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Joining forums to spam for McCain?

Skeptic Ginger

Nasty Woman
Skeptic Ginger
Joined
Feb 14, 2005
Messages
96,955
I see a lot of new members here with some pretty silly threads claiming McCain slam dunk fantasies. Got me wondering if it was spontaneous or a conspiracy concerted effort?
 
I'm retracting my rash conclusion. I was wrong. Many of the fantasy posts are Brainster's. And one isn't a new member.

I'm not sure I buy PitPat's claim of being an Obama supporter. We've seen that fakery before from the liars for Jesus who try to claim they would believe evolution if only someone could explain [XYZ]. Then again, PitPat joined in 2006 and I don't really have enough to draw such a conclusion other than I'm a suspicious person on these matters.
McCain's Nomination Speech
As a disclosure, I'm going to vote for Obama, but it I thought it was a pretty good speech. I was sorta surprised at the lack of jabs towards Obama. There were a few, but nearly as many as Obama delivered in his speech.
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Reverebison joined in April of 2008.
Palin....Check mate
McCain was already slowly gaining,,,if not leading BO before the DNC. Chosing Palin was such a brilliant move that I cannot beleive a politician thought of it. It would have been my choice too, but I knew they were not smart enought to try it. Now its checkmate...

I predict that Palin will be a superstar. She is that good. She will be the first female president. She is that good.

The fact that Mccain chose her means he is way better than I thought. Way different than Bush, way better. Our country has a chance now...no more Bush....no more Obama or clinton. Way to go Mccain....

checkmate BO
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I read reverebison's thread after a couple of Brainster's when I drew my rash conclusion.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122610

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122645

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122741

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122733

I should have checked first. My bad.


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gtc said:
She was actually a Hillary fan.
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I know. In one of the threads she linked I made mention of that. I actually backed her and Conspiraider up in the Spring on some of their arguments; I did think this whole "Hillary get out of the race" nonsense was ridiculous considering how close things were.

But you know how it is, now I'm fundy mcprayer in schools creationism forever fundy.
 
skeptigirl said:
I'm retracting my rash conclusion. I was wrong. Many of the fantasy posts are Brainster's. And one isn't a new member.

I'm not sure I buy PitPat's claim of being an Obama supporter. We've seen that fakery before from the liars for Jesus who try to claim they would believe evolution if only someone could explain [XYZ]. Then again, PitPat joined in 2006 and I don't really have enough to draw such a conclusion other than I'm a suspicious person on these matters.
McCain's Nomination Speech


Reverebison joined in April of 2008.
Palin....Check mate


I read reverebison's thread after a couple of Brainster's when I drew my rash conclusion.
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122610

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122645

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122741

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122733

I should have checked first. My bad.


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I am sick of this accusation and I'm going to devote more time and a little more vigor than it deserves.

Let me point out here that the blog JamesB (another "gasp" Republican) started--Screw Loose Change--was cited in Skeptic Magazine for our work in debunking the 9-11 Conspiracy Theories. But you know, we only really started that blog and worked on it for the last two and a half years just so we could worm our way into the massive JREF forums and subvert them to creationism and abstinence-only education, so they would become zombies of the Religious Right. Because, you know, there are currently 112 votes for Obama in this subforum, and if we can just win about half them over (excluding all those doggone foreigners), it will surely result in all the JREF electoral college votes going to John McCain.

Muwahahahahaha! Cough, cough, should give up the evil laugh or smoking.

I am, shockingly enough, a Republican and a skeptic. Yes, sit down for a second because I know the idea is alien to you. Cognitive dissonance can be hard to handle.

I came over here because of Gravy, aka Mark Roberts. We shared the same disgust for the 9-11 Truthers, and we have worked together (along with many others) to discredit their fantasies. Let me add that two very partisan Democrats in this forum, Ben Burch and Boloboffin, have also done magnificent work in debunking the 9-11 Truthers.

And let me point out that shock of shock, accusations of astroturfing (joining forums to spam for a candidate) have been leveled against Ben Burch and Boloboffin by a "conservative" poster, even though I personally have stood up for them.

We were all three very politically involved people BEFORE we came over to the forum, but NONE of us came over here for the politics, we came over because of the skepticism about the nutty 9-11 claims. And I have defended those two from the astroturfing claims because I know that's not why they're here (and I would appreciate some acknowledgment of that fact from them).

So we came over to JREF and mostly stuck around in the old comprehensive CT forum and the newer 9-11 CT subforum. But of course we eventually discovered other parts of the forum and started posting there as well. I did not post much in the Politics Forum, but when the 2008 election subforum opened I did do some posting over here. But back then the focus was on the primaries and nobody cared much that I supported John McCain as it didn't matter while there was a battle going on for the Democratic nomination.

In that Democratic nomination fight I supported your candidate, Hillary Clinton. Look back at some of the threads and you'll see that you and I and Conspiraider were fighting a pretty lonely battle. And I did it despite my belief that Hillary was a tougher opponent for McCain, because I thought the Republicans were screwed this election anyway, so we might as well lose to a team that had proven in the past that they could handle the reins of government.

Well, we lost that battle, and yes, now I'm supporting McCain as I would have if Hillary had gotten the nomination. Except that I think McCain has a decent chance against Obama, where I definitely feel that Hillary would be 10 points or more ahead now, and the race about over.

But perhaps you disagree?

At any rate, I would note that never have I questioned one of the liberals around here as to whether they're some sort of plants or spammers. I argue with you folks on good faith that you believe what you profess. I would appreciate it if you would reciprocate that courtesy.

ETA: Let me add that Boloboffin and I collaborated on the JREF forums to create a YouTube video to discredit Jerome Corsi, the author of the vile anti-Obama book Obamanation that reached #1 on the NY Times bestseller list. Bolo's video was cited in the New York Times and by the Obama campaign itself. Our work led many major conservative bloggers to declare that Corsi was persona non grata in the Republican Party. Details of this effort can be found here.
 
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And I'll be happy to reveal that I threw a lot of DU links Brainster's way when the Trig rumors were flying all over the place there. Sometimes trash is just trash and it behooves us all to take it out.

And the thought of people trying to take over the JREF forums for one candidate or another really makes me laugh. I think that's a prize that only means something to posters here.

And it is a prize of sorts. After all, the JREF goals are to promote critical thinking, and if you only think critically about the issues, you will agree with my candidate. And thus the other peoples' candidates are not the choice of the rational!

But how far does that play? Say to say, the JREF forums are not the internet phenomenon that would rate all of this activity to denigrate or exalt either candidate for the presidency.

I view this forum as a place where I can throw things against the wall and see how people committed to rational thought (i.e., assenting to the Membership Agreement) either prop it up or knock it down. My omnibus thread about campaign ads is about this specifically. It's not quite a truce here, as it is a place for discussion in, oh, what's that phrase? "a friendly and lively way." I expect tongue-in-cheek spin, I expect the latest rumors and facts to be bashed about, and I expect the moderators to clamp down on board flooding and excessive trollery.

The recent glut of Palin threads is both to be expected and rightfully decried. The other three people listed as candidates were all known quantaties. Obama was the less known of them, and we did get a similar glut of threads about him, seeking to define him before he had a chance. The utter unknown quality of Sarah Palin would almost guarantee a glut of negative information as people began to search her record and throw everything even slightly derogatory out there in an attempt to impeach John McCain's judgment.

But at some point, the flooding has to stop. I'm reminded of tactics used to drag down the elephants in LOTR or the AT-ATs in Episode 4 of Star Wars. Yes, drag down the candidacy if you can, but if you can't build the momentum required to do so, it's time to find another way of dealing with the onslaught. If the cow won't tip, it's time to get out of the pasture.

And my final point on this: I'd expect to find plants in places like DU or Free Republic, where the consequence of being a poster of heresy can be severe. At JREF, there's no such penalty for being politically different from the other side (the exception would be in subforums where we are all pretty much on the same page, like 9/11 CTs). So anyone knuckleheaded enough to be a plant here in 2008 US Presidential Elections will quickly reveal their knuckleheadedness in other ways, and will be safely avoided.
 
I agree 100% with Boloboffin's comments, and would like to thank him for giving me a heads-up on the Palin didn't have Trig rumors.

I do post things here sometimes that I don't believe in the spirit of "Hey, it's being discussed." And because of my confirmation bias, against which I strive in vain, I'm more likely to see (and to find intriguing) the discussion of anti-Obama rumors. When I do not believe in a rumor I mention it, not to innoculate myself but to give everybody a heads-up that the story should be approached skeptically (perhaps not needed hereabouts).
 
Brainster said:
I do post things here sometimes that I don't believe in the spirit of "Hey, it's being discussed." And because of my confirmation bias, against which I strive in vain, I'm more likely to see (and to find intriguing) the discussion of anti-Obama rumors. When I do not believe in a rumor I mention it, not to innoculate myself but to give everybody a heads-up that the story should be approached skeptically (perhaps not needed hereabouts).
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And, it is this reason why I have a lot of respect for you and your posts.
 
joobz said:
And, it is this reason why I have a lot of respect for you and your posts.
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I would have to grudgingly agree. I've only been here since may, and originally lumped Brainster with beachooser, which was unfair. I may disagree with his politics, but he has shown himself to be, by and large, a worthy advocate for his point of view.
 
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I just had to laugh. On reading the forum index page, it looked like this:
skeptigirl Joining forums to spam for McCain?

And I laughed. Of course, that isn't what the title really was, but the visual picture was amusing.

DR
 
gdnp said:
I would have to grudgingly agree. I've only been here since may, and originally lumped Brainster with beachooser, which was unfair. I may disagree with his politics, but he has shown himself to be, by and large, a worthy advocate for his point of view.
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I agree. Brainster's on my list of, "people I don't agree with, but could learn a bunch from over beers list."
 
Brainster said:
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I am, shockingly enough, a Republican and a skeptic. Yes, sit down for a second because I know the idea is alien to you. Cognitive dissonance can be hard to handle.
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Not hard to handle at all. In fact, cognitive dissonance is a natural brain function. Recognizing and dealing with it is the hard part.

And let me point out that shock of shock, accusations of astroturfing (joining forums to spam for a candidate) have been leveled against Ben Burch and Boloboffin by a "conservative" poster, even though I personally have stood up for them.
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Did you miss my retraction? You have a lot of stuff here suggesting you did.

In that Democratic nomination fight I supported your candidate, Hillary Clinton. ...

Well, we lost that battle, and yes, now I'm supporting McCain as I would have if Hillary had gotten the nomination. Except that I think McCain has a decent chance against Obama, where I definitely feel that Hillary would be 10 points or more ahead now, and the race about over.

But perhaps you disagree?
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Definitely. The skilled campaigner Obama turned out to be will put him well ahead of McCain by November. Hillary failed in campaign skills though I still had confidence in her as a potential President.

I would appreciate it if you would reciprocate that courtesy.
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I do believe you should re-read my posts. Especially the part where I said, "I'm retracting my rash conclusion. I was wrong. Many of the fantasy posts are Brainster's. And one isn't a new member."

So that still says your posts are fantasies, but not that they are spam.

I wanted to start a new thread on the Palin McCain fantasies but there are so many already on the topic it seemed rather pointless.
 
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Thanks Joobz and gdnp. Joobz, I got a little story about your old avatar. I always wondered who that little girl was, crying. Then Rick Santorum (back in late January backstabbed McCain, who had campaigned for him in 2006. So I went surfing around for a good pick of Santorum to post, and discovered who the little girl was. So I commented on the backstabbing on my blog and claimed that was why his daughter was so upset.

Skeptigirl, I accept your apology retraction. I do wish that people would realize that there is no value to astro-turfing a small forum like this. On my political blog I have about 120 people who get my RSS feed and another hundred or so who surf by daily. At SLC I have over 1200 readers per day.

We'll see who's the fantasist come November 4.
 
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