What's wrong with the left on the internet?

Simple:

Newsmax? Gets money.

Townhall.com? Gets money. (do you think think they actually pay the Virgin Ben? Jeebus - someone call Barbra Streisand and get her to write checks to Jesse and Matthew Yglesias and Eric)

WorldnetDaily? Gets money.

Buzzflash? Reader Donations.

Smirking Chimp? Reader Donations.

The Hamster? Reader Donations.

MediaWhoresOnline? Presumably self-financed, but admitttedly unknown.

Bartcop? Reader donations.

Atrios? Reader donations.


That isn't a plea for money, believe it or not. I'm just saying that the Left on the internet is an all volunteer effort. That isn't all bad, but a corollary to the no money is no coordination. No secret messages from Sidney Blumenthal.

Take a bow, Mr. Jones

I was touched -- deeply touched! -- by Luke Benson's cry of anguish over how the liberal media prevent conservative voices from being heard in this country ("Liberals, media have all but ignored Lott's apology for his remarks," Dec. 26).

In fact, I am deeply touched many, many times each day by the silencing of the right in this great nation of ours.

I weep as Rush Limbaugh describes, on the hundreds of radio stations that carry his show, the ruthless suppression of the conservative viewpoint by "liberal wackos" and "femi-Nazis."

My heart bleeds when I read the same lament in the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, our nation's most prestigious financial publication, and when I hear it on the up-and-coming Fox News cable channel, or on one of the countless radio talk shows hosted by the little Limbaughs.

I rend my garments when the Voice of the Times, deep in the heart of the Daily News, bemoans the stifling of the conservative voice.

Yes, if I've heard it once, I've heard it a million times: Conservative views can't get a fair hearing because of the machinations, the bias, the dishonesty and the mind control of the liberal media.

With so many saying it, who can doubt it?

Think about it!

-- Stan Jones
Eagle River

There are plenty of (presumed) candidates for the democratic spot on the '04 ticket whose candidacy I consider silly. Though for all of them, except one, that view is at least slightly debatable.

Well, at least he had the good sense to step down as Leader.

It's the Bloggies!

Nassau County obviously not ready for self-government.

Eric Alterman demonstrates once again that conservatives are humor impaired.

Derbyshire is giving in to despair. Lesbians and single black women having babies! The horror!


Had Derbyshire said a "single woman" we could have taken this as a comment on traditional family structure, yadda yadda yadda. But, he had to note she was black as well. Why? Duh.

(via Oliver)

The Hamster has returned. And, apparently he's only 5 years old or something.

My spider sense tells me Jay Reding is talking about me. Anyone wanna go see what he's on about?

Some people both in comments and in email have questioned whether Ward Connerly got a bum rap from Bob Herbert. Here's David Frum's "defense."

I don't think Herbert gave him a bum rap at all. And I have another reason to think David Frum is an idiot.

Margaret Carlson definitely won the Pundit Outrage of the Year. I didn't write anything about it because as Neal Pollack once wrote,* her statement was "so beneath contempt that I can barely muster the energy to write 1,000 furious words about them." Fortunately, Bob Somerby slices and dices her for me.

*In his case, about Al Gore.

CalPundit takes on OxBlog over North Korea. Bonus points for Argumentum ad Jedi!

UPDATE: As Davey notes in the comments, Kevin Drum should be ashamed of himself for suggesting a moral equivalence between George Bush and the Emperor in Star Wars!

This is ambulance chasing?

In 1993, a five-year-old girl named Valerie Lakey had been playing in a Wake County, N.C., wading pool when she became caught in an uncovered drain so forcefully that the suction pulled out most of her intestines. She survived but for the rest of her life will need to be hooked up to feeding tubes for 12 hours each night. Edwards filed suit on the Lakeys' behalf against Sta-Rite Industries, the Wisconsin corporation that manufactured the drain. Attorneys describe his handling of the case as a virtuoso example of a trial layer bringing a negligent corporation to heel. Sta-Rite offered the Lakeys $100,000 to settle the case. Edwards passed. Before trial, he discovered that 12 other children had suffered similar injuries from Sta-Rite drains. The company raised its offer to $1.25 million. Two weeks into the trial, they upped the figure to $8.5 million. Edwards declined the offer and asked for their insurance policy limit of $22.5 million. The day before the trial resumed from Christmas break, Sta-Rite countered with $17.5 million. Again, Edwards said no. On January 10, 1997, lawyers from across the state packed the courtroom to hear Edwards' closing argument, "the most impressive legal performance I have ever seen," recalls Dayton. Three days later, the jury found Sta-Rite guilty and liable for $25 million in economic damages (by state law, punitive damages could have tripled that amount). The company immediately settled for $25 million, the largest verdict in state history. For their part, Edwards and Kirby earned the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's national award for public service.

You like me! You really like me!

Congrats to all the winners!

And, thanks to Dwight for taking a fun idea and actually putting a lot of effort into it.

Ah, could someone who knows something about HTML explain why the blockquote tag doesn't seem to work in some browsers?

Okay..now I get it. Could someone suggest a more universal way of indenting text?

Society, culture, the institution of marriage, family, and all that is good in the world has likely been totally destroyed by this.

Jeebus help us. Before it is too late.

K. Lo gives us her favorite examples of liberal media bias.


What always amuses me about the Corner is how the other residents of that insane asylum treat her as if she were a very special child and she never seems to notice.

The righteousness of all things is now judged by the blowjob standard. Unsurprisingly, Ward Connerly thinks nothing can be worse.

I am delighted that Lott was forced to remove himself from consideration as Senate Majority Leader. But, it is truly a measure of our misplaced priorities and values when a statement made at a birthday party that might be interpreted as an endorsement of racial segregation can overwhelm issues of war and peace. For making such a statement, one gets the political death penalty. But, for having sexual liaisons in the Oval Office — and lying about it — one gets invited to give speeches all around the globe and receive speaking fees in excess of $100,000 per engagement.

Yesterday an Isuzu SUV rolled over after its tire blew. Two passengers were killed. Another 4 survived due perhaps, in part, to the help of Senator Frist who was at the scene.


Given Frist's support of "tort reform" and his votes to cap punitive damages on product liability, the surviving 4 passengers likely would have preferred that John Edwards was at the scene.