Originally posted by stevegmu
Interesting how 8 years of daily Bush-bashing was not only tolerated, but encouraged, yet 8 months of Obama criticism is a plague...

Once upon a time a seperate AP board existed where the best and worst of political discussions took place . Upon canning the seperate board what followed was endless whining about the worst of political debates . I have no problem with how the excellent discussions going unnoticed as I am not here for recognition. Still the one way traffic proved to be a bit much for my liking . The deep flaw with the notion being put forward is that it fails to acknowledge that the endorsed anti establishment positions are also a part of the political spectrum . If American two party's partisan debate is a plague so is the endless rantings against the Fed and bankers e.t.c must also be a plague .

MSNBC doesnt own ATS but all the advertises do really in one sense . Those who have been around long enough on the boards will remember how discussing the legalization of illegal drugs was gradually outlawed in spite of later BS revisionist claims that it had never really been allowed to start with .

[edit on 12-10-2009 by xpert11]

Originally posted by Guzzeppi
This is control of what is seen and unseen!

Is it possible that an intense political bias has prevented you from reading and understanding the opening post?

There is no control, by ATS, of what is seen or not. A certain type of thread and topic tonality is now defined to a specific forum, as are all topics on all types of boards. And in fact, the icon/link for the newly defined forum is in the top-most row of the conspiracies group on the board home page.

I have no idea how you could take this action/strategy as hiding the topic.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

Originally posted by Guzzeppi
This is control of what is seen and unseen!

Is it possible that an intense political bias has prevented you from reading and understanding the opening post?

There is no control, by ATS, of what is seen or not. A certain type of thread and topic tonality is now defined to a specific forum, as are all topics on all types of boards. And in fact, the icon/link for the newly defined forum is in the top-most row of the conspiracies group on the board home page.

I have no idea how you could take this action/strategy as hiding the topic.

I never said hidden

I only stated it was being shoved out of the open and into a controlled box is all. Nothing is hidden here.

To clarify, was there not already a political forum?

This is a great (and necessary) post. Partisan politics can be found in forums, blogs and websites throughout the world wide web. I have not made a lot of posts on this site but I lurk (i.e. READ) because I like to believe that there are people other than myself that are open to real critical thinking. I want to LEARN. Anybody can [female dog] and moan. As I get older, I grow weary of this approach because I believe that there is a better way. I want to study as much about religion, history and philosophy as I can to get insight on how I may be part of a solution instead of part of a problem.

I could go on and on about who I am and what I believe, but to keep it short and sweet, these are my personal realizations (and I respect yours if they are different as long we insist on not imposing upon each other's will:

• I am Christian and believe there is a God (though I was once EXTREMELY doubtful)
  
• After wrestling with both liberal and conservative political ideology I am convinced that these are the teams created by an oligarchy designed specifically to keep us divided and dependent.
  
• I strive every day to pray for peace and the strength to treat all with compassion and understanding, especially those who would be my enemies.
  

We are getting so close to a world that can exist without a government and this idea alone is what scares the crap out of the world political machine. Heaven forbid they may have to go out and get real jobs.

S and F... SOMEBODY HAS GOT TO SAY IT AND YOU DID! KUDOS!

Hooray!!! I am so friggin GUILTY!!!

I think it'll help me out. I was really questioning what would qualify for this new forum, but I see you've made it pretty simple.

It would probably be really difficult to keep partisan politics out of something like "Obama is a reptilian" or "Bush drinks children's blood!"

I'll try a lot harder though. Sorry for coughing on all you guys.

I think you summed it up in a nutshell with the word DESTRACTION...because that is how they are able to get away with it all.

One thing I find interesting is the word "LIBERAL" You will see that it is a very strong and almost automatic response when sides begin clashing on news boards and on News when it comes to comparison and contrasting of Republican vs Democrat

Good thread and project

Originally posted by Guzzeppi
I never said hidden

Your direct implication that we would seek to "control what is unseen" is an accusation that you believe we're trying to hide topics. Don't be coy.

I only stated it was being shoved out of the open and into a controlled box is all.

Apparently you would have all threads removed from their respective topical forums and placed into one chaotic place.

Originally posted by stevegmu
Interesting how 8 years of daily Bush-bashing was not only tolerated, but encouraged, yet 8 months of Obama criticism is a plague...

You sir, are part of the reason ATS had to start this new section.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

What was once primarily the forte' of "news junkies," "political hacks," and politicians, the knee-jerk intense hatred of any political ideology not yours has infected our society.
The infection has been expertly managed for decades through a combination of media manipulation, repeated political lies, and fringe issue sensationalization.

Ummm, couldn’t this statement be made about pre-revolutionary colonial America?

Overall though, I think the idea is a good one. Let’s hope the concept lives up to reality. And I do like the fact that ATS is still independent enough and really willing to look at the issue. The idea of ‘political trolling’ is a bit nebulous in my opinion though. If one sincerely believes that a certain ideology is leading to the destruction of American ideals, and clearly states that opinion, is that ‘trolling’?

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

What was once primarily the forte' of "news junkies," "political hacks," and politicians, the knee-jerk intense hatred of any political ideology not yours has infected our society. The infection is so dangerously deep and harmful we can aptly compare it to stage four lymphoma.

I couldn't agree more. Bravo! Your "containment strategy" is also fair and, I believe, will be effective.

Once again, a good solution to a thorny problem. My hats off to you, and my continued thanks for the time and effort that goes into making this the best board on the Internet.

[edit on 10/12/09 by silent thunder]

I removed post, because SkepticOverlord removed it for being off topic while I was editing it so it didnt get deleted.

SO THIS IS OFFICIALLY AN OFF-TOPIC POST! DISREGARD!

[edit on 12-10-2009 by StinkyFeet]

A great solution, Bill!
Clearly, ATS is living up to it's reputation as having the best staff on the web. I stand in awe at how well this web site is run.

The "political madness" forum is sorely needed. You could even go so far as to disallow stars and flags for posts there, and perhaps that would cut down on the gratuitous postings of flagrant internet tripe as "news".

Originally posted by poet1b
Is it right for a mod to shut down a thread because he disagrees with the content?
Shouldn't he have been required to cite an ATS rule for closing the thread?

He was right to shut it down. In fact, I was remiss in noticing the thread sooner... had I seen what was being discussed before the thread began to progress, I would have moved it to the trash bin.

I have always said there will never be a "voting-down" system for threads. We anticipate that our members will not flag, nor reply-to, topics they feel are lacking. Simple.