Freedom of expression and the right to anonymity and privacy apply to all, from the far right to the far left. These issues have been debated recently when AKM Mudflats was outed by Mike Doogan. A blogger from C4P, Video Ominous, was supportive of AKM and made his position known across the blogosphere.
Now C4P found themselves at the receiving end due to a dispute between them and Rep Jay Ramras. AKM has shown support to the C4P bloggers and all is well on the right and on the left.
The C4P bloggers may be hot on issues of anonymity and privacy, but they're not so hot on freedom of expression. Their overt manipulation of the comments on the ADN political blogs is a clear indication of that.
They accused me of being a Trig truther and of posting Sarah Palin's home address urging people to send her hate mail.
OK, I could be called a Trig truther. I happen to doubt that Sarah Palin gave birth to Trig, but that's incidental to the plot. I couldn't care less who the real mother is and this blog is not dedicated to finding out the truth about Sarah Palin's wild pregnancy stories.
But in the context of the Governor's political record and aspirations, this story plays a part. Sarah Palin could have quietly adopted Trig for whatever reason and proceeded to provide better health care than the real mother could. That would have been laudable.
What's not so noble is telling stories like the wild ride and embelishing little details about her pregnancy, then going on to use an infant with Down's Syndrome to further her personal and political agenda. The poor child was up at all hours during the vice presidential campaign, being passed from person to person like a toy.
Piper's cuteness was exploited as well. Who could fail to find the scene of Piper smoothing Trig's hair with her own spit endearing? That seven year old child spent two months out of school, staying up late, giving autographs and simply being cute for the benefit of her mother's political ambitions.
I don't believe Sarah Palin was pregnant with Trig because I find her own account of the labour an insult to my intelligence. I don't believe Sarah Palin was pregnant with Trig because my eyes and my own experiences of pregnancies and childbirth make me very skeptical regarding her tight abs.
So I occasionally post photographs of women of the same build, four months pregnant, next to Sarah Palin seven months pregnant.
I wouldn't have touched the subject if Sarah Palin had not used Trig as a political tool. As long as she continues to use her family as political props, I'll continue to post items challenging her position and behaviour.
Now to the hate mail. Yes, I posted Sarah Palin's home address. It's very easy to find it online, just google it. Her address appeared twice in this blog.
On one occasion it was posted in the context of adopting a wolf in her name so the adoption certificate and a plush toy could be sent directly to her home with a thank you letter.
The other time was in connection with the IRS and whistleblowing on somebody believed to be filing false tax returns. The address was given simply to help with filling in the forms. There was a tongue in cheek reference to sending a thank you note to Sarah Palin should somebody collect a reward.
As far as I know, I'm not going ga-ga, so I would like to invite somebody from C4P to point to the post where I urged readers to send hate mail to their beloved Sarah Palin.
In a nutshell: this is a political blog. Any references to Sarah Palin's pregnancy are made in the context of her political narrative. I choose to make these posts a bit irreverent, that's my prerogative.
I have never incited any hate towards Sarah Palin, by mail or otherwise.
If the ADN chooses not to link to my blog that's their choice, but since the C4P campaign to control the contents of the ADN's political blogs and the editor's aquiescence to their demands I no longer consider the ADN to be a credible or independent forum or news source, so I'd rather not be linked by them.
I don't believe in censorship.
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22 comments:
Regina, I have ready every post on your blog from day one. I can attest that you have never incited hate mail to be sent to Sarah - NEVER! As far as C4P commenting on where you have, they won't because they can't. As to the ADN, how cowardly are they to give in to pressure from a bunch of equally ignorant group of people as C4P. Perhaps their detractors are correct and they deserve to go belly-up.
I applaud your wonderful writing, Regina! Your posts are carefully researched and beautifully written, especially-- since by your own admission-- English isn't your first language. You have certainly mastered its usage better than the Governor of Alaska ever did. And if you have fallen into the lines of their radar, you must be doing something right. Keep it up!
As for C4P, I decided to google them. I used the initials and number exactly as written here. The first hit was a Swinging Couples site, with photos!! Remember the recent tax protest when the group decided to call themselves T-baggers (in faint recollection of dumping crates of highly taxed tea into Boston Harbor as a protest)?? Well, it didn't take long for John Stewart to make some funny wisecracks and smirks to make me look up the other definition in Urban Dictionary and learn that they had given themselves a foolish name. I think that the same applies to C4P, the Swinging Couples, whose language skills resort to using such phases as "subhuman scum." The Conservative movement continues to sink itself every day by constantly going negative, using vicious names in attacking any idea that isn't theirs. Since they regularly read all of the liberal websites, I recommend that they study them in an effort to raise the level of their critical thinking. (Did they read the poll taken after the Tax Day Protest? The effort appealed to their narrow base, and turned off any and all of those middle-of-the-road independents that they will need for an election victory).
As for you, Regina, keep up the wonderful work-- I enjoy your writing and I love the selection of art that you use to accompany each piece.
LOL How funny that C4P search on google brings up Couples 4 play, swinging couples.
It fits perfectly for Palin- because it sure seems like Greta "Hehehe, First Dude", and her husband,"Sarah is my gf", are both interested in Swinging with the Palins
Bravo (clap clap clap)!! Well said, well written! Regina, I too have read your blog since its inception, and I agree that you have never incited an iota of hate mail toward GINO.
Sarah Palin has done it all herself.
From the beginning, I've been greatly disturbed by SP's use of her family as props, whether hauling them around at all hours like a bag of flour (Trig), or using them as a protective shield (Piper, specifically at the Philadelphia Flyers hockey game, at which SP was booed nonetheless), or throwing them under the bus (Bristol), or using her eldest's soldier status as a whitewash for his troubled adolescence (Track). And her so-called fifth pregnancy has made every mother I know go HMM...
Keep up the good work! Citizen-journalists like you are doing the work that the so-called mainstream media isn't bothering its pretty little heads about at the present time.
Hi Reg!
Happy Weekend to you
There is quite an extensive post on the Flats today on this issue.
AKM chose to direct it towards anonymity on the net and generally all tend to agree that with that being the issue, it definitely applies to ALL of us including C4P.
Let me say, I do NOT go to C4P because I don't like personal attacks and "kumbaya Sarah" websites. It's a waste of my time.
But I do defend their right to say what they want on their own blog as well.
The complaint that non-Alaskans are on the blogs and it isn't appropriate is stupid.
SP ran for National office when she was tapped for VP. It is our right and duty to find out who and what she is and what she stands for.
It's not my fault she's full of holes like swiss cheese.
C4P is entitled to be anonymous just like we are. If we don't protect everyone's right to blog anonymously then we ALL lose.
If you don't like C4P, Reddstate, or even ADN's policy of allowing C4Pers to run their political blog and delete all the posts, then don't go there.
Also, if you don't like ADN, then why click on them? Many of their advertisers get paid when you click on that website...why support it if you disagree?
But anonymity - YES - for all of us including C4P.
It isn't hard to ignore those we disagree with.
I know you have had different experiences with them, I'm just saying the bottom line here is that the blog communities must stick tight and support the right of anonymity - it affects all of us and is constitutionally protected free speech - for ALL.
Reg,
I have also read your blog from the beginning..and you have never wrote to send "hate mail" to GINO. In fact one of their own "noalib" has the SarahPalin blog and had GINO home address up for months so people could send well wishes and gifts for bristol.
Last night I came across AKM new post. I corrected her on RA Mansour, citing from info on C4P, and noting how they have manipulated comments on ADN, wrote to the editor to have the "truther" sites Mudflats,IM,Palingates etc. removed and now ADN links to them, and how when they found out WAR was voted out, they wanted to know who voted against him "so they could make their life a living hell" When I woke up this was all that was left of my post...
Phil wrote this on his blog tonight: "I think the turning point for me happened nine days ago, when it appeared people affiliated with TeamSarah, Conservatives4Palin and SarahPac might be willing to try to destroy the Burton family. That got me to spend several hours going through old Wayne Anthony Ross op-eds, looking for information that might help Leah Burton and her father, ex-Public Safety Commissioner, Dick Burton."
I have seen them call her a “anti-christian” so-in so!
Although they have the right to blog and free speech they deny it to anyone who doesn’t write “Gino’s farting rainbows” (thanks Jen, from IM)
They have called us names here said we were responsible for, oh yeah a fire in wasilla “its probably one of those mudflats people”.
So where does blogging draw the line? AKM,Palingates, IM, Phil, Shannyn all back up with links what they write.
I don’t care where they live, but when they start hounding people for telling the truth about the queen that THEY don’t want to hear, its censorship and WRONG! JMO.I'm kind of upset that AKM choose to censor me. Maybe she thought I was "outing" Mansour, but I had wrote nothing about her, that she herself didn't write on C4P!
I am sensing a energy shift on Mudflats since the Doogan debacle.
Maybe its just me.
Regina, keep up the good work and let Truth ring free!
Thanks for your blog!
CrystalWolf:
Interesting - I have never been edited at AKM and I don't ever visit C4P. I like most, visit the blogs that fit me and that I agree with. I've never understood the whole trolling to cause trouble thing.
I don't know what happened with your post but as fellow blogger who has always read you with interest, if it did happen, I'd like to apologize to you. I didn't sent that the Flats was too much on censorship unless it was a flat out personal attack and I'd hate to think it turned into that.
Hang in there - I always enjoy your posts ... All the Alaska blogs are doing a terrific job bringing light into the cave that is the Governor's office.
Sad but true!
Basheert: Thanks for the support.
Now Phil's site has a Blog post from VidOmi!!!
I don't know what is going on here.
Did c4p "get" to Alaska's bloggers?
VidOmni is basically someone I won't deal with (who is Phil?)
VidOmni uses distraction - for example when you disagree, it screams "I AM A VET" ... "YOU SPIT ON MY FATHER WHEN HE CAME HOME 'FROM 'NAM"...that is the sum total of it's intellectual capacity.
When you literally have nothing to say worthwhile, you scream personal attacks.
VidO appears to believe it has attained some for of intellectual superiority.
I wasn't aware sheep had an intellect.
Crystalwolf:
How could we get into email contact without putting emails onto the board?
Basheert: Phil is Progressive Alaska website http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/04/should-anonymous-free-speech-apply.html
Are you on the forum @ mudflats? You could PM me there caligrl wolves eat Palin or you could email Regina, I give her permission to give you my email (If you don't mind Regina)
Crystalwolf and Basheert,
I would be happy to put you in touch with each other. Just give me the go ahead!
c4p have not got to the bloggers a such, they can't silence everybody, but what they did at ADN is disturbing, that's why they're being talked about.
Crystalwolf, I'm sure the Mudflats thing was a misunderstanding. Your input is valued and appreciated. Nobody would like to give up your contribution to the discussions. Crosswires happen and things get a bit tense at times...
Reg
Just sent Regina a note requesting you she also send you mine.
VidOmn is pretty "wolf in sheeps clothing" - fits in with the SP (what you see is not what you get) mode.
The more light that is shined on her, the more everyone will see what she really is and how she represents Alaska. This latest dustup with the Veterans really IS who she is.
If the C4Pers wish to tout her wonderfulness that is fine. I do not choose to read it or swallow it.
VidOmn is simply running interference - it will attack shrilly if it doesn't like what you say. It probably drew the short straw.
By the way, about an hour ago, I posted to MudFlats and it went totally into the cosmos.
It was very innocuous and I'm sure it was my fault. I have not run into censureship at the 'Flats
Well last night after my post VO posted on Mudflats, I'm sure not liking what it read(in my post) probably emailed AKM to censor me...that's what they do...AKM put a update on there saying we would be having "visitors"
(basically "play nice")
But I'm upset that c4p thinks it can go on any blog/newspaper complain and get their way. Its not right.
If you go to 'Flats first page:
http://www.themudflats.net/2009/04/17/should-anonymous-free-speech-apply-tothem/?cp=1#comments
My post is #25
#26 VO which WASN'T there when I left!
#34 iac-another c4p'r
Yes I think quite a few posts from mudflats were removed last night!
iac and VO were not there when I left.
I think I got to #38 when I left:
calipat.
My antivirus was updating and it was time for bed for me! Vo or iac was not there. So either someone else was censored or they were on Mod and added afterwords.
Whatever somethings going on!
Crystalwolf,
C4P are a version of a virus. This post will be the last addressing any of their issues with me.
If they continue to disrupt the blogs I'll probaby have something to say, but as far as my own blog is concerned, they can take a running jump.
GINO is evil, would you expect her followers to be angels?
Reg
Regina, I noticed that you are still listing my old blog in your list. You may wish to add the newer one to your list or replace the old one. The Political Commentary section is still relevant to your subject matter and the links have been copied into the new site. Thank you.
http://www.e-tabitha.com/
Regina,
I rarely post on any of the blogs, although I have read yours and the others for some time now and infrequently post - although just recently here. Guess I haven't found my blog "home" yet :-)
ADN just this past week dumped me and my posts, although I find that anyone posting from a professional perspective using professional language is least welcome.
I cited Supreme Court decisions and language after Doogan outed AKM & was gratified to see it start to appear on other blogs around the net(not that others couldn't/didn't do the same research at the same time!) but when I got too critical of both SP AND ADN this week, then I got dumped, so not sure how much was C4P and how much Pat Dougherty. He had just posted a lengthy list of rules for posting although not sure he understands the true definition of an ad hominem attack. ooops. my bad. think that was an ad hominem attack.
Anyway, I enjoy your posts and your unique perspective - perhaps being as far from Alaska as you are enables a clearer view. Those who say this is an Alaskan only discussion are wrong. I'm in California and unfortunately, politics has not been local for a long, long time.
OK Reg - you win and your answer to your question is "NO".
Shannyn Moore on right now!
http://radiotime.com/station/s_31918/Smart_Radio_700.aspx
Kyra,
go look at the editors blog. Pat Dougherty has written a response to everyone complaining about what was happen with the comments and people getting blocked. It's those palinbots who have been screwing it up. As long as you go by the rules, civil, on topic you should have no problem.
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