Gitmo and GoDaddy: Changing one man's mind on torture.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

So, Bob Parson's, Founder and President of GoDaddy.com decides it'd be a good idea to publicize his thoughts on Gitmo, by linking his "personal" blog to the front page of his company's website. Myself and a few other Liberal GoDaddy customers decide to speak out.

I take it to the people I think may be most interested (savvy netizens)....

GoDaddy.com condones torture.
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/42906

Parsons back pedals after the backlash... (from all over the net, not just my post)

GoDaddy.com no longer condones torture.
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/42957

The original link of the front page of GoDaddy.com


Is this an honest apology, was he enlightened to new facts, or did he just lose enough business and recant? Should he have ever mixed his personal opinion on such a controversial issue w/ a supposed "neutral" business? (I mean, this issue has politicians openly sobbing on the Senate floor fer' christsakes)

Btw, Bobby says he never expressly condoned torture, but that's just not true. His "original" first draft of this post was certainly a LOT different than the one he's now trying to defend.


mrC

[Stingray]

Why oh why didn't Saint create a politics & religion forum?

*sigh*

-S

[Zero_Hour]

As a rule I try not to look for political insight from a guy who thinks large breasts are the best method to promote a technology business. He's entitled to his opinion, but if he didn't expect at least some response from his customer base, (especially when linking to it from his company site) he's a fool. I don't doubt he would have had a similar response from conservatives if he had linked to a blog post about how Gitmo is a bad thing.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

As a rule I try not to look for political insight from a guy who thinks large breasts are the best method to promote a technology business.

lol. Probably a good rule of thumb.

mrC

[quarterback]

Is there a link to the full text of his original blog post?

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Is there a link to the full text of his original blog post?

He altered it at least a dozen times, I believe this is the closest to the original, if not *thee* original:
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/42906#962554

This post talks about the alterations:
http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/42906#962265

mrC

[TOK]

Simple solution is to vote with your wallet and not support companies that offers views in opposition to your own.

I stopped buying Leatherman tools in 2001 based on the CEO's liberal quackery.
That's probably cost them about $500 of my cash so far. The CEO of Gerber might feel the same way, but at least he has the common sense to keep his mouth shut and that's what I buy.

[Avery]

As a rule I try not to look for political insight from a guy who thinks large breasts are the best method to promote a technology business.

This is posibly the wisest thing I have ever seen said on the internet.  Is there someplace I can apply to be your diciple. 

[Zakk]

As a rule I try not to look for political insight from a guy who thinks large breasts are the best method to promote a technology business.

Umm, what technology business is it, and where do I buy stock?

[DrewKaree]

Perhaps you'll be telling us how you've also started a petition to send to Mr Durbin to offer an apology for the ignorance of his remarks, without the load-of-crap "if my remarks have offended you". 

So I SHOULDN'T look at that piss-poor excuse of an apology as "If my remarks haven't offended you, I'm not sorry for saying them"?  Ask Trent Lott how that would have gone over - or have we forgotten that already?

The Durbin story has been out for a few days, and your comments focus on the opinions of a business man?  I see you're really "taking our elected officials to task" as you often sanctimoniously prattle about.  Odd no one's noticed you're remarkably silent on Durbin other than to mention someone sobbing on the Senate floor.

[Zakk]

I'm still looking for the technological breasts dammit.

[fredster]

*sigh*

"Torture" is defined as enduring these endless liberal political threads.

[paigeoliver]

What does the CEO of a companies opinion matter one bit to your decision to do business with that company? Most people would be hard pressed to find ANYONE who held their exact opinion on all the hot issues. Unless they were one of the (very few) people who actually believed the magical liberal/conservative default belief on every issue (I have met quite a few of those people).

[Dexter]

"or wear Rush Limbaugh's "Institutional Orange Club Gitmo" apparel (Now in XXXL & XXXXL!)"

Classic, nearly fell off the chair when I read that one

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Dos anybody care to make a guesstimate of how many human beings american tax dollars have destroyed??

Pssst.....you're not supposed to talk about that!


mrC

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Odd no one's noticed you're remarkably silent on Durbin other than to mention someone sobbing on the Senate floor.

Then allow me to break the silence...

So I SHOULDN'T look at that piss-poor excuse of an apology

No, you should consider it a piss-poor apology (just as I do), because it was ABSOLUTELY unnecessary. Durbin should NEVER have apologized for telling the truth.

I'm furious with Durbin's pathetic backtrack. When asked for an apology, I think he should have channeled Cheney instead, and offered a very candid, "Go f*ck yourself!" (also spoken on the Senate floor)

Now, if you'll excuse me....I've got some American flags to burn.



mrC

[Dartful Dodger]

Now, if you'll excuse me....I've got some American flags to burn.

You can burn all the flags you want. Bush is president, so your first amendment rights are secure.

In fact this Fall when I'm burning leaves, I'll be burning them legally because I'm burning them in protest against laws against burning leaves.

[TOK]

Odd no one's noticed you're remarkably silent on Durbin other than to mention someone sobbing on the Senate floor.

Then allow me to break the silence...

So I SHOULDN'T look at that piss-poor excuse of an apology

No, you should consider it a piss-poor apology (just as I do), because it was ABSOLUTELY unnecessary. Durbin should NEVER have apologized for telling the truth.

I'm furious with Durbin's pathetic backtrack. When asked for an apology, I think he should have channeled Cheney instead, and offered a very candid, "Go f*ck yourself!" (also spoken on the Senate floor)

Now, if you'll excuse me....I've got some American flags to burn.



mrC

Just for the record (as if that matters to the left)  Rowan Scarborough in the Washington Times reminds us of the following:

Adolf Hitler - About 9 million dead
Soviet gulags - About 2.7 million dead
Pol Pot - About 1.7 million dead
Gitmo - zero dead
Gitmo - five instances of Koran abuse by prison guards
Gitmo-15 instances of Koran abuse by prisoners.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

You can burn all the flags you want. Bush is president, so your first amendment rights are secure.

This absolutely makes no sense what-so-ever....given that my joke references the amendment banning the burning of flags, an amendment passing through the legislature UNDER BUSH. So NO, my first amendments rights are not secure because of Bush, unless Bush plans to VETO this bill.

lol.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Just for the record (as if that matters to the left)

I LOVE this defense...the "we haven't killed 9 million people YET, so how can you say we're Nazis?" defense.

It doesn't work. It's a flawed argument. Durbin's statement wasn't that our troops ARE Nazis, but that the actions being carried out in their name are similar to those, and could be mistaken for those carried out by Nazis. ie: ("If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, etc....")

Based on the FBI report he was referencing, the torture techniques outlined within it are undeniably similiar to tactics used by the despotic regimes he mentioned. So, how again is Durbin wrong?

Just because you don't like it, doesn't make something erroneous.

mrC

[Dartful Dodger]

given that my joke references the amendment banning the burning of flags, an amendment passing through the legislature UNDER BUSH.

Passing through does not equal passed.

The bill will not pass, but you know that, you probably have a two page thread already written describing it as a defeat for Bush.

<cue patriotic music>

I won't see this as a loss, but as a win for the American people.

A win that happened while Bush was president.

God Bless America.

</fade out music>

Sorry if this will taint the two page thread that you've worked so hard on.

Don't worry, the bill wont officially be rejected for another month, plenty of time for people to forget about this post.

[TOK]

Just for the record (as if that matters to the left)

I LOVE this defense...the "we haven't killed 9 million people YET, so how can you say we're Nazis?" defense.

It doesn't work. It's a flawed argument. Durbin's statement wasn't that our troops ARE Nazis, but that the actions being carried out in their name are similar to those, and could be mistaken for those carried out by Nazis. ie: ("If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, etc....")

Based on the FBI report he was referencing, the torture techniques outlined within it are undeniably similiar to tactics used by the despotic regimes he mentioned. So, how again is Durbin wrong?

Just because you don't like it, doesn't make something erroneous.

mrC

He likened the situation in Gitmo to far worse scenarios. His apology was about as hypocritical as it could be. How many times did he say how much he respected US soldiers after calling them Nazi's? He knows he screwed the pooch, and I'm pleased he chose to commit political Hari-Kari right in plain view. Unfortunately, its going to take until election time for his corpse to hit the floor.

I think I'm done with this. I know better to even read your mind-numbing threads, but in Durbin-ese, I'd say you're like a BYOAC Nazi, your inane threads keep torturing me wha-whaa. 

With any luck, this is how your flag burning will turn out. 

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Passing through does not equal passed.

Still doesn't make your original statement any more thoughtful or relevant.

Honestly, I don't think it'll pass either, which is EXACTLY why I said "passing through" (so you assumed wrong, again)...I was making a joke, after which I responded to your hypothetical statement about Bush protecting our civil liberties/1st amendment rights. I'll definitely make a point of spelling things out for you in clearer, more concise terms, just so this confusion doesn't happen again.

the bill wont officially be rejected for another month, plenty of time for people to forget about this post.

That interesting, because this whole flag debate has nothing to do with this post anyhow (ie: Gitmo/GoDaddy)...


mrC

[mr.Curmudgeon]

With any luck, this is how your flag burning will turn out. 

With any luck, you'll be able to answer this question: Do you know the proper way to dispose of a flag?

I think I'm done with this. I know better to even read your mind-numbing threads, but in Durbin-ese, I'd say you're like a BYOAC Nazi, your inane threads keep torturing me wha-whaa.

Aw. You will be missed.

I'm always amazed at how you tough guys ("I gotta' big bad gun") are the first ones to run away screaming from a debate you can't win.

Oh well...

Unfortunately, its going to take until election time for his corpse to hit the floor.

This is unfortunate. It's really hard for a weak-kneed, blubbering coward like Durbin to defend the truth.  I'd vote him out NOW.

[fredster]

I'm always amazed at how you tough guys ("I gotta' big bad gun") are the first ones to run away screaming from a debate you can't win.

Yeah, you should know about that one huh?

MRC: The sun is actually PURPLE

Everybody else: NO IT's NOT you twit!

MRC: The sun is purple you rightwingnut!

<nobody bothers to post because it's obvioulsy pointless to argue with a madman>

MRC: BWAHAHAHA I won!

[TOK]

With any luck, this is how your flag burning will turn out. 

With any luck, you'll be able to answer this question: Do you know the proper way to dispose of a flag?

I think I'm done with this. I know better to even read your mind-numbing threads, but in Durbin-ese, I'd say you're like a BYOAC Nazi, your inane threads keep torturing me wha-whaa.

Aw. You will be missed.

I'm always amazed at how you tough guys ("I gotta' big bad gun") are the first ones to run away screaming from a debate you can't win.

Oh well...

Unfortunately, its going to take until election time for his corpse to hit the floor.

This is unfortunate. It's really hard for a weak-kneed, blubbering coward like Durbin to defend the truth.  I'd vote him out NOW.

FWIW, I didn't run away I'm just tired of wasting my time. Fortunately, the more you post the more views you get with a relative lack of posts. Perhaps you're finally wearing everyone out.

PS: I have lots of big guns.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

The sun is actually PURPLE

You seem to miss the point that the guy in question (In relevance to this thread), Bob Parsons, actually changed his mind based on new information presented to him.

Unlike YOU, who thinks I'm trying to convince you that the sky is purple. Don't ever change fredster, the "Flat-Earth Society" needs your donations.


mrC

[mr.Curmudgeon]

TOK,

PS: I have lots of big guns.

I don't doubt that you do...goes nicely with a very small Penis. 

[Dartful Dodger]

You seem to miss the point that the guy in question (In relevance to this thread), Bob Parsons, actually changed his mind based on new information presented to him.

The point to all these threads are: Gore lost.

[fredster]

The point is "lost" alright.

[TOK]

TOK,

PS: I have lots of big guns.

I don't doubt that you do...goes nicely with a very small ---auto-censored---. 

No, I have a big auto too. Crew cab 4wd pickup with a V8.

Kind of funny that you say I'm a wimp that runs away from arguments with a super intellectual such as you, then resort to small dick jokes.
Your political party is imploding due to self-righteous mental midgets just like you.

[DrewKaree]

No, you should consider it a piss-poor apology (just as I do), because it was ABSOLUTELY unnecessary. Durbin should NEVER have apologized for telling the truth.

Well, you're in luck.  As I clearly pointed out, and is obvious by your reply, he hasn't offended you because "he's telling the truth", so to you, he hasn't apologized one bit.  You can now rest easy tonight, knowing his half-assed apology wasn't directed at your half of the ass. 

That poster should have a look at the right wing governments of america since 1960 and add up the body count of innocents in Vietnam, Cambodia etc and keep his tot open while the 100,000+ dead civilian estimate in Iraq grows. Dos anybody care to make a guesstimate of how many human beings american tax dollars have destroyed??

What you choose to ignore is the obvious reference to torture.  What you choose to do instead is lump ANY AND ALL casualties together, and somehow equate them with the torture committed by all who Durbin referenced.  Nice try.  Someday someone will have to explain what casualties of war mean, since you seem to view ANY death caused by American soldeirs as torture.  If you DON'T, then your ridiculous point above is meaningless, for the reasons stated.

Next.

[Dartful Dodger]

Your political party is imploding due to self-righteous mental midgets just like you.

I have to defend mr.Curmudgeon against this personal attack.

By saying the political party is imploding due to people like him, you're assuming people like him are actively participating in politics.

That is not a wise assumption.

[DrewKaree]

I LOVE this defense...the "we haven't killed 9 million people YET, so how can you say we're Nazis?" defense.

Attempting to wipe out a race and take over the world is a vastly different stance than the one America is taking.  You know it, I know it, but it suits your purpose, so you have to act as if that's what TOK is doing.  He's clearly pointing out the staggering differences in the death toll, since that's who Durbin was comparing Americans to.  It's called perspective, something you're choosing not to use here, but you certainly try to use it with your next sleight of mouth.  With a little practice and usage, you'll get it down in no time:

It doesn't work. It's a flawed argument. Durbin's statement wasn't that our troops ARE Nazis, but that the actions being carried out in their name are similar to those

When referencing Nazi's, he made no effort to single out any one soldier, nor did he make an effort to single out anyone when comparing the treatment at Gitmo.  He was clear in his words, but you don't like what you imagine to be going on at Gitmo, so you've got to do some convolutions.  What did Durbin say?

describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have happened by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime

[Dexter]

Attempting to wipe out a race and take over the world is a vastly different stance than the one America is taking.

[DrewKaree]

And what stance is that?

1)  Remove the guys in power. 
     Helps with that whole "kill your own people for whatever reason you dream up, like "he looked at you cross-wise"  Oh, and get rid of his offspring, since they have even less concern for the people.

2)  Allow the people of the region to see what it's like to have freedom
     Helps with that whole "we've gotta keep doing things the old way because trying something different will get us killed....the old guy really IS still in power, so we can't cross him....that hasn't worked as long as he's in power"

3)  Help them set up some way to police themselves
     Helps with that whole "nothing will be done if I try to enjoy my life with my newfound freedom and someone beats the living crap out of me because their version of Allah says I'm an infidel in my own country" 

4)  Help them set up some way to govern themselves
     Helps with that whole "we need representation to help make our country a nice place to live for all the people, not just the ones the former mad dictator hated less than the others"

5)  Keep the people there who can stop the country from being over-run yet again, sending it right back to the hellhole it once was
     Now, stay with me, because I know you want us all to believe it's still the hellhole it once was, but there will be no exit strategy given anytime soon. 

I know you're smarter than all the rest of the people in the room, Dex, but you'll have to explain to us first why we would set up an exit strategy that tells the people (you know, those wanting to kill anyone INCLUDING THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF THEIR COUNTRY in order to get wingnut sympathizers to pressure everyone into leaving - you call them insurgents all you want, they're properly named terrorists) how long they have to disappear before we leave and they can come back out and undo all the work we did.  That's the problem with your idea.  If I tell you I'm not going to punch you in the face again if you stop fighting, and that I'll turn my back on you in 10 minutes, if you have even less than half a brain in your body, you'll stop fighting and wait the 10 minutes until I turn my back (hide out and stop killing in Iraq, since I have a feeling you're having a hard time following logic) and then jump me from behind and start trying to beat the hell out of me again (come out of hiding and continue car-bombing and killing Iraqi women and children, blowing up mosque's (you know, the things that make Americans evil oppressors?) in order to take back the country from the people yet again, taking away the freedoms from Iraqi's that you and I experience daily)

It's what you don't get that makes the difference, and you'll NEVER get it, because you look at the situation as if we're the problem rather than working with the Iraqi's for a solution of what to do after removing the deadly dictator and oppressive way of life they used to live.  We're not trying to wipe out an "idea", we're trying to instill an idea that freedom for each Iraqi makes the country stronger as a whole, an idea that will demonstrate to their country that those who think like those you are speaking of are the problem.  We're bringing a bit of Ireland to Iraq, if that makes you feel any better   We're bringing to them the concept of speaking out against government, without having to worry that they'll end up dead. 

This isn't a perpetual war, it's starting with one country, and allowing the rest of the region to make up its own mind about how things are going.  Seems to be working, but if you're invested in seeing America fail, you'll always look for the worst in the situation to extrapolate back into a hellhole, instead of seeing the progress being made, and the thanks being given for the opportunities that have been made.

Tell us all how many stories your unbiased media and news sources have run on the good things happening in Iraq.  I'd love to hear what they've said, and what they consider a "good thing" that's happened over there.  Listening to you, I get the impression that you've never heard that ANYTHING has gone well over there, but you're the one who will have to tell us what your media has said. 

[Dexter]

Tell us all how many stories your unbiased media and news sources have run on the good things happening in Iraq.

[fredster]

I heard the insurgencys going well....

Yeah, from outside entities from Syria and Iran.  They apparently don't like the idea of a free Iraq.  Shakes them up.

And what stance is that? Waging a perpetual war that cannot be won? Invading a country without an exit strategy? Trying to wipe out an idea??

Dexter, just because you can't figure out how to win, doesn't mean it can't be won, okay? 

Name a war with an "exit strategy".  What the hell is an "exit strategy" anyway?  What was the exit strategy we had in WWI and WWII?  Did we worry about that then?  When did we ever need an "exit stategy"?  It's not a game with rules, it's war.

Trying to wipe out an idea is the idea.  Why does that "idea" exist? Who is bringing it along?  That is why we invaded and why we are fighting.  We are doing what we said we'd do and enforcing international Law.

[DrewKaree]

Tell us all how many stories your unbiased media and news sources have run on the good things happening in Iraq.  I'd love to hear what they've said, and what they consider a "good thing" that's happened over there.  Listening to you, I get the impression that you've never heard that ANYTHING has gone well over there, but you're the one who will have to tell us what your media has said. 

I heard the insurgencys going well....

So there's nothing you're willing to tell us that has gone well, or are we to assume by your non-answer that I'm correct that your unbiased media doesn't report anything good that's happening in Iraq? 




Do you have anything to say about the terrorists-not-from-America who strap bombs to themselves and kill women, children and the elderly....or go into mosque's and blow them up?  You know them, the the people trying to kill Americans who TARGET these kinds of situations....are those things are ok with you?  I ask because you were acting concerned a while back when the war was going on and Americans were doing it, and I've never heard it described as a bad thing if a non-American did it.

Hopefully we can all get together in a circle and sing "Kumbya" and the world will be a better place then.

[Dexter]

Name a war with an "exit strategy".