Cigars removed from online thesauri.

[jaewing]

There's an old joke about a conservative being a liberal who got mugged and a libertarian being a conservative who got censored.

Censorship is to the left. Liberty is to the right. Case in point for cigar smokers: Calabasas. Next week it becomes illegal to smoke OUTDOORS. Great example of liberalism run amok.

Name one Waco under John Ashcroft.

The only objectionable censorship is that which is done by government. When private companies who host on-line dictonaries or thesaurus (or ultra-rightwing bloggers) decide to not print certain material or words they do not like there is nothing to complain about.

Your complaint is on one hand exercising your Free Speech rights while attempting to deny it to another person/private company on the other.

Welcome to the board but please refrain from political discussion and self-serving posts directing people to your website.

[illilli]

Welcome to the board but please refrain from political discussion and self-serving posts directing people to your website.

Well, since Hex moved this thread to the "Politics" section, I think is OK to have a political discussion.

When discussing the differences between State-sponsored censorship and Private censorship, all we have to do is look at our wonderful liberal media. They sway public opinion by printing either blatant lies OR by omitting facts OR by providing a slant to the news; all in the name of freedom of speech. Now, a liberal will point to Fox News and say, "oh yeah?, you guys do it too!" I find this so funny because, while Fox News is conservative, it is one against how many liberal news agencies?? The liberals object to us having ONE little voice in the sea of tree-hugging?

This may be a hi-jack of your original intent Aaron, sorry.

Edited to correct a misquoted name.

[jaewing]

Well, since Hex moved this thread to the "Politics" section, I think is OK to have a political discussion.

When discussing the differences between State-sponsored censorship and Private censorship, all we have to do is look at our wonderful liberal media. They sway public opinion by printing either blatant lies OR by omitting facts OR by providing a slant to the news; all in the name of freedom of speech. Now, a liberal will point to Fox News and say, "oh yeah?, you guys do it too!" I find this so funny because, while Fox News is conservative, it is one against how many liberal news agencies?? The liberals object to us having ONE little voice in the sea of tree-hugging?

This may be a hi-jack of your original intent Aaron, sorry.

Edited to correct a misquoted name.

I agree totally!

[FlowerBasketExpress2005]

How about e-mailing the people and asking if they could add an entry for cigar cause you didn't find one. Then come back and tell us what happens. If they add it back you can take your tinfoil hat off.

[illilli]

How about e-mailing the people and asking if they could add an entry for cigar cause you didn't find one. Then come back and tell us what happens. If they add it back you can take your tinfoil hat off.

Now wait just a minute Flower Basket! Aaron has PROOF! He said it is NOT a theory, so he must have proof. I say let's see his proof before we test for lack of proof.

Some old guy that lived back in the old days said the earth was the center of the solar system and the proof was right before everyone's eyes, but his PROOF wasn't really based on scientific fact, but rather on literal observation. I'm not smart enough to have had any of those philosphy classes like I'm sure Aaron has, but I would bet money that there is a term for Scientific proof and proof that is based on things that appear to be true based on observation and speculation.

(Disclaimer: I am partially teasing Aaron and partially seriously busting his balls. The truth is Aaron that I actually read quite a bit of information on your website. You wrote some interesting thought-provoking articles in your blog. In truth, if we asked those websites why they removed smoking-related information from their thesauri, they would probably say that children use these resources and they don't want to encourage curiosity through idle discovery (or some other such gibberish). This is simply a product of our "moral majority", which blushes shamelessly over an exposed breast on national TV while 69% of the male population surfs porn every night on the internet. I scream, "HYPROCRISY!" Show me an 8-year old boy who hasn't found a way to see a bare breast on his own and I'll show you a boy destined to be singing show-tunes in a broadway musical!)

[prophetic_joe]

I expected to see words like “stogie”, “stick”, “Cuban” and others. I thought that maybe it might have been a temporary database glitch on thesaurus.com, so I Googled for other online thesauri. Good luck trying to find “cigar”, “cigarette” or “stogie” in any online thesaurus!

Just out of curiousity what kind of dumbass needs a thesaurus to find synonym for cigar anyway? Seems like anyone who smokes them would learn these relatively fast and anyone who doesn't and wants to know can also find them fairly fast. Doesn't really seem like a super serious issue to me.

Now the whole Roswell, Area 51, and JFK assassination coverups? Those are different stories all togather.

[FlowerBasketExpress2005]

Yeah really now, "stick" would be a slang sounding term not really a straight out synonym. I have also heard Stogie be used as either slang for cigar or meaning a cheaper cigar which wouldn't be a synonym.

Heck does anyone have a paper thesaurus that actually has cigar in it?

[illilli]

I've seen liberal bias with my own eyes on a daily basis. I could pick up certain papers or watch some specific news stations and write down many examples. There are times when the media swings to the conservative side like right after 9-11. Then the whole media was dripping in conservative goodness (out of fear mostly I guess).

Arguments of this type don't really serve any purpose; it's a He-Said, She-said situation. I would personally rather have a liberal media expressing their Freedom of Speech rights than to have a state-controlled media spouting political propaganda.

[SuperChuck]

I've always thought the American media is a little on the conservative side, myself, but that may just be the hippie in me.

Actually, I mostly just find the American media to be wishywashy. For every real news story reported, there are 10 stories of kitties rescued from trees. This used to be the kind of nonsense the local news would report because, realistically, it's hard to fill half an hour with real local news.

I've always found the American media to be completely Amero-centric. Unless it directly affects us, we don't report it. I remember being in London several years ago and the top story in the news was these ex-slaves from South Africa roaming around, killing white farmers. I remember thinking this news was never reported in the US.

I've resorted to TiVo-ing BBC World every morning and watching that while the gf is getting dressed. I'm still amazed that the headlines on BBC are almost never seen on CNN...

</threadjack>

[cigar no baka]

There is NO liberal media bias. Neo-cons should stop perpetuating this complete fallacy.

Very good article debunking the myth of a liberal bias in the media, and showing the existance of exactly the opposite.

Horseshit, I see it every day and have for the 30 years I have been watching mass media.

[Shagaroo]

There is no liberal bias in the media because the liberal media said so!

Fixed your typo.......

[cigar no baka]

The tipping point for me in seeing there is a huge liberal bias was in 1994, during the elections. After results started to come in, Tom Brokaw described the voters as having a "national temper tantrum". Spoke volumes to me, he sees voters that vote conservative as children who cannot control themselves. Just listen to the words they use, and it becomes clear where their biases lie.

[Shagaroo]

Except for the fact they called Gore the winner at 7:48 pm EST, you know, when polls were still open and it could have a negative impact on the outcome of the election. Unless you actually expect people to believe Fox calling Bush the winner at 2:16 am EST, 7 hours and 16 minutes AFTER the polls CLOSED is much more damaging to the election process.

You wouldn't happen to be from Crawford, TX would you?

EDIT: That should be 6 hours and 16 minutes after the Panhandle polls closed.

[Lopaka]

Here's my thought. Al Gore lost, not from Florida or any of that B.S. No, anyone who loses his HOME STATE, yes you read that right, Al Gore lost Tennessee to GW, should lose the election. If Al Gore won his own home state, he would have had enough votes that Flordia wouldn't have been a key state.

[Shagaroo]

They called Gore the winner, because he was. Dumbya was portrayed the winner by fox and the rest of the media, even though he had lost the popular vote, and was fighting hard against a re-count. The media campaign against Gore had people convinced that he was against a fair re-count which was just more right-wing propaganda. Eventually this all led to the republicans on the SC blocking a state ordered re-count. Something the SC should never have gotten involved in.
This entire debacle was driven by the conservative media. People drinking the kool-aid have trouble seeing through the bs though.

Crawford? No. Thankfully, the only south I've lived in is SoCal. It's a theory of mine that the high RH in the southeastern US rots the brain.

The facts disagree with you. And every group, except the democractic party, have all said it is as conclusive as it can possibly be that Gore would have lost regardless of how the votes were recounted. If you want to argue the Supreme Court should have stayed out of it, fine, I agree, but this assanine argument you call proof of a conservative media bias is not much more than low grade fertilizer. They called Gore the winner before the polls were closed. Trying to twist that to be anything other than the media trying to influence voting is ignoring common sense and logic.

[Lopaka]

I don't do typos

C'mon, open your eyes. The media, in general, is owned by right wing conservatives.

I think Ted Turner would be very pissed if he read that.

Here is the evidence that says the media is liberal bias. When they finally report the TRUTH on what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, then I'll believe you. And don't tell me "we're not doing anything but losing" is the truth.

Another piece of evidence that most of the media has a liberal agenda is CNN never says, President Bush. It's the President or Mr. Bush. The only time you ever hear they say President Bush is when something negative is happening to him. Who runs that agenda?

However, I agree, I would like to see the media start to actually reporting the news. Because when Bill was in office, it was the same B.S. for him also.

[Lopaka]

Actually I doubt he would argue the point. He is the exception to the rule. Over 80% of all tv, radio, and print media is owned by large conservative corps.

The truth is Iraq is a complete debacle. It was an unnecessary war that is steadily falling into a more violent and uncontrollable situation. We're not losing the war, but we're not winning either. At best, we will be in a situation of continued occupation with ever increasing violence. Former military leaders, serving both before and after the war in Iraq began, are increasingly more vocal about the mismanagement of the war, and the inadvisability of getting involved there in the first place. The present admin was warned about the difficulties that would be encountered there, and chose to ignore all advice. Anyway, if you think that things are going as well as dumbya and his cronies report, you are proof that you get all your news from those conservative media outlets..

First I know a little more then you believe. I'm in the military. You, getting the "Inside story" from what ever media outlet you believe is telling the truth is a lie. I get much of my Intel from the people that are there and from those that are fighting the fight. Those, "leaders" and former leaders who are retired are all politicians trying to get jobs or are "expert advisors" that have jobs. You do get to Col and above without being a politician.

And I watch more then just FOXNEWS and CNN because I like to be better informed then the average bear.

Do I think GW is the best President ever, no. However, you tell me an administration that ever did anything perfect.

[Lopaka]

Sorry, that should read


You can't get to Col and above without being a politician.

[illilli]

Actually I doubt he would argue the point. He is the exception to the rule. Over 80% of all tv, radio, and print media is owned by large conservative corps.

The truth is Iraq is a complete debacle. It was an unnecessary war that is steadily falling into a more violent and uncontrollable situation. We're not losing the war, but we're not winning either. At best, we will be in a situation of continued occupation with ever increasing violence. Former military leaders, serving both before and after the war in Iraq began, are increasingly more vocal about the mismanagement of the war, and the inadvisability of getting involved there in the first place. The present admin was warned about the difficulties that would be encountered there, and chose to ignore all advice. Anyway, if you think that things are going as well as dumbya and his cronies report, you are proof that you get all your news from those conservative media outlets.
As far as how people refer to dumbya, I don't have, or see, a problem with them not calling him president bush. He hasn't proven himself worthy of the title. Hell, he's lucky they all don't refer to him as "that incompetent twit".

1. Back up your statement that over 80% of all tv, radio and print media is owned by large conservative corporations. If you are going to make such grandiose statements, please provide some proof.

2. Complete debacle? A complete debacle would be where all our troops were dead and OBL was elected the new dictator. Since that would be more of a debacle than the current situation, the current situaion must NOT be a complete debacle. So you are obviously telling lies and NOT the truth.

3. I guess it has been proven that the war was unnecessary? I haven't been convinced of that fact and neither have a very large number of other people. What is the proof that the war was not necessary. What? No weapons of mass destruction? Let's see...they used WOMD before and killed thousands; they thwarted U.N. inspectors and rules for years; they were happily in bed with skirting U.N. sanctions. Lastly, there is all the things the country of IRAQ was doing to assist other countries that are anti-American. Where do you think all of that unaccounted for WOMD material went? There are a lot of things that happen in the world that Joe U.S. Citizen is NOT privvy to knowing due to it's classified nature. Maybe if you actually knew all the facts, you would feel this war WAS necessary. I don't know all the facts myself; so I am NOT really qualified to determine if this war is or is not necessary. And, guess what, neither are you!

4. I personally get e-mails from both enlisted and officers stationed in IRAQ. They tell a far different story than I've ever once seen on TV or read in the paper.

I don't think this thread is really serving any purpose other to demonstrate how polarized liberals and conservatives have become. Well, we have not resorted to name-calling, so it is showing how civilized adults communicate. Thus, something good.....

I want to go on the record and let you know that I WOULD smoke a cigar with a liberal any day just as long as the conversation stayed away from politics and properly lingered on what to drink next and how important large breasts are to the future of our society.

[Lopaka]

I enjoy a good political debate. Knowing that two people are not going to change each others opinion however expressing ones thought's on a issue is fun. As long as it stays clean and we don't start slamming each other we are good. When the slamming happens, then it's done.