I’ve removed Robert from my links. I wanted to take a moment to explain why and expand on it a bit.

While I grew to know Robert as a semi-intellectually honest person at Moxie’s site, the past year and Republican defeats have caused Robert’s posts to become nothing more than typical conservative hype and hypocrisy. It can be no more plain than his continual parroting of the latest conservative talking point without even the most basic fact-checking. I have tried to correct his righteous indignation by pointing out the flaws of the Republi-hype and attempted to bring him back to earth. But I’m afraid it’s Kool-Aid poisoning and I think the effects are becoming irreversible.

I present as my example a shameless display of Limbaugh-like echo chambering of the following quote:

“Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs who should be arrested, exiled or hanged.”

- Abraham Lincoln

That was it – that was the whole post. Ironically, his next post was called “Leftists Ignore Relevant History” because, as anyone with historical knowledge of Lincoln, or even Google searching at their fingertips, knows, Abraham Lincoln never said it. To date, Robert has yet to issue any kind of correction or apology to his readers.

I’m very careful with my quotes. I want to make sure that I have the proper context when using them. I want to credit the correct person I am quoting not only to give the appearance that I know what I’m talking about and avoid being accused of plagiarism. I don’t do this because I want to be a journalist, I do this because that way I don’t feel guilty about misleading people into believing a prominent figure said something they never said just to score cheap points.

This isn’t to say that I’m perfect, but I will maintain my own personal integrity and standards even if it means going against fellow liberals.

The Oracle at Delphi maintained a simple doctrine:
Know thyself, judge thyself, discipline thyself.

I’m now again on the search for a conservative who can.