Join my Cause!

January 15, 2009 10:24 AM

This is more a question in general than it is an effort to poop on a particular post.

I have no real problem with "Growing Up In Guantánamo" as a post other than the heavy-handed editorilizing and the blatent shill for organizatios, be they non-profit or not. I'd just like clarity on why this was allowed to stand. Or, at least, this version of it.
and while my question is serious, I'll just sit back with my bowl of dicks and mostly stay out of the inevitable snark

posted by dawson to Etiquette/Policy at 10:24 AM (68 comments total)

A small link to join the ACLU is heavy handed shilling? Where is the heavy handed editorializing, or is linking to the ACLU at all editorializing? There are far more egregious posts on MetaFilter. I think this one remains because it's just a bunch of links.

Maybe you should have started this first, rather than snark in the first comment on that post.
posted by chunking express at 10:28 AM on January 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Is your question about the post or that particular comment you linked to?

My basic feeling was that the shilling at the end was annoying but not enough to tank the otherwise sort of interesting post. I do second-guess myself on posts like these because I dislike almost all politicalfilter posts so my wanting personally to axe one of them isn't really a good reason. So I left it alone to see if people would flag it like crazy and they mostly haven't been.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:28 AM on January 15, 2009

I know, what's up with the moderatio around here lately?
posted by burnmp3s at 10:28 AM on January 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

Maybe it's just me, but I can't see a question in general anywhere under the particular post poop.
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 10:30 AM on January 15, 2009

You have a bowl of dicks?
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 10:30 AM on January 15, 2009 [5 favorites]

Point taken, chunking. And I apologize for my snark in ageispolis' post, I would not have done it if I'd thought for a moment the thing would last more than 5 minutes.
posted by dawson at 10:30 AM on January 15, 2009

I would not have done it if I'd thought for a moment the thing would last more than 5 minutes.

And nothing personal to you, dawson, but it would be great if people wouldn't do that. I'll remove your comment in that thread.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:33 AM on January 15, 2009

Jess, I meant the post as a whole, not jb's remarks. I'd be grateful if you would fix that. And thanks for removing my ill-advised comments.
posted by dawson at 10:34 AM on January 15, 2009

FIAMO
posted by WinnipegDragon at 10:35 AM on January 15, 2009

This is more a question in general than it is an effort to poop on a particular post.

I'd just like clarity on why this was allowed to stand. Or, at least, this version of it.

I'm curious how you reconcile these two sentences in your mind.
posted by smackfu at 10:39 AM on January 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

You have a bowl of dicks?

Get out the cock sauce!
posted by katillathehun at 10:40 AM on January 15, 2009 [4 favorites]

what's up with the moderatio around here lately?

I think it's about 4:75,000+
posted by InfidelZombie at 10:40 AM on January 15, 2009 [13 favorites]

I was kind of on the fence about it like jessamyn, because yeah the ending ACLU plug is annoying.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:41 AM on January 15, 2009

I'm curious how you reconcile these two sentences in your mind.

The 60's.
posted by dawson at 10:41 AM on January 15, 2009

Dawson, how would you have changed this post? Dropped the two small links at the bottom? What don't you like about it? Or do you not like the ACLU by default?
posted by chunking express at 10:42 AM on January 15, 2009

A post about Guantanamo is no more inherently "politicalfilter" than a post about evolution or climatology or stem cells is, just because a bunch of boneheads with power have made An Issue about it. A post about elections or candidates or whatever would be politicalfilter.
posted by DU at 10:44 AM on January 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

moderatio sounds like a sex act. a very lukewarm one.

also: dawson, what the hell are you talking about?
posted by jonmc at 10:46 AM on January 15, 2009

I too did not like the 'Join' links; the front page of MetaFilter isn't a community centre bulletin board.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:46 AM on January 15, 2009

What I meant, smackfu, was that I have no 'axe-to-grind' with the OP and, had it been worded in a less OUTRAGE way, would not have flagged the post. On the other hand I am/was genuinely curious as to why it was allowed to remain as it's written.
chunking. I would have been fine if the evidence given in the post would have been offered w/o me having a clue as to where the OP stood on the issue. I often find that I like to draw my own conclusions.
Erm, jonmc, whatever do you mean?
posted by dawson at 10:47 AM on January 15, 2009

I edited this MeTa post to go to the post itself and not the comment.

This is, again, an edge case of sorts. I think all of us are pretty much not-okay with the "Join the ACLU" link, but editing posts is more of a Bad Idea than letting those three words stay and the post is okay otherwise. Since there's a MeTa about it, hopefully people can talk about it here without having it derail the thread.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:47 AM on January 15, 2009

Can't wait 'till we close Gitmo and normalize relations with Cuba. Then we can go back to arguing about I/P.

Sits back, lights contraband cigar, puffs contentedly...
posted by fixedgear at 10:48 AM on January 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

A post about Guantanamo is no more inherently "politicalfilter" than a post about evolution or climatology or stem cells is

Generally speaking, I agree with you.

There are ways to make posts on these sorts of topics political and ways to make them historical, explicatory, funny, or whatever other slant you want to take. If people are talking about Guantanamo on MeFi, it's not to say "hey look at these interesting X-10 cameras they have in the Gitmo cafeteria where you can watch detainees eat!" it's to talk about Bush and Obama and policies on torture and lawsuits. Doesn't have to be that way certainly, but that's the way it's historically been.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:51 AM on January 15, 2009

the post is okay otherwise

Your choice of "okay" rather than "good" is duly noted.
posted by Joe Beese at 10:57 AM on January 15, 2009

Join my caws!
posted by Mister_A at 10:57 AM on January 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

DU, I'll try to articulate this once more, than I'll back off. I don't think most have a problem with the subject of the post, and speaking for myself, the problem is with links to join a cause and the ACLU right there on the freakin' front page. I've never seen that on MetaFilter before. It would be sorta like a Ron Paul post with a link his website. Or an animal cruelty post with a link to join PETA. And I'm not equating the ACLU with either one of those.
posted by dawson at 11:02 AM on January 15, 2009

For the record, the Khadr family are a bunch of goofs. Not that that is any reason to imprison a member of that family in Gitmo.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:09 AM on January 15, 2009

It would be sorta like a Ron Paul post with a link his website. Or an animal cruelty post with a link to join PETA.

a post about loneliness with an invitation to join me for a drink?
posted by jonmc at 11:09 AM on January 15, 2009 [3 favorites]

If it takes effort to poop on a post, you need more bran.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:11 AM on January 15, 2009

It would be sorta like a Ron Paul post with a link his website.

Ron Paul's Website
posted by burnmp3s at 11:16 AM on January 15, 2009

The editorializing was kind of driven home when you told someone who disagreed with you to do the anatomically impossible.
posted by Jahaza at 12:02 PM on January 15, 2009

Err... sorry... ageispolis, that wasn't you... I was mistakenly thinking Chunking Express was the original poster because of his passionate defense of the FPP over here.
posted by Jahaza at 12:04 PM on January 15, 2009

yeah, dawson, if it takes you all these follow up comments to clarify your problem you might want to resolve the issue in your own mind before you make a MetaTalk post, next time.

Hey, does anyone have a recipe for a red pepper sauce that is mostly flavour with a bit of teh hot? The kind of thing you might want to spoon onto a burrito?
posted by Rumple at 12:05 PM on January 15, 2009

1 can tomatoes
1tsp salt
1tsp dried oregano
1-3 cloves garlic
3-11 chiles tepin

blend.
posted by carsonb at 12:11 PM on January 15, 2009 [6 favorites]

(3 is mostly flavor, 11 is sayonara tongue)
posted by carsonb at 12:12 PM on January 15, 2009

I wonder if cilantro would be any good in that? One way to find out, I guess! How about fresh tomatoes? I am new to sauce making.
posted by Rumple at 12:15 PM on January 15, 2009

You know who else had sayonara tongue?
posted by Rumple at 12:16 PM on January 15, 2009

THE PASSION?!? CAN YOU FEEL IT? (I told alexwoods to fuck himself because his commentw as ignorant and stupid. Khadr is going to come kill his family? WTF? I didn't tell him to fuck himself because he attacked the FPP, which he didn't.)
posted by chunking express at 12:17 PM on January 15, 2009

My uncle would kill me for giving that recipe out. It's meant to be quick and easy and extremely flavorful. I'm trying to imagine what cilantro would do to it.... might work? I asked about fresh tomatoes before; he gave me a disdainful look and wouldn't talk to me for a week.
posted by carsonb at 12:25 PM on January 15, 2009

The unc grows tomatoes in his backyard too, so...?
posted by carsonb at 12:27 PM on January 15, 2009

I've canned my own tomatoes - maybe the slight picklish canned taste would add something ineffable.

I am going to make this and report back tomorrow. I bought the most awesome blendor in a thrift shop --- a 1950s Waring Blendor, of the rocketship style, single speed. Bakelite? top, bronze finish. 50 cents!!!!! God I love blendors. And thrifts.
posted by Rumple at 12:31 PM on January 15, 2009

Rumple, I'd put onions in your sauce too. Onions make everything better. Also I think it's pretty common in pepper sauce.
posted by chunking express at 12:35 PM on January 15, 2009

Roast some of those peppers.
posted by fidelity at 1:03 PM on January 15, 2009

THE PASSION?!? CAN YOU FEEL IT?

If you have to ask, the answer is no.
posted by electroboy at 1:19 PM on January 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

CAN YOU FEEL IT?
posted by Joe Beese at 1:43 PM on January 15, 2009

I am going to start with carsonb's uncle's right off, then may tweak as per your suggestions - thanks. Everything goes better with salsa, including this thread. salsa.ponies.metafilter.com hereby requested.
posted by Rumple at 1:51 PM on January 15, 2009

I'm with Matt and Jess on not liking those final links—the whole advocacy/recruitment/boosterism thing is a bad fit for the front page in general—but thinking the main post content was fairly interesting.

I dropped aegispolis a line to see if he had any issue with me nixing the links and he gave it the all clear, so I've pulled them from the post.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:59 PM on January 15, 2009

Don't use fresh tomatoes.

Roast them, it adds a lot of flavor. And if you are lucky enough to have a gas stove and no smoke detector, put some of the chilies and the tomatoes on a skewer and carbonize the skin before you blend.
posted by dirty lies at 2:02 PM on January 15, 2009

And the lesson from all this? Heavy-handed editorilizing and the blatent shill for organizatios leads to delicious recipes for red pepper sauce.
posted by ageispolis at 2:05 PM on January 15, 2009

moderatio sounds like a sex act. a very lukewarm one.

It's kind of like a three way, but one person just sits off to the side and says things like: "No, don't use your teeth there", "There are other body parts besides that one", "Stop, lube first", "Don't roll your eyes back in your head and moan, you look like a zombie", "We'll just agree that that part didn't happen", and "don't pucker your lips into a hard inflexible lamprey mouth when you kiss".
posted by BrotherCaine at 2:09 PM on January 15, 2009 [9 favorites]

Heavy-handed editorilizing and the blatent shill for organizatios leads to delicious recipes for red pepper sauce.

Pepcid^®Blue
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:11 PM on January 15, 2009

organizatios

Chef Boyardee's latest incredibly orderly canned pasta!
posted by jonmc at 2:12 PM on January 15, 2009

You know who else had sayonara tongue?

Bring your fine sayonara tongue over here and start giving me some hot moderato, baby!
posted by PeterMcDermott at 2:36 PM on January 15, 2009

a 1950s Waring Blendor, of the rocketship style, single speed.

This comment is useless without YouTubery of your iPod, providing an answer to the eternal question, 'Will it blend?'
posted by PeterMcDermott at 2:39 PM on January 15, 2009

Rumple: I believe (but could easily be wrong) that that age of Blendor has cork in the bottom, around the whirling blades. So don't let it soak, even if you're usually lazy about cleaning.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:14 PM on January 15, 2009

Salsa and wild rice. Preferably, truly wild wild rice from Canadian lakes, not paddy-grown "wild" rice from California. It is good to unite the North American continent on your plate.

Is there a reason MeFi doesn't note when FPPs are edited?
posted by shetterly at 3:19 PM on January 15, 2009

Because it's extremely uncommon and explicit [editor's note!] type notation in FPPs is itself even more uncommon yet. We usually clarify in the thread if something changes and leave it at that, but I'd say an actual edit to a thread happens once a year at most anyway.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:36 PM on January 15, 2009

I wonder if cilantro would be any good in that?

Unless "that" is the trash bin, the answer is always "no."

rat bastard cilantro always ruining Mexican food
posted by Bookhouse at 3:36 PM on January 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

You know what? I'm not a fan of shilling in posts.

But you know what else? Join the ACLU.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:55 PM on January 15, 2009 [3 favorites]

he gave it the all clear, so I've pulled them from the post.

Yay the system works, hugs!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:56 PM on January 15, 2009

Rumple: I believe (but could easily be wrong) that that age of Blendor has cork in the bottom, around the whirling blades. So don't let it soak, even if you're usually lazy about cleaning.

AGE OF BLENDOR!!!!!!
posted by grobstein at 4:04 PM on January 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

One of the buttons on my fly has been open all morning, I just now noticed.
posted by turgid dahlia at 4:05 PM on January 15, 2009

But you know what else? Join the ACLU.

No snark meant, but I'll second this: Join the ACLU.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:16 PM on January 15, 2009

... and carry your card.
posted by netbros at 4:32 PM on January 15, 2009

NO ONE THREW THEIR SHOE AT HIM! FUCK.
posted by gman at 5:17 PM on January 15, 2009

Is there an ACLU-like organization in Canada that I should be joining?
posted by ~ at 5:20 PM on January 15, 2009

Goodness, no. If Canadians got any more civil, they'd be unconscious.

I keed, I keed.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:52 PM on January 15, 2009

Is there an ACLU-like organization in Canada that I should be joining?

I don't know anything about the organization, but there is the
Canadian Civil Liberties Association
posted by aclevername at 7:10 PM on January 15, 2009

katillathehun said: "You have a bowl of dicks? Get out the cock sauce!"

Yeaaaaah... I think that cock sauce is for fish, not pork.
posted by pineapple at 11:36 PM on January 15, 2009