>why are we obligated to debate it among ourselves?

First, I think it's important to cultivate critical thinking skills and be able to independently weigh the credibility of articles, authors, and sources linked here, rather than relying on others to do it. I think discussing the credibility of a given source in the comments is far better than sources being blacklisted outright.

Second, blacklisting is how you end up with echo chambers. I'd much rather be able to know what folks who read GoLocalProv uncritically are thinking and talking about than only see links that adhere to a particular point of view or ideology.

Third, the mods are never going to blacklist GoLocalProv. Or any other news source. I guarantee it. There aren't going to be any changes made to the way news and articles are posted here, at least not as a result of this discussion.