Diary Round-up from my Blog Roll

Since I've added to my blogroll a list of new sites (and some which I've re-treaded here), I thought I would post selective links to diaries that I think are worthy of reading.

• At the Daily Kos, former JRE supporter Ellinorianne has posted Talking to Kids about Poverty. It's more on how to explain to kids what is needed in times when children are getting blitzed by marketers. Also at DK NYCEve has posed a provocative diary on Health Insurance companies possibly rationing health care based on credit scores and ability to pay.

• Taylor Marsh has announced she and Mr. Marsh are moving from Las Vegas to DC this winter. Not surprised as she hinted at it a few months ago and the East Coast is a political bloggers haven if they want to get closer to the action.

• At Orient-Lodge, Aldon Hynes pens a review of the 2008 Social Networks and Media. Likewise, Robert Scoble points out that you have to use Twitter and Friend Feed to see who else is linking to your site or talking about you.
  

• Jonathan Singer at MyDD posits a list of 2009 predictions.

• Former JRE supporter Desmoinesdem at Bleedingheartland has an excellent review of 2008 politics in Iowa, including her predictions from the different months. Her impressive number of links may set a record --or even a standard---amongst political bloggers.

• Based on a recent Pew Poll, Pam Spaulding ponders about what she can do without (a luxury) and what she can't. I tend to agree with her list of "can't do without." Check it out.

• Johnalive at Open Left republished a primer by Laurence of Cyberia on Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
  

Quote Worth Reading

"There are no perfect candidates and every election is a gamble. But a candidate's personal life is not always a reliable indicator of his or her performance in elected office.

Just remember, as far as we know the current president never cheated on his wife. That doesn't mean he's done a good job in office."

--Mark Hare, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Benny's World on McLaughin Group: Update

As I reported earlier this week, the McLaughlin Group had a special show on the rise of political blogs and how they are impacting traditional media. The lead off clip was of Markos at the Yearly Kos. There were several clips of the conference, but footage of one blogger's blog actually was shown twice: Benny's World . The first clip is about 1:38 into the show and the second one is at 2:22.

Here's the link to the video as I was not actually interviewed. However, the point was made that corporate media has competition. Daily Kos, Oliver Willis, and Taylor Marsh's blogs are better examples, but it was gratifying to see a less trafficked blog by a progressive get some air time on a prominent political analysis show.

People-powered democracy for a change. If I can find someone to load it on YT, I'll post that as well.

Yes, You Did

Today I was out with my spouse riding our tandem bike. It was very warm, but the skies were crystal clear, so we decided to go out on the Lincoln Grass Prairie Trail. Round-trip, it is about 25 miles. It seemed more though because most of it was made of crushed limestone, thus it was arduous at times to get through it.

Before our foray, I had set the DVR to record the McLaughlin Group, as I read that the Yearly Kos was one of the features of their special show on the rise of political reporting via blogging. Six and half hours later, I got an e-mail saying that my blog was on the show. Did you see me? Sure enough, I sat down to review the recording, and OMG, there I was, typing on this blog, about the Yearly Kos. Now unfortunately, I haven't a frickin' clue how to transfer the recording digitally and upload it on Youtube. Yeah, I should have taken a class on this at YK, :-). But I can assure you, it was a snapshot of me of showing the NBC Crew (who took the footage) of this post:

Junkie Political Heaven

Next shot is of the Drudge Report (yuck), but at least there isn't any overlay of writing on the shot of Benny's World, as there was of Drudge's. Of course, he does his for a living; I do not. He will rack up the cash and laugh all of the way to the bank on Tuesday. I get just sheer joy for a few seconds.

I had to go back in and clear away a few more things, so I didn't see the rest of the show for quite awhile. But both DH and I re-ran the recording to see it in its entirety. And within 2-3 minutes this shot was seen:

Quick Post from JRE Booth

Except the content box is empty. I was about to type my post.

I read the video may be up in a few days. If it is, you'll see it first thing here as it's probably not an interesting enough clip to be on other blogs.

Cheers to McLaughlin Group for showing the growing democracy of the blogosphere. I'm proud in both instances a non-A List blogger's blog got shown on McLaughlin's show, and that both it as well as I were promoting my candidate for President, John Edwards or JRE. One can see the display of JRE logos in the background in the first clip.

But as Elizabeth Edwards would say, "Thanks...Now Get Back to Work!" You're right, Mrs. Edwards. Long campaign yet ahead.

Bob Geiger Takes A Break

BG is one of the best covering the Senate and any news we don't hear on the MSM. I just read he decided to take a siesta on his blog (not his other jobs) since so much is going in his life.

I met him at Yearly Kos. Great person and critical thinker.

Have a good break, Bob G. Hope to see you around soon.

Markos on Colbert's Show

This is a riot.

Enjoy.

Update: Markos on Charlie Rose here. I think you can view it once for free.

Off to the Toodlin' Town

BW readers, I will be blogging soon from the Yearly Kos Convention, which is being held at the McCormick Center. It will be nice to meet some of the bloggers I admire such as Taylor Marsh and Kos himself, but also regular blogger types who support John and Elizabeth Edwards.

Tonight the Flying Solo group will meet, then all starts in the morning.

Tomorrow night starts with a firebrand, DNC Chairman Howard Dean. On Saturday afternoon, 5 presidential candidates, including John Edwards, Madam Clinton, and Obama, will be at a forum. Dodd and Richardson will also be there.

Cheers!

Bloggers are Changing the Political Scene

I read with interest this post from the Press-Enterprise about a blogger named Citizen Kate. She apparently went to the California Dem Convention, even though she is from Chicago. She somehow obtained CJ credentials.

Now, I don't know how accurate this article is by Michelle DeArmond, but here are the lead paragraphs:

Dressed in a low-cut leopard-print dress and matching headband, amateur journalist "Citizen Kate" drew lingering looks and laughs when she lobbed her first question to Sen. John Edwards at the state Democratic convention in San Diego.

"Oh me?" the young blonde giggled, waving and smiling after Edwards, a candidate for president, called on her.

"I was wondering if you know what it takes ... to be a great leader in this country?" she asked.

Then it was reported that Citizen Kate said she was noticed because of her dress.

Citizen Kate says she's proud she caught Edwards' eye at the state convention -- and she's pretty sure the dress helped.

Doubtful. I know Edwards and it has nothing to do with the dress. But he appreciates the netroots very much and is their leading candidate.

Read the rest here for yourselves.

Here She Is: Digby

From the Take Back America conference, courtesy of Google video and found first on Firedoglake.

Boy, does Digby say a lot in 13 minutes! She punches the center and the right. Yes, there is a "dig" at Mudcat Saunders about his comment that the bloggers are elitists like the Metropolitan Opera, but overall, I agree with her. If you don't have time to watch the entire acceptance speech (the Paul Wellstone award for Progressive bloggers), here's Isaiah Poole's quick interview of her.

For more coverage, go to Oliver Willis who will give you links where to turn to for the latest at the Take Back America conference. I have his site linked on my blogroll.

Thanks, Digby, even if you aren't a big JRE fan, but you do speak for a lot of us bloggers.

Quick update: You see Ned Lamont's pic right away. FDL reports Ned introduced her.

Here's the transcript, courtesy of Sinfonian:

Thank you very much, Ned. That is overwhelming. I hope you’ll bear with me here. I’m not accustomed to public speaking. I write pseudonymously.

Those of you who know my blog know that it’s nearly impossible to draw me from my secure bunker in the People’s Republic of Santa Monica. But when I was approached by my friend Rick Pearlstein about accepting this award on behalf of the progressive blogosphere, I knew it was an honor that I could not refuse. Not for myself, although I’m grateful, but for my fellow bloggers.

We are proud to be part of the great progressive, liberal tradition of Paul Wellstone, and we are grateful for your kind acknowledgment. Thank you.

As there has been a lot said recently about the netroots and our influence on the Democratic Party, this is especially rewarding. Let’s just say we’ve ruffled some feathers. We’ve been called everything from “some guy named Vinnie in a bathrobe in an efficiency apartment” to “blogofascists.” Some critics dismiss us as useless elites, the “Metropolitan Opera crowd,” or a noisy Upper West Side cocktail party for the college graduate class. Still others take us to task for our vitriolic, unhinged tone.

The other day, Tim Russert agreed absolutely with his gracious host, the concerned centrist Sean Hannity, that the Democratic Party was being unduly influenced by bloggers, who were dragging the Party kicking and screaming to the Left. Then there is the criticism that we are fascists or Stalinists, demanding that everyone march in lockstep to the edicts of our leadership – generally assumed to be Markos, of Daily Kos, who apparently directs us with secret signals deeply embedded in the code of the Daily Kos website, while we carry on an elaborate ruse of spirited political debate and disagreement in public. We are, in short, something of an enigma. I like to call this phenomenon “Irrational Fear of Hippies.” And this has, in my view, become irrational fear of political passion.

Of all the criticisms I just mentioned, that is one that we are all willing to accept. We are passionate about politics, and in this era of Republican corruption, excess, and failure, that passion sometimes manifests itself as anger. But how can you not be angry? So many institutions have failed us in the last decade that being vitriolic seems the only sane response.

And as for the idea that we are modern Stalinists, does that make any sense at all? We can’t even agree about what to call ourselves. The netroots – the progressive blogosphere – consists of a very lively and disparate group of citizens who are political observers, activists, readers, writers, entrepreneurs, communicating and organizing via the Internet. We have opera-loving liberals from Georgia, NASCAR-loving progressives from Chicago, and Grateful Dead-loving Democrats from Florida. We are from everywhere, and our common tribal signifiers aren’t social status or professional authority or region. We find each other in remote places and big cities alike, on the Internet, through our politics – period. In the blogosphere, nobody cares if you are a 70-year-old Chinese immigrant, or a 22-year-old Harvard student, or a stay-at-home blogger dad. If you have something to say, you can say it, and if it touches a chord, people will return time and again to read what you’ve written and discuss the issues of the day with others who are reading the same things.

Al Gore – a man who knows something about the Internet – wrote in his book, The Assault on Reason, “The Internet is perhaps the greatest source of hope for reestablishing an open communications environment in which the conversation of democracy can flourish. It is the most interactive medium in history, with the greatest potential for connecting individuals to one another and to the universe of knowledge.” So while we may not be Stalinists, the Netroots is a revolution – a revolutionary, participatory democracy.

And for that purpose, the Left is more effective than the Right. Whether by temperament or philosophy, we are simply better suited to the freeform, constantly changing nature of these new political communities. Each of us finds our niche: I’m a blogger-pundit, a role for which I am eminently qualified since, exactly like pundits on television and in newspapers, I have opinions, I write them down, and a lot of people read them. Yes, that’s all there is to it. Sorry, Mr. Broder. Others have different endeavors. Bloggers Matt Stoller and Chris Bowers, for instance, are organizers of this nascent movement. They traffic in ideas that affect our ability to keep doing what we do, from net neutrality to finding a much-needed funding base for bloggers and activists. With vastly different approaches, Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo and Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake are creating a new form of journalism; Talking Points is modeled on the more traditional form, and Firedoglake is mixing reporting, opinion, and direct political advocacy. Daily Kos is a virtual community that operates like a small city, offering full-stop political shopping for its progressive inhabitants. Crooks and Liars catalogues the juiciest morsels of political TV. MoveOn moves millions to action. Media Matters monitors and calls out the right-wing noise machine. And writers for liberal magazines are all blogging and mixing it up with their readers. And there are literally thousands of others out there doing all that and more – writing back and forth with their readers, linking and arguing and organizing. This is a 24/7 worldwide political discussion and strategy session.

But all of us who blog in the progressive blogosphere have a common goal. It’s the same goal of virtually everyone in this room tonight. We want to begin a new era of progressive politics and take back America. We may argue about tactics and strategy, or the extent to which we are partisans versus ideologues (and believe me, we do), but there is no disagreement among us that the modern conservative movement of Newt and Grover and Karl and Rush has proven to be a dangerous cultural and political cancer on the body politic. You will not find anyone amongst us who believes that the Bush Administration’s executive power grab and flagrant partisan use of the federal government is anything less than an assault on the Constitution. We stand together against the dissolution of habeas corpus and the atrocities of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, and we all agree that Islamic terrorism is a threat, but one which we cannot meet with military power alone. And yes, a vast majority of us were against this mindless invasion of Iraq from the beginning, or at least saw the writing on the wall long before Peggy Noonan discovered that George W. Bush wasn’t the second coming of Winston Churchill.

Sadly, we also all agree that the mainstream media is part of the problem. Democracy suffers when not being held accountable by a vigorous press. During the last decade, there have been three catalyzing events that drove people like me to the Internet, to research, investigate, and write about assaults on democracy itself. In 1998, the political media lost all perspective, and aggressively helped the Republicans pursue a partisan witch-hunt against a democratically-elected president and against the will of the people. The coverage of the presidential election of 2000 was legendary for its bias and sophomoric personality journalism. The press actually joined the Republicans in telling the majority who had voted for Al Gore to get over it. I don’t know about you, but I never got over it. And the third event (I don’t need to tell anyone in this room) was the almost gleeful support of the invasion of Iraq, a journalistic failure of epic proportions. If you had not been sufficiently aroused from your complacency by this time, you never would be.

The blogosphere was the natural place for many of us to turn when the institutions we counted upon seemed to be daring us to believe them, or believe our own eyes. And that coming-together set the table for the seminal candidacy of Howard Dean and all that has come since.

As it turned out, we didn’t just raise money for progressive Democrats, although many of my fellow bloggers raised a whole big pile of it from our readers all over the country. We began to push back the prevailing manufactured narratives, produced in bulk by various Republican PR shops and distributed to their talking heads in radio and television. We talked back to the media, and yes, to our own party, some of whom understood that while we were opinionated thorns in their side, we were also opinion makers, read by influentials in the everyday world of water coolers and dinner tables all over the country. We were a part of the base that could move other parts of the base, and a counter to the prevailing political stories and narratives of the day. And they know we could potentially help create a new modern political movement.

And so here we are – the famously vituperative, angry bloggers, standing before you today politely accepting this award as proud, full-fledged inheritors of the great liberal and progressive political traditions of America. On behalf of all of them and netroots activists, and especially on behalf of our dear friend, Steve Gilliard, a fighting liberal of both the old the new schools, I thank you again for inviting us to your party. Our party rages on, 24/7, all over the blogosphere, and we’d love it if all of you would stop by frequently. Thank you.

Gore Converses with Bloggers

This is really neat. Gore is following John Edwards' lead in speaking with bloggers first then going on prime time to discuss his new book, "The Assault on Reason". Taylor Marsh was one of those invited (I think nearly all on MyDD were invited to call).

http://www.taylormarsh.com/taylor_marsh_live.php

More later.

Oliver Willis' Blog Gets Makeover

And for his readers' benefit.

Nice new pic, Oliver.

Click his site on my blogroll.

And keep up the good work, along with your employer.

Enter MyDD at Your Own Risk

For three weeks, I have been looking for some data that Chris Bowers at MyDD collected. I asked him about it via e-mail. He didn't respond.

Today I agitated (as I would a washing machine) very nicely about it. Finally, I got this nasty reply back, using the "F" word (no, not the one Coulter used), and scolding me for not finding it through Google. He did provide a link.

So while MyDD, the blogfather of Daily Kos, has some interesting facts and diaries, they also have punks who can be as ugly in their demeanor as Ann Coulter.

Currently I'm doing a write up of political blog discourse for a trade publication. This one is as good as others of not putting on my trusted sites list, but I would say, enter at your own risk. And it is a good example of how dust-ups can happen so quickly.

Update: it occurred to me that Bowers did a poor job of tagging his work. See my response here.

Benny's World Linkages: Introducing New Blogs & Familiar Ones

BW readers may note I've added some new sites to my blogroll. Here they are and my comments.

Ezra Klein's blog is a good one. He's pretty fair about questioning any Dem (or Repub) on their ideas or issues. I also like his weekend volunteers there and on TAPPED. I have been getting to know a couple of them now personally via e-mails I send them. I met Ezra in Iowa when Edwards announced his candidacy on December 28th to the MSM. I was impressed how someone of his youth (sorry Ezra, you are like JRE, you are youthful looking, and it's because you are, with idealism, I think, with a mix of pragmatism) has already been on C-SPAN a couple of times and is a rising star as a pundit.

Aldon Hynes is the blog master of Orient Lodge. Hynes' posts appeal to me as Chancelucky's do because he finds 2 x 2 are 4 and 4 x 4 are 16. Hynes looks for patterns of ideas coming together, and finds them on a variety of topics. He also finds good articles to post to Newstrust, something I'm still trying to give better critiques of news articles, as opposed to Digg, which is more on what's popular, and generally more techie. Yes, in case you want to know, Hynes has been a technical consultant on the Dean and Lamont blogs, and he supports Edwards. He gets paid as a professional blogger (and rightfully so, he has a few blogads, and other gigs going, I am surmising) and I say, more power to him as he does a great job, whereas I am still learning so much from what he writes and does.

I hope Hynes reads Chancelucky's blog, as Iddybud does.

In a recent e-mail, I mentioned to Hynes that Chancelucky writes superb reviews in the world of entertainment, and still manages to find the socio-political linkages that I appreciate when I've missed them.

All of these places provide linkages to the patterns. They write from intuition, but are good at providing details to support their posts.

A great renaissance of diary writing--all on the Net.

And sometimes, not. I misspell or mistype constantly.