GOP, MSM Talking Points Clearing House

[PATRICK]

We hardly need to start flame wars and help them organize their thinking, but maybe a reference point on DU might help those goaded into fratricidal fury or anxiety by ideas fomented entirely for that purpose and worse.

Since there are so many targets of GOP fear and anger these days(LOL) it might need some cataloging a la "The Daily Howler" or Media Matters but honed down and encapsulated with at the most references to origins and Snopes-like debunking. Obviously since most attacks are personal it can go by name, alphabetically of Democrats and regime opponents, organizations. Then it can go the areas of public awareness that are attempted to be spun, diverted, influenced. The constant updating will be wearying and depressing.

Then of course the long long list of diverted, ignored, under reported and lied about topics. And the inane over reported fluff.

The main goal of course is a single DU reference point whenever a flame war is affected by one of these. Even attacking a GOP talking point sometimes accomplishes the main goals of such- controlling the discussion, hitting emotional buttons, distracting from central issues. The news itself is a prime victim as well as perpetrator and has been helped in the past by vigilant bloggers in spotting manipulation and sources of the same. Another goal of course is to forever spotlight where the poison is coming from and why without the vague paranoia which is the smokescreen the poisoning of the information well creates with a purpose.

If such easy references already exist within our research, now might be a good time to remind people going crazy about politics and war where they are.

One of the recent posts and subsequent posts about flaming posts shows we are pretty much victimized in these times. ANY group with that wound(sometimes a wound we ignore) get more than figuratively touchy. No one seems to wrap around the differences among the treaders and the sore feet. A high level of intellectual or spiritual progress even is not enough to erase a history of hurt. We have to blunt our first instincts and be patient with each other and not get distracted from the salient fact that the self-chosen representative of all these woes is lording it over our democracy. Pettiness and offense is a matter of perspective and in today's mushrooming global crisis everything and everyone is essentially petty with a huge per cent of everything we do a perilous waste of time.

One might call it the Tar and Feather Pit, in hoonor of LaBrea and feather light, fancy tickling news. A caveat to those seeking to brain a fellow DUer with the resource is probably necessary as well, unfortunately.