There is an old trend which began on the right and has now spread to the left. It’s been coming up the middle of the market for some time. Open source publishing. Open source publishing happens when a non-publishing company producesa book (or similar product) which is aimed at the market. Starbucks has done it. […]
The divide between editorial and advertising has always existed. It takes courage to stand up against the interests of an advertiser, and always has. Over the last several years, in broadcast and print, advertisers have become increasingly aggressive in defending their interests. Some have demanded a form of editorial control — don’t write against me […]
There are always lunatics among us. But at a time of political excess, when a political Thesis has exceeded its reach in time, those who are batshit crazy can gain enormous imfluence. I’m talking here of people whose lunacy leans in the direction of the Thesis. Their craziness is only seen in retrospect because they […]
John McCain wants to be Teddy Roosevelt. His plan to become TR is drop-dead simple: Suck up to President Bush and key constituencies. Watch Cheney be indicted and have Bush select him as a lifeline. Either succeed Bush in 2008 or (if the heat gets too hot) take over himself and pardon everyone. Do what […]
A key to the Netroots challenge is the charge that the Washington Democratic party is out of touch, that it practices politics entirely on the enemy's ground, that it has become so accustomed to losing it won't do what it takes to win, namely go for the throat. The fact of that analysis is to be found in looking at traffic patterns, in readership patterns, in opinion polls, and the existance of candidates like Lamont.
Both Wal-Mart and AT&T are presently heavily engaged in Astroturf campaigns, phony corporate-funded grassroots efforts aimed at getting what they want. Reporters are treating these seriously, acting as though they have a chance of success. They don’t. The whole idea of Astroturfing is to fly under the radar, to appear to be spontaneous. Once a […]
If this were an industry like any other, the Weblogsinc sale would mean barriers to entry in this busness were going up. They're not. While it may take more time than before to build an audience, it can still be done from your dining room, for virtually no cash outlay, and the value of that audience is going up.
Become an employer, not the employed.
Martial law may be sold to Bush as a brave act to Defend America, but it is the act of a coward, who will die a coward's death, and for whom a special place will have been reserved in hell.
For the last several years AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon have gotten anything they wanted from the federal government. They have ignored past promises and refused to deliver more than a trickle of broadband to customers. They have been given a monopoly on DSL, with competitors thrown out by courts and regulators. They have been allowed […]
