There have been some fairly furious reactions out there to the various postings by “me”:https://www.crookedtimber.org/archives/000848.html and others concerning “TCS”:http://www.techcentralstation.com/index.html yesterday, most of which don’t merit a reply. I would, though, like to invite those who have suggested that I’m reluctant to read or to link to sites which disagree with my own political beliefs to peruse my postings on CT (or earlier, on “Junius”:http://junius.blogspot.com/ ). They’ll see that their suggestion is misplaced. But I do see that my rather brief explanation of my unwillingness to write for TCS — “too right-wing for me” — was misleading. After all, if the Daily Telegraph offers me a column, I’ll happily accept. TCS, though, isn’t just a broadly conservative media outlet but a site that relentlessly pushes a particularly narrow agenda — “where free markets meet technology” — in a style reminiscent of “infotainment” or those articles you sometimes start reading that look like the proper thing but have “paid advertisment” discreetly tucked-away somewhere. And I felt that I didn’t want either to lend respectability to such an outfit or, conversely, to have my own undermined by association with it. (I’m still puzzled by the Curmudgeonly Clerk, by the way, “who opines”:http://www.curmudgeonlyclerk.com/weblog/archives/2003_11.html#000593 that my deciding not write for TCS reflects an “unhealthy politicization of personal decisionmaking”. Is there something wrong with allowing one’s values to inform one’s personal decisions?)
From the category archives:
Blogging
A few weeks back I posted on cruelty to animals and was surprised to receive an inquiry about whether I’d be willing to write on the subject for “TechCentralStation”:http://www.techcentralstation.com/ . I declined (too right-wing for me). Reading “Nicholas Confessore’s article on the site and its backer”:http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0312.confessore.html , I’m doubly glad I did. The bloggers who write for the site are mainly conservatives and libertarians, but not exclusively so (liberals such as “Matthew Yglesias”:http://www.matthewyglesias.com/ have featured there). I wonder if any of them will regret their choice in the light of Confessore’s exposure of TCS as being little more than a corporate lobbying operation? (via “Brad DeLong”:http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/ ).
UPDATE: I should, of course, link to “Andrew Northrup”:http://www.thepoorman.net/archives/002201.html#002201 on this one.
“Maps and territories”:http://www.chriscorrigan.com/maps/ is an interesting new blog. Each entry features a map or a fragment of one and some commentary. Definitely worth a look (via “Davos Newbies”:http://www.davosnewbies.com/ ).
we learned that opponents of the Iraq war are unpatriotic ghouls who are glad when Americans die.
I actually got several variations on this theme, from antiwar types who always seem glad when people die in Iraq, so long as they’re Americans or our allies. They’re usually the same people who puff up if you “question their patriotism.”
I don’t question it. They’ve put its existence beyond question by wishing for America to lose.
Oh Brave New Media, that has such Pundits in it!
(via Matthew Yglesias)
P.S. Oh, and don’t try to excuse it by saying “he wasn’t talking about everyone who opposed the war.” Glenn Reynolds and Lt. Smash have taught me to see right past that kind of tricksiness.
8:00- 9:30 Breakfast (check ticket for meal time)
9:45: (Deck 2) Two Minute Sneer: Joseph Wilson, long-haired “Ambassador” (led by Jonah Goldberg)
10:00 (Lounge 1) Seminar:
Charges of Anti-Semitism = Real Ultimate Power!
Criticism of anti-Semitism isn’t just for criticizing anti-Semites anymore. The National Review has been a pioneer in aggressively pursuing charges of anti-Semitism, which can be an essential part of a conservative media strategy to get through the filter of the liberal media.
Many people feel uncomfortable accusing others of anti-Semitism without real evidence. We can help! Criticizing Israel, using the term “neo-conservatives”, opposing the war in Iraq, being French: Joel Mowbray and Donald Luskin will show you how these offenses (and many more) can be labeled “anti-Semitism” for a powerful rhetorical punch.
Donald Luskin also has a few tips on accusing a Jewish person of anti-Semitism without giggling.
(Note: Rod Dreher will fill in for Donald Luskin, after last night’s unpleasantness)
Daniel Davies lives in the south east of England and likes Brahms.
There, I’ve said it.
Now, how much could I be fined for breaking data protection law? If I also mention that, perhaps, one of Daniel’s legs is longer than the other, or that he’s a poor sleeper (invoking protections for sensitive medical data), I may be liable for a 450 euro fine.
Sounds crazy? Well, the European Court of Justice handed down last week a ruling about a Swedish parish council that should put the fear of god into bloggers who make comments about us Europeans and our hobbies.
Glenn Reynolds “announces”:http://www.instapundit.com/archives/012442.php that Eric Raymond, self-proclaimed prophet of the open source age, has moved from blogspot. Nobody has ever described Mr. Raymond’s quite particular contribution to intellectual debate as precisely as “NTK”:http://www.ntk.net/ – unfortunately, their assessment seems to have vanished from their website. In honour of the special occasion, it seems only appropriate to reprint it.
If you saw the link to this Philosoraptor essay over at Atrios and skipped it, don’t. It’s the most satisfying takedown I’ve read since John Holbo read David Frum. (Digby had some related thoughts on a different subject.)
I’ve been starting a lot of posts recently and deleting them before I finish, because I judge them to be too bilious to stand behind. I’m sure that it will pass. I’ve been thinking about a bitter, prescient essay by John Montoya, written in October 2001 called “Why the Bombings Mean That We Must Support My Politics.” I’m reposting it here; I hope that he doesn’t mind.
(In cheerful news, I should mention that I saw School of Rock tonight, and it was just terrific. It washed the taste of the Matrix Revolutions right out.)
Not much blogging for me at the moment; three courses to teach, together with sundry administrative and other responsibilities mean that I don’t have much free time. In the meantime, let me recommend:
“Cosma Shalizi”:http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/weblog/archives/000130.html on “Our Geopolitical Situation, Dispassionately Assessed.”
“Norman Geras”:http://normangeras.blogspot.com/2003_11_02_normangeras_archive.html#106781211321628977 on Emmylou Harris. I’m a _Wrecking Ball_ man myself, which probably marks me out as a hopeless Emmylou lightweight.
And finally, “Teresa Nielsen Hayden”:http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/003967.html#003967 has suffered a catastrophic disk crash, and is contemplating the horrors and expenses of professional data recovery. She’s politely soliciting donations – sounds like a good cause to me.
The return of America’s Greatest Living Writer has inspired me to collect just a few one-line snarks that still make me laugh.
If you watch television or read newspapers and magazines, you might get the wrong idea that we’re losing… But take it from my highly-reliable correspondents who file from anonymous email addresses.
Ann Coulter, Jr. will likely be making the rounds over the next couple of weeks for her new book, Pieholes Are For Pie. Or whatever it’s called.
Blogwatch – Foreigners Are Mean! is dedicated to noting every cross word uttered about the United States by foreign leaders or journalists, plus a smattering of other topics.
And a lifetime achievement award to Roy Edroso. I can’t pick just one.
The Blogosphere: Miss two days, and you miss a lot!
I’ve got three really basic points on defecting liberals like Michael Totten, Armed Liberal, and Roger L. Simon (commentary from Jack O’Toole, Greg Greene, Kevin Drum and Kevin Drum II, Matthew Yglesias, Armed Liberal and Armed Liberal II, Roger L. Simon and Roger L. Simon II, Michael Totten… it goes on and on. Big roundup here).
David Bernstein, who has been relentlessly flogging his book via his Volokh posts over the last few weeks, complains about NPR:
bq. TYPICAL NPR ‘BALANCE’: I listened to part of the “Kojo Namdi Show” on WAMU, Washington, D.C. today. The promos said there would be three women Jerusalem residents on the phone, one Christian, one Moslem, and one Jew, talking about their daily lives. … [T]he Christian and Moslem [were] Palestinian spokespeople who had clearly undergone extensive media training … And the Jew? An extreme leftist who … seemed unwilling to defend Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish nation. … Kojo did try to note that none of the political movements represented in the current Palestinian government believe in non-violent resistance, but he backed down when the Palestinians objected. Disgusting.
Indeed. To coin a phrase. Decent people with a concern for standards in broadcasting ought to be appalled. Meanwhile, David says in his next post,
bq. You can catch me on the Rush Limbaugh Show, guest host Walter Williams, tomorrow (Friday) at around 2:05.
Yeah, yeah I know what you’re going to say about the difference between NPR and Rush. And believe me, I fully agree. One has for years received the benefit of a modest public subsidy and so has an obligation to be objective and balanced in all aspects of its broadcasting mission, perhaps even its phone-in talk shows; whereas the other has for years been the platform of a drug-addled, draft-dodging, hypocritical old bigot who spews lies and hatred like a slurry spreader shifts pigshit. You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.
So I turned on my computer tonight to read the blogs. I’m afraid that I must have scared my poor fiancee half to death when the steam pouring out of my ears made a loud “toot” noise, as seen in Popeye cartoons.
Atrios posts under a pseudonym, although his real name is Ferdinand Strumpole. I have no business telling him how to run his life. Nonetheless, if I were king, I’d ask Atrios to write the following reply:
Dear Mr. Luskin,
I double-dog dare you to sue me. No, triple.
Sincerely,
Atrios
P.S. Can I still call you a striking failure as a mutual fund manager?
Jacob Levy asks an interesting question about group blogs staffed by academics:
bq. For purposes of academic conflict-of-interest norms, what sort of relationship do co-bloggers have to one another?
He wonders whether people who post on the same blog should do things like review one another’s papers or write tenure letters and so on. I have a mental picture of a rapidly branching tree of hypothetical cases that needs to be pruned near the base. Things like tenure letters seem like an easy case: you’re supposed to disclose your relationship to the person you’re evaluating anyway. (“Prof. Healy’s ill-informed pot-shots have been a constant irritant in my comments threads for years, despite my numerous attempts to ban him.”) You’d just need to get over the hump of embarrassment about admitting you know someone through a blog.
My agents inform me that Crooked Timber (NASDAQ: CRKD) is now the #1 result on Google Searches for “Crooked” and also “Timber,” further demonstrating our ability to deliver added value to our shareholders.