Greetings and Salutations, PyroPups! The wonderful folks here at FDL have generously asked me to hostess tonight's revelries, and I am grateful and honored for the opportunity. Troy McClure voice Hello! I'm Chicago Dyke, and you may know me from such posts as Live at AEI! and Good Times are for Hanging…
Tonight I'm all yours, and my good buddy TRex says Fridays at the Lake are all about fun and relaxation, two things my mother will tell you my chronically underemployed ass knows far too much about. cues soft lights So here goes the neighborhood.
Music…what are you all tuning into? This album is one of the greatest live electronica sets you'll ever hear, and I'm listening to it right now. Friday nights in my world rarely start until 10pm, mainly because you'll get molasses to move more quickly than a passel of gay men getting ready for the clubs. I thank the Goddess daily that there are blogs, because at least I can talk with intelligent people while I wait, and cool my desire to strangle a certain Boi who can never decide which undersized tee-shirt looks sluttier. I also burn incense in honor of Al Capone, because without his efforts Chicago's clubs would close as the weenie hour of 2am, instead of 5am on weekends.
Speaking of Chicago, are you going? Last year's Bloggerfest was a real blast, and if you've not yet been to a meatspace gathering of the rabid lambs, you couldn't ask for a better town to do it. I'll be speaking at the religion panel, heh. As the resident Atheist. Eight years in a doctoral program in Divinity School will do that to a grrl.
Speaking of seeing God, let's talk about drugs. Are you a junkie? evil grin That one always gets people riled up. My mother teaches family medicine at a big state medical school, and this is a favorite Sunday phone call discussion topic for us. I'm no teetotaler, and I love a phat blunt as much as the next grrl, but I share her opinion that this country is being hollowed out from the inside, and that Big Pharma deserves a huge chunk of the blame. At the same time, the Other Endless War continues apace, jailing dime-bag pot dealers at a cost of $35,000 a year, and using them as slave labor so the Prison-Industrial Complex can reap even bigger profits. I once had the honor of hearing Professor Angela Davis speak on the subject on MLK day; if you're not familiar with her work, become so.
Speaking of totally hot women, let's talk about sex. I recently bitchslapped the Barebacking Traitor, and I'm going to have a lot more to say here about gay sex in general. But tonight, let's have the fun kind of sex talk. Do you want to please women? Buy this book. I give it to any woman who's recently come out, and men could learn a thing or two from it as well. Fisting is for everyone! Sex is so political these days, and I'm glad. I hear TRex was waxing eloquently on the subject last night, even going as far to wonder over Bush's flaming fairydom. For my part, I think Condi is a great big muffdiving bulldyke. It's those boots, I tell you. You just know she's got some pretty little blonde staffer who licks those babies clean after a long hard day of lying about fake terrorist threats and forgetting to read documents relating to real ones. Condi likes to brag that she's descended from European aristocracy, and my guess is that it was De Sade.
So anyway, it's nice to meet you all. My parties are always know for the dancing, drinking and merriment shared by all (and not a little lesbian pr0n), so c'mon in and tell me what's on your mind tonight. I won't make TRex sorry he invited me over here by making scat jokes about Friday News dumps…
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If you haven’t already, go read Jay Rosen’s PressThink article on us. That’s right — all of us FDL’ers. Immensely satisfying. Take a bow, everyone!
ChiDy!
g’day pete!
FDL!
ChiDy!
(sigh – no zed)
o’dave, i just read that article, it’s nice to see at least some writers out there who get it.
Oh you made me laugh! Thanks.
and i think the real question the rosen article raises: are you, and yes i’m looking at you, regular blog reader, ready to pay for content like this on the blogosphere all the time?
subscriptions for those blogs who will do real reporting all or most of the time seem a logical step in the blogosphere to me.
Gee, I seem to remember someone calling me a traitor just for *commenting* at FDL…
chicago dyke @ 5
And, Rosen broke a two-month hiatus on his blog to write it. Sweet.
chicago dyke @ 7
I think the support shown by FDLer to support Marcy’s book and then Plame House are a good indication that we are willing to put our wallets on the line for this kind of blogging.
BTW Welcome to FDL – make Trex show you his SODOMITE t-shirt that
usesabuses the Vegemite logo.bionic, i joke about a lot of things, but i really do think condi is a desperate and lonely dyke. she reminds me of many i know, from that older generation who just couldn’t come out, no matter how strong the inclincations or the culture changes that make it acceptable to us liberals.
the fact that bush sets off my gaydar seals the deal for me. i joke with one of my Bois that he will be my “husband” if the fascists take over, that’s how i interpret her slip about their relationship. it’s what dyke fag hags do, when they are too unsure of themselves to have a real relationship with a woman.
…but then there’s that gwen question.
hello, traitor. i’ve missed you. i’m so glad you’re writing here, your talents are as significant as ntodd’s bottom is adorable. kisses.
Welcome to Late Nite, chicago dyke.
chicago dyke @ 11
What was your take on his pawing of Chancellor Merkel?
Heh. Welcome, CD!
(I’ll assume that was a compliment…)
I was turned on to this awesome music video at Cliff Schecter’s blog:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZyTOROlo9E
It’s a young English singer– Lily Allen
CD!
Eli @ 9
I’m sure they meant it in the nicest possible way.
What was your take on his pawing of Chancellor Merkel?
bush has a rapist’s heart, and the mind of a tyrant, a spoiled, foolish tyrant. the fact that he pawed her like that shouts out to me that he’s uncomfortable with women. str8 men mostly know better, and those who don’t are misogynists and women-haters.
bush needs to constantly reaffirm to himself, publically, so that we are forced to see it, that he has “the power.” over women, over iraq, over the constitution. the ultimate demonstration of power is to disrupt or destroy a thing that you seek to prove you control. man-handling a leader of a powerful nation in public, reducing her to an object…par for the course for the chimp.
chicago dyke @ 20
Talking (and swearing) to one with your mouth full seems perhaps a tad bit disrespectful as well. Certainly not statesmanlike.
petedownunder @
11
What I wonder about though is sustainability. Covering the Libby trial was a huge team effort, and I don’t know how often the FDL team can pull that off. Then there is money – expenses were paid through contributions, but I don’t imagine anyone drew a salary.
petedownunder @ 15
I know this wasn’t directed to me, but I have to put in my vote for “compensating.” And doing a poor job of it, or he would have picked a more credible target.
let me pronounce publically so all shall know: Eli is the greatest man and human specimen in the history of homo sapiens. all should fall at his feet and worship him. i knew him from his early days of godhood, and it is the greatest honor to share these electronic pages with him.
all hail that which is Eli!
(what, you didn’t think i’d forgotten the good old days, did you? ;-)
chicago dyke: Do you want to please women? Buy this book.
Looks good. I learned everything I know from The Hite Report.
Lordhelp.
chicago dyke @ 19
He has always reminded me of the spoiled rich kid bullies from prep school who bought homework from the bright scholarship kids but put them down with demeaning nicknames in public.
petedownunder @ 27
Like when he bragged about how the A students are working for the C student now.
He hasn’t matured one bit since high school, or more likely grade school.
Bush is a sociopath
plain and simple.
He is maladjusted towards others in general.
Sometimes it manifests in juvenile competitiveness, sometimes in a total lack of empathy, and in the worst case, his alliance with the neocon theorists.
Riesz Fischer @ 17
Riesz, Amy Winehouse is also worth checking out. Bit scary looking, and apparently somewhat of a loose cannon, but what a voice!
petedownunder @ 27
Oddly enough, that statement is only a few nouns away from perfectly describing Bush’s “management” style.
Bush reminds me of an ex of mine – he made himself feel ‘better’ by belittling those around him – especially me.
All of Bush’s nick-names are belittlings or demeaning. Pickles. Turdblossom. He has a major case of small dick-itus. Always compensating.
ChiDy, Eli, and pups.. duty calls so I’ll bid you all a good night. Once again welcome to ChiDy, hope you join us regularly.
on the musical front…
the new !!! [chk chk chk] is turning my carank these days
lily allen is ok, but i suspect that she will be ’so turn of the century’ before long
What I wonder about though is sustainability
there are several ways to go with this, and we’ll see which one wins out.
1. a foundation that pays top bloggers to report, just like foundations pay talentless wingnut hacks at places like AEI to spout propaganda. this route requires a billionaire or two to get the ball rolling, or a blogosphere wide fundraising effort, lead by professionals who can be trusted with the money.
2. subscriptions. this is already happening at some blogs, like americablog, where the paypal button is set up and bloggers regularly remind readers it’s there. this only works if your community is big and/or rich, but it could sustain real reporting for a handful of blogs.
3. getting the democratic party to pay us what they currently spend on “9 time looser” consultants. it would make most people here sick to know how much of the money we cut them in checks goes to pay for posh cocktail parties and “building” strategy sessions for expensive consultants. shift that money to honest, hard working bloggers who work for decent wages and not for excess, and voila! reporting on dem issues all over the place.
i’m not sure if any of these models will develop very soon, tho.
mack @ 29
I love it when he plays “Me first!” with world leaders and ex-presidents.
LoudounLib @ 30
“Rehab” is great, if not exactly the ideal song to pattern your life after…
I was nonchalantly reading and them bam.
Thanks for the laugh.
I personally don’t like fisting, but then again I never tried it with a partner.
Eli @ 9
Eli of course you’re a traitor.
As am I and all who contibute here.
So long as the Lake honors empiricism and verifiable observations, we are traitors to Bush and the the Authoritarian Party.
We’re traitors to those who deny global warming, say Saddam caused 911, tell you chemicals are good for you, and maintain the Iraq slaughter is about safety, peace, and democracy.
We traitors are conspiring together…
against delusion-based policies
and delusional policy-makers.
For Bush and the Authoritarian Party, reality is treason.
As are so many of their actions.
No wonder they need their delusions.
In Scooter’s eyes, they see their future.
chicago dyke @ 35
A coworker just sent me a sort of job listing from Think Progress looking for bloggers to do just that. Not sure about the pay, though.
(As soon as I saw the word “research”, I pretty much stopped reading…)
Reality has a well-known treasonous bias.
Ya gotta love someone who knows Troy McClure and Angela Davis
chicago dyke @ 20
And the nickname thing is a power game, too, of course. I get to decide what you’re called — just like and ethnic or racial slur.
Normally I’m all about electronic music and brash homosexuality, but it’s Friday night and I’m burnt from the week, so I think I’ll bow out. Still, welcome to the fold, hope to see more…
LoudounLib @ 30
Yeah, she’s cool! I just watched her video called “Rehab”. Awesome voice.
FITZ!
Great late night post ChiDy – love the foam party pic. If that’s Chicago after hours, I’m definitely in for YKos2.
Fiyero @ 46
I thought that was a scene from “Cats”!
Riesz Fischer @ 47
OMG! It’s the Jellicle Ball!
Riesz Fischer @ 47
I thought it was a Hubble photo
I personally don’t like fisting, but then again I never tried it with a partner.
fisting really is for everyone! really! “fisting” isn’t always, or even often, about penetration with a fist. it’s more subtle, and highly pleasurable. normal lesbian fisting is really just taking your fingers and fitting them into a sort of pyramid shape, and using the fingers to apply pressure to the vaginal and cervical g-spots. anal fisting with men is about massaging the prostate gland, again more delicate than the word suggests.
remember “chasing amy?” there’s a part where she and ben affleck’s character discuss it, and he freaks out. she replies, “a woman’s body is designed to give birth to a baby.” in that sense, women are so much stronger and more flexible than many men imagine.
read the book in my link for details.
ChiDyke!
Yo babe, good to see you here!
Scat, Republicans! Scat! Scat!
Re Merkel:
Not to go all Psych 101 on everybody, but I’m working on the theory that the key to the authoritarian mindset is that abuse of power is sex, or perhaps even better than sex.
Merkel would be on example of that.
lambert strether @ 52
Lambert!
This is turning into a Corrente reunion!
We need to talk, I gots me an idea…
i don’t know if you all missed this: guess who is coming to CNN?
hint: he’s short, he’s a criminal, and he is from the great state of TX. i just love the SCLM.
Aren’t you a breath of fresh air? Welcome!
chicago dyke @ 54
That would be Tom DeLaysomepipeuphisass.
chicago dyke @ 54
CNN denies he’s going to be a commentator.
Chicago Dyke, as I live and breathe…Greetings to the broad-shouldered city’s finest.
chicago dyke @ 50
“The vagina can take a lot of punishment.”
(Hopefully your browsers are a little more QuickTime-tolerant than mine…)
legaleze @ 57
CNN is FoxLite
welcome, Chicago Dyke -
wow! you sure know how to make an entrance!
d’black, my brother! good to see you! come by corrente some time, we missed you!
i’m glad to hear CNN is calling out the soon to be felon’s bullshit. of course, the WSJ couldn’t be bothered to call them to confirm. tom speaks, tom must be right, and all that.
Redshift @
42
Not sure he can remember anyone’s name — just the names he makes up in his own world: “You are not a named person; you are just an object with a label I shall give you.” That the media suckups stand for this has been fatal to their intended vigorous role in a democracy.
And, hellloooooo, ChiDyke!
Welcome to the ‘lake, populated by gorgeous sodomites, foul-speaking wimmenfolk, and rebels of all persuasions. What’s your take on the Wives of W? — Townsend, Hughes, Miers, Rice, Laura, and O’Connor? Wouldn’t the world be a sweeter place today if OldBar could’ve shown W a little love after the baby daughter died?
chicago dyke @ 62
They’ve always believed him before, right?
You need some Delbert McClinton in the mix.
It’s not a party without Delbert.
teddy- i think it is of note that he and pickles only spawned once. they come from those who believe in large families, and i suspect once she pushed them out, he was done with her and went back to his boys.
Teddy – instead of “Wives of W”, “Mommies of W”?
for some reason, I can just hear all of them cooing, “oh Georgie! you are such a clever boy!”
chicago dyke @ 66
I would’ve pegged him as someone who insisted on having a son, though – isn’t it considered somehow… less than manly in macho circles if you don’t have any male offspring?
On the other hand, maybe he would have viewed a son as some kind of threat to his dominance rather than an outlet for it.
chicago dyke @ 62
He’s right, alright…Right out of his fucking mind, and by all rights lockupable in a squalid little cell filled with many-legged wildlife and not a can of Raid in sight.
isn’t Delay going to jail at some point?
Eli @ 68
And yet the W-seed was powerful enough to plant two when most mere mortals can only plant one.
Hey Chicago Dyke! Aren’t you the one who made the Chicago River run bacwards?
Hey darkblack,
thanks for the nice comment today.
Check this out: Les Paul Money Bass
Sorry to get newsy, but can FBI Director Robert Mueller survive this?
.
I know we knew they were doing this, but now everyone knows they were doing this.
Back to your regularly scheduled dirty-talking…. ;)
CNN is hiring DeLAY?? You have got to be fukcing kidding me. I need to read TRex’s ‘how to’ on writing scathing letters all over again, after I calm down.
Hi, Chicago Dyke!
I agree with your take on Bush and the German chancellor. I think he’s abusive to women. Remember Laura on Jay Leno’s show, telling the story about Bushie’s speech (many years ago) that didn’t go well? He asked what she thought of it, and she for once told him the truth, it wasn’t a very good speech. This was just as they were arriving home. He drove the car INTO THE REAR WALL of the garage. She said she never again criticized him.
Not to get all “Prince Harry ain’t Prince Charles’ son” on W, but does anybody see any resemblance between the Preznit and his twins?
Just sayin’
Teddy, the FBI is only following what was in the signing statement is what is going to be their defense. Bush said in the signing statement that the FBI didn’t have to report. Trying to remember where I read that today so I could provide a link.
isn’t Delay going to jail at some point?
no. he’s a tx republican who knows where the bodies are buried.
Suzanne @ 76
That was GGreenwald, iirc.
Suzanne @ 76
Would love to see some sort of vehicle to get signing statements challenged in the Supreme Court.
But preferably with a different Supreme Court.
chicago dyke @
50
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!!!
I CAN’T HEAR YOU!
LA LA LA LA LA!!
TeddySanFran @ 75
Behaviorally, yeah, quite a bit.
Not to start some nature v. nurture debate. :)
But, since Bush hates science, he’s likely never going to ask for some DNA testing to find out….
TeddySanFran @ 75
OMG yes. The blond one – Jenna? looks just like him The piggish eyes. The permanent sneer. Not-Jenna is the spittin’ image of Pickles.
SteveAudio @ 72
Most welcome, Steve.
Nice Gibson, but only AA maple on that top?…Shame, that blue would look nice with a strong flame.
TeddySanFran @ 75
I see a strong resemblance split between Pickles and a drunken turkey baster filled with magic baby beans, but that’s just me
;>)
Late Late Nite post coming up in 30 minutes, kids. Pop some popcorn.
I was going to take the night off, but the funniest thing happened…
Those words will probably apply for the rest of my life, sadly.
TeddySF @ 73 – great question. Here’s mine: to what extent is this FBI issue separate from or related to (and additional to) the other NSA “programs” indirectly referenced by Gonzales in his testimony under oath about warrantless wire-tapping? Is this a whole separate slough of crimes endemic to only the Justice Dept? Does it connect to the NSA stuff at all?
I know we knew they were doing this, but now everyone knows they were doing this.
wear that foil proudly, pups! you’re not wrong, more often than you may think…
here is the only consolation of knowing that the bush monarchy is one which spies upon its citizens:
the hallmark of the bush administration is INCOMPETENCE.
it’s one thing to have 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 emails and phone calls in you data base. it’s another thing to read, connect, and interpret them, and apply them upon your enemies.
i believe they’ve pressured dem leaders with this stolen information. but for us Little People, i think that for the most part, our personal histories languish in a computer database, more or less not-understood, as some hack lackey struggles to process all of them.
once, i would have never believed myself capable of saying this, but: i miss the Old CIA. the bush intel community is little more than “hookers and limos” now, and we all will pay the price for that, one higher than when the CIA was all about oppressing brown people who thought they should control their own resources.
TRex @ 84
“A priest, a Rabbi, and TRex walk into a bar…”
TeddySanFran @ 85
Alas, unless something not-to-be-rooted-for happens, we’re stuck with four-wingnuts-plus-Kennedy for the next 30-40 years.
And THAT is why I’m still beside myself with anger at the Democrats for caving on Alito, and at NARAL and PP for going along with it.
SteveAudio @ 88
…And the priest staggered back in the room and said, “Now! Where’s that old bag with a rotten tooth?”
You may build your own joke in the middle.
chicago dyke @ 87
Well, you have to play to your strengths.
TRex @ 84
Sanchez called for a ride on the tail of a 60 ft theropod?
I do not consider phone numbers called or websites visited intimate, so I gotta wonder: exactly what intimate information?
That’s a scary little word for the first paragraph of a front page WaPo story, even on Saturday.
TRex @ 90
Holy crap. Not sure where to go with that…
I CAN’T HEAR YOU!
LA LA LA LA LA!!
TRex shows why once again he’s a typical republican plant. i really don’t know why you all tolerate him around here. here, let me forward gannon and sanchez’s phone numbers to you.
/ducks/
chicago dyke @ 95
First he’s a dinosaur, then a plant…what, maybe a maidenhair fern?
chicago dyke @ 95
I saw him oppressing your self-expression. Shameful.
SteveAudio @ 96
A fern that lifts and separates?
Yes, but there’s this part:
Not comforting, that part.
You’re soaking in it right now.
TeddySanFran @ 93
Credit card usage patterns, doctor visits and treatments, maybe even IRS records…That would be my definition.
Are we allowed to talk about TRex’s tail now? Because I thought that was off-limits.
SteveAudio @ 96
Hey, this Fern ain’t no maiden and I resents the implication!
TRex @ 100
If only.
Hi Fern!!
Pffffft.
You know he can’t afford that.
Sorry if I brought up a forbidden subject, I did not know.
Fern @ 103
No, I think he meant you were made in, um, something hairy…
TeddySanFran @ 102
The arms TSF, the arms. Not that they’re small – no! Everything else is so, uh, big.
TeddySanFran @ 102
Are you calling me fat?!
Patrick 4/4 @ 109
Why aren’t you seizing the boy?
The arms TSF, the arms. Not that they’re small – no! Everything else is so, uh, big.
I still say that swollen head makes his tail look uh…hmmm … bigger?
I die of shame.
I thought you were my friends.
*sits down and sobs bitterly into tiny hands*
ferns that lift and separate…that sounds, um, ticklingly yummy. ladies? i’ve got the Banned Device right here, and the soothing all-natural body oil.
I just figured since Sanchez was Touched By an Anal, he’d appreciate such an endowed ride.
TRex @ 110
CRASH! BIFF! Ka-SMERSH!
~Technical difficulties – Please stand by~
;>)
chicago dyke @ 114
Banned Device, sounds like a guitar, or maybe a trumpet.
SteveAudio @ 117
Really good band name.
SteveAudio @ 117
‘This one time, with a Banned Device…’
I was thinking the other day that my next band should be called the Bright Shiny Objects.
SteveAudio @ 117
I’m guessing it looks a little more like a flute or a piccolo, or some other kind of woodwind.
TRex @ 120
If I had any musical talent whatsoever, I would call my band Tantric Pinata.
I like Toxic Pinata better.
Hummanah.
I just watched C-Span long enough to see the funniest named politician/leader ever.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Graham Eric Stirrup, GCB, AFC, DSc, FRAeS FCMI RAF (born 4 December 1949), commonly known as Sir Jock Stirrup, is a senior Royal Air Force commander and the current British Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS).
Can’t get any better than that.
-GSD
Hyde Park! Jimmy’s! Thai 55!
As a grad of the seminary across 55th St. from your eight-year div school, let me offer my welcome to the ‘Lake.
edited
You know Fitz can play the accordion.
TRex @ 123
I like the combination of tantra and pinata, as being just a little bit cringe-inducing.
Suzanne @ 112
Because objects in mirror are … behind you.
A Banned Device, played properly, creates beautiful sounds.
Suzanne @ 130
You mean like this?
Eli @ 131
Funniest.
Commercial.
Ever.
I meant closer than they appear. Hi Trex!
Oh, TeddySanFran, I think you’ve got the gist of it. We’re….Solyent Green!!
well- a um, pussy just fell into my lap and i have to go pet it now. and turn on the Banned Device of Inscrutable Feminine Pleasure. last shot: go see syriana if you haven’t yet. better still, send a copy to your republican neighbor, with a note that says “osama and the uss cole.”
good job clooney et al.
thanks for letting me play in the pond, pups. luv to all my
homoshighly empowered gay brethren. it’s been good to destroy heterosexual marriages everywhere with you this night.eli. you must be stopped. i have come to do so. reflect on my loins, and tremble. kiss!
…see y’all splashin in the ponds again soon. thanks so much for the warm and fun welcome.
chicago dyke @ 135
Later, babe!
Indeed. Eli must be stopped.
Aaaaaaaand it’s time for Late Late Nite!!
Paging Darkblack.
Perhaps you could compare and contrast red-state/blue-state protester photographs.
I was thinking of the dopey, pro-Bush father holding the ‘Get a brain morans’ sign compared to this Brazillian anti-Bush protester.
You know, something so simple both bases will understand.
-GSD
chicago dyke @ 135
Just like every night…
Cheers, CD
PyroPups?
Good one, but aren’t we really Soaked PyroPups? Or perhaps Waterwalking PyroPups? [Ask me to fill out my own evaluation.]
GSD @ 138
Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaal! Braaaaaaaasiiiiiiil!
GSD @ 138
And doesn’t that contrast cast some decisions into a somewhat stark light…?
;>)
checking in – late as usual – chi-dy -WHOAAA – be easy gal lol- i cant rest til i get my FDL fix ;o) – and listening to some old procol harum
GSD @ 124
Are the Pythons back?
CD,
I notice that I can’t comment or write to you at your blog [not that I’m surprised.]
But to understand the way these homophobes operate, and more importanlty, why, go read Bob Altemeyer’s new book online at The Authoritarians.
What the Authoritarian conservatives who now own the Republican Party are doing makes complete, if sad, sense.
John Dean, writing from Altemeyer’s earlier writings and others studying Authoritarians, wrote “Conservatives without conscience.” It covers much the same set of ideas from a slightly different point of view.
We have to understand the Authoritarins and their Social Dominating leaders to stop them. If we don’t then the American experiment in democracy is due to end quite soon. It already has taken a number of major blows, the appointment of Bush in 2000 being one of the most obvious but neither the first nor last really important events.
===================================
OT
How about Pond-dwelling PyroPups? Or Pond-watching PyroPups? Closer to Jane’s original idea, I think?
kirk murphy @ 145
I am still totally blown away by Cardinal Jaime Sin, ArchBishop of Manila a few years ago.
But Sir Jock is right up there close. {G}
Peterr @
125
As a grad from the Universal Life Church with my Doctor of Divinity [DD], let me welcome you all. I wasn’t going to get it, but they offered it to me at 1/3rd off its normal price of $18 shortly after I was ordained. Who can resist a bargain?
[Anyone who escaped from the University of Chicago can’t be all bad. Any of you know Ahmed Chalabi?]
chicago dyke @
35
I think that a model something like that of public radio might work.
The bottleneck is investigative reporting. Other types of reporting are easier to do (quick question, quick written answer and on to something else,) but investigative reporting requires experience and long periods of investigation, much of it unproductive, leading to the final product. The difficulty is selecting, training and supporting those investigators while they are doing the investigations.
It’s not done by amateurs and it requires a steady stream of adequate funds to keep it operating. It is also unlikely to be a profitable venture. So I see that as a few small investigative units set up by grants (no, I don’t yet know where from) and operated on subscriptions from group blogs.
Foreign news would be similar, but probably less expensive. Someone living in a foreign location might do it for living costs, the phone bill, and a free computer and digatal camera and video camera, with paid-for internet. In some cases they would also operate as stringers who also sell to newspapers. [I’d happily do that in Thailand or Peru. Or China.]
The expenses would by primarily salaries, travel, computers and connections. The office would be no more than a spare bedroom or even corner somewhere. The people doing the foreign bureaus would be from the same pool of people who currently support themselves by teaching English as a foreign language. A lot of what they would do would be just to read the local papers and write to the rest of us about what was important, but they could also interview people.
Somewhere in here is room for a distribution organization like Creators Syndicate.
This all addresses your options 1 and 2. I don’t see how option 3 can work at the moment. Remember, there has to be an initial capital investment, followed by a reliable stream of income. As any accountant will tell you, you can’t plan on large windfalls without a really large sum of money to carry you through long dry periods. The key is reliable income (as, for instance, subscriptions) that can be planned on.
A grant organization that could cover investigative work that would not pay off for a while would really be a major player in such a system. You would apply based on your idea, your evidence that there is a story, and your reputation. The grant committee would have to be really hard-nosed, and take an equity position in the final product to get the money back with enough to cover the bad projects.
Just some thoughts from a guy with too much time in Corporate strategy, accounting, Finance and Economics classes.
Good to see you here CD. It’s a credit to TRex and the rest of the FDL crew that they’ve brought you on board.
All power to the people!
And let the ReThugs fuck each other…that being the worst punishment I can imagine for their pasty-assed, limp dicked selves.
See ya at Corrente!
Wanted say Hiya CD! great to see you all wet with lake and shit. BTW, you have a lilly pad in your hair..)
p.s. that cd is not available on amazon. Is it way way techno?
You can buy the Hybrid album online here:
http://www.emusic.com/album/10882/10882667.html
Emusic is good — it works by monthly subscription and works out to about 25-40 cents a song. It doesn’t have the big names though. Easy to use, easy to start and cancel subscriptions.
Chicago,
It’s Saturday morning, and I know the thread is dead. But if you read this, please try to respond.
The Other Endless War: I’m still crying. The father of a close friend of my son went to jail after his third DUI. His first two happened when he was young. Years later, the kids are eighteen in their first year of college, the father was convicted of the third DUI.
Weekends went by where the kid spent time with his dad instead of hanging out with his friends. Well it’s a good thing they hung out together before jail.
When he got out six months later, he died.
Reading the article you linked to has made me so sad.
I live in a small town where police catch kids with pot for sport. I have been sickened by this. Please tell me who is doing the best work on this issue. The idea that our kids are supplying the military while being raped is more than I can stand.
I am going to send this article to all the kids at college I know. I can’t tell you how frightening it is to have kids who can and do get caught up in this.
Thanks. Please write back.
I know it’s dead 2, but I just read it.
The story goes that Bushie was is gay, when younger they sent him away to Reprogramming camp, and then he married that frosty lesbian librarian beard.
Thanks David Robinson