It’s very cool

that Fox News has picked up Pundit Watch for their website, even if they don’t know what they’re buying. They say: Editor’s Note: Beginning this week, Fox News brings some of the web’s newest voices under its wing with the addition of the Fox Weblog. With it, we hope to bring the farflung corners of … Continue reading “It’s very cool”

that Fox News has picked up Pundit Watch for their website, even if they don’t know what they’re buying. They say:

Editor’s Note: Beginning this week, Fox News brings some of the web’s newest voices under its wing with the addition of the Fox Weblog. With it, we hope to bring the farflung corners of the Internet to your desktop, with a little commentary on the side. For those who don’t know, a weblog is a tour of the ‘net guided by a pilot you will come to know over time. We hope you enjoy the tour.

Fox only carries the Television Pundits part of Punditwatch, not the “far-flung corners of the Internet” part, so you wonder what they’re smoking (besides CNN).

Oh well, at least Punditwatch isn’t totally dependent on Blogspot any more.

Oops I did it again

— In the course of apologizing to Andy for crimes both real and imaginary, InstaPundit made a very passionate defense of blogspot.com. I wanted to re-read that part, but it seems that blogspot has crashed again. Update: OK, it’s up again and here’s what he said: “Yeah, Blogger and Blogspot have their problems — but … Continue reading “Oops I did it again”

— In the course of apologizing to Andy for crimes both real and imaginary, InstaPundit made a very passionate defense of blogspot.com. I wanted to re-read that part, but it seems that blogspot has crashed again.

Update: OK, it’s up again and here’s what he said: “Yeah, Blogger and Blogspot have their problems — but the hosting service I was planning to move to was shut down twice by hackers last month, so I’m just reminded that it’s the nature of the Internet to be less-than-fully reliable.”

Hmm. Most ISPs don’t ever crash, and certainly not on a daily basis. Really. But nevermind.

Ripping Gray Davis

— Celebrity blogger Matt Welch rips Gray and explains how lefties can bring themselves to support such an odious character: Just combine a Tim Robbins-like conviction that Republicans not named Jim Jeffords are evil, with a Naderite certainty that corporations are the devil’s battering ram, and presto! You don’t have to pay attention, and you … Continue reading “Ripping Gray Davis”

— Celebrity blogger Matt Welch rips Gray and explains how lefties can bring themselves to support such an odious character:

Just combine a Tim Robbins-like conviction that Republicans not named Jim Jeffords are evil, with a Naderite certainty that corporations are the devil’s battering ram, and presto! You don’t have to pay attention, and you can vote Gray

Don’t read this if you’re tryng to get less cynical about politics.

Welch says he’s been anti-Gray ever since the robotic one voted to allow off-shore drilling in the 80s. As a former Texan, I’ve always been mystified by the way the people of my adopted state of California feel about oil drilling. If you want to play, you’ve got to pay, so either ride a bike or support drilling.

The Republican Death Wish

— California is effectively a one-party, Democratic state now, since our Republican faithful have adopted the position that it’s better to be right on the moral issues than successful at the ballot box. This has been evident in the choice of a string of hardcore pro-life party chairmen, and in the reaction of the faithful … Continue reading “The Republican Death Wish”

— California is effectively a one-party, Democratic state now, since our Republican faithful have adopted the position that it’s better to be right on the moral issues than successful at the ballot box. This has been evident in the choice of a string of hardcore pro-life party chairmen, and in the reaction of the faithful to Dick Riordan’s candidacy for governor:

Riordan is raising much more cash than Jones or Simon and leads the polls, but he is under heavy attack from some party stalwarts. Last week, former California governor George Deukmejian, an influential Republican in the state, took the extraordinary step of saying publicly that he had “no respect” for Riordan.

This deadly purity of essence makes the Dems who can bring themselves to support Davis, for all his warts, look almost bright.

Link: California GOP Reluctant to Rally Behind Riordan (washingtonpost.com)

Term Limits

From Rough & Tumble: Don Novey has a problem. The head of the powerful California Correctional Peace Officers Association supported the legislative term-limits initiative in 1990 and still thinks it’s a good idea. But after watching it work for nearly a dozen years he thinks there needs to be a change. Dan Smith in the … Continue reading “Term Limits”

From Rough & Tumble:

Don
Novey has a problem. The head of the powerful California Correctional Peace
Officers Association supported the legislative term-limits initiative in 1990
and still thinks it’s a good idea. But after watching it work for nearly a dozen
years he thinks there needs to be a change. Dan Smith
in the Sacramento
Bee Michael Gardner in the San
Diego Union — 2/18/02

This is a good sign for those of us who don’t like the results of term limits in California; Novey’s the most powerful special interest in the state.

Free Internet, no ads –

Rob Flickenger’s skepticism over CringelyNet leads him to create a realistic version of long-haul WiFi in Sonoma County: In Sebastopol, being neighborly has gone beyond sharing a cup of herbal tea. People today share high-speed Internet access. Using a garden-variety wireless technology popularly called WiFi, tech-savvy, community-minded Sebastopol residents are creating a free wireless Internet … Continue reading “Free Internet, no ads –”

Rob Flickenger’s skepticism over CringelyNet leads him to create a realistic version of long-haul WiFi in Sonoma County:

In Sebastopol, being neighborly has gone beyond sharing a cup of herbal tea. People today share high-speed Internet access.

Using a garden-variety wireless technology popularly called WiFi, tech-savvy, community-minded Sebastopol residents are creating a free wireless Internet network dubbed NoCat.

For those not in the know, Flickenger is the sys admin for O’Reilly, the tech book publisher, and he’s been around this stuff forever.
link: Tapping in freely

Two in a row

non-Enron pieces in Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall, most recently on the fun-loving Gary Condit, who says (sort of): If you will entrust me with your hard-earned dollars and contribute them to my campaign, I will use that money to make my case to the voters of our district, to tell a story … Continue reading “Two in a row”

non-Enron pieces in Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall, most recently on the fun-loving Gary Condit, who says (sort of):

If you will entrust me with your hard-earned dollars and contribute them to my campaign, I will use that money to make my case to the voters of our district, to tell a story about the struggles of working families and to enlist a dubious also-ran in the annals of forensic science to exonerate me of any responsibility for the tragic murder of my bosomy young girlfriend …

I’m no liberal but I admire Marshal for his ability to make the liberal case with intelligence and without the snarkiness that characterizes people like Talbot and Kinsley. Our democratic process doesn’t work without smart people on both sides, so I encourage them where I find them.

Play nice, fellas –

Blogger newbie Andy Dodge complains that fellow newbie Glenn Reynolds ripped him off: Dodgeblog Ok, now I am bloody pissed off with Glenn at Instapundit. What the hell is his damn problem with giving people credit for sending him links to stuff? I live in London, got The Spectator as soon as it came out … Continue reading “Play nice, fellas –”

Blogger newbie Andy Dodge complains that fellow newbie Glenn Reynolds ripped him off: Dodgeblog

Ok, now I am bloody pissed off with Glenn at Instapundit. What the hell is his damn problem with giving people credit for sending him links to stuff? I live in London, got The Spectator as soon as it came out and sent him info on it. Did I get any credit, NO! Glenn thinks he is god to bloggers and doesn’t have to give the rest of credit for giving him heads-up on stuff. I am not the first to complain about this.

I don’t have any insight into this particular problem, but I suspect it’s hard to maintain a 30-a-day posting regime and still observe all the proper social forms; it’s also unlikely that Reynolds gets all those links by acting badly. Whether Reynolds is stingy with his credits or not, Andy’s problem is easily solved from his end.

It probably won’t be long ’till some other enterprising newbie publishes a summary of the 4 or 5 Reynolds entries um, most worth reading in a given day; maybe Andy himself can take that on. (source: Ben Kepple.)

Update: the boys have now officially kissed and made up. Feel the love.

If it’s not Scottish, it’s not modern –

David Boaz on Scotland & Afghanistan compares the two backward, mountainous, religion-obsessed countries, highlighting the contributions of Scots to the development of modernity: The Scots pioneered the social sciences: the scientific study of history and human nature. By the late 18th century, the most important books in Europe were Scottish books, beginning with Francis Hutcheson’s … Continue reading “If it’s not Scottish, it’s not modern –”

David Boaz on Scotland & Afghanistan compares the two backward, mountainous, religion-obsessed countries, highlighting the contributions of Scots to the development of modernity:

The Scots pioneered the social sciences: the scientific study of history and human nature. By the late 18th century, the most important books in Europe were Scottish books, beginning with Francis Hutcheson’s System of Moral Philosophy and Lord Kames’s Sketches of the History of Man and going on to Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations, David Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature, Adam Ferguson’s Essay on the History of Civil Society, and more.

And not just books: the inventor James Watt, the architect Robert Adam, the road builder John MacAdam, the bridge builder Thomas Telford, and later Scots such as Alexander Graham Bell and Andrew Carnegie demonstrated the practical side of Scottish philosophy.

Boaz suggests Afghanistan can take the Scottish road.

Axis of Snobbery –

David Horowitz takes down the David Talbot column I posted recently here: Axis of snobbery It’s time for the intellectual class to begin reassessing its self-exposing snobbery toward George W. Bush. This reappraisal has already begun to take place. A February Tarrance Group poll reveals that 65 percent of American college students are now “glad … Continue reading “Axis of Snobbery –”

David Horowitz takes down the David Talbot column I posted recently here: Axis of snobbery

It’s time for the intellectual class to begin reassessing its self-exposing snobbery toward George W. Bush. This reappraisal has already begun to take place. A February Tarrance Group poll reveals that 65 percent of American college students are now “glad that George Bush is president.” Only 18 percent wish it was Al Gore.

It’s well worth a read, since he amplifies and supports my main points.