In the comments at the Independent Bloggers' Alliance, Maryscott O'Connor wrote:
I just got off the phone with a reporter from Salon; the interview lasted half an hour, and it was almost all about the BBB, my feeling that they have been assimilated into the Establishment, sold out, et cetera. Can’t WAIT to read THAT piece; what do you think the reaction in the Centrist Blogosphere will be to that?Note to readers: for Maryscott, BBB stands for "Big Boys of Blogging" rather than "Big Bad Blog.
“Centrist Blogosphere,” what do you think of that? I’m fucking tired of calling them even “left-leaning.” Because they’re not.
I just *know* we can do better than that. I asked Demetrius, and off the top of his head, he said, “Assimilated Blogosphere?”It will be interesting to see how the article turns out. I'm always wary of the spin any media outlet might decide to apply, but if done right, it would be nice to see that wider recognition that "Daily Kos" does not equal "the lefty blogosphere".
I’ve got it–Borgosphere!
(I know–still needs work.)
TeddySanFran's blog entry at Give 'Em Hell, Harry:
Lieberman to Give Democrats' Radio Response: WHY??
Good question. If you're signed up at that blog, you can add your $.02 here.
Alternate link for comments
Just getting this birthday greeting in under the wire--Eastern time, anyway. But I didn't know until I saw this post at Crooks and Liars that today is Russ Feingold's birthday.
Happy birthday to one of our favorite patriotic Americans!
Alternate link for comments
Yay--it's the weekend! And it was *sunny* out when I was leaving work.
Spring really is going to come again, isn't it?
Some links...
Send Bush packing, says Rocky
At rally, he says there's never been a better case for impeachment
The Untold Story of Dissenting Soldiers
Bush and Cheney as National Security Failures
At Booman: Can Obama Create a New Coalition? Standard disclaimer: I do *not* have a candidate I'm excited about at this point, but there's some good stuff in this post. Like this...
All along the way, though, we suffered indignities at the hands of people from The New Republic, 'left-leaning' columnists at the Washington Post, New York Times, Time, Newsweek, and elsewhere. We were disparaged by Clinonistas like Begala and Carville on a constant basis. The argument was consistent. The Netroots was too stridenty anti-war and populist and would do real damage to the Democrats if allowed to have too much influence. For this reason, our huge successes in November were quickly spun as the doing of Rahm Emanuel and Chuck Schumer alone. They chose to focus on the few social conservatives that were elected in Indiana or North Carolina, rather than our sweep of New Hampshire, new progressive Senators Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders, the upset victories of Jerry McNerney and professor Dave Loeback, etc.
During her presentation at CPAC, political pundit Ann Coulter used the word “faggot” to describe a Democratic presidential candidate. DNC Chairman Howard Dean today condemned her remarks and called on the Republican presidential contenders to denounce them.
Crossposted at the Independent Bloggers' Alliance
In the past week or so, I've been watching for any word from Bishop Gene Robinson in response to the communique that came our of the recent meeting of the Anglican primates in Tanzania. This evening, I learned that he has written this in response to a plea he received for a "word of hope"...
Let’s remember that, for now, nothing has changed. The Episcopal Church has been bold in its inclusion of us, “risking its life” for us in dramatic ways over these last few years. Not perfect, but bold. Just because The Episcopal Church has been invited to subvert its own polity and become a Church ruled by bishops-only, a Church that is willing to sacrifice the lives and ministries and dignity of its gay and lesbian members on the altar of unity, does not mean that we are going to choose to do it. That is yet to be determined. Let’s not abandon hope simply because that is possible. The Primates have the right to make requests of us (nevermind the threatening tone of those requests). We do not have to accede to those requests in exactly the terms in which they are made.
Nothing is surprising in this development. None of us thought this issue was settled, did we? None of us expected our detractors to stop their efforts – whether their goals be genuinely about the authority of scripture and its playing out in our lives as Christians, or whether those goals have more to do with power and money and influence. (BOTH are represented in the actions taken.) We are fighting a larger battle here. As you have heard me say before, we are engaged in the beginning of the end of patriarchy. Did any of us believe that such a battle would be won without resistance? Did any of us believe there would be no more bumps in the road? Did any of us foresee smooth sailing into the future?
We still have countless allies. We are not engaged in this struggle alone. There are countless heterosexual members of this Church who now “get it.” They have heard our stories, felt our pain and taken up our cause as their own. There are countless heterosexual families who have joined The Episcopal Church (they are numerous in my own diocese) because they want to raise their children in such an inclusive Church. There are countless lgbt people who have come to our churches for the comfort and solace and grounding in Christ that we offer – and we dare not lose hope or momentum for them as well as ourselves.
Charlie posted a link to this article in the comments of the previous thread...
Alachua Shocker: Every challenger in city elections is disqualified
All three Alachua City Commission candidates making bids to run against the incumbents in the upcoming Alachua city elections were disqualified today, Feb. 26. This means that the incumbents, Mayor Jean Calderwood and City Commissioner Bonnie Burgess, have no opponents, and, therefore, no election will be held.Click here to read the rest. Sadly, I don't find that particulary shocking. Much the way the Bush administration's violations of everything our country is supposed to stand for no longer shock me. At a certain point, how do you avoid just becoming numb?
Yeah, I've changed the banner again. But at least it's not a full-blown case of otter madness like I had before Christmas. See, I've even kept Howard up there. And added Gore.
And a couple other critters that make me smile.
I was checking out various blogs this evening, and thought, dang, I'm tired of the 2008 election already. And every other political story out there. And the stuff going on in the Episcopal church. And the bickering between and among blogs.
It was this, or color my hair again.
This is easier to undo. ;)
But let's all make sure we keep some healthy balance in our lives--remembering to take care of ourselves, and each other.
Alternate link for comments
Just saw this at pyzch
puddle is walking around doing that nesting thing that is an 18 hour warning but we had a foot more of heavy snow that is hard to move and I finally got through the 5 foot drifts to the silage and still have my feeding to do as well as helping Barbara if she needs it, so I may not be back for a few hours.Alternate link for comments
Phil Specht
Sun, 02/25/07
10:53 am
Sunday, Gore used the Oscar win not to further his political career but to boost his campaign to find solutions for global warming and other environmental problems.You can see the video of his acceptance speech at Crooks and Liars, as well as Melissa Etheridge's performance of "I Need to Wake Up", which won the Oscar for Best Song.
"My fellow Americans," Gore said to laughter from the crowd. "People all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue, it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started with the possible will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it."
...
"It is the overriding world challenge of our time," Gore said. "I really hope the decision by the academy to honor the work by director Davis Guggenheim and these producers will convince people who did not go see it before to see the movie and learn about the climate crisis and become a part of the solution."
Crossposted at the Independent Bloggers' Alliance
As I see it, Daily Kos and Jerome Armstrong have not articulated a goal that has any synergy with my goals. We still have a huge amount of common interests. But I am primarily interested in shifting the debate to the left, while they seem to be interested in boxing in the netroots into traditionally acceptable parameters of debate.I don't think we're ever going to speak with one voice. To get that to happen would require a lot more cat herding than many of us are comfortable with. And when someone decides that one goal is all-important, sometimes they feel inclined to attack people they see as being "in their way". But those people are often working toward what *they* consider to be the most important goal right now.
I don't think that will do. It might bring us a result that they don't want (a Hillary presidency), but it won't fundamentally alter the assumptions and myths that made both Bushism and the invasion of Iraq possible. Are we going to gain something from Iraq or are we just going to end it so we fight another war on another day?
To summarize: goal one was to elect a Democratic congress. Goal two is to turn the Democratic Party into a progressive party. That means primaries. That means changing what is considered as the political fringe...which means changing the political center. The fight against Republicans required a lot of Democratic unity. But those days are over now. Now the battle is for the soul of the Democratic Party. And that means that it is the furthest thing from a waste of time to take on Ellen Tauscher and oppose Hillary Clinton.
Anyone that doesn't get that does seem to be missing the point, or selling out.
