Daily Kos Suppresses Free Speech

UPDATE: The Daily Kos has deleted another dozen comments. This brings the total of deleted comments to around 50! Truly amazing! I truly thank the Daily Kos for Proving my point for me in regards to the far left media mind control machine. When free speech is suppressed we all might as well be cattle.

I know what to expect every time I post a thread on the Daily Kos, I expect to upset many there but today I have seen dozens of comments in support of my position deleted by Daily Kos administrators. I too had 8 comments deleted, but that is expected.

Read the thread here. But I will continue my attack on people who wish to see Appalachia dry up and blow away, people like Al Gore. He is an opportunist that is doing nothing but making money on environmental issues and is set to make billions by advertising that clean coal does not exist.

We have few options in Appalachia and while I hate MTR, I again will declare that I do support the strategic approval of MTR permits. We must build our infrastructure for the post coal economy and the only way to do it is to create some much needed flat land. People, that is reality and while it is not a sexy option, is it, at this point in time, the only option we have here in the hills.

Comments

[Taylor]

are you serious? how about you post the comments you got deleted on here so that we know what was said and can make an accurate assessment of the situation instead of just flaming? maybe everybody troll rated you and your comments are hidden. you know that is a possibility, right?

from Kos FAQ: "Comments are not deleted. If you think your comment has been deleted, you are wrong. If you really really think your comment has been deleted, you are wrong. Yes, really. Your comment has been hidden, but Trusted Users can still see it, and have the option to un-hide it. Your comment is unlikely to be unhidden (trust us on this one)."

regardless, nobody is limiting your freedom of speech - that is why you have your own damn blog. trolling is trolling, and that's exactly what you're doing when you go on Kos and tell everybody that they're idiots in the first 5 minutes of disagreement and refuse to have reasonable conversations with them. you do yourself no favors - if you look through the comments on your Kos diary, 99% of the people on that site advocate exactly what I do - giving all people in the mountains jobs that pay well (not just the <20,000 total coal mining jobs in the state of KY currently) and will be around for a long time - jobs that enhance the quality of the environment rather than destroy it completely. none of those people want to see a single person in the mountains put out of their homes, and yet you continuously make slanderous claims about them. I've never lived in the mountains, but I've spent a considerable amount of time there and have many close friends who live there and find MTR, in all of its forms and fashions and 'reasonable' justifications, to be despicable. you don't get to speak for all of Appalachia, just like I don't get to speak for everyone else. putting your bets on MTR to save the mountains and their people is hairbrained - you'd think burning yourself on the stove would teach you not to touch it again...

[Shack]

TROLL. Every time the KOS does not want to read or accept an alternative Democratic point of view you call that person a troll.

I can't post those comments because they are GONE! I know the Daily Kos is a privately owned operation so this situation does not meet the technical requirement for the suppression of free speech. But damn 50 comments!

You are entitled to your opinion here and I will NOT delete your frigging comments. But I love the TROLL cop-out shit, that is a easy way out instead of considering an alternative point of veiw.

[Taylor]

Shack - being argumentative, calling people names and posting no evidence to back up your points whatsoever is trolling. you never link a single page in any of your diaries on Daily Kos - in the world of blogging, links make you credible, they serve as evidence to support your positions. your diaries are rants with no supporting evidence. this is what trolling is. you aren't looking to have a conversation with anyone, you're looking to accuse people who disagree with you of being prejudiced against anyone from the mountains and being ignorant of 'facts', when you fail to present any yourself. the argument over what percent of our nation's energy production comes from coal is a perfect example - someone cites official government data and you call them names, all while refusing to present any contrary evidence until the very end of the discussion. even still, your data didn't say what you thought it did, and you refused to acknowledge such a fact.

you also are ignoring the fact that someone troll rating your comments makes them go invisible and they can only be restored by editors or trusted users on Daily Kos. enough people who are regular users (I don't think any of the Kos editors were involved in the discussion of your diary) decided that your comments weren't valuable to the discussion and rated them as such - that is the point of Web 2.0 technologies, everyone has an equal voice in deciding what is good and what isn't. besides, your comments are still available on your personal page on daily Kos, they just don't show up in the comment thread. from that page one can also see that you've never participated in the community at Daily Kos in any way whatsoever. you get on to post your rants and then you leave, only to return to attack people who disagree with you in a rational manner. you have never commented on any diary except one of your own. you aren't the victim here - nobody wrote a diary accusing you of wishing ill on people without providing any evidence to support their claims. you did, and that makes you a troll.

I'm glad you recognize that I'm entitled to my opinion, but I also make a point to be polite, thoughtful and credible any time I blog or comment. you obviously don't do this. I don't give people a reason to to discredit me or my opinions - but slinging insults at people makes it easy for them to write you off, as well as giving them a legitimate reason to troll rate your comments so that they're hidden from regular view. while I disagree with you pretty wholeheartedly, you have a right to your opinion - but violating rules on someone else's website doesn't give you a right to whine and accuse them of "mind control". bitching about it openly (and unfairly, since you aren't recognizing the reality of the sitution) only invites more criticism of your opinions and methods.

[Shack]

The comments they deleted are not the even the worse of the bunch. Give me a break, this really is funny. I will say what I want to say and when I am called a fuck head, idiot, loser, and so on, I will call them names too. Most of this is petty shit. I will be back tomorrow.

[Mike Swaine]

Your posting did get a lot of abuse, and I deplore that. I've seen deep and intelligent discussions on dKos and I've seen flame wars. But when you posted a diary maligning one of the heroes of the Democratic party, surely you knew which kind of discussion you were going to inspire? I hope you'll post there again and educate us all about rural Kentucky issues. I can see by your site that you have things to say.

[Garrett]

The DailyKos has become a staple of mainstream left-wing idiocy and I rarely can bring myself to visit the site--which is a shame because there are some great reads. And even though I am inclined to believe your claims on the account that the bloggers at dkos are arrogant assholes, I have to agree with Taylor on this one.

Even as an "outsider", he/she can see the absurdity of your argument. You say that you support Appalachia but you also support the invaders that would have Eastern Kentucky become no different from the rest of the continental US. The mountains are worth protecting and mining is a criminal industry. In fact, the most impoverished counties in Kenucky are those that have mining and mountain top removal (no evidence supporting progress). Soon we will have no coal, no mountains, no jobs, and no creeks or pristine streams to speak of.

I also have a link to your site on my blog and visit it much more regularly than the dKos because you generally support what is best for the mountains, but I implore you to look more deeply into mountain top removal.
We need an economic boom to get us off of government dependence, but MTR, as it currently stands, is not the answer.

[Shack]

No it is not the answer but in the soon to come desperate times it is a piece to the puzzle. I hate it but I recognize our needs, JOBS, DRUG TREATMENT, EDUCATION. But when there is no hope DRUG use and despair usually win. So I will support whatever could help our people. Stop being closed minded about the subject.

[Garrett]

It isn't close-mindedness. Slaves to the coal industry and slaves to drug addiction are one and the same. How does MTR encourage those things that you recognize as being so dear to our deprived region? MTR is not a cure for our woes. Mining has been our primary resource for nearly a century and where has it gotten us? All mountain top removal achieves is the same profit margins for non-appalachian investors in a fraction of the time and at 10 x's the devastation. It is those same exploiters that create the illusion that MTR represents progress while destroying our identity by investing millions of dollars into our local and state politicians. Roads and businesses are vital to resurrect our region, but our mountains and rivers don't have to suffer for the sake of so-called "progress"

[Shack]

Slaves? I appologize for this in advance, but you can go to hell sir. They are men and they work for a living.

[Taylor]

what are you talking about, Shack? in one breath you say that there are no other options but poverty for mountain people, and in the next breath you tell someone who is engaging you in a reasonable conversation to go to hell for saying something that you have, more or less, affirmed in numerous other posts and comments. how does working one's ass off just to survive differ from (approximated) slavery? how is being forced to choose between working in one industry or starving much different from being a metaphorical slave (indentured servitude is perhaps a bit better term)? you are being completely nonsensical and jumping the gun to scream at people without actually having a conversation. how can you take yourself seriously?! much better, how can anyone else?!

[Garrett]

Thank You, Taylor.
I was throwing you a bone when I said that you seemed to be in-touch with Eastern Kentucky, but I have to question your Appalachian roots. Or are you so full of your own shit that you claim to know what is best for Eastern Kentucky without ever interacting with us?
Are you really so removed from the mountains that you can't recognize the relationship between slavery and coal-mining?
Have you ever even met a coal miner?
Mining offers the illusion of a livelihood, but all it really offers is a less than decent wage for backbreaking labor and no promise of a future. Few miners are able to work beyond fifty and are without any healthcare benefits so that they are forced to rely on governmental assistance--the very thing that you identify as being part of the problem. They become so alienated from work that they become estranged from their families and their own lives and seek escape, via drugs and alcohol.

Maybe you should stick with Native American issues, because you are clueless about the rest of America, let alone Eastern Kentucky... jackass.

[Garrett]

Thank You, Taylor.
I was throwing you a bone when I said that you seemed to be in-touch with Eastern Kentucky, but I have to question your Appalachian roots. Or are you so full of your own shit that you claim to know what is best for Eastern Kentucky without ever interacting with us?
Are you really so removed from the mountains that you can't recognize the relationship between slavery and coal-mining?
Have you ever even met a coal miner?
Mining offers the illusion of a livelihood, but all it really offers if a less than decent wage for backbreaking labor and no promise of a future. Few miners are able to work beyond fifty and are without any healthcare benefits so that they are forced to rely on governmental assistance--the very thing that you identify as part of the problem. They become so alienated from work that they become estranged from their families and their own lives and seek escape, via drugs and alcohol.

Maybe you should stick with Native American issues, because you are clueless about the rest of America, let alone Eastern Kentucky… jackass.

[Garrett]

Sorry about the double-posting... except for calling you a jackass. My laptop is older than the idea of sitting.

[Shack]

Now you have made me angry. I was raised by coal, I am watching my step father die of black lung, 35% lung capacity left, horrible death. I said I wouldn't ban someone for an opinion, but if you are so ignorant to think what you are saying, then you are one dumb son of a bitch.

Some men are proud to mine coal, you dumb ass, and I dare you to walk up to a real coal miner and say "boo hoo hoo you poor slave to coal" and he will knock you out.

Go away because you are waistng my time.

[Garrett]

I have no doubt that I would get knocked out if I said that to a coal miner. There is no prouder people than those who place Appalachian traditions and values ahead of the financial promise of urban life, especially coal miners. God knows I couldn't mine coal.
But thanks for making my argument for me. I am sure your step-father didn't choose that line of work; rather, he put supporting his family over his own health, and, thus justifying my allusion to slaery.
I realize you can't kick me off because that would be one contradiction too many, even for you.
Don't worry, though, because of your inability to make an argument or act like a responsible blogger in your failure to support any of your claims (instead of relying on petty name-calling and personal testimony--like a five-year old), I don't really see how reading The Rural Democrat can be of any benefit to me.
Speaking of name-calling, I still feel the need to call you a jackass.

Feel free to berate me with more foul language and further name-calling, as I won't be back to point out your ignorance.
Jackass.

[Taylor]

can I kindly ask you to please respond to any of the questions or assertions made by Garrett or myself without resorting to conjecture, emotion or personal attacks? You may be tempted to ban either one of us because we have challenged your fallacious comments, but why in the world would you have a blog that espouses your viewpoint and not actually defend your ideas when they come under justifiable criticism?

you have had ~7 chances on this post alone to reasonably justify any of your comments, but have not yet done so. is this not, in many ways, a concession of wrongness by omission? if you can't defend your opinions (that is all you've presented, since you have never in any instance at all given evidence to support anything you've said), or choose not to, then they must not be very good opinions.

I would sincerely like to have a civilized debate with you, but you don't seem willing to have one, despite your refrain of "I will force you to talk about it." The sheer number of comments I've left on your posts (and number of hits I've been driving to your blog checking back on follow-up comments) should tell you that I'm interested - but the number of times you've completely ignored everything I've said or called someone else a dumbass tells me you're not. Either way, I'll keep checking back. It's up to you whether or not we actually talk about anything.

[Shack]

No I will not agree to your terms sir. When my heritage is called into question, the line has already been crossed. You do not understand hillbillies one bit do you?

Argue the point not my heritage. I will not waiver either way, so further dialog on this subject may be useless.

Hope you come back. Good night.

[Name required? when did this bullshit start?]

Daily Kos is a shithole. That site is full of more hate than a KKK Web page. It has no credibility whatsoever. Why anyone would cry about being banned or censored there is beyond me. I'd consider it a badge of honor.

And for all of those of you who are anti-coal -- I just wish that it was possible for two years for all coal mining to cease and all the money made from coal mining disappear. Hazard and Pikeville would dry up and become like Ezel or Buckhorn.

We need the money from coal in the mountains.

[bulletbob]

Daily Kos is nothing but a propaganda machine, Shack, and it appears you just found that out. They propagate what they will, and douse likewise. They smear people. They aren't about being an objective media outlet, they are about shaping public opinion and going to any length to do so. Just the way it is. I'm not into their methods, but to each their own.

[Shack]

You are right on the money Bulletbob

[The Guv]

Puck folitics.

[Garrett]

I have attempted to bury the misplaced hatchet between us. It is in no way an apology, but an attempt for common ground.I would be honored if you took the time to read my response to your comments. Feel free to respond.

[Shack]

Sorry about the spam filter