all that outrage

on the Frontpage:

's justified

but leaves you fried!

I can't believe they don't want aravosis. I'd love to see the two of them face off. ooh, the sparks!

Needs editing though.

We hereby would like to symbolically (or for real, if possible) sign our name to the Open Letter.

The Purple Coalition

purplecoalition.blogspot.net

"Reject Divisive Labels: Red States, Blue States.  Coalesce to Purple."

We hereby would like to symbolically (or for real, if possible) sign our name to the Open Letter.

The Purple Coalition

purplecoalition.blogspot.com

"Reject Divisive Labels: Red States, Blue States.  Coalesce to Purple."

stumpy

stumpysfindings.com

The blogosphere as a whole suffers a crisis of confidence among the traditional media.  We must stay united in cause.  That cause is to bestow legitimacy on bloggers, to bring us to the table, not to continue to feed a right-left monstrosity.  We are the media.  So let's act like it -- or at least as we wish it to act.

My email to the NPC:

Three times I have emailed the National Press Club asking you to reconsider your decision 1) to include James Guckert on a panel discussing journalism and blogging and 2) to request that you consider including a blogger, e.g. John Aravosis of AMERICAblog.org, who was instrumental in breaking the Guckert/Gannon story.

I can only hope that, at some point, you will listen to reason, which, until now, has been totally absent from the decisions you have made and the justifications you have given.

The National Press Club is showing the recalcitrance of a two-year old, the intransigence of a Bush official and the professionalism of James Guckert.

The idea that you would include James "I fuck men for money" Guckert on a professional panel about journalism and blogging strains credulity.

If, as you claim, his participation is justified because of his role in the charade he and the White House carried out for two years and because of the questions that arise from a $200 male hooker working as a faux journalist, so be it.

Personally, his presence serves no greater value than Randall Terry's holding up a jar of a pickled fetus at an anti-abortion terrorism rally. It's horrific, but an uncontrollable and morbid curiosity forces you to look.

To exclude the blogs or bloggers that broke the story that gave rise to the very panel you are convening is derelict and, frankly, petty. Who knows what motives drive your thinking.  Whatever the motives are, one thing is for sure: They are neither rational nor professional.

http://loco4lorca.typepad.com

somebody has to do this. We all sit around here at The Agonist wishing things were differnet. By putting pressure on groups and events like these things DO become different. This isn't about outrage it is about taking civic responsibility. We talk a lot about that here at The Agonist and I intened to do my civic duty. Someone has to start representin' us. And doing it right. Aravosis is a well spoken, articulate and intelligent guy. He won't embarrass anyone at that panel. Least of all Liberal bloggers.

"Better Dead Than Not Read"

eom

1. Better Dead than Red (old version)

answers.cm

The political slogan "Better dead than Red" was first used in its German version "Lieber tot als rot" by Joseph Goebbels in the end phase of the Second World War to motivate the German military and population to fight the Red Army to the end. Goebbels himself took the slogan literally as he committed suicide before the Red Army could capture him.

The English version comes probably from the original German but it could also be a re-invention. The slogan was used in the United States in the 1950s by anti-Communists to express their opposition to a Communist takeover in the USA, or indeed to any potent leftist influence at all. The counter-slogan "Better Red than dead" also developed.

See also:

The Better Dead than Red Amendment

unc.edu

-------------------------------------------------

2. Better Dead than Red (new version)

t-shirts

Thanks for taking the initiative.

is.

Not sure who you think I am.  I apologize if I offended you.  As I said, I appreciate someone taking the initiative on this.

As for corrections, I'm not going to Fisk your letter, but, for example:

We, the undersigned bloggers, are very concerned about how liberal political bloggers are being systematically under-represented and belittled in the mainstream media, academic settings and media forums. By being intentionally excluded away from these venues, we are effectively pushed out of the discourse of opinion-leaders. The result is that the conventional wisdom about blogging, politics and journalism, as it concerns liberal blogs, becomes a feedback loop framed by the Conservatives and their media allies.

 I'd eliminate the use of the passive voice.  There's a lack of parallelism in the lists.  And phrases like "we are effectively pushed out of the discourse of opinion-leaders" seem awkward.  

Is "opinion-leaders" a common term?  Do people get "excluded away" from things? Or pushed out of a discourse?

I am NOT a professional writer.  Nor am I a professional editor.  It just struck me that the letter felt a little rough.

I apologize again if this criticism is unwanted, unappreciated, or unhelpful (but you did just ask for specifics).  I doubly apologize if I'm wrong.

How've you been?

apologize. I assumed that you were someone else on this site that has a nasty habit of criticizing every poster's grammar and spelling. He's our resident troll and annoys us all and I therefore assumed (wrongly) that you were he. For that I apologize. I look forward to your comments here in the future and hope that you do come back.

Now, to your comments about my letter.

You are correct. I am no good at this. I know that. I dashed it off in a hurry while at the office yesterday and emailed it to a DC political consultant I know. The DC consultant sent it back in its current form--man you should've seen it before I got it back.

Anyhow, when we write the next letter like this I would love to have your participation. Please email me at seanpaul-at-agonist.org

I, by no means, have a lock on perfection.

I miss a number of the old timers here.

You, sprimal, sj, thea and more. I don't have access to chat anymore.

Stay well. I miss your recipes. :)

just like conservative mouthpieces in general are getting a LOT more press. More of the press they get is favorable as well-admiring the way they bagged Dan Rather while tut-tutting at the Guckert/Gannon story because the only thing they picked up from the extensive investigation was the sex pictures and the occasional mumbling handwave about credentials.

Joining up for the general protection of the blogosphere from a "free speech" standpoint is fine, but I really don't think we need to worry about offering to share a megaphone with people who are already yelling their messages out over every conceivable media outlet.