Welcome to Maoist Orange Cake. Each week one of our Divas posts a thoughtful (but not necessarily serious) essay on whatever calls forth her Voice or strikes her Fancy. We invite you to join us wherever the discussion leads.
Motto of the MOC: Sincere, yes. Serious? Never!

"I would also like to add that ‘Maoist Orange Cake is possibly the best name for a blog ever. Just my twopence." -- The Sixth Carnival of Radical Feminists, 1 October 2007


The Twelfth Carnival of Radical Feminists is up at The Burning Times blog and mentions one of our posts, Helen 'Wheels' Keller, for recommendation. Orangeists spreading our zest!

Saturday, May 5, 2007

VIVE CINCO DE MAYO -- by Maggie Jochild



Here's an interesting development: CBS News has had to turn off its comments section on its website connected to stories about Barack Obama because of the extremely ugly and persistent racist comments that get posted. They say the influx was simply too much for them to handle.

Two responses: Well, what do you expect when your radio programs include the likes of Rush Limbaugh, William Bennett and Don Imus? You can't foster hate without expecting it to proliferate.

And: I wonder if this is related to the Secret Service's decision to put Obama under their protection this week.

A copy of CBS's "Rules of Engagement" is below, for your consideration.

On the good news front, a piece of history I learned today: The Mexican victory in 1862 celebrated as Cinco de Mayo is what kept Spain from coming in on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Yet another reason to celebrate it! Have some mole chicken and green chili flautas on me!

CBS'S RULES OF ENGAGEMENT:
People who want to post comments on CBSNews.com are going to have to follow our rules. We know that not all forums are like that, but this one is.

There’s legal language nearby. Here's the plain English: no libel, slander, no lying, no fabricating, no swearing at all, no words that teenagers use a lot that some people think aren't swearing but we do, no insulting groups or individuals, no ethnic slurs and/or epithets, no religious bigotry, no threats of any kind, no bathroom humor, no comparing anyone to Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot. We expect heated, robust debate, but comments should be polite and civil. We consider this to be public space so behave and write accordingly.

Yes, what is not allowable is subjective. CBSNews.com absolutely reserve the right to remove posts we think break any of the rules or the spirit of the rules and we reserve the right to ban individuals from commenting. We will use language filtering programs to block certain words and we will use human editing too. .... We require everyone who comments to register and provide a real e-mail address. No exceptions. And posting comments is not the same thing as complaining to CBS News or notifying CBS News of a problem – legally, there’s a big difference.

1 comment:

shadocat said...

I love that picture.

I have been told by some Latino friends that "Cinco De Mayo" is not the big deal in Mexico that it is here. Here, it has become more of an ethnic holiday for people to celebrate their heritage and their homeland, while in Mexico, it's more of a historical thing...sort of like St. Patrick's Day is for Irish-Americans, I imagine.

Regarding Barak Obama: just when I think this country has finally grown a little, I am once again proved wrong. Did CBS News.com have a comment section for Hilary Clinton too,I wonder? Because I'm sure she's getting her share of heinous remarks as well...