The blogosphere's readers and writers have vastly differing tastes. Many of us favoring advocacy attract like-minded readers. My own blog generally fits that description, though once in a great while I get one of those really disagreeable (anonymous) comments.
As opposed to opinion, most of my readers are looking for information and find their way to my site via a search engine's link to S/SW. They probably do not initially care what I think. They might return on a regular basis to ascertain my political opinion, or they might return just to read my writing. But there are not very many of those folks, and they often drift away, just as I do with some of my favorites.
My blogfriends, just as my in-person friends, are often a bit more "out there and gutsy" than I am. On the other hand most of the friends I have had the longest are the ones with whom I feel the most kinship/like-mindedness. I found a new "little blogger," like me today, with whom I instantly felt a kinship. I happened across her blog in one of those Google searches to which I alluded earlier. Now, however her post on Ed Kilgore has disappeared when the search was redone. Go figure. Her name is Gail and she has been writing the blog Arizona Eclectic since March 2, 2007. We are both from the Southwest, we are both "of AARP" age, we both have an interest in graphics, and our blogs' illustrating images are strangely related somehow. Her 3/2/07 post, "Representatives, NOT!" is still as pertinent today as way back then. It speaks to my own post of yesterday, "Congress runs for election, too." We seem to be politically like-minded.
As many of my readers know, my like-minded blogfriend "betmo" often sends me links she already knows I will like. Here are a few of her latest links to articles on various subjects in which betmo knows I remain interested:
- Speaking of conservatives, though I cannot imagine any Democrat saying this, Media Matters had a story that betmo characterized as "ah, compassionate conservatism.
"Summary: On his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage claimed that autism is "[a] fraud, a racket. ... I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "
- I speculate that 98% of you will have a like-minded reaction to a post, from Dandelion Salad, on the threat of losing the Internet as we know it:
"ALERT: Telecom/ISP corporados are plotting to completely monetize the Internet" July 16, 2008
- Common Dreams has put out a fine newsletter for many years that betmo and I both read. She tagged one recently for me because of my goal to write more about Africa. It's title is pretty self-explanatory: "Report: US Africa Aid Is Increasingly Military."
- Activist "betmo" connected me to Al Gore's website, We Can Solve It. There all of us like-minded friends of the environment, who want to work on climate change, can join together in the effort.
- Since I am a "Space Nut," though my friend betmo may or may not be one, too, she sent me this link about NASA's discovery of the cause of the Northern Lights.
And I sometimes can find something to admire in a view different than mine. One of my co-bloggers at The Reaction, "Carl" often sees things differently than I do. A recent post of mine (quoted below) produced some comments I'm sharing:
[from the post] . . . According to Wikipedia, Democratic incumbent Senators running this year include: *Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Joe Biden of Delaware, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Tom Harkin of Iowa, *Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Carl Levin of Michigan, Max Baucus of Montana, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, and *Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Democratic incumbents should not have a free ride with us. But this view presents several big dilemmas for us as we consider our choices for congressional representation. Those include accepting the new power of the relative conservatives elected in 2006, avoiding the temptation to not vote for some Democrats in November -- or vote Republican, understanding that Democrats need healthy majorities in Congress in order to do anything meaningful, and holding up the "big tent" principles that have long been the mark of the Democratic Party. . .4 Comments:
Thanks for your question, Carl --
I will vote for any obscure Democrat running against my Texas Republican Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison's empty seat when it comes up. She is retiring to run for governor, I predict.
I think you miss the point of my post. I write as an activist who has an audience of readers around the blogosphere, as do you. Progressives like me do have a dilemma when it comes to which Democratic Senatorial candidates to root for, not which ones to vote for.
It is elemental that the states' voters will decide the election of each senator. But most of them do not live in a vacuum. I hope and believe that I have a chance to influence at least a few of them who read The Reaction. Failing that, at least I have articulated a dilemma that I believe others might share.Carl - I know you didn't miss the point of Carol Gee's post. Just playing dumb to suggest that she's guilty of something? Cheap rethugnican trick.
By
, at 12:42 PM
toosinbeyman, I must tell you that Carl is a good Democrat, as far as I know. We just happen to see what to do as writer/advocates differently. And I take no offense -- to either of your comments.
View my current slide show about the Bush years -- "Millennium" -- at the bottom of this column.
My “creativity and dreaming” post today is at Making Good Mondays.
Technorati tags: news news and politics politics blogging activism
Carol,
All due respect, but how many states are you a resident of?
Cuz last time I looked, the state elects its senators, and so shouldn't we be deferring to the Democrats in those states as to whether or not these folks deserve re-election?