Robert Farley at Lawyers, Guns and Money asks, “Who is America’s worst blogger?”
My vote: Kim du Toit. Best known as the author of the infamous “The Pussification of the Western Male” (well-skewered by the Philosoraptor in “The duToitification of the Western Conservative”. I love the description of du Toit as “a Neanderthal crybaby”). He’s the guy who disgraced himself on the first anniversary of 9/11 with this vile essay, “Traitors Within Our Walls“, in which he throws around accusations of treason like Rip Taylor with confetti:
4. We find the manifestation of traitors in those who espouse causes other than (small “r”) republican ones: those who call themselves “progressives”, “socialists”, “communitarians”, “populists”, “globalists” and so on.
Then there’s “Let Africa Sink”:
So here’s my solution for the African fiasco: a high wall around the whole continent, all the guns and bombs in the world for everyone inside, and at the end, the last one alive should do us all a favor and kill himself.
He combines the quiet reasonableness of an Ann Coulter with the eliminationist rhetoric of Dave Neiwert’s worst nightmares. du Toit was a finalist in “The Vicious Instapundit Blogroll Contest” for this post giggling at the bruises of war protestors. I could go on and on. As I write this, his most recent post sighs that there may be a Democrat in the White House, due to Bush’s immigration policy. Shooting enthusiast du Toit concludes:
Just what we needed: Clintons in the White House, Part II. Oh, joy.
Range time.
“But who reads Kim Du Toit?” According to BlogAds, more people read Kim Du Toit than Andrew Sullivan or Hugh Hewitt. More people read Kim Du Toit than Tim Blair and Matthew Yglesias combined. There’s a big audience for this stuff.
{ 108 comments }
buzz 03.25.05 at 10:25 am
Hmm. Okay, but what criteria are you using for judging the quality of blogging? I mean, clearly the positions du Toit advocates are beyond the pale, in terms of–oh, let’s say basic humanity. But does he do a bad job of blogging or a bad job of imitating a human being?
apostropher 03.25.05 at 10:27 am
Kim Du Toit is pretty bad, but let’s be realistic: nobody really tops this clown.
Scott 03.25.05 at 10:39 am
My vote goes to Perry de Havilland, for his distrust of govt telling _him_ what to do combined with his trust of the US and UK govts telling Iraq what to do, and his opposition to Big Govt initiatives combined with his rabid support for the war in Iraq – the biggest govt initiative in some time. His distrust of all govt claims outside of claims of success in Iraq (which he takes at face value) is a pain to read, as is his refusal to accept responsibility for any negative results of the war he demanded and agitated for.
He’s just a military socialist. He supports govt every bit as much as any economic socialist, just as long as they’re blowing sh-t up. That looks cool on CNN.
Ted 03.25.05 at 10:45 am
True, but he doesn’t have an audience like du Toit. (Does he?) (re: Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler)
Fritz 03.25.05 at 10:52 am
Oh don’t be ridiculous! He doesn’t represent real conservatives in this country. No-one I know takes him seriously. Typical paranoid leftist kerfluffle!
Fritz 03.25.05 at 10:54 am
Dang! Post didn’t include my sarcasm indicators.
cloquet 03.25.05 at 11:13 am
I thought Kim du Toit was a French woman too.
Maybe it’s time for us to sit back and let the Warrior Class men and women take care of things for awhile.
Dan Simon 03.25.05 at 11:18 am
This is ridiculous. I am America’s worst blogger, by a longshot. Sporadic posting, turgid prose, incoherent opinions–we’ve got it all. Check it out!
jlw 03.25.05 at 11:29 am
Hey, maybe we could have a double feature:
“Irma la Douce” and “Kim du Toit”
Being so close to Shirley MacLaine ought to send Mr. du Toit into an entertaining fit.
Jim 03.25.05 at 11:46 am
Well with Steven den Beste driven out the blogdom the field is now open. If worstness is multiplied by prominence, then The Master of Evasiveness, Instapundit, is a fun target because his real contributions are so negligable (indeed) – Then there’s the Roger L Simon/LGF likkudite haters. And how about that wingnut bozo writing from his parents’ basement in Canada? Forgot his name (Japanese name I think).
C. Schuyler 03.25.05 at 11:51 am
Some of the choices here are pretty vile. Others (Mickey Kaus for heaven’s sake?) just show that for plenty on the left as on the right, “bad” means “someone I disagree with.”
As annoying as Kaus’s liberal-hating liberal schtick could be for progressives, esp. during the Presidential campaign when a liberal victory was a matter of real urgency, I’ll venture to say that when he told us he couldn’t stand Kerry, he unfortunately had a point.
Fergal 03.25.05 at 12:18 pm
I’ve long since adopted a “Likud” variation of Godwin’s Law whereby any gratuitous invocation of the Israeli political party (“likkudite haters”?) automatically nullifies a blog comment in which it appears.
washerdreyer 03.25.05 at 12:35 pm
I think the majority of the nominations over at Lawyers, Guns and Money are way off. Jeff Jarvis, Andrew Sullivan, kaus and even Reynolds aren’t as bad, and most aren’t that close, to du Toit, Powerline, LGF, Michelle Malkin, or Adam Yoshida.
freddie 03.25.05 at 12:37 pm
…qand more people read People Magazine than The New York Review of Books.
Thad 03.25.05 at 12:38 pm
True, but he doesn’t have an audience like du Toit. (Does he?) (re: Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler)
Mischa has the Offical Glenn Reynolds Seal of Approval. He’s not as popular as DuToit but he’s more popular than the following:
Ezra Klein
Michael J. Totten
Fafblog
Mark Kleiman
Catch.com
The Panda’s Thumb
Tacitus
Francis 03.25.05 at 12:40 pm
I’ll second the nomination for Powerline — unreadable dreck from lawyers who really should know better.
Katherine 03.25.05 at 12:56 pm
Gotta be Powerline.
Phillip J. Birmingham 03.25.05 at 1:19 pm
I imagine much of his anger springs from a life spent constantly being mistaken for a French woman.
I’d imagine much more of it springs from having his name mispronounced “Kim the Twat.”
Mary Kay 03.25.05 at 1:32 pm
Nah, it’s easy on reading his stuff to tell what he is and what motivates him and like that. Personally, I can’t stomach InstaPundit who pretends to be the soul of reason and is intellectually dishonest, both with himself and with his readers.
MKK
Andrew McManama-Smith 03.25.05 at 1:32 pm
I know few people read it, but have you ever seen my blog? It’s really , really bad. And I live in Seattle so I think I count.
dipnut 03.25.05 at 1:32 pm
You know what pisses me off about Kim du Toit? The tacit endorsement of frangible or pre-fragmented ammunition, like the Glaser safety slug. That stuff doesn’t work. He’s also a big fan of the Hydra-Shok, which is really just a cheap gimmick. I mean, whatever, Hydras basically work, but they’re nothing special.
I was only able to adjust his attitude slightly. It used to be that he would explicitly recommend Glasers. It took considerable effort, but I managed to get him to shut up about the Glasers and give proper consideration to a well-engineered jacketed hollow-point such as the Speer Gold Dot.
Thing is, his commenters still talk about frangible ammunition, and he hardly ever sets them straight. Nothing short of willful ignorance can explain it. Anyone who is willing to spend top dollar for ammunition should be steered directly to the Cor-Bon PowRBall.
Ted 03.25.05 at 1:42 pm
You and me both, Dipnut.
Scott Lemieux 03.25.05 at 1:49 pm
“I think the majority of the nominations over at Lawyers, Guns and Money are way off. Jeff Jarvis, Andrew Sullivan, kaus and even Reynolds aren’t as bad, and most aren’t that close, to du Toit, Powerline, LGF, Michelle Malkin, or Adam Yoshida.”
But, again, it depends on the crietria (which isn’t to say that yours are wrong, just that there’s more than one way to look at it.) Ideologically, it’s true that Kaus and Jarvis are more palatable that the Powerlines of the world. In terms of the formal quality of the blog, however, Kaus is just horrendous. At least Powerline don’t have imaginary editors, and at least they have no pretense about being Republican hacks.
dipnut 03.25.05 at 1:58 pm
Sullivan. Ugh.
It’s amazing that a person can masturbate so much and never get to know himself.
Andrew Bartlett 03.25.05 at 2:08 pm
Of course, Kim du Toit (and the Anti-Idiotarians and LGF) has that ‘hey, look at this utter shit’ factor, where a link to ‘The Pussification…’ gets e-mailed out to huge groups of people who will nearly puke when they realise that there are people out there who fantasise about killing all Africans and yet still hold down a job and have a family.
Yusuf Smith 03.25.05 at 2:11 pm
He’s the guy who disgraced himself on the first anniversary of 9/11 with this vile essay, “Traitors Within Our Walls“
I just looked at it and the essay is dated 29th May, 2002. Whatever anniversary that is, it’s not 9/11.
Daniel 03.25.05 at 2:11 pm
I’ve noticed over the years that the presence of an advert for the fitness and self defence videos of “Matt Furey”, a slightly pudgy bald man with a website covered in exclamation marks, is an absolutely infallible indicator of a website published by an idiot. I think that Google must have some special code that recognises wingers and morons and inserts adverts for Furey’s products.
dipnut 03.25.05 at 2:17 pm
That’s funny, I’m not running Furey’s ad, but I did post a several-hundred-word unsolicited endorsement of his book, with a picture of the ad.
I’m a sucker, I guess. But I’m a much stronger, more elastic sucker than I used to be.
Ted 03.25.05 at 2:25 pm
Yusuf,
I noticed that, but I believe that either the date is wrong, or he reposted it on 9/11/02. I say this because I distinctly remember finding it after following a link roundup on that day. I could be wrong; I often am.
dipnut 03.25.05 at 2:33 pm
“…people out there who fantasise about killing all Africans…”
Um, Kim du Toit is an African. With regard to Let Africa Sink, he had this to say:
The quote Ted chose gives a poor indication of the spirit of the original essay, for that matter. Context, people.
Uncle Kvetch 03.25.05 at 2:36 pm
My vote goes to Perry de Havilland, for his distrust of govt telling him what to do combined with his trust of the US and UK govts telling Iraq what to do, and his opposition to Big Govt initiatives combined with his rabid support for the war in Iraq – the biggest govt initiative in some time.
And how does this distinguish him from about 500 other “libertarian” hawks out there in the blogosphere?
Personally, I’d have to vote Andrew Sullivan, because I think he actually outdoes Instapundit in terms of “pretend[ing] to be the soul of reason and [being] intellectually dishonest, both with himself and with his readers” (as Mary Kay put it).
Kaus would be a close second, because his writing and presentation are just so godawful.
dipnut 03.25.05 at 2:46 pm
“I’d have to vote Andrew Sullivan, because…he pretends to be the soul of reason and is intellectually dishonest, both with himself and with his readers…”
Kvetch, we agree. Make a note of it.
Scott 03.25.05 at 3:40 pm
And how does this distinguish him from about 500 other “libertarian†hawks out there in the blogosphere?
Because he believes he will single handedly bring the UK to it’s knees by leaving in protest over their new national id cards:
I shall try to be out of Britain and have my primary residence in the USA by 2007 at the latest to avoid being forced to submit to this intolerable imposition… and I shall be taking my wealth generating assets with me.
Which is a view of his own self-importance well above the average ‘libertarian’ war-hawk who thinks he, and he alone, knows when to trust govts he otherwise considers totally untrustworthy and only trusted by rubes.
Yusuf Smith 03.25.05 at 3:52 pm
Is Kim du Toit any relation to the du Toit who’s currently banged up in some African country (Equatorial Guinea or Zimbabwe) for helping out the failed coup in Equatorial Guinea?
Michigan 03.25.05 at 4:31 pm
My vote goes to Paul at Wizbang. The substance and style of a Usenet troll, but without the charm. A couple of recent nuggets (pay particular attention to his nuanced interaction with commenters):
http://wizbangblog.com/archives/005469.php
http://wizbangblog.com/archives/005482.php
rea 03.25.05 at 5:10 pm
“Um, Kim du Toit is an African”
Not only bore, but boer?
Uncle Kvetch 03.25.05 at 5:21 pm
Me: And how does this distinguish him from about 500 other “libertarian†hawks out there in the blogosphere?
Scott: Because he believes he will single handedly bring the UK to it’s knees by leaving in protest over their new national id cards
Me again: Oh. You have a point.
and I shall be taking my wealth generating assets with me
That was absolutely hilarious. I see what you mean, Scott.
Brian C.B. 03.25.05 at 7:18 pm
I tend to agree about Mickey Kaus. He doesn’t illustrate the banality of evil so much as he demonstrates the banality of lacking originality, freshness, or novelty.
backword dave 03.25.05 at 7:49 pm
I think we need a sharper definition of what a blogger is. I understood (possibly quite wrongly) that Kaye Grogan and Mickey Kaus were columnists who submitted their stuff for approval (and payment?) to editors. Andrew Sullivan lives by blogging (or he did); he’s responsible for the begging weeks and the adverts or whatever. So with Sullivan, what you see is what you get. There’s no one else pulling the strings or stopping him when he’s off-message.
Is this a fair definition? (I don’t know; that’s why I’m asking.)
Is it out of order to ask whether BlogAds is reliable? I get lots of referer spam which purports to come from various sites and various IP addresses. I’m sure that’s doable for BlogAds stats (ie spam the site with multiple IP address and agent strings). (This would be unethical, and I’m *not* interested.) There’s also the fact that Kos leads Reynolds. But for Reynolds, you only need the front page (ie one page view gives the whole thing), for Kos, the point *is* the comments, so clicking refresh matters. Sorry, those numbers don’t mean very much.
As for my choices, I think we should draw some lines here. Adam Yoshida is pretty young — he’s around 20, and he’s also crazy, as in delusional and paranoid. If we include kids and loons, the standard drops (or lifts) incredibly. Reading Kaye Grogan’s prose, I don’t think she could be executed in Texas, even if she murdered most of the Bush clan while high on gasoline fumes; her IQ is too low for moral responsibility. Reynolds, I reckon I could have a beer with the guy; he mentions his kids affectionately, and he was very concerned about his wife (unlike Lileks who uses family as grist; and there are nicknames which are not cute, but betray the namer as a patronising asshole: roll on the day when Gnat spits “I hate you all!” and disappears for Haight-Ashbury); Kim DuToit has issues, and a very unfortunate name: the worst has to be the dog guy. He can’t spell “God” (it’s three letters; and his species backwards); he’s anonymous, but happy to expose others and suggest violence against them; he’s an egotistical shithead; and there are other reasons, but I don’t want to keep you.
FMguru 03.25.05 at 7:55 pm
“He doesn’t illustrate the banality of evil so much as he demonstrates the banality of lacking originality, freshness, or novelty.”
What elevates Kaus above the pack is that he keeps barrelling forward regardless. The smug “Kausfiles Gets Results! [Ed. note: You mean again? *Yes, again*]” tone he clings to, even given his blogs’ disappearance from the greater conversation, nicely encapsulates the legend-in-his-own mind qualities of Kaus himself. In that, he reminds me a lot of that Onion entertainment columnist who repeats months-old showbiz news as hot-off-the-presses rumors (Flash! A little birdie just told me that uber-Hollywood power couple Jen and Brad’s marriage is on the skids! Say it ain’t so!)
Daniel 03.25.05 at 8:10 pm
dipnut: is there anything in the book that can’t be summarised in a “shorter” version as:
do loads of pressups
nick 03.25.05 at 9:58 pm
Um, Kim du Toit is an African.
Indeed he is. All the obnoxiousness of Eugene Terreblanche, and none of the good looks.
dipnut 03.26.05 at 12:02 am
“…is there anything in the book that can’t be summarised as: do loads of pressups”
Yes.
I’m not an expert on calisthenics through the ages, so I can’t judge the value of Furey’s contribution in that context. I strongly doubt he invented any of the exercises; he specifically says he did not invent the main ones. Can there really be anything new under the sun?
Whatever. I like the guy, I admire him, I bought his book, and I’m glad of it. Your mileage may vary.
Movie Guy 03.26.05 at 2:40 am
The original rules:
—-
Who is America’s worst blogger?
Some parameters:
1. Partisanship cannot, in itself, be evidence of bad blogging.
2. The blogger must be “major” as in commonly read and referrred to.
—-
My additional rules: Lying. Knowing that others know it, too. Continuing to lie thereafter. Polishing the lies up and serving as a slick liar, swaying public opinion.
Top of my list:
1. Club for Growth
http://www.clubforgrowth.org/blog/
2. Club for Growth – Social Security Choice
http://www.socialsecuritychoice.org/
3. Larry Kudlow – Kudlow’s Money Politic$
http://lkmp.blogspot.com/
Hands down.
Fergal 03.26.05 at 7:42 am
Yes, yes, I second your choice, Movie Guy. Nothing riles me as much as clubforgrowth.org (save instapundit during the election campaign). I’ve had to avoid it to keep my blood pressure in check.
bullhead 03.26.05 at 8:15 am
Back when I believed my social life required that I spend too much time at the local pubs (years n’ years ago) there was a pasty dipsomaniac nicknamed “tef” (he claimed he had a teflon plate in his head) who musta figured I was “OK” because he would regularly accost me (cheers! CLINK…) with really moronic political statements and racist drivel (oft-repeated boast: ‘I’m to the right of Genghis Khan’). Everybody knew he was a barely-employed, petty thief but he sold bags of weed and was thus tolerated (plus he could apparently play the lead guitar parts note for hanging note to any AC/DC song). I’d (try not to) listen to tef fulminate about pansies or the f*ing govt or women’s breasts and then it would be: “gotta run” or “f* off”. If I thought about him at all it was to wonder what psychological twist is making this depressing loser such a proud right-winger.
Now people like this have blogs.
Tim Lambert 03.26.05 at 8:27 pm
I vote for Paul from Wizbang.
George 03.27.05 at 12:44 am
I second the nomination of Paul from Wizbang. The guy has the maturity of a 3 year old.
Strange Dog 03.27.05 at 1:27 am
48 posts in and not one vote for Oliver Willis? Wow.
s9 03.27.05 at 2:20 am
I’m one of the commenters who got the high and hard from Paul@Wizbang! on those threads linked above. I’ve been sparring with him for a while. He’s a bad blogger, but please don’t increase his street cred by nominating him for this “award.”
I don’t agree with movie guy that you have give the nod to the knowing liars. The people who really deserve to be recognized are the Bullshitters— people for whom the difference between truth and untruth is irrelevant, or even worse: a counter-productive distinction. The Bullshitters, like Kim du Toit (good call!) are much more problematic than the Liars.
Paul@Wizbang is not really a liar. He’s a bullshitter. But he isn’t a very good one. Myself, I’d nominate Hindrocket@Powerline and the Instawingnut. And then only because I can’t really get away with nominating the entire editorial staff at The Weakly Standard.
PZ Myers 03.27.05 at 9:22 am
The problem here is that the meaning of “worst” is unclear. If it is rank incompetence at blogging, then yeah, Kaus is a champion (the first time I saw his site I was baffled about why anyone would link to that worthless drivel), and Wizbang is in the running. If it means someone who is actually competent at writing and organizing a weblog, but is peddling raw hate and stupidity, then sure, the usual right-wing extremists belong in there.
Powerline and Instapundit are in another category altogether, as sycophantic shills for Republican power.
raj 03.27.05 at 9:38 am
I read du Toit’s Pussification post, as well as a few others, and found them so silly that I concluded that his (its?) site was a spoof on the silly crap one finds on right wing, misogynistic, homophobic, (etc) web sites. Can anyone really confirm that the proprietor of the web site actually holds the views expressed in the posts?
I’ve stopped going there because the rants becomes boring after a while.
~DS~ 03.27.05 at 9:41 am
I’m torn between Paul at Wizbang and Hindrocket at Powerline. Hindrocket is definitely a pretentious blowhard, but my experience with Paul ranks right up there with having a boil lanced on my ass. It’s bad enough when someone rants incoherently and cusses out his readers for responding to the very post he wrote. But when they start rewriting your comments and signing your name to them, that wins the prize. [Dan Akroyd imitation] “Mmm mmm. That’s bad blogging!”
So I’ll have to go with Paul.
BumperStickerist 03.27.05 at 11:21 am
Atrios / Eschaton –
Duncan’s blog lacks that certain … quality, namely quality. Rewarmed MediaMatters topics – wankerfests – Kos Logrolling – all the charm of a pissed off economist who, jduging from his treatment of his doctoral topic on his blog, believes that all economists are like minded.
Plus the comment section there makes LGF’s look like the online version of the Algonquin Round Table.
____________________________________________
raj 03.27.05 at 1:18 pm
Missed this.
More people read Kim Du Toit than Tim Blair and Matthew Yglesias combined. There’s a big audience for this stuff.
Well, yeah. So what? Du Toit was silly.
And more people listen to Don Imus or Howard Stern than listen to NPR. BFD. Imus and Stern are silly. One might seriously ask how many people believe that what they hear on Imus or Stern has anything to do with reality Similarly, how many people who listen to NPR believe that what they hear there has anything to do with reality?
TigerHawk 03.27.05 at 1:20 pm
If you’re going to nominate Instapundit, you need to think about Atrios very carefully. Eschaton is as close as the left gets to its own “Instapundit” in style — they are both “linkers” more than they are essayists — scope and audience. If you think of the two as “comparables” and try to be objective on the politics, Reynolds is better. He blogs on a wider range of subjects, including many that are not partisan at all. He writes at least as well as Black, probably better, and there are manifestly fewer typographical and usage problems in his writing.
Me, I think they’re both pretty good. Of the big audience crowd, the most partisan and disingenuous, it seems to me, has to be Kos.
raj 03.27.05 at 5:15 pm
The obvious distinction between Atrios and Reynolds is that Atrios allows for comments but Reynolds (at least the last time I was there) did not. As far as I’m concerned, that is a significant distinction.
raj 03.27.05 at 5:17 pm
Oh, another difference between Atrios and Reynolds is that Reynolds is (as far as I’m concerned) advertising a law practice outside of his work for his university. I suspect the same for some of the Volokhians. Law school instructors often have side gigs. It is far from clear that Atrios is–or at least,until recently, was–doing similar advertising with his blog.
am 03.27.05 at 10:27 pm
If the metric is prominence divided by merit then the internet’s stupidest blogger, Oliver Willis, wins this one hands down.
Kim du Toit 03.28.05 at 1:28 pm
“I’d imagine much more of it springs from having his name mispronounced ‘Kim the Twat.'”
also:
“All the obnoxiousness of Eugene Terreblanche, and none of the good looks.”
Yeah, when all else fails, resort to playground name-calling and snide little ad hominem attacks.
No wonder you girlymen didn’t agree with the Pussification essay — you felt personally attacked.
What was really interesting about that essay was that I received easily five hundred emails from WOMEN, agreeing with everything I’d said.
And the only people who disagree with me about letting Africa sink are those who’ve never been to Africa for any length of time.
Nevertheless, considering the source, I’ll accept the title of “Worst Blogger” with humility and gratitude.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the range.
Magnus 03.28.05 at 2:00 pm
Kim du Toit is a patriot for many natural born Americans to look up to. He was born and raised in one of the most vile government regimes on the face of our planet during the 20th century, perhaps coming in just shy of the Hitler regime. He has been there. He has seen what happens when big government is given free reign and is unchallenged by empowered citizens.
Only a fool would write him off as a neanderthal. He speaks for many well-financed and well-educated American voters. And unlike most lefty bloggers, du Toit is quick to point out when the home team is being foolish (such as the cited critique of Bush’s absent immigration policy).
Vilmar 03.28.05 at 2:00 pm
If you think Kim’s site is bad, wait til you check out http://www.barking-moonbat.com
They got a mention on MSNBC advocating nude PETA members and bulls run together at Pamplona.
Kim du Toit 03.28.05 at 2:36 pm
Vilmar — have you no shame, man? Think of the poor bulls!
Lamont Cranston 03.28.05 at 2:42 pm
“Of course, Kim du Toit (and the Anti-Idiotarians and LGF) has that ‘hey, look at this utter shit’ factor, where a link to ‘The Pussification…’ gets e-mailed out to huge groups of people who will nearly puke when they realise that there are people out there who fantasise about killing all Africans and yet still hold down a job and have a family.”
This is patently false. Kim “fantasizes” about giving all Africans the guns and ammo to kill each other so that they will quit dragging down the rest of us. Handing someone a tool kit is a far cry from cleaning thier clock.
Read the essays before you indulge yourself in knee-jerk attacks.
Lamont
John Haberman 03.28.05 at 3:21 pm
Why is it that no one mentions that Kim du Toit spent time in a South African jail for protesting apartheid?
Mad Jack 03.28.05 at 3:26 pm
Du Toit is about as even-handed as a blog will get. Moreover, he never pretends to be something he isn’t or conceals an agenda. He’s well educated and well-read.
And his site has pictures of good looking broads with gats!
Mike 03.28.05 at 3:41 pm
If your going to pick the worst blog, you really should do it on page views, rather than on wether you agree with its position. Based on that, Kim has a pretty good blog. People visit because its interesting and well written.
Kim duToit is one of the five or six blogs I visit daily. I’d never heard of crooked timber until kim linked to it. Maybe you should be thanking him for sending traffic your way.
Hoodie 03.28.05 at 3:57 pm
I think you guys are living in the dark if you don’t see the masses that are flocking to Kim’s page. This is a BIG chuck of America, like it or not, Kim reflects the way alot of us feel!
Mumon 03.28.05 at 4:27 pm
Michelle Malkin.
Liam 03.28.05 at 4:49 pm
I understand the reference “crooked timber.” Works pretty well for this group.
Yogimus 03.28.05 at 4:50 pm
While you are certainly entitled to your opinion, it might be helpful if you gave substance behind them.
“I think he is bad because he is bad” is the sort of argument I expect out of a 6 year old.
So take a few hours, post a substantial piece, and try to SAY something instead of whining.
You state
————————————————-
He combines the quiet reasonableness of an Ann Coulter with the eliminationist rhetoric of Dave Neiwert’s worst nightmares.
————————————————-
And then you use this
————————————————-
u Toit was a finalist in “The Vicious Instapundit Blogroll Contest†for this post giggling at the bruises of war protestors. I could go on and on.
————————————————–
to validate your view.
A lot of words are written, but you aren’t saying much.
George 03.28.05 at 5:09 pm
Most hateful blog: LGF, at least now that Counterspin is gone.
Most intellectually dishonest blog: a huge field, but if you restrict to actual intellectuals (thus losing Hugh Hewitt), you get a dogfight between Alterman and TNR’s Spencer Ackerman.
Worst overall well-known blog: Wonkette. By a country mile.
And agree with the perceptive comment about Instapundit and Eschaton. And whoever said IP’s lack of comments is a minus, you’ve got it backwards: Reynolds does not allow comments because they’d quickly look like Eschaton’s useless, vitriolic echo chamber.
talon karrde 03.28.05 at 5:49 pm
You guys need a good metric for “good blogger” versus “bad blogger”. And you need to use it consistently.
There are some bloggers who write well. Their work would be suitable for publication in a book of essays, for example. The only one of that type I’ve run into who wasn’t already a published author was Steve DenBeste.
There are other bloggers who write like they’re chatting with you in a pub. Kim duToit belongs in this second category.
In terms of style, his writing varies. At his best, he is an excellent storyteller with a good eye for a happy ending. (See his “Righteus Shootings” category for this kind of stuff.)
At other times, he will give his view of what is wrong with the world. In this category, the writing quality seems inversely proportionality to his rage on the subject. But that measure might give spotty results–a good, cold rage that has been long-thought-out will occasionally produce excellent writing.
You agreement (or disagreement) with his ideas shouldn’t affect this measurement.
I do agree with the guy who posted Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler. The Rott uses invective reflexively. Admittedly this does produce creative invective, but it’s rather like a guy who is always shouting when he talks. You always want to sit on the far side of the room. Plus, he has to shout louder when he gets really steamed.
josh 03.28.05 at 6:57 pm
on the africa thing, in his defence he’s a south african native and has had the pleasure of witnessing the worst of that continent personally.
Mike the Token Brit 03.28.05 at 7:21 pm
Proposing Kim because you disagree with what he says is pretty poor stuff – damning his blog for rubbish content (which it isn’t) would be OK.
He makes people THINK.
I wouldn’t use Glazers or Hydrashoks either – JHP feeds reliably & does what it is meant to:-)
Thad 03.28.05 at 7:58 pm
There are some bloggers who write well. Their work would be suitable for publication in a book of essays, for example. The only one of that type I’ve run into who wasn’t already a published author was Steve DenBeste.
Oh sweet Jeebus. May the whimsical gods of publishing be merciful and spare us the Steven DenBeste Reader. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they invented the word “turgid” specifically for him.
Thad 03.28.05 at 8:01 pm
on the africa thing, in his defence he’s a south african native and has had the pleasure of witnessing the worst of that continent personally.
Which of course makes his call for the purging of the entire continent so much more reasonable.
Justin 03.28.05 at 8:36 pm
Geez. Kim wasn’t calling for the purging of Africa. He said (much more bluntly) that we have no moral imperative to save Africa and are wholly incapable of doing anything other than agrivating the problem–the unfortunate people of Africa continent must save themselves.
Sapper Mike 03.28.05 at 9:02 pm
As some of the others above have mentioned, what metric for determining the “worst” are you using? I must agree that there are plenty of bad blogs out there. Some are incoherent. Others simply boring. Frankly, from what I’ve read here, this blog belongs in that latter category.
I don’t agree with everything Kim du Toit (and BTW, the juvenile comments really raise the level of the debate, don’t they?) has written, but then I don’t expect to ever agree with everything written by anyone. He raises cogent points, and points to what he perceives to be errors or omissions. What I do expect, and receive, is an honest assessment of what he sees and thinks. I don’t think he has ever shaded his opinion or tried to mealymouth agreement with others. His opinion is there, straight out for view like a knife thrown into a tree. Simple, straight forward and understandable. It seems you are mistaking a lack of nuance wiht a lack of quality.
Your site certainly seems nuanced.
acegarp 03.28.05 at 9:06 pm
Obviously Thad, you have either not read his essay, or you didn’t understand it. He does not advocate “purging the entire continent”. The title is LET Africa sink. He has seen the failure of every single program meant to help that continent, mainly from corruption and greed, and is tired of throwing good money after bad. Read the essay before you comment on it.
Chris 03.28.05 at 9:18 pm
Interesting that self-styled progressives can’t help but make fun of someone’s name. I’ve seen it before with other names of non-leftists. How diverse is that? I bet what DuToit says as style and to blow off steam you actually feel and believe, just from the opposite side; criticizing DuToit would be wholly warranted if you divorce bits and pieces from context, but he is a remarkably well-educated family man. Most of you aren’t fit to wipe Powerline’s backside (and guys who say they are conservative and then act conservative are not hacks; for hacks, see Rather and Hannity) and are jealous of Reynolds, who is clearly a product of right place and time.
Emperor Misha I 03.28.05 at 9:59 pm
OK, knock it off you rank amateurs.
I am easily the most offensive, scary, evil and downright annoying weblog to ever come into existence and I’ve got the prizes to prove it, so don’t even think about nominating anybody else or the puppy gets it!
This prize is mine, dammit, and I will have it for my own.
Oh, lest I forget: Boo!
There, you can come out from under your coffee tables and commence typing now.
Danny 03.28.05 at 10:00 pm
Kim speaks for many of us who feel that neither political party really understand or are willing to confront the issues that concern us. I have found his advise about firearms very insightful. Indeed, I purchased my first handgun and rifle based on his advise.
For the life of me, I can never understand why so many people believe that LGF is so hateful. All he does is gather news stories and present them in their own words, with clearly defined commentary. CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC could all take lessons.
Thad 03.28.05 at 10:33 pm
I direct your attention to the bit Ted quoted in his original post — which is not ripped out of context, it is the conclusion Mijnheer Du Toit offers:
Wait… on second thought, I suppose you’re right. Du Toit wasn’t calling for a — he was just saying the continent of Africa would be much improved if every last African were killed.
Thad 03.28.05 at 10:36 pm
Should read:
Du Toit wasn’t calling for a purge — he was just saying the continent of Africa would be much improved if every last African were killed.
IntrudEd 03.28.05 at 10:57 pm
Why does this always happen? I don’t agree with Kim all the time, but I am able to discern opinion from belief. He says things to get people to think. Obviously the truth lies somewhere between the Free Republic and the Democratic Underground forums. Do your best not to just react, in reaction we feel deceptively powerful. It does not last, we just go from “outrage” to “outrage”, trying to get our fix of rightousness. Try to find the truth of all arguements and work to end them, not be “right”.
Keith 03.29.05 at 12:23 am
So far, I haven’t read a single intelligent criticism of Kim duToit.
I’d back his judgement–and honesty–on the subject of Africa ahead of any other blogger (and any MSM “journalist”) I’ve read to date.
But then, I’m just another ex-army white African know-nothing.
grimreaper 03.29.05 at 1:10 am
“Let Africa Sink”. Absolutely. I live here and Kim Du Toit used to. Unless you have experienced this cesspool firsthand, shut your collective pieholes.
Now bugger off, you’re disturbing my aura.
Ben 03.29.05 at 1:30 am
Im just a high school student (therefore stupid and impressionable, unlike the greats of intellectualism whom have posted here) so dont take me too seriously, but since ive been reading du Toit’s site its gotten me a lot more interested in current events and active politically. I definately dont agree with everything he says but that doesnt mean i dont give credit where credit is due. If you read his posts and got past the blatantly anti liberal rhetoric you would realize most of his posts are about how to better humanity…. but maybe that isnt your goal.
Skippy McGee 03.29.05 at 3:33 am
The biggest problem on this site has nothing to do with the intellect. That’s just a lot of thinly veiled fragile rationalization for a worldview that is determined by internal biology.
It’s a fact – Crooked Timber posters have way too much estrogen in their bloodstream. They have had so much for so long it has seriously affected the structure of their nervous system and the wiring in their brains. They are breathless girly-men who are wholly ineffectual at accomplishing anything, people who have devoted their life to academia because they’d never be able to cut it out there in the man’s world where there are standards which would easily wipe them out of the competition for women.
All of academia is an alternative hierarchy set up to give weak, silly and effeminate men a chance to compete for women by establishing a completely different standard for desirability in which poor character, feeblemindedness and physical weakness are magically tranformed into attractive traits in a man. Nice try, but I say at the end of the day, you liberals are still natural born losers.
chris Edwards 03.29.05 at 4:47 am
None of you have read lennins tomb or the blogsites that say GWBush worked for Hitler, Du toit has observed with great accuracy the Euro bullshit going on over here and is widely travelled, he also saw the potential for good things in the middle east, you do not like his views, but does that make him wrong? nurture your free speach, in England we have lost ours. As for Africa he lived there, have you? is Rhodesia better off now? are the indigenious population well fed and looked after in a manner ther WANT? check the real history of this violent place and bring reason not lies to the table, no Du Toit is the voice of reason and his blog is well written and often gives links to his facts, you should read it more often.
Abiola Lapite 03.29.05 at 5:04 am
You mean he’s an Afrikaner who spent his share of time in the SADF fighting the “total onslaught” against apartheid presented by the “swart gevaar”; in other words, he’s had the pleasure of implementing the worst of that continent’s ills personally, as part of a regime which killed large numbers of blacks in Namibia, Mozambique and Angola.
If Kim du Toit is a good source for informed commentary on Africa, maybe I ought to start looking to Nation of Islam and Black Panther activists for my informed commentary on events in Europe and North America …
Indeed. What could anyone possibly find offensive about that, eh? Say the world would be a better place without an entire continent full of people and these oversensitive liberals start getting upset!
Abiola Lapite 03.29.05 at 5:10 am
And Hitler reflected the way a lot of Germans felt: so what? And no, this doesn’t count for a Godwin’s Law invocation: anyone who could write the eliminationist rubbish du Toit did, about a continent he only knows from within the confines of apartheid South Africa, deserves to be placed in Hitler’s company. Heck, not even Hitler had the audacity to propose that the world would be better off without ~600 million people.
yabonn 03.29.05 at 8:20 am
the man’s world where there are standards which would easily wipe them out of the competition for women.
and
All he does is gather news stories and present them in their own words, with clearly defined commentary.
and
He makes people THINK.
I wouldn’t use Glazers or Hydrashoks either
Let’s first consider the case of the ones thinking they are trolling : “my bullshit is 2nd degree bullshit, and i made you answer, which means i win, haha”. I’ll put them here in the same bag’o freaks as the others.
Past that, it’s fascinating to observe this mecanism of transmutation of sexual, class and society frustrations and insecurities into some political right wing golem. The dutoit guy is the one who was all unbalanced in his glorious manhood by some oatmeal advertisment, right?
Being a crazy rightist has become an social, even sexual pride salvation thing. Damn, must be good to be a rich, educated, rightist in the u.s. : you have all the benefits of the system, and the poor, unhappy ones proudly keep themselves in check.
(still no preview? ah well)
Radek Aster 03.29.05 at 8:24 am
Interesting how so many people can argue about the meaning of something (Kim’s Africa essay) that’s plainly and clearly visible for all to see. Did y’all fail reading for comprehension in middle school?
You can argue as to whether you agree with the content, but how can you argue about the meaning of the content? Kim’s writing is about as clear and unambiguous as it gets.
Do I agree with Kim? On this one, yes. I grew up in South Africa, and the post-Apartheid ANC-run New-South-Africa is a wonder to behold.
The Apartheid years may have been horrible, but the worst is yet to come.
goesh 03.29.05 at 8:54 am
Numbers: I note the presence of a forum in Kim Du Toit’s Blog which has 8 categories. I picked one category at random and tallied the views in the various subsections of the category. The number was 12,732. 12,732 views in one section out of 8 of one Blog of a conservative nature. As a rule of thumb, most people don’t spend time viewing Blogs unless there are some grounds of commonality and interest. That is a powerful number. The forum category dealt with guns. I scanned at random a number of entries in this section and I note reasonably intelligent commentary with average to good writing. One can surmise that most commentators are employed, having a computer and being on the net. One can further surmise that the vast majority of these viewers are gun owners/users. My life-long observation of gun owners/hunters/shooters is that they are multi-skilled folks who have viable skills outside their every day jobs. They tend to be able to make things and fix things and many have military experience. They also tend to be very practical people. In short, given the coming shortage of resources this planet is going to face in the not too distant future, I think it behooves people on both sides of the political fence to find common grounds rather than to be in opposition. When it comes to the statistics of attrition, this group will register a significantly lower rate.
Uncle Kvetch 03.29.05 at 10:04 am
Damn. Where’s Was (Not Was) when you need them?
Kim du Toit 03.29.05 at 11:16 am
“You mean he’s an Afrikaner who spent his share of time in the SADF fighting the “total onslaught†against apartheid presented by the “swart gevaarâ€; in other words, he’s had the pleasure of implementing the worst of that continent’s ills personally, as part of a regime which killed large numbers of blacks in Namibia, Mozambique and Angola.”
1. I was drafted. Draft-dodgers in S Africa didn’t have the “Canada” option they did here — not that I would have taken it.
2. In Namibia, we were fighting against foreigners — Cubans, E. Germans and such — and it was when the Army shifted its focus from border duty to local duty that I decided to emigrate rather than shoot other S Africans.
3. Spending a little time in an apartheid-era prison and three months in court for protesting against the apartheid policy is, generally speaking, not the mark of an apartheid supporter.
4. As for being an Afrikaner, I renounced that part of me a long time ago, publicly (via a letter to the largest morning newspaper in the country), but you weren’t to know that.
5. Sorry if I don’t fit your little stereotype of the typical racist Afrikaner. You’ll just have to find another one to pin on me, because this one doesn’t work. Nor do a lot of the others. Good luck.
Other than acting as an outlet for my irritation, my blog’s goal is to turn this country back into a nation of riflemen — armed citizens who stand ready to defend the Constitution against enemies both foreign and domestic.
I stopped counting “new shooters” I’d influenced when the total went over 1,000 — about a year ago.
Perhaps that’s what’s got you nervous. Tremble, you bastards, because I’m not going anywhere.
Even if you do think I’m the “Worst Blogger”.
Junyo 03.29.05 at 12:23 pm
I don’t agree with du Toit on a host of subjects; but as a blogger he’s one of my favorites. Why:
1) On a subject that we share – an interest on firearms – his blog in an invaluable source of information. Very few sites combine good technical information and easy readability for the uninitiated like Kim’s.
2) Disagreeing with someone’s poliltical stance(s) doesn’t diminish the quality of their writing. In the marketplace of ideas you don’t buy everything on display, but the display might make you linger a bit longer than you would’ve. Well written blather is still blather but it’s also still well written. Even when he’s spouting nonsense he’s at least entertaining (in a hyperbolic, could snap at any moment and kill you sort of way) which is more than can be said about most bloggers. Care to quote a clever turn of phrase from Reynolds, Sullivan, or Willis?
3) For all the sanctimony, the proof of commitment to freedom and equality of most of the critics here consists of a “Free Tibet” t-shirt and participation in a march in the park. You might disagree with the method’s that du Toit proposes to arrive there, but I do believe that he’s got the stripes to prove his commitment.
4) Unlike most sites, Kim actually addresses dissenting opinions. Keep it civil and you can argue until the cows come home, unlike a) sites that don’t allow comments (Instapundit) or b) sites where dissent is instantly labeled as a troll/banned/deleted (Atrios). My first response to du Toit’s blog was an email calling him a “curmudgenly old bastard”; he sent me a polite reply and answered some questions.
But since the criticisms have nothing to with substance and everything to do with emotions and rancor it kinda makes this post kind of pointless joke, doesn’t it?
John Haberman 03.29.05 at 12:33 pm
Abiola Lapite,
If Kim du Toit was personally part of the abuses of apartheid, why did he spend a short time in the slammer for protesting it? I’ve posted this before and no one has answered.
So what if Kim speaks provacatively? People often speak in metaphor. This is especially the case with blogging. Don’t worry, no one wants everyone in Africa to die.
I also don’t undertand why liberals constantly compare conservatives to Nazi’s. As far as I’m concerned, Hitler belongs solidly to the liberal camp. Let me break it down:
Hitler was a socialist, like many liberals.
Hitler had the government playing a role in everyone’s life, like many liberals would have.
Hitler was very pro-Arab, as many liberals are.
Hitler hated Jews. American liberals claim to hate only Zionism, but I don’t know. Some of those protesters make me wonder.
Hitler enacted gun control and censorship.
Moreover, rather than ecourage debate, many liberals have simply branded us as neaderthals, fascists, unenlightened, or just plain stupid. Nazis were big on dehumanizing and villifying people.
I don’t know what you guys are all about, but it’s fun to come here and watch the Nation of Riflemen invade your space and dominate you intellectually.
Thad 03.29.05 at 7:02 pm
What is it with these wingers and their farcical declarations of victory in the face of all available evidence?
Gosh, I wonder where they get that from.
Mr. Roboto 03.29.05 at 11:58 pm
Funny how the Left can read one thing and take from it the complete opposite of its stated intention. Kim’s essays are written such that in order to misunderstand them, you must ACTIVELY be TRYING to misunderstand them. And he’s not writing them in his native tongue.
What are the wingnut’s excuses?
Phillip J. Birmingham 03.30.05 at 12:54 am
Yeah, when all else fails, resort to playground name-calling and snide little ad hominem attacks.
It’s not my fault if you can’t tell the difference between someone calling you a name, and someone thinking it’s funny that you probably get called a certain, ironic-in-light-of-a-certain-writing, name a lot.
Hitler was a socialist, like many liberals.
He also claimed to be a “worker,” like many conservatives.
The difference between you and me is that I realize that this kind of argument is BS, and you seem to think it establishes some sort of intellectual dominance.
christian 03.30.05 at 4:16 am
Kim du Toit is not a conservative, it’s an anarchist! His website is a parody, to show how absurd, silly, stupid conservatives can be, but it’s a little bit exagerated, no real person is so stereotyped pro-gun and conservative like Kim du Toit. Kim du Toit’s website is a great site, the achievement of the parody, as I see in the comments, everybody thinks it’s first degree, but it’s not. Great work, comerade Kim, your site is the worst conservative site, but the best anarchist site, but few readers knows it! Sorry for my english, it’s not my native language.
John Haberman 03.30.05 at 10:16 am
“The difference between you and me is that I realize that this kind of argument is BS, and you seem to think it establishes some sort of intellectual dominance.”
Why is this argument BS? Liberals hit us with “Bush=Hitler” lines constantly. I personally don’t think most liberal folks are like Hitler, but the fact remains that Hitler was a socialist who wanted the government to have a great deal of power. I view anyone who wants to empower government with distrust.
Hitler claimed to be a worker and that makes him like a conservative? Nice try, but who runs for office claiming to be a lazy bastard, or out of touch elitist? Hitler also loved dogs and children. So what?
John Haberman 03.30.05 at 11:45 am
I also don’t understand why you would make fun of a man’s name. When I was studying in France, I didn’t snicker every time some guy introduced himself as Michel or Daniel (pronounced Michelle and Danielle).
Making fun of somone’s name is quite harmless, but it displays a lack of cultural awareness. Those of us who travel and/or hang out with folks from different cultural backgrounds rarely find names funny.
Of course, I don’t find blonde (or racist) jokes funny either.
Phillip J. Birmingham 03.30.05 at 3:07 pm
Hitler claimed to be a worker and that makes him like a conservative?
Well, no. That was sort of my point — that that form of argument is BS.
A secondary point was that the “socialist” part of “National Socialist German Worker’s Party” probably shouldn’t be taken any more seriously than the “worker” part.
I also don’t understand why you would make fun of a man’s name.
You also apparently don’t understand that I don’t think his name is funny. I do think it’s funny that there are probably people running around right now mispronouncing the name of the author of a screed on “pussification” in that specific way. I think that’s funnier than a proctology manual written by “Seymour Butts.”
Sapper Mike 03.31.05 at 2:34 am
107 comments in and I still fail to find a metric that defines “worst blog.” Pardon my engineer background, but as was quoted quite often, if there is no agreement as to the meaning of the words, we are left with “it depends upon what the meaning of “is” is.”
People are encouraged to disagree and discuss their disagreements; that is social discourse. If we all only spout the comments and views of DU or the Freepers, communication and exchange of ideas will never take place.
For my money, and the even more valuable and quite finite quantity of “time” I find Kim’s blog eminently worthwhile.
Would that I could say the same for others.
Comments on this entry are closed.