If you'd been sitting in Le Pan Quotidian restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard yesterday afternoon you would have seen me pitch back in my chair and howl with laughter when Digby told me John WATB Harris and Jim "Pool Boy" VandeHei were leaving the WaPo to honcho a groovy new interactive news media site:
Harris and VandeHei note that their move is tied to a new vision of political reporting. It uses every medium on the web — text, video, and interactivity — to pull back the curtain on political stories and narrow the gap between reporters and their audience.
Tears…tears…oh lordy, it's just too funny…I can just hear the sales pitch for this future dinosaur (probably the same one they made for Hot Soup): "We'll tap the great untapped center, the people who are sick of partisan politics. Blogs are written for wacko political extremists, and nobody is speaking for the common man…the little guy in the middle…just ask Joe Lieberman. We'll own the internet."
Let's examine but a few of the major fallacies involved in this acute bit of thinking:
1) Those "centrists," the people who can be convinced to swing Democratic in one election and Republican in the next, who don't make up their minds until the night before an election or just run in the voting booth and pull all the top levers are probably not engaged in the political dialog to the point that they will want to "interact" with those who bring them their news. They might be stupid, apathetic or working three McJobs just to make ends meet but they're probably not going want to spend their leisure time shootin' the shit with VandeHei. People who are engaged political junkies tend to have strong opinions and they want to interact online with others who are like minded. If there were a great gaping demand for a moderate site, Joe Gandelman would be a rich man.2) Jim VandeHei is noted for his unique ability to swallow large, undigested chunks of spin that make absolutely no sense and perform ungodly convolutions trying to pretend that they do (see: Luskin, Robert). It's going to be damn hard to "pull back the curtain" for the benefit of an audience if access to your source depends on an absolute unwillingness to turn around and let them know they sound like they're just churning bullshit. Harris, on the other hand, is just a complete toady to power. The temperamental alignment of the two with the DC elite and the subsequent journalistic contortions they have willingly performed in its service have done so very much to cause a crisis of confidence in traditional media and drive traffic to the blogs. I'll admit that their departure from the WaPo means the loss of 40% of my act, but this move to the "other side" is nothing if not dosed with supreme irony.
3) If there are two more prickly, thin-skinned journalists with absolutely no ability to accept the criticism of their "readers," I don't know offhand who they would be. To say that there is a train wreck in the offing as Harris and VandeHei strut forward to meet their adoring public would be putting it mildly.
Oh the pain…can't stop laughing…
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HI!
Naught!
Jim Brady is still around. Thank god for that, eh?
Pachacutec @
3
No shit. And Fred Hiatt. Thank Jeebus for Fred Hiatt.
How many websites actually make money..
“News” would seem ta be pretty tough- too many givin it away fer free.
And the ombudsman.
But what will we do when Dan Froomkin is the Managing Editor?
Jane,
What are you doing in this neck of the woods?
Oh, and when does this new venture go on-line. Just have to bookmark it. ;-)
I will be passing out lumps of coal to these two for lousy journalism. ;)
Ooooh, Lego’s and Tiddlywinks?
So, they going to learn to share now?
Ooooo, I know, I know!
Lil Debbie
Is she going too?
Dare we hope that WaPo might have nudged them out the door because it plans to become a real newspaper?
Nahhhhh.
Silly of me even to entertain that thought.
This is a brilliant idea. But every news enterprise needs a talented opinion staff to provide context. I suggest they hire away David Broder, Richard Cohen, Charles Krauthammer, Robert Kagan, Peter Beinart, Fred Hiatt and Sebastian Mallaby. Then I’d pay a pretty penny for membership and info bennies.
Ok Pach, you beat me. But you forgot the name.
The thing with WaPo is, the dead tree side is shrinking, and the online side is growing.
The online side is non-union. The dead tree side is unionized.
WaPo is undertaking a subtle anti-union campaign as part of its shift to the new media environment.
BTW I know TRex wrote about this yesterday. But we’ll no doubt be mining this one ’til the doors close (which could be measured in weeks) so we’re all going to want to get our licks in.
Oh, I know Deb Howell. I just hate to say her name.
Vandehei: You be the Bull.
Harris: And I’ll be the Moose!
Vandehei & Harris: Dude!
Patrick 4/4 @ 17
Vandehei: Wait a minute… What’ll I be?
“Adds VandeHei: “We will put together the best political reporting team in country today and deliver the news the way people want it: fast, fair and first.”
Sound like McDonald’s.
Love to see him in one of thos little paper hats. “You want fries with that?”
Every post will be greeted by otherwise unhappy news consumers throwing flowers and money.
from the article Jane linked to:
(emphasis mine)
LOL funny!
Jane raises an interesting question: Does the political middle give a shit? Is moderation the end result of not caring enough to move to either extreme? Interesting question- can there be moderates who are fervent in their moderation?
Kinda like saying Bush is smart and capable because he has, you know, risen to the pinnacle of American government.
Pat_AlexVA @ 10
Wasn’t she demoted?
Is Valley Girl still compiling a dossier on Karen Carter?
Also, who here supports Ciro Rodriguez for Congress? For some inexplicable reason, the users of Daily Kos are not interested in supporting a Democrat in a runoff against a Republican. I also notice the SYFPH group are silent. So much for consistency.
News Flash–Clusterfuck reviews the troops in Hawaii…Must have been a special thrill.
jeffreyw @ 23
exactly!
rwcole @ 22
Eventually, the vast undifferentiated middle will erupt in controversy between those who demand their news be fair and others who insist it be balanced.
As only one of these sides can win, don’t expect a compromise any time soon. Some analysts, however, disagree saying that the extreme moderates and the moderate extremists are closer than they realize and are kept apart only by a failure of bipartisanship.
LindyH @ 24
She was taken from the line of battle due to wounds received while in combat. There is a question as to whether the wounds were self inflicted or as a result of friendly fire, investigations are not being pursued because of their sensitive nature.
OT, but…
Jane…. I just read that Robert Altman has died at the age of 81. Do you have any reminiscences you can share from your Hollywood days about this giant of the cinema, who was also one of the most outspoken leftists around?
rwcole @
22
Possibly, I don’t know, but if they exist they haven’t begun swarming to fervent “moderate” websites (without getting into the “myth of the moderate” — as if John “let’s send 20,000 more troops to Iraq and overturn Roe v. Wade” McCain is in the middle of much of anything.)
p.lukasiak @
30
Only met Altman once — no I don’t. Dirk Dirksen I knew pretty well back in the day, though, he died last night and I’ll probably have some sort of RIP up later.
EPU’s last thread, haven’t seen it mentioned yet here so I’ll dredge it up:
A new Democracy Corps poll finds that, in conservative-held congressional districts nationwide, “liberals” and “progressives” are viewed more favorably than Rush Limbaugh. On a scale of warm (100) to cold (0), here was the breakdown: progressives 45.0; liberals 40.1; Rush Limbaugh 33.0.
(Via Think Progress) My bold.
Heh. “Them steenky libruls are lookin better since that Rush feller stopped carryin water. He musta been stealin it from their bath houses, yuk yuk, you know whudimean.”
When ws the last time, Bush spoke to the American people, instead of a military audience?
Will he be booooed at the State of the Union
Address?
Jack
Bay State Librul @ 34
Gosh, wouldn’t that be lovely. Wonder what the teevee doodz would say to that.
Jane- I don’t know either- but it’s a funny idea..
“Senator Wormwood- accused in some quarters of excessive moderation- was not interested in replying to the charges.”
OT from Crooks and Liars:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/…..e-crashes/
rwcole @ 22
I think the difference between the politically engaged and unengaged is, more than actual political position, the feeling that action on the positions can (unengaged / “centrists” / “moderates”) or can’t (engaged / “fervent”) wait.
It brings up a linguistically on-topic but politically off-topic question. We consistently hear about Muslim “moderates” whom our government would like running the various governments of the middle east.
You don’t have to be Aristotle to recognize that moderates are the people between the extremes. But discussion of Muslims along these lines always posit the polar opposites of “extremists” and “moderates”, not “extremists of the one flavor”, “moderates”, and “extremists of the opposite flavor”. It’s just something that’s been bothering me, but I haven’t figured out whether this is actually important or just semantic sloppiness.
Yeah I was thinking of Aristotle as well–
“The golden mean is a bloody bore!”
Prof—
Actually- I suspect it’s important. When language clashes- it’s usually for a reason. Somethin’s up there.
OOOHH SHIT They let Clusterfuck plan the motorcade!
Oh, I have every confidence that you’ll make do somehow.
“What’s yer job”
“Why I’m the leader of the moderates- millions of em”
“So where ya leadin em?”
“Nowhere- we’re rather pleased ta be exactly where we are”
angie @
37
Jeebus, everything this man comes near turns to sh%t.
Speaking of comedy gold: there’s this shocking bit o news.
Prof- I suppose Aristotle would put the mean somewhere between the Rash and the Passive..So how would one describe such Muslims?
I’m a moderate, that is, anyone who does not agree with my take on the world is batshit crazy.
Give this woman a medal of freedom!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..nding_bush
The problem with polarization is the assumption they are on the same continuum. Many black and white issues are posed as if they are one scale, the “black and white” scale. Often you find they are diffent scales, the black scale and the white scale, conservative and liberal. Perhaps there is a moderate scale, not in the middle of black and white, but one were they score low on both the black scale and the white scale.
They are not extremists, but also not directly in between the two extremes.
This reminds me of the wonderful psychedelic days of the late 90’s in Silicon Valley when you’d go to lunch at certain restaurants and see people you knew from the industry, and the first question was: Where are you these days? Oh, got in on a new start-up. Wow, what’s the deal? Company’s called zippynet, we’re building a NEW! EXCITING! MULTIMEDIA-ENABLED! Switch/router/remote access/optical switch/wireless gateway/memory farm/blah blah.
So you’d ask…um…doesn’t Cisco make one already? What’re doing better? Got a sales channel? Production? Software on one of these wizbangs takes years to write and perfect. How long you been writing code for this wizbang?
The answers, always, were, well, we’ve got a New Approach That Is Far Superior; the idea is to launch it out in the market, score some early market success, and have Cisco buy us—or maybe do an IPO. Whatever, WE’LL ALL BE RICH!
Stupid money chasing stupid ideas pitched by wannabe execs. Over and over until the whole thing came crashing down.
What are they gonna do, trade recipes? They could call it My Front Porch and have a picture of them sitting in rockers sippin coffee. Preferably in pajamas…..
Oh, joy. How do these people get selected to become a “popular resource”, anyway? Is it the free drinks? The quality bud? I don’t get it.
rockers and PJs is a good idea- better than any in the story about their plans.
marksb @ 50
That sounds like a POS that I bought when it was $28 a share, and still have it ; )
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=INITQ.PK
Jane Hamsher @
32
Dirk died last night…?
I’m bummed…
Always wondered where he got the phrase “it’s hard work”, learned it at his daddy’s knee. His life experience hasn’t given him any point of reference, it’s all hearsay to him.
Professor Foland @ 38
“Centrists” implies (though sometimes falsely) people between two extremes. “Moderates” are not necessarily between two extremes, depending on the characteristic you’re talking about, they may simply be people who are not toward the extreme. For example, you can have “moderate conservatives,” people who are conservative, but not extremely so, and that doesn’t imply that there must exist “liberal conservatives.” Similarly, moderate Muslims are those who are not religious extremists in any direction; the term does not have to imply that there is a linear scale with fundamentalists at one end and some other sort of extremist at the other.
OT– Tucker maintains that being anti Muslim is not racism…
oooookay.
(This wrt to the 6 Imams kicked off a flight and detained in Minneapolis)
Poor Poppy, he knows his boy is a big fat loser.
Even Jeffrey Hart, the old school conservative who taught Dinesh Disouza and Jonah Goldberg at Dartmouth has said that Bush will be the “worst president ever”.
Too bad Poppy, but you raised a real stinker. Oh yeah, your son Neil is a whoremonger too.
-GSD
Let’s see.
Air Force one with bad tires….
Motorcades in crashes……
Yep. That’s our Bush.
-GSD
Clusterfuck—Rose below his misspent youth!
GSD—It’s the voodoo guy—make im stop!!!
rwcole @
22
I thought moderation was the end result of too many embedded links, the use of certain spam-specific words, or extreme longwindedness on the part of the commenter.
And yes, there are moderators who are fervent in their moderation. All hail the mods!
True- it’s not RACISM–cause muslims aren’t a race– it’s-well–religionism–no that’s not is- I don’t know what the fuck it is.
Redshift @
57
Exactly. Everything in punditland is linear, even though we live in a multidimensional universe. Just by adding one measly dimension to that left-right line, you could create an isosceles triangle, with a point equidistant from either extreme, yet immeasurably far from either. (Nerd Alert)
I’m not a fan of Reagan, but I do like his quote about left vs. right:
This binary world they try to put us all in grows tiresome.
angie @ 48
Jeebus, the old man is losing it, too. Look, Dad, this is not all about saving Junior’s hurt feelings, you ignorant shit. Your baby boy is 60 years old, for crying out loud. Don’t you think that’s old enough that you shouldn’t have to go running around making excuses for your “boy?”
Man, this is one entitlement-feeling family. Screw them all with a rusty chainsaw.
rwcole @ 64
Xenophobia…
The guy from CAIR said that anti sem**ism is often categorized as racism and so should this be. Tucker just ranted on and on that this was based on real fears and was in no way racist.
Ummmm, wasn’t this same venture done a couple of years ago… I think the first name it went by was Pajamas Media… and that venture is doing faaaaabulously, or so I hear. Here’s to the same level of suckcess for this “new venture”.
eris @
45
what happens to tammy sun and dangerstein?
As newspaper circulation declines, more and more loose change level pundits are gonna bail like these guys. All the wingnut welfare slots are filled, with more wingnuts in line for any openings, both in print and on the web. These guys will be fun to watch, though. Thinking of the incredibly hard work Jane and Christy have put into this site and the many other similar stories in the left blogosphere, I can’t imagine these two deluded dudes lasting more than six months.
I’ve been way too busy to hang out here much lately, but I especially enjoyed Christy’s update on the status of Ftz’s Plame investigation. Any chance of getting Jimmy Carter on the fdl book salon to talk aboout his new book, Jane?
eris @ 45
Is this new? I thought he had that job already.
you two should start an ebay auction for a third wheel to your next lunch…
eris @ 45
Ahhh, now I see why BullshitMoose closed the doors the other day…
Clusterfuck cain’t cut n’ run—what would he run from.
The phrase “cut n run” only applies to people who are out facing the danger- You have to EARN the right ta “cut n run” by getting close enough to be endangered in the first place- Clusterfuck, of course, never has,,,,
So NONE of the Washington Politicians are capable of cutting and running- not a bloody one of em.
It takes courage ta get up there nose ta nose with the enemy- courage Clusterfuck doesn’t have.
H.W. always seems stunned when he is faced with reallity. Didn’t he have a major gaffe in 1988 when he was shocked by the scanners at the grocery store and the price of milk? It’s a trait he’s handed down to W.
OT– they just said that Rita Cosby is gonna be lifted with a crane to interview David Blaine tonight on Scarborough.
(Blaine is in a gyroscope 40 ft above Times Square)
http://www.nydailynews.com/fro…..8369c.html
Must see teevee– ROTFLMAO!
omg.
So when the ol man says “Mah son will never cut n run”- he’s right.
Angie- someone’s out searchin fer a big enough crane!
rwcole @ 76
Just read his lips.
So Harris and VandeHei want to go all blog USA today with a moderate Parade. Scratch the popcorn it’s time for a new box of Nilla Wafers.
Nothing like aspirations of a dull race for the middle (of nowhere).
OK office pool
How long will the comments section last.
I got
CEO @ 80
It will last forever.
But the comments will always be stuck in moderation.
Moderate News Channel
The weather today will be–moderate- moderate rainfall followed by moderate sunshine.
In political news- many politicians made extremist comments again today- and the moderates responded by marching out for tea.
CEO @ 80
pool boi: we don’t need no stinkin’ comments
Uh-oh. Italics stuck at end of #75.
Hey Christy, you out there? Want to read some local coverage on Hoekstra? What a coincidence, but there’s an article on him tonight.
http://www.mlive.com/news/much…..thispage=1
“I would remind you that moderation in the defense of moderation is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of moderation is no virtue.” Barry Holdwater
Those “centrists,”…are probably not engaged in the political dialog to the point that they will want to “interact” with those who bring them their news. They might be stupid, apathetic or working three McJobs just to make ends meet but they’re probably not going want to spend their leisure time shootin’ the shit with VandeHei.
Well, if VandeHei wants to shoot the shit, he oughtta talk to Debby Howell and Jin Brady, who could tell him all about it. If he really wants, he can most definitely get his shit shot on these here internets…
sukabi @ 67
I’m sure it will be a very suckcesspool venture.
angie @
58
It’s true that there are Muslims of various races, so being “anti-Muslim” need not mean being against a specific race.
So what?
It’s bigotry no matter how you slice it.
Way OT -
Dirk Dirksen has passed away. I feel really old today.
EDIT: Remind me to read the threads before I post.
What about moderate torturers? (padded waterboards?)
rwcole @
64
I think “bigotry” covers it. (…and on edit I see Mrs. K8 beat me to it. Pardon.)
Peterr @ 63
Sure, it’s infinitely less than the old saw in any profession, “You know what an specialist is? Somone who knows more and more about less and less until, eventually, he knows everything about nothing at all.”
Imagine an extremist of the Republican party who focuses so accutely on the issues of business that social concerns do not register in his field of view.
Imagine an extremist of the Democratic party who’s obtuse involvement in every social consideration imaginable, leaves absolutely no room for commerce.
Finally, imagine an Aristotelean Golden Mean where informed citizens recognize that the characterization of human endeavor as a linear concept on the line between corporatism and social wellbeing is a fallacy. Imagine that these people are us, it’s easy if you try.
I got stuck in mod :)
Bigotry works for me as does xenophobia.
Professor Foland @
38
This nonsense about being “moderate” is just that — nonsense. Everything depends on how you define that word, and in what context it is meant (of course no one ever tells you that — “moderate” about WHAT?).
An example of this silliness:
Suppose I maintain that I don’t care one way or another what consenting adults choose to do in the privacy of their bedrooms, as long as it doesn’t involve coercion.
Does this make me a “moderate” — I am neither supportive of laws regulating private behavior, nor do I believe that one spouse/partner has the right to coerce sexual behavior from the other spouse/partner (as some people do — there was a matter of state laws which suggested it was “impossible” for a husband to rape his wife, as it was his right always and under any circumstances to have access to his wife’s body).
Or does it make me a “radical” civil libertarian? Which is how some people would have labeled me — before the Lawrence vs. Texas Supreme Court decision, anyway.
I’m sure there are many, many positions on issues which can be called one thing or another, depending entirely on definition of terms.
Hence — it’s really nonsensical.
And we haven’t even gotten into the question of folks who are “moderate” about (let’s say) gun control matters, but “radically extreme” on (let’s say) environmental policy.
Nonsensical.
Stuck in moderation yet again.
Bigotry works for me.
So does *en*phobia.
But Tucker was being Tucker yet again. (no suprise)
GSD: Even Jeffrey Hart, the old school conservative who taught Dinesh Disouza and Jonah Goldberg at Dartmouth has said that Bush will be the “worst president ever”.
Hey, Dartmouth has had its share of aggravating conservative yammerers, including D’Souza, Laura Ingraham, and John Hinderaker, and we all struggle to live those down, but ain’t no way Jonah Goldberg’s flabby ass gets the honor of being identified with the College on the Hill.
What is NOT nonsensical is the recognition that anything about this new “interactive approach” to the news that involves actual, genuine HARD WORK will be completely ignored by Jim “Pool Boy” VandeHei and John Harris.
If they can’t be bothered NOW to research more deeply into matters they merely provide stenography for, what would make anyone believe they’ll do serious research in the new “interactive” format?
angie @
94
FDL must have updated it’s no-no list. I’ve got one hanging out there (a really self serving bit of fluff, riffing on Lennon’s primary thesis); but I think I “quoted” someone else’s crapola. Perhaps it’s a moderate display of Karma.
Mrs. K8 @ 93
It’s easy. Some people are “for” something. Others are “against” it.
We choose the “moderate” course of being partly “for” something, while simultaneously being “against some other part that does not in any way impact us directly.”
Sometimes we prefer the “even more moderate” path (though it’s difficult to invoke intensifiers when one is moderate)of being “for” something in principle, but taking the measured approach of doing nothing about it in practice.
It’s easy. Some people are “for” something. Others are “against” it.
We choose the “moderate” course of being partly “for” something, while simultaneously being “against some other part that does not in any way impact us directly.
Sometimes we prefer the “even more moderate” path (though it’s difficult to invoke intensifiers when one is moderate)of being “for” something in principle, but taking the measured approach of doing nothing about it in practice.
Well, yes. That’s what I said. Nonsensical.
;-)
Mrs. K8 @ 99
And consensus is what we’re all about.
OT–
Yo, Bush! How does it feel to be the leader of this disgrace?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..ork_hunger
guess they didn’t get the memo from the Dept of Agriculture
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c…..ger16.html
Ah, consensus! Yes. I believe that a lot of this throwing around of the term “extreme” is done simply to fracture American public discourse, intentionally.
For example, if we as progressives define “moderate” as “anyone who believes the Constitution should not be shredded and rendered meaningless” or “anyone who does not believe the Executive should be imperially free from all restraint on power,” we’d surely find that the vast majority of Americans belong to the “moderate” category.
What Stephen Colbert calls “the backwash” is what would remain.
We can find lots much more consensus than any of the cheap punditry likes to think.
But they never seem to point that out — remember the Schiavo fiasco, for example.
From AP, today:
Former President George H.W. Bush took on Arab critics of his son Tuesday during a testy exchange at a leadership conference in the capital of this U.S. ally.
“My son is an honest man,” Bush told members of the audience harshly criticized the current U.S. leader’s foreign policy.
So what does this statement actually mean? That George Sr. is dishonest too?
OT:
AP: There is no spoon
LOS ANGELES (AP) — There is no Kevin Federline-Britney Spears sex tape, Federline’s lawyer said Tuesday. Attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan issued the statement in response to “reports rampant in the press and media regarding rumors of alleged attempts by Kevin Federline” to sell a purported sex video.
“While this is endemic of countless false and inaccurate stories that have made their way into the media regarding Kevin, his marriage to Britney, and the divorce proceedings which they are presently going through, I want to put this issue to rest once and for all,” Kaplan said.
“There is not a sex video of Kevin and Britney in existence. It goes without saying that the stories of Kevin attempting to sell such a video are patently false and anyone who reports that they have information of such attempts is either lying or reporting the lie of someone else,” he said.
The couple married in 2004, and Spears, 24, filed for divorce this month. Federline, 28, has counter-filed, seeking custody of their two children.
Mrs. K8 @ 103
Chinese proverb: She who defines the terms, wins the argument. I think you just won, Mrs. K8
Oklahoma kiddo @ 104
Didn’t Kirk say something like that in one of the Harry Mudd episodes? “I am a liar, I always lie.” Paradox is such a confusing thing; does it have to be?
Does being anti-Palestinian, specifically, imply or connote bias?
Wow…text? VIDEO? and INTERACTIVITY??!?!
Is it just me, or does that sound shocking similar to…ummm…about 8 million different blogs out there?
So, what model are they going to use? Firedoglake’s model? Atrios? DKos? RedState? Townhall? Huffington Post?
Lame.
And hey, there is room for a new cynical ‘centrist’ blog. The bullshitmoose is working for liebby now. He said his goodbyes today, making sure that he talked up his new boss in a big way.
“There is not a sex video of Kevin and Britney in existence, anymore.”
How much did she have to pay to get that degaussed?
Patrick 4/4 @ 104
Damn!
Patrick 4/4 @ 104
“First there is no mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is.”
What a hoot! I guess that clever tactic Trex told us about last night worked!
[The tactic where Britney’s lawyer promised that if Federline sold the tape, she’d turn around and post it for free online the next day, thus rendering it worthless.]
I guess if you can’t get a bundle of money for something, it no longer exists.
I wanted to see if this get’s stuck in a back eddy without the “M” word in it:
Oops. Sorry for screwing up the Donovan lyric.
“First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is.”
Now I’ve got the tune in my head.
Must fish out the album. Must. Dance.
Jerry 101 @ 108
I’ll be amazed if they don’t use some proprietary website software they paid way too much for and which only works in Internet Explorer 7 – and then only spottily. This venture just has that kind of ring to it, take it from an old software guy.
Sam –
LOL!!! I’m sure you’re right.
But you just KNOW that the CEO of the company making the overpriced proprietary software is an ol’ PAL, right?
“First there is no mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is.”
What a hoot! I guess that clever tactic Trex told us about last night worked!
[The tactic where Britney’s lawyer promised that if Federline sold the tape, she’d turn around and post it for free online the next day, thus rendering it worthless.]
I guess if you can’t get a bundle of money for something, it no longer exists.
His lawyer must be Nathan Thurm: “I never said there was a tape.”
“yes you did.”
“I know that. I never said there wasn’t a tape. Is it me? It’s him, right?”
Mrs. K8 @ 114
Hee hee – read my mind. Takes me back to the “we’re all gonna be RICH!” days (h/t marksb 50).
A necessary, though no longer a sufficient condition in the Middle East, is to treat the Palestinians with the same appropriate respect accorded to Jewish people. And a major part of this ‘respect’ is a homeland governed by the Palestinians alone. I do not see any politicians willing to step up to the plate on this.
Federline must have realized that he would come up short when compared to rocker Tommy Lee.
Nice job asshat.
I’ll take my coffee with cream and sugar Mr. K-Fed.
-GSD
Patrick –
Bwahahaha! That’s a good link. I like this little bit of it, too:
Nathan Thurm: I’m not being defensive! You’re the one who’s being defensive! Why is always the other person who’s being defensive? Have you ever asked yourself that? Why don’t you ask yourself that?
Reminds me of my favorite Python skit:
“This is an argument.”
“No it’s not.”
SamTheLurker @ 116
I once made the big mistake of joining a small local Chamber of Commerce.
Big mistake.
All their “meetings” were like that.
Sincerity is no guarantee of accuracy or integrity
Mrs K8 – Once I was walking home from work through the panhandle of Golden Gate Park on a rather nice afternoon. Sitting on a park bench all alone was a man playing the guitar. Sounded a bit familiar so I meandered over, sat down with Donovan for nearly an hour. I don’t think more than ten folks noticed or joined in that magic event but it was a fabulous time!
He was in town for a concert at the Fairmont Hotel but I had the best seat in town that day.
agreed, Ok kiddo @ 119.
All people should be accorded the very same respect. There is a great article I read today– here’s a bit of it. I highly recommend it– the title is
http://www.informationclearing…..e15691.htm
Hey Jane — you’re back in town? Fabulous! Gimme a ring if you’ve got a mo.
FlipYrWhig @
95
Ooops. I meant to Ingraham. I guess I have all my wingers in the same box.
I hear Luceyam was more than willing to work out a payment deal in order to get little Pantload into Dartmouth.
-GSD
Jane you are so wrong. In fact they will be greeted as liberators with flowers and chocolates thrown at their feet.
See the OJ short to end all OJ shorts.
http://www.goOJgo.com
Redshift @ 57
Now in EPU land, but I don’t entirely agree. You can’t have moderate conservatives without liberals; otherwise, the moderate conservatives would be the liberals.
I suspect that secularism (which is what DC-ians mean when they say “moderates”) is in fact an “extreme” position in the Muslim world, opposite “Sharia-ists”, and I suspect election results would bear this out.
The one-dimensional spectrum model is imperfect but that shouldn’t cause one to junk it altogether. It turns out that quantitative analysis of roll call votes in many legislatures around the world in fact finds that most are indeed highly one-dimensional.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 122
How wonderful! Yes, magical is the right word.
A Donovan concert at the St. Joe’s College Field House was my very, very first “countercultural” concert (NOT the symphony or chamber orchestra) back in the day. I was 13 years old, freshman in high school. Went with two girlfriends; we were taken by two of our high school math teachers who were alumni of St. Joe’s — it wasn’t an “official” school event and I imagine they’d get fired today for such extracurricular activity. A great, great concert.
I had two small magic moments in the musical realm (although yours is by far the more spectacular, by a quantum leap) –
1) The day after seeing Arlo Guthrie at the Philly Main Line’s “Main Point” coffee house, I got on the local bus running from the Main Line college I attended to center city. Already on the bus, also going to center city? Arlo Guthrie.
2) Visiting new friends who lived in a “commune” of sorts in the Powelton Village section of Philly — sitting on the floor playing “Mr. Bojangles” was the composer, Jerry Jeff Walker. Unfortunately, he was winding up his impromptu performance, so I didn’t get the treat of a whole hour like you did!
The Bush daughter’s are broken-up about this war and they are sacrificing and sacrificing and sacrificing.
Bush girls vacation in Argentina.
-GSD
There is a new thread.
Book Salon. But instead of going OT there, I’ll do it here in EPU land.
First Daughter Barbara Robbed in Argentina
November 21, 2006 3:14 PM
From Our Sources:
Bush_sisters_nr First Daughter Barbara Bush had her purse and cell phone stolen as she had dinner in a restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, even though she was being guarded by a detail of Secret Service agents, according to law enforcement reports made available to ABC News.
snip
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thebl…..hter_.html
AHHH, So sorry GSD.
It’s such hard work, Daddy!
Well in the Haight anything is
likelypossible..)Arlo was here for our 59th folk festival last month. He hasn’t changed much at all.
GSD –
Oh my. You forgot to post the juicy details:
First Daughter Barbara Bush had her purse and cell phone stolen as she had dinner in a restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, even though she was being guarded by a detail of Secret Service agents, according to law enforcement reports made available to ABC News.
It was not the only mishap on the two-week trip to Argentina by Barbara (right) and her twin sister Jenna (left).
A Secret Service agent on the advance detail got into an “altercation” with someone after a night out and was badly beaten, according to the law enforcement reports. The Secret Service said today the incident was an attempted mugging [….]
[snip]
According to the reports, the Secret Service agents failed to notice the incident.
The Secret Service would not comment on the purse snatching, and the First Lady’s office said they would not comment on any personal trip made by the daughters.
[snip]
I guess if your main criterion in Secret Service agent preference is having someone who knows how to keep his/her mouth shut, then maybe the other skills are not as sharp.
No K-fed-Britney sex tape. Mean Jean is back in congress. Working on Thanksgiving. The pool boy has left the building. Sigh. What’s there to look forward to these days?
Eureka Springs, AR @ 133
God bless him! I love him a whole lot — AND his dear departed (but never forgotten) dad, the guy whose guitar bore the hand-painted message “this machine kills fascists.”
I surely do wish Arlo would come around to Arizona. Hmmm, maybe I should check out his website again. Have you seen it? It’s got pics of the old Alice’s Restaurant church building, lots of other great pics, too.
Mrs. K8 @ 136
That would probably get him in a lot of trouble with the Secret Service these days.
Some SFer queried Peter Baker during this morning’s WaPo chatz on this very topic:
Sounds like “corporate WaPo” got to help craft Peter’s response.
Cheeky SFer (sockpuppet!)
tee hee, TSF!
hi angie — gotta head back to the work side of this computer — c u later!
“schizo centrists”, not having a clue of what is right and important, just watch the prevailing winds to see which way the wind blows and then their path is clear. but someone tell me, who called them sensible?
A new idea takes a lot of time to adopt. People are just getting the hang of typing and watching videoclips on the Internet. Watching news is still a passive act. I don’t think a lot of people will want to mix that with interactivity. Especially if you’re not way way into an ideology you want to argue for. Unless this is for a class I don’t think it will work too well. And no one would pay for it.
They DO realize that most of their audience will be us, ready to make sport of their posts?
harris and vanderhei might have better luck mining that vast undiscovered market for nonpartisan sports fans.
at least it’s a bigger haystack.
Hane- I love the way you talk.
Jane Hamsher @ 15
I really can’t wait till these pair of tards have a blog…hehe
I can imagine it now…republican spin from start to finish, censored comments (from those Extremist Leftists no doubt!) …Oh man, I live for debate with self opinionated, arrogant and ignorant fools like this pair!