Biggest Story of 2009: The Rise of the Virtual Newsroom
The single most important news event of 2009 was the BTN 16 emergence of The Virtual Newsroom. A newsroom run by a virtual army of conservative journalists famous and unknown, their individual and collective impact multiplied exponentially by millions of Internet users, radio listeners, readers and television viewers.
How did this happen? How does it work in practice?
First, perspective is needed here. Like other big news events, it didn't happen overnight. There is history, lots of it.
Charles Johnson Parts Ways With Reality
UPDATE 9:15 a.m.: Cops have shot and killed Maurice Clemmons, so I must catch up with that breaking story. However, I would be remiss if I did failed to note this by Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch:
It is interesting that Johnson's hate list appeared just hours after I spoke at length with a New York Times reporter -- excited by his move leftward, they're doing a big story on Johnson. Coincidence? Of course!
OK, so now it was time to check the blog fodder motherlode, Memeorandum and . . . whoa!
Little Green Footballs
Why I Parted Ways With The Right1. Support for fascists, both in America (see: Pat Buchanan, Robert Stacy McCain, etc.) and in Europe (see: Vlaams Belang, BNP, SIOE, Pat Buchanan, etc.) — 2. Support for bigotry, hatred, and white supremacism (see: Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Robert Stacy McCain, Lew Rockwell, etc.)
Giving us a glimpse at the bats that occupy his belfry, CJ randomly lumps in anti-war critics of the Bush administration -- Pat Buchanan and Lew Rockwell -- with Ann Coulter, et al. The nonsensical nature of his categorizations is exposed as he continues down his list of "reasons" for denouncing the Right:
4. Support for anti-science bad craziness (see: creationism, climate change denialism, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, James Inhofe, etc.) . . .
6. Support for anti-government lunacy (see: tea parties, militias, Fox News, Glenn Beck, etc.)
7. Support for conspiracy theories and hate speech (see: Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Birthers, creationists, climate deniers, etc.)
Wait a minute: Alex Jones? The 9/11 Truther guy? Is there any conservative blogger who hasn't taken a swipe at that particular punching bag? And how does Limbaugh merit inclusion in the same category? But never mind that -- "climate deniers"? After the CRU revelations, isn't that pretty much everybody?
Little Green Footballs: Charles Johnson Jekyll and Hyde
No, it's not original as should be expected; he hates conservatives because they are fascists, racist bigots, global warming flat-earthers, anti-islamists, among others. He comes to these labels via logic and debate that wouldn't pass in a 2nd grade debate, ie. conservatives are these things simply because they disagree with him.
Storyteller: Another Name for Liar
7 stories Barack Obama doesn’t want told - John F. Harris - POLITICO.com
I like this one:
He’s a pushover
If you are going to be known as a fighter, you might as well reap the benefits. But some of the same insider circles that are starting to view Obama as a bully are also starting to whisper that he’s a patsy.
It seems a bit contradictory, to be sure.
It’s not contradictory at all. It used to be said of the Germans that they were either at your feet or at your throat. That’s Obama to a tee ...
Far Left Uses Sleight of Hand to Hide Health Care Bill Costs
The Congressional Democrats have been very insidious in their presentation of the latest health care “reform” bill. By playing a shell game with the numbers, they are able to project the costs as much lower than they will actually be. By their estimates, the combined House and Senate bills would come in at around $1 trillion over the next decade.
What tricks are they using? Well by requiring individuals and employers to purchase health insurance, much of the legislation’s cost is dumped onto the private sector. In other words, the bills treat this cost as neither a tax, nor an expenditure, thereby hiding about 60% of the costs. The CBO did not do this to the Clinton bill in the ‘90s. As Michael Cannon, from the Cato Institute says, by correcting for this, the bill actually comes in at $2.5 trillion.
Other tricks used by the Congressional Democrats are making the bills so large and containing thousands of pages, thereby making it much easier to hide things that they don’t want the public to see ...
The Communists backdoor into America
Babalu Blog says it is HEALTHCARE, I could not agree more. This is all about CONTROLLING the people!
Since the majority party is determined to shove a public healthcare system down our unwilling throats, I thought it would be a good time to revisit Cuba’s extolled healthcare system. The system that is the likely inspiration for certain members of congress support for a “single payer” healthcare system, which in truth, is the gateway to a future Socialist State of Amerika.
Obama Spokesman Robert Gibbs Say’s “There’s No Real Scientific Basis” Refuting Global Warming
“There is no real scientific basis” refuting global warming … Oh really?
Proponents of man made global warming have destroyed evidence, made ‘adjustments’ to data to achieve the desired outcome (on more than one occasion) and measure ice cores in the arctic using Home Depot tape measure (no offense to Home Depot, they make great tape measures).
Who are the deniers now?
Before America borrows and spends billions if not trillions more on climate change, one would think we would want to make absolutely sure there is not fraud being perpetrated. After all we are spending the money of future generations.
What I also find surprising about Gibbs statement is that it shows complete deafness to criticisms of this administration’s own credibility. After promising that the stimulus would keep unemployment at 8%, the administration’s word is on shaky grounds with the American people. How will it look if this administration throws away billions on Cap and Trade only to find out that climate change was a fraud.
Clarification on Climategate
If you want to follow this stuff on the cutting edge, the site to visit is ClimateAudit, which is run by Steve McIntyre, the intrepid outsider who caught Mann with his pants down on the "hockey stick" graph. (Actually ClimateAudit is overwhelmed right now with new visitors because of Climategate, and so McIntyre is placing his new posts at a mirror site, here.)
The problem with McIntyre is that he shares Ludwig von Mises' expectations on the knowledge of the reader. Just as Mises would make one-off comments about Bohm-Bawerk's capital theory or the Weber-Fechner physiological law, so too does McIntyre assume all of his thousands of readers are totally familiar with the history of climate science and just want McIntyre to give them the actual freaking computer code to replicate Jones graph from 1999. (!!)
So anyway, that's why you have me here. Lately my purpose has not been to invent new material but to translate the work of other giants into a version that you, the unwashed masses, can understand...
