It's not too often you see a heavy hitter, but yesterday I was privileged to attend a panel discussion on which Ed Morrissey of Captain's Quarters sat.
I would have more to say about the matter (as the discussion was quite interesting) but I was exhausted from getting ready for this trip. In fact, I was in bed by 8 PM last night (10 PM "normal" time back in Tennessee) and slept straight through until this morning.
More to say later.
First let me say, as I do every time I redesign my site, CSS sucks. Big time.
After weeks of effort, I've rolled out my new site design (mostly). Problem is, while most things look fine in Firefox and IE7, it seems IE6 is floating the main column below the right column on my individual archive and archives listing page.
As IE6 accounts for almost 40% of my readers visitors, I think this is a problem.
So can anyone recommend a reasonably-priced web designer that I can pay to fix my problems and maybe do a couple of other things (like install captcha on my comments page because I'm getting dozens of comment spam every day)?
I don't need much, just a little help with the more esoteric aspects of CSS. Like how to make the damn thing work.
Patterico nicely addresses the recent Washington Supreme Court ruling on McCain-Feingold, the applicability of the "media exemption", and how the whole thing applies to blogging.
Andrew Olmsted is returning to active duty, so he is resigning from his seat on the Watcher's Council. The Watcher of Weasels is accepting applications to fill this seat. If you have a blog, I highly recommend participating (I was a charter member of the council).
Microsoft made it's LiveWriter WYSIWYG tool available to beta testers today (download here).
It's a fairly massive download and can install much more than just the blogging tool (like their new Desktop Search), but the installation was painless and error free.
This is my first post using it (hence the lack of any meaningful content) so I am playing with things like inserting pictures:
This is Bubba, whom I named because he is a little bit fat, a little bit lazy and a lot smarter than he lets on.
In this picture Bubba is engaged in his second-favorite activity. His first favorite involves a lap and a hand that can be coaxed away from the laptop which he displaced when jumping up on the lap.
So far, the user experience of LiveWriter is very favorable -- if you can use Word then you can use LiveWriter. On the other hand, there are some things I don't like, but I'll wait to write about those after a few days testing when I can make a good analysis.
The 3.3 version includes some neat things like a Widget Manager ("rearrange page content by drag-and-drop, and integrate with third-party services"), the ability to customize search result pages and email notifications (can include ads) and enhanced task scheduling.
But it is the Enterprise version that I find interesting. It includes everything in v3.3 plus things like LDAP authentication and Oracle 10g database support. It looks like MT is growing up.
On the other hand, Murky.org seems to have had so much trouble with the 3.3 upgrade that he has switched to Wordpress. Of course, that caused some problems too . . .
Technorati Tags: Six Apart, Moveable Type, Blogging News.
Blogs represent the voice of the people–often against the most powerful elements in our society–so they do represent a kind of high-tech democracy in action. ...Update: Today's other must read is a Front Page Magazine article that starts out with comments from Karl Rove in a recent interview in which he said that the internet has created a healthy dialogue on the right, helping to gain influence and broaden the appeal. However:Still, I have to wonder, why do media commentators devote so much attention to radically left-wing blogs–especially when these blogs hardly represent the views of SUV-driving, church-going, baseball-loving moms and dads? ...
The fact of the matter is that Democrats simply cannot control their left flank for very long–hence the ascendancy of the conservative movement. No matter how much the Democratic Party chieftains claim that abortion is a tragic choice ... no matter how much they talk about personal responsibility and getting able-bodied men and women off the public dole ... their liberal colors eventually show. This is why, despite claims that the Democrats are going to enjoy an electoral blow-out this fall, it would be wrong to count the party of Reagan out.
Among Democrats, my sense is that the blog world has tended to strengthen the far Left of the Democratic Party at the expense of liberal, but somewhat less liberal, members of their party. It has tended to sort of drive their party even further to the Left rather than focusing on good ideas that would help unite people around common goals and common purposes. Instead, the Internet for the Left of the Democratic Party has served as a way to mobilize hate and anger — hate and anger, first and foremost, at this President and conservatives, but then also at people within their own party whom they consider to be less than completely loyal to this very narrow, very out-of-the-mainstream, very far Left-wing ideology that they tend to represent.As you can imagine, this stirred things up a bit on the lefty blogs and FrontPage doles out some of the best of the best. A sample:
I hate Rove as much as I hate Bush and all republicans, and I hate the fact that Rove said we are filled with hate. That is sooo hateful!! I wonder how far we can get riding this emotion called hate?Read it all to bring a smile to your face.
But then I read his post on Lust and discovered a sin among sins: scotch and ginger ale.
I know it takes all kinds, but I think I would have felt better had he ordered Cognac and Coke. Hopefully the bar scotch was something really, really bad like Green Stripe.
Full disclosure: I have been known to drink a scotch and milk back in the day, but only when my stomach was bothering me and never with a single malt.
Who know Mike Hollihan was such a party animal?Not me, but the Half-Bakered dude is setting up another Blogger's Bash in Midtown.
Friday, 9 June at P&H.
The last one I went to was far too long ago, considering the amount of fun that I had. And the blogging community is much larger now, so let the good times roll!
In a unanimous vote yesterday, the Federal Election Commission left unregulated almost all political activity on the Internet except for paid political advertisements. Campaigns buying such ads will have to use money raised under the limits of current federal campaign law.Wizbang! calls it "excellent news" and the Daily Brief says "we won". At least Daily Pundit is somewhat skeptical with, "... on balance this seems like it should be good news, right?"Perhaps most important, the commission effectively granted media exemptions to bloggers and other activists using the Web to allow them to praise and criticize politicians, just as newspapers can, without fear of federal interference.
No, no, no, no! That particular government entity did not reject the idea of restricting what used to be Constitutionally protected free speech, it merely chose not to exercise their power of regulation . . . for now. The loathsome McCain/Feingold, passed by our elected servants and signed by our president, remains in place. This is a pyrrhic victory at best.
Brad Smith at RedState briefly touched on this with:
The biggest problem with the rules is simply the principle established - the Internet is now to be subject to regulation. The FEC can change the rules - extend them - when it wants.But the always-pithy e-Claire goes directly to the heart of the matter:
Along a similar vein, I am offended by the compromise of principles that so-called conservatives are willing to make in trying to stop liberal 527s, as reported by Tim Chapman:"It's a win, win, win," [FEC] Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub said.No, Ellen. A 'Win-Win" would be all together wiping out this fantastically stupid and unconstitutional attack on the First Amendment rights of citizens. Now run along and fine someone for saying 'boobie.'
Yesterday's conference call with bloggers made it crystal clear that Republicans in Congress are dead serious about applying McCain/Feingold regulations to 527 groups. Despite the fact that many of those Republicans opposed McCain/Feingold on the grounds that it was an infringement on citizens' 1st Amendment freedoms, they now are willing to extend the law into new areas.McCain/Feingold is an abomination. Any exploitation of it for political gain is pure evil. Those that seek to do so should be ashamed of themselves. More importantly, they should look past a midterm election and see what they are doing to our rights in the long run.The Washington Post explains why:
Just last year, the RNC raised $105.4 million compared with $56.1 taken in by the DNC. In the competition for small donors, the RNC raised $55 million in gifts under $200, while the DNC raised $32.2 million in under-$200 contributions.
Technorati Tags: McCain Feingold, FEC, Federal Election Commission, 527, Blogs, Free Speech, First Amendment, Republicans Betray Principles.
In the "silver lining" category, because of this the Watcher now has an open seat on the Council. It's a great opportunity for a blogger.
Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
In this month's TN Business Magazine, Blogfather Glenn Reynolds is quoted:
Bloggers don’t think in terms of Pulitzers or circulation counts. Reynolds says those who seek out a blogger’s “homerun” moments miscalculate the manner in which a blog is truly influential. Ultimately, he says, the best way to measure a blog is not by leaps and bounds but by increments, by the constant hum of its steady presence. By providing day-to-day exposure to opinions, facts and context, and by accepting and publishing feedback, the blog becomes something greater than much of what is offered in mainstream media. After all, a newspaper column is a lecture; a blog is a conversation. Online blogging communities—comprised of the blogger, his or her readership and the news of the day (usually supplied by mainstream media)—continuously feed off each other.Those 2,500 comments have educated me, refined my views of the world and shaped my political being. I have come to appreciate the views of others and sometimes even been convinced to change my view of an issue.
Again, thank you.
Meanwhile, our elected servants are to debate whether my activities will continue to be legal:
If you're one of the nation's 30 million-plus bloggers - or among the 75,000 joining their ranks every day - keep an eye on Thursday's House vote on the Online Freedom of Speech Act.There's little chance that this will affect the great majority of bloggers and so I am not worried. Still, how far we have come since McCain insisted that we attempt the impossible task of taking money out of politics.Unless the bill passes, you may need a lawyer, if you discuss politics online. If it passes, you may still need a lawyer, if you spend more than $250 a year on your blog.
Technorati Tags: Blogversary, FEC, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, AlphaPatriot.
Nancy French, who said she writes political humor for a living and organized the Romney volunteer effort in Tennessee, told reporters that she and other volunteers had spent three weeks preparing for the Memphis event. “If we had twice that, we could have taken the whole thing,” an exuberant French told reporters.I met Nancy at the convention a few hours ago. I found her to be delightful, sincere and very very pumped about Mitt. And that was before the straw poll results were announced.Asked if she – like Romney – was a Mormon, French said, “No, I’m a Presbyterian. Everybody keeps coming over to me and saying, ‘Way to go, Sister French,’ and I’m – like – ‘thanks.’ I feel like I don’t know what to say.”
She said the Romney campaign had not called her to work on the Memphis event and that she and her husband had organized their own pro-Romney volunteer effort.
Technorati Tags: SRLC, Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Political Conventions, Republican Politics, Memphis, Mitt Romney, Straw Poll, Hotline, Hotline Straw Poll, Blogs, Tennessee.
"Oops, I used my dog's shampoo in the shower today", or "Gee, ice skates are hard to get used to after rollerblades": welcome to the blogs of Finland's presidential candidates ahead of Sunday's election.Technorati Tags: Finland, Blogs, Campaign Blogs, Political Blogs.
Moreover, their activities should be open for inspection. We the people are putting the future of our lives and our children's lives into the hands of those we elect; we deserve to know that they are trustworthy and should certainly be able to tell when they have violated that trust.
The need for ethical leadership cannot be overstated, which is why I am adding my voice to this statement that appears at Truth Laid Bear:
If you agree and would like to add your support, click over and add a comment. You won't believe how long the list already is!An Appeal from Center-Right BloggersWe are bloggers with boatloads of opinions, and none of us come close to agreeing with any other one of us all of the time. But we do agree on this: The new leadership in the House of Representatives needs to be thoroughly and transparently free of the taint of the Jack Abramoff scandals, and beyond that, of undue influence of K Street.
We are not naive about lobbying, and we know it can and has in fact advanced crucial issues and has often served to inform rather than simply influence Members.
But we are certain that the public is disgusted with excess and with privilege. We hope the Hastert-Dreier effort leads to sweeping reforms including the end of subsidized travel and other obvious influence operations. Just as importantly, we call for major changes to increase openness, transparency and accountability in Congressional operations and in the appropriations process.
As for the Republican leadership elections, we hope to see more candidates who will support these goals, and we therefore welcome the entry of Congressman John Shadegg to the race for Majority Leader. We hope every Congressman who is committed to ethical and transparent conduct supports a reform agenda and a reform candidate. And we hope all would-be members of the leadership make themselves available to new media to answer questions now and on a regular basis in the future.
Signed,N.Z. Bear, The Truth Laid Bear
Hugh Hewitt, HughHewitt.com
Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.com
Kevin Aylward, Wizbang!
La Shawn Barber, La Shawn Barber's Corner
Lorie Byrd / DJ Drummond , Polipundit
Beth Cleaver, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Jeff Goldstein, Protein Wisdom
Stephen Green, Vodkapundit
John Hawkins, Right Wing News
John Hinderaker, Power Line
Jon Henke / McQ / Dale Franks, QandO
James Joyner, Outside The Beltway
Mike Krempasky, Redstate.org
Michelle Malkin, MichelleMalkin.com
Ed Morrissey, Captain's Quarters
Scott Ott, Scrappleface
The Anchoress, The Anchoress
John Donovan / Bill Tuttle, Castle Argghhh!!!
Hat tip to reader Bat One.
Les Jones is skeptical and is running a poll. Go vote.
Half-Bakered Mike is touchingly pessimistic.
As for me, I'll say au revoir in the hopes that the incredible Bill Hobbs will return.
Now excuse me, I have to go wash my hands after typing a French phrase.
We're one third through the voting for the 2005 Weblog Awards.Remember, you can vote once per day and voting goes through the 15th.
This year there are two great benefits from the awards. First is the discovery of some really great blogs that you didn't know about. Just peruse the list.
Second is the humor war between Cox and Forkum and Day by Day. Here's the first shot across the bows (click image for full size original):
One of the reasons I think you've seen some oppose H.R. 1606 is because they supported the 2002 campaign finance reform legislation and they're trying to defend that vote still. In many ways H.R. 1606 is a recognition that the 2002 reform has been a disaster. And I have no doubt at least a few voted no on H.R. 1606 in order to bolster their assertion that the 2002 reform was a positive.I agree completely.
Compare and contrast with Rep. Todd Platts' (R-PA) reasoning for voting against the legislation, posted by Captain's Quarters:
As the last election cycle demonstrated, the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act has been successful in reducing the role of large, undisclosed "soft money" contributions to political parties and candidates without diminishing free speech in any way. As such, I voted against H.R. 1606, which would have undermined the 2002 law by creating a new, potentially huge soft money loophole.Platts goes on to assure us that the FCC is drafting regulations that will protect bloggers.
Why am I not reassured?
Online political expression should not be exempt from campaign finance law, the House decided Wednesday as lawmakers warned that the Internet has opened up a new loophole for uncontrolled spending on elections.Excuses for passing the McCain-FeingoldThe House voted 225-182 for a bill that would have excluded blogs, e-mails and other Internet communications from regulation by the Federal Election Commission. That was 47 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed under a procedure that limited debate time and allowed no amendments.
The vote in effect clears the way for the FEC to move ahead with court-mandated rule-making to govern political speech and campaign spending on the Internet.
AlphaPatriot's Blog is worth $186,862.74.
How much is your blog worth?
Yes, I'll sell and even discount it to an even $100K — but not to the French.
HT to Right Side of the Rainbow.
I created one for visitors to AlphaPatriot so if the mood strikes you feel free to jump over and stick a pin.
This came from Crooked Timber via Tim Worstall.
I plan to keep the site up to maintain an internet presence, and to have an occasional bland post or personal update, but don't expect to see any particularly no-holds-barred biting political commentary (as you haven't really seen at all here this year).Via Say Uncle, who covers it with one word: Bummer.
The main difference, of course, is the header. I'm a little proud of it as I am not an artist nor artistically inclined and as it was done with Photoshop Elements 2 (which is not exactly a full-blown photo editing piece of software).
Comments would be appreciated (I know it needs some tweaking). Change skins by hitting the menu button or clicking here.
One caution — your display must be at least 1024 pixels wide to see the whole thing.
The column notes that Representative Campfield was first to break the story on his own blog in a series of posts, noting that Campfield was the source of the blogosphere rumor that Mayor Herenton was going to be arrested:
Campfield's posting represents the best and the worst of the new online medium and its impact on mainstream news sources. Blogging puts the heat under traditional media as stories can break on the blogs before the cameras roll or the ink dries. But in a breaking-news (live blogging) scenario, access and fact-checking are real problems, and in the onslaught of words, misinformation can quickly spread.Memphis blogger Mike Hollihan also made the article (and deservedly so):
In Memphis, Mike Hollihan of Half-Bakered, a site dedicated primarily to his version of conservative politics and to scrutiny of the Memphis media, followed the story closely, providing up-to-the-minute commentary for computer-bound workers who might not have access to a television or radio. Hollihan, a libertarian who generally lends his support to Republicans, also made with some fair and balanced meta-blogging after Bill Giannini, chairman of Shelby County Republicans, rushed out an e-mail critical of John Ford, Katheryn Bowers, and other Shelby County Democrats caught in the web.The Nashville Scene got a couple of mentions in the column."What a load," Hollihan wrote. "You'll notice, first of all, that they didn't mention Barry Myers, "protege" of Roscoe Dixon. He is a Shelby Countian. Was it because he's not a legislator? Well, why didn't they mention the other legislators? Was it because one of them, Chris Newton, is a Republican? Is it because he has nothing to do with Shelby County? Please."
It's nice to see a paper notice bloggers and write about their part in breaking a story — even if the journalist that does so is a blogger himself. But not one URL except in the footnotes pointing to Davis' blog (though the footnote was not created by Davis). That disappoints me.
Your blog is so ugly Matt Drudge sent you an e-mail offering to help you redesign it "so it's more aesthetically pleasing."HT to non-blogging Advised by WolvesYour blog is so badly written it got you your own column at the New York Press.
The idea of Pajamas Media is to use an extensive network of globally affiliated blogs to provide first-person, in-depth coverage of most major news events, including both camera and video footage, Roger Simon said.The best quote comes from the Blogfather:Using as an example the tsunami that swept through parts of Asia and Africa in January, Mr. Simon said bloggers managed to post hundreds of updates, first-person accounts, and video clips, often before major press organizations could deploy their staffs. With 162 affiliate blogs in dozens of different countries, according to Mr. Simon, the new venture will have the ability to get "in the middle of stories" that major news organizations can't, "because our affiliates will have a physical proximity, language, and cultural knowledge that the Associated Press man will often lack." Mr. Simon is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter and mystery novelist whose credits include the Woody Allen directed "Scenes From a Mall" and the Moses Wine detective series.
"I think it is a tired cliche that because there won't be newspaper editors at PJM, that somehow the product will be diminished," Mr. Reynolds said. "We do not need four or five layers of editors to screw this up like they have at the L.A. Times. Hopefully, we'll have live feeds and middle-of-the-crowd commentary from the next Beirut demonstration."Roger Simon urges bloggers to join the effort:
It's been "non-stop boogie 'til you drop" here at Pajamas Headquarters with over 170 blogs now having signed up for Pajamas Media (not to mention untold milblogs) and literally hundreds more making inquiries, including blogs from Siberia and Shanghai! And they come in all shapes, sizes and subject matter - we even have a speleology blog!Read Simon's original open letter to all bloggers.
This will be very, very interesting. Even Michelle Malkin promises to join. I've never taken money for my blog (it's not a job), not even a tip jar, but the opportunity to support something that challenges the single-source MSM sounds like the right thing to do. Anything to make the readership of newspapers continue to decline.
Decisions, decisions.
The problem is now fixed (obviously). The reason:
The reason for the outage was an errant set of filters on our core routers. These have been removed.That took 12 hours to find?
I'm not happy. I'm thinking that paying for unlimited monthly transfer is pretty silly if my site takes a dive the first time there is the slightest chance that I might exceed some predetermined limit.
Any suggestions for a host that specializes in Moveable Type would be appreciated.
Yet not only did Ms. Barber read one of my posts, she saw fit to mention it on MSNBC.
My blog mentioned in the same segment as PoliPundit and Michele Malkin.
What a wicked cool thing to happen.
I have attained blogvana.
And I wouldn't even have known it had The Political Teen not only tipped me off, but put the video segment on his blog.
It's a darn good thing, too. His reply to my last email (in which I kindly and gererously offered to host his weekly Watcher's Council contest for him) consisted solely of:
Withdrawal? Wicked, tricksey, false! He tries to steal the precious from us... stupid, fat hobbit!Perhaps with solid 2-hour blogging fix we will be able to welcome WoW back into the ranks of the politick sane.
Good golly a'goshen, how does one stand being forceably cut off from your blog for so long? Three days and counting!
Ah well, the Watcher hopes to be back up and running in the next 24 hours. Here's hoping he is.
That's fine. He has his opinion and I read his article to discover why he thought so. I wanted to see if he would change my mind. I'm a reasonable person, so changing my mind is something I'm willing to do when presented with good arguments.
Shaw wants to reserve freedom of the press for "newspaper, magazine, radio and television reporters and editors":
True, but 40 or 50 years ago there were many, many inexperienced journalists who did traffic in gossip and rumor. Heck -- those hacks exist today. But Shaw will protect the basest of men if they write for an editor, say one who works for the National Enquirer, yet would refuse legal protections to a citizen performing the same service.
Yes, and the Jason Blairs of the "professional" world are indistinguishable from such people.
So someone who writes, edits, prints and hawks a small-town paper is equivalent to a blogger and should be refused constitutional protection? Bureaucracy is the reason you should be held in higher regard than I? If I get three friends to read my work before it is posted, do I qualify for your exclusive club?
Of course! It's not as if that isn't true for every person in America!
I don't mind Shaw having his opinion that as a writer for a large newspaper he is superior to every blogger who ever picked up a keyboard. What I object to is his being so incredibly bad at supporting his opinion and yet thinking that he is superior to any blogger that ever picked up a keyboard.
Update: Slate agrees with me and fisks Shaw mercilessly. In part:
Shaw seems to believe that the First Amendment and its subsidiary protections belong to the credentialed employees of the established corporate press and not to the great unwashed. I suggest that he—or one of the four experienced editors who touched his copy—research the history of the First Amendment. They'll learn that the Founders wrote it precisely to protect Tom, Dick, and Matt and the wide-eyed pamphleteers and the partisan press of the time. The professional press, which Shaw believes so essential in protecting society, didn't even exist until the late 19th century.
Tony indicated that he didn't think it would go anywhere because there would be no way to regulate it. "What are you going to do, sue 30,000 people?"
I give you the RIAA.
Imagine if law was passed that restricted political speech on the internet. CBS gets pummeled by PoliPundit and RatherBiased.com? Guess who gets sued?
Imagine the effect if MSM and thier liberal cohorts sue just one or two top bloggers. Perhaps some conservative retaliates against DK or even DU.
Bloggers would abandon ship in droves. I can't afford to take on the deep pockets of the NY Times. Can you?
