The Agonist is sponsoring a letter from "progressive bloggers," and encouraging phone calls, etc., to the National Press Club.
At issue: The NPC's upcoming panel discussion on "blogging" versus "journalism," which seems to really be more aimed at discussing the controversy over Jeff Gannon, the porn site operator who magically came into possession of a White House press pass that other "journalists" with similar qualificatins couldn't get.
The Agonist letter's point: If this thing is going to be about Gannon (who will be one of the panelists) rather than about "blogging v. journalism" per se, then one of the bloggers who exposed Gannon should be included as well.
Sounds fair to me. Presumably if the NPC held a panel discussion on "journalism and the Iraq war," they'd pick a military or government official who helped plan, or participated, in the war and a journalist who covered the war, rather than a military or government official who didn't help plan and/or participate in the war and/or a journalist who covers 4H meetings. The whole point of a panel is to bring together the diverse perspectives which are relevant, right?
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
FMNNClip: Food Fight
Excerpt:
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For those who believe that the court order to starve Terri Schiavo was a horrendous decision, possibly even a crime:
What did you expect, given government's track record? This is what government does. Granted, events have conspired to highlight Terri's individual case, and no excuse is needed for heartfelt sadness, even outrage, over her fate. But when it's all said and done, will Terri Schiavo be any more dead, or any more unjustifiably so, than Peter McWilliams, who choked on his own vomit after being denied the medical marijuana that kept him alive? Or Donald Scott, murdered by the National Forest Service for his land? Or, for that matter, any patient who dies waiting for FDA to 'allow' the drug which might save his or her life to be sold?
For those who believe that the court order to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube and 'let her go' was justified by the evidence of her medical condition and the testimony concerning her likely wishes:
Why leap to the conclusion (this debate has only been going on in literally deadly earnest for a few months -- hell, many libertarians are still debating World War II!) that this time the people who brought you Amtrak, $400 toilet seats, Social Security, public education, Ruby Ridge, Waco and the debacle in Iraq finally got something right? Don't the history and the evidence militate toward a more skeptical approach?
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Click here for the whole thing.
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Technorati tags: News, Current Affairs, Politics
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For those who believe that the court order to starve Terri Schiavo was a horrendous decision, possibly even a crime:
What did you expect, given government's track record? This is what government does. Granted, events have conspired to highlight Terri's individual case, and no excuse is needed for heartfelt sadness, even outrage, over her fate. But when it's all said and done, will Terri Schiavo be any more dead, or any more unjustifiably so, than Peter McWilliams, who choked on his own vomit after being denied the medical marijuana that kept him alive? Or Donald Scott, murdered by the National Forest Service for his land? Or, for that matter, any patient who dies waiting for FDA to 'allow' the drug which might save his or her life to be sold?
For those who believe that the court order to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube and 'let her go' was justified by the evidence of her medical condition and the testimony concerning her likely wishes:
Why leap to the conclusion (this debate has only been going on in literally deadly earnest for a few months -- hell, many libertarians are still debating World War II!) that this time the people who brought you Amtrak, $400 toilet seats, Social Security, public education, Ruby Ridge, Waco and the debacle in Iraq finally got something right? Don't the history and the evidence militate toward a more skeptical approach?
-----
Click here for the whole thing.
-----
Technorati tags: News, Current Affairs, Politics
Southpaw musings
Once upon a time the Left was rightly regarded as standing up for "the little guy" -- not just against predatory plutocracy and crony capitalism, but against the power of government as such. The default supposition was that Joe Sixpack should be substantially free to live his life under the protection of, rather than with every action regulated by, the state.
That's an idea the Democratic party and the American Left need to get back to.
I didn't really want to pick on one blog in particular, but in going through my blogroll, I found one where the current posts, notwithstanding the author's occasionally bright and useful contributions, exemplify the problem:
America's teachers are too stupid to be allowed to protect themselves and their students.
Pharmacists are slaves who should not be allowed to have -- or act upon -- religious beliefs.
Medical patients are children who need their hands slapped to keep them from putting the wrong things in their mouths.
With the exception of 12-year-olds seeking abortions, the Left doesn't seem to trust anyone to exercise judgment or make unregulated, unsupervised choices any more.
Don't mean to get surly, Craig, but if I'm not qualified to live my life, then precisely when and how the fuck did you -- or your designated bureaucrats -- magically get qualified to live it for me?
That's an idea the Democratic party and the American Left need to get back to.
I didn't really want to pick on one blog in particular, but in going through my blogroll, I found one where the current posts, notwithstanding the author's occasionally bright and useful contributions, exemplify the problem:
America's teachers are too stupid to be allowed to protect themselves and their students.
Pharmacists are slaves who should not be allowed to have -- or act upon -- religious beliefs.
Medical patients are children who need their hands slapped to keep them from putting the wrong things in their mouths.
With the exception of 12-year-olds seeking abortions, the Left doesn't seem to trust anyone to exercise judgment or make unregulated, unsupervised choices any more.
Don't mean to get surly, Craig, but if I'm not qualified to live my life, then precisely when and how the fuck did you -- or your designated bureaucrats -- magically get qualified to live it for me?
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