Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Michelle Malkin responds to criticisms of her book. Her argument comes down to the proposition that any possible legitimate concerns by the US about Japanese and Japanese-American espionage activities, actual or potential, provide grounds for the defense of internment. She says that by focusing on the hysteria and racism of the era, her critics ignore the realities of wartime. But it seems to me that she is the one focusing on a single factor to the exclusion of all context, and that Muller and Co. have demonstrated that her evidence for valid security concerns is limited and her overall case for internment is extremely weak. 3:47:17 PM    comment []

Mark Binker, a News & Record reporter who recently launched his own weblog: "I’ve gained an immediate peculiar appreciation for what the subjects of my news writing must feel." That's a damn good reason for reporters to have weblogs. On blogging: "(T)his appears to be the sort of thing you have to do to understand." He also gets it as professional development. Binker's been blogging for five days. He learns fast. 3:38:53 PM    comment []

Guilford County district 4 commissioner candidate Kirk Perkins and his wife, Nancy, are coming to the conference. 3:26:46 PM    comment []

Dave Winer can't come to the conference, but he's contributing to the discussion already: "I have a mind, I also have eyeballs, but I'd prefer if you think of me as a mind." 3:22:49 PM    comment []

Bowles campaign to emphasize grassroots, hopes to use Web to activate volunteers. Notes from conference call with bloggers by Bowles campaign manager Guy Cecil and consultant Matt Gross, 2 PM today. Expect a very tight race. Internal polls similar to externals, Bowles up 7-9 points on Burr, but gap will close as Republicans move toward Burr, especially with increased Presidential action here. Target: 15-20% listed undecided voters. Burr gaining name ID among them, still a significant gap.These voters feel negative on economy, are concerned with healthcare and education, Iraq and homeland security. This group has decided elections here in the past. May favor middle class tax cuts, love Liddy Dole, favor W, but leave door open to Bowles on many issues. Burr still has money lead; began race by transferring $1.7 million from Congressional campaign account. Bowles has outraised him three quarters in a row, but also spent early on TV. NRSC and another outside group working for Burr, too. Plan to remain positive in all messages, will respond if attacked. Do not want to drive up own negatives with negative ads. This time will be more targeted on messaging than '02 campaign.  A real grassroots operation can make a difference in this race. We believe it will come down to maybe 1-3% margin, we need to turn out the base of Democratic voters and run field operations based on getting swing voters out. We are looking at using the Web internally as well as community building with weblog. Field operations of this type scarcely done in NC. Looking to motivate people to get involved at local level, phone banking and canvassing. Matt says the effort to bring people in via the Net will hit hyperdrive after Labor Day. 3:16:08 PM    comment []

Josh Marshall: "If President Bush really wants to tell the Swift Boat group's funder, Bob Perry, that he doesn't like the ads he's paying for, maybe he can have Rove bring it up with him a the fundraiser Perry is cohosting in New York next week. Former President Bush, Karl Rove, and Tom DeLay are all scheduled to be there." 10:36:17 AM    comment []

Thanks to Jerome Armstrong for pimping our conference over at the seminal political site MyDD. One note: while Jerome is right that many in attendance will be interested in learning how to beat Republicans at the polls, this is a non-partisan conference, with plenty of voices from across the political spectrum. (These guys might come, too.) (See, Matt McW., that didn't take long...) 7:47:44 AM    comment []

Jay Rosen's long piece on the sadness of the Swift Boat story is worth reading at your leisure, but conference participants will want to note the last graf, where he points to a great example of serious journalism as practiced by a blogger, Glenn Reynolds. 7:30:26 AM    comment []

Jay Ovittore's wife came home a little freaked out when she saw a house on fire last Monday night. The 9/11 operator said it was a fire-department training exercise, but Jay wanted to know more -- what are the rules for such fires, what kind of information can the public expect, etc. So Jay set up an interview with Summerfield fire chief Ricky Boykin, and published an article at his blog. Jay: "At first, I was pretty up in arms about there not being any warnings for the public. After I sat down with Chief Boykin, I was put at ease." Props to the chief for his accessibility, and to blogger Jay for getting it all down in pixels. 7:16:11 AM    comment []

The Bowles campaign is having a conference call for bloggers this afternoon. I'll let you know what we learn. 7:09:25 AM    comment []