Thursday, April 14, 2005

Chewie: "Talk to the picture." 3:36:57 PM   permalink   comment []

Training journalists to blog is hard, says this article. I believe it. Some people are natural bloggers, and some are not, but some journos bring a little hostility to the game that makes it harder for them to get jiggy. I think the sportswriter idea is right on, too -- team or league blogs make more sense than general sports blogs. 3:31:27 PM   permalink   comment []

PressThink interviews Bill Grueskin, managing editor of the Wall Street Journal Online. Jay Rosen: Can we just stipulate that no one really knows what pricing scheme works yet? Bill Grueskin: I would say that the search for a single answer--paid vs. free--is as fruitless as a blogger vs journalist argument. You can be successful either way. Ultimately, it comes down to how you see your role in the media universe. Lots more, of course. As Jay says, "PressThink prefers three answers to one. It's part of our long-form charm." 3:03:54 PM   permalink   comment []

A commenter questions Marcus Kindley's use of fascist imagery ("goose-step") to characterize NC Democrats...and the Guilford GOP chairman reponds, "I would also suggest you study a little history of nazi (sic) and fascist tactics and you may see some simularities (sic)." While Kindley is using his blog to make himself and his party look bad...the local Libertarian chairman is blogging about his habit of carrying non-US government silver coins instead of "worthless" paper currency, thus reinforcing the loony Lib image that drives most libertarian-leaning voters to the Dems and Repubs. Hmm. Maybe Paul Mengert, the new Dem chair, should not get a blog. 2:47:04 PM   permalink   comment []

John Edwards blogs about the bankruptcy bill: "The problem is that this bill imposes big burdens on families who did everything right but went broke just because they lost a job or lost their health insurance...this bill doesn't crack down on the real abusers." 2:32:40 PM   permalink   comment []

An NC House committee cleared a bill that would require companies doing business with the State to disclose any history of profiting from slavery. John Blust and John Hood, quoted in Mark Binker's article, are dismissive of the idea. Brad and Britt had a big laugh about it this morning. Hoggard can't get his mind around it. It's intriguing, this McGwiresque idea that there is a statute of limitations on truth. It seems acceptable -- imperative, even -- to seek justice for wrongs done 70 years ago, as seen on the front page of this morning's New York Times. So what is the cut-off? How long ago is too long? Clearly the connections are easier to draw, the redress easier to quantify, in the case of the Swiss bank and the family fleeing the Nazis. The situations are not the same in any number of meaningful ways, and I'm not sure that the North Carolina bill is a wise or productive measure. But I'm pretty sure that I don't want to just dismiss the ideas behind it, and cut off all discussion with a sneer. 2:04:48 PM   permalink   comment []

I just finished reading The Jungle, and for all its limitations as a novel, and all the progress we've made in the century since it was published, Upton Sinclair's expose of the terrible conditions facing workers in the meat-packing industry remains relevant. From our huge immigrant population and urban underclass, to the heedless rich and the powerful corporations, to the bankruptcy and tax policies of the current Congress, the echoes of that era resound today. We ignore the past, and the present, at our own peril. 8:57:00 AM   permalink   comment []

TV newswoman McCall Pera, who started blogging after doing a report on the GSO teach-in, writes about Guilford County's school "choice" plan: "We may like the outcome of the 'Greater Good,' but it sure sucks if you're forced to be part of it in the making." 8:36:22 AM   permalink   comment []

Josh Marshall on the clear link between ending estate taxes and phasing out Social Security: Republicans say they care about Social Security but claim there won't be enough money to make good on the money (your payroll taxes) borrowed from the Social Security Administration. Today, however, House Republicans voted overwhelmingly to abolish the inheritance tax, a tax that, by definition, only impacts people who inherit money from extremely wealthy forebearers. ...they are voting to take a trillion more dollars off the table. In other words, they could not care less about Social Security and everything they say on the subject is a joke. Oliver Willis has the best artwork I've seen on the subject of the Paris Hilton Tax Cut. This seems like a lay-up: raise the exemption to a reasonable amount, build in protections for going businesses and farms, and tax the rest. 8:28:19 AM   permalink   comment []

Ryan Irelan: "Hello?? CNET??" 8:14:35 AM   permalink   comment []