April 22, 2009

"Drudge fears the media, which for some reason want to know things about the man who basically decides what will be on cable television every night."

Where's Drudge?

There's the theory that he's hiding a private life that some people disapprove of. Some say Rush Limbaugh — of all people — told him to lie low. Right wingers supposedly protecting other right wingers from getting caught doing things that right wingers supposedly loathe.

Lefties love to think the righties they can't tolerate are intolerant.

ADDED: Here's the Gabriel Sherman article in TNR:
What is driving Drudge to seclusion? Those who know him say that part of the reason he has disappeared from public view is that he is so bothered by the media's prurient interest in his personal life...

Perhaps Limbaugh... was trying to protect a fellow conservative from attack by the left. Or maybe he simply grasped something that now appears very obvious: Matt Drudge owes his power in part to the air of mystery that surrounds him.

54 comments:

MadisonMan said...

Righties love to think that lefties love to think that righties they can't tolerate are intolerant.

Sometimes people withdraw from their friends because of episodes of severe depression. I really hope that that is not a devil in Drudge's bonnet.

KCFleming said...

Lefties want their two minutes of hate against thought criminals.

Social Righties want lefties who think there's NTTAWWT to thing there is in fact SWWT.

Bissage said...

Perhaps Mr. Drudge just needs a little more time to get his makeover.

DaLawGiver said...

Lefties love to think the righties they can't tolerate are intolerant.That's a great line Ann.

Unknown said...

Of course, there is no evidence whatsoever that "righties" are intolerant of homosexuality. Whereever did "lefties" get that idea, Ann?

Hoosier Daddy said...

(Of course, there is no evidence whatsoever that "righties" are intolerant of homosexuality. Whereever did "lefties" get that idea, Ann?)

Probably the same place they considered righties as all racists and evil folks who like to pull the wings off butterflies.

I think in the field of psychology they call that projection.

Beth said...

Lefties love to think the righties they can't tolerate are intolerant.Because there's no intolerance over on the fundamentalist right. No, of course not. And no kneeling by so-called "economic conservatives" to the social conservatives in order to win elections. Perish the thought!

Only super-sophisticated, ironically witty sorta-lefties who cultivate a conservative audience know the real truth. Oh, those silly lefties who think, think, they've encountered right-wing intolerance.

Peter V. Bella said...

Gabriel Sherman, The New Republic Published: Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Is TNR living in a time warp? Are they taking too many drugs? Did they all join Scientology and use the intergalactic calendar? Or are they the real forward thinkers and the rest of us are living in the past?

Peter V. Bella said...

"Righties love to think that lefties love to think that righties they can't tolerate are intolerant.That reminds me of a song:

There are men who love women who love men...

KCFleming said...

Hypocrisy is the only sin left when all else is permitted.

Jason (the commenter) said...

I think Drudge is cute. But he's not available and he's hardly anti-gay, so whether he is gay or something else (inter alia transgendered, nonsexual, a eunuch) isn't really a big issue for me. Looking for hypocrisy among newscasters is like shooting a duck in a barrel, and Drudge is hardly a hypocrite. Awkward maybe, but being intrusive to someone who is awkward says more about you then it does about them.

KCFleming said...

I'm not calling him a hypocrite, merely pointing out that the left searches endlessly for hypocrites, as it is the only remaining sin.

Palladian said...

"Lefties love to think the righties they can't tolerate are intolerant.Because there's no intolerance over on the fundamentalist right. No, of course not. And no kneeling by so-called "economic conservatives" to the social conservatives in order to win elections. Perish the thought!"

While I don't disagree with your basic premise Beth, you can't really claim that the democrat party doesn't do the same thing when it's convenient. The Obama campaign made sure the socially conservative wing of their party (black voters, hispanic voters, blue collar union types) knew that Obama didn't believe in lettin' them there gays get married. Politicians do this sort of thing all the time. It's called politics.

As for "right-wing" intolerance, I don't really think that intolerance has a political ideology. I've seen the same sort of intolerance in the eyes of a lefty as I have in the eyes of a fundamentalist Christian. Such things know no political boundaries.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Beth and Palladian, I offer you the Troll of all Trolls as evidence that intolerance is alive and well in all sides.

Ciao.

Jeremy said...

Why doesn't Drudge, being the "truth-telling" hero of the right, come out of the closet?

The liberals certainly don't care.

Think it might have something to do with the conservatives?

Hmmmm...

KCFleming said...

Ha!
Right on cue!

Jeremy said...

Pogo said..."Lefties want their two minutes of hate against thought criminals. Social Righties want lefties who think there's NTTAWWT to thing there is in fact SWWT."

Care to translate what this insanity is supposed to mean?

Do you EVER post anything that makes sense?

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Pogo said...
Ha!
Right on cue!

12:13 PM
.

Indeed.

Jeremy said...

The Cuban Cigar - "Pogo said...
Ha! Right on cue!"

Don't tell me...you hooked up?

You sound like little girls on a playground.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Jeremy said...
The Cuban Cigar - "Pogo said...
Ha! Right on cue!"

Don't tell me...you hooked up?

You sound like little girls on a playground.

12:28 PM
.

Exhibit X

Jeremy said...

"Days after Matt Drudge popped up to tell New York magazine about how he doesn't enjoy having sex with men..."

- Cuban, maybe you and the other little girl, Pogo can get him back on track.

"Now Drudge supposedly only talks to Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and Andrew Breitbart, which is just an awful, awful life."

No shit.

Beth said...

Palladian, the two parties are always going to be imperfect for gay people, and I've never denied that. The liberals have come through more often for queers than the conservatives. You'd have to have been living in a box since 1980 to ignore that the GOP has made its bones off anti-gay rhetoric and action. There's plenty of liberal spinelessness and actual homophobia to blame as well, but I'm not going to pretend that the conservative political movement in this country hasn't been virulently, and harmfully, anti-gay as a matter of course for the last thirty years. I assume to be a gay conservative you find ways to rationalize and make your peace with that. I do the same - my leaving the Democratic party after Clinton failed with Don't Ask/Don't Tell is largely symbolic.

But them's the choices. Make the one you can live with.

Beth said...

ElC: Trolls aren't evidence of anything other than mental illness.

mariner said...

Interesting that the last paragraph of the story begins with:

"Of course, Drudge has always been a notorious recluse ..."

Who would read any further if the article began with that basic fact?

KCFleming said...

"Do you EVER post anything that makes sense?"

Well, the mome raths outgrabe, if that helps.

KCFleming said...

"But them's the choices. Make the one you can live with."

I choose liberty, which is neither GOP nor democrat.

Jeremy said...

Beth said..."ElC: Trolls aren't evidence of anything other than mental illness."

Translation: Why would we possibly want to hear an opposing view or opinion?

And that's exactly why you lost the last elections and will lose the next elections.

Jeremy said...

Beth - "The liberals have come through more often for queers than the conservatives."

The "queers?"

And you wonder why the Democrats overwhelmingly carry the gay vote?

Over 90% of gays voted in the Presidential election and 70% voted for Obama.

Also:

- Obama won 95 percent of the black vote.

- Obama also won the under-30 crowd by 34 percentage points.

- Obama won two-thirds of Hispanic voters.

KCFleming said...

hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

What a maroon.

Trooper York said...

Wow. That Jeremy is one of the most perceptive people you are ever going to meet.

Aren't you happy he is on your team Beth? He really has you pegged as a dirty nasty conservative Republican. Heh.

JSF said...

From an article:

http://www.curezone.com/forums/troll.asp

What is an Internet Troll?

An Internet "troll" is a person who delights in sowing discord on the Internet. He (and it is usually he) tries to start arguments and upset people.

Trolls see Internet communications services as convenient venues for their bizarre game. For some reason, they don't "get" that they are hurting real people. To them, other Internet users are not quite human but are a kind of digital abstraction. As a result, they feel no sorrow whatsoever for the pain they inflict. Indeed, the greater the suffering they cause, the greater their 'achievement' (as they see it). At the moment, the relative anonymity of the net allows trolls to flourish.

Trolls are utterly impervious to criticism (constructive or otherwise). You cannot negotiate with them; you cannot cause them to feel shame or compassion; you cannot reason with them. They cannot be made to feel remorse. For some reason, trolls do not feel they are bound by the rules of courtesy or social responsibility.

Why does it Matter?

Some people -- particularly those who have been online for years -- are not upset by trolls and consider them an inevitable hazard of using the net. As the saying goes, "You can't have a picnic without ants."

It would be nice if everybody was so easy-going, but the sad fact is that trolls do discourage people. Established posters may leave a message board because of the arguments that trolls ignite, and lurkers (people who read but do not post) may decide that they do not want to expose themselves to abuse and thus never get involved.

Another problem is that the negative emotions stirred up by trolls leak over into other discussions. Normally affable people can become bitter after reading an angry interchange between a troll and his victims, and this can poison previously friendly interactions between long-time users.

Finally, trolls create a paranoid environment, such that a casual criticism by a new arrival can elicit a ferocious and inappropriate backlash.

The Internet is a wonderful resource which is breaking down barriers and stripping away prejudice. Trolls threaten our continued enjoyment of this beautiful forum for ideas

Jeremy said...

JSF - "The Internet is a wonderful resource which is breaking down barriers and stripping away prejudice. Trolls threaten our continued enjoyment of this beautiful forum for ideas."

But you have no ideas.

You're nothing but a pompous ass.

Jeremy said...

Trooper - I don't care what Beth is.

My point is that if people refer to gays as "queers" it's apparent they're not very perceptive.

As for you, you're just another right wing dick who, for whatever reason, think his silly TV and movie crap is somehow really amusing.

It merely illustrates the fact that you have nothing of relevance to add.

Jeremy said...

Pogo thinks I'm some kind of firework??

Dumb as a box of rocks.

Beth said...

Trooper,

He's got his own team. All those voices in his head - enough for a full scrimmage, I think.

Beth said...

But really, any of you who want to use Jeremy as a legitimate example of liberalism, you're just as deluded as he is, or more likely, just intellectually dishonest. I don't intend to engage in any discussion that references his posts as meaningful points in a dialogue.

JSF said...

Another article:

http://www.flayme.com/troll/

How can troll posts be recognised?
No Imagination - Most are frighteningly obvious; sexist comments on nurses' groups, blasphemy on religious groups .. I kid you not.

Pedantic in the Extreme - Many trolls' preparation is so thorough, that while they waste time, they appear so ludicrous from the start that they elicit sympathetic mail - the danger is that once the group takes sides, the damage is done.

False Identity - Because they are cowards, trolls virtually never write over their own name, and often reveal their trolliness (and lack of imagination) in the chosen ID. As so many folk these days use false ID, this is not a strong indicator on its own!
...

Off-topic posting - Often genuine errors, but, if from an 'outsider' they deserve matter-of-fact response; if genuine, a brief apposite response is simply netiquette; if it's a troll post, you have denied it its reward.
Repetition of a question or statement is either a troll - or a pedant; either way, treatment as a troll is effective.

Missing The Point - Trolls rarely answer a direct question - they cannot, if asked to justify their twaddle - so they develop a fine line in missing the point.

Thick or Sad - Trolls are usually sad, lonely folk, with few social skills; they rarely make what most people would consider intelligent conversation. However, they frequently have an obsession with their IQ and feel the need to tell everyone. This is so frequent, that it is diagnostic! Somewhere on the web there must be an Intelligence Test for Trolls - rigged to always say "above 150"

KCFleming said...

True, Beth.



But still funny as hell.

Freeman Hunt said...

Jeremy just needs a hug. Somebody hug that guy.

Freeman Hunt said...

Headline: Man Won't Talk to Us; Dislike Impossible; Fear Assumed

Freeman Hunt said...

a duck in a barrel.

Jason, I cannot get this image out of my head now.

Anonymous said...

As only a now-and-then commenter here without a great emotional investment in the Althouse-o-sphere I find it amusing at times to read the comments on this site and observe the general flow. And, in this particular instance, what stands out in the general flow is that the arrival of Jeremy took a thread where people were having some form of a rational conversation and turned it into an insult-fest in short order. You gotta be proud, Jeremy.

Trooper York said...

You absolutely right Beth. You know I love you. But as the most sensible and well reasoned and kind liberal to post on this site I had to tweak you a little.

Luckyoldson/Michael/Jeremy is beneath contempt and I don't respond to his drivel. Nobody fears and hates gay people more than he does. The less said about or to him the better for all concerned.

Trooper York said...

Oh and Beth, thanks for the two draft picks the Saints gave the Giants for Shockey. We are going to package them to move up in the draft to get a reciever. Cool.

Jason (the commenter) said...

Jeremy just needs a hug. Somebody hug that guy.

Ugh, we were talking about a hot guy like Drudge and the thread has degenerated into discussing hugging Jeremy.

Old-school Simpson's knowns how to deal with trolls:

"To stop those monsters 1-2-3
Here's a fresh new way that's trouble free
It's got Paul Anka's guarantee...
(Guarantee void in Tennessee!)
Just don't look!
Just don't look!
Just don't look!
Just don't look!"

Jason (the commenter) said...

Freeman Hunt : Jason, I cannot get this image out of my head now.

Strangely, there are almost no pictures of actual ducks in barrels on the internet. Maybe the ducks know better?

Chris said...

Drudge is for old-timers. I'd be extremely surprised if he has a single reader under the age of 50. In other words: no longer a relevant feature in the cultural landscape of the net.

Freeman Hunt said...

I'd be extremely surprised if he has a single reader under the age of 50.

Me!

Jason (the commenter) said...

Chris Wren : I'd be extremely surprised if he has a single reader under the age of 50. In other words: no longer a relevant feature in the cultural landscape of the net.Chris, I don't believe you mean anything that you said. Of course people under 50 read him. I'm young and I read Drudge every day.

In my opinion, one of the great things about the internet is that it let's people who might otherwise not mix very much (like the old and young) get together and share ideas.

srfwotb said...

Maybe he's depressed about twitter.

Beth said...

Trooper, GRRRR that whole Schockey mess burns me up. It's not as bad as when Ditka gave away our entire draft to get Ricky Williams, but it's close.

hdhouse said...

Drudge who?

traditionalguy said...

Is Drudge really his family name? Is it only a pen name? All I remember about Drudge in person is his Hat and his cocky attitude. Maybe he is an actor reading lines written by Simon Cowell in his spare time.

veni vidi vici said...

"I don't intend to engage in any discussion that references his posts as meaningful points in a dialogue."

Agree wholeheartedly, but wish to add a particularly excellent quote from Terminator 2, by the psychiatrist to his residents while looking through the window at Sarah Connor. The quote is highly relevant to the subject to which this thread degenerated:

"The delusional architecture is really quite unique."

Sho 'Nuff.