaster@conchoinfo.org
the other Jim on the BLOG.
WOW!! A friend emailed the link to this blog to me and I have read all of the posts so far. While I pride myself on being able to see both sides of almost every issue, I find myself very torn after reading truthseeker's posts. It's left me feeling troubled but not for the reason truthseeker wants me to be. First, I'm saddened by the rude or nonchalant responses to truthseeker. I think there should be more compassion for "her". I don't choose to buy into "her" views. It's easier for me to blame God or some other invisible entity for all the bad things that happen in the World. I can't bring myself to believe the whole conspiracy theory. But, I do wish that there was a way to help truthseeker see her posts from a nonbeliever's point of view. "She" comes across as being almost obsessed with the conspiracy theory to the point of being delusional. I'm afraid for "her" and I'm worried that there is no way to help her. Truthseeker....I hope you find a way to let go of some of your negative views about our Country so you can live with some sense of peace. It must be horrible to live a life in that frame of mind and you must feel very alone. I'm sorry.
ReplyDeleteMr. Turner - The world that George Orwell predicted with pinpoint accuracy is upon us; among many other things, it is a time of constant surveillance and universal deception.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you are right about one thing: My education is not complete, and it never will be. I crave knowledge with a passion, and I can never get enough of it. In fact, just last night a new concept was brought to my attention. I learned about the “teachability index.” This is apparently a method that many agencies use to determine just how easy it is to teach a person new information. It consists of two variables: 1) a willingness to learn and 2) a willingness to accept change.
I am not going to beat a dead horse here. Until somebody wants to talk to me in facts about the inner workings of the Federal Reserve, the IRS, the Carlyle Group, the World Bank, or the purpose to the United Nations, I will let this conversation rest. Not a single person has attempted to do that because nobody knows what is going on there.
Here are a list of books that are absolutely fascinating:
1)Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You To Know About - Kevin Trudeau - This book tells why Americans are the sickest and fattest people in the world. It also explains why our premiums are unbelievably high, and why things will never change.
2) Psychiatry: The Ultimate Betrayal - Bruse Wiseman - An expert speaks out about how Americans have been deceived by the entire illusion of “mental illness,” and why it was created to begin with.
3) Why We Will Never Win the War on AIDS - Ellison Duesberg - This book is written by scientists. It explains how ‘greed, power, sex and politics have combined to create the biggest scam in medical history: AIDS.’ Very informative.
4) Innocent Casualties: The FDA’s War Against Humanity - Elaine Feuer - Talks about who the FDA looks out for and why. Dozens of mind-blowing stories about innocent doctors and citizens trying to do the right thing for humanity who find themselves in a war with the FDA. The FDA is not looking out for you.
5) The Cancer Cure That Worked - Barry Lynes - Mind-blowing stories about current medical “science.”
6) Economic Hit Man - I forget the name of this author, but it details the inner-workings of the World Bank. I spent some time in Mexico with a person who does this very job, and discovered that the World Bank is responsible for much of the world’s poverty. This book tells you how and why.
I have many other recommendations, for those of you who are interested. God Bless You All!!!
Goodness gracious. Seeker's reference to Mr. Trudeau's work is enough to cause any thinking person to discount her views. I would suggest she investigate his background.
ReplyDeleteLike a wise man once said, "There ain't no 'there' there.'"
Please excuse me, all. Those bloody black helicopters are buzzing my house again.
Ex-Pat - I have been reading your posts for the last year. You have been presented with massive amounts of information on a variety of issues and it is strikingly clear that you already know everything, and that your mind is completely closed to new or different ideas. It is also obvious that you are not here to learn, but rather that you are here to repeatedly put people down and attempt to make people feel bad. I have never acknowledged you in the past, nor will I ever do so again in the future. I am not trying to make you feel bad, but I have absolutely no desire to play your childish games and join you in your childish, unproductive arguments. But I will pray for you, and I will continue to look out for your best interests.
ReplyDeleteI am well aware of Mr. Trudeau’s life. I am aware that in high school he scored so high on the IQ test that they asked him to take the advanced IQ test. When he was done taking this test, he walked up to the counter, gave his test to the scorer, and told her that he scored 100% on the test and challenged them to figure out how. Not a single person in the world has ever been able to figure out how he cheated. Because he was a genius and had questionable morals, he was approached by two men from NSA in a bowling alley. (I have also spent personal time with these men at Fort Meade and I can assure you - they do exist.) He was recruited by them and worked closely with them on projects. This is how he has so much inside information. Several years later, he tried to start businesses that would benefit the public and was repeatedly attacked by the various agencies, just like everybody else that I mentioned in the books that you obviously have not read. They pushed him too far and he got ticked off. The corporate media is owned by the very people that he continues to try to expose. This is why the news has slammed him with false allegations, in the same way that it has with Ron Paul and Ralph Nader. All three of these individuals are fighting the same people TO PROTECT PEOPLE LIKE YOU. Kevin Trudeau has been approached by the “men in black” threatening his life; he has also had the wheels of his car fall off as he is driving down the street. He did spend two years in prison 20 years ago for credit card fraud, which he openly explains. However, quite frankly, that has absolutely nothing to do with what he says now, nor does it make his knowledge any less true. Like the wise man once said, “Never listen to who is doing the talking. Only listen to what is being said,” If you had read one of his books, you might understand why these powers-that-be are trying to completely discredit him and get people just like you not to listen to him. In the end, the truth will come to light.
God Bless You, Ex-Pat.
I like the one about someone asking directions. The person replies..you can't get there from here..you need to go somewhere else first
ReplyDelete