by William Skink
Long-time readers of this blog know over the years I have cultivated an open disdain for Intelligent Discontent, now rebranded to appear like a journalistic online media endeavor called The Montana Post. There are many reasons for this, some on the policy level and some on the personal level.
When I started blogging nearly a decade ago, the progressive blogosphere was much more populated than it is now. There were plenty of skirmishes back then, much of it stemming from my contention that to preserve a sense of progressiveness one had to point out where the Obama administration deviated from progressive ideals.
As Obama neared the end of his tenure things came to a head when I engaged in some audacious speculation that the progressive fire burning for Bernie was ultimately being tended by a sheepdog who would lead them into the psychopathic, neoliberal embrace of Hillary Clinton.
That was too much, so Jay Stevens pulled the plug at 4&20 Blackbirds. With help from the Missoula Independent, a more general story of the decline of the progressive blogosphere was told, one that included erroneous claims about 4&20 Blackbird’s traffic that, when pointed out, caused the Indy to at least print an online update.
One of the points of criticism levied at myself and fellow blogger JC was our use of anonymous pseudonyms. I was outed several times, so clearly it was an issue important enough to try and cause me personal harm by disclosing my identity when I had legitimate reasons to want to stay anonymous.
Because comment threads can get quite heated, and because trolls increasingly poisoned online discourse, anonymity itself was one scapegoat used to either close down comments altogether, or at least try to attempt to moderate. When moderation proved too difficult, especially when a blog’s own standards weren’t followed and moderating appeared too close to censorship, a move to Facebook offered the requirement that comments would be issued under a person’s real name.
The Montana Post made that move and now, in an ironic twist, the tables have been turned. A person or persons with administrative access to The Montana Post’s Facebook page can now engage commenters, commenting under their real name, from the safer distance of anonymity.
I mentioned this in the comment thread of my last post about partisan derangement over Russiagate. After posting, whoever has administrative access to The M-Post’s Facebook page gave me a curious suggestion, curious because I referenced sometimes M-Post contributor Josh Manning in the post, who was recently called out by Glenn Greenwald for conspiracy theorizing.
Here was the comment directed at me:
I think you should probably stop reading so much Glenn Greenwald. You don’t understand what he’s trying to do. You are not him, be yourself and quit parroting.
Is this Josh Manning? Is it the even more obnoxious partisan, Nathan Kosted? Is it Don Pogreba, perpetual media scold and Montana Democrat foot soldier? I don’t know, but I think the identity is worth knowing. For a blog that has made such a big deal of anonymous writers expressing themselves under pen names and pseudonyms, to not be more transparent should be explained, otherwise the easy accusation of hypocrisy will be made. By me, Travis Mateer, aka William Skink, continually.
Because I’m interested in what people tell me not to read, I’d like to link to a preview of a showdown between Glenn Greenwald and fellow Intercept contributor, James Risen. For the record, I don’t trust Greenwald or his billionaire funded journalistic project, The Intercept. I do appreciate Greenwald putting his neck out to dampen the increasing hysteria over Russiagate because I believe, like Greenwald states, there are incredibly dangerous implications to the stoking of Cold War-like tensions with a nuclear-armed Russia. But don’t take it from me, parrot that I am. Here is Greenwald himself, pushing back against Risen’s series of articles that starts out asking if Trump is a traitor: link.
JC
So I have to admit I am confused. Is our connection to Glenn Greenwald that we are working against him? For him?
Or am I him?
THE MYSTERY DEEPENS.
since you refused to answer on Twitter, I’ll ask here, since you’re commenting. who else besides you has administrative access to The Montana Post Facebook page? I’ll be more specific, does TMP contributor and COMBAT Vet Josh Manning have access to the FB page? I am also curious what you think about Josh Manning’s conspiracy theory that Chelsea Manning’s foray into politics is a Kremlin plot.
You need to get a fucking life, Skink. There’s important shit going on in the real world — you know, kids getting massacred in our schools, a rollback of anything progressive in education, energy, human rights, the environment… But hey, let’s fixate on a little Montana blog. I hate to quote Trump but, “what a loser.”
this isn’t just about your fucking blog, Petey. I don’t want my kids fighting a war with Russia because your corrupt candidate lost the fucking election. and you still don’t seem to get why you lost the election, you’re too focused on bitching about shit like GG and Daines not holding town hall meetings–do you really think anyone but partisans gives a shit? how fucking dense are you?
yes, there are important things going on. every fucking day I’m talking to people about their Medicare going up, their aging parents declining, the lack of beds in assisted living facilities, the cruelty of Medicaid income limits, and housing, housing, housing. The Pov slept 205 people Monday night. Gentrified Missoula–so expensive only east coast transplants can afford to live here. this economy is still shit–a big reason Trump was elected–and it’s shit because your party remains occupied territory for sociopathic neoliberals. but you don’t want to deal with that reality, instead whining and wailing about man-child Trump. well, your party put him in the fucking White House. get a clue. or keep losing and projecting on me everything you embody.
I will also remind you, one more time, no one forces you to read this blog. don’t like it? don’t fucking read it. pretty simple, even a partisan like you should be able to figure out.
Likewise, asshole, nobody forces you to read The Montana Post. Anyway, you say: “every fucking day I’m talking to people about their Medicare going up, their aging parents declining, the lack of beds in assisted living facilities, the cruelty of Medicaid income limits, and housing, housing, housing.”
Hillary’s fault? Obama’s? Talk about “whining and wailing,” you stupid fuck. Some of us are trying to change the paradigm but not you. You’re too cool to “resist” or work on the issues or on candidate campaigns. Much easier to buy a couple handguns, hunker down, disparage immigrants and write nasty comments on others’ blogs.
You make me puke.
thank you for your commentary, very insightful.
You’re welcome.
Popcorn in hand, I wait with bated breath. The fairies are dancing around the fountain. Quite a show.
funny coming from someone who is even more insecure about criticism than MP partisans.
You’re kidding, of course, or have no self awareness. You come in like a banchi brandishing swords, and hurl insults. So I kick your sorry ass out. You don’t have to genuflect, but the host does have the right to stand at the door and say “No man, you’re drunk, go home. Drop the preconceptions, the prejudices, and arrogance, and give us a try. We have far more going on there than you do here, Tester and all that shit. He’s controlled opposition, like Bernie..You have to keep growing, and avoid cul de sacs.
I don’t have to genuflect? cool, thanks for the heads up.
I also see I still can’t comment at your everything is fake site, hypocrite.
Your comments go into moderation as you are usually mean-spirited and ugly. I let one through tonight and then when I realized you had not read the original work done earlier, deleted it. And you. I did a ton of work on Waco, and you did not read it. And you won’t. You got all you need to know from your TV.
You thought the post today was the sum of it. Very hard to overcome preconceptions.
PS: https://pieceofmindful.com/2018/02/21/the-waco-massacre-wanton-destruction-of-a-movie-set/
I know. If you get all your information from news, you’re far too advanced for this.
and you have reduced the world to: if it’s on a screen, fake; if it’s allowed to be published, disinfo; if it’s allowed on YouTube, vetted. I get the appeal, and it allows any counter narratives to be quickly dismissed.