Friday, 3 October, 2003

Blogger Con: the Web Log Convention BloggerCon the Weblog convention starts today up in Boston, Well not Boston - Cambridge. Its at Harvard's Berkman Center. The link comes from Dave Winer's weblog Scripting News. Dave is the progenitor of the web content management tools Radio Userland and Manila. He was hired to a chair over at Harvard to fan the flames of the web logging world. Then, I imagine, take detailed measurements on the varying amount of steam, smoke, fire, and xenon produced and write up a study at some point. I like the Cracked Egg logo, I even like the sparking antenna signifying Rage Boy and Halley. I wish I could be there. Instead I think I'll start a rear-guard action to maintain Web Log as two separate words. ciao ._._. pb _._ Good morning sports fans and welcome to the kickoff day for BloggerCon. It's very cold, in the 30s, but the sky is clear, and they're forecasting a beautiful New England fall day, highs in the 50s. People are starting to arrive. Last night's meeting at Berkman was packed, lots of new faces and old friends. I have a lot of work to do, not the least of which involves writing at least two essays, but for me, the conference planning is over. Now it's time to do. [Scripting News] 10:01:44 AM    comment [];trackback []; Cakewalk to Frog-march. The distance between a cakewalk and a frog march is measured along a line between two non-intersecting curves. We didn't need to be at this juncture. We don't need to be investigating the White house for disclosing the identity of Intelligence agency operatives, or expending energy discussing it. The administration and its defenders would agree - and suggest we stop. That; however, is not within the ken of the press or justice department now, but belonged to the administration a few months ago. I find myself in the awkward position of, if I speak at all, voicing dissatisfaction with the administration's war, while having little against it on pure grounds. No one I note has suggested that we hand Saddam back the keys to the palace, and catch the 5:15 out of Dodge. The Bush administration ought to have proceeded with much broader, genuine, and publicly voiced international support - from peoples as well as leaders. They should have considered the role of credible threat of war, alongside the tipping to actuality of war to achieve their sufficient and necessary policy goals. They didn't. Military logic and timetables set the agenda, not diplomacy - the art of relations between states. All for many and long laid in reasons. The case of Joe Wilson and his wife will find its place at the heart of this. Enough is being said about this now, at least in the past four or five days that I don't need to say anymore. I wrote about this in passing back in August when it already seemed old news. This brings me to the small set of points I do want to make, which I believe will have increasing meaning as this continues. First is the long White House silence. It was clear from the outset that this story had some serious aspects to it. Serious enough for some official concern. There was nothing from the White house over the last few months, and the spin started two or three news cycles late as the story finally lumbered awkwardly into the headlines this weekend. Second is columnist Robert Novak's role in this. Somewhere between Joe Wilson and Novak's memories the story seems to be mutating somewhat. Consider Wilson's statement on Nightline the other night that reporters have told him that Karl Rove if not the original source was making calls the next week telling reporters that Joe Wilson's wife was fair game. Think of all that connotes. Looking at Novak's original piece and the column he wrote Monday Robert Novak: The CIA leak I get the impression of a man realizing he had a bit too much sail up and is subtly trying to take some down. Last, this was not an islolated incident. There was a point in the early to mid summer where it definitely seemed to be the White house strategy to play a calculated game of hardball. They went around trying to get people agitated because they discovered one critical reporter was -- Canadian! Please no one tell them about David (axis of evil) Frum, Peter (Stallin wasn't stalling) Jennings, or Captain James T. Kirk (aka Montreal-bill Shatner). They went after another outing out his gaynithiticy. Perhaps what they really needed was a gay-Canadian whose bona fides they could poor mouth on some self-evident level obvious only to them. The Valarie Plume affair seemed cut from that same cloth when it occurred. All these are related by their consistent MO of phone calls around the news bureaus and a desire to punish, silence, and warn. My recollection is that after a few weeks the futility of this tactic was dawning on them and it was subsequently played down. Still for the thought, and it's the thought that counts I'll share mine with them. There is nothing wrong with this crowd a Tarpian rock couldn't cure. 12:47:54 AM    comment [];trackback [];

© Copyright 2003 Paul Bushmiller. Last update: 11/07/03; 10:23:00.