I'm reading the book Moral Politics and it points out that one of the main reasons conservatives have had more success winning elections recently is because they financially support their voices; intellectuals, journalists, thinktanks. We liberals need to put our money where our mouths are! Contribute to your favorite blog today! Support Media Matters, for instance! I haven't visited Truth Out.org in a while, are they still here?! They need cash!

It's probably the stress from seeing the truth, but then turning on the TV and the cognitive dissonance just bleeds the soul. I called the Copy Editor of the Albuquerque Journal and asked him why they didn't report the 'news' about 100+ Iraqis being killed yesterday by "Terrorists" and U.S. Troops. He said there just isn't always room, the ads you know. So I pointed out that if they do that every day, month, year, that the news is being systematically under reported, and that's a war crime. Uh this Chris Matthews is a real piece of work. I hope he is brought to justice one of these days. He's acting all stupid about the Valerie Plame Wilson case like he wasn't involved. I've had it. But I love Keith Olberman. Hmm Bruce Willis is on Hardballs, terror on TV.

necadawg @ 4:

With as wealthy this country is.We should be able to do a universal health care. With a few abuse detterents it would work.

What Wealth?

http://www.bringhonorback.org/images/deficit.gif

The only problem I see with something like this is who gets to decide where the money goes?

Who judges who the "real" bloggers are, and who deserves money, and who doesn't?

Well my first thought after reading that is this...

To John Amato, Nicole Belle, Logan Murphy, Steve Brenen, and everyone else who contributes to C&L that I'm forgetting...

You're an amazing group of people. I hope you all are with us for a very long time but I certainly don't want to wait for any of you to die before I say how much respect I have for each of you.

While I'm still a tv news junkie who spends a fair amount of time watching MSNBC and CNN, C&L has become my favorite source for news and analysis.

C&L's contributors have made me a better person and one who is much better at making arguments with idiotic republicans in person.

I've said before and its true --> I only have time for one blog a day really but I find that C&L is all I need. If there's something else worth reading elsewhere, you guys link me up with Mike's Blog Round-Up. I'm not up on the rest of the blog scene besides having heard of a few of them. I have referred so many friends to C&L it is ridiculous.

Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't know but... who IS Nicole Belle, Steve Brenen, Logan Murphy, etc? I know who John is and have had the pleasure of one brief e-mail exchange with him. But I often wonder who these other folks are. Are all of these people exclusive to C&L or are some of these people guest blogging from other sites?

John -- I think it would be great to know something about each of them, if only to give them their due respect.

On the funding... unfortunately I think many of the people reading C&L are the victims of the Bush administration. They're the ones who have lost jobs, health care, etc. Many of them are here because they've seen first hand how what happens in Washington affects their lives. Many of them don't have the money to give. I know this to be a fact from some of the people I have pointed in C&L's direction. For some of them it is good medicine to read that there are others out there who have compassion for what they are going through. They don't get that compassion from the neocons.

I've been cut from my job three times in just under five years and it sucks. It is what got me interested in politics, wondering what is going on here? Of course then you go to a job interview and are asked why you have had so many jobs? You must not have been a good employee. It makes it hard to re-start a career.

I have yet to donate to C&L but it will be happening.

I have been crying, screaming, gnashing my teeth, and tearing my hair out about this for years. Not just having health care available, but having FUNDING available for our efforts.

I guess I'm just not important enough to pay attention to.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

This is what I posted at Suburban Guerrilla:

Your assumption that sitting at a keyboard and sharing your insights, opinions, and surfing discoveries is akin to some sort of hero status.

I was a politicial and social acttivist on the trail of the NWO decades before keyboard kommandos came into being. I’ve got a mouthful of bad teeth, I live in an RV and I am dissed by just about every yuppie “activist” I run into.

While I am in support of your passion you have to take a reality pilll…the easiest thing in the world regarding “activism” is to sit a keyboard and rant about stuff. The hardest is to get off one’s butt and take it to the source.

Only 100,000 of us nationwide marched against the war a while back, which is about one tenth of the bloggers on the web. We all know what’s wrong and what has to be done and daily doses of incremental info isn’t necessary and obviously not very effective.

Get a million activists to show up in DC demanding impeachment and not respect the “free speech” zones or get permits, or even say please…that’s activism, not web chat.

That’s my nickle.

L.A. Confidential @ 12:

Carolyn Kay @ 11:

I have been crying, screaming, gnashing my teeth, and tearing my hair out about this for years. Not just having health care available, but having FUNDING available for our efforts.

I guess I'm just not important enough to pay attention to.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

It sucks. One nasty accident or illness can send you completely over the edge financially from which you may not ever recover.

It shouldn't be that way.

as long as american tax payers are forced to pay for aircraft that costs millions of dollars apiece , as long as we have to pay millions for tanks ,billions for aircraft carriers , give israel billions every yr , act like we must police the world and go to war stealing other countrys oil , their will never be enough money for national health care, just one of the bonuses of corporations war against the people!

Fascist States of America @ 9:

Well my first thought after reading that is this...

To John Amato, Nicole Belle, Logan Murphy, Steve Brenen, and everyone else who contributes to C&L that I'm forgetting...

You're an amazing group of people. I hope you all are with us for a very long time but I certainly don't want to wait for any of you to die before I say how much respect I have for each of you.

While I'm still a tv news junkie who spends a fair amount of time watching MSNBC and CNN, C&L has become my favorite source for news and analysis.

C&L's contributors have made me a better person and one who is much better at making arguments with idiotic republicans in person.

I've said before and its true --> I only have time for one blog a day really but I find that C&L is all I need. If there's something else worth reading elsewhere, you guys link me up with Mike's Blog Round-Up. I'm not up on the rest of the blog scene besides having heard of a few of them. I have referred so many friends to C&L it is ridiculous.

Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't know but... who IS Nicole Belle, Steve Brenen, Logan Murphy, etc? I know who John is and have had the pleasure of one brief e-mail exchange with him. But I often wonder who these other folks are. Are all of these people exclusive to C&L or are some of these people guest blogging from other sites?

Speaking only for myself, I am exclusive to Crooks and Liars, though I find my posts linked throughout the internets (not always in a positive way, but I am grateful for the increased exposure for C&L). Considering how much time I spend on the site, you might be surprised to know I do have a day job--several of them, in fact, that enable me to work from my home and raise my children. I consider myself one of the extremely lucky ones that doesn't personally require the infrastructure of which we speak, but I feel that it is important that we recognize that need (one in which the GOP was several decades ahead of us) and support those that provide us the information we don't get from the traditional media.

I'm not sure what other information you require, FSoA, but if it helps you get familiar with us enough to support the site, I'll be happy to provide you more.

How about missing bloggers? Wheres Sans?
MIA since 7/23/06: http://leenrage.blogspot.com/

frank costa @ 20:

I can empathize with FSoA@9 in regards to asking who are you guys? Many of us have spent years, decades, life times as political/social activists and have never run into you guys before. Now this doesn't demean your sincerity or truth but as a good warrior it has to be asked and is rarely answered.

Our society is incredibly "hero" or "celeb" consicious and we all know with a good PR rep anyone can be someone. My frustration with c&l and some other blogs is they/you talk in a lot pop culture, beltway slang and not in more common way. The use of too many acronyms and unexplained references to things makes me feel I am in some private "club" and not at an open news source. There is a blog "lingo" that is assumed everyone speaks, yet the only place I experience it is on the blogs. When turned into an acronym, words loose their meaning and people will loose the connection.

Wow, Frank. I don't think I'm a "celeb" and I'm about as far outside the Beltway as you can get, both geographically and psychologically. As successful as C&L is, I am not interested in being anything like a public figure. I have turned down opportunities to do and support John as the name and face of C&L.

I do agree that there is a lingo that has been cultivated within the blogosphere, but it's certainly not meant to be exclusive so much as it is a shorthand developed after tens of thousands of posts. I've had to acclimate to it as much as anyone else. Some of it is intuitive (i.e. Atrios' coining of the word "blogosphere"; the use of "Tweety" to describe Chris Matthews' large-headed blondness), some of it easily Google-able (IOKIYAR, etc.) and others perhaps not so easy to come to, but there are always resources to check it out. Once a phrase or nickname takes hold within the blogosphere, it tends to make the rounds of all the blogs, as we use each other for tips, to bounce ideas off of and support with research.

As to whether you've seen me in activist circles, I don't know what you mean. My street cred is in question if I haven't been part of the peace movement for the last 7 years? 10 years? 20 years? Are you a staple in SF Bay Area protests that you would be able to recognize me from the 100s to 1000s of other participants?

I have been actively working in ways to expose media bias for several years. If you note, that's usually the framework from which I look at stories. I think that's part of the reason John Amato asked me to start contributing here, as that was also the catalyst for his blog--noting the complicity of the media in the run up to the war.

If today's politicians feel that they are too often the targets of the slings and arrows of constituents, they should be glad they didn't hold office in early-17th-century England. In that era, members of Parliament, courtiers, and even the king himself came in for abuse at the hands of anonymous commentators who expressed their sentiments in pointed, frequently rude poems known as libels.

...

"A mixture of outrage and laughter" is how Mr. Bellany describes the libelers' collective attitude.

-- http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v51/i44/44a01401.htm

The 17th century had "libelers". In the 21st we have bloggers.

And I see that as a good thing. While authorities can attempt to control what was spoken, people found new technology to circumvent those controls. What use is freedom of conscience if there's no freedom to communicate ideas? A crucible to test and hone thoughts. Or tossed aside for not being able to hold an edge when presented for review.

I'd like to think sites like C&L are a renewal of the public commons for discussion. But with that comes the tragedy of the commons. And for that I have no thoughts other than a responsibility to donate (something other than my opinion) when I can.

Would a common, non-profit group health plan for bloggers be any help?

Would add my ending question was a thought and not a rhetorical question (just finished reading all of the post from Suburban Guerrilla). Seems like a good idea to me. There's just a question of implementation and cash flow.

Nicole Belle @ 21:
I can empathize with FSoA@9 in regards to asking who are you guys? Many of us have spent years, decades, life times as political/social activists and have never run into you guys before. Now this doesn't demean your sincerity or truth but as a good warrior it has to be asked and is rarely answered.

>>Wow, Frank. I don't think I'm a "celeb">>

The difficulty I have experienced is people take what is written to the extreme and not the simple, meaning millions of people read your stuff and you are "well known" in the blogworld, not that the paparazzi wait outside your gym : )

>>I'm about as far outside the Beltway as you can get>>

Again, I was talking about c&l, and not you specifically. The majority of all the stories are some variation of what is happening in DC and the players, etc. with no mention of the realities of what is going on IE: The North American Union, highways being sold to non American interests for toll roads, etc. I don't care about one more story of Rove, or Libermann, or any of that distraction.

>> As successful as C&L is, I am not interested in being anything like a public figure. I have turned down opportunities to do and support John as the name and face of C&L.>>

That wasn't my intention. This word limitation we face should force us to both be succinct and tolerant of communication attempts. My intention was to draw some light on the fact that Americans are "celeb" worshipers, be it big fish in a small pond, or others. So who you are and what you say becomes weightier with a c&l staff position, like it or not.

>>I do agree that there is a lingo that has been cultivated within the blogosphere, but it's certainly not meant to be exclusive so much as it is a shorthand developed after tens of thousands of posts.>>

It is not about the intent of the "lingo" it is the bastardiztion of communication. We have a generation of kids that can barely spell let alone converse with any level of articulation beyond computer-ghetto talk. WTF, LOL, etc. While that can be argued is somewhat necessary in the speed of "chat-talk" it is a laziness that creeps into everyday syntax.

>>(i.e. Atrios' coining of the word "blogosphere"; the use of "Tweety" to describe Chris Matthews' large-headed blondness)>>

Case in point...there is an assumption that I or others (club members) will know what you mean. So who is Atrios and why does Chris Matthews' need a pejorative nick name? Do you get my drift? When the verbalization of nouns began years ago with:Party, Lunch, etc. I cringed with disgust to understand the bigger picture and see where it was headed. I know so many from other countries who have a beautiful command of our language, far more then the average citizen.

>>some of it easily Google-able (IOKIYAR, etc.) and others perhaps not so easy to come to, but there are always resources to check it out.>>

We shouldn't have to be looking up acronyms like it was some foreign language. The more difficult we make it the more we isolate others and the controllers love that, for separation is major importance to control. In other words, prior to the 1950s there were no sociological groupings of "teenagers." Americans were children, young adults, and adults. Now we have 30 something guys locked into an arrested adolecence, kid's believing they should be "rebellious" and all the rest of the divisionary behavior now seen as acceptable or normal.

>>Once a phrase or nickname takes hold within the blogosphere, it tends to make the rounds of all the blogs, as we use each other for tips, to bounce ideas off of and support with research.>>

Just because they say it doesn't mean you should. Using WaPo instead of the Washington Post takes away the connection to DC and it's rulers. After awhile WaPo is a meaningless four letters.

>>As to whether you've seen me in activist circles, I don't know what you mean.>>

That means in a lighter way, not as a challenge to your "street cred" which I assume is credibility in English, that people who run blogs are merely lines of computer text, not "real" and we must question who is saying what about things.

>>Are you a staple in SF Bay Area protests that you would be able to recognize me from the 100s to 1000s of other participants?>>

Why does being argumentative or confrontational seem to come so easy on these blogs?

Ironically I am a Bay Area native. I worked (another name) with KPFA radio as a reporter and documentary producer, with AIM in their Richmond house, lived a block from the Women's Building in the Mission Dist in SF, worked with LaRaza, and others and marched many dozens of times with hundreds of thousands for many causes starting with the Free Speech movement in Berkeley. So we may have crossed paths ; )

>>I have been actively working in ways to expose media bias for several years.>>

I was doing slide shows on subliminal persuasion in the 70s and singing songs about it with my band. We all have been giving as much as we can for our levels of being awake I believe.

>>If you note, that's usually the framework from which I look at stories.>>

I enjoy your work and have even posted directly to you before once on your comment about Fred Thompson's "younger" woman.

>>I think that's part of the reason John Amato asked me to start contributing here>>

Smart move on his part.

We are on the same team Nicole, just different positons. Keep up the good work. (Three jobs?, wow.)

It's unfortunate that someone like Perez Hilton can make so much money posting photos he didn't take and scribbling stupid things on them and people who spend time helping us clarify our thoughts and our beliefs can barely make it. It shows where our true priorities are, sadly.

As a democrat who is outraged and wanting so much to make a difference, I wish there was something I could do. I give to NPR, local politicians and charities. I post comments here and there and often think of blogging myself, knowing that there is no way to make a living doing so.

If there was only a way to organize to share costs of healthcare, bandwith and information, a central place for those who want to help have a means to donate items, money etc. There are many liberal businesses who can sponsor bloggers, advertisers that are not entirely evil. Is there an issue with liberals and capitalizing on a market to make a living? Is there some way to find out how conservative bloggers manage and use them as a model?

Nicole- I do enjoy reading the blogs and while very informative-we should not make this just about Steve-it should be about us all. Health Insurance does not always mean Health Care. I know this from personal experience-having the best coverage still did not get my son early treatment before his disease disabled him nor can I get the time back spent fighting them-time needed for him during his very long and painful illness. Setting up another group of insured's for the Insurance Industry to bleed dry of monies while denying claims is not the answer. We should be doing as Frank states, organizing and taking it to the streets. Demanding Universal Health Care among other needed changes. I do think we liberals are too dis-jointed and that is exactly how the conservatives want to keep us. All that said where do I send my check lol. seriously had a nightmare experience and prefer not to donate on line but will mail a check snail mail.

frank costa speaks well on this... and I think it's worth considering that as political bloggers without insurance, perhaps a fight for nationalized insurance that would cover the nation is both giving and self-serving in the best, most personal, way.

of course, one irony here is when people compare the left to the right... um... yeah the right supports their voices with money because those voices support the money... when we do that suddenly the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party turns out to be "Libertarian Democratic". suuurprise. but not.

If the satisfaction of doing the task isn't sufficient then you're probably not cut out for volunteer work: the problem with volunteer work is that the wages are awful. If you can't make a living doing something you've probably got the wrong business model, you're doing something that people don't value (monetarily anyway) or you haven't got the lucky break yet (e.g., aspiring actors waiting tables; writers, comedians, musicians with day jobs, etc.). Trying to pass it off as somebody else's fault seems a bit self-absorbed. Molly Ivins and many others were able to fight the good fight while keeping themselves fed.

There seem to be a some bloggers out there who are legends in their own mind; the title of the article conjures up visions of bloggers as an endangered species. Anyone can create a blog just as anyone can climb up on a soap box in the public square and start preaching or pontificating on whatever suits their fancy---with a hat on the ground they might even get enough handouts to buy dinner. Not a great nor particularly noble way of making a living. And while blogging like other computer technologies is touted as a "new thing" (e.g., instant messaging) it's actually been around for decades; the more recent attainment of a critical-mass of computers and internet connections has allowed it to reach a broader audience.

Blogging, e-zines, online videos, etc., will no doubt help break the MSM's stranglehold on information, though the media game will likely just shift around: rather than buying off columnists, the corporations, party's and government will start buying off bloggers (if they haven't already).

frank costa @ 36:

If you look closely at the Roman numerals it was made in 1954. Which of course is post-1950
: )

All I can add is 23 Skidoo! ^_^