Comments Off

I’m being slammed with comment spam today and must turn off comments until I figure out how to get it under control. I hope this will be a very temporary situation.

Update: Comments are on but will have to be monitored.

5 thoughts on “Comments Off

  1. Since there is no topic to this post,I hope it is ok that I mention Greenwalds move from his blog to Salon.I am very happy for Glenn(as well as proud).I am sure it is only a matter of time before someone snags up our Ms. Maha also, so lets enjoy her before she gets to big to remember us.

    As most of you know from Maha’s guest posts at unclaimed territory, the folks who comment there are a bit resistant to change(at least some of them) and can be pretty poor sports,but I gotta say some of the reactions to Glenns move just were mean and petty…So before someone like Salon snags up Maha, I just want to say I am honored to have had the chance to “know maha when…”.Glenns readers(understandably) see Glenn like a bird, but they don’t want him to spread his wings and fly..I don’t blame them for wanting to keep him all for themselves but I hope that when this happens to Maha (and I am sure it will) that our reactions will be a lot more fitting ,considering all she has given to her readers over the years.

    So,Maha…whenever your time comes to spread your wings and fly, this reader at least will be sad but proud.I will follow where ever your gift takes you.I think too many readers of Greenwalds blog would have been happy to hold him back and I think that is sad…I hope we never do that to you.You can count on my support in whatever you do that is right for your life.And I don’t take the hard work you do for granted.Thank you for your dedication.

    And while we are on the topic of “other blogs” does anyone know what happened to Billmon over at the whiskey bar?He is a much missed voice on my daily list of reads…I hope he is well?

    Perhaps we should have a bloggers dish day where we can get updates on the big family progressive blogs have become… it’s hard to keep up with everyone these days

  2. I haven’t gotten around to congratulating Glenn, but I’m happy for him. However, as Glenn says in this post, those of us on the Left who are bloggers and activists of any sort have a huge disadvantage over our counterparts on the Right. The righties have a vast infrastructure of think tanks and other organizations that are well funded by an oligarchy of very wealthy people, and for a long time they’ve used this infrastructure to support people who are spreading their message. We lefties don’t have that. Activists are supposed to be volunteers, and bloggers are paid what little money we generate in ad revenue and donations.

    Some of the commenters who complained about Glenn’s move don’t seem to realize that few of us can afford to put in the time it takes to maintain a blog without getting paid for it. I have been able to put in a lot of unpaid blog time over the past couple of years, for a number of reasons. But the truth is I can’t keep it up much longer unless I get a paid blogging gig or some other kind of sponsor or benefactor.

    Billmon checked out of his blog a few weeks ago and gave no notice or reason. He’s taken long absences before and come back, so I hope he’s not gone for good.

  3. I really do hope our blogmistress can find a deal like Glenn got. I don’t know how Glenn or maha (or digby or many others) do it, day after day. I’d’ve cut back a long time ago, I’m simply not that prolific and there are bills to be paid, and personal balance/sanity to be maintained. You really have to love this kind of work.

    As for the great Billmon, I got the sense that the responsibilities of his normal life and his day job were just taking over his time. There may have been more to it than this. Recently, a regular poster at DailyKos got outed, which can be extremely hazardous to your day job. Between the lines, I sensed that this was something Billmon was wary of, and so he cut back for the sake of his responsibilities to his family. I may be reading too much into the situation, but for many, being outed would be disastrous financially, and I suspect this was a risk Billmon didn’t want to take.

    In the meantime, I plan to subscribe to Salon (I’ve held off till now) because they picked up someone as good/essential as Glenn. I try to reward people when they do good, even though I could sit through the stupid ad and read him for free.

    And so Barbara, I hope you someday can fold up this virtual gray tent and turn your craft into a paying gig. You more than deserve it.

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