3rd Way Purity Test, Entrance Exam, Part 1. Environment

[pragmatic_dem]

3rd Way Purity Test, Entrance Exam

Part 1. Environment

1. Which statement is true?

a. Deep water drilling is absolutely safe.

b. BP is absolutely safe.

c. Fish + oil = fish oil, a safe nutrient.

d. All of the above.

2. An earthquake in Japan has knocked out power to four nuclear plants, one of which has already exploded, sending radioactive fallout over the neighboring town and forcing evacuations from a town already in chaos from the resulting tsunami. What is the correct U.S. Government response?

a. Require all imported Hello Kitty merchandise to be screened for radiation contamination.

b. Issue a proclamation declaring “National Sushi Awareness Day”.

c. Issue a statement that the nuclear industry has assured you nuclear power is absolutely safe and U.S. commitment and funding for nuclear development will not waiver.

3. A major political donor has a worldwide monopoly on the manufacture and sales of genetically modified seed stock, herbicides and pesticides. Recently, the company has complained about the inconvenience of studies required to prove product safety. Also displeasing the corporation, consumers have requested the ability to choose whether or not to consume these products in their daily diet. The correct response is:

a. Issue a statement that you have been assured genetically modified organisms are absolutely safe.

b. Sign legislation allowing companies to hide GMOs in their food products.

c. Sign legislation that gives amnesty to the corporation from any consequences caused by willful negligence of the corporation.

d. Give the corporation additional funding to develop more powerful GMO herbicides and pesticides to kill the organisms that have quickly evolved resistance to GMO products.

e. Hire executives and officers from the corporation to design public policy.

f. All of the above.

4. Many on the left have an irrational fear of fracking. The best way to respond is:

a. Issue a statement that the fracking industry has assured you fracking is absolutely safe.

b. Build a nationwide pipeline to carry oil recovered from fracking to refineries located in the most polluted state in the nation where it can be processed into petroleum products and loaded on tankers to China, the most polluted country in the world.

c. Shutdown and censor studies linking fracking and ground water contamination such as this research with a title so complicated it must be from some radical eco-terrorist group: http://desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/Dimock%20report.pdf

d. Step up surveillance activities on left leaning environmental groups.

e. Buy a Cadillac Escalade.

f. Quickly change the subject to Lilly Ledbetter.

g. All of the above

[JackRiddler]

1. Nice work.

[pragmatic_dem]

45. Thank you. nt

[G_j]

2. awesome

and funny

[pragmatic_dem]

46. Thanks!

[scarletwoman]

3. Well done.

[Scuba]

4. Awesome, but not funny.

Thanks pragmatic_dem.

[pragmatic_dem]

47. you are welcome!

[n2doc]

5. Doubleplusgood

#3 is especially so.

[zeemike]

6. That test was so easy

Just say all of the above and you will pass.

[Rex]

7. LOL!

[woo me with science]

8. Thank you.

[pragmatic_dem]

36. you are welcome. nt

[HereSince1628]

9. Third Way, scion of the DLC. Remember the DLC?

The DLC's launch was funded by Exxon and Koch Industries. Yes it's true.

And it is all the more strange because Al Gore was a founding member of the DLC, and in 1988 one of their first presidential candidates.

[pragmatic_dem]

35. Ironic that DLC types blamed 3rd party Nader for Gore's loss, yet here they are with a 3rd party..

meme purchasing the last bit of human soul and empathy from within the Democratic Party.

[HereSince1628]

44. Maybe less third party and more fifth column

The goal is still the same to save the democrats from their traditional democratic values by getting them to abandon them.

It's all very ... pragmatic

[TheKentuckian]

10. That's right

[polichick]

11. Excellent!

[MindMover]

12. kr....nt

[Wilms]

13. ^

[woo me with science]

18. +100000

[bvar22]

19. That betrayal really hurt.

My Wife & I feel so strongly about this issue that we moved to The Woods in 2006,
and started growing our own food.
His promise on GMO & Country of Origin labeling was a major leg of our support for Candidate Obama in 2008.
We believed he really cared.

&feature=player_embedded

[Marr]

24. Hey, he's not a dictator!

He had to do that because... Republicans!

[kath]

49. SOOOOOOO unfair of you to compare Candidate Obama with President Obama.

Despicable. Shame on you!

[SwankyXomb]

54. He was obviously replaced by Adam Weisshaupt

sometime after the 2008 election.

[Enthusiast]

14. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!

[sabrina 1]

15. Lol! Nice work!

[pragmatic_dem]

37. Thanks!

[MannyGoldstein]

16. This is a joke, right?

Are you making fun of the President?

I'm pretty sure it's a joke, right?

Regards,

TWM

[pragmatic_dem]

41. I wouldn't dare... any resemblence to real persons or events is pure coincidence ;-)

[L0oniX]

64. You din't alert on this didja?

[annabanana]

17. Oh, Very Good ..... n/t

[WillyT]

20. Most Excellent Post !!! - K & R !!!

[pragmatic_dem]

38. Thank you!

[bvar22]

21. Beautiful!

I am eagerly awaiting your Purity Tests for:

*"Entitlements" & The Safety Net

*Free Trade (Organized LABOR)

*The Economy (Wall Street vs Main Street)

*Education (Charter Schools)

DURec!

[woo me with science]

30. [phone]. Me, too.

This was BRILLIANT and much needed...and there is unfortunately lots and lots of material for further editions.

[L0oniX]

65. ^this^

[BrotherIvan]

22. Nice

But may I suggest a "motivation" section?

Step 1 -

If any person disagree with your Third Way position on the grounds that it does not fit with traditional Democratic principles or campaign promises, hurl names at them such as "fringe left," "firebagger," "Paulbot," "Hater!" "ODS," "fucking retarded," or garden variety homophobe and racist.

In the case of #3, the term "Luddite" or "science denier" is more applicable. You may even wish to accuse them of wanting people to starve because it tends to confuse those with bleeding hearts.

Step 2 -

Disrupt any discussion or train of thought that may lead to criticism of Third Way policies. Invite your friends to join you. Because like a pack of wolves, you must tire out your quarry and bring him or her down in a pack. Long-treasured beliefs of democracy and justice are hard to kill, but DFHs have very little endurance, so take heart that eventually they will just give up and go away.

Because Third Way policies depend on "messaging" and "optics" rather than actual benefits for the public, criticism of Third Way policies must never be allowed. Any good soldier who takes it upon themselves to attack all detractors from Third Way policies will be given an extra ration of chocolate, a pat on the head, and a robo-signed 8x10 glossy photo.

Good luck and God Bless America!

[LuvNewcastle]

70. Well done!

You need to write an OP as well. I'd love to read it.

[BrotherIvan]

79. The Third Way employee guide is mandatory reading for the "reality based" community

It also contains a glossary for handy definitions of such terms as "hair on fire" "poutrage" "pony" and "emoprog"

There's a wonderful essay about what must be construed as "bashing" with copious blue link footnotes

** As a bonus, there's a power point presentation on CD-rom for the liberal use of the emoticon. **

Order yours today!

[xchrom]

23. but the Third Way is Incremental Progress!11 and Incremental Progress is Teh Bestest! nt

[Oilwellian]

25. That was purity sweetness

LOL

K&R

[99Forever]

26. It would be much funnier if...

... it weren't so close to the actual truth.

Nice post.

[Curmudgeoness]

27. Hey,

where are the answers? Did I pass?

This is brilliant.

[erronis]

28. Some small instructions for those special friends of yours

1. Tell your friends to only buy their oysters from non-Gulf suppliers.

2. Make sure your island retreats are at least 1,000 miles from the nearest nuclear plant, and that there is no deep-sea drilling nearby. You can afford to store enough fossil fuel to last a couple of generations of your spawn, so why worry?

3. You tell your cooks to only use the freshest, non-commercial products (including non-petro fish and non-irradiated food.)

4. Don't allow any freaking fracking to happen around your estates. After all, you've already bought the legislators and the heads of the departments. Haven't you already paid the price for frackin?

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

29. Great! but...

It makes me want to cry.

[ProSense]

31. Much easier purity test:

Are most of the same people who rec'd this OP the same as those who rec'd this OP: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024333473

[treestar]

32. Amazing how quick people were to commit to BS

"He's got my vote!" Then find out he's for SYG or tracking, etc.

Just like Ed Snowden - committed to him before finding out about him.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

50. Most of us remember Single-Payer Schweitzer dating back to the dark Bush years.

For most of us, he's not an unknown.

No one has "committed" themselves to Schweitzer or Snowden (or Will Pitt, for that matter). Some of us don't do pledges. Nice projection, though.

[treestar]

60. Go look at the thread

"he's got my vote" often said of someone who happens to say something they like one day.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

76. Some DUers offered the welcome mat to Christie because he was *nice* to Obama.

Others were ready to wave in Meghan McCain because she's pro-gay rights.

"Former" Republican Charlie Crist has been welcomed with open arms.

To your point, yes, things are often said because a DUer hears "something they like one day."

[rhett o rick]

52. Misleading again. I guess you cant argue against the issues so you must mislead.

"Just like Ed Snowden - committed to him before finding out about him." What does "committed to him" really mean. The issue is about the NSA taking actions that violate the Constitution. You dont care about that. You dont care if your authoritarian leaders violate the Constitution but try to attack the messenger. Who hates whistle-blowers? Rightwingers and conservative Democrats.

[treestar]

61. I distinctly remember the day he was revealed

several people declaring him a hero within minutes.

[rhett o rick]

66. And that's your justification for what exactly? When David takes on Goliath some people

immediately side with David and some immediately side with Goliath, revealing to me authoritarian issues on both sides. That may include me (not in this particular case) because I do have authoritarian issues. I tend to mistrust authoritarians unless proven otherwise. And I believe those that side with Goliath also have issues with authoritarians. They tend to trust authoritarians until proven otherwise. And in the case of priests, continue to trust authoritarians even after proven otherwise.

But because a few (several?) posters on a message board of thousands declared Snowden a hero shouldnt be used to rationalize that he isnt. But once again, and again, whether Snowden is a hero or not is beside the point. The important point is that we, as a society may have a trust problem with our elected and appointed people that are supposed to be working in our best interest. It is every bit our responsibility to assure that they are working in our best interest.

Most here recognize that the investigative report on Christie is most likely tainted. The same reasoning should lead us to be suspicious of investigative reports issued by the NSA about the NSA. And we should be suspicious of attempts by the NSA to smear anyone that dares to speak out in this democratic society.

If you want democracy you must demand it and be vigilant, and be very weary of those that ask you to blindly trust them.

[treestar]

68. That's your opinion only

About David and Goliath. I would still use my own judgment and not always presume the David figure to have to be in the right.

And has Elizabeth Warren declared she will do without spying and security? You should change your avatar if she has not. I don't expect her to make such a statement, but it seems some people here should, or she's a corporatist too.

[Phlem]

74. Wow.

That wasn't even a nice try.



-p

[rhett o rick]

75. Of course it's my opinion. I dont claim to know reality and dont trust those that that claim to.

You didnt explain your point when you made the statement that some declared Snowden a hero. Some also denied that the NSA was spying on Americans. What's your point?

And by the way, those that want to insure that the NSA/CIA/FBI are under control, are not haters of America, not haters of Obama, do not think Putin is a hero, or any of the myriad of other accusations used to deflect the discussion.

I think that Sen Warren has come out in favor of insuring that the NSA is under control but I am not willing to do the research at this time because it's just another attempt to change the discussion.

Should there be an independent investigation into the oversight of the NSA/CIA/FBI? Or are you willing to accept a Christie-like whitewash.

[freshwest]

58. Goodie. I saved that. We have our 3rd way list now...n/t

[pragmatic_dem]

33. You passed, and picked up extra credit for inappropriate use of personal metadata. nt

[ProSense]

34. I forgot to say welcome to DU. n/t

[one_voice]

39. You wanna see something...

There are people that rec'd this thread--started by a newbie (a little more than a month here) that thought it was okay to basically tell this 'new' person to hush--(they've been here over a year)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024746828#post85 ---read the next few comments.


Odd..

[Number23]

40. Something about this thread reminds me of this

Homer's watching an episode of Twin Peaks when he sees the above image. A stressed out looking man dancing with a horse at night under a traffic light. Homer in a daze replies, "Brrrrrrilliant!" and then a second later "I have absolutely no idea what is going on."

[JustAnotherGen]

78. I need a Gummi Godiva!

[rhett o rick]

51. Do you have a point or is this just more blather? nm

[Rex]

53. Reply # 158 nt

nt

[LWolf]

42. I answered

"all of the above" for all of them, even when it wasn't a choice.

Do I pass? Am I "pure" enough?

:kick:

[Generic Other]

43. Making "Hello Kitty" safe for the world

Thank you Third Way!

[Zorra]

48. K&R nt

[ErikJ]

55. Purity Test Pt. 2 Religion

Must be Christian.

[blkmusclmachine]

56. Third Way = GOP lite.

[DeSwiss]

57. With this entry you have today WON THE INTERNETS!!!

- Congratulations!!! You may pick up your prizes and gifts in the lobby at the Concierge Desk after the show!

K&R!!!

[Flying Squirrel]

59. DUzy n/t

[blackspade]

62. Well played

[brooklynite]

63. UNREC

I have no objection to a policy debate, or satire, but I sort of think truth should be factored in, so if you're going to go after Third Way, it should be over stated policies that you object to, not a simple stereotype that they're "corporatist" so of course they must advocate unfettered energy production.

More importantly, as far as purity tests go, I would observe that the moderates here (whether Third Way supporters or not) who may differ with you on policy position have NEVER been the people who say there's a definition of a "real" Democrat. nor have they ever said "I'LL NEVER VOTE FOR...{enter the name of the liberal politician of your choice)".

[pragmatic_dem]

67. yes, I made up the part about Hello Kitty, sorry that has caused you confusion... nt

[2banon]

73. I loved the Hello Kitty bit.. :)

[Pakid]

69. Sad that this kind of thinking represents any part of the Democratic party.

And what is real sad and scary is that far to much of it is so close to the truth!

[2banon]

71. Well Done!

[2banon]

72. Make the next one a combo of Socio-economic and Geopolitical :)

only cuz this one was simply brilliant...

[Little_Wing]

77. Freakin' great n/t