June 23, 2005

6/23: Courting Disapproval

Good news for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) today: For the first time in weeks, the heat is mostly off. This isn't to say his troubles are over -- lefty Daily Kos eventually weighed in, saying that he "f---ed up." Most of the right is still disgusted with him, but more than a few -- such as conservative stalwart Patterico's Pontifications, deem his apology "good enough."

What happened? The blogosphere was overtaken by events, not least the House passage of the flag-burning amendment -- this met with almost unanimous disapproval. Elsewhere, there is also increased speculation about who will step down from the SCOTUS next, who will replace them, and when. Meanwhile, TVNewser finally gets to the bottom of rumors of an OSHA investigation at FNC, a UT-Austin prof threatens to expose an academic "anonyblogger", and bloggers react to the new stirrings on changes to SocSec.

TRACKBACKS: Flags Of Our Forefathers

Where the blog swarm is headed, who's taking part, and what they're saying:

• AP report on the flag-burning amendment. To call blogosphere opposition to the amendment "overwhelming" would be an understatement. A strain of libertarianism runs throughout almost the entire blogosphere, and that kicks in for everybody this a.m. Interestingly, conservatives are more vocal in their protest, or at least more attuned to the subject.
  
  >> We really looked high and low for anyone in support of the amendment. The closest we came was National Review's Jonah Goldberg, who wrote at The Corner: "I don't think there's anything terribly wrong with a flag-burning amendment, but I really don't see the point at this time." A bit later, Ramesh Ponnuru weighs in similarly: "I'd prefer a federal statute stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction over state governments' bans on flag burning."
  
  >> At least a few think along the same lines as Troy prof Steven Taylor: "[A]mendments to the Constitution that limit the government are fine, and indeed, my favorite kind. Amendments designed to limit the actions of citizens that are otherwise unharmful to other citizens, strikes me as a bad idea." Andrew Sullivan is one of a few who object strenuously to the following quote by Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA): "Ask the men and women who stood on top of the [World] Trade Center. Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment."
  
  >> All those opposed: Little Green Footballs; The Moderate Voice; Michael Totten; Daly Thoughts; MyDD; Balloon Juice; Outside The Beltway; Politburo Diktat; Hit and Run; Demagogue; Indepundit; Volokh Conspiracy; Instapundit; The Anchoress.


• At the Weekly Standard, Bill Kristol suggests a) the next SCOTUS justice to step down might be Sandra Day O'Connor, and b) AG Alberto Gonzales might be Pres. Bush's choice to replace her. But he cautions: "Warning: THIS IS SPECULATION." Plenty of bloggers just quote the juicy bits and let it stand alone, but few on the right are pleased to hear Gonzales mentioned.
  
  >> Right Wing News: "[W]hether Bush likes him or not, it would be a huge mistake to nominate someone like Alberto Gonzales who's so moderate that a Gonzales for O'Connor swap would be considered by the base to be a wash." Spoons Experience: "Fortunately, Kristol is notoriously bad at predicting... well... anything. Unfortunately, I think he could be right about this one."
  
  >> Hugh Hewitt; The Corner; Just A Bump In The Beltway; SoCal Law Blog; Suburban Guerrilla; Bench Memos; Confirm Them.


• In AEI's bi-monthly magazine, editor-in-chief Karl Zinsmeister argues: "What the establishment media covering Iraq have utterly failed to make clear today is this central reality: With the exception of periodic flare-ups in isolated corners, our struggle in Iraq as warfare is over. Egregious acts of terror will continue -- in Iraq as in many other parts of the world. But there is now no chance whatever of the U.S. losing this critical guerilla war."
  
  >> From the right: INDC Journal: "It's certainly contradictory to the current narrative; I hope that he's correct. The ability of terrorists to seriously destroy a country despite a hostile local populace is the real litmus test. As many have pointed out, this is probably a strategically unsustainable situation for the jihadists, but not yet a mark of early, sure victory." Pejman Yousefzadeh agrees with part of Zinsmeister's piece, but adds: "In our media age, winning the war on the battlefield will never be considered enough. It must be won on the television sets as well. One of the reasons I have the utmost admiration for modern American military commanders is that their job is so much harder than their predecessors' jobs. After all, their predecessors did not have to worry as much about winning media wars and could concentrate more on what happened on the battlefield.""
  
  >> From the Left: Oliver Willis: "Or something." Progressive Democrats of America: "Is this humor? No. It is an example of the total denial of reality." Kevin Drum at Political Animal: "I can't tell you how much I'd like to believe this. Unfortunately, the 'last throes' crowd usually retails their stories with a little bit of local color (cell phones are everywhere!) but few actual facts." Drum and a few others, in the same post where they deal with Zinsmeister's piece, also link to a New York Times story titled "Iraqi Rebels Refine Bomb Skills, Pushing Toll of G.I.'s Higher."
  
  >> Andrew Sullivan; Amygdala; Power Line; Lorie Byrd; Instapundit; Ed Driscoll; Blogs for Bush; Ace of Spades HQ; Eschaton.

WHITE HOUSE '08: Everyone's A Pollster

Liberal hawk Michael Totten ran his own acknowledgedly unscientific poll for WH '08. Totten draws readers from across party lines, so asks readers to select their top picks for each party. For the Dems: 1) Evan Bayh 2) Barack Obama 3) Hillary Clinton. For the GOP: 1) Condoleezza Rice 2) Rudy Giuliani 3) John McCain. Rice gets 49% of the GOP vote.

Bill Ardolino at INDC Journal: "Unlike much of the right-leaning pundit class, I haven't exactly developed a seething dislike for John McCain. ... Between the growing negative implications for the First Amendment resulting from McCain-Feingold and the jaw-dropping nanny-statism of trying to regulate and misrepresent the dangers of [steroids], I'm pretty damn fed up with the guy myself. So, from various right-leaning libertarian angles (medical, business, regulating speech), I believe that he's losing vital support as well."

BLOGS VS. THE MSM: Just Making Schur

Fishbowl DC, yesterday: "TVNewser has a transcript of Roger Ailes' remarks to the Fox News Channel staff in New York yesterday -- complete with his multiple shots at [TVNewser writer] Brian [Stelter]." The aforementioned transcript. Stelter has been following the story since his first post on 6/17. On 6/22 he recapped the situation, concluding: "So here are the facts, as we know them: An employee was hospitalized in March following the spraying of an insecticide; the insecticide contained diazinon, which was banned by the EPA; OSHA received a complaint and is conducting an inquiry; some employees are concerned that the spraying was more widespread; Roger Ailes refuted some of the worries; and told employees to speak up if they have any future concerns." For all the posts related to this, see TVNewser's FNC page. TVNewser removed one FNC-related post from the main page, although the post is still live on the site, and can be found here. Late 6/22, TVNewser posted another update, after speaking to FNC VP Dianne Brandi. He relays: "The mistake was a simple one: An employee conducted the spraying, instead of a licensed exterminator. In every other case, a licensed exterminator was used, according to Brandi. She also stressed that OSHA is not investigating the network"

BLOGGERS VS. BLOGGERS: Name That Blogger!

UT-Austin law prof Brian Leiter trades a few contentious posts with pseudonymous Volokh Conspiracy blogger "Juan Non-Volokh." Leiter, frustrated with what he deems intentional misinterpretation of his arguments, Leiter announces: "So who is Juan Non-Volokh? I intend to find out and to post that information here in due course. I welcome your help... and I promise to keep my sources secret!"

• Chief Conspirator Eugene Volokh replies: "I will let you folks be the judges of whether this is good behavior on Prof. Leiter's part. In my view, the nicer thing to do is to respect people's preference for anonymity, at least unless there are some unusual circumstances (more than just disagreement with their views) that are absent here."
• Liberal GWU prof Henry Farrell at Crooked Timber weighs in on an academic dispute between Leiter and Non-Volokh debate, coming down on the Leiter side. He later updates: "I should make it quite clear that this post is not a broad statement of support for Brian Leiter in his ongoing dispute with Juan non-Volokh."
• Left-leaning "Ogged" at Unfogged: "There are many things I won't say here because I'm not as anonymous as I'd like to be, and I think that the blogworld is, all-in, a better and more interesting place when people are free to speak their minds without extrablogic reprisal. I hope Leiter reconsiders."
• In a comment to the Unfogged post, Leiter writes: "I think folks should own their words, but Ogged and a few others sent me arguments that persuaded me that, even if I can find out who he is, I should keep the information to myself."
• At JustOneMinute, righty Tom Maguire writes: "Leiter has yet to post a definitive statement of non-pursuit on his own blog. Tricky -- doing so would amount to an admission of error."

DEMOCRATS: Not Gonna Take It Anymore

Liberal Interesting Times proposes a "We've Got Your Back! A Democratic Support Campaign": "Any Democrat who takes a courageous step into the minefield of the Republican Noise Machine has to keep one thing in mind: they will get very little support from their fellow Democrats. It's a sad statement but one that is born out by recent history. ... I think we need to establish a permanent "We've Got Your Back!" campaign that will stand behind Democrats, any Democrats, who step into the Right Wing Noise Machine's fire. This campaign that will track signs of Democratic courage in the face of Republican attacks."

Matt Yglesias objects to a WSJ op-ed by 2 editors from The Economist, which claims the left has no ideas: "The author of this article clearly knows where one might go looking for left-of-center ideas, yet he seems not to have actually looked. The PPI website is here."

SOCIAL SECURITY: Dead Again?

Ace of Spades HQ quotes from a news story: "With the acquiescence of their leaders, key House Republicans are drafting Social Security legislation stripped of President Bush's proposed personal accounts financed with payroll taxes and lacking provisions aimed at assuring long-term solvency." "Ace" comments: "Not really sure what the new 'reform' actually does, then. Ah, well -- it's the job of government to do nothing and then call it 'reform.' It's what they do best. When they attempt to do more, they get into trouble." Barking Moonbat Early Warning System isn't impressed, either.

Matt Margolis of Blogs for Bush sees it differently: "Even I was concerned when I read the story yesterday headlined 'Bush Backs Soc. Sec. Bill Without Accounts'. Fortunately for myself, reading the article all the way through made it clear Bush was by no means backing down on including personal retirement accounts in Social Security reform ... I don't see the Democrats making any proposals in the near future. Then it will be clear that their unwillingness to come to the table has nothing to do with personal accounts..."

Liberal economist Mark Thoma: "As the shells begin to move around quicker and quicker in coming weeks, do your best to keep you eye on the ball..."

THE NEW MEDIA: From Bowling Alone To Blogging Alone

Jeff Jarvis: "Dan Gillmor asks contributors to his Bayosphere to take a pledge. I respect Dan more than anyone I know in journalism. I know what he's aiming for, to establish a paragon of citizen journalism, and I respect that as well. But I don't know about taking his pledge. ... Pledges are not the measure of honesty. Codes are not the measure of ethics. Actions are. I'm just not a pledge kind of guy. I'm not a joiner. Guess that's why I am a blogger."

The AO/Technorati Open Media 100 lists the most influential "Pioneers," "Trendsetters" and "Practitioners" of the new media, plus 50 "Honorable Mentions," of whom Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown is one.

MISCELLANY: Milblogger Injuries, Sleeping Dogs And More Pledges

• On 6/22 word began to spread that Army Cpt. Charles Ziegenfuss, author of the milblog (i.e. military-themed blog) From My Position... On The Way! from Iraq, was injured by shrapnel from an IED. The announcement came in a post to his blog, written by his wife: "This is Carren writing to tell Chuck's faithful readers that he has been injured, but is in stable condition. I won't give details for fear of misinformation (and the fact that this can be accessed by millions of people). Later she did provide details.
• On 4/22 the Blogometer noted the blogger practice of "cat-blogging," where we also noted that no comparable "dog-blogging" trend exists. Now Andrew Sullivan, noted beagle admirer, starts dog-blogging -- here and here.
• Wired picks up on the Daily Kos-centered project organized by Susan Hu, which is "using collaborative wiki software to expedite the process of perusing thousands of pages of complex documents related to detainees held by the U.S. government at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba." A recent project update can be found here.
• How are blogs like PBS? Pledge drives. Left-leaning Washington Monthly writer Kevin Drum and right-leaning UCLA law prof Stephen Bainbridge.

BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT: Balking At The Nanny State

Today the Blogometer talks to libertarian Radley Balko, who writes The Agitator.

What is your full name?

Radley Prescott Balko

What is your age?

30

Where did you grow up?

Greenfield, Indiana

Where do you live now?

Alexandria, Virginia

What is your occupation? Have you ever worked on a political campaign or for the mainstream media?

I'm a policy analyst for the Cato Institute (though my blog expresses my own opinions, not Cato's). I've never worked on a political campaign. I do write a bi-weekly column for FoxNews.com, and have been published in several mainstream media outlets (Forbes, Time, L.A. Times, Washington Post, among others).

When did you start blogging and why?

I started in February of 2002. I originally started blogging to force myself to write every day, and to attempt to build a regular readership.

What has been your favorite post, or favorite story to write about, in that time?

Hmmm. I wrote an article for Fox on a chain of abusive drug rehab centers that operated in the 1980s. They were run by a couple very powerful in Republican circles (the husband just recently resigned as ambassador to Italy). As I was researching the story, dozens and dozens of people who had been subjected to these places 15 and 20 years ago began emailing me with accounts of what they went through. I posted all of them on my blog. It was rewarding to be able to give them an outlet.

I've also posted a few humorous, first-person journalism accounts of Washington-ish activities. I wrote up my experience at a conservative ladies' luncheon for Ann Coulter. That was fun. I also wrote a firsthand account of one of the more raucous anti-globalization rallies.

Describe your typical blogging schedule. And what is your average output?

I usually post a couple of times when I first wake up in the morning, a couple of times at lunch, and a couple of times in the evening -- either just after work, or before I go to bed. I compose longer posts on the weekends.

Who is your favorite political blogger? Favorite non-political blogger?

For politics I like Jim Henley of Unqualified Offerings, and Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayek. I also visit Reason's Hit & Run a few times per day. TheNewspaper.com is a great single-issue blog that focuses on the rights of motorists. And Rogier van Bakel is a good source for exposing Nanny Statism.

Non-political? I like Metafilter, Grant McCracken, and Chris Anderson's The Long Tail. Marginal Revolution is sometimes political, but mostly about markets and economics. Fafblog and Neal Pollack (when he's blogging) make me laugh.

Who is your favorite mainstream media columnist?

John Tierney, Anne Applebaum, Thomas Sowell, Jacob Sullum, Nat Hentoff.

What is your favorite television news program, either network or cable?

I watch less and less TV news lately. If forced, I'd say "Capital Gang," or one of the media watch shows -- Howie Kurtz's show, or "Fox News Watch." The "Daily Show" is brilliant, of course.

What MSM-produced websites (i.e. newspapers, magazines) do you visit on a daily basis?

Slate, the NY Times op-ed page, the Christian Science Monitor, Wired, and The Economist.

What non-MSM websites (i.e. blogs) do you visit on a daily basis?

I guess I could just tick off the list on my RSS aggregator: Arts and Letters Daily, Hit & Run, Instapundit, Fark, Boing Boing, Catallarchy, Unqualified Offerings, The Corner, Drug War Rant, Eschaton, Eternal Recurrence, Gene Healy, Liberty & Power, Marginal Revolution, Matthew Yglesias, Metafilter, Snopes, Nobody's Business, Ramble On, Slashdot, TalkLeft, Tech Central Station, TechDirt, The Newspaper.com, Tom G. Palmer, Totalitarianism Today, Vice Squad, Will Wilkinson. Those are my dailies. I hit others about once a week.

How often, or do you ever, read a newspaper in its dead-tree (i.e. print) form?

I try to read the Washington Post every day.

How do you see the new media and old media affecting and influencing each other in the next five years?

I guess I'm not much of a blogosphere triumphalist. I really don't think there is (or will be) much difference between the two. Blogs are more an extension of traditional media than a competitor or alternative to it. They're simply a cheap, accessible, populist way of publishing. I think of them as an extension of the newsstand, rather than something that's going to make it obsolete.

I think much of the "blogs vs. MSM" stuff is forced. There's simply too much overlap between the two for there to be this clear line of demarcation. And blogs are often guilty of the same transgressions for which they so often rail against "old media." Many times, they're worse.

Don't get me wrong -- I think blogs are a wonderful development. And to the extent that they're keeping the established media on its toes, I think that's a good thing. I just think we may have very quickly gone from underestimating the power and importance of blogs to overestimating them.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: The Lithuanian Angle

U. Madison-WI law prof Ann Althouse posts a reader letter:

"Durbin is of Lithuanian descent. I don't know whether he's first generation ... or whether his grandparents arrived during the World War I wave. Durbin spent great energy courting the Lithuanian community in Chicago. Many Lithuanians fell under his spell and, for the first time, voted Democratic (those who emigrated in the late 1940s and early 1950s often voted Republican because they perceived that party as more anti-Communist). I suspect Durbin's comparison of Gitmo to the Gulag and Concentration Camps tastes particularly sour to this community, which was pinched on one side by the Russians and on the other by the Germans."

LEST WE FORGET: Real American Heroes

Children of the 1980s remember the "G.I. Joe" cartoon as well as the PSAs at the end, which advised: "Knowing is half the battle." 2 decades later, those PSAs have fallen into the hands of irreverent Internet pranksters with too much time and ready access to editing equipment. The re-edited PSAs, hosted at eBaum's World, are at least a few years old. Whether it's for the first time or the first in a long while, they're worth a look: Here, here, here and here. Note: Children of the 1970s or earlier may prefer to spend their time otherwise.

Posted by at June 23, 2005 12:00 PM