Now now….

I feel kind of weird for having to do this, but because I am an honest person… I must:

Ed Morrissey, concerned about a tiered caste bloggers society? Actually, as I read Joy’s post it says nothing about Morrissey being concerned about the situation. But of course. What else can one expect from Mr. I’m Only Here To Pick Up My Award (And Don’t You Dare Ask Me To Answer My Email)?

While I know Joy means well — she expands on the idea here — I’m not crazy about the idea of a media overflow lounge where those of us on the bottom rung can be stuffed into with the hope that maybe, just maybe one of the bloggers from on high will wander by to possibly acknowledge our presence with a royal wave before being escorted back to the bloggers lounge we dare not besmirch with our loathsome lowly putrid persons. Blogging is supposed to be about citizen journalists, no one above anyone else and all with something worth considering.

This leads to the question as to whether professional bloggers, which I define as bloggers paid by a corporation to write, are bloggers at all. I don’t believe they are. Case in point would be Hot Air, which is now owned by Salem Communications. Its writers write on behalf of Salem. Their primary function is creating content that entices readers to the site, thus enabling Salem to sell advertising on it at a maximum profit. That’s not blogging. That’s paid column writing that should be judged – and treated – accordingly. Go hang out with the regular media, for that is precisely what you are — conservative (sometimes) Maureen Dowds.

via The Usual Brouhaha | Goldfish and Clowns.

 

A few things I would like say about this:

  1. Ed Morrissey has always, unless he was very busy; has answered my e-mails.  Further, he has always treated me with respect and has never had a cross word to say to me at all.  Now I do not know if this will change due to recent events involving me.  Nevertheless, I digress.
  2. Ed Morrissey has been blogging for a very long time.  He used to blog over at Captain’s Quarters.  I used to read him over there, back when I was rooting for the “other team,” which was back around 2007.  I found him then to be one of the more reasonable Conservatives out there.
  3. I was no happier about HotAir.com being off-loaded to Salem than anyone else.  I have never liked the idea of media consolidation at all.  Mostly because I felt that, the writers there would lose their independent voice.  However, so far, I have not really noticed that there has been any corporate change in the tone of the blog.  AllahPundit is still — AllahPundit and Ed is still the little bald-headed beauty that he was before at his old blog.  I think so anyhow; I have not noticed that corporate paychecks have changed either of them, not that I can see.
  4. As for Tina, her skirt choices aside, I really do not have any objection to her writings.  They are, admittedly, a bit fluffy — But I have not seen anything that made me want to wretch yet.

Now as for the whole thing about the blogosphere being a meritocracy, as Mr. McCain put it.  One of my biggest gripes about the Blogosphere is this here; some people take this Blogging gig waaaaaaaaaaaaay too seriously.  Ladies and Gentleman, I am just going to tell you the God’s truth.  I have been writing on some form of a blog or another since 2006; and I really do not see myself as anything other than a guy with a bit of an opinion, which has changed over the past 7 years —- and a internet connection and a laptop.  Because frankly, that is all bloggers truly are.  I am not a journalist, I am not a lawyer, and I am not an expert at anything at all.  I am just someone who seems to have a decent grip on the English language and grammar — although I grip it much better with Microsoft Word — and happens to have opinion about the direction of my Country, which frankly now sucks!

As for the CPAC conference, I have never been to it.  I would like to able to register and attend one day.  However, like the person that I quoted above, my fiscal situation here has not been a good one.  Get a job, you say?  I have an answer for that — find me one and I will take it.  My point is this here; if I were actually able to attend CPAC — hell, I would be happy to be allowed in the building!  I would not walk in with the attitude that I was entitled to be treated with some sort of rock star or blogger superstar treatment —- because I am nothing more than a freelance writer, with the emphases on the word FREE!  One thing I am not and that is a prima donna, there are bloggers who are like that and act like that; I am not one of them.  I also am not much into the suit and tie thing either.  I am not an executive, as in the rich, cigar type.  I am your average t-shirt and jeans kind of person.  I would be happily content to have a little space to sit and cover said conference.

On closing, let me say this; I am very grateful.  Truly, I am.  I am grateful that God has given me the ability to write.  I am also quite grateful that God has given me the ability to read and understand what it is that I actually read.  My Father, who is 66 years old, has about an 8th grade education and really does not read that well at all.  I have to do a good deal of reading for my Dad and this will even get worse as time goes on.  It is something that many of us, including those who happen to read this, take very much for granted.  Therefore, next time you go to compose a post, think of this what I have told you and say a small prayer of thanks.

As a fitting ending to this, I include a video that I happen to like a good deal. It is a song by Johnny Cash, called “The Man in Black.” For all intents and purposes, you could call me, “The Blog in Black.” Enjoy the video.

Blog in Black

(with respect to Johnny Cash)

Well, you wonder why I always Blog in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my site,
And why does my writings seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there’s a reason for the things that I put on.

I blog the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I blog for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he’s a victim of the times.

I blog black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you’d think He’s talking straight to you and me.

Well, we’re doin’ mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin’ ‘puters and fancy clothes,
But just so we’re reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought ‘a be a blog In Black.

I blog for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I blog black in mournin’ for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men!

And, I blog for the thousands who have died,
Believen’ that the Lord was on their side,
I blog for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen’ that we all were on their side.

Well, there’s things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin’ everywhere you go,
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You’ll never see me blog on a blog of white.

Ah, I’d love to write a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything’s OK,
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my site,
‘Till things are brighter, I’m the blog In Black.

Amen.

(Update: Fixed rather hilarious typo in first paragraph. MS Word only does what you tell it to. Oops.)

6 thoughts on “Now now….

  1. Your experience with Mr. Morrissey is the exact opposite of my own. I have e-mailed him numerous times, starting back in his Captains Quarters days. None of the emails were antagonistic, belligerent or threatening. They were simple questions, or polite requests to look at something I had written. Not once has he responded. Not once.

    I have no cause to doubt the positive experiences others have had with Mr. Morrissey. However, all I can go by is my own experience. Which, as noted, is not positive.

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