Disqus - Latest Comments for The Occasional Mocerator

Re: Mike gets all medieval on PayPerPost

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 16:37:30 -0000

Thank you for your measured approach to the topic. I know I was harsh, but Arrington's condemnation of an honest effort to start a conversation around the issue of disclosure and transparency seems to contradict what so many (including him) said just 2 weeks ago during the original round of PPP-hating. This particular post of his seems to send the message that the only good PPP is a dead PPP.

I'd like to think there's some measure of reasonable thought out there on the Internet, and your post tells me there is.

DnW

DnW

Re: Verizon: Stupid, stupid, stupid

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:33:01 -0000

The whole wireless company structure is driving me nuts. I have Cingular, who tells you that you can access the Web with their Razr and then makes it so difficult that it's worthless, unless, of course, you want to shell out the 46 bucks a month for their EDGE/GSM services, which of course if you do, will also require that you upgrade to one of the Windows Mobile, Palm or Blackberries they have available, etc etc ad infinitum.

The cellular companies could benefit from a disruptive competitor who came in and shifted around the fee/rate structures, i think. Or at least, consumers might.

DnW

Re: Is Digg getting better, or worse?

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 05:35:49 -0000

I took Digg off my feeds because half their posts were inane and the comments even more so. It seemed to me that the place was inhabited by high school kids who roved in gangs digging and burying according to how drunk Kevin Rose and Alex Alrecht were on that week's podcast. I was a huge fan of both Digg and the podcast for the better part of a year, but as I began to watch the way digg was being gamed and overtaken by trolls, the less I felt like spending time there.

I think Digg is a great concept. I just don't think anarchy is an effective way to monitor a website.

Re: Google wins — because it doesn’t suck

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 04:37:02 -0000

I'm glad to see someone else write what I've been thinking about Sphere. I keep trying to see how it's so great, but to me it's just...well, it serves up crap, like you said. It seems like it should be a simple enough thing to aggregate tags and/or categories if nothing else, but 9 times out of ten it just seems to pull up random, spammy sites that don't really have any relationship to the one with the Sphere It! link.

Re: Yahoo buys MyBlogLog — but why?

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 14:15:00 -0000

I think Yahoo has done an excellent job of acquiring companies which have unique attention algorithms or applications. When they filed the patent application for Flickr's attention algorithm last year, it occurred to me that Yahoo! was positioning themselves to try to own new and innovative attention mechanisms.

You said it in your own post -- you like clicking the pictures, you like visiting the other blogs, you like the social networking posts. Combining that with MyBlogLog's stat package and fairly vanilla community site features gives Yahoo! yet another mechanism to harness and quantify attention.

Re: Microsoft: Lessons in how to look stupid

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 15:10:17 -0000

This Wikipedia stuff drives me nuts. I hate the idea that if something isn't right about someone or in this instance, an entity, it can't be corrected by the one who has the most accurate information.

Yes, it was stupid for Microsoft to think of paying a blogger to correct it. At the same time, it must be incredibly frustrating (particularly for a public company) to have incorrect information sitting on Wikipedia that they cannot correct.

If Wikipedia really wants to preserve the integrity of what they've created, they at least should allow for the subject of the entry to add a response to what's there.

Re: Microsoft: Lessons in how to look stupid

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 19:10:41 -0000

The problem with the discussion pages is that they are "unofficial" and opinion-based. This is a flaw in the current system that ends up making people look terrible when they try to set the record straight.

With that said...stupid, stupid people who decided that paying someone to make the change would be a good thing.

Re: Flickr faithful foam over faulty feature

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 02:02:41 -0000

The registration merge thing doesn't bother me at all, but I am bothered by the limits on contacts and tags. Beyond that, though, is the notion that communities foster ownership, and what the members think matters. In this case, it feels as though the Flickr team has sort of laid down the law without really getting a sense for how the community would react or what they wanted.

I would rather have seen them limit groups. I get so many irrelevant group invitations over there -- groups I would never add photos to, and I feel guilty for turning them down. It feels uncommunity-like.

It's true to an extent that it is their community and they can make the rules, but since we're paying to be part of the community, it would be better if they'd have talked to us first, rather than laying down the law.

Re: PayPerPost: a Web 2.0 witch-hunt

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 21:08:24 -0000

Resounding applause, Mathew! As a point of clarification, posts will be rejected which don't have disclosure inside the post. it's no longer acceptable simply to have the general disclosure link on the blog. If you look at the last couple that I've done, the disclosure is right at the top of the post.

Now I reviewed RockStartUp (the reality show) back when they launched the first three episodes with full disclosure there, too -- mainly that I wasn't a huge fan of reality shows at all and this one was no exception. However, there are lots of folks enjoying it, and it's not any worse than some of the other crap on the web.

I've been debating all day whether to blog about this myself, but I think what I'll do is link to yours and Jeneane's post as more reasonable. It is exactly what you say -- it just causes otherwise reasonable people to get a bit...passionate, and in this case, I'd say the term bullying applies.

Re: Twitter is noise, but also signal

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:09:01 -0000

Mathew,

The comments to my post were really interesting, and did give me a wider understanding of how Twitter can be used for conversation other than "how ya doin'?" and blogging one's cat. With that said, I don't really see me keeping a window up on the desktop with the latest twitters all day, but as Matt said, it could be a lifesaving tool in the event of natural disaster or earthquake because of the one-to-many feature, unlike text messaging or IM.

Re: I have been caller number nine…

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 04:49:16 -0000

HA! I love this. And sympathize with the university applications. We had applications to three separate universities, but because Sticks is also applying for a jazz studies major, we also had three applications for music schools, and then three auditions to go with the three applications, and three letters of recommendation to submit with the applications but before the auditions.

And all this before I had coffee in the morning. ;-)

Re: Good or bad? Wrong question

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 16:14:15 -0000

The time-wasting aspect was my first objection to Twitter. Well, that and the idea of telling a bunch of people what I was doing.

But I've found value in it. Not the same value that I find in blogs and blogging, but they're tools that I consider 'augmenting' tools to the larger social media connections.

Still, I'm easily distracted (as evidenced by the fact that I'm here commenting on your post instead of finishing up Friday-afternoon details), and so I have to really pay attention to how I use them and when.

I use Reddit but actually prefer del.icio.us (mostly because I used it first), and that I could not live without. It makes my life much, much easier because with one mouse click I can organize pages, sites, blog posts and other material I want to find again. Far from being timewasting, I view it as one of my most valuable tools.

Re: Is Flock f***ed again?

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 14:48:27 -0000

I think Flock should position themselves to be acquired by Yahoo! as their default browser. It drives me crazy that Verizon (my ISP) uses IE as the underpinnings for their interface with Yahoo!

Actually, I thought a year ago they should do that, but they seem to have lost some steam. I really like Flock and the way they mashed up different ways to upload photos, blog and participate in social networks, but I could never get used to their RSS reader -- it was kludgy and slow.

Re: TechCrunch20 and Hammer: Can’t touch this

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 12 May 2007 01:45:39 -0000

Mathew, I'm not sure what happened to the comment I posted earlier, but the gist of it was this: If the focus of this conference is Web 2.0, then users should be part of the mix, don't you think? And Hammer is a blogger, gadget geek and uses multimedia mashups. Like me, his origins are not in the tech industry, but more as an end user. I can't think of a better perspective to add to the panel, personally.

Re: Community is the hard part

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 16 May 2007 02:36:51 -0000

I am shocked about JPG mag. I've submitted for the last three issues (none accepted, but still fun), and the motivation for doing so was knowing that Heather was involved. This news is most unwelcome.

I don't see community as being at the heart of the JPG coup, but certainly the Digg debacle and Newsvine's lackluster participation level has community at the heart of it.

I've participated in both of these communities. Digg's community is so far out of control that I doubt it can be reined in at this point. Community is usually a mirror of its leadership and Digg is no exception. Kevin Rose has made a point out of capitalizing on his "power to the people and pirates" hacker image, and the Digg community mirrors that.

Newsvine, on the other hand, had more of a problem with how the site itself worked than the community as a whole. When Newsvine first launched, it seemed to want submissions of MSM stories and was aiming at aggregating them. Submissions of user-generated content never seemed to climb beyond that user's page, and the site itself was very difficult to navigate.

Since part of my "real life" job involves online communities, I tend to try everything and see what sticks. In Digg's case, the fundamental concept is great, but the community is large and unruly. In Newsvine's case, there is some great potential for community-building but they need people to do it.

Communities don't grow themselves -- they need people committed to them to grow. This is what Heather Champ does so well at Flickr, and what she was trying to foster at JPG.

Re: Community is the hard part

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 16 May 2007 02:54:20 -0000

Ummm, and add a big DUH to my comment above. It always pays to read all links before finishing comment. I get where you were correlating community to the JPG issues now. I've posted my response on Flickr and my own blog.

Re: Feedburner absorbed by the Googleplex

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 24 May 2007 03:43:00 -0000

I've been listening to Todd Cochrane's podcasts for nearly 2 years now and ownership of his RSS feed has always been a huge issue for him, whether it's Feedburner or scrapers, so it doesn't surprise me to discover that he's negative about Google acquiring Feedburner.

However, I have some concerns about this acquisition too, though not necessarily for the same reasons as Todd. After all, Google could certainly discover subscription and reading trends from my use of Google Reader, regardless of the Feedburner stats, so I'm not sure I understand the concerns Todd and others have expressed.

More fundamentally, though -- I'm not sure I want to give Google control of my RSS feed. I wasn't sure I wanted to give Feedburner control, much less Google. They already have my email and RSS reader allegiances -- I'm a believer in diversification. Last year I had an issue with a hacker that caused Google to add me to their 'rogue's gallery'. Even though I fixed the problem (and hammered my host for their crappy security on the server), it took a week for them to give me my GMail account back and another month before they'd reindex my site. I'm not a big fan of Google slaps, and have enough paranoia in me to wonder whether my feed could be blocked or otherwise misused in the hands of the almighty algorithm.

So we'll see what they do with it. I don't believe Google is evil, but I don't feel like handing my online life over to them in its entirety ether.

Re: Google and eBay — catfight, 90210-style

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:15:14 -0000

Without a doubt, the most entertaining and informative post I've read in weeks anywhere.

You're mastering that chat-speak thing pretty well...and it definitely fit the bill in this instance. LOL

Re: Too much Rollercoaster Tycoon

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:35:00 -0000

What a great video! Great title, too...got me to click it. :)

Re: Triumph of the average-looking: Paul Potts

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:48:42 -0000

Paul Potts is phenomenal and I think it's just great that he won the money and is receiving the recognition that he so richly deserves.

With that said, the show itself here in the US is a sad commentary on what passes for entertainment. I wrote a post last week about my daughter's experience on the Chicago-in-LA audition show with her dance group. Piers Morgan should not be anywhere near children, and if he is, he should be gagged.

Paul Potts probably wouldn't have made the first cut on the US version. I am not bitter about our kids not making the cut -- I didn't expect them to-- but I am bitter about them being put through the verbal abuse and humiliation, and even more bitter that they didn't even earn more than a 2-second bit in the reject montage for their efforts.

Re: Not learning from Dave Winer

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 05:01:41 -0000

Hmmm, I don't think you're right about Dave's comments - I don't think he selectively opens them, he just doesn't turn and point to them often. I comment all the time over on the Annex, where every new post from Scripting.com is aggregated during the day. It's here.

Re: Days of Our Lives, the blogosphere edition

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:42:45 -0000

Ordinarily I might be inclined to say that Dave Winer overreacted, except that the target was Jason Calacanis, who stepped up last October and called a whole bunch of bloggers spammers and then kept that mantra up over and over again.

It's okay for him to call us spammers in the context of paid postings but not okay for him to receive the same criticism for hawking his product in a keynote?

Still, I have a problem with shouting someone down in the middle of a presentation, and I think Dave was wrong to do that. It would have been better for him to simply blog or twitter it, but interrupting a presentation with that sort of accusation is rude, and didn't really invite any kind of meaningful discussion.

Which is, of course, my criticism of Calacanis. He jumped up and pointed fingers without really listening to the other side or giving some of us credit for being honest enough to disclose exactly what we were doing.

Sometimes I wonder if this kind of drama and spatting on and offline isn't just a new method of linkbaiting.

Re: Journalism as a process, not an end

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:32:36 -0000

Resounding applause for this -- All too often, the real story is the 'second day' story, when more facts are available. It drives me crazy to see a 'breaking news' story where they just grind the same sensationalistic info for 24 hours and then send the fact-finding to a back page, despite the many efforts of bloggers and others to get the real facts out there.

Re: Real-life experience with the new Google News

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 23:25:42 -0000

I'm glad Fark picked them up. It seems wrong to me for AP and Google to syndicate a story from a newspaper and not link back to the paper's page.

That's the equivalent of scraping, in my opinion. If newspapers' online bread and butter is page views and clicks, then it seems like it should be an obligation on Google/AP's part to link back to the original source.

Besides, it drives me crazy when I do a Google news search on a story happening in Santa Barbara, for example, and end up with the top result being an East Coast paper. It makes no sense whatsoever for me to link a blog post to an out-of-the-area secondary source.

Re: Video: In pursuit of the big wave

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 02:41:49 -0000

Sheer insanity. I did a series of photos at The Wedge in Newport over Labor Day weekend. The waves were 20+feet -- the highest I've seen, and I thought bodysurfing those were the height of insanity until I saw this.

Chilling. ;-)

Re: Chris Crocker: from YouTube to boob tube

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:15:32 -0000

Just when I thought it might be safe to stick my toe into TV land again, the news started gorging on OJ news. Now this? Ugh.

Re: Should comments be part of the news?

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 02:25:30 -0000

Back when I worked at CNN interactive before the evil AOL took the reins and flogged the horse, comments on articles weren't just invited, they were coveted. Many times the original content would be enhanced by what was posted in response to it on the message boards, which were linked directly from the front page articles.

My take is that comments should be welcomed as long as they're carefully moderated to rid them of spam, trolls and other unwelcome parasites.

Nice theme, btw, except it took me a bit to find the comments link. :)

Re: Nick comes to the defence of TimesSelect

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 04:46:23 -0000

The underlying thesis to which Nick refers is flawed, because it assumes that online readers of the Washington Post are the same population as those who would otherwise subscribe.

Before newspapers were online, readers were limited to their local and/or regional newspapers. Bringing newspapers online means opening the audience to a global group of readers, whether those newspapers are national, regional or local. That global group won't necessarily pay to subscribe, but if offered the opportunity to read what the NY Times, or Washington Post has to say at the source, would certainly do so and in the process, add to the revenue stream by virtue of their visit. These are NEW readers, readers who would not otherwise subscribe or contribute to the revenues of the paper.

BTW, the only paid online news subscription I have ever had is to the NY Times crosswords because I am an addict...and they're still behind that paywall. However, I feel justified in that subscription because NY Times crosswords are the hardest crosswords ever. It's an educational expense. :)

Re: Google as the saviour of everything

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:19:24 -0000

I agree with you. It's one thing to acquire Internet companies and quite another to acquire telcos, where the morass of federal regulations, rules and gladhanding (at least in this country) are the rules rather than the exceptions.

I can't think of anything that would turn Google profits downward faster than acquisition of a company like Sprint. They need to stay out of the existing telco space and create a new one.

Re: myPhone

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:12:46 -0000

yeah, my timing was a little off to catch that part. :-)

Re: Google GangBang Feels Like Date Rape

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:49:27 -0000

Fratman, you are 100 percent wrong on that score. I never wrote anything that I didn't believe in personally. You can visit my blog principles page for the criteria I used for choosing and writing posts. Iwasn't going to sell my soul or anything else for a few bucks.

Re: My identity has been revealed | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:33:03 -0000

Hmmmmmm.

I hate April Fools' Day.

Re: Documents obtained In Re: Sherri Jefferson | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 03:43:12 -0000

If she were receiving this treatment in any other work environment it would clearly be harassment and actionable -- even in Georgia. Whatever grudge this judge has against her, it doesn't warrant the juvenile and bullying treatment she's received. Really, it's outrageous. Last I heard, judges were owed respect, but not worship.

Re: Videotaped interrogations gets pilot program | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 02:37:53 -0000

Gideon, this is interesting to me, in light of the Attorney General's office use of one USA's push to record interrogations as grounds for his termination. Seems the FBI didn't cotton to the idea of having their interrogations recorded. :)

Re: testing new design | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 03:16:54 -0000

Is the new one based on the K2 theme? I like that theme and have enjoyed tweaking it in the past. Generally, unless I'm posting a comment, I read in an RSS reader. If you put my feet to the fire and forced me to choose, I'd probably choose the new one with a few minor tweaks to how sidebar items/icons line up...It seems a bit more spacious.

Re: Julie Amero granted new trial | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:30:54 -0000

Be sure to see the Hartford Courant article by Rick Green, who has some interesting tidbits. Seems the judge wasn't all that happy about bloggers' reactions to the verdict. :)

Re: Glenarlow Wilson wins state Habeas and State appeals | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:56:23 -0000

Gideon,

CNN is reporting that the prosecutor filed for an appeal and a stay of his release from jail.

Why are they so entrenched about this? Is common sense completely discarded in favor of law and order? Isn't there a place for both?

Re: Glenarlow Wilson wins state Habeas and State appeals | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:50:54 -0000

Gideon,

Thanks for the clarification on that. it does make sense.

Re: Theme itch | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:36:25 -0000

Me too. And I want it to be something different-looking. :)

Re: Habeas petition denied; makes newspaper; newspaper uses wrong terms | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 12:40:22 -0000

Crummy legal reporting is why people think that "beyond a reasonable doubt" is the same thing as "beyond a shadow of a doubt". I'm not a lawyer and that distinction drives me crazy, because when criminal trials are reported, newspapers typically don't explain the whole idea of reasonable doubt. I can't tell you how many discussions I've had with people where they insist that the jury convicted someone 'beyond all doubt', largely based upon what they saw in a newspaper or heard on the local news.

Re: Quick design poll and new tagline contest | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 05:52:16 -0000

I really like the template you've got on the test blog. A lot. I'm sick of this template, too, and am considering something different. I just haven't figured out what.

Re: Rewind: Deal or No Deal? | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:30:12 -0000

Lyon, eh? I'm green with envy. :)

In the case of Julie Amero, how about just deciding whether they want to try her again or not? Given that her verdict was overturned, she's now left in a holding pattern with no resolution in sight, which feels utterly unfair to me.

Re: What was Sen. Craig thinking? | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:02:46 -0000

George is right -- he took the plea without any legal advice at all. It seems to have been one of those situations where they said, well hey, seeing as how you're a US Senator and all, we'll make this go away if you do this...

I'm guessing he probably is gay and was soliciting an encounter. But he didn't offer money and he didn't do anything. It's not like he was caught in the act or anything, so what exactly is his criminal behavior here?

I know other bloggers have said this already, but it really frosts me that men can go into a bar and send a drink to a woman they don't know as a message that they want to have sex with them and no cop would even blink an eye. But when it's a gay encounter, well then, hey...it must be a crime.

If Craig had any balls at all, he'd have fought the charge and accepted the publicity. Given the absolute hyperbole of his so-called colleagues' public condemnations, he'd probably get more support by coming out and giving them all the finger in the process.

Re: “Pimps up, Ho’s down” leads to law prof going on leave | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:54:04 -0000

When I saw this in my email today I nearly spit coffee. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't defending our constitutional rights one of the foundations of the study of law? How can a law school of all places take such a cavalier stance on the right to free speech? After all, this professor hardly called for a revolution; he paused the movie at an inopportune moment! Amazing.

Re: Sunday Stupidity | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 15:18:10 -0000

And THAT is why I don't touch guns, don't want to touch guns, don't want them anywhere near me or in my house. You saw her arms? Pretty buff, eh? Mine look like atrophied sticks next to hers. Can you imagine what I would have done to myself? LOL

Re: Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony (updated) | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 05:24:25 -0000

I'm so glad you do what you do...we should really pull out of the war on sex anyway. ;-)

Cheekiness aside, there are aspects of the investigation into Spitzer that really bother me, particularly with regard to his bank's role in the whole thing. I am not saying that he was right in this (though I really think this business of prosecuting him for paying for sex is stupid..), but when I hear 'wiretap' and DOJ and some of the other terms I've heard, I can't help but wonder whether he stupidly let himself be the target of a political character assassination. He did, after all, make some of the money boys on Wall Street angry, nervous and vengeful.

Maybe it's just political paranoia, but I'm glad he's got a good defense attorney who is hopefully pushing back. All of these words to say I'm glad you do what you do, too.

Re: Lori Drew indicted in Myspace hoax suicide (updated) | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 17 May 2008 00:12:21 -0000

Here's what bothers me. An adult, with full knowledge of Megan Meier's ADHD and depression, stalked this child and harassed her with no intention other than to punish her for perceived slights against her daughter.

Had she done such a thing in real time, or hired someone to do it, she would have been subject to stalking and/or harassment laws, but because she hid behind the curtain of the internet, she was able to play the evil puppeteer with absolutely no accountability.

It doesn't make me happy to have her brought up on 'technicalities', but it does give me some measure of satisfaction to put idiots on notice about bad internet behavior, particularly with respect to MySpace, which I see as nothing more than a cesspool of teenage drama and angst.

Re: I took the plunge | a public defender

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:57:31 -0000

Niiiiice. I like. :)

Re: Hastert and Reynolds: Too late for damage control

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 03:51:17 -0000

bonica_babe,

Foley's sexual orientation has been one of the worst-kept secrets in US government. Ordinarily I'd shrug and say "who cares?", but having suffered through far too much unwarranted righteousness with the Monica scandal and now having to tolerate the Bush revisionist party line on Iraq, I am no longer willing to overlook any hypocritical act on the part of the "family values" party.

There's lots and lots more to say about this one, I think.

DnW

Re: Mr. Bush, This is Madness

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 16:20:07 -0000

Sorry, Michael, but I don't buy it. I don't buy that our leaders must lie to us in the name of National Security. At the time Bush initiated this evil war, he sent Colin Powell to the UN armed with lies -- proven lies -- to justify the pending action against Iraq.

There is a clear correlation between the quest for oil and the actions in Iraq, as was also true with Vietnam.

It doesn't take a genius to understand that there is no motive more powerful than money and power for war, and Bush lusts for both.

Re: Healthcare Reform: PBMs Don’t Save Money

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 05:47:31 -0000

Hi Pam,

Gladly -- consider it done. And hopefully you'll link back to me, too? I have much more to say about these PBMs and plan to use some of your content in those posts.

Re: Health Care Reform: Use ERISA As A Model

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 23:10:36 -0000

I am neither. I have no affiliation with the health insurance industry but I am a long time third-party administrator for pensions.

I respectfully disagree with you, particularly on the question of claims. Employees have the right to appeal a claim directly with the Department of Labor. In my 30 year career as an administrator, I have dealt with Department of Labor inquiries on several occasions on behalf of employers. The DOL was quite diligent on behalf of the employee, and the process was a simple one for the employee to initiate. In each instance, the dispute was resolved quickly and in no instance was the employee denied their claim.

However, your comment misses the point of the post, which was that for health insurance reform to have a prayer of working, it needs to be standardized on a national basis and not on a state-by-state basis, and needs to have baseline minimums established. While I'm not arguing that the baseline minimums have to be implemented or executed exactly like ERISA, I do believe that the five principles outlined in my post should be the starting point.

Re: Taylor Marsh’s Amazing Dishonest Adventure

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:03:24 -0000

daveinboca,

The spin is nearly unbearable. There was another piece today, so shrill I couldn't stand reading it. Something about if you only count Democrats voting for Hillary then she's ahead...now there's a track to electability in November. Pulease.

Didn't Ickes handle the Monica spin? Seems like he did.

Re: Taylor Marsh = Hillary’s Ann Coulter

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:04:50 -0000

Donna,

It's those shades of gray that are going to eat the Dems alive. Shrill apologists like Taylor Marsh and Howard Wolfson who continue to insist on dragging the campaigns down into the mud are going to do harm to the Democrats in the national election. The GOP are grinning over this little scuffle, which is really nothing at all but is so full of loaded, nasty language that it gives all sorts of little negative bites for November TV ads.

I can honestly say that if it continues in this vein, I would have a great deal of difficulty being supportive of HRC should she win the nomination.

Re: John McCain, Ethics and the Right’s Resolve

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:56:06 -0000

John,

I keep worrying about the 'similar report' thing. No one is perfect; no candidate untouchable. What you see in this article is insinuation with very little fact. There's no "so what" attached to it, not really. No event they describe in this article is wrong on its face. It's a lot of "did you know" and "do you remember", and raising spectres from the past that are loaded with negative associations, but there's no smoking gun.

Yet it will have the desired effect, because it 'associates' McCain with illicit behavior without ever coming out and proving it. That's a tactic that comes right out of the Nixon playbook and has proven tried-and-true.

Looks like the deepest party divisions are inside the GOP, eh?

Re: Barack Obama - Start the Iraq Dialogue, then Own it

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:50:17 -0000

Hi Raymond!

thanks for the link and tip on the LA Times OpEd. I will be writing more about the issue of racism, since it's something that will have to be overcome. I had read about the GOP polling on race/gender issues earlier this week and have to say I wasn't at all surprised.

There are going to be some who will simply be racist. I'd like to think they're in the minority. What's important, I think, is that Obama takes hold of the issues that really do matter and start hammering them home, because the more he talks about what matters to people, the less the race card will matter to anyone with his/her eyes open.

I admit that the race issue is the one that I worry about most, because I've seen the ugly KKK undercurrents here on the web and am not so naive to think we've completely overcome it. In my opinion, that's why the youth vote is such a critical factor -- there just isn't the same race barrier with most college kids, GenX and GenY voters as there is with older voters. I'm a baby boomer and grew up through the civil rights era...but then, I also had parents that made sure I understood how ugly racism truly is. Other friends were not so fortunate.

Thanks for your comments!

Re: Barack Obama - Start the Iraq Dialogue, then Own it

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:58:19 -0000

Thanks, Tina!

Re: Hope and Fear

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 04:03:06 -0000

Hey Kmilyun! Great quote. :)

Re: NAFTA-Gate, Redux

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:53:47 -0000

df,

I'm sorry, you must have missed the links to the Globe and Mail, where sources were clearly named. Try reading next time.

Re: Defending Eliot Spitzer

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:15:44 -0000

kimberly e,

I didn't defend him. I'm just not all that incensed about him hiring a prostitute. His hypocrisy is a different matter indeed.

I read the transcript, couldn't decide if it was fetish or not, but seemed clear that he didn't want to use condoms.

I'm far more aggravated at the way he was caught than I am at the fact of his hypocrisy, to be honest. It's indicative of a much larger problem than one man's moral and sexual bankruptcy.

Re: About Race

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:42:01 -0000

You're right about the phrase "moving past his race". Perhaps a better way to say it would be "moving past the stupid attitudes toward race" and instead evaluating him as a person, a citizen, a candidate.

That would probably be more what I was trying to say.

Re: Damn America, Indeed

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:48:35 -0000

Thanks, Erin. At this point it's the press beating it to death. Maybe it's good that it's happening now, but it's only good if we can have an honest dialogue about it and maybe get past the knee-jerk idiocy. The press is not setting a good example in that regard. If I hear one more pundit say "you must consider Dr. Wright when considering Obama" like Wright is a millstone, I'll scream.

Dr. Wright is actually pretty direct, eloquent and passionate. Plus, the music in their services rocks hard. Some amazing jazz musicians there.

Re: No, I Won’t Leave My Church. Neither Should Barack Obama

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:40:36 -0000

Thanks, Steve for your kind comment and stopping by. I'd like to think people would THINK before shouting out for a man to leave his church, but I guess that invective should only be the property of the RIGHTeous. :(

Re: Damn America, Indeed

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:43:47 -0000

Hi Joffi,

Exactly right. It seems that context, nuance, and yes, truth, are largely forgotten when it comes to politics, and political discourse.

Re: No, I Won’t Leave My Church. Neither Should Barack Obama

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:43:59 -0000

Amen, George. I'd like to spend my time making society better, not tearing it down, which I also believe is the only moral imperative Christians have. Feed the poor, take care of the sick and the needy and do what I can to change things for the better.

Re: Obama’s Passport File Breaches: A Timeline

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:50:42 -0000

Thanks, Victoria! I added some links to stories from those days to place it in context.

Re: Obama’s Passport File Breaches: A Timeline

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:19:33 -0000

Hi Scott,

Even more appalling is the lack of disclosure until the THIRD time it happens. Only the tip of his iceberg has been revealed.

Re: New Obama Endorsement - Bill Richardson

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:01:22 -0000

Dear "ted"

When you can spell and put together a coherent sentence laced with just a tiny bit of logic, perhaps I'll engage. Until then, you just take your racist self right to the polls and vote for the guy that'll kill more Iraqis. You'll sleep better that way.

Oh, and I'm white as snow, baby.

Re: New Obama Endorsement - Bill Richardson

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:04:43 -0000

One last thought -- If you think our current group of white boys hasn't overthrown the government, think again. I'll take my chances on something different.

Re: Obama’s Passport File Breaches: A Timeline

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:54:40 -0000

Some Dude, Excellent point. I'm updating with this now.

Pug, I wonder if they'll keep saying that now that CNN is reporting that Hillary Clinton's passport files were breached in late 2007.

Re: She’s F—ing Obama

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:34:05 -0000

Hi there! Thanks for the kind words -- I'm loving Twitter way more than I should ;-)

Re: The Tide is Turning

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:31:57 -0000

Hi Mercy,

I love Twitter -- it puts me in touch with the coolest people! The thing I love about this video is that it definitely highlights what's sad, but at the same time, has a ton of encouragement...the tide can turn.

Thanks for watching it and commenting, it's nice to meet you!

Re: Worms, Trojans and Clinton

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:27:07 -0000

sibby,

I would urge you to look more carefully at the Reverend Wright statements and most particularly to take them in full context. He is no more anti-Israeli than Hagee is. I understand how all of the spin around him can suggest negatives, but I'd also say that unless those negatives can be proven and not insinuated, it's worth keeping an open mind.

George,

If I'm faced with the choice of a compulsive liar or an absent-minded clueless guy, it'll be tough for me, too. I'm still a believer in truth being more powerful than lies and innuendo, but I'd like to see some truth-telling on the part of the cable folks too.

Re: Worms, Trojans and Clinton

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:24:14 -0000

PS to everyone,

Hillary Clinton's allegation that Obama lied about being a professor has also been proven false, too. http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html

Re: Worms, Trojans and Clinton

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 05:13:37 -0000

dion,

I'll take the honest one. :)

Re: Worms, Trojans and Clinton

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:45:29 -0000

How did a discussion around smearing candidates end up being a debate over grammar? I'm a bit of a spelling and grammar nut myself, but not to the extent of caring if someone writes the perfectly composed comment. How about moving back to the topic?

Re: Slaying the Subprime Vampires - Reprise

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:41:40 -0000

Victor,

I agree that there are some who lied on applications and if it can be shown that *they* lied (and I highlight that for a reason), they should not be shown any mercy whatsoever.

On the other side of your argument, however, is the fact that many were told they could buy a home and secure a loan based on their income, when in fact the mortgage broker was lying to them. I have an example of the kind of lies they were told with very little recourse to figure out what is true and what is not. I will upload it here later -- it was a mailing we received direct to us.

So when you complain that liberals are the ones with the problem, how do you justify bailing out major financial institutions who have sold out your grandmother and mine for the almighty dollar? And to God knows who? See, that's the trouble I have with you Republicans who are not true conservatives, just peddlers of punishment while raking in everyone else's American dream. Corporate bailouts are good; personal bailouts bad.

I call bullshit on that idea.

Re: Slaying the Subprime Vampires - Reprise

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:58:17 -0000

Victor,

I've posted the mailing we received. I'd like your honest opinion as to who you view as the get-rich-quick party.

The loan amount they offered would have dovetailed with property values in July here, but not now, by the way.

Re: Worms, Trojans and Clinton

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:56:10 -0000

Rose, the more I dig, the more the road leads back to Clinton. If you can supply a link that shows me wrong I'll gladly correct what I said. Haven't found it yet, though.

Re: Worms, Trojans and Clinton

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:58:56 -0000

Rose,

Sarcasm aside, compare the photo on the blog you linked (which I also saw) with the photo on his most recent resume here and the David Michaelis blog here. The contribution dates dovetail quite nicely with his transition from writer/producer to board member at Link TV, because he is would now be precluded from making political contributions in the 2008 election cycle by virtue of his service on a 501(c)(3) organization.

The pictures prove they are the same person, and the blog is further proof.

This isn't new in politics. Surrogates in the media and press do this all the time, and yeah, fellow Democrats do it to fellow Democrats because somehow they can push it all down when it's said and done and kiss and make up.

You are right -- a little investigation and Google work comes in handy. I did mine, and at this point I'd say the one who should apologize is YOU, not me.

Re: Double Standards

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:15:04 -0000

Hi Jared,

Well,I have it on good authority that there are a few of them left...but not many and certainly not enough.

Re: Analysis: Barack Obama and the Economy

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:18:50 -0000

I agree, Andrew. Bruce had asked me for hard facts and figures, which is why this post aims so squarely at them, but in general, the restoration of faith in the economy and the direction of the country is at the root of recovery, without question.

Re: How Does McCain Define Success in Iraq?

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:34:30 -0000

rag bag,

Liberal isn't a swear word. And scum may be a relative term. I'm not particularly interested in debating that point, except to say that if you believe so wholeheartedly in our Iraq "success", why aren't you over there taking the place of a young man or woman whose families would love to see them home?

It's easy to call bullshit on people like you.

Re: Health Care Reform: Use ERISA As A Model

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:47:51 -0000

JG,

The provision you describe is not a provision related to any ERISA mandates. It's a standard provision that allows insurance companies to reduce their exposure by offsetting the benefits they pay by the benefits paid through other plans.

We can have a discussion about why you feel it's unfair (I think so too, sometimes), but it's not an ERISA-mandated issue. You'd have the same thing happen with privately-purchased insurance.

Re: Smoke and Mirror Politics

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:56:44 -0000

Tim, whatever. You can nitpick, or address the point, which is that what he said was true. Small town or inner city, people are angry, and they don't believe politicians care about their economic well-being at all, so they vote for candidates based on whether they hate gays, love guns, or believe that world domination is a good thing. It wasn't any more elitist than your comment was.

Re: Middle America, Redefined

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:00:25 -0000

Keith, I don't even need a mansion. Just give me an all-expenses paid trip to Maui twice a year. :)

Re: Live Blog Compassion Forum (Obama)

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:53:36 -0000

Fannie,

In poor neighborhoods, it's kids as young as 12 and 13. He's not out of touch with girls, just girls in pretty suburbia, maybe.

I challenge you to listen to an entire sermon of Rev. Wright's or at least read a transcript. You'll discover there wasn't any hate there.

As for bringing the kids, you probably know the kids generally have their own Sunday School class. Better taking the kids to church than other, less important places, like the mall.

Re: Live Blog: Compassion Forum (Clinton)

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:58:05 -0000

While you may be correct (and I believe this is how I live-blogged it), Clinton might as well have called him elitist. She's taken her criticism too far, and it will come back around to bite her in her $109 Million butt.

Re: Live Blog: Compassion Forum (Clinton)

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:49:27 -0000

Fannie,

Um, no. He said his mother WASN'T very religious. Go back and listen to that again. Said he didn't go to church often b/c his mother wasn't very religious.

Pastor = spiritual advisor = spiritual shepherd. I don't see where you drop the advisor part.

He went to the church because they had started one of the first AIDS/HIV ministries on the South side. This is true and verifiable if you care to spend the time. 1988 was a key year because it corresponded to the first world AIDS day. By 1988 it was clear that Reagan was satisfied to let people die of AIDS/HIV rather than address it as a real issue, instead choosing to dismiss it as a 'gay disease'. Churches and other organizations responded. In fact, alongside the AIDS/HIV ministry that Wright started, he also began a gay/lesbian ministry which was not well-received by church members at first, but has grown to one of their strongest ministries today.

I'm sure none of this matters to you, because it's clear to me that unless he was lily-white, he'd be unacceptable, so I am not writing this for you, but to dispel the myths and lies you so blithely spread, similar to Mrs Clinton who was against guns before she was for them, except when she was shooting those snipers in Bosnia.

Re: Live Blog Compassion Forum (Obama)

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:01:26 -0000

You're misstating facts, I'm guessing intentionally. To anyone who happens to join this discussion, you can factcheck the following false statements:

"obama lie about the fact that he didn't know about Rev's sermon" Misstatement of what Obama said

Didn't say Wright wasn't spiritual advisor, said he was his pastor. pastors = spiritual advisors. My pastor is anti-gay. I'm not. Get a clue. Once again, churches are about community, not pastors/spiritual advisors.

It's okay if you don't want to vote for Obama. You don't have to shit on his pastor in order to justify it. Really, it's fine. Just put your pen in the Hillary bubble and mark it. Vote for McCain when obama gets the nomination so that you can risk your son being dead in Iraq at some point in the next four years.

But for God's sake, get your facts straight.

Re: Torture: A real reason for bitterness

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:01:28 -0000

Bruce,

No argument with your statement about our wrongs not justifying theirs. This is absolutely true.

On the other hand, their wrongs do not and should not justify ours. There is no evidence for the efficacy of torture, and prisoners have died at our hands. Prisoners with friends, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and so on.

In Iraq, there is no evidence of any link to 9/11. And the fact is that we destabilized their lives and brought destruction to their country, and yes, I do believe it was for 'oily motives'.

Moreover, by asking our soldiers to carry out despicable acts of torture, we are compromising their peace of mind, and possibly even sanity.

This is not right, and shouldn't be tolerated, in my opinion.

I loathe what was done on 9/11, but that is still not justification for what we are doing now.

Re: Challenge to Barack Obama: Invite Wright

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:22:51 -0000

Why am I not surprised that they'd clip out a segment that makes him look bad. All the more reason to get him out in front of folks.

Re: Wright Stuff in MP3

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 21:16:40 -0000

The comment above proves that our education system is failing.

Re: Democratic Primary: This is Survivor, not Deal or No Deal

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:56:40 -0000

Hi George,

I do, too. Clinton's comment about 'obliterating' scared me more than almost anything I've heard in the last 8 years.

It's that impulsive 'win at all costs' attitude that turned me off to begin with. Give me someone with the temperament to handle pressure without blowing up (literally), please.

Re: Open Letter to Senator Clinton, #2

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:10:13 -0000

Thanks, everyone!

@MissM, I thought like you did. But the problem I have is that if Hillary Clinton were to get the nomination, and I were to vote for her and she won, the message left behind would be a solid warning to any politician who chose to run for office in an ethical and upright fashion. That message is "only dirty politics win".

A victory by Hillary Clinton is no victory at all. It would mean losing all those engaged new Democrats to apathy or the Republicans. It encourages the incompetent and biased reporting we've seen throughout this primary season.

It gives legitimacy to illegitimate practices, and that's why I finally had to agree with Steve -- not rewarding bad behavior, even when it's painful, is the better choice.

Re: Election Returns: Network streams to watch

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:56:33 -0000

Hey Vanessa! If you have any other links to add to this, please do. I am really going to do my best to shun the mainstream punditry.

At this point I think they are so in the tank for the bottom line profits that they've glossed over the importance of this race. Sigh...

Re: Election Returns: Network streams to watch

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 07 May 2008 05:16:57 -0000

Hi Andrew,

Great, so glad to hear you got some follows and new readers! Loved the live blogs, keep 'em coming.

Re: Eulogy for CNN

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:46:18 -0000

Hi adventureran,

Olbermann is at his best when he's on fire, blasting opinion. I don't always care for his style, but at least he tries to be fair (except with respect to BillO...who doesn't deserve it anyway.

None of the cable news channels are that great, but MSNBC seems to be the lesser of 3 evils at this point.

Re: Eulogy for CNN

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 10 May 2008 01:22:07 -0000

Roadkill,

Actually, Obama only lost by 11,152 votes...so it sounds like maybe Union County was holding out for doing Hillary a huge favor.

Or not. But see, that's what offends me so much about this. It couldn't just be that they had difficulties in Union and Lake counties, no. It had to be ugly tampering allegations.

And that Hammond guy should have to pound about a ton of sand...

Re: Bad Judgment or Race-Baiting?

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:58:17 -0000

Good point, Jessica. I debated the bait before biting. Ultimately I bit because to NOT protest something is letting it stand. I'm still torn about having the photo on it though.

Re: Scenes from Iowa

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:12:34 -0000

Hi Elizabeth,

You were one of the primary reasons I got so hooked on Twitter. Seeing you send updates from the Iowa caucus was wonderful, as were your updates and pics tonight.

Congratulations on being a part of history. I almost felt like I was there.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 21 May 2008 04:08:46 -0000

Jo,

I'm not watching them. Yet. However, David Gergen certainly earns a place with me as someone who is at the very least, intellectually honest.

If Hillary Clinton is going to cry sexism while courting the self-proclaimed racist vote, she is as much of a sellout as John McCain.

Re: “If Appalachia was a country, Hillary Clinton could be President”

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:07:15 -0000

Pug,

Amen. It's completely frustrating.

Re: CNN Pundits Also FAIL the Sexism Test

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:33:02 -0000

Ah Joffi...

I guarantee you that if you call me a bitch I will definitely be offended. If I call myself a bitch, not so much. If a commentator on CNN says it's okay to call women bitches, I'll also be offended. It's still sexist. When I see women calling out rat bastards on TV (and I can think of a few), maybe we can have this discussion again. :)

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:36:55 -0000

Hillel,

When people walk out of exit polls and say yes, race is a factor, and when the percentage of those people also adds up to the spread between winning and losing, I think it's surely fair to say that yes, race is a factor. Ignoring it, and statements like the one from the 24-year old who wanted a 'full-blooded American', or the lady that said 'He's a Muslim, I don't care what he says, I know he is" because goddamn, he's a black guy so he must be...

Yeah, you betcha race is a factor. and you betcha that KY had plenty of the racist vote going there. Hillary's 'hard-working white folks" characterization pretty well nailed it.

Re: Pugnacious Hillary Clinton

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 22 May 2008 05:36:03 -0000

Jeff,

Look up the term 'pugnacious'. You'll see that it refers to personality, not dogs, though the word was likely derived from the character of a pug.

And Jeff, it's no surprise that she's angling for 2012. The problem is that she's positioned herself as a complete liar and cheat. You think that's going to play well in 2012? Why? Do liars have vintage years? After the last 8 years of lying, cheating, Bush and Cheney, I'm not likely to exchange them for more lies.

Unlike many pundits, I think putting her on the ticket as VP would require Obama to don a bulletproof jacket whenever he was within 50 feet of her. She is a megalomaniacal woman, drunk on her own delusion of power.

She has a choice and many options right now. The only question is how far she will go and how low she will stoop to squander them.

I was a supporter of hers once. No longer. Her lie after lie after lie after lie to people who deserve better than that convinced me.

That, and the "obliterate Iran" statement, which sounded like a Republican in Democrat's clothing.

Mostly though, it was the incessant lies.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:41:31 -0000

I really hate the way people are put into boxes, especially during this election.

With that said, Hillary Clinton HAD the majority of Black voters in the beginning. She's the one who lost them. They didn't abandon her. Some of this nation's most respected African-American leaders wholeheartedly endorsed (and still endorse) her.

I'm a white person and I fit right into the so-called Hillary demographic. White, age 49, some college but didn't finish, and female.

I'm firmly in the Obama camp, because Hillary Clinton doesn't understand how to communicate with me on an equal level, choosing instead to lie, manipulate and tell me what she thinks I want to hear instead of what the truth of the matter is.

As to the term redneck, I don't know where you get the idea that it's racist. Here is the definition of redneck on Wikipedia.

It is a stereotype, just like "hard-working white people" is a stereotype. But it is not racist.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:39:02 -0000

Hey, I didn't say it wasn't disparaging. It is. It's also a stereotype. But it's not RACIST, which was what you were attempting to link up. It's also not defamatory unless one says to another individual falsely, "Hey, you're a redneck".

Referring to the "redneck vote" is not a defamatory term. Disparaging, yes. Negative, yes. But not racist.

Re: Pugnacious Hillary Clinton

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:52:38 -0000

dotlizard,

I think that probably overstates it, though it is sometimes difficult to discern the difference between the moderate GOP and the conservative Democrats. I think she was working toward gaining appeal with the conservative voters in KY and WV when she did the O'Reilly interview. As to his fawning, that seems more likely to be the desire on the part of the GOP to have Hillary Clinton as their candidate.

Before yesterday, I would have assumed that her tactics were intended to be a play for the VP slot. Now I just think she's bent on causing as much destruction as possible for the reason that Jeff suggests: 2012.

I believe she will do what she can to help Obama fail in order to position herself for 2012. I also believe she'll fail.

sphynx,

Your comment, particularly your comment about feeling used by Clinton gives me hope that the newest effort of Clinton's to destroy a good man for her own gain will fail. Let's hope they fail without pulling the party along.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:31:26 -0000

Oh, what a lot of bullshit that is. In my mind, redneck is more of an attitude. And it happens to be an attitude that comes straight from people who are probably related to my ancestors.

Gergen's remarks were right on the money. He pointed at the elephant on the table that no one wants to identify.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:35:35 -0000

neonpinklime,

Those Kentucky/WV folks are my relatives too. And they're rednecks. I have never, ever heard the term redneck associated with genetically inferior.

As you point out, wikipedia definitions are often incorrect, particularly when you get to the secondary definitions.

Also, if you listen to what Gergen said, he didn't denounce the people saying what they said. He denounced Clinton's embrace of it.

They're entitled to have racist opinions. They're also entitled to read and forward idiotic emails invented by racist missionaries working in Africa, of all places. He didn't deny that. All he said was that Clinton should reject it.

You can spin what he said, but you're not being intellectually honest if you continue to assume he took aim at the voters as some kind of personal attack. He never said they weren't entitled to their opinions, or to vote the way they wanted. He DID say that Clinton shouldn't court them.

Re: Conversations About Race in Kentucky

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:36:59 -0000

Actually, the reporter is American. The video was played on Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera offers consistently more complete coverage of this election than any mainstream media outlet does.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:17:06 -0000

Tanstaafl,

I object to all of it. I object, and have said so on this blog more than once, to the assumption that I should vote for Hillary Clinton because she is a woman. I object to the notion that the topic of Israel is tiptoed around by everyone for fear of offending someone or invoking Godwin's law.

People vote for candidates for all kinds of reasons, from the way they comb their hair to the way they talk. That's their right. But Jews are not racist for wanting to choose a candidate that they believe will protect Israel any more than Iranian-Americans are racist for choosing to vote for a candidate that they believe won't attack Iran. A vote SHOULD express the hopes, desires and best interests of the voters.

Again, don't confuse a call to reject a premise for a vote by a candidate with the voter's right to vote that way.

When Clinton said she appealed to "hard-working white voters" she legitimized the racism inherent in that statement. Are there "hard-working black/hispanic/asian/indian/etc voters"? Of course. But if you're someone who really hates blacks, that single phrase gave permission to vote for Hillary on the belief that she would stand for the white folks who worked hard, to the exclusion of others.

That's what Gergen said she should reject, and not only did she NOT reject it, she embraced it.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:41:40 -0000

Adrienne,

Your point is well-taken. Getting out the vote is crucial. I just wonder if it's too much to ask that the vote be informed, too.

Taanstafl,

In response to your specific questions:

Can’t you give Whites the benefit of the doubt and say, you know what, these race-related issues swirling around Obama, despite the press’ attempts to downplay them, they really are something Whites might have legitimate concerns about?

Not when they parrot idiotic and UNTRUE statements like "He's a Muslim, I know it." even as they cite Rev. Wright and his involvement with Wright's church for 20 years as a reason not to vote for him. Since when does color disqualify him from leadership? Moreover, why isn't the fact that he's half-white ever mentioned?

Do blacks who fret about whether White candidates really have their best interests in mind freak you out too? Do you assume they hate Whites?

Blacks have traditionally come out in force for white candidates. They are the one voting bloc that Democrats have been able to count on. I certainly don't see a lot of 'fretting' about that.

Do jews who are very concerned that their children only marry other jews concern you? Do you scream “racist” in their face? Do you think they do it because they hate anyone who isn’t jewish?

Who Jews marry is of no concern to me. It has absolutely no bearing on the leadership of the country I live in and love.

Do you think pundits should call for politicians to reject the votes of blacks and jews who think this way?

The Jewish issues you raise are red herrings. They do not have any bearing on the outcome of an election. I see no evidence that the black vote in this election was made on a racial basis until Bill Clinton and subsequently, Hillary Clinton, as well as Hillary Clinton's surrogates like Geraldine Ferraro tried to marginalize a legitimate contender for the Democratic nomination on the basis of his race.

Of course, Geraldine Ferraro's argument AGAINST Obama was a dog whistle calling all good white voters to reciprocate, which was the point of Gergen's comments.

The only players of the race card here have been the Clinton campaign, and they've played it over and over again. What's pathetic is how easily it's used as an excuse to bolster racism in this country.

Re: Pugnacious Hillary Clinton

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:50:35 -0000

Betsy,

On the Constitution, you're referring to Hillary Clinton, yes? Because Obama has mentioned the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, many times over, particularly in the context of warrantless wiretaps and signing statements.

Hillary Clinton cannot claim the popular vote and be taken seriously, simply because of the caucus states and her specious claim that Michigan uncommitted votes should not go to Obama. It was publicly known that the Michigan voters for Obama encouraged and even mounted a calling campaign to encourage Obama voters to vote "uncommitted" in case there was an effort to seat their delegation.

Your suggestion of her becoming a Lieberman chills me, and at the same time, concerns me because it could happen, if she figured out how to retire her debt.

Thanks for your comment!

Re: A Personal Note About Assassination and Murder

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:16:38 -0000

Thanks, Debbie. It was a long time ago, but that's exactly why a revival of those memories is so horrid.

In a time where many people in my age group are rediscovering their enthusiasm for politics and patriotism, I'd like to hope that we can finally lay the violence of the 60's to rest.

Re: A Pickup of 40 Superdelegates?

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:20:32 -0000

Hi Debbie,

It does my heart good to see California leading the way on this, too. It was so ironic to see my state finally have a say in the primary process and then realize that the primary was so early that Obama didn't have the chance to overtake Clinton, even though he would today.

Cardoza seems to be putting out the call to make the Rules Committee meeting moot by inviting superdelegates to step out now and make their preferences known. Because of the timing of the primaries, they may have to come out in force before June 3rd, so as to neutralize any battleground Clinton may think she has there.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 24 May 2008 01:08:25 -0000

neonpinklime,

think about it for a minute. the exact quote was "hard working people...hard-working white people.."

Does the specificity of the correction imply anything at all to you? Anything?

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 24 May 2008 02:26:15 -0000

That she hasn't resonated with them. That making statements like the one about it taking a President (rather than MLK) to get civil rights legislation passed sent the message that she truly believes in the superiority of her race? That all the posturing about civil rights was just that -- posturing?

I don't know, show me where she's specifically reached out and tried to meet black voters where they are. Knocking back shots of crown royal and talking about shooting out in the wilderness with Daddy isn't likely to say much to them.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:45:25 -0000

neonpinklime,

Why did you edit the statement? The statement was "hard working people...hard-working white people".

The second phrase standing on its own doesn't imply much of anything, until it's combined with the first phrase, which clearly then distinguishes hard-working people as white.

that's what's inherently racist. Get serious. There's racism in many cultures around this country. Then there are folks like Flanders there, who sort of ramble on about utopian ideas that no candidate or country will ever achieve because yes...there are oppressed people (white, black, brown and mixtures), there are racists and there are media conglomerates. Let's all at least live in reality.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 24 May 2008 21:02:38 -0000

neonpinklime,

You have affirmed the exact point upon which we disagree. This is not a point we will ever agree upon; however, I appreciate the civil discussion, at least, for the most part.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 27 May 2008 05:24:26 -0000

Danielj,

You're hardly coherent. If you look at the polls as we progressed through the primary process, the shift for blacks factoring in race to their vote happened after the Clintons made Obama's race an issue in the campaign. Also, the polls have consistently indicated a higher percentage of whites voting based on race than blacks.

Your comment about blacks 'not being able to recruit...' speaks volumes. As if they were PERMITTED to recruit when they HAD NO VOTE.

Does anyone not see through Daniel? He comes and tosses around big words that he doesn't fully understand while baring his racism wantonly in the statements preceding.

Re: David Gergen Speaks Truth - Denounce Racist Vote

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:08:35 -0000

Tanstaafl,

It's one thing to say birds of a feather flock together, and another to oppress the other birds because they look different.

Whites have oppressed blacks for centuries. That blacks would push back on that is unsurprising.

As a white person, I don't view applause for calling out racism for what it is spewing anti-white hate. I do think it's high time that all of us, black and white and brown and any other color, start figuring out that it's in our best interests to look beyond race to other, more important issues. That is as true for whites as it is Hispanics, Asians, blacks, etc.

Since I'm the owner of this particular blog, I will say what I want here, just as I've given you a forum to express an opposite view. Not only is your characterization of what I said erroneous, it's intended to bully me and it's not going to work.

And with that, I think we've all had an opportunity to say what needs to be said, so comments will now close on this post.

Re: AYFKM Hillary? !@!# Yes We Will????

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:15:39 -0000

What's truly infuriating is the spin that goes with it - I, Hillary, am allowed to lift speeches because I don't base my campaign on words.

Um, yeah....tell me that again?

Re: The Fierce Urgency of Now

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:22:25 -0000

This is why I'm so adamant about Obama being elected. It is more about attitude than even specific changes. The McCain attitude is a 'screw you, deal with it' attitude that is purely corporate and without conscience for regard for one's fellow man.

It's not just your stepson. My veteran son with no record whatsover can't find anything beyond minimum wage as a job. This is not right.

The fierce urgency of now extends beyond our kids. it affects each and every person living in this nation who has even small inklings of heart. We are in danger of losing our collective compassion if McCain is elected.

Re: The World According to Sarah Palin

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:09:34 -0000

I have respect for the sheer power of words. So much respect, in fact, that I'm willing to say what needs to be said to combat the lies, rather than being afraid of them.

Re: The Energy of Community

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:45:29 -0000

I've decided Steve is right. There is no difference between politics and tech; they're both the same. In my interpretation, the underlying dynamic is the guide; the specific topic is the detail. Steve always sees the meta much more clearly than I do -- this is why I'm unwilling to completely resist his argument for Hillary as VP, and it's why I was so rapidly addicted to the Gillmor Gang. It was that ability to look beyond the details into the larger implications of new technology on and off the web.

Anyway, how does that relate to community? As someone who has managed communities online for ten-plus years now, around politics, health, tech, society and law, there are certain dynamics that arise in the best communities and push the conversation forward. The desire to bring the online discussion to the offline world, to create action from ideas, to share the knowledge gained in the virtual community with the real community.

Benchmark times include the response to Hurricane Katrina, which is still ongoing by many of us, and the involvement in the Presidential campaign this year. There is no question that the passion and ideas that rise out of the group on NGL are carried outward into our supermarkets and casual conversations with coworkers and workers alike, all of it beginning a larger meta-conversation which I hope leads to some real lasting change.

Re: 2007/10/20/on-betting-your-house-to-win-a-lawnmower/

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 02:23:54 -0000

Glad to hear it, since Mashable is the first place I go for Web 2.0 and startup info. And to be fair here, I'm not entirely sure what the linking technique is that Todd's talking about, since it seems pretty clear from his post that it's not straight-up paid linkage. Tagging, maybe?

Now about that "hype filter" thing...you could probably patent that. ;-)

Re: 2007/11/25/myspace-can-hurt-you/

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:56:49 -0000

Just one small point of clarification. In the Megan Meier case, the one who took it all too seriously was an adult parent of a former friend....let's not make this all about kids' stupidity, after all.

Re: 2008/06/03/barack-hussein-obama/

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:43:13 -0000

This is the biggest bunch of bullshit I've read all night.

This was not about style over substance. This was about smear and fear over hope.

When you lose 11 elections in a row and then start painting your opponent as a black elitist, playing the identity politics to the nth degree, yeah, you start to win.

Because it's not a substantive argument. It's an emotional, fear-based argument. Hillary Clinton ran an ABYSMAL campaign. She had no clue how to leverage the web, how to build a true community online, or how to take that community and put it out there to get the job done.

You had a candidate on the ballot who has one of the most-recognized faces and names on the planet, and who is associated she was beaten fair and square by a black guy with funny ears and a different approach. Quit marginalizing his incredible success.

He won, I might add, but NOT attacking her, no matter how much she deserved it.

Re: 2008/06/03/barack-hussein-obama/

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:46:19 -0000

Ugh, your comment box is horrible. The sentence beginning with "you had a candidate on the ballot..." should read this way:

You had a candidate on the ballot who has one of the most-recognized faces and names on the planet, and who is associated with a former president who had managed to rehabilitate his image by teaming up with George HW Bush to help tsunami victims and by using his foundation for good.

People who didn't pay attention could at least rely on the name "Clinton" the same way they used to rely on the name "Kennedy".

Hillary lived her campaign on the edge of drama and old politics.

Hope won over fear. Get over it.

Re: 2008/10/06/flickr-panda-rainbow-vomit/

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:00:49 -0000

I'm still laughing at your incredulity at the panda barf. I, too, think it's utterly bizarre...not sure at all where the mind of the person who thought of it was, but getting the laugh that I got out of your post? Priceless. Worth rainbow barf any day of the week.

Re: Bad news, my mom is in hospital

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 09 May 2006 05:36:34 -0000

Robert,

My prayers go with you and your family. It is so difficult to receive news like this from a distance -- I'm glad you're going to be with her, and will pray that cancer is not an issue in this case.

Having just gone through this with my grandmother, the best advice I can offer is to prepare to be an advocate for her -- question everything, research it as much as you possibly can, and keep your mind open to all of her options.

Take care.

Re: Bawling over bowling

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 11 May 2006 05:33:53 -0000

In the last three months of 2005 I posted my share of posts like this to my blog. Maryam, who has never met me, left me such kind and touching comments. They meant the world to me.

In addition to the comfort that blogging is bringing you, your call to people to step up and articulate their last wishes is an incredibly valuable service. I have been in both situations (DNR order and no DNR order), and the pain of having to make the decision on behalf of a loved one is something no one should have to go through. I'm glad you have that small comfort, in the face of overwhelming grief.

Be gentle to yourself, remember to breathe, and give Maryam an extra big hug when she arrives on Friday.

DnW

Re: If I was a cool blogger I’d be doing Lifehacker

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 22 May 2006 06:35:43 -0000

I am the most uncool blogger on the planet, then. Subscribed, then unsubscribed to Lifehacker. I am not made for that kind of life micromanagement. Some cool tips, yes, but accepting comments only from "insiders" really turned me off.

Re: DisclosePerPost is my policy

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 03:01:41 -0000

Robert,

Kudos to you for completing the form and posting it here. Major Kudos.

As to its rigidity, yes. I had difficulty with that as well until I realized at the end of the process that I could edit and/or tweak it to fit my specific needs, which are a bit more rigid than how it was originally generated.

Here's the thing -- they're looking for a conversation on this, comments, ways to make it better, ways to make it work, to develop best practices around the issue of paid content. I see that as good for everyone. What's there now is nothing more than a beta version of what could develop into a collaborative asset for the blogging community as a whole.

I appreciate the fact that you're willing to give it an honest try and post your thoughts (though I wish it weren't in the comments but in a post as part of the larger conversation) -- that and the fact that you are married to a wonderful woman like Maryam prove that you're a good guy. ;-)

- DnW

Re: Thank the Lord for RSS: I hate the new Valleywag design

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:08:24 -0000

It's that Ask.com ad on the left sidebar that is truly hideous. I'd read 100 paid-for posts just not to see that awful ad ever again.

Re: PodCamp email taken out of context…

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 03:43:03 -0000

Any time I see private email published on a blog I cringe, particularly when it's clear there was no permission granted for that email to be published.

In a world with so many things to really get angry about, it seems a little out of proportion to me for someone to get angry because you dared to ask if there was expense reimbursement for travel. That person's time could have been better spent being angry about the number of talented young people dying in Iraq, or high gas prices or something.

Sometimes this world of tech collapses on itself and loses perspective. This is one of those times. It looks like Mr. Safuto needs a reality check about what's really important.

-DnW

Re: What a fun wedding!

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 10 Dec 2006 18:22:31 -0000

This is a gorgeous photo of you and Maryam :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/penmachine/318460801/ -- you should have it framed. :) Tell her I think she looks stunning.

It looks like it was a beautiful wedding -- congrats to all.

K

Re: No HD local channels for Scoble (Hint: there’s the Internet as a workaround)

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 06:05:59 -0000

That's a drag. :( We just hooked up Comcast's HD service to our new altar to St. HD the Divine, and successfully turned the entire family into couch potatoes.

Merry Christmas to you and Maryam and Patrick!

Re: I screwed up twice … trip very expensive

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 15:29:29 -0000

Ugh, so sorry to hear about your camera and car. On the camera -- I don't recall what brand of camera you've got, but we've had very good and fast repair results on our Panasonic and also a Nikon DSLR lens that was crushed at one of our kids' dance competitions.

Put a shout-out on the blog for repair suggestions...my guess is that your manufacturer will respond pretty quickly with options that will put the camera back in your hands fast.

Re: More analysis of my blog

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 00:38:16 -0000

He is a wonderful example of what can happen when a kid's imagination and creativity is unleashed with a set of tools to accomplish a goal. This has been my long-held frustration with our schools here -- instead of teaching kids to use technology to investigate and experiment, they're taught rote tasks and told in backhanded ways that the Internet is an evil place where they should tread lightly.

There are only a few teachers who differ -- unfortunately none of them are in our school district.

Re: I hate eggplant

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 03:25:51 -0000

Happy birthday, young 'un. :) Wishes for many more.

Re: Google Reader behind?

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 05:53:57 -0000

Google Reader is definitely slower than Bloglines. I'm hoping that will be tweaked, though, because I really do like the Share feature and reading my feeds as a river rather than by individual feed like Bloglines does.

Where I really enjoy Google reader is on my phone when I'm waiting for an appointment or something...it's so handy just to load it up and start reading. I'm not in love with my phone by any stretch, but at least it comes in handy when nothing better is available.

Re: Do A-list bloggers have a responsibility to link to others?

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:04:47 -0000

Comic Strip blogger is a hoot -- and Adult ADHD Strengths is a darn fine blog, too. :0

Mine is such a potpourri (odd time signatures that it's not really in your context, but I do link to you when I blog about Internet life and of course, all of your photowalking videos are mentioned in my photography section. :)

I loved your rant about linking yesterday -- it's frustrating to really work on something and not get the linkbacks for it.

Re: Raising a stink doesn’t bring the traffic

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 16:36:20 -0000

I read your post on the linking issue right away -- in an RSS reader. This is what drives me crazy about tracking stats -- the only way to really track it is to use Feedburner or some similar service, because RSS readers don't always click.

I starred AND shared the post in Google Reader. But I didn't click it.

Re: Scoble’s a shill … more details

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:36:54 -0000

MadTechie speaks with reason. There is way too much heat in these comments; very little light. It's not a huge big hairy deal. Valleywag be damned.

Re: Scoble’s a shill … more details

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 03:55:42 -0000

I cannot believe the sanctimonious cries piling on here. You people need to go blog about something important, like how Louisiana is still being screwed by the Feds and may never get those levees shored up properly, or how rotten it is that there are still starving homeless people in the world.

Getting your panties in a bunch over whether or not Robert Scoble was directly or indirectly paid by Intel is just silly. These "voices of the pure blogosphere" just blather. Quit being silly about this and consider things that are important.

I swear, as much as I love reading tech blogs, it just drives me crazy when the 'high horse riders' climb up and start flogging.

Re: I removed Snap’s previews from here

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:37:05 -0000

Resounding applause! I saw the note on Dave Winer's blog where Matt Mullenweg commented about reactions to Snap! separating the geeks from the users...and was a bit offended by it. Snap has to be the most distracting and useless (well, maybe not as useless as Twitter) plug-in I've ever seen. You just made my user experience tons better.

Re: Killer photo sharing: Vuvox

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:15:57 -0000

This looks similar to Tabblo. It's a pretty intro page, though. :)

Re: “PayPerSpeech” disclosure

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 17:19:15 -0000

Wow, I see the sanctimonium continues. It would be wonderful if some of the commenters actually updated their facts before blowing a gasket.

I am not a spammer. I do not write positive reviews on demand. I have never been paid to write something that I didn't believe. I decline any opportunity where an advertiser will not give me freedom to write as I see fit.

Robert, props to you for doing something you knew would be unpopular but that you also knew you could do while preserving your integrity. Others could learn from your example.

Evidently in some areas of the blogosphere, it's not so much a conversation as it is dictation. Or dictatorial, judging from these comments.

Re: What videos cause you to comment?

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 22:26:24 -0000

I sent your Stanford Linear Video links off to my kid who actually understands that stuff and is fascinated by it (and is taking AP Physics). My favorite videos of yours are the photowalking videos which are far too short...I want MORE, even more. I always get great ideas and really love the whole concept of what you're doing with them.

My form of commenting is to watch them. I am not generally a fan of video on the web or elsewhere, preferring audio while I'm working on something else. Video demands that I do absolutely nothing but watch it, which I'm usually not willing to do. In general, I'd much rather have audio which I can listen to while I'm working or reading. Your videos and my husband's videos are the only ones I actually watch.

Re: Kind compliments about ScobleShow (why don’t historical videos get watched?)

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 02:45:54 -0000

Hey, I said nice things, too!

:)

Re: Note to Steve Jobs: unions are only half of school’s problems

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 15:16:15 -0000

Forgive me for using this comment as a soapbox for a minute. Everything you said is true, particularly the points about the pay scale and NCLB, which is bad for schools, students, teachers and communities.

I really want to talk a little about the technology point you made and appeal to you to shout out into your piece of the blogosphere about Julie Amero, a 2nd grade substitute teacher in Connecticut who is facing up to 40 years in jail because the Windows PC in the 2nd grade classroom where she was teaching was infected with spyware, which caused porn popups to come up on the screen in front of her students.

Despite the fact that the network administrator had not updated security definitions, spyware definitions, nor set appropriate controls on the network to prevent such things from happening, Amero was the one convicted of exposing children to pornography. During the trial she was not permitted to introduce evidence proving that she had no control over the technology that was in her classroom and which was exploited by others.

Tragically, at the time this happened she was 4 months pregnant, and the stress of the charges and trial caused her to lose her baby. Amero and her husband have spent $20,000 in their defense and have no more money to pay for the appeal.

If ever there was a cause for which bloggers should bang the drum, this is it. If this conviction is allowed to stand, it places every teacher in every classroom at the mercy of their network administrator and will definitely discourage teachers from adopting new technology and utilizing it in their classroom.

Amero's blog is here. They also have established a defense fund which can be reached from the blog. Please encourage your readers to stand up for the future of technology in education.

Thank you so much.

Re: Note to Steve Jobs: unions are only half of school’s problems

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 15:22:27 -0000

Oops, correction...she is a SEVENTH grade substitute teacher.

Re: Another Stanford University Startup coming September 2007

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 18:08:01 -0000

Congratulations to both of you! That's wonderful news!

Re: Onward!

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 17:32:00 -0000

@macbeach, I don't think calling for an end to anonymity is really the issue -- I wrote a post about it over the weekend here. The issue isn't what name people use to comment and/or blog; the issue is whether or not there's accountability behind that name.

I used to comment here as DrumsNWhistles; now I use my real first name. Either way readers had a way to find me, via the email/contact link on my blog. They could also rely upon the fact that someone knew me to be a real person by virtue of the fact that I had valid data on file with my web host and registrar.

And to Robert: The issue is trust. Who or how to know who to trust. Not legislation; not more court cases. Just developing some core level guidelines about whether or not a blog is trustworthy. I wrote a set of blog principles (self-adopted) when I entered the payperpost fray. They've been helpful to me in many ways. Whether they are to anyone else, I don't know. But they help guide ME on decisions I might make about what to say or how to say it.

Re: Onward!

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 17:34:02 -0000

@john welch -- the difference with the pundits is that there is still a way to hold them accountable. Just because we don't -- well, that's another story entirely.

Re: Onward!

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 19:25:35 -0000

Goebbels:

"Didn’t this case involve known “anonymous” accounts being hijacked by unknown “anonymous” posters? I don’t see how anything would be different if it was “rageboy” or Chris Locke."

No, this case was about possibly one account being hijacked after a site was created as a place for 'sarcasm and insult'. The one responsible for the threats and images has not yet been identified, at least, not publicly.

"Solve one problem, create another."

I disagree. But until we stop shrugging and saying "Ah, such are the ways of the Internet", no problems will be solved and it'll just sit there until the next time it runs out of control, which it surely will, particularly in the arena of politics.

Amy Gahran has a great post up on this topic -- everyone should read it. Snark at your own risk

Re: Onward!

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 20:48:57 -0000

Goebbels,

Where did you ever get the impression that I wanted a non-anonymous internet? I would STILL be anonymous if I hadn't been outed by an irresponsible, vindictive 'someone'.

I want an accountable internet, whether or not anonymous.

Re: The tech industry in slow period…

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:35:17 -0000

This is the coolest thing I've seen this week. If you already blogged about it, forgive me, but the video got me really, really interested. :)

Microsoft's Hallucinations

Re: Google to penalize bloggers selling links?

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 17:35:38 -0000

I think Matt Cutts confirmed what many believed was true long ago, and I appreciate him doing it.

I disclose at the top of every paid post (and there aren't that many). It's not a big deal, and it's required by PPP anyway.

Here's something that really bothers me, though. Google has just introduced an augmentation of their text links that includes linking text within a post to their own advertising. (3/21/07) Isn't it a little bit of a conflict of interest for them to come out and say that undisclosed links will devalue one's search results when they are doing the exact same thing?

Ad formats: You can create text ads, image ads, or our new text link ad format in your pay-per-action campaign. Text link ads are brief text descriptions that take on the characteristics of a publisher’s page. These Javascript-based ads will display like regular hyperlinks and allow publishers to embed these links inline with other text to promote your product or service.

Re: Google to penalize bloggers selling links?

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 17:57:28 -0000

Wreck,

You're dreaming if you think you can have an ad-free Internet and not have money change hands in some fashion. It's just that you'll have a pay-to-play model instead of an ad-based model. It's similar to the differences between cable TV premium stations and commercial TV. You can pay the cable bill and skip the commercials or you can put up with the commercials and keep what you'd spend on cable (assuming you were in an area that picked up commercial TV...some areas you're just stuck with it no matter what.)

How do you propose site owners pay for bandwidth and hosting? Should they just give it away? Why? What incentive is there for them to do such a thing?

Re: Read a news feed, go to jail?

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 15 May 2007 17:16:02 -0000

Nick (#9): Yes, he is a scumbag. But a dangerous one. Imagine -- how exactly will 'intent' be interpreted? The example I wrote on my blog was this: I go to Best Buy and buy a new release DVD, a spindle of 100 blanks and a box of blank DVD cases. I know that I'm planning to go home and put the new DVD on the player while I'm burning 100 copies of the school band concert to sell on campus next week with the yearbook.

Does the guy at Best Buy know that? Or does he report that I might 'intend' to duplicate that brand-spankin' new DVD, scan the artwork and sell it as a pirated copy? And how then do I prove that I DIDN'T intend that?

Legislating intent is a very dangerous thing.

Re: An evangelism opportunity…

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:04:54 -0000

Shelly, many times I agree with what you write but this time I think you're dead wrong. Hardware fails. Most of the time it can be replaced quickly, but when you're running on a shoestring with an unexpected withdrawal of what funds you had a month ahead of a major launch, it's difficult.

If you look at the video Kristopher did, it seems clear that it's a hardware failure, pure and simple. It was probably risky to try and revive that drive after it failed last week, but when money is tight you do what you have to.

I view any investment in Zooomr as recoverable, given that part of the new features are the ability to market my photos. As much as I love Flickr (and I do), I don't see that as a viable opportunity to market photos with the kind of freedom and autonomy that Zooomr will offer.

I remember when Digg crashed for a couple of days before it got big-time funding -- and that crash was purely scaling, not hardware. Had Digg not been funded, it would be in the dead zone today. No matter how you feel about Digg and its community, it is the undeniable poster site for a successful Web 2.0 startup from nothing to something. Kevin Rose may not be worth 60 Million or whatever was reported, but he's surely better off today than he was in 2005 when struggling to keep from bending under the load.

As a Zooomr 'customer' (but really user -- customers actually have to PAY for what I've gotten free), I don't need apologies from anyone at Zooomr. What I WANT is for them to succeed, and if it takes a contribution from me to do it, they have it.

Re: An evangelism opportunity…

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:45:12 -0000

Shelly,

I converge with you on one point: It is certainly not the usual way of doing business. Whether or not it's crappy, I'm not sure. The conventional way is certainly the more accepted. Yet, I'm sure they didn't write the original launch script this way. Perhaps it's my ADHD-ness or something, but I don't necessarily hold the same criticisms of how this has been done, because I can see myself in their position doing the same thing. I do cringe on their behalf. I remember all too well the year that my hard drive died on October 14th, the day before a major IRS filing deadline, and getting a new drive in and backups restored took me until 4:00 on the 15th.

My clients were forgiving, up to a point, but I knew I'd better be delivering in the future on a much more reliable basis if I expected to keep them. Even now I cringe at the memory of it. It certainly appeared to them that I didn't know what I was doing, but the fact is that my only mistake was placing too much reliance on one piece of hardware -- a mistake I've not made since.

Perhaps I'm inclined to be supportive of others in parallel positions. Maybe I'm just a cheerleader for underdogs. But whatever I am, I don't see these folks as people who don't know what they're doing.

Re: An evangelism opportunity…

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 30 May 2007 16:05:45 -0000

About three years ago the community website I work for underwent a major upgrade and platform migration on their message boards. We worked like dogs for a month ahead of the rollout building, testing, fixing, testing, etc. Our one developer put in 80-hour work weeks (and this isn't a little startup).

Launch day comes, and at midnight the servers roll to the new platform. We QA, everything looks wonderful, it's just singing. So we open the doors to the public and within 30 minutes everything. slowed. to. a. crawl.

Roll back, evaluate, figure out that one of the load balancers wasn't configured properly, roll out again, only to have the same result. And then weirdness in the database.

We rolled back and it took another month of troubleshooting and reconfiguration to get it working and do the 'official' rollout. Those days were some of the most painful (and longest) of my life...and I had time and a little creativity invested, not the kind of sweat that's been put into this.

We took those lessons learned and made the next upgrade much more bulletproof. I'm sure that will be the case here. Looks like Twitter has had many of the same lessons.

Re: An evangelism opportunity…

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:05:31 -0000

I have no worries about my photos for a number of reasons, Shelley. (And I apologize profusely for misspelling your first name...I have a friend who spells it without the 'e' and habit took over). Even if a site were sponsored by God himself, I wouldn't place my trust in any of them without backups, which I have in abundance. Beyond that, there's no indication that anything has happened to my photos or data. They're stored on a server that will be back up and running shortly. But even if their backups fail (knock on wood), I've got them on two separate external drives and a DVD backup, so it's not a big deal.

The Zooomr blog is the place where the 'right thing' is. I don't really care what's on their front page at this point -- there's a full explanation and apology on the blog.

I disagree with your conclusion that Zooomr wasn't interesting enough. to generate funds. I think, however, that to generate the funds, it had to have a viable, working business model because the space is crowded. Yahoo just shut down Yahoo! photos and opened pathways for migration to Flickr or Shutterfly, so what VC would make an investment without seeing with his/her own eyes what makes this particular site stand out? I can understand that.

Because Zooomr's model is so closely integrated with community, I'm not sure that static mockups would have sold it.

I think the points you bring up are valid ones and should be raised. I'm just not as inclined to write them off for the negatives yet. Although I admit that I handed out some jabs for the wine on ice thing....

Re: An evangelism opportunity…

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 30 May 2007 18:12:14 -0000

Actually, if we're going to be picky about facts, Flickr's Pro Accounts are $25/year. They're a bargain for sure.

Re: Zooomr next big “inch”

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:27:10 -0000

Gosh, Robert, I was hoping to get to bed at a decent hour and then your post popped up (late, I might add...doggone Google Reader) in my feeds.

I think you've nailed it. I hate to say so, but yes...it's going to take $$$$ to make Zooomr work.

I was a little surprised that there would be a Zooomr/Flickr head-to-head so early in Zooomr's life, but given that there is, my response to those who say it's a Flickr ripoff is this: What Web 2.0 app isn't a ripoff of another one?

Characteristics of the second-generation internet community: Ratings/Rankings, comments, user-created groups, social networking features like adding contacts, etc. They're all the same with different clothes on. So what? It's the community at Flickr that keeps me there, and it's the community at Zooomr that brings me there, too. That, and as Robert points out, the David/Goliath aspect that gets me cheering.

I've got a kid 2 years younger than Kristopher who also has big dreams and a ton of talent (not web talent, but talent nevertheless). I want to see them both succeed in big ways, because what they bring to the table is worth the risks they're taking.

Re: Zooomr next big “inch”

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:51:33 -0000

sorry for the second post, but I've been meaning to go back through the Google magic archives for some idea of what Flickr was like in 2004. This PDF copy of a Powerpoint presentation on Niall Kennedy's site is very interesting indeed. Note the issues Flickr faced with server load and balancing in the early days. A search on the term "Flickr down 2005" yields over 200 results.

Next, Digg.com. From an interview with Kevin Rose in Sept. 2006:

5) Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, what are two of the decisions you made at Digg since 2004 that you would have done differently?

1) We would have hired a DBA sooner. Once you hit a certain level of growth, it helps you scale, you have to add servers. It is important to have good database administrators.

2) I would have pulled the crew together sooner. We were all working remotely. It is better to have everyone under the same roof, in the same office. Productivity goes through the roof.

(Kris and Thomas, take note)

A similar Google search for the term "Digg Down" yields over 80,000 results, some as recent as December, 2006.

Whether funded or not, scaling is a constant issue with the popular social networking sites. I just bookmarked a post today from your shared items, Robert, entitled "The Internet Has Scaling Problems".

What would be interesting to do (and boy-genius Yuvi might be the one to do it) is an analysis of the evolution of Flickr from mid 2004 to the present day. It's had 3 years to mature, as has Digg. Both had the means to do it...now let's see if Zooomr can, too.

Re: I know I’m blind and blonde, but…

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 05:33:43 -0000

The schedule was tough to find -- and not to bash MS or anything, but I'm trying to figure out why I have to use IE for the 'full experience'. I should be able to view it in any browser. I have a special place in my heart for this concert, since we know one of the performers in the London segments, and it would be really nice not to have the computer freeze cold in the middle because IE takes the whole thing over.

Re: Slight diversion into politics…why is Ron Paul getting blog hype?

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 16:08:58 -0000

Ron Paul lost me the first time one of his operatives spammed my political blog with nothing more than spew. My opinion hasn't changed. If he's getting blog buzz, it's likely because everything is delivered with that sort of breathless hyperbole that often accompanies reports about Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan rather than anything of substance.

You're right on the money about the economic realities of his proposals, too.

But more than that, to me there is very little in the way of substance underneath the hysteria. I really hope this country learns from the last 8 years and takes the time to actually consider the issues and realistic possibilities for change.

Re: Post to Pownce, Twitter, Jaiku, Tumblr at same time

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 03:01:13 -0000

I've been ranting about this for a couple of weeks. The latest is here. 've also been trying the blueswarm.org profile aggregator, which makes some steps toward the goal I'm looking for, except that it goes the wrong way. I want one central profile that I can update, preferably on my own blog website, that automatically feeds to the services I use. Not the other way around.

And adding friends...good grief. I don't have nearly the number of friends that most do, but how many times can I add the same people to different sites and profiles?

What I appreciate about your enthusiasm for these networking sites is your willingness to try them all, frankly. If you keep talking about one or the other, I figure it's worth trying. If you try it and don't mention it again, it's probably a loser.

With that said, I have to say that the Facebook buzz is getting about as tiring as the iPhone buzz. Facebook has a lot of value and I'm not dissing that, but it's not the be-all and end-all either. It's still got a lot of juvenile stuff attached to it -- myspace-type stuff like 'top friends' and other silliness that is just time-wasting. I can't imagine using it as a business card, but that's because my work life spans two separate and unrelated arenas -- one online and one offline.

My offline career contacts would consider me crazy if I invited them to FB -- they're still in the land of thinking that email, message boards and web search is the newest cool thing.

Re: Are you a hypermiler?

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 15:04:55 -0000

When we first bought the Prius, I was amazed at how rapidly my driving style changed. Having that real-time feedback on the screen really changed me to a more conservative driver. I agree with the analogy to a video game - the feedback challenges me every time I drive it to raise that MPG .1 at a time.

I just wish that the other drivers around me would do the same. My single biggest annoyance is maximizing things at 65 on the freeway and having people zoom up behind me as if I had the audacity NOT to speed. That's when I have to remind myself that my gas bill is probably less than 1/3rd of theirs. :)

Re: What the hell is up with our kids today?

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 04:57:51 -0000

I'd kick in some $$$ toward a computer. I love seeing kids who are so focused and motivated.

Re: Photowalking evolves…

The Occasional Mocerator — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 03:49:45 -0000

Noeltykay,

I might try to get to that one, too. Santa Monica was great!

Re: TechCrunch: Linkblogs are evil?

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:19:31 -0000

I'd love to be picked up on your link blog. If Arrington objects, then consider linking to some of us who don't mind the exposure. ;-)

My thinking is that if you publish an RSS feed, you're inviting people to read and share it. Isn't that the point of social networks?

Now, commenting is a different issue. I'm not exactly sure how Google plans for comments to work, but if it's similar to delicious, where I can add a comment about why I'm sharing or highlight what I liked about the article, I suppose that's okay. But I'd like to see comments posted to the blog itself, frankly, because I don't want to have to hunt down all the 'shared items' comments around the web to see what people are saying.

Re: Lots of news coming tonight

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:01:03 -0000

Yours and Patrick's Flickr sets are so interesting -- they remind me of the differences between mine and my daughter's (who is the same age as Patrick). Patrick's tend to look past the whole picture into shapes, interesting arrangements, color, tone, where yours tend to be more of the larger, broader field of view, contrasts, broad swipes of color and depth. Both wonderful, just very different styles.

It's always refreshing to see what my daughter photographs -- she has a completely different way of seeing the same subject. It speaks a lot to why we don't always communicate well, too. ;-)

Glad to hear Milan is doing well...send my best to Maryam! I hope she's recovered from her labor and is getting some rest.

Re: Getting around school site blocks

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 04:06:44 -0000

Robert,

Yes, you really, really do have to deal with the porn, not because it's so terribleawful that a normal teenager happens to want to look at porn, but because there are way too many dangers (particularly for teenagers looking for teenage-level porn) associated with downloading it and inavertently ending up with illegal content.

The Julie Group (http://thejuliegroup.blogspot.com) was formed to assist with the defense of those caught in the net of accidentally ending up with illegal content as the result of BitTorrent bulk downloads and the like. It is very difficult to defend and is one of the top priorities of the US Justice Department to prosecute. They don't care what age, either, so my advice to Patrick is stay the heck away from it, no matter how cool it might seem to find it.

Re: It’s your business

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:11:15 -0000

All the best of luck and success to you in your next venture, whatever it is. One of the things that you've really done successfully is to keep this blog as your unique space, no matter who your employer is, and that will work to your benefit in the future.

The only thing you could announce that would disappoint me would be that you were shutting down this blog. As long as you're not doing that, I will look forward to the future.

We may not always agree, but you do make me think. :)

Re: Celebrating seven years of blogging

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 03:40:08 -0000

Congratulations and here's to many more years. Looking forward to the pics of Patrick's high school graduation and Milan's first day of kindergarten.

Oh, and some more posts about cool new things to try, too!

Re: Fake Steve Jobs hoaxes TechMeme/bloggers

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 02:44:40 -0000

Yum, slime.

Just so's ya know...lawyers DO work the week before Christmas down this way, but one of the disadvantages of living where the real folks are is that we forget what it's like to be among the beautiful people.

I can't remember a time where I've read a more sanctimonious post from you.

Re: Fake Steve Jobs hoaxes TechMeme/bloggers

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 02:52:38 -0000

Well I was one of them. I'm rolling in the slime, too.

Merry Christmas.

Re: The tree with the business model

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 03:14:50 -0000

I agree -- Thomas has changed my attitudes toward photography and I learn more just from looking at his images than even taking my own. These are lovely photos...looking forward to more.

Re: John Edwards drops out of presidential race

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:10:25 -0000

Robert, kudos to you for speaking your mind on your own blog (and by the way, I'd say that regardless of what campaign you endorsed). After all, you were the one who was there at the beginning of Edwards' campaign with your camera and it's fitting for you to note its end and state your views.

I'm glad you chose Barack Obama and I'm glad you said so.

Re: Google Wants You to Disclose the Paid Links it Can’t Find

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 23:14:57 -0000

Their hypocrisy with this is incredible and disappointing. After all, just a bit less than a month ago they unveiled their own version of embedded text ads, which aren't disclosed.

So assuming that they know about them (since it's their link), how does that protect unsuspecting readers from clicking an undisclosed sponsored link and making money for that advertiser?

Seems to me they're using unfair practices to promote their own programs.

Re: Don’t let Cigna get away with Murder

The Occasional Mocerator — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:48:39 -0000

The problem is that health insurance companies' bottom line depends on NOT paying benefits. This is what I encountered when trying to get approval for my son's medication. He had approval for Zyrtec-D, which was a non-formulary medication in 2004 when the battle started. I didn't. We were both prescribed the same medication for ADHD. Mine was approved; his wasn't. It didn't get approved until this year, when Zyrtec-D was approved for OTC sales? Coincidence? You decide.

Our story is minor compared to this, but the principle still holds. They had covered the bone marrow transplant and aftercare so in their minds, they had discharged their obligation to approve any additional expensive treatments for this girl. I doubt the request initially reached someone knowledgable (see my notes about the gastroenterologist approving psychiatric medications, for example), so it was relatively simple to just say no. Even after the four doctors appealed, they denied.

Michael Moore has this much right: Putting medical decisions in the hands of anyone other than a patient's doctor is just wrong. And for the so-called 'doctors' at Cigna I just have to ask how they reconcile their Hippocratic oath with the denials they sign.

Re: Don’t let Cigna get away with Murder

The Occasional Mocerator — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:24:25 -0000

ck --

With regard to your comment that Nataline would have had six months WITH the transplant -- incorrect. Without the transplant, they'd given her six months on the outside. The bone marrow transplant had succeeded in eradicating the leukemia but the cost was liver damage that was irreparable. If she had received the transplant, she had the prospect of a full life. Without it, she was doomed.

The system is completely broken when doctors no longer have the ability to be doctors. If you don't trust them, it's probably because they have had to practice defensive medicine where they satisfy the insurer, the patient and walk a line down insurance liability risks, too.

Fixing the system will mean limiting malpractice damage awards and grounds for liability lawsuits, limiting insurers' profits and putting the practice of medicine back in the hands of the folks who paid over $100K for their education as a doctor. You should really read Dr. Kirschenbaum's series on Doctors, Money and Medicine for a different perspective. Start here.

Re: If You Can’t Tell Whether Something Is An Ad, That’s Deception

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 17:54:14 -0000

Can any of you who are so incredibly quick to criticize this please take my challenge? Go to my blog and click on the "reviews" category. All of my reviews are there -- paid and unpaid. Tell me if you see a difference between those which are paid and those which are not paid.

It is only deceptive if: a) I write something or about something I do not believe in; or b) I write something untrue for the sole purpose of being paid.

I am not a reporter. I am a person who maintains a personal blog for the purpose of writing about life, things that interest me, and issues that make me think. I have a small community of people who think what I write is worth reading. I am telling those people about a product or service or topic that interests me and that I think might interest them.

I have a policy which clearly defines my criteria for choosing posts to write about where I will be paid.

I am waiting for someone to explain how I am being deceptive.

You can argue that there are lots of people who aren't like me. That is the whole reason for opening a conversation around this issue, in my opinion. Rather than being like the mob in the "The Music Man", crying out that "Pool" is going to corrupt the town, why not engage in a reasonable dialogue about how bloggers can be word-of-mouth-marketers and NOT deceive their readers?

By the way, I just bought 2 sets of Moo Cards. I bought them after seeing some A-listers' cards -- ones that they got free as part of a Flickr promotion. By the time I got there, the free promo was over. I bought them anyway because I thought they were cool and worked well as a unique tool for my drummer-son to use to get gigs.

It was clear to me by the number of posts that went up about them that part of the promo was to blog about them when they received their freebies but it wasn't always clearly stated on the blog posts about them. Did I feel deceived? No, because I thought they were cool and so did the majority of the folks who blogged about them, even though it could be argued that 'payment' was the receipt of freebies in exchange for some powerful word-of-mouth promos.

Really, if we can wrap ourselves around some ways to identify ourselves as honest people who write the same whether paid or not similar to the Moo bloggers, I think we do everyone a favor, because being critical with no solution is no way to move the ball down the field.

DnW

Re: If You Can’t Tell Whether Something Is An Ad, That’s Deception

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:15:11 -0000

Mario,

You're incorrect. I see you didn't actually LOOK, but offered a snap judgment instead. Every paid post is disclosed.

DnW

Re: Disincentives For Gaming The TechMeme Leaderboard

The Occasional Mocerator — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:10:56 -0000

How would weighting the headline stop the gaming of the system? Right now, all someone with any visibility has to do is declare something 'dead' and BOOM, it's on the top of Techmeme.

I'd say weighting posts which add something to the discussion around the original post makes more sense than weighting the headline more than it already is.

Re: Mean Girls

The Occasional Mocerator — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:05:06 -0000

Well said.

Re: Hey Mama: A Tribute to Motherhood

The Occasional Mocerator — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:47:58 -0000

Your mom sounds like my mom, especially the part about teaching you to be yourself, and like being different, and most especially, independent. That was one of the greatest gifts my mom gave me. "Just get stuff done," she said, realizing that the doing was the ticket to independence.

I hope you had a great Mother's Day.

Re: Gimme Mo, Gimme Wii

The Occasional Mocerator — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:38:37 -0000

I am a brand-new Sketchers fan. I was completely desperate for shoes to take with me to Nashville and then I found Sketchers. $100 later I was out of the store with 4 pairs of shoes that: a) didn't hurt my feet; b) had some style; and c) didn't kill my wallet.

I'm a big, big fan.