Riehl World View

Why Culture11 Failed

Dan Collins links to a Washington Monthly item on the Culture11 fail - evidently it dismissively discusses Big Hollywood, as well. I'm familiar with Breitbart's BH.

I sure don't know everything out here. But I've been knocking around the Internet for too many years to count and blogging daily for five on the Right. There are few if any major memes I miss, even if I don't blog on them.

I never even heard of this Culture11 site until I read that it was gone. If someone wants to know why it failed, extrapolate that out to other bloggers and web surfers, that was it.

Having never seen it, all I can conclude is that it really must have sucked.

Step Away From The Keyboard

I hope Maguire's use of the word "train" here carries no hidden sexual intent. There are people watching for such things, obviously. Maybe Dreher was over tired having saved conservatism from Rush Limbaugh just last week?

Rod Dreher initiates a train wreck with this post that is a little bit about a ghastly home invasion and murder in a small Texas town and more about a comment made by one of the victims.

Obama: No Point Reading Blogs

Originally via Twitter. Life just isn't as simple as that.

Mr. Obama rode to the White House partly on his savvy use of new technology, and he has a staff-written blog on his presidential Web site. Even so, he said he did not find blogs to be reliable, citing the economy as one example.

“Part of the reason we don’t spend a lot of time looking at blogs,” he said, “is because if you haven’t looked at it very carefully, then you may be under the impression that somehow there’s a clean answer one way or another — well, you just nationalize all the banks, or you just leave them alone and they’ll be fine.”

Good Grief

Via Russ at Ace's to a still on going debate between Patterico and Jeff. Last I checked, Patterico is a fan of Michelle Malkin. And somewhere in all this Hot Air is drawn into the conversation to some small degree.

The Left does the same thing to Michelle all the time. It isn't right then and it isn't right when the Left does it to Limbaugh. Yet, I believe Patterico has been one of the first to come to Michelle's defense on occasion when they do it to her. Not that she needs defending.

I don't quite get the difference here. And I don't anticipate Patterico telling Michelle to mind her tongue any time soon. There seems to be two different standards in play for Patterico here.

I guess Reagan shouldn't have gone over the media's head to the people with his Evil Empire shtick either.

Jeff Goldstein: Loser

Unbelievable - 3/4 of the way across the country to blog at CPAC and complaining, while I'm in DC and don't rate an invite. Which isn't my point, really.

As far as I can tell from reading this he didn't manage to nail one be-(but otherwise un-)banged Christian co-ed on her first real trip away from home. And there were bars in the Hotel!!

Loser, indeed!

I hope he atleast tried by inviting a dozen or so up to his room to see his latest catch.

Ke-rist, Jeff, I've been doing an Ace groupie for over a year. And yes, she's female.

Search And Destroy Part 2

I read this Next Right item Instapundit just linked last night. The problem with it is it re-states the obvious, which even Patrick acknowledges, but offers nothing regarding a solution beyond a vague the Right must do more. There are some specific suggestions to be made.   

In case you've been living in a cave or something, the left has lately gotten good at campaigns to delegitimize and destroy up-and-coming Republicans long before they have a chance at running for President.

The right needs a serious investigative capacity to channel raw information in politically important directions. Op-eds and Fox hits don't add value. Raw information about Democratic hypocrisy does.

I see at least three ways in which this could start to change for the better.

One is better coordination between elements of the GOP infrastructure and the blogging Grass Roots. The GOP is better positioned to spot Democrat weaknesses and rising stars, as well as providing some background and information the Grass Roots can then run with and even improve upon.

Another way would be for some existing Right-side publications on line to re-orient themselves to some degree so as to start providing more value than the latest Bill Kristol or (insert name here) happy to tell us how much they know without adding any practical value to the game.

The third way, and my personal favorite, would be for some GOP-related dollars that go to funding their old line institutions and publications to start funding an on line zine or group blog, empowering serious and more activist efforts in this regard.

Until some of the above starts to happen, or something else different, we may as well all write our next here's what's wrong, do more of something post and date it to publish sometime next year.

Kos: Nazis Abound

Glorious. Someone at "over-rated and increasingly rudderless" (according to Time) blog DailyKos wants Michelle Malkin fired because of one image containing a swastika she took at an anti-pork rally. Link to Michelle. And of course Media Matters weighs in.

Domain specific advanced search for Nazi Mr. Google if you please? What's that? 5090 hits you say? They've called everyone from the Pope, to Rick Warren, to Hannity and Bush a Nazi in headlines at "over-rated and increasingly rudderless" (according to Time) blog DailyKos. I didn't even have to look beyond the first results page for these.

Daily Kos: Call Ratzinger Nazi
Daily Kos: Shirley Nagel: Candy Nazi and McCain
Daily Kos: Is Ratzinger still a Nazi
Daily Kos: Hannity's Neo-Nazi Buddy, FBI front?
Daily Kos: Ron Paul is a Nazi
Daily Kos: Pat Buchanan: Racist, Anti-Semite, Nazi Sympathizer
Daily Kos: Celebrating Nazi Will-To-Power, Rick Warren Insults MLK

Yeah, I'm surprised and upset. ::yawn::

Well, Duh!

From HuffPo, where they must be huffing something.

It turns out that going casual in the Oval Office is a long, time-honored tradition that pre-dates the Bush administration: Gerald Ford did it. Jimmy Carter did it. Clinton did it (a lot). See photographic evidence below.

Yeah, I think we kinda figured that out about Clinton, but thanks just the same for pointing it out.

A Note To My Morally Bankrupt Liberal Commenters

I've maintained an open blog here since its inception almost five years ago. Anyone who has read me long enough might know I am a recovering alcoholic of some 25 plus years.

The liberal commenters here intent on attacking Mr. Limbaugh for his unfortunate experience with pain medication are exposing a human soul so vile and ugly that I am close to getting beyond the point where I feel I must indulge it out of a commitment to free speech.

Let me be very clear, especially as many of you so called liberals would like to portray yourself as genuinely compassionate human beings.

You do not behave like human beings. You appear to function no better than maggots, consuming this or that piece of flesh when you can because you happen to disagree with them politically.

The times I have shared my own story here I've relayed a pivotal moment when an individual stood up and had the courage to confront me with an ugly truth. When I was deep in my cups, I was indeed acting like a disgrace to humanity. Given the forum, whether you are or are not now "in your cups," so to speak, is not really my concern.

That you insist on acting like fetid small-minded cretins who do not deserve to have your opinions aired does. Indeed, some of you here read like the disgrace to humanity I can only assume you are.

There will be no further warnings on language or offensive behavior which may soon lead to some of you being banned.

I do not want hand wringing. I am after no apologies. You are as ugly as you are troubled. I suggest you get some help. And lastly, remember that you comment here only out of my good graces. It is not a right, it is  a privilege. And I will suffer no regret at taking it away when and if in my judgment I decide to do just that.

You might consider doing yourself a favor and moving on on your own.

Phone Home Andy Sullivan

This seems like a bizarre bit of reasoning. Andrew Sullivan has discovered a "way out" for Obama regarding the Rick Warren controversy driven by the Left.

Would it not be appropriate for Obama to invite (Itzhak) Perlman's daughter and her wife to share the podium with her father? If the inaugural is to be inclusive, wouldn't it be a good gesture - and an olive branch to the gay community - to invite a lesbian married couple to the stage?

Perlman isn't performing alone, nor making a speech, so far as I can tell. Should Obama invite the families of the other three musicians? Perhaps they can all sit center stage and sort of hum along? I would call it a stretch but it's beyond that. I think it's broken.

Franklin, “The Queen of Soul,” will perform before Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s oath, and Obama’s oath will be preceded by a piece composed by John Williams for pianist Gabriela Montero, clarinetist Anthony McGill, violinist Itzhak Perlman and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who has a spot on Obama’s iPod.