# Shodan crosses the line **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 28, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803 "2014-08-28T21:50:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/1 "2014-08-28T21:50:11Z")
Not for the first time, I’m sure. But [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732340) has got to be the most blatantly intellectually dishonest OP I’ve seen for a long time even from him. Anybody who clicks the link can see the falsity of the premise and debunk it. Several have. And when called on it, the shameless motherfucking asshole [doubles down](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17681231&postcount=12). You are quite a disgrace to your party/side, **Shodan.** ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/2 "2014-08-28T21:58:38Z")
I thought it was a play on the criticism that some GOP operatives received when they said that they would do “anything” or some such language to see that Obama wasn’t reelected. Folks on your side used that language to mean that they would tank the country or do any number of illegal things. Our side pointed out that it was normal language and not meant to be taken to its literal extreme. Shodan was using Reid’s words and making the same accusation, but was doing so to highly the absurdity of your side’s former position. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/3 "2014-08-28T22:01:09Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I thought it was a play on the criticism that some GOP operatives received when they said that they would do “anything” or some such language to see that Obama wasn’t reelected. Folks on your side used that language to mean that they would tank the country or do any number of illegal things. Our side pointed out that it was normal language and not meant to be taken to its literal extreme. > > Shodan was using Reid’s words and making the same accusation, but was doing so to highly the absurdity of your side’s former position. But the Pubs have spent the last six years demonstrating its non-absurdity. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/4 "2014-08-28T22:02:50Z")
This is essentially all Shodan is. He doesn’t care about issues or people or reason or data or understanding or learning. He cares about his side, and whether they’re scoring points against the other side. The actual arguments used are merely tools to score this points, not methods for communication or enlightenment. The ultimate oddness about his type is that their most cherished goal is to simply tell other people “you’re just like me, except on the other side, and haha, I just scored a point by proving that” which is why so much of his time is spent trying to generate these sort of Gotcha Yas. He knows he’s a partisan hypocrite, uninterested in all of the things that matter besides winning partisan games, and the strangest thing is that the biggest score he can make is to try to make people think they’re just like him, by telling them they’re worthless partisan hacks too by pointing out instances of real or imagined hypocrisy. Essentially, his ultimate insult is to say “Oh, see, you’re placing partisanship above facts or issues too, you’re just like me!” He is the most worthlesss poster on this board, because he works so hard to lower the level of discourse. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/5 "2014-08-28T22:03:06Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But the Pubs have spent the last six years demonstrating its non-absurdity. Regarding which, see [_It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism,_](http://www.amazon.com/Even-Worse-Than-Looks-Constitutional/dp/0465074731/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403989019&sr=1-1&keywords=it%27s+even+worse+than+it+looks) by think-tankers [Thomas E. Mann](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_E._Mann) and [Norman J. Ornstein](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_J._Ornstein). Mann is with the nonpartisan [Brookings Institution](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookings_Institution), Ornstein is with the conservative [Heritage Foundation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Foundation), and both agree that stubborn ideological Pubs are almost entirely to blame for the present political gridlock in America, and for the debt-ceiling crisis and government shutdown in particular. There is **no** equivalency here. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/6 "2014-08-28T22:17:44Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > There is **no** equivalency here. **Shodan** -level response: “Is too! IS TOO! Ha ha neener neener!” ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/7 "2014-08-28T23:05:12Z")
As has been pointed out many times, **Shodan** is not stupid, he is completely aware that there is no equivalence. What he is, is a fucking liar. He will torture anything he can find into a shape that no longer represents the truth but meets his partisan needs. He doesn’t give a shit about the truth, only his message. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/8 "2014-08-28T23:08:02Z")
[Moderating] Don’t call other posters motherfuckers, **BrainGlutton**. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/9 "2014-08-28T23:13:50Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > **Shodan** -level response: > > “Is too! IS TOO! Ha ha neener neener!” You left out his “Regards” trolling. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/10 "2014-08-28T23:22:51Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > This is essentially all Shodan is. He doesn’t care about issues or people or reason or data or understanding or learning. He cares about his side, and whether they’re scoring points against the other side. The actual arguments used are merely tools to score this points, not methods for communication or enlightenment. > > The ultimate oddness about his type is that their most cherished goal is to simply tell other people “you’re just like me, except on the other side, and haha, I just scored a point by proving that” which is why so much of his time is spent trying to generate these sort of Gotcha Yas. He knows he’s a partisan hypocrite, uninterested in all of the things that matter besides winning partisan games, and the strangest thing is that the biggest score he can make is to try to make people think they’re just like him, by telling them they’re worthless partisan hacks too by pointing out instances of real or imagined hypocrisy. > > Essentially, his ultimate insult is to say “Oh, see, you’re placing partisanship above facts or issues too, you’re just like me!” > > He is the most worthlesss poster on this board, because he works so hard to lower the level of discourse. What really amazes me is that he’s running this schtick for (I think) almost _fifteen years_ of, more or less, one continuous sneer at anyone who happens to reveal themselves as Not Republican. Talk about your one-trick ponies. He hasn’t just jumped the shark; the whole ocean has dried up and the shark has evolved legs, feet and a fondness for argyle socks. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/11 "2014-08-28T23:31:54Z")
Shodan does the best he can with his 90 IQ points. Regards, Subterraneanus ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/12 "2014-08-28T23:33:49Z")
Bless his heart. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2014, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/13 "2014-08-28T23:38:30Z")
Say what you will, the man has an awesome mullet. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/14 "2014-08-28T23:42:33Z")
I actually like Shodan, but I think he has pretty strong and unfortunate trollish tendencies on the SDMB that are at odds with (what I assume is) his intellectual potential. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/15 "2014-08-29T00:25:53Z")
That doesn’t even amount to the 1,000th rhetorically suspect thing Shodan has posted. I give this pitting an “F” for subject matter, effort and don’t bother me with this shit. Now go out and play. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/16 "2014-08-29T00:33:19Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > That doesn’t even amount to the 1,000th rhetorically suspect thing Shodan has posted. Well you would know seeing as you haven’t made a post that isn’t suspect in quite some time now. > [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I give this pitting an “F” for subject matter, effort and don’t bother me with this shit. Now go out and play. Don’t you have a pit thread of your own you’re getting you ass handed to you in? Perhaps you should get your own house in order, yes? And the thought of you assigning grades to other posters is the most preposterous thing seen on the SDMB since your idiotic claims of genocide by everyone and their cousin. Go out and play indeed :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/17 "2014-08-29T00:33:53Z")
I take no position on whether Shodan deserves a pitting for any other reason, but this one is a fail. It’s a simple tu quoque thread that one may or may not agree with politically. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/18 "2014-08-29T00:37:02Z")
His thread there doesn’t deserve a pitting for being particularly bad - I don’t know what line the title of the OP reference is crossed. But he deserves to be called out because that thread is pretty much the essence of all he does. He strives desperately for tu quoque no matter how much he has to stretch it, and his entire purpose on the board is to search for them. He’s worthless. The thread linked to in the OP is a great example of his typical behavior, it’s just not any sort of extreme example. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/19 "2014-08-29T00:38:25Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > What really amazes me is that he’s running this schtick for (I think) almost _fifteen years_ of, more or less, one continuous sneer at anyone who happens to reveal themselves as Not Republican. Talk about your one-trick ponies. He hasn’t just jumped the shark; the whole ocean has dried up and the shark has evolved legs, feet and a fondness for argyle socks. Lungs. Don’t forget lungs. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803/20 "2014-08-29T00:44:50Z")
I am not a fan of partisan gotchas, recognize that **Shodan** is one of the most notorious sociopolitical lepers in Board history (I feel positively unclean even typing his username\*), and the fundraising letter he’s bringing up is old news. But he’s essentially correct. It’s pretty embarrassing for a Democratic leader to suggest that preserving the status of his fellow party members should be the country’s number one priority. it reflects bombast and a sense of self-importance roughly equivalent to what Mitch McConnell displayed in trying to make Obama’s re-election defeat his party’s top priority. \*luckily, I keep a supply of handi-wipes by the computer keyboard. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shodan-crosses-the-line/696803.md?page=2)