That’s Not Math We Can Believe In, My Friends

Think Progress nominated for headline of the year:

“McCain’s list of ‘100 distinguished and experienced economists’ has only 90 names.”

The Onion is preparing its lawsuit.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Dumbasses!

Let me guess, Sarah did the counting?

Man, Popeye sure looks like he’s in serious withdrawal without his pipe!

@Ewalda:
McCain he is finished,
he’d lose to Kucinich.
He’s Johnny the sailor man.

Just realized — if we survive the next three weeks, Barry will have conquered two entitled politicians running two fabled but broken machines.

Quite an accomplishment. Oh, and he’s black.

@nojo:
Somewhere Ralph, Barr and Perot gnash their teeth. They don’t have the mental firepower, team and charisma Barry’s got.

/tj/
Flyer-gate?

@nabisco: In the Post? The Murdoch-owned Post?

Rupert must be distracted with the Journal right now.

@nabisco:
Ed Snider’s always been an asshole.

He was almost as bad as Bill “Shithead” Wirtz was in allowing uber douche and unCanadian former NHL players union head Alan Eagleson to rape the NHL players for many years.

Palin at the Flyers game:

Palin drops puck at Philadelphia Flyers’ game

29 minutes ago

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — To a mixture of boos and cheers, Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin dropped the ceremonial first puck at the Philadelphia Flyers’ home opener against the New York Rangers.

The Alaska governor heard a few boos when she walked onto the ice Saturday night. But that soon turned to polite applause as she walked out to center ice with Mike Richards of the Flyers and Scott Gomez — from Alaska — of the Rangers.

Palin waved to the crowd and smiled as she dropped the puck to applause and cheers.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ihg7NJwzXiVguKVLf3CBhB5DDTpQD93OJH1O1

@nabisco: How ’bout those Phillies, huh?

Bear Grylls buck naked in Patagonia ice fields — doing jumping jacks and push ups!

Yeah, yeah, they put on the blurry patch o’ screen, but sometimes if you squint juuuuuust right, that blurry patch comes into focus.

@JNOV:
I saw a Youtube clip just posted. I didn’t hear that many cheers. Loads of boos.

For once I love Philly Fans, but the Flyers can still kiss my ass. As much as the animal within me would want to see a bag of pee or a battery tossed in her general direction, I’m glad that they at least refrained (mostly because her kids were with her.)

Link to clip.

http://www.eandppub.com/2008/10/hockey-mom-pali.html

@ManchuCandidate: Thanks for that! Oh, yeah — they’re booing hard when she first steps out on the ice. Represent, Philly! We throw snowballs at Santa and booed Beyonce. You betcha!

@ManchuCandidate: definitely got booed, which makes me heart Philly fans again

.@JNOV:You’re baiting me, right? A Sox-Phillies series is all I need to give up on pro baseball forever. Jason Bay was a Pirate for chrissakes!

@nabisco: Can’t we just unite PA, you and me? C’mon, Nabeesko! Give up the Phillies hate and try love. I love the Steelers…

Ahhh, I could listen to Bear say “glass-EE-er” all night long.

Oooooo! He just parachuted on the Patagonia steppe. God, I love him. And he’s not some buff macho guy. He’s Everyman with superior survival skills. And he eats bugs. And gets naked like every third episode.

I like Survivor Man, too, but he’s kind of boring, always waiting around for rescue. Bear moves around and does stuff. I know exactly what to do if I get stranded in the Everglades thanks to Bear. heartheartheart

@JNOV: For today at least, JNOV, I’m with you. Especially when Ed and Nutter were front row spectators at the Palindrone’s puck fumble.

I loved the Sixers as a kid, but that was easy cuz of Dr J.

@JNOV: Don’t taunt DodgerBlue about your Phillies or he’ll never come back from the woods.

@Bionic Jamie, who I saw somewhere on Stinque yesterday: How about them Longhorns?

I was lost, and now I’m found. Thanks, SFL. I’ll need to scroll around to figure out why the Exodus occurred. Pharoah got pissed?
Full report from the wilds of Vermont to come. In short, local cheese and microbrews are worth the trip.

@nabisco: Ha ha! People in the background are holding up Obama signs!

@SanFranLefty: I miss him.

@Dodgerblue: HUZZAH! Welcome back! And to Jamie Sommers! I’m so happy!

@JNOV: Speak of the devil…it’s like I knew he was about to appear and cued that up for you…

The tribe is complete. Except for MW/Sarah Silverman/String Bikini Theory. And I told him where to find us but I think he’s going to lay low until after the election. Den Mother SFL’s work is done.

@Dodgerblue: I assume that Nojo will provide you with the pertinent links of the Judean Peoples’ Front exodus. Short account of what’s happened since you went to go peep at trees: PromNight wants to buy a gun and open a deli, RedManLaw is hanging with RFK Jr., JNOV and Rptrcub have way better meds than me, Cynica has a new job, I’m liveblogging debates from hotel rooms (and got to watch the Palin-Biden debate with MellBell in DC), the Chicago cynic stinquers watched a debate together and drank insane amounts of alcohol, and Nojo had a kitty cat killed by a bad dog. Baked can explain her situation. (I did not intend to leave anyone out, this was supposed to be Cliff Notes version).

So Dodger, did you go to the Dog Chapel in St. Johnsbury like I told you to go? I have photos of my pupster running around that place. She was in doggy heaven between the goose poo, fields, and other dogs to romp with.

Do not get me started about Bill Wirtz, ManchuCandidate. Don’t do it.

(BTW: Blackhawks 2 : 4 Capitals. In other news: Alexander Ovechkin is a professional hockey player. Hawks drop the first two games. Rocky Wirtz is off to a not-so-good start in year two.)

Long day (up in Wisconsin, spreading Hope (TM)) just got longer.

We’re still missing Ragin monk, and I miss him. I miss his over the top come ons and flirting, his persona as free sex religious leader, Ragingmonk I think may, even among this dysfunctional lot, may have had more problems than most. He disappeared after his effort to proclaim himself Mayor, which was rebuffed by myself at least because in my mind Nojo is the supreme ruler among bloggers and SFL is Mayor among commenters, and, well, I was too mean. But it was not for lack of affection and appreciation for him, it was out of respect for others more worthy of the title, and come on, you can’t claim such things, they have to be given. But still, I miss him much and wish he would resurface.

@Promnight: Maybe Megan can get us an email address … I’ll ask.

@blogenfreude: Several here who have emailed him in the past and spoken on the phone have tried to get in touch. I hope he is OK. Or, he may have gone on to greener pastures, I am not judging at all, but he sure seemed to want closer contact, as it were, with our female party guests, and maybe, god love him, he found somewhere where there were better prospects. He was one of the few single folks here, there, whatever, and certainly did openly proclaim the agenda of orgasms as the way to salvation. Not that anyone diagrees with that agenda, only maybe about whom the orgasms are achieved with.

@blogenfreude: I’ve emailed him about four times with real world contact info and so has Lefty, no answer. I have his phone number and I’ll call tomorrow.

Hey Dodge! Glad you made it over. You might be interested to hear that one of my buddies went to the Supremes on the gov’t appeal of his 9th Cir victory of Forest Service appeals regs (an OU law grad, btw, Nojo).

@nabisco: Get your sticker en espanol?

/back to tiling floor – only my hands are not covered in thin set b/c rubber gloves

@redmanlaw: email me his email at blogenfreude@www.stinque.com and I will give it a try.

@SanFranLefty: I gave a holler on the Talistupid thread. Texas Ex since 91 dontcha know

.@Dodgerblue: Huzzah! Now get them Phillies, mkay? Thought of you when I saw the Koufax display in Cooperstown a few weeks back, Blue.

@redmanlaw: No hombre. One volunteer knew of them, but only as something available to the campaign out west. Latino population here is relatively small; there was a cool sticker in Hebrew, however. My kids loaded up on buttons and stickers which they sported outside all day, and we now have a shiny new yard sign festooned with a flag to ward off the crazees that stole the last one.

@redmanlaw: @nabisco: My aunt spotted an “Obama Mama” bumper sticker in Tennessee but wasn’t able to find one back in Kentucky, so I took three of these and covered up the “Biden” on one with the “ma” from the other two. You can tell it’s homemade up close, but it’ll look great on the road. Also, I found out last night that my dad is voting for Obama. It’ll be his first time voting for a Democrat for president in forty-four years. Makes me proud of the old man.

@Promnight: Are there really so few of us single types? I can think of several offhand, but maybe that’s me seeking out kindred spirits.

@nabisco:
You’re a Longhorn too? Holy Burnt Orange Shit, Nabisco, how did I not know this?

Then again, to defend me missing your hurrah for the Longhorns over fucking OU, I have missed out on a few or five or 12 threads since my debate blogging marathon – which although was only like 4 days ago seems like 4 months ago. Mr. SFL’s mom is very very very sick in el hospital, and I have been staring at Kaiser Permanente posters waaaaaaaaay too much in the past few days. Unfortunately there is no wi-fi access in the ICU so I can’t hang with you kids. On the other hand, I’ve caught up on three months worth of Economists, Newsweeks, New Yorkers, Us Weeklys, and National Geographics. And had two migraines inspired by pulsating fluorescent lights.

I hope everyone enjoys their 3 day weekends – it was only today that I realized Monday is a holiday and so I won’t burn more non-existent leave time.

@mellbell: Mr Cyn spent the day on the phone trying to convince his Republican mom and HIV positive gay Republican stepdad (long story) not to vote for PG, but to little avail. He’s not collapsed in an exhaustion/Pinot coma. Gotta love him for trying.

And congrats to all you Texas fans. I’m just glad I’m in not in Oklahoma and don’t have to hear the endless bitching about the bad calls (though that was an interception in the endzone.)

@SanFranLefty:
I’m just hoping to avoid Canada City Festivus aka Thanksgiving. Many a family fight has started this weekend.

@mellbell:
There is more than a few of us single types around.

@SanFranLefty: So sorry to hear about Mr SFL’s mom. Hospitals are just the worst.

@SanFranLefty: all the best to the Lefty household. We’re using the weekend to ready up the outdoors for the coming cold, but right now I’m trying to will the Rays into an 8th inning lead.

@SanFranLefty: Much as we wish we could fast-forward past the rough spots in life, they are when time seems to slow down, instead.
Take care of Mr. SFL. He’ll be needing it right about now.

@Dodgerblue: Since it’s too early for mythology, here’s where I announced the schism, and here’s where Hunter did a pretty good Percy Weasley in the comments.

Short version: Hunter and Greg were unhappy with the direction CP had taken in recent months, and wanted to steer it back to their original vision. I was quite happy with how it’s been evolving, built this contraption in six days to continue that evolution, and bribed everyone with Lehman stock to follow me here.

@SanFranLefty: Damn.

@nojo: For anyone hoping to see Mommy 1.0 here, I wouldn’t hold your breath. She makes it pretty clear how she feels about the situation here. An excerpt:

When Hunter and Greg came to me a few weeks ago and said that they were in a position to write again, having stabilized their job situations to a degree, and that they wanted to try to grow the site, I was happy for them but expressed the sentiment that I’d been out of it for too long and wasn’t going to have the time for it. One thing that they’d had issue with some time after we founded the site was the quality of the writing on it — the typos, the grammar, the too-insidery humor that might turn off potential new readers. Having been then, as now, not in a position to edit anything let alone write a lot, I was loathe to do more than ask some of the writers to tone certain things down or make an effort in regards to quality control. What they told me is that, as we’d all tried to focus on our day jobs and despite the fact that ours were the only non-pseudonymous names on the masthead, the site had become a collection of short posts, many of which were not about national politics, lacked pictures, had similar grammatical problems or worse than before and made the site look like a cross between a personal tumblr and an effort to set up little more than discussions between long-time commenters. None of that was what we intended when we launched.

What they did was go to the person who had, in our absence, assumed much of the responsibility for the site’s upkeep. Initially, he had offered to help with some of the backend stuff and I’d suggested to Greg that we take him up on it. When he asked to write here and there for it, I was happy to have him. They suggested to him that they wanted to try, again, to make the site more than just a message board for the regulars, to make an effort to have people post regularly but less prolifically so that everyone’s posts could get attention and to make sure that they were commentary/newsy things about politics again, as we did when we started.

Around that time, the site went down again, and he told them he was working on it. Come to find out, he was actually working on starting a site of his own and farming the commenters to abandon the site that Greg, Hunter and I had founded because they had to audacity to suggest to him ways they wanted to work with him to make it more professional. And that’s, in fact, what he did.

So, look, I’ve seen the invitations in the comment threads to join you guys. That’s not going to happen, I’m sorry. Greg and Hunter are my friends, and they did nothing wrong. Also, frankly, the reason our site got founded at all was because of them and their efforts, and because they used it as a way to drag my incredibly depressed ass out of bed the week after I got fired from Wonkette and give me something productive to do besides drink and sleep. The fact that there have been posts on said rival site bashing on the integrity of my friends and their intentions does nothing to endear me to it. That there was a falling out between my friends and our commenters saddens me, and that said falling out means that people have been asked or have decided to take sides saddens me more. I have no doubt that each and every commenter makes time in their day to visit multiple websites, including the ones I write for to pay the bills, and could choose to visit both the new site and the old if there wasn’t an effort to discourage you from doing the latter.

@Mistress Cynica: I’ve always said a good feud would help traffic.

@JNOV: Even better, Faux News, reports that the Hockey Mom of the Year knew she’d be booed and brought her 7 yr old along telling the crowd at a fundraiser earlier in the day that Phillie fans “wouldn’t dare boo Piper.” In addition to seeing her children as nothing but political props to be used for her own ends, the women has obviously nevver been to Philly or even watched a game on tv.

@Mistress Cynica: Saw several McCain stickers on the pickup trucks outside the local gay leather/bear bar here tonight, I mean, this morning.

@SanFranLefty: I’m sorry to hear that. I hope things get better.

lefty,
lit a candle for your mother-in-law.
the power of the stinque is mighty.
my prayers for you and mr SFL
xoxo

@Mistress Cynica: If anyone wants to enjoy the feud, I’ve posted an even longer comment than Megan’s long post.

And Megan, if you’re lurking: The difference between a blogger and a professional journalist is that journalists check their sources.

@SanFranLefty: We spent last December in the hospital/hospice with Mrs RML’s stepdead. Like I told another friend of ours, that hospitals, whcih are supposed to be places of healing, sure beat you down.

General question: how many of us would still be at CP if the goddamn thing worked? (See survey of hands.) OK, then. Please enjoy your Sundays yelling at the TV over bonehead politics or the performance of your favorite sport team. I’ll be tiling and grouting today, and cursing the Broncos.

OK – how long before Geez gets all Mavericky again and dumps the girl for Mittens? Back to “We’ll See Ya, Alaska, baby!”

I am very disturbed by that thread from Sept that Nojo linked to, above. It was one that I had missed, which is probably a good thing, because Hunter’s overall attitude in the comments was just pissy enough to have set me off.
I’m saddened by Megan’s response as quoted by Mistress Cynica, also above.
I check Crappy Hour daily, though I don’t comment and won’t until Megan accepts my LinkedIn invitation (as if she’s gonna bother).
I still check CP at least once a day, but that awful Disqis commenting system isn’t worth beans, and, frankly, I rarely see any posts there I want to comment on anymore.

@Ewalda: I just went back and re-read the thread. I had dropped off it in the late afternoon, before it really turned weird and ultimately nasty between Hunter and JNOV.

It’s fitting, albeit sad, that Chainsaw settled the matter with his diplomatic voice (and I apologize for not remembering how to do indents):

I won’t argue about how you examined the visitor metrics and how the data was cut because it is clear you just don’t understand the gold you have in hand. You are the kind of guys who would show up at an Ornette Coleman concert and snark at notes that are out of cadence.

@nabisco: What it really comes down to are Gawker Media insiders and outsiders. We were the audience that took over the program.

@nojo:
Viva La Revolution!

@ManchuCandidate: But beware la terreur.

@nojo:
Who is our Robespierre?

Anyway, happy Thanksgiving Canada City Day. Off to the parents house for turkey and the hour of parents reciting of all my failings and inadequacies (sigh.)

@nojo: Or lunatics and asylum.

Hey, does that make you Randle Patrick McMurphy?

@ManchuCandidate: Enjoy, Manchu. Last year we started hosting family, which means I can largely control the room. And get the drumstick if I want.

@ManchuCandidate: I’ve always suspected Chainsaw’s Jacobin tendencies.

@nabisco: I should go with my homie Kesey, but King of Hearts seems the better reference.

Joe is tearing it up on MSNBC! Hilary gave a kick ass speech as well. GO SCRANTON!

@nojo: I don’t think there’s a feud. I posted an even longer comment than yours.

Thanks everyone for the well-wishes for Mr. SFL’s mom. She’s doing better today. It really means a lot to hear the karmic support.

@SanFranLefty:
beautifuly written essay you posted on megan’s blog.
you’re the best den mommy. always level headed in a crisis, big or small.
you represented, girl.

did you ever consider mediation? srsly.

Nobody ever got rich catering to the intelligent and informed. There aren’t enouough of them. Seems to me greg and hunter decided they wanted large numbers of the semi-bright who could feel unintimidated and freely post 2 line “megadittos” to their brilliant political analysis, rather than put in all the time and effort to provide a playground for a group of opinionated, intelligent, and long-winded people who really didn’t miss hunter and greg’s observations at all because we had Nojo, and because we amuse ourselves just fine, thank you.

In other words, they prefer to preach to an audience they can impress.

Nojo, they didn’t like tornado photos, did they? Or food porn?

@SanFranLefty: No, no feud, of course not — it’s a very ancient and obscure reference to a Spy cover feature from about twenty years ago. More generally, it’s a joke on the notion that high-profile arguments are good for business, that everyone wants to see what the fuss is about.

Obviously I take this all very seriously, but I treat my seriousness with the same attitude I regard everything else. Nothing’s sacred, especially my self-righteousness.

@baked: I’ve often thought about mediation but I am too opinionated to be a mediator. I think the ideal job for me is to be a judge, but they make you work as an attorney for 20-30 years before you can be a judge. I think this personality trait of mine is a carry over from being the child of an alcoholic married to a crazy person, and having a very troubled sister. I spent the first 18 years trying to keep the peace and have everyone in my house get along with each other. I often wound up in my room with the dog, which is probably why I prefer the company of dogs over most people.

@SanFranLefty:
yeah, the control aspect apeals to you. i would also love to be a judge, for slightly different dysfunctional reasons, but the same same same.
we would be great judges! you with your level head and me, something out of boston legal!
(i hid in the bathroom)

I just want to say I keep reading the headline as not being meth we can believe in. Like Talibunny cooked up a bad batch or something.

@SanFranLefty: So glad your MIL is on the mend, and thank you for the kind words on Megan’s blog. My heart swells with love.

@Promnight: I prefer to be a bit more generous about their intentions, even if I think they’re profoundly deluded about it. They don’t want to compete with Wonkette — fair enough, neither do I — so instead they’ll compete with Sully, Frank Rich, and any other name-brand national columnist you care to mention.

Losing proposition. Nobody cares what Hunter or Greg have to say about national issues. For that matter, nobody cares what I have to say. I’ll drop in with Yoda Pez or Cat Stick on occasion, but most days I’m looking for some amusing or satiric take on the headlines, and if I’m lucky, an angle that’s not covered elsewhere.

And like I’ve said from the start, posts start conversations, and it’s the conversations that count. Audiences don’t just happen — they’re very precious things that need to be nurtured.

Hunter, Greg — and yes, Megan — all had the benefit of writing for existing audiences, and so take them for granted. But we Gawker fogeys watched those audiences develop around the original writers for those sites. (Okay, I was late to Gawker itself — Jessica was third in line.) There is no Gawker Media without the compelling voices that originally established it, and the readers drawn to those voices.

These things cannot be dictated, although you can create circumstances that allow them to happen. And once they start happening, you pay attention and find ways to encourage what emerges. I joke that I wouldn’t mind Stinque becoming the latest Spy wannabe, but really, that’s outside my control. What I really want is for Stinque to grow into itself — whatever that turns out to be.

@nojo: Awww, nojo! Thanks! I didn’t much like the snideyness one bit. Hurt my feelings and pissed me off.

@Promnight: Nojo, they didn’t like tornado photos, did they? Or food porn?

All I heard — and only as intimation, never really spelled out — was that they didn’t like Chainsaw.

But I’m sure they weren’t pleased by the tornado photos, or Food Porn, or Baked’s Puppy Porn — and probably only let me get away with After Dark because I made it a late-Friday feature. Me, I was trying to expand the editorial subject-matter every chance I got, and as I’ve said elsewhere, the very name “Stinque” is designed to allow as much elbow room as Our Illustrious Contributors need. If something inspires or excites you, chances are others will agree.

Wayyyyy back when — like, the first couple of weeks at CP — I did a quickie mockup for the Politburo that proposed a creative direction for the new site: a shot glass next to the name. The idea was to play off the name as a cocktail party, not a political one — a room full of witty, intelligent guests. It really is all about the conversation.

@nojo: Well, i am teh dumb, because I thought it was party party, not political party. Pfft. And no one fucks with my Chainsaw.

@Ewalda: Brilliant!

@JNOV: We certainly treated it as a party party, whatever the graphics suggested…

And while I’m unloading: I don’t recall there ever being Commenter Auditions at CP, and certainly not here. Dive in! If you’re somehow afraid of joining a conversation in progress, I can’t help you. But if you just enjoy lurking, you’re more than welcome.

My favorite moment of Insurrection Week was the Friday morning that Cheap Boy showed up. He didn’t need a personal invitation, and neither does anybody else.

i think they are jealous that they are hitched to gawker and their antiquainted formula. nojo is a visionary for the purpose and future of the power and the personality of the internet, as he describes it. and i agree with him, as does the stinquers.
the proof is eloquently stated in SFL’S link.
proud to be a stinquer.
and thanks to nojo, who provided shelter for us.

@nojo: Oh, I guess I missed the suggestion. I was like, “This looks like a campaign office or something, what with the star and colors,” but seriously, I thought it was supposed to be a good-time party.

Yes, Cheap Boy. And I hope HugKennyLoggins is well. It’s nice when he stops by.

And if I freak out any lurkers, I’m sorry, and I’m really harmless, Dear Lurker. I’ll give you a naked squishy bewbie hug if you like. :-D

@nojo: I rather like the idea of all of us lounging around our respective digs, coctails in hand, bon mots flowing freely and Tom Waits working the ivories in the background. Yep, community.

My subscription to Spy followed me to my first humanitarian assignment in 1991. I had a lot of ‘splaining to do for my non-english speaking colleagues whenever the diplomatic pouch arrived. “No, really, it’s not a trade magazine, it’s humor!”

@SanFranLefty: great essay, Lefty.

@baked: I’ve never bought into the Internet as something new — my background is journalism and publishing, literally since birth. To those of us who grew up with the observation that “Freedom of the Press belongs to those who own one,” the Internet simply made presses ridiculously cheap.

Everything I say about “audience” is the cumulation of observations I’ve been making since college, in print and during a sojourn in radio. Media may change, but human nature doesn’t. We’re still just folks finding ways to connect with each other.

@JNOV: Huggy enjoys lurking, but he is one of those who feel overwhelmed by the conversation. Which is just fine — I’ve been to parties where I have more fun listening than talking.

@nabisco: We’re a virtual Algonquin Round Table.
@SanFranLefty: thanks for saying what I wanted to say but was too shaken, and yes, hurt, to articulate. And it took every ounce of self control I did have not to mention Greg’s absolutely deplorable spelling and grammar, and how pissy he’d get when we’d copy edit him. Glad your MIL is doing better – hope she gets out of the hospital soon!

@Mistress Cynica:

“Just a lot of people telling jokes and telling each other how good they were. Just a bunch of loudmouths showing off, saving their gags for days, waiting for a chance to spring them….There was no truth in anything they said. It was the terrible day of the wisecrack, so there didn’t have to be any truth..” – Dorothy Parker, on the Round Table

Sounds about right!

Note to McCain – “whip” is a poor choice of verb when describing what you’re going to do to your African-American opponent.

@nabisco: Just don’t call it a “salon”. I used to like that word until some damn website appropriated it.

@SanFranLefty: “Kick some ass” was already taken.

@SanFranLefty: At least he didn’t say “lynch.” Be grateful for small favors.

Nojo, they may have dreams of being Sully or Frank Rich, but really, its not because they’re not well known that they aren’t on that level, its because they’re not, well, as experienced, as interesting, as Good, as sully and Frank Rich. Their game just ain’t that good. And sully and rich at least have real sources and throw out new information, hunter and greg just comment on whats going on. I pulled punches on that podcast, it was pathetic, it sounded like a bunch of bright undergrads, just nothing there that indicates some larger perspective. They should not have done it, it pulled back the curtain and revealed that the great and powerful OZ was a nebbishy thing with nothing really interesting to say. And the response to JNOV was totally like, small.

For serious political insight, rprtcb and Chicagobureau right here have them beat. FCS is doing schtick similar to rudepundit, but FCS has more depth, his invective always makes a real point. And its wildly funny.

I am saddened by Mommy’s response, if she hadn’t taken us all to CP, where would it have been? As you say, its loyalty to interesting bloggers, we went there for her, Doesn’t she understand that? And we continued to view her as our CP leader in absentia long long after she no longer posted, noone blamed her, because we all knew she had real professional and personal matters to attend to. And in my way of seeing it, hunter and greg did not want us, rejected us.

Oh, I sense pettiness and some ego issues, they returned with some lameass posts, (my brother works on Wall Street, here’s what he says,” we were supposed to think that was interesting? We responded to the pearls they condescended to throw with “meh,” and they did not like that, Oh, JNOV had no right to say anything, in their minds, oh, we don’t care what the audience thinks, we KNOW what they should like, and if noone likes it, well, you aren’t the audience we want.

Nojo, You are the Man now. Its hard to believe that they would decide to throw away a dedicated following like they did, even if it was small, but they did, I felt it, I felt absolute rejection. And now they talk like you somehow stole us? Fuck that noise, as we said in the 70s.

So I’m doing it. Going to Nevada for the week before the election to volunteer because I haz teh Hope. I listed New Mexico and Colorado as my first 2 choices but the Obama campaign web hamsters assigned me to Nevada. So no hunting trips with RML in my spare campaign time.

@Promnight: Sully & Frank are my interpretation of their intentions, just so that’s clear — I forget their actual language, but I think they want “features” instead of “news”. That requires having something interesting to say, which is much harder than it looks.

Which brings us to Podcasts.

I’ve never understood the form — it seems like an awkward way of delivering information that would better be served written out. It’s so awkward that consigning something to a podcast is as good as cutting out 99 percent of your audience. Who’s going to take the trouble to listen?

One exception: Interviews with notable people. And even then, it’s a close call — am I going to set aside fifteen or twenty minutes to listen? Five? Three? (Interviewing ain’t as easy as it looks, either.) Transcription’s a bitch, but words on the page remain a surprisingly effective medium, especially online. Writing is very audience-friendly.

And Megan, well, I had a couple of fender-benders with her behind the scenes, which told me to keep my distance. I’m glad she landed on her feet, and I’m glad she’s writing in a forum that appreciates her work. But I’ve been wary of her a few months now, and her self-righteous attempt to cast me as a Villain amuses the hell out of me.

@Promnight: Oh, and I’m not The Man. I’m merely the host, doing my best so everyone here can have a riotous good time at the party. Need another beer?

@nojo: So, we’ve left behind Mom and the Uncle-Daddies and finally have that community we were looking for, don’t we?

Oh, and podcasts are really for people who don’t read and write very well. The Stinquers are not those people.

@Ewalda: Mommies and Uncle-Daddies remain welcome to join us. I’ll even suffer podcasts if Greg wants to play.

I think my biggest shock in the feedback that’s trickled down to us from Hunter, Greg, and now Megan is that the major reason so many of us migrated here and haven’t been back to CP very often is barely mentioned in passing and and with not the least bit of remorse or apology: the site. doesn’t. work. I’m sure that all of us would’ve noticed eventually if Hunter and Greg were posting more often or ignoring our tangents in the comments (as per their vision), but I don’t think that would’ve driven us away en masse. As much as it may have pained the other bloggers behind the scenes who were dealing with new rules and a new vision, I think we as the commenters could’ve happily plonked along “below the date stamp,” doing our own thing. Hell, I don’t even think the slow rate of fresh posts would’ve broken us–we would’ve continued joking about it in the same post with 249 comments, but it would still go on and on and on as the conversation meanders from one topic to the next. But if the bloggers can’t put up a new post for days on end and the archives disappear and the ability to comment itself is on the fritz? Why wouldn’t we get out of dodge post haste? I love this community, I love the people here and the feeling of knowing bits and pieces of each other’s lives, I love the organic structure that Nojo has facilitated, but I really love that the site works. I have time for many websites that I check in with nearly daily, but the one thing they all have in common is not that they’re always necessarily on-topic or amazingly funny or insightful every single day. But they do work. Every day.

@Mistress Cynica: That grammar comment was the kicker that brought home the absurdity of the whole situation for me too.

@Mistress Cynica: @flippin eck: @nojo: It’s a real hoot to me that Greg would be the driving force behind podcasts. Guess he’s tired of everyone complaining about his spelling and grammar mistakes.
Nojo: I understand your situation vs the CP honchos, but, really, you don’t have to be quite so solicitous of them. There need not be any animosity, so there need not be any overly-friendly treatment in either direction. We’ve gone in a different direction from them, and I thank you for providing the new venue. I still find it amazing that we picked up and moved twice, almost overnight, in less than a year.

@Ewalda: Little ways to say I don’t give a shit about the people who use my site?: Not bothering to reread posts before posting them. Big ways to say it?: Letting the site sit broken for a week without explanation, apology, or repair ETA.*

*Just the clarify, I know that Nojo was amazingly contrite and thorough in explaining the problem, and it was obvious he was pulling out all the stops to do what he could without server access. But I don’t think his valiant attempts to keep it going excused the absolute silence and apparent lack of concern from those whose site it actually was.

@Ewalda: I will say this much: If you ever catch me calling myself “Editor”, shoot me.

@nojo:
Can I be a “Commenter Emeritus” someday?

@flippin eck: The day after the comments broke, I was up all night working on a project — yes, kids, I earn a living too — and out of desperation, switched the site to Disqus. At least it was something.

And the day after the posts broke, I herded everyone to my archive site for the same reason — continuity is crucial. I was starting to piece together this site (a lot of shit was happening simultaneously), but my plan was to formally launch it after the CP changes were implemented. I wanted the alternative (and its reasons) to be readily apparent.

But with the comments broken for more than a week, and the posts now broken, and no indication whatsoever when — or even if — they would be fixed, I went into crisis mode.

That’s what I love about Megan’s story: She tells it as if I was deviously plotting the breakdown in order to promote the new site. And to be fair, that may indeed be how it looks to someone who isn’t paying attention.

@Ewalda: Only if you buy the drinks at your wake.

@nojo: I haven’t said it enough, but I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done over these last months to keep a home available for us on the interwebz. I knew you were putting in long hours outside of your real job just to maintain CP and to find an alternative when things broke down irretrievably, but I never truly appreciated, until the 4th or 5th time I read Megan’s post, the asinine levels of immaturity you had to deal with in order to hold things together. Just let me know where to ship your Pinot Noir, sir. You deserve it.
When I first read that post, I felt slapped in the face. Now I’m just disgusted by the childishness of it all.

@Mistress Cynica: Amusingly enough, I was happy to keep a lid on most of this until Megan decided to vent. I don’t take kindly to accusations of bad faith.

Oh, and the standard offering is a pound of the darkest local coffee you can find. In lieu of that, your participation and enjoyment is really my reward. God’s honest truth — my deep cynicism is only matched by my soaring idealism.

@nojo: Oh, podcasts can be fun. The bloggingheads thing Megan posted on her site worked for me – it’s like a good radio segment (I know there was a visual with that too, but I ended up doing other things and just listening to it after a while). But like anything else, it takes a certain amount of preparation and poise to pull off.

@BRB: Let’s have a look…

Hmmm.

Short of that — it does take a video setup on both ends to work — I’ve noticed posts of older music on YouTube that in lieu of video just use one or more still images, and TPM has posted something like “audio-only” YouTube that appears not to take up as much space on the screen.

Technically, these aren’t “podcasts” — audio files that need to be downloaded for playback. Instead, they use the convenience of an embedded YouTube file to achieve their purpose. And that removes my practical issue, since you can easily play, pause, and even skip around (more or less) and use it as an ersatz radio while you do something else.

That convenience makes me much more open to the concept. The content still needs to justify itself, but that’s the case whether the audio is online, on the radio, or me shouting at you in the room.

And before I start dumping on her again, I should take a moment to acknowledge that without Megan, this site wouldn’t exist — her firing was the first in a very bizarre chain of events that led us all here.

But even that misstates it — her writing was the initial cause. Wonkette has been like a compressed version of SNL, starting out very strong with its founder (we’ll always have Butterstick), then going through ups and downs with her successors.

Megan was one of the ups. We enjoyed her year of anonymity, and we especially enjoyed her months with a real name. Megan brought the Wonk back, as well as the Ette — she knew how the system worked, she enjoyed telling us about it, and she told it with wit and style. Megan was informed, a quality many of Ana Marie’s replacements lacked. She knew her shit. That was part of the fun.

And while I’ve needled her self-righteousness here, she’s put her indignation to very good use at Jezebel this ugly autumn. We’ve all been whispering fears about RFK all year, but it was Megan who worried for the family as well as the candidate. That’s not an obvious observation. It requires understanding and humanity.

So, aside from our amusing little contretemps, Megan has long since earned our respect, and where it counts: with her writing.

All’s well that wends well.

shout out to lurkers:
i read the site that we don’t mention for a solid year before i opened my mouth. i haven’t shut up ever since, for the last year and a 1/2.
don’t waste that much time. jump on in, the water is just fine.
we won’t eat you, promise. there are kind, albeit excitable folk,
who play here at stinquers. come on in!

@Promnight: My insight feels more like that of a high school student with Tourette’s (at least to me), but thanks.

@nojo: The wattfrompedro podcast is one of the few that I regularly update and listen to. Three hours of Mike Watt’s musical choices and spiel? Priceless. He always leads off with a Coltrane selection.

@SanFranLefty: I can send you the name of the former NV Democratic state party ED and repro rights activist who can tell you what going on there. Check thy gmail later.

@Ewalda: Moses didn’t make it to the Promised Land, either.

@nojo: That would give guns a bad name, as we say in our house. “Any one can use a gun. It takes a real man to stab someone.” BTW, the cause of most stabbings in my home Pueblo: No good husbands and boyfriends getting it from the wife or girlfriend.