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Let the Campaign Edit Wars Begin
Hugh Pickens writes writes "Megan Garber writes that in high school, Paul Ryan's classmates voted him as his class's 'biggest brown noser,' a juicy tidbit that is a source of delight for his political opponents but considered an irrelevant piece of youthful trivia to his supporters. 'But it's also a tension that will play out, repeatedly, in the most comprehensive narrative we have about Paul Ryan as a person and a politician and a policy-maker: his Wikipedia page,' writes Garber. Late Friday night, just as news of the Ryan choice leaked in the political press — the first substantial edit to that page removed the 'brown noser' mention which had been on the page since June 16. The Wikipedia deletion has given rise to a whole discussion of whether the mention is a partisan attack, whether 'brown noser' is a pejorative, and whether an old high school opinion survey is notable or relevant. As of this writing, 'brown noser' stands as does a maybe-mitigating piece of Ryan-as-high-schooler trivia: that he was also voted prom king. But that equilibrium could change, again, in an instant. 'Today is the glory day for the Paul Ryan Wikipedia page,' writes Garber. 'Yesterday, it saw just 10 [edits]. Today, however — early on a Saturday morning, East Coast time — it's already received hundreds of revisions. And the official news of the Ryan selection, of course, is just over an hour old.' Now Ryan's page is ready to host debates about biographical details and their epistemological relevance. 'Like so many before it, will be a place of debate and dissent and derision. But it will also be a place where people can come together to discuss information and policy and the intersection between the two — a town square for the digital age.'"
Then I'm pretty sure that what Paul Ryan did in high school can be too.
But seriously, I'm a lot less concerned with what Paul Ryan did in high school that what he has done since. I'm not sure what Romney was thinking on this one (excite a base that was ALREADY excited, that would have come out to vote against Obama no matter who you chose?). But he just gave the Democrats an incredible gift. Because he didn't just excite the Republican base, he also just excited the Democratic base (and scared the hell out of the independents, and conceded Florida). Many Democrats were disenchanted with Obama and probably wouldn't have come out to vote for him again in the fall. But stacking him up against an insane-right-wing Ayn Rand ideologue who wants to abolish Medicare and Social Security to give tax cuts to the wealthy is a pretty fucking great way to motivate them. I'm not sure if this is some form of political suicide or just incredibly bad advisers, but either way--speaking as a Dem--thanks, buddy.
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
Why hasn't it been reverted to the preannouncment page and locked for editing with the addition of "prospective VP candidate for the Republican party? Seems like the best and only proper solution.
Shawn Moore http://www.teuse.net
I'm tempted to say that these kinds of articles aren't where Wikipedia works best. Articles where the majority of the editors are partisans, rather than scholars or knowledgeable enthusiasts, tend to attract a lot of heat and not as much improvement (I made the mistake once of trying to edit something that was in the Israel-Palestine crossfire).
On the other hand, it's quite possible that Wikipedia has the least bad coverage. It's Paul Ryan article is contentious, edited by partisans on both sides, and may or may not end up in a great state, but every other summary of Ryan I've been able to find so far is worse. Most are either pure attack pieces, or pure hagiographies.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
If anyone seriously takes the information on Wickipedia as "fact", if they are a (so called) journalist, they need to be flogged. Most of the things you find on the wicki site are at the mercy of whomever put it there, not backed up with FACTS. But, since we are talking about a conservative, it's fair game to trash. Now, since Obama is "the one", his wicki site is probably watched like a hawk, or locked down. I think all politicians wicki sites should be removed or locked down because trolls love to cause problems, and the general apathy of the American public. Most Americans, sadly, get more worked up over who is sleeping with whom, or the latest American Idol standings, than what the IDIOTS in DC are doing to us.
Was Paul Ryan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Young_Ones_%28TV_series%29#Rick) modeled after Rick?
They're even look-alikes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul3U_J37YCc
"Hands up, who likes me"
Hands all down.
This is a situation where the page should have locked to prevent the edit wars. Granted, no one knew who the VP pick was going to be, but as soon as humanly possible, the page should have been locked down and only selected individuals allowed to edit it for completeness, not remove things which, while not necessarily relevant, give a broader picture of who the person is.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Romney and Ryan want to increase Defense spending. Why? Do they want us to get us involved in more wars?
At least Obama has got us out of one unnecessary war started by the previous Republican administration, and is slowly scaling back the other one.
Tell the Republicans that if they want to lower the deficit they should cut back on the defense budget and stop getting us into wars.\
And the rich people don't need more tax cuts.
How long until we see PAC ads accusing him of being a big smelly poopy face? Wait, those already started? Hmm.
Welcome back to kindergarten, folks. I think I'll go hibernate for the next three months so I don't have to witness the ridiculous stupidity of American society when polarized by two equally bad alternatives.
The smart people have already looked at the real platforms of the candidates and know for whom they're voting. That leaves those who are too lazy to do any research; these are the ones swayed by stupid bullshit like how
Paul Ryan's classmates voted him as his class's 'biggest brown noser'
as well as attack ads and other campaigning that can be best summed up by "my opponent will destroy this country," even though a rational, objective thinker would realize that neither major candidate will likely do so.
The rest of us? We're not the targets of this late-stage campaigning so we're completely ignored. I'll be fast forwarding through the political ads like the rest of you and wishing it was already November 7. Hell, I can't even vote (yet) so this really just feels like being forced to watch a bunch of idiots fighting from the sidelines.
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
Since this is the era of the politics of personal destruction, anything is fair game.
Of course, it's dysfunctional, but we aren't going to change this soon. Our political process is too polarized now.
And of course, issues really don't matter to the side that sees them as a liability.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
...write half a sentence about who the hell this "Paul Ryan" guy(?) is supposed to be?...
A paragraph for each. I'm not going to vote D or R, so you can trust my analysis is non-partisan and pretty accurate guide to people who aren't paying attention:
Barack Obama = Vote for change, then change nothing. He would have made a pretty decent pre-neocon somewhat left of the road republican more or less in the image of Tommy Thompson back in ye olden days. Just another crook from Illinois. Basically a leftish conservative using the traditional definition of conservative not wanting to change much of anything. Despite being "commander in chief" has a strong historical record of doing whatever his masters tell him to do (D leadership, 1%ers, wall street). You can't trust him, he has bad ideas, but he never does anything, especially not if he promises it or campaigns on it, so that's OK.
Joe Biden = Probably the closest thing in national govt to a 99%er. Poorest member of the senate (still rich, but he's not rollin with the 1%ers). Babbles a lot. Most likely of all the candidates to have a twitter tag like "shitbidensays", because he's got the largest collection of memorable quotes (both good and very very bad). Fundamentally seems to be a good guy at heart (unlike the other 3 who are all crooks) but in practice a bit too lefty for my tastes. Fairly conservative, just another elderly hippie reliving the great society programs of the 60s. If he could be jolted out of the 60s and into modern era he'd be a pretty good leader, maybe not the best, but not bottom of the barrel like the other 3. You can trust him, but he's got an obsolete outlook on the world.
Mitt Romney = Gordon Gekko come to life, 1%er to the core. Another power hungry rich crook. Apparently wants to surround himself with bootlickers and quislings aka neocon Rs. Doesn't seem to have much of a message other than "I'm a 1%er now lick my boots, proles" alternating with "I'm not Obama". The hardest core evangelicals who run the R party are all in a tizzy about him because they now have to vote for what they consider a cult member, he's not "religiously pure" enough for them. You can't trust him and he's got big ideas, most (all?) of which are bad ideas.
Paul Ryan = 1%er wannabe bootlicker quisling originally from my home state of Wisconsin but left decades ago to become a wash DC insider so he really doesn't represent anyone other than whoever pays his re-election bills. Pretty much interchangeable with all the other 1%er bootlicker quislings. Wants to portray himself as a budgetary expert. In the traditional definition of liberal = wants to change things, he's the most liberal of the bunch. He hasn't actually done anything or stood for anything other than PR stuff (and he's "from my state" so I should know). In that way he's kind of a mystery man. The 1%er Manchurian candidate. You can't trust him and he's apparently got no ideas at all of his own.
I would anticipate Biden is going to crush Ryan in the veep debate just on general mental horsepower, which will be entertaining to watch.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
#0: local elections.
But seriously, if the vote were as meaningless as you dropouts like to make it out, why is so much energy being spent to deprive people of it?
Someone had to do it.
You forgot:
11. Don't vote, thereby assuring the guy you like least wins
If a frw more assholes had gotten off their asses in 2000 and voted, we would not have invaded iraq and we would not have a horrible deficit. al gore is not g w bush. and if you think they are the same person, or that their parties are the same, you really are a giant fucking moron
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Thought experiment:
EVERY SINGLE US Citizen voted on a referendum TODAY - with 100% turnout and 100% majority in favour of a mandate: "Withdraw US presence from Afghanistan and Pakistan without residual bases or support for any military or police forces."
What would be the outcome?
The issue is not AfPak. Substitute ANY issue you like of importance - particularly those that establish Imperial presence and influence. There would be no representation in the sense of a real Republic, for the governed people's wishes to be realised.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
As for the usefulness of Ryan's brown-noser status: Well it's not particularly important except that Americans like to know the personality of their prospective leaders.
All politicians are brown nosers, even Obama. Witness the years of sitting through Rev Wright's sermons even though he severely disagreed, sitting there merely because Wright was the local "king maker" and getting elected to the Illinois legislature without the Rev's support would be impossible.
How do you get your brain so broken that you only see bogeymen? Do you hit yourself with a hammer every day? Grow up, would you? All you geeks need to grow the everloving fuck up and shed this ideological mind cancer.
I used to follow the political cycle quite closely, but over the years as the attacks have gotten nastier and the facts less important, I've found myself completely turned off by the whole thing. I was getting upset enough that it was actually causing me to stress out, which was when I decided to just tune out completely. I still vote and I still try and get the most unbiased facts about each candidate (not an easy task), but I don't listen to any of the news about the election and I've found that I'm a much happier person for having done so. As Ford Prefect said "Let them have their fun", I'm not going to be a part of the 'teh political drama' anymore.
Also, the vice presidential candidate was vote Biggest Brown Noser in high school. Really? This is the best we can come up with? Unless he was voted 'Most likely to become a homicidal maniac' I don't see how this is important. Funny? Yes. Something to actually seriously consider? No. Aren't there bigger things for us to worry about?
I normally try not to feed the trolls or the retards, but.... did it ever occur to you that there might be some differences in how troops are used in, say, Phillippines and Afghanistan? That there might be some differences in the costs associated with keeping troops in those countries? Or, heck, even a difference in how the troops are viewed and treated?
If anything, your pattern would indicate that Republican presidents are incapable of starting a proper war that has a good outcome for the US.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
Even if parent was saying that - which he isn't - being a citizen of Kenya wouldn't prevent him from being an US citizen, much like I'm a citizen of both Spain and Portugal.
Dilbert RSS feed
if you don't vote, you reward the corrupt plutocracy. alienated and self-disenfranchised losers like yourself is what they DEPEND on happening, einstein, they put out propaganda and make political moves they KNOW will make zero heart, low iq fuckups like yourself wallow in self-pity and helplessness and withdraw from society. because you are WEAK and they know it
this is you, psychologically, and all other pathetic loser who rationalizes not voting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness
THAT IS YOU PSYCHOLOGICALLY. KNOW THYSELF, LOSER
what deranged bullshit rationalization you have too: "I don't vote and I encourage everyone to not vote. When voter turn out is under 10% then perhaps you thick, dim-witted motherfuckers can finally pull your heads out of your ass and help us make a democracy that works and actually represents us."
what!? LOL
"i won't play with you, and that will force you to change your policies because you want me to play with you"
this is what you really believe?!
NO, RETARD: what happens is the plutocracy laughs even harder all the way to the bank: you've bowed down and submitted to them meekly and completely! they don't fucking care about you, they will never care about you, they are glad you won't participate and fight for beliefs, they depend upon your weakness! fight for what you believe, or roll over. you choose to roll over, with this bullshit low iq zero social skillset rationalization. fucking pathetic!
seriously, you and other self-disenfranchised morons to me represent the lowest scum of the earth. at least the plutocracy is evil. at least they honestly stand for something vile that you can fight. pathetic losers like you just represent zero willpower, complete cowardice, and utter lack of any human spirit or desire to fight for themselves. a fungal growth of useless loserville. you have done nothing but be deserving of zero respect. a perfect, meek, self-disenfranchising slave
a country of free people requires a country of people willing to fight for themselves. for not fighting for your beliefs, you represent the end of a free society. i cannot adequately express how much i disrespect and loathe your thinking, because your thinking and bullshit rationalizations represents the end of free society
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Don't forget that him mom probably doesn't rely on Medicare very much seeing as how she is the widow of a multimillionaire, ever hear of Ryan Construction, one of the largest road constructions companies in the US. Yes, Mr. Ryan gets much of his money from government contracts.
So, from your link, I _AM_ supposed to just flippantly vote for whatever guy I happen to like the most at the time based upon whatever information I happen to have heard about them most recently? That's what I'm hearing, or you're supplied me with a snide copout, one of the two.
I will ask, again, more plainly: Where do you get your political information from such that you can trust it's validity? I don't like either of the major party candidates. I think they're both sides of the same coin on everything that actually does matter. Clearly this DOES say much about me. Now, can you recommend me an alternative or not? All the third party candidates I'm aware of have either been buried or subject to such smear campaigns I can't tell if they're raving lunatics or not. You're the well informed one here, and I am just a stupid slave after all. Please, help me save me from myself.
Support the EFF and Creative Commons. The war is coming, and they're supporting you...
if you don't vote, you reward the corrupt plutocracy.
If you do vote, you also reward the corrupt plutocracy.
If you abstain: You allow evil to prevail by default
If you vote R: You're voting for corrupt plutocracy
If you vote D: You're voting for corrupt plutocracy
If you vote third party: You get laughed at.
What does one actually do that hurts the plutocracy?
a country of free people requires a country of people willing to fight for themselves. for not fighting for your beliefs, you represent the end of a free society.
What part of voting == fighting for your beliefs?
I don't vote, but if you're serious about fighting for what's right, I'll meet you in the city square with everyone else. When do we start?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!