On the Road and Misc. Detritus from Blogs in LA…

Loyal Readers: From now until the new year, posting will be quite light as I’m on the road (again) visiting relatives. But I’ll be back up and running on Jan. 1.
Until then, you can follow the mushrooming non-controversial controversy that has been developing between Martini Republic and local Los Angeles blogger Cathy Seipp. You can read her entry at the National Review Online or an earlier version on her personal blog, and MR’s response.
I don’t like to indulge in the all-too-common spectacle of Trashing Other People’s Blogs, something that so many in the “blogosphere” seem to do. It’s usually childish, and after all, if we all have our own blogs, we can say what we want, and who cares what someone else writes, right?
That said, I find this particular mini-mushroom cloud of rhetoric somewhat entertaining. Why? Because the Martini Republic crew is engaging in the classic behavior of a blogger(s) who get more traffic by attacking more well known bloggers. That, and cultivating the kind of “yell first, questions later” rhetoric usually associated with the Right.
Which is odd, because on paper I should like the Martini Republic site. I like martinis, they like them too. They write about politics from the lefter side, so do I (usually). They seem to be like good folks, and I’m a good guy.
But after watching these over-dramatic mini-storms play out constantly, I get the impression these are easily excitable people, the type which kick your ass when you agree with them, and kick your ass when you do not. In other words, just writing this column will probably earn me a flame on their site.
I guess I should count myself lucky in that I got a nice snarky comment when responding to an earlier hullaballoo about Bob Hertzberg’s web ads (another non-controversy fanned by MR).
It had that particular brand of snark whereby the poster “responds” to things you never wrote in the first place, and then backpedals when challenged. I got several emails from folks saying more or less the same thing, and I put down my flame thrower to try and engage in some civilized conversation. Never heard back from ’em either. Hmm.
Reponding to such things didn’t result in a lot of added traffic to my site, though. Perhaps by posting this one I’ll get “more readers” to my site. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about?
Maybe not. Either way, this is probably the last time I’ll ever comment on another blog, aside from recommendations in the links section. Happy New Year!
UPDATE: After getting some comments and several emails saying “no we don’t  attack other blogs” this article appeared at Mack Reed’s LA VOICE website that more or less says that MR has appointed itself the liberal version of the right wing attack dog.
Hmm.
© 2003-2006 Greg Dewar | All Rights Reserved | Originally Published at www.schadelmann.com

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