I'm really terrible at this kind of introduction, I'd rather just get on with the job and let people decide from there, but there you go - It's still polite to introduce myself.

Firstly, though, I would like to wish Sean-Paul all the luck in the world in his future endevours. I first got to know him back in 2005 when we both lived in San Antonio and I first started reading The Agonist. He's one of the good people as far as I am concerned, intelligent and approachable, and I'd like to thank him publicly for recommending me as his successor.

It was while hanging out on The Agonist's comment pages that I got to know some of the Agonistas still around today. Tina and Lex are old friends now both here and at discussion groups or in comments at my own original blog, Newshoggers.com, while I fondly remember JPD and I debating the question of Iranian nukes and possible looming war here some years ago now. Others like Actor212, Cliff and Ian Welsh, I've known for years as the authors of their own blogs.

So, I bid you all adieu. If you're so inclined I can be found here opining on things not political. And you can always find me updating my photos from some other strange out of the way place on the globe, or even just around Texas, at Flickr.

Until next we meet, with hope, as we trudge the road of happy destiny.

In 2002 I created The Agonist and I've been here ever since. It's been a wild ride. We've been through three wars: Afghanistan Iraq and Libya. We've been through three presidential elections, 2004, 2008 and now this one in 2012. We've seen five midterm congressional elections. And more media cycles and mini-scandals and real scandals than I can possibly remember. We've been though four technology iterations, Blogger, Word Press, Scoop and Drupal. We've had over 20,000,000 unique visitors and too many page views to count. We've seen one massive financial crisis and have hosted some of the best writers on the Internet, including Don Henry Ford, Michael Collins, Stirling Newberry, Ian Welsh and Numerian. And we have an editorial team that has been an absolute pleasure to work with: Rick, Tina, Nate, Lex, Moley and Raja. You guys and gals are the best. I traveled and posted stories and photographs from countless countries, including two epic personal journeys, across the Silk Road in 2003 and the Spice Route from 2008-2009. And in the course of my travels I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting many of you in person.

If someone had told me in 2002 that I'd still be blogging ten years later I'd have laughed. And yet, here we are. You know, it's been real. It's been fun. And many times it's been real fun.

But it's time to move on. I'm ready to buckle down and focus more on my long form writing and soon I will return to graduate school. I'm going to need all the mental space possible. Short form blogging precludes that.

So, on February 1, 2012 I will step down as Editor in Chief of The Agonist. That's the bad news.

But here's the great news: I am supremely excited to announce that Steve Hynd, formerly of Newshoggers, will now lead us.

I will remain an active member and will continue to post here from time to time (fear not, Friday Catblogging will live on). But Steve will take up day to day management of the site and posting and answering queries and generally doing everything I did, except I'm certain he'll do it better.

A site like this certainly takes on a great deal of the ethos of its creator. That ethos, I hope, has been open-mindedness, a willingness to listen and to learn from others. I have all the confidence in the world that Steve is all of that, but more so, I am certain he will mold The Agonist into a better, more thoughtful, timely and global place.

A quick mega-thanks to Lex for going above and beyond guest blogging in my absence! And another thanks to all the diarists who wrote in my absence as well! Much appreciated!

. . . and at one point set up a commenting account with The Agonist and are interested in using the account, send me an email and I'll update you. I get many emails from people who still have active accounts but don't realize it.

. . . gnomes chomped through some fiber-optic cables or something. Seems to be repaired, at this point. Sorry for the outage. Technology, like humans is imperfect.

. . . to Quiet Bill for keeping up our Facebook page in the excellent way that he does. Be sure to follow us there if you are so inclined.

. . . newest Contributing Editor, Raja.

I have a twin brother, Daniel. He's the reason I do what I do in the music biz. Some wonderful folks have put together a short 4 1/2 min vid to intro him and his music to a wider audience. (sounds strange, the man has played across the US and abroad, lol)

We started together in 1978 and formed the Daniel Warren Band. (You'll see some shots from that era. I'm playing the Les Paul, long hair, looking a lot like the piano player. lol ...) 4 of the 5 original players in that band have made a living, a life, in music. Since then, Daniel has continually honed his already considerable talents as a player and song writer.

His latest work really returns to the roots of were we started. Much more country than rock. The first tune you hear, Only For A Moment, is one Dan and I used to play as a duet many, many moons ago. We'd always have a couple of acoustic guitars leaning on the couch, ready to play on a whim or when an idea demanded it. We've played this song countless times. I sing on this version as well. Dan is an awesome pianist, but his talents as writer is what will last.

There's some great photos that mean a lot to me. The boys you see are my boys, pics grabbed from my personal collection. The older photos you see are on stage or in the studio. You'll recognize the excellent talent he's assembled for his latest CD. In fact, this whole project means a lot to me, for many reasons, some of which you'll understand once you view the vid. I wanted to share it with you ...

... Daniel Warren ...

P.S. Daniel has never once lamented or complained about his troubles. Anyone that knows him understands he did not title this video ... thx

A short post on admin stuff.

First: any one have any issues over the weekend with an advertisement potentially uploading malware? We've had some issues with the Facebook links in the right side bar in the past. Please email or PM me if you have had any issues and we will address them immediately.

Second: from now on, please make sure you credit the photographer of any pics you append to diary, newswire or front page posts, don't just snag the html and backlink, credit the source and photographer. The best policy, of course, is to use photos in the public domain, but barring that, please credit. ktnxbai!

It's been brought to my attention that some users are getting an error message while trying to login. Is this widespread? If you are encountering an error please email me at spkelley-at-gmail-dot-com.

Somes bloggers get burnt out, which explains why I've been largely absent the last two weeks. But I'll be back Monday, hopefully refreshed. Some cool things are in the works, two or three trips, and more, soon!

see

http://agonist.org/facebook

The Agonist's Page on Facebook

There was already a Facebook Group there.

. . . day job thingy really interferes with blogging. I'm wicked busy again today, so here's a Flame Fest! You know the rules, have fun. Feel free to bitch about anything you want! Here's something that might get you started: Obama Loses By Winning, a nice anti-blogger screed courtesy the Politico. And here is a response by Greg Sargent.

If that fails, then generational warfare is always successful! You'll just love this anti-boomer screed!

And if that fails, maybe this will be successful. One of the main arguments the Euros had against Bush was that he was terribly dismissive toward our allies. Forget the black sites, or even torture. Sure, the Euros were appalled. Wasn't everyone? But the real break between the US and Europe was our dismissiveness towards our allies. I remember back in the day when most foreign policy hands predicted that there really wouldn't be much of a change in policy between Hillary (if she won) or Obama (if he won) between Bush, just that there would be a smiley face on our relations because Rummy and Dick and Shrub were gone.

Well guess what? Seems the Euros are now wise to this. Another large plank of the pro-Obama caucus is disappearing. What new justifications will we get?

This weeks topic: Why is Sean Paul such a 'civility Nazi'!

You may use this comment section as this week's Flame Fest. Feel free to berate me as much as you wish. I take pride in my dictatorial powers here at The Agonist!

No porn or porn links!

Enough. If this keeps up I am going to lock this thread. Seriously, people, I'm getting very, very tired of getting emails from many different people saying, "so and so is being a meany." Or "will you please ban so-and-so because he is a troll?"

Let me give you an example of what civility is.

I happen to vehemently disagree with this comment (and no, I am not picking on anyone and I want to reinforce the respect I have for the commenter). So, here is how I replied.

Instead of saying something like, "sheesh man, I think Canada has frozen your brain," I replied in a very civil manner--because no matter how much I disagree with the comment I respect the commenter enough to not insult him or his intelligence with childishness. And so, guess what happened then? I got a very civil reply back! Who knew?

So, new rules apply from this point forward: act like adults and myself and the editors will treat you like adults. Act like children and we warn you once. There is no appeal.

After that, you'll be banned for a week. It will not be announced. You will not be publicly humiliated. You'll just receive a polite note from an editor indicating you're in a 'time out' phase. There is no appeal.

A third infringement will lead a much longer, and possibly permanent ban.

These rules apply to everyone, equally. If you are an Obama critic and disregard the rules, you'll be banned. If you are an Obama supporter and disregard the rules, you'll be banned too.

Further, to make this transition easier, we will be bringing back the weekly Flamefest where you are free to insult, object, whine, or whatever, to your hearts content, so long as it is fully understood by all that nothing in said thread is meant to be taken personally.

Play nice because I hate this as much as you do. But if I can be civil, so can you.

So, I'm a sales guy. And it's the end of quarter push. So, not much blogging from me today, probably tomorrow and certainly Monday. Please play nice.

Deep thoughts to ponder:

Ladies and gentleman, cut it with the personal insults. I'm getting tired of it. I'm getting tired of refereeing behind the scenes. The constant emails from this or that aggrieved party.

I understand many here reflexively support Obama. I also understand that many here supported Obama reluctantly and are severely disappointed and find it very, very hard to give the man the benefit of the doubt. I am in the latter camp.

I just don't know what to do, how to change the tone, how to steer things back to a more 'realistic' and 'civil' view point. I'm trying, but have met with little success of late. The anger is palpable on both sides. I see it. I feel it. I know it is there.

All I can ask is that you be civil to each other and please stop with the insults and remember that everyone who participates on this site is a good faith actor. You may disagree, but I am certain everyone here, no matter how strongly I disagree with them, are good faith actors. Help me out here, okay?

Kthnxbai!

Update: Something else I want to address: several members have emailed me, or said something along these lines in the comments: "This place is becoming an echo chamber."

I hear your complaint. I am very, very cognizant of that fact. So, here's a challenge to you: if you disagree, write up a post. Stop complaining that the place is an echo chamber and do something about it. I'll happily elevate the post, as I elevate posts I disagree with on a regular basis.

I do not want this place to be an echo chamber, but it's also incumbent on you to make that change. There is only so much I can do, especially as I disagree with a lot of the criticisms being leveled in that direction. I don't think this place is a echo chamber. Lots of people post here on the front page that I don't agree with. And I'm certainly not going to write something I don't believe in, nor would I expect you to.

But, I do value the opinions of others. That's why you will see me from time to time announce a change in my own personal opinion, or see me put up a mea culpa post. The best way to prove you have a mind, is to change your opinion on something, when the facts warrant it. So, when it comes to me, rest assured, I do change my mind. I can't, however, force others to do so.

It's that time again: blogrolling.

Do you click on the blogs in the blogroll? If so, which ones? Which one's do you not? Are we missing any that we should have? Make your suggestions in the comments.

Yes, that is a Facebook button you see. And no, I don't anticipate removing them. Facebook has 400 million users. It would be similar to blocking Google--no matter how much I dislike Google--from archiving our pages.

Please use the Facebook like button if you have a Facebook account. There is also an Agonista Facebook page, too!

As for Facebook and privacy? Yes, I realize Facebook has seriously dropped the ball on their privacy policy lately. But really, if you have a Facebook page--as I do--you really should have no expectation of privacy. All someone needs to do is copy and paste something you wrote, or screencap a photo of you and, well, you know the rest.

This doesn't excuse bad behavior, but it is the reality in which we live.

By the way, you can follow me on Twitter, here.

Hey folks, please consider buying a copy of Don Henry Ford's book, "Ruminations from the Garden." You can get two hundred and twenty four pages of Don's writings there for only $11.25. That's a bargain. And, if you have already bought a copy, buy another and give it to a friend or family member. Buying Don's book indirectly helps The Agonist and allows us to continue to bring you good writers.

Things might get a little wonky here over the next two or three days. We're moving servers and it is almost complete. After that is complete and the software we are currently running is stable we'll begin the software upgrade. Hopefully within the next two weeks.

After that we'll begin a re-design of the site from a visual perspective, perhaps adding features and removing others that no one currently uses. We'll also be removing the Kontera code form the site, so no more of those annoying pop-ups.

That being said, we will be adding some new advertising sources. None, however, will be obtrusive.

However, we would really appreciate it if you might consider turning off your ad-blockers for The Agonist. Your viewing of ads impacts our ability to keep this site up and running. We've made it through the worst of the advertising drop-off, at least we hope, but still: your support is appreciated.

Your regularly scheduled blogging will resume this afternoon. I returned from LA last night after a long, long day of airports, security theatre and delays. Long live the national security-cum-fear-state!