An Epic Takedown...

... or one of the best blog posts I've read recently

Driftglass is on my blogroll for a reason. He never fails to connect and his style is without peer in my opinion. I for one am extremely glad to see that he keeps after it, post after post, year after year.

If there was justice in this world, he'd be the op-ed writer for the NYT and not Bobo, a frequent (and all too easy) target. Or, he'd at least be their illustrator! As one of his regulars pointed out int he comments to this highlighted post, Drifty should be hired by Rolling Stone ASAP!

As for the post itself, as they say, Go.Read.It.All. I know that critiquing the published punditry is like fishing with dynamite, but these people are playing a vital role in continuing our nation's slide into oblivion. They are the fiddles being played as Versailles-on-Potomac burns through our resources, credit and good name. They are the enablers of all that is happening. And they, like all the other (bipartisan) glitterati who've "sold out," are getting rich while the rest of or Citizens are headed to penury.

Here is but a snippet of Driftglass' latest anti-Bobo work; its wonderfully done and truly inspired:

Son, we live in a world that has plutoctats. And those plutoctats have to be guarded by men with newspaper columns.

Who's gonna do it? You, driftglass? You, Taibbi?

I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Journalism and you curse professional cum dumpsters like me. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Journalism's death, while tragic, probably makes the Ruling Class incrementally more powerful. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, makes the Ruling Class incrementally more powerful.

You don't want the to go to that cocktail party, because deep down, in places you don't talk about on your Journalism Listservs you want me at that cocktail party.


You me need me there.

We use words like craven, stenographer, Villager...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending entrenched interests.

You use 'em as a punchline.

I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to employees who rise and sleep under the blanket of the very ad revenue I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it. I'd prefer you just said "Thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a cocktail weenie and go grope a Senator. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to.

Thanks Drifty for one of your finest works.



d r i f t g l a s s: David Brooks: The Man of Constant Sorrow

Today is Gilly Day

Yep. I'm back for a brief moment amidst the craziness that is my life these days.

If only to recognize that today is Steve Gilliard's day. A sad remembrance of the day his blog, The News Blog, went black. Steve was one heck of a writer and observer of the modern day. Once I found him, I could never get enough. And when he passed from the scene, we were all the worse for it.

Fortunately, those that knew Steve personally and through his writings keep his name alive over at the Group News Blog. Today, they are honoring Steve, his writing, and thinking about what a 2008 it would have been if Steve were around to share it.

I have no doubt that if Gilly were here today, he'd be hammering away at the Obama Administration for not fully living up to its promise -- all the while noting that he'd said during the campaign that BHO was a talented orator but at heart a centrist guy and not to buy into the rhetoric. And boy howdy, would he be having fun with the new head of the RNC - Michael Steele!

Check out Gilly's Fighting Liberal words and works by clicking on the left-side link. Savor what true journalist in 21st Century USA is and should be.

Well Gilly. Today is your day. And we remember you. But more importantly, we miss you! Wherever you are brother, keep an eye on the rest of us and if you can, give us a hand too!


PS -- I haven't forgotten my two lonely followers. Hopefully more soon! And maybe even garden pictures! SP

So I am Back...

... but was I ever really gone?

The short answer is No, I was not but just did not find the time, energy or reason to write up any "occasional thoughts."

The longer answer is a patchwork of home, work, life, optimism, despair, fury, gardening, travel and all the other little elements that make up life in modern America today. And that is just sooo boring!

Some of the things that have transpired worthy of note:

• The Administration let more sunshine in on who, what, why and how of the torture shame
• Taxpayers (and future taxpayers) continued to pay enormous amounts of money to the most wealthy in our nation - ostensibly to stave off economic catastrophe
• We are moving inexorably towards widening the war in Afghanistan (back into the Big Muddy!)
• The automakers cave to the demands of the "transplant caucus" and prepare to destroy whats left of the retirements of hundreds of thousands... we are told that this is good (but not good enough for the financial industry)
• I knocked off a couple books I hope to write some more about in the future (check out the portlet)
• Spring has sprung with all its glory and crazy weather!!!

So, for the one or two of you folks out there who actually stop by on from time to time -- Thanks! (Especially you Spocko and Suzan! I was graced and did not even know it!!!) I hope that you'll stop by again and be able to greet you with some new thoughts and ruminations.

F the F'in Yankees!

Today would have been Steve Gilliard's 44th birthday. I've missed this patriot often over the past couple of years. And I especially missed him in this past election campaign. Somehow, I think he was still around, and the legion of followers who are "fighting back" are Steve's mark and memory in our world. Truly and often, the good die all too young.

I for one will never forget the hornet's nest he stirred when he put Michael Steel in blackface! Or his human and humane coverage of the NYC transit workers strike. Or the long treatises on history. Or the (waaay) optimistic predictions that the GOP would get its due (they finally did this year). Or the typos! To go back to Steve's archives today is to relive the agony and the ecstasy of these past Bush years - and miss all over again that wonderful voice he gave to so many of us.

The folks at the Group News Blog are keeping Steve's fighting spirit alive and well. Thanks for all that you do and reminding us today about the man we miss from our midst.

Steve, I miss ya! And yeah, F the effing Yankees!