[ExI] the myth of the US "liberal media"

Jeff Davis jrd1415 at gmail.com
Wed Jul 13 21:49:25 UTC 2011


Sorry about coming late to the party.

On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 11:15 AM, Kelly Anderson <kellycoinguy at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 11:18 AM, Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:
>> On 7/11/2011 11:30 AM, Kelly Anderson wrote:
>>
>>> There aren't many groups with the level of
>>> political diversity we have here from near communists, to anarchists.

I thought this comment was valid, and a praiseworthy attribute of the
list.  Kudos to all, and Kelly for noticing.

Then there was a bit of a diversion re "near communists", me, and the
proximity of neighborhoods we inhabit.  It's all a non-issue.  I take
no offense.  I've been a Communist, and gotten over it.  I save
Tuesday afternoons -- it's something of a slow day -- for what I refer
to as "recreational" Communism.  You know, just to keep my hand in.

The label by far the most accurate for me is Wise-ass.  I've been
making snarky comments since I was five.  All the adults took notice
and it made an impression.  I've been trying ever since to reprise
that past glory.

Bottom line: being entertaining (to myself mostly) is what I'm mostly
about; being serious,... not so much.

<snip>

> While I'm not an anarchist, I would say I'm in that
> neighborhood, just for comparison.

It's a nice neighborhood.


> I don't think there is anyone on this list that would come out and say
> directly "I am a communist", because Russian communism showed so
> definitively how inefficient such a system is. Yet the ideas of Marx
> and others are very much alive here on this list and in our world
> today.

This boilerplate anti-communism is so 50s.  So nostalgia.  Even more
out-dated now, what with the "Soviet menace"  more than twenty years
gone.

Regarding Communism's "definitive inefficiency", I would like to point
out that the Commies first had to fight the Whites, had to endure
Stalin, had to defeat the Nazi war machine (in which case Stalin was a
plus) , and then had to deal with the unrelenting hostility of the
West.   Despite all these impediments, a backward Russia became
something of a super power under the Commies, before the Commie system
was retired.  and it took just 72 years.

Ditto the Chink version of the Commie system.  Sixty-three years in, a
billion dirt poor rice farmers are poised to become the preeminent
economic power on the planet, taking over from the US of destitute A
in what, the next decade?  Not too shabby, that.

And the Vietnamese Commies?  Well, they stood up to and outlasted
(defeated?) the greatest military power the world has ever known.
What's "inefficient" about that?

I did -- and yes, still do -- a bit of this ideology thing in the
past.  It's a fool's game.  I'm trying to get over it.  I'm all about
technology now.

You're here on the list to challenge us with your views -- thesis --
and we're going to challenge you back with ours -- antithesis.  Out of
which will arise the synthesis of tomorrows ideas.  Let's get on with
it.

Welcome to the list.

Later on, you wrote:

"My understanding is that the first leftist was Robin Hood. Steal from
the rich give to the poor."

Mmmmmmmm.  Tasty.

Then regarding my self-characterization as progressive you wrote:

"I assumed he meant it in the same sense Hillary Clinton uses
progressive to define her position."

That's just hurtful.  (Excellent snark!)

Best, Jeff Davis

 "Men occasionally stumble over the truth,
 but most pick themselves up and hurry off
 as if nothing had happened."
               Winston Churchill



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