Another "Ramblings" update then on to other things

The most recent post over at "Ramblings" helps confirm that Fran doesn't have more than a rudimentary clue about the oil economy. Big oil company profits when the price of oil spikes supposedly indicates that the war in Iraq was the idea of the oil companies. I wonder how the face of the nation would change if voters had to get a passing grade on an oil economy test? Could Dennis Kucinich get a single vote?

The bad content remains the secondary issue with this blog, however. The outstanding problem remains the nutty handling of commentary. I think I've figured out what it takes to have a comment stick, however, by using a carefully graduated string of responses. Red will indicate that the post was removed. Green will indicate apparent acceptance of the comment.

I remain curious about tension between letting the Iraqis settle things themselves and sending in foreign peacekeepers who are not us (U.S.). I'm also sincerely interested in any plausible evidence that apologizing is a useful foreign policy technique.
(screenshot of the post before it was removed)

Apparently too inflammatory, so I went for something shorter more along the lines of objective reporting the next time.

Democrats in Congress would have tabled Kucinich's bill if not for Republican support.
(screenshot of the post before it was removed)

Not the kind of truth Fran wants in front of the eyes of her readers, evidently.
I decided to drift to the other side of neutrality.

What a nice post.
(screenshot taken shortly after posting)

Bingo! It's been up ever since (and remains as of this writing).


I didn't sink to facetiousness, either. Fran's post was a respectful and relatively even-handed entry about a war memorial. Unfortunately the blog remains crap, on balance.

Maybe it'll improve with time (cue Wayne Campbell's infamous phrase).

"Ramblings" update

Fran offered another example of her zeal to suppress. This one is especially funny.

Fran and company wonder how vets can warrant arrest for disrupting a veterans' ceremony. I supplied the answer with an explanation rooted in legal precedent.



But by the next day the information was gone. Can't have people knowing what the law says about it, can we?




The last post (as of this moment) by "Spadoman" allowed this to tumble from both sides of his mouth:

It is wrong to disallow a faction, especially Veterans on Veterans Day, because they carry a message different than the organizers intended. On the other hand, what did the organizers intend? I believe the Veterans for Peace also have the right to organize a parade. Getting permits would be the problem.

Maybe they're close to figuring it out on their own, now (assuming they're not pretending to have it figured out based on what I already told them!

Let's say they organize a World Peace parade and one of the factions in favor of World Peace wants peace via military jihad? And they stand in front of the podium while the event organizers are trying to do their thing?

Of course my favorite part is host Fran asking "No dissent allowed?" right before she quashes ... well, not dissent exactly. She just quashes the voice she doesn't want to hear, apparently irrespective of content.

Hold the fanfare, just a quick and utilitarian induction ceremony

I've visited some appallingly bad blogs over the years. Perhaps only the sands of time protect some of them from BBB induction. But this morning's induction stands as perhaps the saddest thus far. While visiting the blog "Ramblings" as hosted by "Fran" I experienced craven commentary management that I haven't seen since the Amanda Marcotte moment.

Not that the regulation of commentary is the only weakness of this blog. The opinions, protected from intellectual insight just as effectively as they are protected from outside criticism, represent the type of thing that results in the worst liberal stereotypes.

But the screening of commentary does serve as the overriding reason for BBB induction.

A blogger who won't tolerate a one-sentence statement of fact (with accompanying URL) is pathetic in a sobering way. No fanfare. This one calls for a dirge.

BBB welcomes Ramblings to its blogroll of dishonor.

Read the history here and here if you're interested.