Onion Story Gets Blown Out of Proportion 641
A 3-year-old Onion video titled "Martial Law Plans Revealed?" has swept across the internet recently, and taken the gullible along with it. The video has some preaching from the highest mountain top about the evils of a government turning fascist, and an equal number explaining until red in the face what The Onion is.
Re:Internet Stupidity Test (Score:2, Insightful)
But the Onion *is* prescient! (Score:4, Insightful)
I think we ignore The Onion as a serious news source at our peril [theonion.com], especially now that mainstream media has all but abandoned serious reporting themselves. Imagine what could have been avoided if people had listened in 2001. It's like their reporters had used a fricking time machine!
For a follow-up (Score:5, Insightful)
Try citing The Onion AV Club as a source on Wikipedia. No one will believe you. Condescendingly, they'll explain that The Onion is satire.
Re:But the Onion IS real... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Suckaz (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Internet Stupidity Test (Score:4, Insightful)
Even if that were true (and it's not -- see some of the other replies to you) the complete lack of critical thinking skills displayed by anybody who believes this remains... disturbing to say the least. (You have no idea how tempted I was to say "classified" there.)
I mean honestly. "Classified flesh-eating?" Do these idiots truly believe that the people would leave a term like flesh-eating in there next to something classified? It's both the worst and the most descriptive term in the sentence! "A new Bill of Rights will be drafted" is silly enough on its own, but just gets worse when paired with "to be approved by classified."
I know our own history is funny enough that none of this is IMPOSSIBLE (it basically happened), but to anybody with a handful of functioning brain cells it should be more than enough to throw up red flags and start looking into things -- starting, perhaps, with the fake congressman. But instead morons treat it as a reason to start running their mouths about their terribly ill-informed opinions on fake news stories. Bravo, morons, for continuously proving why the right to speak is not bundled with the right to be listened to.
Re:Suckaz (Score:5, Insightful)
-slam the right. It's practically a new passtime to slashdot.
They invite it, though, with right wing politicians calling Obama a socialist, a 'secret Muslim', not born in the U.S., talking about death panels in the healthcare bill, etc. And that's in the GOP itself, not just in the TEA Party.
Re:Suckaz (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Suckaz (Score:4, Insightful)
No, those aren't Democrats, they usually register Green or Indie, if they
register at all.
Both major parties are considered mainstream, and so they must be part of
the the big conspiracy. Voting for any candidate that actually has a chance
of winning seems to be an anathema to them. Some actually outright call
voting an act of endorsing "the system" as if there is some all powerful
international karma genie keeping track and ready to kick out the government
if voter enrollment fell too far.
(Not that I don't like the Green party on principle, they have a better platform
than the Dems, but it seems to have the liability of being a magnet for
despondent borderline nutjobs, and in certain states, a takeover target for
wannabe communists. Which is a drag on the other states where the adults
are in charge of it.)
Re:Suckaz (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, that just made you look really bad. Learn to find good information.
Re:Poe's Law at it's best (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd just like to point out that this applies equally to the extreme ends of any ideology.
Because parody attempts to take any idea to an absurd extreme, it's difficult to distinguish parody from the extreme camp of any ideology.
Re:Internet Stupidity Test (Score:4, Insightful)
We say that the NAACP now understands what it's like to be unfairly accused of racism, lose your job, and have nobody listen to your side of the story.
minor but important point (Score:1, Insightful)
The video wasn't "faked" it was edited to remove context.
Even watching the whole video, she used some pretty stupid language in relating her story despite her intentions. The more damning thing in the video is the crowd's reaction to her attitudes back then ("send him to his kind" followed by chuckles, "yeahs!", etc.). Her claim that the language she used was "how she felt then" is partially not true because it was a way of her as a speaker relating to the crowd.
No, it's not good the context was taken away, but Sharpton / Jackson do this all the time and nowhere do we find the appropriate vitrol for those two. Anytime an issue comes up "intent" and "context" are never relevant for those two.
Re:Suckaz (Score:3, Insightful)
And as pointed out below the 'polling' company who put forward those results has been caught cooking the books. They were so bad even most liberal sites have been trying to disassociate themselves from their findings.
Using Reasearch2000 as an accurate polling source is akin to using Tiger Woods as a source for marriage advice.
Re:Internet Stupidity Test (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Suckaz (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think it actually shows Americans are crazy, I think it reflects the deep-set distrust Americans have of their government. And this is something that extends from the left to the right. And it's probably a good thing.
It would be a good thing if it was a distrust of government in general. But as it is, it's the distrust of the government so long as your party is not in charge.
Re:Suckaz (Score:2, Insightful)
... Or the fact that hes called a Communist and a Nazi at the same time. When the idiots don't realize the Communists fought against the Nazis.
Re:Suckaz (Score:4, Insightful)
the right, especially the religious right, that excels at propogating misinformation.
Perhaps because religion left or right excels at propagating misinformation?
Re:Suckaz (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Suckaz (Score:3, Insightful)
>> They invite it, though, with [left] wing politicians calling [Bush] a [chimpanzee], a 'secret [Nazi] or [fascist], not [properly elected] in the U.S. because he [bribed the Supreme Court and stole the election]. Talking about death panels in the [secret prison camps] and [Guantanamo Bay], etc. And that's in the [DNC] itself, not just in the [Green] Party.
> Fixed that for you.
> I guess you forgot about that.
> Or else you endorse it.
I don't recall Democrat politicians calling Bush a Nazi or a chimp or saying he bribed the Supreme Court. Lots of that going on in the populace, of course. And if you think people weren't killed in Gitmo or Abu Ghraib, you're kidding yourself. And there WERE massive voting machine irregularities during the 2000 election, for sure, in addition to ridiculous amounts of gerrymandering. There's a difference between reality and fantasy.
> POINT = There are idiots in both parties.
Absolutely.
The way Obama's been treated these past two years is no different than how Bush was treated the previous eight.
Bush got treated badly because of the way he mismanaged the office of President. Obama is being treated badly because he's part-black, because he's not a wacko religious crazy right winger, AND because he's mismanaging the office of President (though the valid complaints of his mismanagement seem to be coming from the Left, not the Right).
Re:P.S. (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sorry, but how does being robbed make you guilty of vote theft? Where does that investigation show that ACORN rigged the election? How does any of this address the made up pimp video? Breitbart lied, end of story.
Re:Suckaz (Score:1, Insightful)
So get started polling those right-wingers. We'll wait.
Re:Suckaz (Score:3, Insightful)
They also had some argument about the type of birth documentation that was needed, and the piece they were looking for was never given. Some lesser piece was.
Incorrect. Each state can name their 'birth certificate' document anything they want. What was supplied was what the state of Hawaii gives out. There were also birth notices in the newspapers of the time. Completely insane to think this was ever even a possibility of being true.
The core of the tea party was fiscal responsibility.
The CLAIMS of the core of the tea party being fiscal responsibility don't line up with the history of the people in the tea party. If those people had ever been concerned with size of government or government spending, they would've been up in arms (literally, like now) at what Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 did. They're all out of their mind. And then there's the simple fact that taxes are lower now than they've been in 50 years. This is not only a non-issue, it's a flat-out LIE. And then compare our low taxes with those of European nations who have a substantially higher standard of living. To think this is a problem is to have a complete disconnect with reality.
Anyway. I don't fit anywhere politically anymore. I grew up republican, but can't stand their imperialistic foreign policy, stance on gay and abortion rights, position on the war on drugs, etc; but I do think they understand economics better in word, but not in deed. They talk like fiscal conservatives, but they spend as much as the democrats. So where does that put someone who wants to download unlimited media at under $20 a month, drink a beer on Sunday after mowing the lawn, smoke a joint when on vacation, go to a gay friends wedding, and stop getting raped on my income taxes?
Well, you certainly don't fit in the Republican party, and, at age 43, I can say that the Republican party I know of has never in my lifetime been one in which you would've belonged. You're WAAAAY closer to a modern Democrat than a Republican of any modern era. Democrats don't like taxes either, you know, but realize that the bills have to be paid if we want services from government. I don't know why Republicans think paying the bills is a 'liberal' thing. Fiscal responsibility certainly doesn't describe the GOP.
Re:P.S. (Score:5, Insightful)
Pretty much the entire Obama era so far has been an example of the left experiencing all the things they did to the right and an administration doing all the things Bush did. The country didn't change at all.
Pretty much the entire Obama era so far has been an example of the right projecting all the things they did onto the left and the Democrats doing all the things in the Republican's interest. The country didn't change at all.
Thought I'd fix that for you.
I find it interesting that the Republican talking points are an extreme example of projection. If they accuse someone of embezzlement, or pretty much anything, you can be sure of three things:
a. They really believe it and always will, no matter how much you point out facts that prove them wrong
b. That when said facts disagree with their worldview, they will accuse the source of being left wing and biased and therefore by definition incorrect
c. That somewhere, they are actually doing the same thing they are accusing the left of, except much more efficiently and effectively.
Examples of this would be the family values thing, the deficit thing, the not giving a fuck about the veterans thing, the being in the pocket of industry thing, the government program = welfare thing (i.e. a huge amount of the defense budget), the racism thing, the litmus test thing, the only policy being that to gain power politically thing no matter what the cost to the country thing, the voter intimidation thing, the voter fraud thing...
I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Well, probably not, but whatever. I'm going to go back and watch the continuing subjugation of our citizens to the almighty dollar. Hopefully I can continue to afford to buy popcorn.
Re:Internet Stupidity Test (Score:4, Insightful)
The NAACP never said the entire Tea Party was racist. They said that the Tea Party has never denounced the racists in their midst. The NAACP has, for instance, denounced the New Black Panther Party. And, when it looked as though Shirley Sherrod might be racist against white people, they denounced her. So, you are flat out wrong.
Re:Suckaz (Score:5, Insightful)
At some point, we can only hope, people are going to accept the most simple explanation, that Germany and Russia both wanted a chunk of Poland and that's why there was an alliance between the two, and at one point further down the road, Germany needed oil and eastern territory more than it needed Russian acquiescence, and so the alliance collapsed.
The idea that communism and fascism are some sort of ideological fusion, and that this fact has any effect on history, is hokum, and both Nazi Germany and Communist Russia were driven by their leadership's self-interest and geopolitical pressures, and that their ideology had nothing to do with it. Unfortunately we are damned to live among people who expect history to have an ideologically consistent basis, so that the "bad guys" and the "good guys" can have nice, narrative-ready reasons for losing and winning, instead of having to accept that the outcome was simply a consequence of many practical decisions made in the heat of the moment that could have just as easily gone the other way. Asking someone what their ideological attitude about private property is, or what they believe constitutes a "nation" or "people," tells you almost nothing about wether they are "good" or "Evil" or if they'll naturally agree with someone else on issues that happen to have a confluence of interest.
Re:Internet Stupidity Test (Score:4, Insightful)
How long ago was the video taken? Any idea? It was taken in 1986. So, what does a 24 year old video tell us about the NAACP of today?
spun, I suggest that you check your facts before getting off into one of your rants. It might prevent you from making a bigger fool of yourself than usual.
The video was taken on March 27, 2010, after Sherrod was appointed to the USDA (interestingly, after she and her husband received a substantial settlement from the USDA for a complaint about racism). However, the incident that she described took place back in the 1980's.
Re:Suckaz (Score:3, Insightful)
Commentators are elected politicians now?
Hint: the right is actually (re)ELECTING people who say this stuff.
On the left, I think we only have that one crazy georgia congresswoman (cynthia mckinney), and we had the decency not to reelect her.
Re:minor but important point (Score:3, Insightful)
The video was taken in 1986. Please explain what a 24 year old video tells us about the NAACP of today, which has actually denounced even suspected racists in their midst.
Re:Suckaz (Score:5, Insightful)
P.S.
I'm also pissed because Obama signed the Patriot Renewal Act. What the hell??? Didn't Obama say he's repeal that piece of shit? Obama should have vetoed it as soon as it crossed his desk.
Re:Suckaz (Score:3, Insightful)
>>>When the idiots don't realize the Communists fought against the Nazis.
There's no stronger fight than brother against brother. They were originally partners (prior to 1920s) and only split later on
Not true. The SA (brownshirts) in the early nazi party, being recruted mostly from the working class, where in favor of social reform but they sent out street brawlers to beat up communists and disrupt communist gatherings (in fact they were partly formed out of anti-communist militias battling communist putsch attempts.) They were also later put aside when the nazis were firmly in power. There was the infamous non-agression pact with Stalin of course but that didn't keep both countries from secretly preparing for war with each other.
The only difference between the National Socialists and the Communists is that the Natsi Party wanted to keep companies privatized. The Communist Party did not. In all other aspects they are almost identical - strong centralized power. - Elimination of undesirable populations. - Rise of a cult figure (Mussolini and Stalin respectively). Control of the media to spread propaganda. 5 or 10 year economic plans.
And on and on and on
You have a point when comparing Stalinism (which you are describing as opposed to communism) to Naziism which seems logical because they were both dictatorships. There have also been a lot of capitalist dictatorships that have shared all those traits.
Re:Internet Stupidity Test (Score:2, Insightful)
The NAACP passed a resolution to "condemn racist elements in the Tea Party." It is an accusation that the group is grounded on racist ideals. The NAACP is also planning a march on October 2, closer to the election, to try to drive momentum against the Tea Party movement. They've called the group a "threat to democracy and a threat to human rights."
They were pressured to denounce Shirley Sherrod by the White House. You may or may not be aware that they're currently in emergency mode because of a massive drop in support among whites going into the mid-term elections.
They did not denounce the New Black Panthers and have in fact been tied to the dismissal of their voter intimidation case, and they also didn't denounce Harry Reid for his "negro dialect" comment. You tell me why.
You are confusing apples and pears... (Score:4, Insightful)
As well as Germans, Nazis, Russians and Communists.
All four of those are VERY different things and no two of them are synonymous to each other.
Or maybe I am wrong.
Maybe in your universe Fascist is synonymous with Italian and American is synonymous with racist cowboys?
Also, as someone has pointed out below - Nazis and Fascists were ALWAYS actively against Communists.
Regardless of the Hitler-Stalin pact - which was a ruse for both sides, only it was German dictator who decided to break it first.
Re:Suckaz (Score:3, Insightful)
And then there's the simple fact that taxes are lower now than they've been in 50 years. This is not only a non-issue, it's a flat-out LIE
Right, what was one of the first things that the Obama administration did? They advocated for and passed what could be considered the biggest tax cut in US history. And mere weeks after this happens these tea party clowns rise up and start ranting about Obama and taxes. If they believed a word of what they claim to believe then you really have got to wonder where they were while Bush was spending us into huge debts with needless wars and when Bush signed off on the massive bailout bill just months earlier.
Re:Suckaz (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Suckaz (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:P.S. (Score:1, Insightful)
Those three things listed apply just as equally to Democrats:
a. Democrats really believe it and always will, no matter how much you point out facts that prove them wrong.
b. When said facts disagree with their worldview, they will accuse the source of being right wing and biased ("neo-con") and therefore by definition incorrect
c. Somewhere, they are actually doing the same thing they are accusing the right of, except much more efficiently and effectively (the current Congress has been a shining example).
However, I would add a fourth item for Democrats:
d. Democrats are the ones who constantly position themselves as the superior, enlightened intellectuals, yet they do all the same bad things they accuse Republicans of doing. In effect, they use moral superiority as an argument to justify being just as evil. (e.g., Obama and other Democrats criticizing recess appointments under Bush, yet when in power, they do the same thing and claim it's for the good of the country).
The left and the right are exactly the same in that their political views are their religions. However, the embezzlement claim isn't a "Republican talking point." It really happened. [nytimes.com]
Your "almighty dollar" statement makes you dangerously close to sounding like a stereotype. I can even hear you saying "maaaaan" at the end of it!
Re:Suckaz (Score:4, Insightful)
Arguing that communists and nazis can be considered the same is the like categorizing apples and oranges are of the same family because they both grow on trees
You tea baggers are all the same. Ignorant and dumb as a bag of rocks
Re:Suckaz (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Suckaz (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:For a follow-up (Score:1, Insightful)
The same should happen if you try to cite FOX News.
Re:Seems like (Score:3, Insightful)
Calling a german kid a kraut today is meaningless - he doesn't experience any racism due to his German heritage.
In other words, racism is ok as long as the target isn't a member of an approved ethnic group.To rebut your argument here, by being called a "Kraut", the German kid is indeed experiencing racism due to his German heritage.
Re:Internet Stupidity Test (Score:3, Insightful)
I was actually watching fox news when the correction came out.
It took them about 15 seconds to go from "She is a racist" to "Now she advocates class warfare" with unwavering vitriol and disgust on the anchors faces.
You just can not win against the propaganda machine.
Re:Vast majority, right here (Score:3, Insightful)
Eliminating the minimum wage seems unintuitive as well until you realize that the alternative to paying someone a higher wage is simply to not pay them at all. Given the high unemployment rate in blacks, that's precisely what is happening. Many of them simply are unemployable at current minimum wage.
School vouchers are pretty straightforward. Urban schools are notorious for failing to do their job, even with the reduced resources at their disposal. School vouchers would give parents some bargaining power that they currently don't have with dysfunctional public schools.
Finally, the legalization of a broad category of crime is a pretty straightforward benefit for blacks and similar urban minorities. It both frees a number of minorities from jail so that they can be more productive members of society than merely holding down a jail cot, perhaps even opening up some legal avenues of work (such as prostitution). And it vastly lowers the cost of living with an addiction to a drug. They no longer need to run a high risk, criminal career in order to feed a habit. Finally, it reduces the power of criminal cultures and their pernicious influence on modern (not just urban) culture.
Re:No, I am not (Score:1, Insightful)
You are a completely brain-washed to believe what you write,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism#Anti-communism
But I'm sure in your head Nazi loved communists even though they managed to murders 10s of millions of them during the war. Communists were as hated by the Nazis as were jews, gays and handicapped. All had priority entry to extermination camps.
Anyway, congrats on your revisionist history.