Bloggasm

Charles Kuffner: My name is Charles Kuffner and I write a blog called Off the Kuff, which focuses on Texas politics. I’ve been blogging for four years and am proud to say that the Texas progressive political blogosphere has grown considerably in that time.

Simon Owens: Which conservative bloggers do you think create the most spin? And if you had to pick a conservative blogger to label a worthy adversary, which blogger would that be?

CK: I stopped reading bloggers like that a long time ago. Life is too short, and there are plenty of other good progressive bloggers that do a fine job of calling those folks out. Here in Texas, two conservative blogs that I value are Rob Booth’s Slightly Rough and Rick Perry Versus The World.

SO: How long do you think it would take to reverse the damage done by the Bush Administration if the Democrats were to take over congress and the executive branch?

CK: At least one two-term Presidential administration. Where do you start?

(more…)

Jonathan Schwarz has written for the New Yorker, New York Times, Atlantic, Slate, and Wall Street Journal, as well as NPR and Saturday Night Live. His site A Tiny Revolution is named after something George Orwell said: “every joke is a tiny revolution.”

Simon Owens: Which conservative bloggers do you think create the most spin? And if you had to pick a conservative blogger to label a worthy adversary, which blogger would that be?

Jonathan Schwarz: The sad truth is I rarely read conservative blogs. One of the weird things about America now is that when I visit most conservative sites, I can’t even recognize the world they describe. In fact, when I’ve tried to engage them, we can’t even agree on what words mean. It’s simultaneously hilarious and TERRIFYING.

That said, I’d consider Tim Lee of Binary Bits (motto: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Blog”) a worthy adversary. Victor of Dead Parrots Society is honest and informed.

I also enjoy Daniel Drezner, and not just because he judged I’d won a bet with Sebastian Holsclaw. And I certainly appreciate the honesty Sebastian showed by his willingness to make the bet.

SO: Do you think political blogs are causing the political debate to become sharper and more defined? Or are they just creating more noise machines?

JS: As a friend of mine says, 95% of everything human beings do is crap. But since the internet now includes teeming millions, even the remaining 5% includes lots of good stuff.

And that 5% does naturally rise to the top. Moreover, I think it’s been an EXTREMELY important factor in making politics far, far nicer than it would have been otherwise over the past four years. True, politics now is a living nightmare, but without blogs and email it would be much worse.

In fact, I don’t think Cindy Sheehan was off by much when she said, “Thank God for the Internet, or we wouldn’t know anything, and we would already be a fascist state.” Of course, I could be wrong about that. But anyone who dismisses it out of hand has an extremely shallow understanding of history and politics.

(more…)

Simon Owens: Which conservative bloggers do you think create the most spin? And if you had to pick a conservative blogger to label a worthy adversary, which blogger would that be?

Greg Saunders: Glenn Reynolds. Most conservative bloggers wear their heart on their sleeve enough that you know to take their words with a grain of salt, but Glenn’s not only high-profile, but he’s somehow convinced people that he’s the John McCain of the blogosphere. On the rare occasions that he does disagree with the GOP, he dresses it up in a “I didn’t leave them, they left me” sort of attitude as if his conservative principles are carved in stone, but like McCain, he’s a hyper-partisan who uses faux-toughness as his schtick.

SO: And if you had to pick a conservative blogger to label a worthy adversary, which blogger would that be?

GS: I dunno if I’d use the word “adversary”, but John Cole of Balloon Juice, Professor Bainbridge, and Eugene Volkh all seem smart enough to have a good discussion with and reasonable enough to listen to dissenting views without throwing a temper tantrum. We probably wouldn’t agree on much, but I could at least listen to them without throwing up.

(more…)

Simon Owens: Which conservative bloggers do you think create the most spin? And if you had to pick a conservative blogger to label a worthy adversary, which blogger would that be?

David Sirota: Frankly, I stopped reading conservative blogs, because they weren’t intellectually honest. I am most interested in political ideology and conviction - not partisanship. And the blogs on the right may call themselves “conservative” but what they really are are appendages of the Republican Party. They are conservative when its convenient for the GOP, and not conservative when it serves the GOP. That’s just not honest, and its just not interesting.

SO: How well do you think the political book market (Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them, Who’s Looking Out for You, How To Talk to a Liberal) works at influencing politics? Are they simply preaching to the choir?

DS: I think political books, when written in the right way, do influence politics. But when I say “political books” I’mn not just thinking about the books that are considered “political.” I actually think many of the most “political” books are the ones that are considered “objective.” The best example of this is Thomas Friedman’s “The World Is Flat.” That is billed as a supposedly objective look at globalization, but it really is one of the most corporate conservative books to be written in a long time, creating and justifying our current corporate-written trade policy as some sort of unchallengeable law of nature. That is highly political, and helps set the boundaries of the debate around international economic issues, which are issues at the forefront of today’s political debate. My upcoming book is clearly “political” - but it is not highly partisan. It is an attempt to show how political corruption not only creates the Abramoff/DeLay scandals we’ve seen, but more broadly narrows the political discourse in this country to ensure that Big Money interests are always the winners in public policy debate

SO: Are you as optimistic as other liberals that Democrats will take over congress in 2006?

DS: No, I am not, even though I would like to be. Sadly, the Democratic Party has yet to take any serious position on key issues that would let them really make a contrast with the GOP. To name the biggest two, the party has no official position on the Iraq War, and it is refusing to support public financing of elections in the wake of the corruption scandals, instead supporting a lobbying/ethics reform package easily cooptable by the GOP. That once again positions the party for the next election as not having the courage of its convictions, and not having a message that clearly contrasts with the majority party.

SO: What are the five blogs everyone should be reading (besides your own)?

DS: nathannewman.org, leftinthewest.com, workinglife.typepad.com, atrios.blogspot.com and dailykos.com

You can find Sirotablog over here.

At two key moments in recent days, White House officials contacted congressional leaders just ahead of intelligence committee meetings that could have stirred demands for a deeper review of the administration’s warrantless-surveillance program, according to House and Senate sources.

But the actions have angered some lawmakers who think the administration’s purported concessions mean little. Some Republicans said that the White House came closer to suffering a big setback than is widely known, and that President Bush must be more forthcoming about the eavesdropping program to retain Congress’s good will.

Wow, this post is riddled with so many logical loopholes I don’t know where to begin.

While Homosexual activists encourage students to hold a day of silence in support of homosexuality, Christian groups are offering a counter demonstration: A Day of Truth. From WorldNetDaily…

High-school students nationwide will take part in a “Day of Truth” to counter homosexual activism and peacefully express a Christian perspective.

During school hours, students will wear “Day of Truth” T-shirts and pass out cards, said the Arizona-based public-interest group Alliance Defense Fund, which is sponsoring the April 27 event.

Outside of class time, the students will present the following message:

I am speaking the Truth to break the silence. Silence isn’t freedom. It’s a constraint. Truth tolerates open discussion, because the Truth emerges when healthy discourse is allowed. By proclaiming the Truth in love, hurts will be halted, hearts will be healed, and lives will be saved.

Break the silence about what? When they have a day of “silence” they don’t mean any form of censorship, just as when people have a moment of “silence” about a fallen hero they don’t do so to censor anyone. The people here are deliberately changing the meaning of the word “silence” to distort the meaning of the day.

(more…)

Jeralyn Merritt is a criminal defense lawyer in Denver and the creator of TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime, a liberal blog about politics, constitutional rights and injustice.

Simon Owens: Which conservative bloggers do you think create the most spin? And if you had to pick a conservative blogger to label a worthy adversary, which blogger would that be?

Jeralyn Merritt: Powerline, Michelle Malkin, Hugh Hewitt. I don’t think there is a conservative blog that focuses on the same issues as TalkLeft so I can’t really answer that. The ones I respect the most are Instapundit, Just One Minute and Balloon Juice.

SO: Out of all the Republican scandals that have come out recently, which one do you think will aid the Democrats the most in the upcoming election year?

JM: Jack Abramoff’s lobbying scandal.

SO: With the two new Supreme Court justices, do you think Roe v. Wade is in any serious trouble?

JM: I don’t think the decision will be overturned, but I do think it will be weakened by exceptions.

SO: What are the five blogs everyone should be reading (besides your own)?

JM: Daily Kos, Atrios, Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, Digby

Visit Talk Left