This sounds like something out

This sounds like something out of Jack Ryan's CIA days.

Hmmmmmmm.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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and we are living in

and we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl...but all I really want is world peace!

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So, it's looking like some

So, it's looking like some of the money from the UN's Oil for Food scam might have found its way into Al-Qaeda's pockets.

{...}Now, buried in some of the United Nation's own
confidential documents, clues can be seen that underscore the
possibility of just such a Saddam-Al Qaeda link — clues leading to a
locked door in this Swiss lakeside resort. Next to that door, a festive
sign spells out in gold letters under a green flag that this is the
office of MIGA, the Malaysian Swiss Gulf and African Chamber.
Registered here 20 years ago as a society to promote business between
the Gulf States and Asia, Europe and Africa, MIGA is a company that the
United Nations and the U.S. government says has served as a hub of Al
Qaeda finance: A terrorist chamber of commerce.
{...}As is typical of terrorist financial webs, the details surrounding
MIGA quickly become bewildering — part of the point being to
camouflage the illicit flow of funds with legitimate business. Part of
the problem in finding the truth is that cross-border transactions out
of such financial havens as Switzerland are smothered in banking
secrecy.
But even with that secrecy — and shortly after the Sept.11, 2001,
attacks on the United States — both MIGA and its chief founder and
longtime president, Ahmed Idris Nasreddin, landed on the U.N. watchlist
of entities and individuals belonging to, or affiliated with Al Qaeda.
Nasreddin is a member of the terror-linked Muslim Brotherhood
Nasreddin's longtime business partner, Egyptian-born Youssef Nada, also
of the Muslim Brotherhood, likewise appears on the U.N.'s Al Qaeda
watchlist, as do a slew of both Nasreddin's and Nada's enterprises.
Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill in August 2002 described Nada
and Nasreddin as "supporters of terrorism" involved in "an extensive
financial network providing support to Al Qaeda and other
terrorist-related organizations."
Far less attention has been paid to the small, select band of MIGA's
other charter members. But one of them, Iraqi-born Ahmed Totonji, set
up shop years ago just outside Washington, D.C., and is now among those
named by U.S. federal authorities in an investigation into a cluster of
companies and Islamic non-profits based in Herndon, Virginia, suspected
of having funneled money to terrorist groups.
MIGA had other founders as well. One of them, who does not appear on
the U.N. terror list, is an Arab businessman now in his early 60s,
Abdul Rahman Hayel Saeed.
Described by an acquaintance as urbane, polite and fluent in English,
Hayel Saeed was born into one of Yemen's most prominent business clans,
owners of a family-held global conglomerate based in the Yemeni capital
of Taiz and named for its founding patriarch: the Hayel Saeed Anam
Group of Companies, or HSA.
From Yemen, the HSA group boasts a far-flung business empire, including
a Yemen-based Islamic bank, and a host of business subsidiaries,
affiliates and regional trading offices in places ranging from the
United Kingdom to Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Russia and China.
Abdul Rahman Hayel Saeed sits on the HSA board of directors, and ranks
high in the management — he is currently running HSA's regional
office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In MIGA, Hayel Saeed holds a prominent
spot, as one of four co-founders who back in 1984 delegated power of
attorney to the terrorist-linked Nasreddin, giving him authority to run
the company.
Swiss registry documents show that Hayel Saeed has never resigned from
MIGA, nor revoked that power of attorney. Queried about this link to
MIGA, neither Hayel Saeed nor the HSA Group's chairman of the board,
Ali Mohamed Saeed, has made any response.
{...}One of the big questions is whether any of the money skimmed from
Oil-for-Food also slopped into terrorist-financing ventures such as
MIGA.
It's important to note that in tracking terrorist financing, the
simplest starting points are the visible links, the potential
connections through which money might most easily have flowed. Proving
that funds actually coursed through those conduits is far more
difficult.
In the case of Hayel Saeed, MIGA and the HSA Group, there is no public
information available about the precise flow of funds, and no proof
that Saddam's money made its way to MIGA. But in looking for patterns
that beg for further investigation — especially by authorities with
access to detailed U.N. records and information on MIGA accounts —
some items here stand out.
Most simply, there is the question of why HSA was among those companies
favored by Saddam for such a fat slice of business. It is increasingly
clear that Saddam did not, on average, choose his contractors either at
random, or because they were the most cost-efficient suppliers of
relief for the people of Iraq. While some of the deals may have been
entirely legitimate, many melded payments for humanitarian goods with
illicit kickbacks and payoffs. In such cases, it was a lucrative
privilege to be tapped as an Oil-for-Food contractor by Saddam's
regime.
The lingering question, for any individual case, becomes: Was there a
quid pro quo?{...}

Go read the whole thing.
So, while not definitive in any way, shape or form, there are enough
red flags sticking out of this whole mess to set a bull on a rampage.
I'm not going to go a' speculating, but if this does indeed flesh
out...well, that would be remarkable. The whole "Bush lied about WMD"
excuse will go the way of the dodo rather quickly. Its irrelevancy will
be outed and the link between the War on Terror and Iraq will have been
firmly established. Fox will be showing this report in its extended
format on Breaking Point tomorrow night at 9pm EDT.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:48 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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...as Michael Moore's being delusional

...as Michael Moore's being delusional again.

Fortunately, Steve-o el Llamabutcher , in the spirit of The Wonder Twins, has magically transformed himself into a gigantic dose of Prozac (Moore is rather, er, large, after all. A big dosage is called for.) and is fighting the delusions quite nicely.

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A commenter here and at

A commenter here and at other blogs has decided to take the Great Leap Forward and start up her own. I know she'll be more successful with her Great Leap than Mao was with his. Go and visit Kitty at Traces of Time and spread the love.

I've also been remiss in not pointing you in the direction of Effortless Atrocities,
which is written by a character who goes by the name of Prufrock and
who has some very interesting insights. He/she is also a friend of
seldom sober (at least the blogroll seems to indicate as much) who I
think has to be the biggest blogging enabler I've met yet. Both blogs
are well worth your time, so point your mousie and click away.

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I'm bummed. Emma at Miss

I'm bummed.

Emma at Miss Apropos has
decided to close up shop. Email has been exchanged and suffice it to
say she has her reasons---and they're good ones---so I won't harrass
her too much for choosing not to share her talents any longer. Ah well.
Such is life. However, since she's no longer around, I've removed her
link from my puny blogroll. It feels odd to have done this: she was one
of the first people who added me onto her blogroll, and whatever
limited success I have in blogging is partially due to her. Since I
choose not to be a link whore, when I get added onto a blogroll, it's
generally a big deal here in Cake Eater Land. I whoop and holler and
praise God that I'm not out in the ether anymore. But even more so, it
means someone has read me and likes my stuff enough to go through the
pains of adding to a blogroll, rather than that they are just
reciprocating for a link because it's good manners. Emma was the second
person to notice my stuff, through a comment I left at another
now-defunct-for-the-time-being blog, and without any promotion on my
part, wrote a very nice post about me and added me onto her blogroll.
So, it feels very odd that she's no longer in business. I, for one,
will miss her and wish her nothing but the best.

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Of all the Silly German

Of all the Silly German stories I've linked over the past year, I have
to say, this one is pretty close to taking the cake.

He must have been really desperate.

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The Art Institue of Chicago

The Art Institue of Chicago is currently holding a Seurat exhibition on The Making of La Grande Jatte. The husband sent me this link yesterday, noting that CBS' Sunday Morning program did a wonderful piece on it.

If you've never been to the Art Institute to see this painting in person, know that it's a huge
canvas. On the metric scale, it's 207.5 cm x 308 cm. In English
measurements that's 6'8" x 10'1", which makes the level of detail
involved all the more impressive. Pointillism is not the easiest of
painting styles---and it surely wouldn't have been easy for that
massive of a canvas. I've always thought that the size of the canvas
was one of the reasons why this painting was so admired and lauded: no
one other that Seurat would have had the guts to attempt such a thing.
But it's also beautiful and was groundbreaking in its day. It pushed
Impressionism further and Seurat is often credited as the first
Postimpressionist.
So, muy mucho culture and art history references aside, we come to the
pop culture aspects. (You knew it was coming, right? If you didn't,
know that I'm most disappointed with you. Sigh.) Most people my age
recognize this painting as the one that Cameron got lost in while Ferris and Sloane played tonsil hockey. If you'd like to have your own Cameron moment, go here, scroll down to the Enlargement of La Grande Jatte
function and futz around. You'll have fun. And if you can't make it to
Chicago, it's almost as good as pushing your face into the canvas.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:37 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm a little late on

I'm a little late on this one.
I didn't see it last week when it was published, but it's still
relevant. If it's been linked elsewhere, I apologize for my slovenly
habits. If you haven't seen it, well, it seems the average insurgent in
Baghdad has more than a few conflicts to resolve before he protests the
occupation by trying to kill soldiers.

{...}Abu Mujahed, worryingly for the analysts, fits into
none of these easy categories. For a start, he was pro-American before
the invasion. 'The only way to breathe under the old regime was to
watch American films and listen to their music,' he said. He had been a
Bon Jovi fan. 'It gave me a glimpse of a better life. When I heard that
the Americans were coming to liberate Iraq I was very happy. I felt
that I would be able to live well, travel and have freedom. I wanted to
do more sport, get new appliances and a new car and develop my life. I
thought the US would come here and our lives would be changed through
180 degrees.' He spoke of how his faith in the US was shaken when, via
a friend's illicitly imported satellite TV system, he saw 'barbaric,
savage' pictures of civilian casualties of the fighting and bombing.
The next blow came in the conflict's immediate aftermath, as looters
ran unchecked through Baghdad. 'When I saw the American soldiers
watching and doing nothing as people took everything, I began to
suspect the US was not here to help us but to destroy us,' he said.
{...}Their next try was more successful. The lead vehicle of an
American military convoy ran over an anti-tank mine the group had laid
in a road. 'We think we killed the driver,' he said. 'We found the mine
in a house that had been used by the military during the war. The
Americans were not expecting that sort of device.' Over the next months
the group varied the tactics. 'One day we try and snipe them, the next
we use an IED [Improvised Explosive Device], the next a mine. We never
get any orders from anybody. We are just told: "Today you should do
something," but it is up to us to decide what and when.' Black soldiers are a particular target. 'To have Negroes occupying
us is a particular humiliation,' Abu Mujahed said, echoing the profound
racism prevalent in much of the Middle East. 'Sometimes we aborted a
mission because there were no Negroes.' In contrast to many
militants, who have killed hundreds of Iraqis in the last year, Abu
Mujahed said his group was careful not to kill locals. 'We are now
planning to use bigger bombs in central Baghdad. But it is hard because
there are so many civilians.' Support for the militants is far from
universal. They are not attracting new recruits and finances are tight,
he admitted.
Tactics depend on resources. The price of rocket-propelled grenades has
gone up recently as supplies dried up during August's heavy fighting
between Americans and the Mahdi Army in Najaf. The missiles now cost
25,000 Iraqi dinars (around £10) in markets in Sadr City, the northern
Shia Muslim-dominated area of Baghdad - 10 times the immediate post-war
price. The group is restricted to one attack every few days. There are
also spies. He boasted of information from 'friends within the
coalition' and said that his group have executed two suspected
informers within Adhamiya. One was killed less than three weeks ago,
after being under surveillance for a month. 'He had a wife and child
but I did not feel bad. He was a fox. He was made to kneel and shot in
the head.' Other suspected spies have been threatened and fled Baghdad.

{my emphasis}
Go read the whole thing.
So, let's see. This group is rejecting the occupation because it didn't
deliver milk and honey on a platter within the first few days. Their
solution to the problem is to go out and kill soldiers, who this guy
fully realizes are only doing their jobs. Yet, it's a "particular
humiliation" to have black soldiers taking part in the occupation, so
if there aren't any black soldiers available to snipe at, they don't
bother. How they blow soldiers up depends upon how much money is being sent from abroad.

And yet, and let's be clear about this, he's only resisting the occupation. His group tries not
to kill innocent civilians. He thinks the other resistance groups are
crap. He thinks Allawi is an American lapdog. In essence, he's not
pleased with his current lot in life. No more, no less. Does he go out
and work hard to make his life better? Does he join the effort to make
Baghdad and the country more secure so the economy can flourish and the
food and money will start rolling in? Nope. He makes the situation
worse with his actions and completely ignores his own complicity in
creating the problem by saying that if everyone had a full belly, no
one would fight. Sheesh. Get a clue.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:30 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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For a somewhat lucid recap

For a somewhat lucid recap of last evening, go here.

That is all.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Why won't Blogger post? I'm

Why won't Blogger post? I'm getting really freakin' tired of writing posts that Blogger won't, for whatever reason, publish.

Grrrrrrr.

We'll see if this one goes through.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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...for many reasons. But the

...for many reasons. But the fact that he can sew buttons back onto his
shirt is really endearing him to me this morning.
I'm really not that good with a needle, thread and clothing that needs
to be mended. I can needlepoint from here to Paris and back again, but
for whatever reason, whenever a button needs to be sewn back on, well,
I'm hopeless. Particularly first thing in the morning.
Lacking. Coordination. Am. I.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Oh, tee hee. The French

Oh, tee hee.

The French and Brazilian presidents have called for new
action to fight poverty in the developing world. At a New York meeting
ahead of the UN General Assembly, they urged radical steps to raise the
$50bn UN officials say is needed to tackle the problem. Money could
come from new charges or taxes on such things as greenhouse gas
emissions, arms sales, airline tickets and credit card purchases. More
than a billion people live in absolute poverty (less than $1 a day).
The meeting focused on a report by a UN commission which said that the
global imbalances were morally unacceptable and politically
unsustainable. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French
President Jacques Chirac said world leaders should ensure that the
world's unprecedented wealth became a vehicle for the integration -
rather than the exclusion - of the most underprivileged. "We must
harness globalisation, we must turn it into a positive force for all
peoples of the world," Mr Lula told the meeting. Mr Chirac said they
needed new approaches to the problem of poverty. "It is up to us to
give globalisation a conscience," he said. "There is no future in
globalisation that tolerates predatory behaviour and the hoarding of
its profits by a minority. There is no future in globalisation that
destroys the social and economic balances, crushes the weak and denies
human rights."

Oh, yeah. Like that's gonna happen. This is the proverbial lead balloon. It's just not going to fly. If only Chirac would stop paying his cows $730 a year just to exist , or would realize he's paying a friggin' fortune on his grocery bills, (honestly, his wife is the worst keeper of a household budget...ever)perhaps
farmers in the developing world could not only survive, but thrive.
Hence there would be no need for a tax on all those nasty, rich
westerners to equalize the woes of globalization. Alas, however, Chirac
thinks differently.
Go figure.
I have a little diddy running through my head right now. It's the theme
to Speed Racer. I think you all know how it goes. Only, my version is slightly different.

Go. Go. Go, Go, Sarkozy!.

{Hat tip: Fausta. Who also has that wonderful, laugh-inducing picture of Blaque Jacques up on her blog.)

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Yep. Once again, let me

Yep. Once again, let me make it clear that I am a sucker for these sorts of things. You know the drill.

Here's the deal: originally, these were in alphabetical order. The goal is to rearrange them in accordance with my preferences.

1. Bush I, Reagan, Bush II, Clinton

2. Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, George {I hate Seinfeld. Honestly couldn't care less)

3. Diet Coke, Coke, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi

4. Paul, John, George, Ringo (Because Ringo is the redheaded stepchild of The Beatles)

5. Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz, Davy Jones, Peter Tork (Nesmith invented MTV! Seriously.)
6. Fonzie, Richie, Ralph, Potsy 7. NKJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV (I had to
think about this one for a moment. I didn't know what these were. Then
I remembered that NIV was a version of the Bible. A Protestant
version of the Bible. All of these Bibles are Protestant Bibles. For my
fellow non-Protestants: NKJV=New King James Version; NIV=New
International Version; NASB=New American Standard Bible; NRSV=New
Revised Standard Version Bible. Personally, I don't use any of these
heretical* bibles. I use The Catholic Study Bible: New American Bible.
Which was approved by Cardinal Bernadin, who unfortunately is no longer
with us. A Catholic Bible must be approved by a bishop/cardinal/funky
hat wearing dude. This one was, and on the whole, I've found it to be a
good Bible. Although, I'm sensing the beginning of a theme with
this question.)
8. Sophia, Blanche, Rose, Dorothy (Betty White, while annoying, was
more amusing than Bea Arthur. Ugh.) 9. Superman II, Superman, Superman
III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace 10. Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III,
Rocky IV, Rocky V {I have no idea. Have never seen any of them. Don't
really want to, either.) 11. Luke, Matthew, Mark, John (The Theme
returns. Yep. It's official. This list was devised by a Protestant. In
my humble opinion, John was a drug user. How else to explain
Revelations?)
12. Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes (The Theme. Again. Honestly,
who reads the Bible this way---besides heretics?*---like you're
supposed to be able to pick out which ones are your favorites? Bleh.
Take the overall message and go from there, ye hereticks!*) 13. Exodus,
Genesis, Deuteronomy, Leviticus, Numbers (The Theme. AGAIN. Which are
your favorites within the Pentateuch? This
is supposed to be good fun? Sr. Justina, my OT teacher, would be
laughing her ass off at these questions. That said, Exodus is always
fun to read. Great drama.)
14. Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Superman
15. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Snow White (While I could do
without Cinderella, I like the mice in the Disney version. Bippity, Boppity, Boo
indeed.)
16. Chandler, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Ross 17. Linus, Charlie
Brown, Lucy, Peppermint Patty 18. Football, Basketball, Baseball,
Soccer (I'm going to qualify and say this is conditional on what level
we're talking about. I'm talking about amateur/college level. If this
were pro, well, it would be in a different order.) 19. McDonald̢۪s,
Burger King, Jack in the Box, Hardees (Honestly, neither of the latter
are anywhere near where I live. No Jack. No Hardees. They're either
down south or in rural areas. I haven't eaten at a Hardees since 1993,
when I lived in Ames, Iowa)
20. Pluto, Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck.
*The "heretic" business is a joke. Take it that way,
please, and don't fill my inbox with a bunch of emails about how I'm
going to hell because I'm Catholic and if only I could open my eyes
to the reality of the situation, I'd realize my mistake and switch in a
second, because I sound like I'm a really good, intelligent person, my
religious beliefs notwithstanding, that you can't possibly understand
how I continue to be duped by the Church and that I really should think
about saving my soul... I really could do without it today, ok? It was a joke.

Posted by: Kathy at 08:49 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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"Fausta, meet Robert." My work

"Fausta, meet Robert."

My work here is done.

Posted by: Kathy at 08:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Kerry's economic plan. (registration required)

Kerry's economic plan. (registration required)

Read it and weep.

Posted by: Kathy at 08:09 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I saw the commercial for

I saw the commercial for the new DVD boxed set of the Star Wars Trilogy
the other night and was amazed at how Lucas is lying to sell these
things. At no point in time during this commercial was it mentioned
that these were the "Special Editions" that were shown in the late
1990's, rather than the originals. There was lots of blather about
"digial remastering," but anyone who knows anything about the trilogy
and digitization (which, amazingly enough, includes me)knows this
happened with the special editions. Of course, these are the same
special editions where Lucas chose to make the trilogy "family
friendly" rather than to keep the original versions. He wanted to make
changes. These are, reportedly, the films that he wanted the first time
out, yet couldn't get because of technological problems. These changes
include Greedo shooting first and Jabba appearing as a friendly
slug-like creature. Hayden Christensen is also now in Return of the Jedi. Yep. They replaced Sebastian Shaw in
the celebration scene at the end with Hayden. And it's a convenient
situation for Lucas, too, because Shaw died earlier this year and can't
object. But if you weren't married to a Star Wars Geek like myself and
you didn't know any of this, well, you'd be screwed, wouldn't you? So,
I wonder, how many hapless shoppers are going to slap down their credit
cards for this thing, thinking they're going to get the
originals---finally!---on DVD? And how many are going to be as angry as
a pack of wet cats when they learn otherwise?
And pursuing this line of thought further---is it possible to sue Lucas for false advertising?

Just a thought. Someone has to stop this man before it's too late. Might as well be some greedy litigator.

UPDATE: 09/01/2004 For a full accounting of Lucas' treachery, go here, nod your head and say, "GODDAMN THE MAN TO HELL!"

{h/t The Llamas)

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Well, that's what happens when

Well, that's what happens when you take seventy-five percent of a worker's salary in taxes.

"Misdirected benevolence," indeed.

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Never forgotten.

Never forgotten.

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From the Opinion Journal: However

From the Opinion Journal:

However the flap over CBS and those National Guard "memos"
turns out, the past few weeks mark a milestone in U.S. media and
politics. Along with the Swift Boat Veterans' ads, the widespread
challenge to Dan Rather's reporting--to his credibility--means that the
liberal media establishment has ceased to set the U.S. political
agenda.
This is potentially a big cultural moment. For decades liberal media
elites were able to define current debates by all kicking in the same
direction, like the Rockettes. Now and then they can still pull this
off, as when they all repeated the same Pentagon-promoted-torture line
during the Abu Ghraib uproar. But the last month has widened cracks in
that media monopoly that have been developing for some time.

Han's words to Luke are ringing in my ears: "GREAT, KID! DON'T GET COCKY!"
Now, I don't mean to underplay the role the blogosphere played in
Rathergate, or to demean those blogger's efforts. They brought down the
biggest of the big dogs---and, at the very least, they will be able to
mount Rather's pelt on their hunting lodge walls in short order. But to
have the Wall Street Journal
declare that "the liberal media establishment has ceased to set the
U.S. political agenda," while a very satisfying sentiment, is also
pushing it. Such a statement ignores the betrayal the liberal media
will feel at Rather's take-down, even though they played a part in it.
It also ignores the simple fact that there is no such thing as a vacuum
and the media could potentially entrench themselves even further,
refusing to see that change is upon them. I really don't want to be a
wet blanket here, because the blogosphere really did scoop the mainstream media on this story. The good work done cannot be ignored or downplayed. But, and there's always a but,
if we really want the blogosphere to continue to be taken seriously, we
have to keep on keepin' on. We need to stop tooting our own horns. Not
to underestimate the blogosphere's power, but let's face it: the score
in this game is 357-1. Just because we managed to finally score a point
does not mean we're going to win the game. Capisce? All of this adds to
the neverending debate we seem to be having within the blogosphere
about our own importance. Sure it's great when Insty
or one of the other big dogs goes on about how great, important,
newsworthy, etc. the blogosphere is, but unless you're a big dog
blogger, the honest truth is you don't make much of a dent. Some of us
barely make a door ding. Yet, some of the biggest names who host the
most widely read and quoted blogs are also mainstream media-types who,
to my mind, have decided to grace us with their web presence
to---ahem---sell their swag, rather than to "be part of the
revolution." I will fully admit this is a cynical point of view to
hold. While the content can be good, even great---because some of these
writers finally have the option to vent opinions they could never
present on the Op-Ed pages---still it's the motives behind the content
that interest me. Did Michelle Malkin really need to start blogging? She's a latecomer to the blogosphere. I've
been blogging longer than she has, which doesn't mean much, I know, but
I find it interesting that she started up a blog a few months before she released a book.
So, I have to wonder, did she really want to be an active part of "the
revolution"? Or was this an interesting PR tool that enables her to
sell more books about how the Japanese Internment in WWII was an OK
thing to do? Or is it a bit of both? What would her sales be like had
she not started blogging?

While it's interesting that none of the big dog bloggers had anything to do with outing of Dan Rather, they're the loudest bangers of the blogosphere drum nowadays. Which leads me to ask, where's the line? Do we really believe that a blogger like Sullivan
holds more power in the blogosphere because he's a mainstream
commentator and his presence lends us credibility? Or is the other way
around and the blogosphere is being used in a way we'd never thought
possible? In other words, where will most of us, as pure, non-media
types, stand when it's all said and done? Will the blogosphere become
the opposition to the mainstream media, as some of us would like to
believe it to be, or will we be co-opted into it? When seldom sober was
here last week and was describing his travails in Denver, he mentioned this conversation he'd had with zombyboy:

zombyboy, of Resurrection Song got a bee in his bonnet
about how fringe bloggers are. We conducted a bar-wide survey and found
out that about ten percent of people know what 'blogs' are which, while
not a large amount, is far greater than, say, the amount of the US vote
that Nader's gonna get. Anyway. zombyboy was convinced that we needed
accountability, and editors and oversite to become mainstream and
respected journalists. Ignoring the obvious argument that we don't
represent ourselves as mainstream journalists, he received a tirade of
abuse from the other bloggers there. I think that wierd, blurry-faced
guy said something like "Fuck Big Media! Our readers are our editors
and our fucking accountability!" I was fully against zombyboy's
position too, though I couldn't find the eloquence to express myself
that blurry-face did.

As it happens, zombyboy further clarified his arguments in this post:

{...}I've said it before and I'll say it again, for blogs
to be meaningful they need to be more responsible and more
professional. As much as I enjoy blogging, as much value as I do find
in it, I still think the negatives make it hard for me to take the
impact that blogs have on events too seriously.
That isn't to say that blogs won't grow into a more important role, but
if you think we're there already just walk down the street and start
asking people how much they care what Instapundit thinks about any
specific issue. Then ask them about Dan Rather. Dan, even in his
embattled state and even with the obvious and real questions about his
credibility, will still have more recognition and more people who
consider him to be a trustworthy source.
I'm not saying that I believe blogs are completely without influence or
that they are worthless; I think there is a great potential for blogs
to have a positive influence on public debate over all kinds of
policies. I simply believe they aren't there yet, that some people
overstate their importance, and that for blogs to become truly
influential there has to be some kind of accountability in something
other than the latest troll comment on the site.

I agree with both
of them. I think the blogosphere is a revolution in itself, that the
simple fact we cover what the mainstream media refuses to touch with a
ten-foot-pole is impressive. The information wants to be free and we're
playing a crucial role in the liberation. But I also think that that
the blogosphere is a niche. We're simply set up to be that way.
Whenever you get a million-plus people starting up webpages to
spout-off on any topic under the sun, you'll have that. I also agree
that blogs aren't "there" yet, if "there" will ever be a place we can
define quantitatively. We have a ways to go before our opinions hold
the same weight in the real world as, for instance, a guy like Safire.
You can go on about whether or not Safire should be paid attention to,
but the crux of the matter is that attention is paid to him. Why? He
has a prominent space on the New York Times Op-Ed page, and we all know that you don't get published on the Op-Ed page of the NYT
unless you have something valuable to contribute to the debate. The
blogosphere has rejected the argument that we should pay attention to
Safire simply because of the space he holds on the Op-Ed page. What
matters to us is the content. There are no sacred cows in the
blogosphere, and that in itself is a huge shift.
But as zombyboy so aptly declared, "we're not there yet." We're making
strides, but the blogosphere has a long way to go before it's seen as a
trustworthy, consistent alternative to the mainstream media. The
media---including The Wall Street Journal---may
be trumpeting the blogosphere's role in Rathergate, and while this has
gone a long way toward establishing our street cred, the media will
also hit back as soon as the dust has settled. I'm forseeing a return
to "business as usual" and Rathergate will be seen more in the
mainstream media as an anomaly, much like Drudge breaking the Monica
Lewinksy scandal, rather than as the way things are going to be in the
future. The blogosphere may have taken one step forward, but soon we'll
be forced to take two steps back. This is why I don't think bloggers
can get cocky right now. That bloggers have to push forward and break
the next
story. And the one after that. They have to keep their noses to the
grindstone so the media will come to respect the opinions of bloggers
as worthy competition, rather than seeing us, at the very least, a as
bunch of "people on the fringe" whose opinions don't mean anything in
reality, or at most, an interesting and new way to market their books.
The blogosphere is taking part in shaping the debate. We've made it up
onto the podium at a debate tournament. But if we are to be successful
in the debate we need to keep in mind that our debating skills need
sharpening and we might want to think about who we let on the team to
speak for our side.

Posted by: Kathy at 01:07 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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