Troll Hunting

It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. For those unfamiliar with the phrase "troll" when it comes to the blogotubes, here is an Urban Dictionary definition:

troll - One who purposely and deliberately (that purpose usually being self-amusement) starts an argument in a manner which attacks others on a forum without in any way listening to the arguments proposed by his or her peers. He will spark up such an argument via the use of ad hominem attacks (i.e. 'you're nothing but a fanboy' is a popular phrase) with no substance or relevence to back them up as well as straw man arguments, which he uses to simply avoid addressing the essence of the issue.

That's the thing with wingnuts that regurgitate Rush Limbaugh, right wing talking points. They really can't think for themselves and refuse to let facts get in the way of their belief system, like corporate tax cuts stimulate the economy or that President Obama cannot be the Commander-in-Chief because he isn't an American citizen.

Over at Bob Cesca's Goddamn Awesome Blog! GO! , trolling was relatively quiet, but with the growing success and popularity of his blog, the publishing of his book and his weekly contributions at The Huffington Post, Bob's blog has seen a rise of trolls as they rear their ugly heads from beneath their bridges (and by "bridges" I mean stomping on their Cheeto's stained keyboards in their parents' basement).

Now, normally the tactic taken is to ignore the troll. If you feed them, they only spew more of their neocon vomit. But what I've found at Bob's place unfortunately, is that their modus operandi is to return to a comment thread after the hullabaloo has died down, sometimes in the middle of the night or the next day, to try make an asinine point in the feeble minded thought that if they are not responded to, then they must have won the debate. They also sign in with multiple names to make you think there is more than one idiot guarding the bridge. So what if no one is paying attention anymore? Well, feeding trolls or not, I will not abide by that.

Here are a series of typical troll comments that I found this morning. At this point in a tax cut/recovery bill debate, the troll, "Booogie-Mann" is quoting other commenters and trying to rebut their position. These were posted between 3:45 and 4am:

"Tax cuts are far less stimulative than spending, hence there should be more spending and fewer tax cuts in the recovery bill."

... whenever the tax rate is above the optimal rate for revenue, there should be tax cuts. I pay almost 40% of my income in taxes, is that fair, isn't this too much, isn't this theft??

Bob reads one CBO report from a Democrat controlled congress and thinks this bolsters his spending works better than tax cuts argument. How silly. I agree that some spending on projects like windmills or energy would be helpful, but overall this huge Lobster Bill with butter and lemons just gives money away. States will use it to fill their budget gaps.

AdyLeigh: bless your feeble little brain, but years of overspending and huge deficits by the states have put them in a situation where spending increases will need to stop. You imply that we need to pay more taxes, otherwise all these elderly, poor, education will suffer or whatever. Do you understand where this money comes from?? Somebody else's pocket, who will suffer from having it confiscated. Who are you to judge where my money should be spent?? Why should I fund someone's College Edu-k-shuh ... take out a loan for Chrissake...

If anything, you should be mad at State Government Officials who never passed a reasonable budget, nor saved a penny for a rainy day (today). During the economic boom of the past 6+years State Governments have just raked in $$ and spent it on crap. Look at how spending has increased in your state since 2000, go look it up and ask yourself if wages in the state or population increases justify this amount. I doubt it.

Posted by: Booogie-Mann at February 9, 2009 3:49 AM

*************

Social Security ... anyone who wants more taxes and government to pay for things, just ask any senior how they like Social Security. How's that program working for ya huh?? What happened to the "Lock Box" of money Al Gore talked about. Yea, right.

South Carolina: I wonder if any of these folks working for SC Government, making over 100k, would be willing to take a small pay cut to fund the poor:

http://salaries.thestateonline.com/index.php?salary=100000

Posted by: Booogie-Mann at February 9, 2009 3:57 AM

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AdyLeigh: 7% cut across the board?? How smart, I wonder how many Unemployed people would have taked a mere 7% cut in pay to keep their jobs!!

-7% means putting SC back to 2006 levels, wahhhhh, big deal, be patriotic and get over it, we don't have the money.

Posted by: Booogie-Mann at February 9, 2009 4:00 AM

Pretty smart guy, huh? Now at this point, I'd had it with this moron. For three straight days, he whined and moaned about the recovery bill, but had no ideas other than the usual Republican tax cuts talking point that has been proven a failure for the last 30 years. So here is my (harsh) response:

Booger-Man/CS/StupidChris/CnnNews/whoever the fuck you are, you've got to be the stupidest asshole on the planet. Let's take your stupidity point by point.

CBO - You sons of bitches whined for days about how a CBO report touted by Republicans showed that the recovery bill would not inject enough stimulus into the economy fast enough. Every douchebag Republican was hiding behind that CBO report - WHICH DIDN'T EXIST - and now that a full report is out from the same group, you cry that it's a partisan report. FUCK YOU.

Enough with the "lobster bill with butter and lemons." You've been saying that for days. It wasn't funny the first time, and it's not funny now. FUCK YOU.

"States will use it to fill their gaps."

That's the point, you fucking moron. States get relief from the federal government and can continue unemployment benefits for the millions that have lost their jobs (who have been paying into the system, by the way), relieve the burden of having to lay off law enforcement, firefighters, school budget cuts or closing schools all together, etc. Shovel ready projects get funded and put people back to work. FUCK YOU.

"I pay almost 40% of my income in taxes, is that fair, isn't this too much, isn't this theft?"

Answer: No, dipshit. It's the price we pay for living in this country.

I pay almost 40% too, so quit your bitching. You know what the real theft is? Corporations that don't pay 40%. Schlubs like you and me pay 40% while billionaires like Warren Buffet pay 17%. How is that fair? How can you be so ridiculously contradictory when someone mentions that there have been 7% cuts across the board in SC, yet you cry like a fucking baby about your tax rate?! Big deal. Be patriotic and get over it, fuck-o.

By the way, seniors LOVE Social Security. They get their check every month. No delays. No hassles. It was a forced savings account started by a Democrat 70 fucking years ago and it still works. They only reason you bitches are crying foul is because you keep using it to pay off other shit. Al Gore and his "lock box" idea was awesome. Too bad it wasn't implemented by your Chimp after he stole the 2000 election. Ask your grandparents about Social Security. I'm sure they're glad that Bush didn't break that system too and rolled it over into private accounts. Where would that money be now if that had happened? Swallowed up like the rest of the DOW and whatever was leftover would be your "finance fee" to the fund operator.

And you can shove that SC $100K chart up your ass. Are you saying that educators, professors, deans, doctors and nurses don't deserve to make money? If you're going to ask them to take a 7% cut, great. Then the person that makes $100K can pay his/her almost 40% in taxes and the person/corporation who makes billions can pay their 40% as well.

And you're right, Fuck it. Why should we fund ANY "Edu-k-shuh."? You never went to school, right? You didn't go to grammar school, or high school or college. We don't need any fancy book learnin' Americans to run our country. Let's just import them from other countries that fund their education. They'll do it for less money too and Americans can just do ALL the manual labor of America. Hell, that takes care of the immigration problem too. See you on the lettuce fields, asshole.

And I love this one: "...Government Officials who never passed a reasonable budget, nor saved a penny for a rainy day (today). "

What do you mean, Boogie Nights? Saving money?! Why should they keep our hard earned cash? They should just give us TAX BREAKS, they shouldn't keep the money for a rainy day. According to you, that's thievery! Gee, I don't know why we find ourselves in this mess after Bush's initial $1.3 TRILLION tax break, not to mention more tax cuts during "war" time, something NO OTHER PRESIDENT HAS EVER DONE.

So keep thinking that the same policies that have ruined us financially over the last 30 years are the answer to everything.

Oh yeah, one more thing. FUCK YOU.

Posted by: Broadway Carl at February 9, 2009 8:55 AM

Surprisingly, I have yet to receive a response. So in conclusion, don't be afraid to feed a troll. They may be a nuisance, but they'll help sharpen your debate skills for actual debate with intelligent people and keep all those facts fresh in your head.