Posted by Hemant Mehta in Cailin did some nice research and confirmed that Shelley is satire. How did she do this? Her post explains all.
She says:
For those of you who are still worried this site might be real, I just thought I should point out the archived webpage from May 13, 2006. Using the archive system at Internet Archive.org I was able to look up a page which once existed on STR but has since been removed. Isn’t the internet grand?
Click on the “look up the page” link, and then click on the link that says “May 13, 2006″ in the middle-right of the page. It’ll take you to a page (that no longer exists on the actual site) that states the following:
ShelleyTheRepublican.com is a satirical entertainment web site.
…
Shelley’s views are outrageous, offensive and wrong, but no more so than the right-wing pundits that saturate our media. The purpose of this website is to point out how utterly absurd these right-wing views are. The fact that you had a lingering doubt that she was “for real” meant that you too agree that Shelley’s opinions reflect what some Republicans actually believe.
…
If you don’t find it funny, we kindly ask you to leave. If you don’t want to leave, we beg you not to ruin the joke for others.
I promise not to ruin it. Everyone keep this a secret, ok?
[tags]Cailin, Shelley the Republican, Internet Archive, atheist, Christian[/tags]
Once again, I am right!
I believe that you are correct about Shelley the Republican… but is Tristan real?!? In the post, Shelley refers to that person as a “fool”?!?
Thank you for your research in debunking Shelley the Republican. I did some research on “Tristan” and seem to link him as a satirical writer that was recruited by the crew at STR. What about Billy Bob Neck? He must be a part of the satire “conspiracy”, too. This is all very intriguing and makes one wonder about all the people who posted on their sites sincerely supporting them and proclaiming them to be “right on”… pun intended.
Yeah, I kinda gathered that it was a satire site, sometime ago.
But mum’s the word, no?
I ran across “Shelley’s” site ten minutes ago and it took me this long to find out it’s BS. The views are too over the top and doesn’t pass the smell test. I don’t think it’ll be a secret very long. I’m unsure as to what point is being made here. It’s not difficult to take the extreme views of either side of the political spectrum and push them to the point of absurdity. I think it’s another sign of the unhealthy dichotomy that’s overtaken American politics these last few years.
[...] Shelley The Republican : The Freedom Blog Shelley the Republican Debunked [...]
Are you sure that “Debunked” is the right word here - at most you have “Exposed” or “Revealed” the STR crew for what they might be, but debunking this ‘aint.
Would you be debunking Stephen Colbert if you pointed out that he is a sitarist and not a real neocon talk-show host? I’m not comparing STR to Colbert, but the point remains that calling satire a satire is not debunking. It’s an act of revelation.
Assuming that STR is really a satire of the republican / theocratic world-view why does it even need to be exposed? I don’t understand your motives for what to me seems like ruining a perfectly good joke.
I agree that much of STR is moderately outrageous, however almost none of their articles are original ideas. They almost entirely get their material from things that have been done and said be genuine right-wingers. The goal of STR.com appears to be to highlight the absurdity of a particular group who unfortunately have a great deal of political power in the USA right now.
Regardless of whether you think what they do is funny, please answer why this is such a bad thing?
It’s not a satire at all. I hear stuff like that on Fox every nite.
when I googled shelley the republican, your blog was the third hit. To be honest, I found it a few days ago and sat on it before commenting here.
I hated those people over on STR. I am sure others do too. I have mixed emotions about finding this truth. STR was keeping me on my toes about politics and world issues. Yep, it was keeping me angry, but it was also keeping me aware of people’s opinions and how warped some people can become. You think they’re over the top? Not really; in the sense that they are saying outloud what the extreme right wingers are actually thinking. While the site may be satire, the people commenting on there are real. It gives you a true cross section of views.
Would you consider deleting your post? It’s going to ruin a good thing for a lot of people. You said yourself that you weren’t going to ruin it. Mums the words, right? The people who need to know via your blog seem to have seen your post already. It’s ruined for me now. I would hate to see it go to hell because of one post on the web.
Be cool about this, would ya? It reminds me of the little kid with the birthday party magician who screams and yells about where the bunny was hidden before being pulled out of the hat. Ruins it for the others.
Those people who made the site are helping people THINK. That is a difficult task these days, agreed?
Otherwise, nice blog you have here.
Cheers- Techno
I am inclined to agree with Techno:
From what I can tell, the STR project is more about revealing the far-right agenda without it’s window-dressing and spin. I’ve heard it said that when fascism comes to America it will be draped in a flag and carrying a cross. STR provides us with a window into the minds of the people who will be cheering the jack-booted storm-troopers of the 1st American Empire as they march to re-claim America in the name of Jesus and the Bush family.
If you read what they write carefully, we can be pretty sure that the authors of STR mean the opposite of what they say. It’s kind of like Colbert or Landover but without the laughter-track (or other genre-markers of satire) that tells you to that it’s okay to feel comfortable about what they are saying.
STR’s writers do NOT want you to be comfortable. Fascism is not cozy and fun. STR’s writers clearly believe that their country has been taken over by right-wingers and theocrats. And that is why they have taken great efforts to make you feel un-nerved by this situation.
So do me a favor - please do not try and ‘debunk’ this. There is no bunk here other than the crap various western governments are selling to their citizens. You’ve exposed somebody’s project, but is this really a good thing? If anybody REALLY wants to know they too can search archive.org just like you did.
Thanks
Techno, Randi– Considering it’s been several months since this happened… I’m not sure what the effect of deleting the post now would be. The Google hit for “Shelley the Republican” right below mine is another person who cites it as satire.
It is…? Then I probably shouldn’t say the Onion is fake, either. If someone wants to find out about Shelley for themselves, you’re right, they can find it. But why not just save them the hassle? If the site is actually good satire, saying it is such a thing won’t ruin them.
I’m not sure what deleting a post will accomplish unless I was wrong about the information. In this case, it’s accurate.
It is…? Then I probably shouldn’t say the Onion is fake, either. If someone wants to find out about Shelley for themselves, you’re right, they can find it. But why not just save them the hassle? If the site is actually good satire, saying it is such a thing won’t ruin them.
That’s a really bad analogy.
Pointing out that the onion is intended as comedy would be utterly redundant. They go to great lengths to make their intent abundantly clear to all of their readers.
The humor of STR comes from the fact that what they do is superficially very disturbing. The fun of STR comes from the realization that it’s sort of a joke, but at the same time deadly serious.
The “hassle” you are saving readers is the awful burden of thinking for themselves.
Like I said in my original response - you say that you are “debunking” STR, but what you are really doing is spoiling a joke. It’s like going to a stand-up gig and attempting to explain the commedian’s humor to the rest of the audience. In this case it is redundant and slightly annoying!
I’m sure Jonathan Swift intended for everyone to run around saying “It’s a joke, it’s a joke!”
Since you’re mature enough to copy/paste comments from your blog to other blogs, I’ll return the favor.
On a different note - do you actively search for these sites or is it just a happy coincidence?
Newton -
Who is copying and pasting who? Thanks for visiting the Fish. How did you find our site, or was it just a happy coincidence?
Newton -
Who is copying and pasting who? Thanks for visiting the Fish. How did you find our site, or was it just a happy coincidence?
Folks,
you should spend less time thinking about if I am real or not. Better work on making your personal reality count.
As for my website: It is real. I am real. My family is real. Tristan and Sam are real and Barbara and Mr. Billy Bob Neck certainly is also real.
The ‘disclaimer text’ you have found in some archive is an attempt to undermine our credibility but it is NOT working. We are real and we are real important for many of our readers that rely on us as an important news source. We are not only as real as it gets we are also growing rapidly and we are not going away any time soon, so better get used to us.
God bless America,
Shelley N. Goodman
By the way, is the “Friendly Atheist” a person of color? Are you the guy in the header image?
^ That’s priceless!!! LoL
[...] Mas, e vamos manter isto segredo para ter piada, o blog Shelly The Republican é naturalmente uma sátira com uma dose gigantesca de humor. A ideia é criticar a direita americana, nomeadamente os republicanos. [...]
the fact that this post exists - that progressives had to undertake a serious investigation until they found some string of text which explained the joke to them in baby words - is the real punchline.
but it’s hard to laugh. it’s not pathetic. pathos is what you feel for someone who is dedicated to harming themselves. look at a thread from the site in question:
http://www.shelleytherepublican.com/2006/08/26/athiest-troublemakers-not-ok-in-ok.aspx#comment-88201
what’s there? if it were only the post itself, it would just be satire, but following it are nearly 100 comments from credulous progressives who are not only ready to believe, but eager to hate. and that’s what they do. like a hundred julias, screeching, “B B, B B,..!”
one sees this under every “satire” blog. here’s another example:
15yrs4bush(dot)blogspot(dot)com/2004/07/oh-my-god-today-i-saw-sumthing-my-dad(dot)html
despite everything, i don’t resent progressives enough to believe they’re as stupid as they present themselves in these situations. what it is, is much scarier. what it is, is they hate us. they shake our hands, they hang out with us after work, they bring the misdelivered mail by, come in, have a beer, all the regular stuff you’d anticipate of friends and family. but the whole time they are prepossessed with a roiling hind-brain hatred of everyone who doesn’t think exactly like they do.
all satire is on some level strawman. progressives’ satire of non-progressives is effigy. these ostensibly imbecilic people lashing out at clearly fake bloggers are neither completely oblivious nor are they playing along. they are entranced in a sort of fey state, hating the “other” without limit in an arena preparedfor it. a padded room for them to have their psychotic breaks from the tension between their demand for social community and their utter innability to cope with the human tendency towards individualism.
It’s a clever idea, but it actually sounds too much like something some real people that I know actually do believe. But I guess that’s the point. I do remember that there were people who actually thought that a group called ‘Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide’ was actually being serious. If the readers can be such idiots, then there’s always such a risk for it to apply to bloggers as well.
Thank you for documenting this! I saw with my own eyes the satire disclaimer on the STR Terms & Conditions under paragraph 4 a long time ago, but they have been bold enough to remove this section.
Thank God that the world is now safe and that someone’s outrage has yet again been blunted. Kristin, I hope you can sleep soundly again and enjoy your Tivo’d episodes of American Idol.
What a service you’ve provided, Hermant! No longer does anyone have to feel as stupid as you did or have to figure anything out for themselves. God forbid anyone think something different than what you believe to be true.
This post elevates you to the position of dispenser of wisdom…much like a God.
Someone actually thought she was real? Are you fucking kidding me?
ahaha oh wow… found the website today. responded to a few posts, and then realized that it was totally irrational. i actually posted on there that i thought it must be a joke, and would look for a disclaimer somewhere. couldnt find one at all. i was so shocked that i honestly reported it to the fbi. i guess the typical psychotic christian fundamentalist american isn’t AS psychotic as i thought they were.
eh, worst come to worst, some bored FBI investigator will get a few minutes of entertainment.
Hmm…. it’s clear that I’m an idiot… I sought confirmation that this ‘joke’ was in fact a joke. Apparently, accepting knowledge from anyone relegates me to sheep status
Nick, you’re not the only idiot. I found this site last night, and I spent most of this evening going through it trying to decipher whether or not it was a parody. Until I read this board I was honestly convinced it was real, just based on the sheer amount of content and external links the site had.
As to whether or not the joke is ruined by people letting everyone know that it’s a joke, I don’t think that it actually matters. The mere fact that everyone who posted here seems to have come in search wondering about it seems to be the real crux of the biscuit. The brilliance of Shelley the Republican is that it simultaneously makes fun of the religious right by taking it to an absurd extreme, but uses enough of their actual viewpoints and external links to their actual websites to cause one to question whether or not it’s real in the first place.
The mere fact that this site caused me to actually wonder whether or not the religious right could actually go this far gives me cause to contemplate how far they might actually go, and I think that ultimately, that was the point.
Can anyone tell me though if this site really is fake or not, i can’t seem to find the pate on the wayback machine to verify.
The reason why I ask is that this site is so deeply disturbing. I consider myself a Jesus freak, but a true one, not a unjustified bigot.
It’s sad how harmful a site like this truly can be. There are enough bad christians out there that act, well, unchristian like. My girlfriend in slovakia lives in a country that is ruled by a corrupt catholic government, who tell her that she and her mom are filth because her husband cheated on her mom and they got divorced (in the bible, Jesus does say that either death or marital unfaithfulness are means of acceptable divorce, although jesus still doesn’t like hte idea of divorce over forgiveness). There are lots of horrible people who twist what God is really trying to portray. That’s why it’s so hard to determine if StR is real or not.
God wants all to be saved, God hates Sin, not the Sinner, nor is any sin greater than the other, all are equally damning, but that’s why God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins.
Honestly, christians who really do follow the bible are not evil, or hateful. I do my best to serve the lord and my community, help those in need, love and forgive those who have wronged me (i’m not perfect, but i try to always forgive). I’m far from sin free, but if i was then i wouldn’t need to be a christian.
Christians may have different viewpoints on some issues, and yes they do clash here and there, but in no way are true christians as horrid as that.
I plead with you all, whether StR is a satire or not, that’s not what the bible teaches, that’s not what a christian is…
How is Hemant’s site disturbing? Can’t be all that disturbing, because he has Christian ministers, Christian in general actually, who post here all the time and they don’t act like you about it. They aren’t distrubed by Hemant’s site.
It’s not like we are all a bunch of sex freaks you know.
disturbing as in that someone could twist the bible so horridly from Jesus’ “Good News” to a letter of “death to all who appose”
Not sexual disturbing.
As i said, the site has tons of anti-biblical viewpoints on biblical things. Like the “Adopt-a-liberal” saying someone has a certain percent of going to heaven if they repent. If they truly repent, they have a 100% chance of going to heaven, not 50 or 45%. Nor does God hate the sinners. He hates sins, but wants us to repent and come back to him. Only one a couple occasions where an apposing army was setting out to obliterate the Israelites did God command his men to fight and kill. Otherwise Jesus calls all of us to make disciples of the nations. Jesus went and ate with the sinners, saved the prostitute Mary Mandolin, and turned the savage Saul who was persecuting christians into a christian himself.
If this site is a parody, i admit there are some falsely extremeists out there that haven’t fully researched and understood the true meaning of scriptures, and take things out of context. The bible cannot contradict itself. If it says one thing, and hints at another, i’ve always found the real solution that satisfies both. And that is the true solution, the true answer.
So just disturbing that ‘christians’ can act so unlike Christ. If they would read the 4 gospels alone, and ask “what would Jesus do” they would find what they are doing to be inappropriate in a lot of cases.
Trevor, it was a joke.
However, if you want to get into a Biblical debate, the Bible can and does contradict itself.
He also said, “I come not to bring peace, but a sword.” BTW, Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute. She was a rich widow who supported his ministry. The idea that she was a prostitute is a misconception. The woman who had demons removed never had a name. It was only assumed she was Mary, but she was not. Saul, AKA Paul after his conversion, never met Jesus. He even says so in one of his Epistles.
Now in the OT, he not only had the Israelites kill a whole city, but he had Jeptha kill his only daughter, there is a rule that children who disobey are taken to the edge of the city and stoned to death- however, JC did save an adultress from being stoned by saying, “He who is without sin cast the first stone”. They dropped their rocks and left. BTW, all of those are just stories and even a Jew will tell you that.
Now, would you like to take time out to look all this up in your Bible and/or ask your minister? Or would you like me to continue? The Gospels will be a lot of fun to go at next- like in Matthew you find one geneology and in Luke a completely different one. OH NO! It states quite plainly they are BOTH Joseph’s geneologies. Not only that, but it can’t not possibly be a literal story because what man in his right man would take an 8 to 9 month pregnant woman on such a trip with heat, rough terrian, and robbers. Not enough? Well they did NOT have to travel for the censensus anymore than we do. They stayed right where they were just as we do. In Isaiah 7:14 the Hebrew word is almah meaning young maiden. Mary was not a virgin, but a young woman. It was screwed with the Greek translation from Hebrew and Isaiah was never a prophecy- he was talking about HIS son. The Pagan Virgin Birth story (yes, JC birth story came from paganism) is just a story.
I can go on and on, but I’ll leave with that for now.
maybe i’m reading this wrong, but seemed to me Trevor Fayas was actually slating the StR site, not this one…?
Oh. Maybe if and when he returns he’ll clarify what he’s saying. If I was wrong, I’m sorry.
if slating means going against StR, that’s what i meant.
No harm, i didn’t know you thought i was distraught over this board.
You would think that being a christian i would support StR, but true christians really shouldn’t, since it’s not what Jesus represents. If it is a satire, they really bashed Jesus into the ground. The Jesus of the bible, that i try to follow, is the one who goes and talks to the sinners, the one who saves the prostitute Mary Magellan from being stoned, the one who calls all to repent and hear the GOOD news, the one who died so my sins can be payed for, and the one while hanging on the cross, cried out ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’
Jesus and God aren’t about hate. The only thing they hate is Sin, not the sinner. Even Saul who persecuted christians, God called out to him and lead him away from his persecution, and Saul became one of the greater Christians and disciples.
I know most of you on here probably aren’t christians, but when you get to know the real Jesus, when someone slanders his name it’s just as bad as if someone slander’s your parent or your child or best friend. Calling a loving person revengeful, a forgiving God not.
Oh, and i missed the thing above.
The not peace but the sword is meant in a metaphorical sense. He isn’t there to baby the nation but to change it around. He stirred up things at the temple when he saw the corruption, defied the pharasies, and said that you need to repent. He did not do it in a way though that shown any hatred, but instead of bringing Good news that people could repent and be saved.
I’m sorry if i was wrong on the prostitute, but eitherway the men were going to stone her for some sin, and Jesus stepped in and defended her, showing the men (in theory, it just said Jesus started to write in the sand, but most think he was writing the sins of the men) their own sins.
And not in physical person did Saul meet jesus, but when he was traveling the light and Jesus spoke to him. Then he went blind until he was taken to the right place and sight was restored and his errors were seen.
The old testemant had a lot of odd laws in it, mainly becuase at the time there was only animal sacrifices to try to take away the sin, and the people were unruly and disobediant. When Jesus came, he finally undid the old laws and restored the new ones (10 commandments minus the saboth holy, since the pharisees were using it as a means to throw people in jail) I would love to go over some of the things you found and try to figure them out with you, i may need help but i’m always open. My email is trevorfayas@sonicandpals.com, i would like to go through each thing you have found one at a time so i can properly research them and find the truth. Last time i did it only seemed to further my faith as i discovered new things about the Bible. Just be aware it may be a slow process, i run 3 businesses, collage student, and a web comic author, so i get about 5 hours of sleep a night and it’s hard to fit research time in, but i always put it at a good priority. I’m better at NT instead of OT but i’m sure i can find help at church with one of the elders. Only another opportunity to learn more.
Animals and humans. Yes, and theophagy came back into style, esp once Rome was in control. It was quite common in those days to sacrifice animals and humans, then eat their bodies and drink their blood to injest the god(s).
Again paganism, but it is called theophagy.
Hopefully I taught you a new word if nothing else.
lol, i’m remember that word when i’m next eating a sacrificed animal at hardees
Mmmmm, thick burger :3
But i am interested in going through your concerns with the bible. I’m not sure about you, but i’m interested in the truth, and work hard to find it. Email me if you want to, although like i said, it may be a slow process
Hard to find time to do research when u barely get 5 hours of sleep a night as it is, but i may be able to provide at least somewhat adequate answers to explain some of the things using the bible. Often times what seem like ‘contradictions’ aren’t, but takes some digging and deeper understandings (taking the situation as a whole instead of a single verse)
No thank you. I am very content to study the Bible with the scholars I know well and they themselves have been published. When you get to the ranks of those like John Shelby Spong and Robert Price, we’ll talk.
Okay, I’ll keep myself busy than. I’m thinking of opening up the option to my fans to send in questions about the bible so i can investigate them, one way to learn more is to find questions to answer.
ahaha i just thought i would point the cheap laugh I had on Trevor Faya’s behalf:
college student = person who studies in an academic institution
collage student = someone learning to cut pictures and glue them together
meh, that’s what you get when you run on 5 hours of sleep
Ugh, I messed up the link and someow cannot edit my previous comment. Could you please delete it, Hemant? This is how it should go:
Trevor:
Er, since October 2006 Slovakia has been ruled by a corrupt socialist government, and before that we had a corrupt right-wing government.
Your gf probably speaks of the Christian Democratic Movement, a minor conservative “values-oriented” party with Catholic agenda (a.k.a. Catholic Taliban). It would certainly fit their profile. Although the country is 70% Catholic, they (luckily) regularly get only about 10% of the vote. They were a minority party in a previous government. As much as I dislike the current government, at least those bigots are not part of it anymore.
Sorry for the rant, I just wanted to set things straight. Even if us atheists are in minority here, we do not usually vote for those idiots.
(Why is it that we Slovaks always get this bad rap? As if the movies Eurotrip and Hostel weren’t bad enough
)
BTW Hemant, great site! I’ve been a regular reader for about a year now. Keep up the good work.
Eitherway, the catholics have a big sway in things. At church they go so far as to tell people who to vote for. And they get a bad rep cuz’ they 1: enable the further declination of their gypsies by giving them cash to support children, so their society is taught “have tons of kids, get cash, who cares if you use it on the kids or on booze” It’s quite sad. and 2: the govenrment does nothing to help uphold their own laws. Kristy’s dad owes tons of child support, but the judge won’t do anything about it, beleives the lies that the dad doesnt’ have a house or can’t afford it (even though he is working and obviously must live somewhere). Just not a good place.
Jan,
Just as the Religious Reich needs to get their hands out of the political cookie jar here in the States, I also think no country should be ran by any religious authority. When religion is involved in politics, bad things happen to good people. Bad things in general happen.
The forefathers of the U.S., though not very religious themselves, had the right idea with a Godless constitution and it not only needs to stay that way, I think it should be that way everywhere.
Mriana:
Agreed. Last time we had a religious (Catholic) government (1939-45), things got really unpleasant here (deportation of Jews to Nazi Germany, that sort of things). Sadly, there are people who look fondly back at those times, Archbishop Sokol among them.
Trevor:
Well, yes, they try that. As their preferred party seldom gets over 10% of the votes, I would not say that they are very successful.
As to your other points, you are, sadly, right. But it’s not the case of government giving money specifically to Roma people, rather it’s a result of generous child benefit laws in general. There’s no easy way to do something about it that wouldn’t be discriminatory. There’s been some effort to severely reduce the benefits for another child if the family already has 3 children, bud it didn’t get the popular support. And yes, law enforcement is rather weak here, it can take up to two years since the filing until the case gets to the court.
I agree and disagree though. I think that there should be elements of christianity in government, but true christianity, not the hypocrytical crap that is thrown around. If Jesus ran for office, i couldn’t think of someone who is more concerned about humanity, more willing to help others, but also someone who is willing to lay down the law and not baby us by letting us do whatever we want if it’s going to harm us. Sadly, like most ideas revolving around an ethical politician or society, it’s unrealistic in this world lol.
Even if you don’t take Jesus as the son of God, you have to admit, he was a great humanist at the very least. I don’t think anyone can say that Jesus was a mean or nasty person
The Pokemon one was still painful to read… despite how hilarious the last half of it was.
I do understand how Poe’s Law makes it difficult to tell satirical parody from legit right-wing idiot websites; but I think it seriously undermines our collective (openly Atheist & fairly obvious satirical parodies) efforts to expose the radical right for what it is. Why is it that it is always allied websites - like friendlyatheist - that go out of their way to undermine our efforts to confront real bigots with the logical conclusions of their psycho beliefs systems? I mean like, WTF?
Most people that go into the satirical side of the web either:
a) pick up on it right away and argue (which is fine as it keeps the discussion lively)
b) pick up on it right away and choose to play along (which is fine, the more the merrier)
c) don’t get it at all and argue (which is fine as it reaffirms these people’s belief that the radical right should be opposed), or;
d) don’t get it at all and agree (which is again fine because then we push them into the logical results of their beliefs and make them realize how f&*k#& up their views are if taken to their logical conclusion)
So what is it with you folks deliberately undermining our complimentary efforts? Com’on, chill out. Damn. The idea is to undermine that radical right that has held sway in this country for at least the last seven years (or if you’re a radical like me, since FDR left office). If the right-wingers care, let them expose us as satire, not folks in the same camp.
Shelley is real, not a fake person. I had a phone affair with her for about three months in 2005. Those are actually her views. She is a conservative Texan. I am sure she posted that it was a satire so all of you peaceful liberals wouldn’t kill her and her family
Mr. Wizard