> From: Dave Land <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Folks, > > Lefty writer Andrew Leonard "survey[s] the wreckage of the lefty > blogosphere" in the wake of the election > (http://www.salon.com/tech/col/leon/2004/11/03/echo_chamber/) and > raises warnings about the risks of spending too much time in the > company of people we agree with. > > Not that there's any risk of that here.
Heh. > In an off-list conversation with Nick, he opined that we're at the > beginning of what may turn out to be a generations-long coming-to-terms > with having an unprecedented variety of points of view available via > the Internet. Right now, we just don't know what the heck to do with > it. > > Some hole up with their fellow (Left|Right)-Wingers to tell each other > how right they are, how evil the other guys are, and think that they're > on to some New Truth. That's the problem that Andrew Leonard focuses > on. It may be that the "echo chamber" effect is not the problem, but > just another symptom of the bipolar illness that increasingly grips us. > > Then again, Some decide, like "Bones" at > http://mama.indstate.edu/users/bones/WhyIHateWebLogs.html, that the > whole thing is a bloody great waste of time. > > Sadly, too few attempt to take in the whole panoply and make some sense > of it. It's the difference between how the two parties conducted their campaigns and perceive Americans. One party (we'll call them 'Progressives') conducted an open campaign, where every thing they did was out in the open, and you could see what they were doing and where they were doing it. They shouted the record numbers they were registering from the rooftops, and shouted with a loud ringing voice every vote will be counted and will be fought for at all costs. They fought to build a better, stronger America, where all people are created equal and all people have inalienable civil rights. One party (we'll call them 'Regressives') conducted a secret, closed campaign, where every thing they did was behind closed doors and nobody knew what they were doing or where they were doing it. They hid everything they did, and publicly fronted a weak and ineffectual registration and get-out-the-vote campaign. But behind closed doors, record amounts of money was spent on their registration efforts, their get-out-the-vote efforts, and their phone-banking efforts. A report in Feb said Their candidate had _already_ spent as much money as the Dean-For-America campaign, but nobody knew where or what that money was being spent on. They conducted their campaign in secret, under the cover of darkness, where no sunlight could expose their machinations. They fought to divide America, to create an aristocracy that has exclusive rights and everyone else has to fend for themselves. They fought to keep minorities from voting in every way they could using every technique they knew. They fought to keep people from registering, and challenged people who registered at every step along the way. They fought to use technicalities to throw out every registration they could, and they sent their lawyers to challenge absentee / early voting ballots from areas that favored progressives. They committed fraud on a massive scale in many states by throwing away and stealing voter registrations and absentee ballots from progressives, who tried to register to vote, vote absentee, and vote early. They challenged every voter in progressive precincts of certain states, forcing some voters to wait in line for up to nine hours before being able to vote. The Shouted from the rooftops, only regressive votes matter, only regressive votes will be counted. They fought to build a divisive America, where hate and bigotry are norm, and few people have civil rights. I for one am proud to have stood up and fought for the progressive vision of America, where all voices are heard, all votes are counted, where all people are created equal, and tolerance and individuality are the norm. Even in defeat we must stand firm, give no ground, give no quarter, and continue to fight for what is right against the tides of darkness and tyranny. We will overcome.. > Which, by the way, was why they were called "web logs" in the first > place. They didn't start out being public journals or soap boxes. They > started out as annotated collections of links to interesting stuff that > web readers found and wanted to share with friends and the public. Web > Logs. But the Internet already had something called "web logs," which > are the records that web servers keep of their activity. Thus, the > ubercool types with their black clothing and heavy black-framed glasses > had to make up a new word to go with the new paradigms that they were > making and breaking every day and a half: blog. > > Dave > > PS: I Hate the Word Blog Agree. Use it not do. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
