DU is disappointing.

[JNelson6563]

I come into DU GD and I feel like I'm in the middle of a big edition of the National Enquirer. You all are no better than the media you claim to loathe.

How very sad. Despite denials of there ever being a "golden age" at DU, lemme tell ya, it wasn't always like this. I dare say I might find more substance at FR today.

So, please, each one of you who has a thought about this Edwards business, do start a brand new thread about it. I'm sure whatever the thought might be it merits a new thread and is far too insightful and valuable to rank as a mere comment in one of the countless other threads about the topic.


Julie

[DS1]

1. Yeah. Get off our domain!

Ya damn kids!

:D



:popcorn:

[SharonRB]

2. Well said, Julie

:hi:

I'm glad I was too busy at work all day to be around here.

[derby378]

3. Julie, you obviously missed the Elizabeth appreciation threads

I'm not happy about what John has done, but for reasons I've stated earlier, I'm not gonna bust his chops about it.

[SunDrop23]

4. Agree 100% (nt)

[otohara]

5. Please Mistress May I Have Another

thanks for the spanking.

BTW John Edwards brought this media shit storm on all by himself.

[The Doctor.]

11. Yes, but it's DUers who brought the circus here.

[otohara]

15. We're Human

just like John Edwards.

[The Doctor.]

23. Great... now it's a meta-scandal.

:eyes:

[Trajan]

24. Some 'human' is ugly shit .....

I could do without much of what is passed off as 'human' ...

Hence why the OP is justified ....

[TahitiNut]

28. ... in diapers

it seems. (Adolescent crap.)

[roguevalley]

41. yeah, we're all supposed to believe that same thing.

Personally, I wish this never happened. but if people want to discuss it, so. John brought this on. A lot of people gave him money, time and love. Can't blame them for venting.

[NashVegas]

6. FWIW, A LOT of Them Were Shunted Over From GD: P

Which may explain a bit.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. I've been "hiding" those threads since I logged on.

I posted my weekly "Most important news story" poll (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3756038&mesg_id=3756038) give it some love.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[petronius]

14. It's not the same at all - this is a metawhine (a whine about the whining)

The whining (or whinging, if you prefer) is stupid, pointless, and annoying. The metawhine is a profound and thoughtful contribution to the overall discourse. It's an honor, and I for one am duly appreciative, when a wise and eloquent poster points out the true path to proper internet behavior...

;)

[renie408]

33. I think I love you. n/t

[cobalt1999]

25. LOL. That's what I was thinking.

Starting another thread on a topic they are complaining there are too many threads on.

:rofl:

[jobycom]

9. Don't you wish there could be two DUs? The old one, and the current MySpace variation?

These days when someone makes an intelligent, thoughtful post, half a dozen people call them names and the whole thread devolves into a vanity fight, or worse, a partisan slap-fest.

[juajen]

16. Oh Brother, do I ever. I am lonesome for so many DUers, but,

most of all, I'm lonesome for times past when healthy discourse was good and biting was just not done. Of course, there were always exceptions to the rule, but now, the exceptions rule. Hard times, but I will not give up. We can turn it around again, somehow.

[fla nocount]

26. After the election, win or lose, the paid posters and fence riders will disappear. n/t

[QC]

30. Yeah, this place is like Yahoo Teen Chat now. Sad. n/t

[renie408]

36. When was it different? I have been coming here for five years and it has always been like this.

Was it better, say....six years ago? Seven years ago? WHEN was that 'Golden Age' anyway?

And isn't it kind of conservative to want to go back to the good ole days??

[Egnever]

43. Seconded

[patrice]

10. Right on, Julie! And that's my first, last, and only comment on the subject.

[juajen]

12. Hooray for the Golden Age of DU. You go, Julie!!! NT

[zeemike]

13. I think this is much adieu about nothing.

Why don't you just let the children play on the lawn and stop yelling to them to get off because it is ruining it's appearance.
We are supposed to be a big tent, so why not just try a little tolerance and improve things by making substantive posts of your own.

Edited to add that I was a John Edwards supporter.

[Spazito]

17. This ain't nothing.....

I remember the Popelooza, I thought I was gonna break the "hide thread" feature before it finally finished.

This should pass much sooner, thank goodness.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

18. Between this and all the wild, unfounded Clinton speculation....

....it's been a dark week for DU.

[fla nocount]

19. No Golden Age? Sounds like a centrist/ DLC concept to me.

Back when there were fewer than 10k of us and we all leaned so far left that our sinks at home drained in that direction, this was a far different place.

We had older news people, story-tellers, philosophers, sages all bound up in the outrage of a court appointed president and the mind boggling horse-shit that was/is the official 911 story. There wasn't much dissent except when a Freeper wandered over for his lesson in diction, vocabulary and parliamentary procedure.

This place isn't so much like Freeperville as it is a nest full of hungry baby birds all waving signs saying "Party First" hoping to attract the attention of their parents and get fed "First".

I'm nostalgic for a PM from RBHam, home from a road trip, and Will Pitt thinking that this was a cool place to hang.

[TahitiNut]

39. Yup. It all went downhill in early 2002 ...

... right after I joined. :silly: Oh! Wait! That's when YOU joined. I see. :dunce:

[asdjrocky]

20. You're a good egg Julie.

Thanks for the smart words.

[UTUSN]

21. Hit "Alert" ------------OR----------- take it to the Lounge!1 n/t

[Codeine]

22. But YOUR comment, of course, deserved it's own thread. nt

[renie408]

34. Self-righteousness always does. n/t

[SoCalDem]

27. The sad truth about the NE, is this.. Mainstreamers

have schmoozed with pols for so long, and their budgets have been cut to the bone so much, that they do very little investiagtive reporting, so of course the tabloids pick up the slack.. It's why Drudge "found" Monica, and why NE has "found" Edwards' love child..

Pols have come to realize that if they are "fun to be with" and if they ply their media-minders with food, invites to parties, entertainment, travel to nice places & BBQ, they can get them to overlook certain areas of "news" about them and their families..

The incestuous nature of pol-newspeople, has led us here..

There was a time when news people made very little money, and they actually reveled in going aftre the truth..to bring down the high & mighty.. They were skirting around the edges, sniffing around for stories..they were not dressed in tuxes & ball gowns, walking a red carpet line as they entered a gala... they were not flown around in style & wined & dined..

They pounded a beat, looking under the rugs & behind the curtains..

They held the pols accountable..

Now the "journalists" are paid 7 figure incomes & are celebs themselves.. they have become accustomed to deference being paid to THEM..and all they have to do to keep all the accoutrements of their position, is to "get that interview..those soundbytes..the quotes..the money-shot"..

To DO that, they have to be in the good graces of the ones they cover, so there will be NO embarrassing stuff coming out, on their watch...(UNLESS is's impossible to avoid, and everyone else is doing it too)..

the old cliche about not shitting where you eat, comes to mind.. Pols are their mealticket, and they have come to like the best food..they are not going to rock the boat and jeopardize their livelihood over a rumor..

[fla nocount]

35. Great, insightful post. The times have changed along with motivations.

There was a time when an investigative reporter would have stove a hole in the bottom of the boat for nothing more than shits and giggles........and to watch it sink with the bad guy aboard, it was part of the job description.

[noamnety]

29. It would help if the mods would combine duplicate threads.

(which is to say, just about all of them).

That way, the folks that want to discuss can, but it sends a message about political discussions on DU at the same time.

[JNelson6563]

45. Excellent idea.

That would be perfect.

Julie

[QC]

31. Julie, you rock, as always! n/t

[Joe Fields]

32. To deny that public figures private lives have no bearing on the public

is just plain naive.

[spanone]

37. ' I dare say I might find more substance at FR today'. ...no you won't.

[TahitiNut]

38. Enough crotch-sniffing and shit-flinging to shame a baboon these days.

:shrug:

[Hekate]

40. Ain't it the truth... I came on board DU when there were about 18,000 of us & it was different...

Now I can count on hordes of DUers turning on formerly-admired leaders, news anchors, or fellow DUers like a pack of dogs, forgetting in an instant everything about that person that made them admirable to us in the first place.

I don't know about a golden age here either, but it was different at one time.

We don't have so many Progressives that we can just throw them under the bus every time one of them falls from grace in our eyes. Conservatives seem to accept that men (sic) in politics can stray, as long as they claim to have gotten right with Jesus afterward. We need a Progressive equivalent, don't you think?

Hekate

[Festivito]

42. So's democracy. Got something better? Or, just whining?

Yeah, it was better before the operatives organized better attacks.

Anytime there is a good source of information, money gets to attack it. Welcome to a disappointing world. Don't take too much time to wallow -- not worth it.

[Baclava]

44. Who do you have to fuck around here to get a job?

Somebody is holding the key to the DU slush fund, we just have to get our hands on it....then it's gravytrain time.

[jazzjunkysue]

46. I've learned alot of important lessons about our government on this site.

Who the politicians sleep with doesn't learn me a thing.

[symbolman]

47. Heh... I remember when I was almost famous because of this place

and my primordial flash attack ads, getting cheered while going on the O'Reilly show, knocking heads with Joe Scaroborough, Twice, meeting Michael Moore, lunching with Palast at his "estate", trying to organize a Liberal Clearing House website to Own new Media with all the Liberal Writers (Pre Blog) Film makers, getting Hugged by Conyers, chasing him down a hallway in the basement of Congress so he'd let me in to film the Downing Street Memos.. Spending our entire mortgage fighting Bush Co.. Etc, etc, etc..

Ah, those were the days..

Now I'm broke, and just another "Shitdog".. :)