Category: Impolitic

<![CDATA[The Washington Monthly: The Self-Correcting Blogosphere

Atrios is right to mock the pretensions of right-wing blowhards who loudly insist that the blogosphere is superior to old media because it’s “self correcting.” Their notion that someone else pointing out your errors counts as “self correction” is risible. By that standard, everything in the world is self correcting.

What makes this all the more mock-worthy is the longtime aversion of conservative bloggers to comment hosting, which is the only genuine self-correction mechanism in the blogosphere. Yes, my comment section might be full of trolls and their vitriol, but anyone who has a factual disagreement with what I write has a forum to point it out in the same place as the post itself.

But take a look at the Ecosystem. As I write this, the top ten conservative blogs are Instapundit, Powerline, LGF, Malkin, Captain’s Quarters, Sullivan, Hewitt, Volokh, Wizbang, and The Corner. Of those, only three have comments, and the LGF folks do everything in their power to keep anyone outside their own sycophantic fan base from contributing.

There aren’t enough liberals in the top 30 to even make a top ten , but the top six are Kos, Marshall, Atrios, Washington Monthly, Crooked Timber, and Yglesias. All but one host comments — and if we could just get Josh off his butt we could make it a clean sweep.

On the Web, no one can hear the truth, only their truth, which means we’re already at war and dialogue was a hope of the past….]]>

<![CDATA[Joho the Blog: Yay for democracy:

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I find myself torn. I am thrilled Saddam is gone and people are voting. But it’s still not how I’d choose to spend the money and lives this war we were lied into cost.]]>

<![CDATA[The Nation | Blog | The Daily Outrage | The Election Syndrome | Ari Berman:
For months, the Bush Administration hyped the Iraqi elections as the “most important step” for Iraq’s reconstruction, the pivotal moment when Iraq would finally control its own destiny. Now, amidst chaos on the ground and not-so-subtle pressure from Washington, it appears likely that the election of a new national assembly won’t provide an answer to the occupation’s central question: when will US troops leave so Iraqis can take charge of their own security?
In the run-up to elections, most major Iraqi candidates, as predicted by the CIA, emphasized US withdrawal in their campaign platforms. Iyad Allawi, Iraq’s current Prime Minister, won plaudits after his website called for a “conditions-based withdrawal.” The campaign literature of the Shiite-backed United Iraqi Alliance–supported by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani–listed “setting a timetable for the withdrawal of multinational forces from Iraq” as its No. 2 promise.
Read more.]]>

<![CDATA[The Doc Searls Weblog : Monday, January 31, 2005:

Now Democracy

I’ve never been a fan of the Iraq war; but I’ll aways be a fan of democracy (I agree with Churchill), and there can be no doubt that Sunday’s elections were a huge milestone for democratic progress in the Middle East. (Eeyore complaints withstanding.)

 

This pic doesn’t say it all; but it does say a lot.

A toast to everybody who helped make it happen.

Here’s the thing: You can’t give a people democracy. They have to take it. We’ll see if the images and enthusiasm of this very inspiring day turn into permanent political change.]]>