Politics and Blogs: The World That Doesn't Work

I'm the first to comment. I don't believe it as I have so little time lately to get on TH.

Very, very interesting article Phil. It doesn't surprise me that the liberal media types are still stuck on their agenda. After all we see the libs stuck on their path no matter how many "facts" are presented to them.

I would not expect the liberal blogosphere to be any different. The libs never "listen" so the lib blogs don't surprise me one bit.

It's a sad thing that "truth" means little and their agenda is the priority. But, what else have we seen out of them?

The liberal blogs "winning" is a laugh to say the least. I predict that the worst of them will eventually disappear once the hatred of the right becomes so utterly boring to them. How long can some people spend in hatred? What a waste of one's life!

I'm impressed with all your meetings of some of the more powerful bloggers. I bet you were just thrilled you were recognized. Way to go Phil!!

yesterday and today's posts. Interesting stuff here.

I think that our individual blogs are reflective of the bigger entity that is TH and they are echo chambers to the degree that TH in general is. As TH breaks out, so do we all to some degree.

Let's face it though, we counted on the echo chamber to draw readers. We all started writing here because we saw a ready made target audience. I did humor because I saw a niche that wasn't being filled (exclusively) by too many other blogs (as I understand it, Scrappleface did start out as a TH blog).

As for me, I still mostly do this for my own amusement and as an outlet. It's an icebreaker to help have my views considered when I visit your blogs and write serious comments.

Still it is nice to be read. Joking about the issues we talk about here is a way of breaking through the echo and having your views listened to. Otherwise, mine is just another voice saying what everyone else is saying, and in the exact same words. It's much better to repackage, stamp on a new "sell by" date and flag it as new, improved and funnier.

My blog though, is the model echo chamber. If you read my articles there is always a position being taken or something being stated. You usually have to read between the lines and I may not always light the way as brightly as it seems when I read it. Still, I get no debate, no arguments. Maybe that is just the nature of my site though. I'd prefer more feedback because that is where I get ideas for new material.

Thanks for attending Blogworld and reporting back. Good stuff, Phil.

Yeah, it was a bigger event than I expected. I'm still trying to digest the experience. I took lots of notes and gather lots of material on the companies, authors and others who were there. I had never heard of the liberal bloggers on the panel and I plan on researching them later this week. Friedman seemed deluded but rational and likeable. I have no idea who Natasha is and there is nothing at the Blogworld website on her but she was generally quiet and didn't say anything that caught my attention. It seemed to be the "Taylor Marsh Is Crazy" show. Must be what it's like listening to Barbra Streisand.

I wouldn't worry about being an echo chamber. Townhall is a stew pot of ideas and we often disagree about things here but have a lot of fun doing it.

Many things I learned for my own future use gave me insights about Townhall and what is going on here. If I were still there, I would have found someone to ask whether they use any of the data mining and other marketing services that were there. We really aren't echo chambers, that's just a standard joke with me when people ask me about my blog, "Yes, I'm the proprietor of my own personal echo chamber." Townhall is sort of an ad hoc political think tank that tries to gauge what is going on at ground level. I suspect that much of what we say and how we form social networks here gets analyzed. Don't get paranoid. It's more about process than identity. Everyone is trying to figure out how to make the new media work and it has to work in a way where we are willing to show up while knowing how and why info is being gathered. Powerline is a true blog. It's a very organized space but there isn't as much structure there as there is at Townhall.

And I don't think of you blog as an echo chamber. You have a wicked sense of humor and it appeals to certain people. To me, an echo chamber is where only one opinion is tolerated. There are plenty of those at Townhall and they tend to shrivel and die. Everybody that comments here represent a network that is trying to figure it all out. We are fact-based and respect other fact-based people who just happen to disagree with us. We may retreat to our blogs to clarify our positions but we go right back out and engage others at other sites. I think that is a very healthy way to do things.

... there's echo chambers.

I guess it would be more accurate to say that the reason we gather here is that there were a heavier concentration of like minded people here. I tend to believe that (counter-intuitively) conservatism and the conservative movement (taking in the whole range of ideas) tends to be an idea driven movement. That being the case, it does concern me when I hear people who claim to being "the one true conservative" try to stifle debate by claiming the mantle and denouncing all others. And the claim is made by everyone within the spectrum.

Since we are the side with the ideas, we should instead be formulating solutions to problems within the framework of conservative beliefs. Conservatism isn't guided merely by ruling out what isn't the responsibility of government, but by fostering and supporting non-governmental private sector solutions to problems.

There are a few echo chambers here. Sanity 102 and Steve Mohoney (whatever his name is) became true echo chamber blogs -- indeed to look through their comments it almost feels like intruding on a private conversation -- precisely because they insulted, and called stupid, everyone who disagreed with them. As you point out, they will eventually wither on the vine and just resort to emailing each other their mutual agreement and admiration.

Next year, I guess it's me in Lost Wages for Blogworld.

Sounds like a lot of fun. I'm now sorry I missed it.



BTW, check out Mike Adams's column today. It's on John M. Browning. I'm in the middle of kicking Critical Bill's butt.

As Kilroy frequently says "I couldn't agree with me more".

Kilroy, long ago I was involved in radio and I learned that the best way to shrink your audience is to start catering to the loud and demanding callers and write-ins. By focusing on making certain people happier, you start making others less happy and they eventually go away. It is healthy to cross-
pollenate. That is what is going on here. Political parties are in trouble because they act like bullhorns. If people aren't getting the message, say it louder.

BrianR, that reminds me. I'm picking up my new Browning Buck Thursday. Can't wait. And I'm sure you would have had fun. I get the idea you aren't too shy to walk up to anybody. That's the key. This wasn't your usual expo. You weren't talking to reps but the actual VIPs. It was like going to an expo in 1980 and meeting Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mitch Kapor and the rest before they becames famous billionaires. The only hassle was the Vegas traffic on arrival and departure. The event was a flawless demonstration of organization and planning.

You're almost, sort of, slightly famous. So MKH didn't know who you were, don't worry about it, Dean Barnett does. May be an indication of who reads comments and who doesn't.
It has been readily apparent to anyone with eyes and ears, long before Rathergate, that the MSM was more about agenda than truth. I remember watching the coverage of the Florida recount fiasco and Jonathan Alterman getting nearly appoplectic that Al Gore would not be allowed to steal the election. We are all entitled to our opinions, but not our own facts. I wonder if the "journalists" will ever get back to the pursuit of facts and truth rather than "making a difference"? I won't be holding my breath.

Me? Shy? Heh heh heh.

Yeah, that's never been my problem.



BTW, speaking of guns (hey, enjoy that new Browning. Very very cool gun), Motley Crue and I are talking about maybe going up to the range in January when he drives through town on his way to San Fran. Interested in going? We could make it kind of an unofficial TH meet-and-greet-and-shoot.

Give it some thought. You can show of that Browning. Yer Glock, too.

Sounds like a great idea Brian. My e-mail is listed above. Just "shoot" me the time and place. (That's Canuck talk, like "Throw me down the stairs my hat!".

Yeah that's pretty much what John Hinderaker told me too when I asked him if there was any sign that the MSM had learned anything from Rathergate. The answer is: NO. Stuck on stupid.

If you heard laughter coming from the dark end of the room, that would've been John from Argghhh! and me cracking up at the liberal answers.

Dunno if it's a good thing or not, but MKH knows who I am (the usually-shy crazy mutant cheddar guy). You are very right about the camaraderie.

Did you catch Natasha's full name and where she was from? I was pretty close to the front and could see everyone's expressions and she didn't seem to be particularly proud of Taylor Marsh's comments.

Email on the way. I'm sure that's a convenience email address, so check it when you get the chance.

The problem is the batteries on the digital voice recorder died about 3/4ths of the way through that session, and I don't have fresh AAAs in the house. I'll have that for you tomorrow.

your report sounds pretty much like everything we've known for about, hmmm, how long has Rush been on? Good job. Good luck with your plans for going big-time.

I'm not planning on going big-time. I just want a platform that taps into and services a market of about 200 people. Blogging here is just fun. I've learned much about the medium and am apparently making friends. If I spun off on my own, my traffic would plummet to close to zero. I'm going nowhere.

with your book ideas. we love ya here.

You are famous, and slightly so!! I enjoyed your posts about Blogworld. I wanted to go to the Milblog conference in DC last year...You made some great observations as always. I count the folks on my blog roll as some of the smartest people I "know". Someday I really hope that the regulars of some of these blogs can really meet and do our own blog world. I especially like the distinction made for honest, fact-finding journalism, over, say, the agenda pushed,ignore the facts type on the left. We knew it all along, but when you actually get witness it first-hand, it makes you know that you are not really as biased as you think- they are! The paranoia of some people who think like this astounds me(corporate paying for the best conservative blogs?) Bwahhha! Your posts were almost as good as being there. Thanks! And good luck on your future endeavors, whatever they are!
We can say we knew you when you were slightly famous!

BrianR is planning an impromptu TH junior circuit get-together to put holes in paper at a local gun range. Maybe we can have TH "shoot-out"?

BrianR is planning an impromptu TH junior circuit get-together to put holes in paper at a local gun range. Maybe we can have TH "shoot-out"?

Natasha Chart of Pacific Views (or at least that's what my notes say).

thanks. Let's see what I can dig up. She didn't appear to be nutty to me but she really wasn't assertive enough to be heard.

She is a certified nut

http://www.pacificviews.org/

Go down to HER description of the panel discussion. She believes the topic of that panel was about whether the left or the right are winning in blogs. She worships Taylor Marsh. It never occurs to her that maybe the topic was blogs vs conventional media. It was just another opportunity to act like a victim at the hands of the bad old conservatives.

Every time I doubt whether I have any marketable writing skills, all I have to do is go to Pacific Views, Huffington Post or Daily Kos to remind myself that I am competing in the LITERATE and TRUTH-BASED universe of the blogosphere. Why should there be any writing standards when there are no other standards in the nutisphere world? I may not be professional quality but I'm light years better than them.

I was exchanging comments with the KT Cat Natasha refers to at Powerline over the weekend. According to her, we are all moral degenerates for incoherent reasons.

She might have been part of the morning session that was titled just that. At the "suggestion" of Uncle Jimbo (as an ex-Special Forces guy, he can be VERY persuasive), I swapped into the Bloging from the Front one with Michael Yon, so I can neither confirm that suspicion nor provide any direct insight into the ugliness that Kos brought to it.

As for professionalism or lack thereof from the left, that's one of the main reasons why I don't regularily read any of the lefty blogs. Mind you, I'm not anything approaching polished with the written word either, but I do try to weigh them (and sometimes weight them, but that's another thing). I just can't wrap my mind around a poorly-written argument, especially when there's no discernable reasoning that went into it and the conclusions are completely wrong.

That having been said, if you can drag them out of politics for a while, some of them can briefly be decent human beings.

When I signed up for the workshops, I didn't know who the presenters would be. The only political one I attended was this one. I actually met and talked with Eric Egland. In fact, he's the one who introduced me to Dean Barnett (who blew me off). Just learned this morning that Eric is running for office here in CA. I'm going to look into that. And congratulations on getting linked on MKH's posting this morning. I guess I really should have gone to that party.

I would've thought your mention of Katie with the taser would finally get you noticed, but apparently it takes somebody pushing you further than you really belong to get the mention.

I wasn't at the party, you were. MKH did ask me for my business card but she might have forgotten the "Pasadena Phil" connection. Katie knows me though and commented on my other essay and sent me an e-mail. No problem. I enjoyed meeting everyone.

I actually first ran into MKH last month at AFP's Defending the American Dream summit (a guest of the Wisconsin delegation). I got to Bloggers' Row nice and early, and snagged a seat right next to one of the outlets just off the podium set up for any of the candidates that decided to pop in (the benefits of getting in early). Since I had no warning on who else would be on Bloggers' Row besides another Cheddarsphere denziens I flew down with and a third who asked to guest-blog the thing on my main blog, I was surprised when MKH walked in.

She did eventually make the connection between the face and my TH comments on my first TownHall DAD recap; unfortunately, old klutzy me wiped that post and comment out trying to take out a multiude of drafts.

Trust me, she'll remember you the next time.

Now, we have to get Katie blogging again. She gave me the "too much work" line.

Very interesting. That's what I like about blogging. I will add you to my Blogroll once it starts working again. I was very impressed by MKH. Dean Barnett referred to her as the Mary Tyler Moore of the blogosphere and I can see why, and beyond the MTM = MKH similarity. I found LaShawn Barber to have similar "having a ball" qualities. I wonder why Katie stopped blogging? This doesn't take much time if you skip the essays. I typically spend less than 30 minutes a day and I work about 12-16 hours a day.

And wasn't sure what to add.

It is I think very indicative of the emotion that rules the left. Details don't matter. Its the emotion or "meaning" behind it.

That's why they skirt talking about the details and the truth, they distract from the "bigger picture."

It's all about agenda and they can't even have fact-oriented discussions among themselves. It's all about presenting competing sets of "facts" together in furthering their agendas. They are not going to report anything that does not do that. That is why they have so little impact. They have no credibility except among the small number of Kool-Aid drinkers. It is a major mistake for the Dems to be assuming that they do have major influence and why they are 0-40 trying to cut funding to Iraq. Conservative bloggers, on the other hand, tend to be more fact-oriented and we closer to a consensus on values and facts so when issues like scamnesty loom, we organize quickly to attack the problem in large numbers. Facts trump BS most of the time.

Can't argue with that.

It is about the end goal for them, an idealized utopia that is naive and foolish.

Human experience has shown something entirely different, but they are indeed blind to it. That only gets in the way.

And everytime I think about liberal bloggers, I can't help but remember my brief experience at KO's. Got kicked out in about an hour for a) criticizing Sheehan (saying only she's not the queen they make her out to be) and b) asking some probing questions as to why they believe certain things. And someone even told me I has no soul for suggesting the Iraq war may be good.

You got it.

check out Natasha's blog "Pacific Views" and scroll down to her nutty recap of that panel discussion.

http://www.pacificviews.org/

None of the paranoid things she cites happened. She is just revealing her agenda and assigning what she believes the conservative panelists were thinking but not saying. You can't discuss anything with these people. You say one thing and they hear something else. And they are the same way among themselves.

"Partisan leanings? Eh. I've long said I'd vote for the Democrat. Also that I'm not inspired by any of them like with Dean in 2004. They don't do IT for me. If I'm supposed to pick someone because I just like them and am really motivated by them, or their policies, well, I've got a pretty high threshold for that. My only honest reaction is 'why can't I pick Gore, like I wanted to in the first place?"

It's off topic, but this is why I fear if Gore decided to run...

It sure does seem that Gore has major appeal to the nuttiest of the nuts, the Stonehenge and brie crowd.

She had an entertaining enough site, though I think for reasons she would not approve.