• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

Books are my comfort food!

This blog will pay for itself.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

In after Baud. Damn.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Be a traveling stable for those who can’t find room at the inn.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Come on, man.

One of our two political parties is a cult whose leader admires Vladimir Putin.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Bark louder, little dog.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2024 Elections
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Politics / Crazification Factor / Mean people, and the things they do

Mean people, and the things they do

by Kay|  June 18, 20111:20 pm| 32 Comments

This post is in: Crazification Factor

FacebookTweetEmail

Last night at the BJ meet-up we had a good talk on commenter privacy concerns. The major worry was work, whether comments posted would come back to the author and end up getting the writer fired.

This NN panel I attended was about (female) bloggers and candidates and how they have been attacked both online and in major media, but I think there are similarities between this sort of thing and commenter concerns.

Krystal Ball was on the forum. I remember the day that the Halloween costume photos of her came out, because I was walking by the television and I saw them. I was just immediately sympathetic to her, and knee-jerk hostile to the news reader promoting the “scandal”.

She said she was at a candidate event and got a text from her husband. He told her “everything is okay, but call me first when you leave that event”, so of course she knew something horrible had happened. She said it was completely bizarre to become the second-most searched term on Google, if only briefly.

Her campaign staff were divided on whether to address the fake-scandal directly, but she got good advice and went on what she called a media blitz, where she made the very good comparison to media favorite Senator Scott Brown, (R, truck) and his completely accepted photo spread in Cosmo:

Ball said women in politics are held to an unfair standard, noting that Sen. Scott Brown posed nude in Cosmopolitan magazine.

One of the blogger stories is here.

Back in May, my friend and then-editor at Minnesota Monitor, Robin Marty, announced she was expecting a child. It was great news for Robin and her husband Steve, and obviously those of us who know them were happy for them. Now, Robin was and is a longtime supporter of abortion rights. Something about women having the right to determine what happens in their own bodies. Anyhow, like many pro-choice women, Robin was still able to enjoy her pregnancy, knowing that even though it was early in her term, the fetus that she carried was going, eventually, to grow into her child….
…So like any good blogger, she posted an image of the first ultrasound.At this point, enter Tom Swift, crazy Minnesota blogger and erstwhile GOP candidate for school board in St. Paul. (I won’t link to him, and if he finds his way back here, Melissa, terminate him with extreme prejudice.) He blogs under the name Swiftee, and he created an image to welcome Robin and Steve’s child into the world:
You get it? Because Robin was pro-choice, she might decide to abort the child she wrote about, so let’s get it some protection. Disgusting doesn’t even begin to touch it. The insinuation Swiftee makes is that Robin would want to harm her child, not just as a fetus, but once born, too. It’s attacking Robin, using the image of her eventual child to do so.

Robin decided to post an announcement that each time the right wing activist used the ultrasound of her daughter to smear her, she would donate 25 dollars to Planned Parenthood. The altered sonogram pictures came down quickly.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « And Now the Hive Mind Consumes DDay
Next Post: Those Last Ten Always Get You »

Reader Interactions

32Comments

  1. 1.

    Corner Stone

    June 18, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    Last night at the BJ meet-up we had a good talk on commenter privacy concerns. The major worry was work, whether comments posted would come back to the author and end up getting the writer fired.

    An important topic. What was the group summary?

  2. 2.

    John Cole

    June 18, 2011 at 2:03 pm

    What is wrong with these people?

    BTW- I will never release any IP addresses or any personal email addresses of any commenter here. Period.

  3. 3.

    burnspbesq

    June 18, 2011 at 2:17 pm

    When I write under my real name for professional journals, I definitely self-censor. I just avoid writing on topics where my views might conflict with the interests of my clients.

    Which is why after the kid is done with college, I am getting off the BigLaw treadmill and going off to teach law school somewhere. I want to be able to say what I think, at least for a few years.

  4. 4.

    Roger Moore

    June 18, 2011 at 2:24 pm

    @John Cole:
    You won’t release it even if you’re prevented with a court order or a national security letter? The only way of ensuring you don’t release personal information is not to gather it in the first place.

    FWIW. I post under my real name because I started doing so a long time ago when nobody worried about people tracking your on-line postings. I have a long enough track record that changing to some kind of pseudonym wouldn’t protect me anyway, so I might as well own my opinions.

  5. 5.

    birthmarker

    June 18, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Kay–I am really enjoying your posts from NN–thanks for doing this for us.

  6. 6.

    WereBear

    June 18, 2011 at 2:35 pm

    I appreciate it, John: even though my nym links to my blog, which features my books, which are under my real name. Not everyone is in that position!

    But I am appalled at the way right wing pseudo-commandos thus target people and chill their free speech rights. Blogging and commenting under a nickname, and creating an effort to track down the actual person… that should be enough of a distance between our thoughts and ourselves.

  7. 7.

    Cat Lady

    June 18, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    John Cole: why has JSF said he knows who the commenters are and where they’re from? Is that just Fuckhead being a fuckhead? I can’t find the past comments, but the implication creeped me out.

  8. 8.

    Villago Delenda Est

    June 18, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    What is wrong with these people?

    They are authoritarian assholes.

  9. 9.

    JPL

    June 18, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    Cat Lady, I remember when he said that and assumed at the time it was just fuc.head being jsf.
    Several times I mentioned that I lived in Price’s district so it’s easy to deduce that I live outside of Atlanta city limits.

  10. 10.

    Jewish Steel

    June 18, 2011 at 2:45 pm

    The best way to preserve complete anonymity is to join my band.

    (ouch. self-zing kinda hurts, J-Steel)

  11. 11.

    Cat Lady

    June 18, 2011 at 2:50 pm

    JPL: Well, you know what they say about assume.

    OT, but what’s up with the site’s comments being borked? First they came for the reply button, and I didn’t reply so I did nothing, then they came for the comments and since I didn’t…. wait there’s someone at the door.

  12. 12.

    James E. Powell

    June 18, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    @Roger Moore

    I’ve also used my own name since I first started being an online blowhard on Salon’s Table Talk. In addition to being simple, it helps remind me to keep my rants from becoming too intemperate.

  13. 13.

    Whiskey Screams from a Guy With No Short-Term Memory

    June 18, 2011 at 2:57 pm

    You won’t release it even if you’re prevented with a court order or a national security letter? The only way of ensuring you don’t release personal information is not to gather it in the first place.

    What he said. And John, don’t think I’m accusing you of being insincere; I know you wouldn’t. But you can’t make that promise on behalf of your webhost, or any of our respective ISPs, or the slew of other people that could get access to said records.

  14. 14.

    JPL

    June 18, 2011 at 2:59 pm

    UhOh..and CatLady goes missing.

  15. 15.

    Corner Stone

    June 18, 2011 at 3:22 pm

    @JPL #14

    UhOh..and CatLady goes missing.

    And did you speak up?

  16. 16.

    Starfish

    June 18, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    Not collecting the information would prevent things like the banning of certain morons on occasion. Do you think that this place would be better with those people?

  17. 17.

    Roger Moore

    June 18, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    @James E. Powell:
    Newbie. I’ve been posting under my own name since I first started out on USENET back when it was the high-tech way of communicating online. I was already an old pro by the time people started looking at the WWW using this new fangled “NCSA Mosaic” thingie. You kids get off my virtual lawn!

  18. 18.

    PS

    June 18, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    I used to be 73227.1510, but that was back when I had a Compuserve account. Gotta say the quality of conversation hasn’t improved … but it’s quicker, quieter and looks better.

  19. 19.

    Yutsano

    June 18, 2011 at 3:53 pm

    @burnspbesq: Not to toot my area’s own horn, but there are three excellent law schools in the Seattle area. Plus you’ll be a regular visitor up this way thanks to your progeny anyway. :)

  20. 20.

    John Cole

    June 18, 2011 at 3:53 pm

    why has JSF said he knows who the commenters are and where they’re from? Is that just Fuckhead being a fuckhead? I can’t find the past comments, but the implication creeped me out.

    That’s just him being an idiot.

  21. 21.

    burnspbesq

    June 18, 2011 at 3:55 pm

    UhOh..and CatLady goes missing.

    Robert Bork’s lawyers got a secret ultrasuperinjunction from an English court, and she’s off to Downview Prison, never to be heard from again.

    She did say “borked.”

  22. 22.

    Poopyman

    June 18, 2011 at 4:05 pm

    Re Corner Stone’s question @1:

    I think our concensus is well illustrated by the pic j michael neal posted in the open thread last night. But in plain English, we agreed no pics of our faces would be taken, let alone posted.

  23. 23.

    iriedc

    June 18, 2011 at 4:15 pm

    My job has a lot of rules about how and when personal opinions about politics and/or public policy can be shared. technically I could use my own name, but I have to use a lot of social networking tools for work. i’m trying to keep my personal and professional personas separate. I try not to kid myself about how easy it could to trace “iriedc” if I piss off the wrong person, and that a determined nutcase couldn’t find a way to derail my career based on my comments and tweets. Nonetheless, thanks John Cole for being willing to keep our information as private as you can. I know I’m not the only commenter who feels this way.

  24. 24.

    Ripley

    June 18, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    It’s a major issue with me and some of my online cohorts, which is why we started the, now sadly defunct, Online BlogIntegrity Project. Your countertops are your own damned business, no matter how much we may disagree.

    Tom Swift, crazy Minnesota blogger and erstwhile GOP candidate for school board in St. Paul. He blogs under the name Swiftee…

    If you want an ugly synopsis about that sad little fuck’s online life, talk to Mark G. at Norwegianity. He’s been going round with him for years and can tell you stories that will curl your ears.

  25. 25.

    someofparts

    June 18, 2011 at 5:31 pm

    That’s the first good idea I’ve hear about how to stop the smear merchants.

    Wish I had the time or skills to turn that idea into a website.

  26. 26.

    andy

    June 18, 2011 at 6:48 pm

    Anybody who reads a lot of Minnesota blogs knows what a piece of filth swiftee is. His MO is to troll everywhere, eventually getting kicked out. Very much one of those Libertarian “we got the guns” types, always looking to push people around. A real randian hee-ro…

  27. 27.

    Greyjoy

    June 18, 2011 at 10:30 pm

    Pretty sure I’ve seen a user called “Swiftee” trolling the Star Tribune comments (Minneapolis newspaper with a prominent online presence). Granted, the Strib comments are a sinkhole of trolling on a good day, but even so.

  28. 28.

    arguingwithsignposts

    June 18, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    feel free to delete this comment, but the little sitemeter at the bottom of the page shows IP addresses if you click on recent visitor activity. it’s not that hard to piece together if you’re not using a proxy. sitemeter/statcounter will also show recent visits by location.

  29. 29.

    arguingwithsignposts

    June 18, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    duplicate fywp

  30. 30.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    June 18, 2011 at 11:19 pm

    @Cat Lady:

    John Cole: why has JSF said he knows who the commenters are and where they’re from? Is that just Fuckhead being a fuckhead? I can’t find the past comments, but the implication creeped me out.

    lolz

    Who the fuck can tell the cat ladies apart?

  31. 31.

    Sko Hayes

    June 19, 2011 at 10:26 am

    I was at that panel, and it was one of the most enlightening for those of us who use our real names online, and who might have to deal with trolls who threaten us and our privacy.
    Pam Spaulding, of Pam’s House Blend, had to deal with a troll who contacted her employer and threatened to get her fired, but she was open and honest and her employer told the troll they had no issues with her blogging and he should get lost.
    Would that we all had employer likes that.

  32. 32.

    Interrobang

    June 19, 2011 at 1:24 pm

    While we’re on the subject of privacy, posting an ultrasound picture of your fetus is way TMI for the average reader, I think. Just because you can hang your entire life out in public for all to see, doesn’t mean you should. Keep those ultrasound pics in the family, folks (and don’t show me anyway, that’s fucking gross — I don’t wanna see your fucking insides). That’s way too intimate for a public forum. It’s kindasorta the digital equivalent of those creepy people who get right up in your face when they’re talking to you and won’t stop bloody touching you, either.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Jackie on Monday Evening Open Thread: Another ‘Rich’ Narcissist, Having A Bad Start to His Week (Apr 15, 2024 @ 11:45pm)
  • MisterForkbeard on Monday Evening Open Thread: Another ‘Rich’ Narcissist, Having A Bad Start to His Week (Apr 15, 2024 @ 11:45pm)
  • bookworm1398 on War for Ukraine Day 782: If the Opposite of Pro Is Con, Then the Opposite of Progress is a GOP Majority in Congress (Apr 15, 2024 @ 11:42pm)
  • YY_Sima Qian on Take the Fucking Win (Apr 15, 2024 @ 11:39pm)
  • NotMax on Monday Evening Open Thread: Another ‘Rich’ Narcissist, Having A Bad Start to His Week (Apr 15, 2024 @ 11:34pm)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning
Proposed BJ meetups list from frosty

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
Virginia House Races
Four Directions – Montana
Worker Power AZ
Four Directions – Arizona
Four Directions – Nevada

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
Positive Climate News
War in Ukraine
Cole’s “Stories from the Road”
Classified Documents Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Political Action 2024

Postcard Writing Information

Balloon Juice for Four Directions AZ

Donate

Balloon Juice for Four Directions NV

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!