Sweethearts Candy Blog's

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was banned from commenting at David Horowitz's Newsreal site, not by Horowitz, but by one of his foot soldiers, one David Swindle, former liberal and Obama supporter.  Swindle was upset with me for my criticisms of him and one of his columnists, due to an unfair article impugning the integrity of Robert Stacy McCain.  We had a vigorous debate on Newsreal, and at the time I opined that neither Swindle nor his columnist (a "pagan conservative") were fit to represent Newsreal.  I still stand by that opinion.

Swindle disingenuously claims that he banned me for "being uncivil," this after his columnist insulted McCain, then his readers and me personally, likening us to the mindless followers of Charles Johnson at Little Green Footballs.  Pagan stated that I was the "Kilgore Trout" of McCain, using insult rather than facts or logic to justify his hit piece on McCain.  Who was being uncivil to whom?

I sent a complaint to David Horowitz via a comment form at his major website, telling him that I was disappointed in David Swindle, with a short summary of the facts (including the sliming of R.S. McCain), and Swindle's vengeance by banning me.  The next morning I received an email from Swindle stating that I would be given "a second chance" at commenting, but if I were again uncivil (that is, by his subjective definition of the term), the ban would be reinstated.

I politely told David Swindle to shove it.  I will not be reading or commenting at Newsreal, as long as Swindle is involved with the site.  The reasons are these:

1.  Swindle is dishonest and in denial about his culpability in the dispute that he and his columnist created;
2.  I was not "uncivil" by any reasonable definition of the term, though I was probably not terribly polite after being called names by the columnist (e.g. "Kilgore Trout").
3.  Swindle banned me, not for "incivility," but for disagreeing with his position on the columnist's article and for opining that neither he nor the columnist should represent Newsreal, for the reason that they start ruinous blog wars with prominent pundits on the right, merely so they can posture as enlightened "liberal conservatives."
4.  My commenting at any of Horowitz's sites is more valuable to Horowitz than it is to me -- it is a way of supporting the site by offering informed commentary and opinion on the articles posted there.  By taking away my commenting rights, Swindle is merely removing a voice of support for David Horowitz.
5.  If commenting is a "privilege," then is my favorable reviews of Horowitz books at Amazon also a "privilege," or is it moral and strategic support of Horowitz and his operations?  And if it is the latter, who is hurt by taking it away, me or Horowitz?  The same analogy applies to my links and articles supporting Horowitz and my rebuttals of unfavorable book reviews and anti-Horowitz comments at various online forums.

Allowing people to comment is a necessary feature that proves people actually visit and read the site.  It is not the website that bestows favor on the commenters, but the opposite.  Comments are evidence of interest, visitors and support.  And that is why Swindle's myopic view is back asswards:  by arbitrarily suspending comments from Horowitz supporters who reasonably disagree on a particular article or position, he erodes the credibility of the site and destroys both reader loyalty and reader support.

In summary, my disagreement with David Swindle is not about commenting rights at Newsreal or any other site -- it is over Swindle's tactless immaturity and disrespect for other conservatives, his unwelcoming and inhospitable attitude at Newsreal, and his inability to admit his errors and to apologize for them.

Now I'm done.

David Swindle. Obama Supporter and Arbiter of Who Can Comment at Frontpagemag.com

David Swindle is an associate editor of David Horowitz's Frontpagemag.com.

Swindle and his socially liberal "pagan conservative" columnist/writer attacked prominent conservative blogger Robert Stacy McCain some months ago.  As I recall, Mr. Pagan took the side of some feminist in a disagreement with McCain.  Mr. Pagan totally misinterpreted McCain while stylishly posing as a socially liberal conservative.  Instead of apologizing for his error, Pagan launched a verbal counterattack, accusing me of being Stacy's "Kilgore Trout," a mindless minion of McCain.  When the heat got too much for Pagan to take, Swindle jumped in to rescue him.

I then engaged both the "pagan conservative" and David Swindle in debate at Frontpagemag.com.

I vigorously refuted both of them.  For making them look like the jackasses, Swindle banned me from commenting at Frontpagemag.com.  According to Swindle, pointing out the factual and logical errors in his screeds is the same as being "uncivil."  NOTE:  While refuting him at his own site, Swindle allowed all of my refutations and never complained that any of them were "uncivil" nor did he ever allege that I had broken any commenting rules.  He only banned me after the debate was concluded, without informing me or giving any reason for the ban.  The real reason for the ban is that David Swindle can't take the heat.  Disagree and be banned.  Sound familiar?

The really strange thing in all of this is why Horowitz hired Swindle, a recent liberal and Obama supporter, to be an editor of Frontpagemag.com -- and someone who would hire as columnist  a completely unknown "pagan" of little substance with nothing important to say.  Both of these individuals seemed to me to be fish out of water, illogically implanted in a conservative environment that neither seemed to fully support.  What was Horowitz thinking?

Conservatives who support David Horowitz and Frontpagemag.com should know that they will be censored by same for rebutting error at Frontpage.  Unfortunately, Horowitz has given too much power to a dubious "conservative" who is now behaving like Charles Johnson of "Little Green Footballs."

Note to David Horowitz:  Get your house in order or lose the support of many conservatives.

I still believe that David Horowitz is a hero, a great writer and thinker, a great man.  But I am deeply disappointed in his giving undue power to Swindle, who strikes me as immature, intellectually weak and suspect as to his true ideology.

I have sent my concerns about Swindle to David Horowitz through an intermediary.  It probably will do no good.  So be it.  There comes a time when people you thought were your friends and allies reveal themselves to be something else.  Perhaps some of my heroes have feet of clay after all.