# Is Shodan more retarded lately, or has he maintained a consistent level of retardation all along? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 24, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530 "2012-01-24T20:31:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/381 "2012-01-27T03:44:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > No, it’s not. It’s the culture of a small but vocal minority. I’m saying that the idiots who do it should be castigated for doing it when it might change their behavior, and ignored otherwise. > > Shodan might change his behavior. Do you really think that **Der Trihs** is ever going to stop claiming that all Republicans want to enslave women, or whatever? No but I dont think singling out **Shodan** when **Der Trihs** seemingly gets a pass and, in some cases, support for his ideology with a slight disdain for his approach, will change him. I sure as fuck would get a bit tired of it after a while, I just might not take the road **Shodan** does. I would prolly just stop posting, which I have heard many times is the preferred approach. Thus, I go back to the culture of the SDMB is an unwelcome and many times hostile attack of diverse opinions and ideologies. As an aside and while not questioning your integrity, I am having a real hard time believing that the reason we go after **Shodan** is because we believe we can save him. I am just not buying that. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/382 "2012-01-27T03:44:18Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > What about them doesn’t actively piss you off? Cuz I would challenge you that **Shodan** somehow carries less intellectual integrity of any of those mentioned. He certainly does. I, and the others on that list substantiate their arguments. Shodan doesn’t even know what he’s talking about most times. You’re mistaking tone with content. My tone is combative, and so is Shodan’s. But his is turned to eleven. And Shodan rarely has any content at all. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/383 "2012-01-27T03:50:51Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Only if you assume there is some sort of equivalency between liberal thought and conservative thought. Modern conservativism is based on false assumptions, bad data, ignoble motives and a willingness to sacrifice any semblence of ethics in order to achieve prosperity for themselves and people like them, at the expense of people outside their tribe. There is an equivalency. Conservatives think the same thing of Liberals and modern liberalism. Whichever tribe you belong to paints your perception of the other side. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/384 "2012-01-27T03:52:06Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > He certainly does. I, and the others on that list substantiate their arguments. Shodan doesn’t even know what he’s talking about most times. > > You’re mistaking tone with content. My tone is combative, and so is Shodan’s. But his is turned to eleven. And Shodan rarely has any content at all. Your idea of content is seriously flawed. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/385 "2012-01-27T03:53:40Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > Your idea of content is seriously flawed. I’ll leave that assessment to the peanut gallery. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/386 "2012-01-27T03:53:58Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Only that that is not a lie, you did use a Google Vomit to make the point… I didn’t do it “proudly,” it wasn’t “vomit,” and it has nothing to do with the subject under discussion here. Thus you are behaving exactly as I described upthread, using dishonesty and misdirection in an attempt to derail or distract from the points I made in the post you pretended to respond to. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/387 "2012-01-27T03:55:17Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I’ll leave that assessment to the peanut gallery. It’s been assessed… in this very thread… by several people with similar ideological profiles to yours. I suggest you go back to the beginning and have somebody read and explain it to you. Slowly. Using small words. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/388 "2012-01-27T03:56:37Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > There is an equivalency. Conservatives think the same thing of Liberals and modern liberalism. One of us is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/389 "2012-01-27T04:01:14Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > One of us is wrong. Exactly right this time. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/390 "2012-01-27T04:02:06Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > It’s been assessed… in this very thread… by several people with similar ideological profiles to yours. I suggest you go back to the beginning and have somebody read and explain it to you. Slowly. Using small words. Some people have problems with me, it’s true. But that doesn’t mean that I have fatal problems with my arguments in GD. I’d suggest you pit me directly if you want to talk about that. But this thread is about Shodan, who is nearly-universally thought to be an automation churning out stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/391 "2012-01-27T04:03:48Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > I didn’t do it “proudly,” it wasn’t “vomit,” and it has nothing to do with the subject under discussion here. Thus you are behaving exactly as I described upthread, using dishonesty and misdirection in an attempt to derail or distract from the points I made in the post you pretended to respond to. Suuuuure you are, as usual I will let others see for themselves if what you did there was an honest thing or if you were not saying that your desperate move was the best thing since sliced bread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13008513&postcount=340](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13008513&postcount=340) So, once again you need to learn why it is called a Google Vomit, because it also trows information that does not support your ideas at all. The fact that you are even now pretending that that was not an honest thing to do or even a tactic that demonstrated anything, does speaks volumes about who you really are. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/392 "2012-01-27T04:04:47Z")
[QUOTE=FuriousGeorge] No but I dont think singling out Shodan when Der Trihs seemingly gets a pass and, in some cases, support for his ideology with a slight disdain for his approach, will change him. I sure as fuck would get a bit tired of it after a while, I just might not take the road Shodan does. I would prolly just stop posting, which I have heard many times is the preferred approach. Thus, I go back to the culture of the SDMB is an unwelcome and many times hostile attack of diverse opinions and ideologies. [/QUOTE] This place IS a hostile environment, but not just for conservatives. Someone with, say, a religious bent is not going to find much fertile ground here. Someone who believes in The Woo is also not going to get much traction. Racists are also going to get short shrift…probably this board is most hostile towards them of any other sub-group I can think of (I know I am, and that seems to be the general consensus). You can, of course, continue to post here despite going completely against the grain of this board, but it’s pretty tough, especially once you get a rep for certain things. Once you have jumped the shark in some way you get increasingly hounded until either you conform (in some way or another), you get banned or you just stop posting. Look at posters like gonzomax as an example of this…or the periodic truthers, CT nutters or racists/troll types we get. They just don’t find fertile ground here and it can be ugly when a large percentage of the board turns against you. Hell, it can be ugly when a large number of posters in a given thread turn against you (been there, done that). I think ‘conservatives’ definitely have an uphill struggle around here. But it’s not an impossible struggle, and of the sub-groups I’d say they (‘we’ if I’m counted among them for whatever reason) actually have it easier than some groups, depending on what KIND of ‘conservative’ they are. Social 'conservative’s pretty much need not apply. Religious ‘conservatives’ also are going to get short shrift around here. Economic ‘conservatives’? Yeah, going to be uphill, but you can survive here. Gun control type ‘conservatives’? That’s actually one of the niche positions that I think is pretty balanced on this board, with some at the extremes but I believe a pretty good mix in the middle. That’s the thing here…a lot of the ‘liberal’ types are actually centrist on a lot of issues. It all depends on the vertical issue. And we have a lot of psudo-communist/socialist types who are very loud, but don’t actually seem to really know that much about communism OR socialism. Bottom like is this is a pretty harsh environment for some types of posters. It’s a steep learning curve, IMHO, for new posters as well. And forums like GD can be real contentious. If you don’t like that sort of thing then stick to the other forums. But even if you ARE a ‘conservative’ you will get some traction even in GD if you are thoughtful and you at least attempt to back up your positions with either logic or cites. Oh, you are going to get knee jerk attacks and tons and tons of snark (my advices is give it right back, within the rules of the board and forum of course)…but not from everyone. There are very smart and very interesting ‘liberals’ here, and while they might completely disagree with whatever a ‘conservative’ might have to say, they won’t do it with a jerking of their knee…and I don’t think most of the ones I personally respect will be in attack mode just because you are a ‘conservative’. If you are a CT nutter though… :eek: 😉 -XT ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/393 "2012-01-27T04:05:08Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Some people have problems with me, it’s true. But that doesn’t mean that I have fatal problems with my arguments in GD. I’d suggest you pit me directly if you want to talk about that. But this thread is about Shodan, who is nearly-universally thought to be an automation churning out stupidity. You underestimate yourself. You are much more stupid than you give yourself credit for. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/394 "2012-01-27T04:06:26Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I think part of the reason that we don’t see as many intelligent conservative posters anymore isn’t because this board is predominantly liberal and hostile to them - it’s been that way from the start and people persevered. I think it’s actually because right wing activism in the US has grown so fucking nuts and out of control that people with real critical thinking skills and more character are unable to continue being apologists for that variety of batshit crazy. This actually includes myself - who voted republican far more than democrat in the past. That’s my take as well. It is difficult to defend the indefensible. So conservative true believers respond by blurring the issues. Generally speaking, the right is more tribal than the left -though in this case it _is_ accurate to say both sides do it. As examples, I will just point to the way Republican moderates have been dismissed and drummed out of office as RINOs and Bruce Bartlett/David Frum have been sent to the cornfield. There isn’t any Ben Nelson on the right and lefties have a weird liking for counter-intuitive narrative, as often seen in Slate and the New Republic. > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’ve tried several times in the recent past to start a serious discussion about libertarian ideas, and even though my OP has begged people to stay on topic and consider the specific ideas up for debate, it usually only takes a couple of posts before someone comes in and says, “Libertarians are just people who have money and don’t care about anyone else” or some other crack like that, then the chorus dives in and hijacks the thread into another libertarian-bashing extravaganza. Part of the problem though Sam is that you are defending fringy ideas. Not crankery. Fringy. Frankly I think pure libertarianism receives far more attention on the internet than it deserves. The ideas of Ayn Rand and the Austrians just don’t bear serious and detailed scrutiny. They were really in a different category than Milton Friedman for example, never mind Richard Posner. Similarly in foreign policy. The problem of course is that the types that I’m labeling fringe are amply funded by AEI et al. Admittedly I said, “Part”, not “All” or even “Most”. > [@xtisme](#): > > IMHO, you’d be better off picking threads on subjects you really want to debate, coming in calmly and reasonably, and just debating the subject. Don’t go for the ‘gotcha!’ stuff by trying to show all liberals to be two faced hypocrites or whatever. Just debate the subject. Logically. Calmly. This advice, directed at Shodan, is bad. I don’t think you’ve grokked to his underlying dishonesty. He habitually misrepresents his adversaries and generally does more to muddle the underlying argument than anything else. The OP is as good an example of this as any. Seriously. If you’re going to introduce charity in the context of discussing Romney’s tax rates, you better add some introduction and disclaimers, right? Because otherwise it’s just a [red herring](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring), something that is more provocation than anything else. There are all sorts of people in the world. Shodan is the kind of person who enjoys train wrecks. Most -not all- people don’t. But Shodan does. **CarnalK** is another with that sort of personality. These are not the sort of people you want to encourage. Now Shodan will occasionally say something sober, generally in a nonpolitical thread. But has he ever _interacted_ in an honest manner? Not in my experience. And I’ve defended Starving Artist and Clothahump on this board and praised Friar Ted, Bricker and Sam Stone. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/395 "2012-01-27T04:08:40Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Serious question here…what kind of conservative IS SeniorBeef? It’s true, that conservative doesn’t equal Republican, but is he an economic conservative? Surly not a social conservative. Not a quasi-religious type conservative. I don’t believe he’s a neo-con. So, what kind of conservative is he? Fuck if I know. I expect he’s a cafeteria conservative (or hell, cafeteria liberal), like a lot of center/moderate folks. Take me: am I a conservative because I’m in favor of mandatory balanced budgets, spending cuts, expanded gun rights, expanded domestic mineral exploitation, nuclear power, and certain tough-on-crime positions? Or am I a liberal because I’m in favor of abortion rights, Keynesian solutions to economic recessions, taxing enough to pay for what we do want, global warming prevention measures, and gay rights? I get labeled a liberal, typically. I don’t feel that’s a fair characterization (although I do occasionally posture as “the Democrat with a gun” :D) Really, that’s a lot of my problem with the Starvings and Der Trihses and Shodans and FXMasterminds and Clothies and Lobohans of this board: If you’re identifying as just “conservative” or just “liberal”, or identifying others that way, I question whether you have actually thought through every position that implies. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/396 "2012-01-27T04:10:17Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > You underestimate yourself. You are much more stupid than you give yourself credit for. It’s easy to assert things. Harder to provide evidence for them. As I say, \*nearly everyone \*except massive ideologues thinks Shodan is a troll. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/397 "2012-01-27T04:12:46Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Gun control type ‘conservatives’? That’s actually one of the niche positions that I think is pretty balanced on this board, with some at the extremes but I believe a pretty good mix in the middle. That’s the thing here…a lot of the ‘liberal’ types are actually centrist on a lot of issues. In fact it was because the evidence was mostly on the side of the individual Gun owner proponents that I changed my views on the subject thanks to gun rights dopers. I got a little bit of a letdown when many right wing dopers recently came out refusing to see how necessary is to give people more access to mental heath and more limits to people with mental issues if they try to gain access to guns. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/398 "2012-01-27T04:14:18Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > This place IS a hostile environment, but not just for conservatives. Someone with, say, a religious bent is not going to find much fertile ground here. Someone who believes in The Woo is also not going to get much traction. Racists are also going to get short shrift…probably this board is most hostile towards them of any other sub-group I can think of (I know I am, and that seems to be the general consensus). You can, of course, continue to post here despite going completely against the grain of this board, but it’s pretty tough, especially once you get a rep for certain things. Once you have jumped the shark in some way you get increasingly hounded until either you conform (in some way or another), you get banned or you just stop posting. Look at posters like gonzomax as an example of this…or the periodic truthers, CT nutters or racists/troll types we get. They just don’t find fertile ground here and it can be ugly when a large percentage of the board turns against you. Hell, it can be ugly when a large number of posters in a given thread turn against you (been there, done that). > > I think ‘conservatives’ definitely have an uphill struggle around here. But it’s not an impossible struggle, and of the sub-groups I’d say they (‘we’ if I’m counted among them for whatever reason) actually have it easier than some groups, depending on what KIND of ‘conservative’ they are. Social 'conservative’s pretty much need not apply. Religious ‘conservatives’ also are going to get short shrift around here. Economic ‘conservatives’? Yeah, going to be uphill, but you can survive here. Gun control type ‘conservatives’? That’s actually one of the niche positions that I think is pretty balanced on this board, with some at the extremes but I believe a pretty good mix in the middle. That’s the thing here…a lot of the ‘liberal’ types are actually centrist on a lot of issues. It all depends on the vertical issue. And we have a lot of psudo-communist/socialist types who are very loud, but don’t actually seem to really know that much about communism OR socialism. > > Bottom like is this is a pretty harsh environment for some types of posters. It’s a steep learning curve, IMHO, for new posters as well. And forums like GD can be real contentious. If you don’t like that sort of thing then stick to the other forums. But even if you ARE a ‘conservative’ you will get some traction even in GD if you are thoughtful and you at least attempt to back up your positions with either logic or cites. Oh, you are going to get knee jerk attacks and tons and tons of snark (my advices is give it right back, within the rules of the board and forum of course)…but not from everyone. There are very smart and very interesting ‘liberals’ here, and while they might completely disagree with whatever a ‘conservative’ might have to say, they won’t do it with a jerking of their knee…and I don’t think most of the ones I personally respect will be in attack mode just because you are a ‘conservative’. > > If you are a CT nutter though… :eek: > > 😉 > > -XT I can’t necessarily disagree with this. I guess, though, shouldn’t this place, if it’s the bastion of ignorance fighting that it purports to be, strive to be better than that? If I want to go to a board where everyone loves my opinions and agrees with my ideologies and brohoofs on every one of my positions, why not go to Daily Kos or Democratic Underground or Free Republic or whatever the fuck Glenn Beck calls his place. The SDMB promotes itself as a haven for the intelligent people. One would think that discussion would also be above average. In fighting ignorance, one would think that we would want to have honest debates and discussions about things we think are wrong or we don’t understand. Maybe that’s a naive thought, but ya know, talk the talk and walk the walk. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/399 "2012-01-27T04:19:36Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > That’s my take as well. It is difficult to defend the indefensible. So conservative true believers respond by blurring the issues. Generally speaking, the right is more tribal than the left -though in this case it _is_ accurate to say both sides do it. As examples, I will just point to the way Republican moderates have been dismissed and drummed out of office as RINOs and Bruce Bartlett/David Frum have been sent to the cornfield. There isn’t any Ben Nelson on the right and lefties have a weird liking for counter-intuitive narrative, as often seen in Slate and the New Republic. This is-- and what you quoted-- is a lot of BS and the result of nitpicking what you want to nitpick and ignoring what you want to ignore. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530/400 "2012-01-27T04:23:01Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > I can’t necessarily disagree with this. I guess, though, shouldn’t this place, if it’s the bastion of ignorance fighting that it purports to be, strive to be better than that? > > If I want to go to a board where everyone loves my opinions and agrees with my ideologies and brohoofs on every one of my positions, why not go to Daily Kos or Democratic Underground or Free Republic or whatever the fuck Glenn Beck calls his place. > > The SDMB promotes itself as a haven for the intelligent people. One would think that discussion would also be above average. In fighting ignorance, one would think that we would want to have honest debates and discussions about things we think are wrong or we don’t understand. Maybe that’s a naive thought, but ya know, talk the talk and walk the walk. I actually use Democratic underground only to show how inadequate is the idea to claim that outfits like CNN or CBS are liberal. You would not believe how many right wingers forget to do one seemingly simple test to see if liberals control those media outlets, why not check how they \*\*really \*\*see those corporate media outlets? Other than that, I can not stomach DU, too many extreme views. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-shodan-more-retarded-lately-or-has-he-maintained-a-consistent-level-of-retardation-all-along/610530.md?page=21)