Wisconsin GOP Convention 2010

As usual, I’ll be attending the GOP convention this year.  I’ll be in and out over the weekend as I also have some personal commitments to which to attend.  Also, like usual, I will not be giving play-by-play coverage on this blog.  You’ll be able to find great coverage with videos and whatnot at numerous other great sites.  I will be blogging my own insights, observations, and side-notes throughout the event.  Basically, it’s the same as it always is around here.  I’ll blog when I feel like it about things that interest me

Dear Wisconsin Politicians…

This is Jed, the non-Wisconsin half of this blog.  I don’t live in Wisconsin.  I don’t vote in Wisconsin.  For the most part, I don’t care about your candidate. 

I didn’t give you permission to add me to your distro list, much less spam the shit out of my Inbox.  Please stop sending me e-mails…  

Vielen Dank.
:zzdeadhorse:

Keith Schmitz Is Hereby Banned From B&S

Well, not the real Keith Schmitz.  Well known lefty Keith Schmitz has long been a commenter at B&S.  He’s almost always wrong, but his comments have always been welcome. 

Unfortunately, someone has been pretending to be Keith and making vile comments in an effort to assassinate Keith’s character.  I’ve been swatting them down when it’s obvious, but whoever it is uses different IP addresses and keeps finding a way through.  After emailing with Keith about the situation, I’ve decided, with Keith’s permission, to just ban the use of “Keith Schmitz” or his email address from being able to comment.  Of course, this also bans the real Keith.  Now if whoever the jerk is who keeps sockpuppeting wants to make vile comments, he or she can do it under their own name.

Friends of a Feather

I was going to write this post yesterday, but I ran out of time.  I’m glad to see that TD noticed it too. 

Read: With Friends Like This. 

I agree with TD.  I sure hope that Keith is on the “rapid response” team.  Better yet, I hope he trains the mindless minions to act like he does.

Week In Review 4/2/10

I’ll be on WPR’s Week in Review program tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM.  The liberal side of the equation is being represented by former Attorney General of Wisconsin, Peg Lautenschlager. 

Should be fun!

Only 168 Hours In a Week

This weekend has been a great one if you are a conservative who wants to commune with other conservatives in Wisconsin.  The Washington County GOP had their Pints and Politics night on Friday, which is always a fun event.  Saturday was a massive gathering at the Defending the American Dream summit in the Dells.  Today is a rally in Tosa with Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefish. 

I didn’t go to any of them. 

I used to go to all of these things.  They are fun, energizing, and offer a great opportunity to network with folks.  I didn’t attend anything this weekend and I haven’t spent much time at all attending such functions for a while now.  The reasons are many.  First, my career is demanding more of my time. The down economy added extra pressures and I’ve been working my butt off.  I travel quite a bit and work hard.  When the weekend comes, I want to relax.  Second, my kids are reaching an age where they have lives of their own in which I participate.  We have basketball games, camps, competitions, performances, etc. that take a lot of time, but I wouldn’t miss them for the world.  Third, I just don’t want to go.  I used to be hungrier and wanted to attend everything to establish connections and build the blog.  Several years ago, I abandoned such ambitions and just blog about what I want to blog about when I have the time.  This blog doesn’t feed my family or play ball with my kids.  It’s a hobby that I enjoy very much, but it has a place and time for my attention. 

I’m glad that so many other great Wisconsin bloggers attended these events and shared their commentary (except for you, Lance… get a new camera).  They almost make me feel like I was there  

One more thing… if you are in Wisconsin and don’t go outside today, you’re a fool.  It’s a gorgeous day.

Week In Review

I’ll be on WPR this morning from 0800-0900.  Tune in!

Obsession Blogs

Just a passing thought… I don’t read obsession blogs.  Not a one of them.  You know what I’m talking about - blogs that focus entirely on one subject.  There are some devoted to one politician and those devoted to one issue and those devoted to letterhead.  No, seriously.  I don’t read any of them.  Why?  They are boring.  Once you read a post or two, you know the blogger’s point and every post after that will be the same post in different words.  They are a waste of time. 

I prefer blogs that cover a variety of topics and in which you can get to know the blogger behind the screen.  I’ve always viewed blogs as a personal medium and obsession blogs, by their very nature, don’t have any personality. 

Like I said… just a passing thought.

Blogger Christmas Bash

I attended the blogger bash this evening at Papa’s.  It was great.  Relatively good people (the “relatively” is for you ), cold beer, beautiful women, fat happy men, and a grand ol’ time.  My only regrets are that my lovely wife couldn’t attend with me and that I couldn’t stay longer. 

Can’t wait until next time!

UpFront

Tomorrow morning, be sure to catch UpFront without Mike Gousha.  Patrick Paolantonio is guest hosting.  Folkbum and I discuss the governor’s race and pontificate on the future. 

And while my tie may not have matched, at least I had the dignity to wear one

On WPR

I’m on WPR this morning with Ed Garvey to talk about the year.  On the air from 7 to 8.  Tune in!

Moderating Comments

Jessica McBride has penned what I believe to be another unfortunate column that has its roots in her current personal issues.  But she addresses some things that are pertinent to this medium, so I thought I would address them. 

This is a challenge to some mainstream media organizations: Stop embracing the darkest corners of the Internet on your own sites. It denigrates you. It should make Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow cringe in their graves.

   I’m talking about the mainstream news sites (like that run by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) that allow endless, poorly moderated (if at all) comment threads on their stories, which are filled with anonymous haters uttering abusive, vile sexist (and other) slurs.

   News organizations allow outright sexist slurs, name-calling, and libelous falsehoods on their sites, but they would never allow outright racist slurs to be posted. They all ran stories about Don Imus’ disgusting sexist and racist slurs against young female basketball players, yet the postings they allow on their own sites are often just as bad. They need to own them, even if they didn’t write them. They’re giving space to them and introducing their readers to them.

I disagree.  As readers of this blog know, we do not moderate comments.  Never have.  Never will.  We have, on rare occasion, deleted comments that were threatening or possibly libelous, but in general, you can comment whatever you want.  We have had law enforcement look into our comments from time to time.  It’s all a matter of personal responsibility.  I’m responsible for what I write.  You are responsible for what you write.  If you threaten someone or commit libel in the comments of a blog, you may be held accountable for it.  Just ask James Buss.  I have always viewed our comment section as a conversation.  Some folks are jerks.  That’s life. 

The Internet is, in many ways, a sexist environment. Most of the citizen blog sites are run by older men without journalistic training or standards and, when a woman crashes into the parlor to join the political talk over the brandy, watch out – you’ll get harassed until you voluntarily leave the room. But I expect more of sites like jsonline.

   All prominent females have been a target of this Internet hate, especially when they’re pundits or just in the public eye (although it’s hard to think of many in this state). Bo Black was prominent here before the Internet; the sexist treatment she got from the mainstream media (no one writes about Don Smiley’s salary endlessly) was perhaps somewhat comparable and a precursor of what was to come.

   I debate strongly and have a sarcastic voice (I was raised with vigorous political debate over the dinner table). I am not a victim here, nor hardly alone; I am simply critiquing an Internet culture that is misogynistic. I am calling for standards. Hey, I guess it means one’s relevant.

Again, I disagree, but I will defer to the ladies.  The internet can be a rather brutal place because people tend to suspend their normal filters of decorum and write things that they would never say in public.  But I don’t think it’s particularly misogynistic.  I have been called just about every derogatory thing possible in various places, but I don’t interpret it as somehow related to my gender.  At the same time, Ann Althouse and other prominent lady bloggers appear to be taken largely on their merits - as they should be - except for the occasional troll.  McBride has taken some harsh criticism, some of it fair and some of it not, but it seems to be related more to her own behavior than to her gender.  But again, I’ll defer to our lady readers…

This part I just found funny:

I was an early champion of the citizen media. I had one of the first political blogs in this state by a woman.

   I disbanded it when I had enough. Enough of the vicious comments about my marriage, my appearance, and even my children. Enough of being called sexist slurs so vile I can’t possibly print them in a family newspaper. I was called the “c” word and people wrote that I should be “b-tch slapped.” That’s just for starters. I had enough with the libelous falsehoods that were written, without evidence, as fact.

[...]

Oh, one other thing: I might reactivate my blog soon. As anyone who knows me knows, I don’t silence easily, and certainly not through intimidation from Internet bullies.

Um, yeah, you do.  You just said that you quit your blog because of the “internet bullies.” 

Over the years, I stopped reading blogs (save for a few that are intellectual discussions). And I’ve told some public officials I know not to read them, either. It’s batting in the wind. It’s easy to mistakenly think they are representative of public opinion when they are the same 200 readers moving from blog to blog. You can’t control the dark recesses of the Internet, so don’t spend your energy trying.

I actually agree with her a bit here.  Many of the blogs out there are designed as hate blogs and should be ignored.  Some blogs are quality reads.  In general, it’s up to the reader to filter through the crap to find the stuff worthy of note.  Politicians would be fools to completely ignore the blogosphere, but they do need to put it in perspective. 

While there are too many renegade citizen blogs to corral, mainstream media outlets have a responsibility, I believe, not to allow comment threads on their sites that mimic them. I am stunned by the vile sexist slurs that I’ve seen on those comment threads this week. I wonder why sexism is tolerated by media outlets more than racism would be tolerated.

   Mainstream media: Don’t allow the standardless environment of the Web to change your own standards. If you wouldn’t print it in a newspaper, don’t print it on your newspaper’s Web site, even as a citizen comment.

I’m disturbed by her statement about corralling blogs.  It’s not a matter of whether or not it’s possible.  It shouldn’t even be considered.  Free speech and whatnot. 

But again I disagree with the overall premise.  We are each responsible for our own words and whether those words are spoken in a tavern or at a convention or on the steps of City Hall or on the internet, the principle is the same. Some folks may want to moderate comments for whatever reason and it is certainly their right to do so since it is their site, but there certainly isn’t any obligation to do so.

B&S Wins MacIver Public Investigator Prize

I’m very pleased to announce that B&S has won the MacIver Public Investigator Prize for our coverage of the West Bend School Board over the past few months.  While we did provide quite a bit of original coverage, many others did too.  People getting involved in their local governments… it’s a beautiful thing. 

New Berlin, Wisc…] Owen Robinson, co-author of the blog “Boots and Sabers,” has just been awarded a MacIver Public Investigator prize.

For his continuing coverage of the West Bend School Board, Robinson will receive a $500 cash award from the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, a Wisconsin-based free market think tank.

“Owen’s work in West Bend is exactly the kind of citizen journalism we want to encourage and recognize,” said MacIver President Brett Healy. “Not only did Owen keep his readers abreast of what others had published about the West Bend School Board’s budget deliberations, he did a lot of legwork himself an provided original content not found anywhere else.”

The Institute occasionally awards the MacIver PI prizes to writers, bloggers, and other ordinary citizens who spend their “free” time working to root out government waste or making our government more transparent. Robinson has published dozens of blog entries over the last several months regarding the West Bend School District’s budget deliberations and other activities of the West Bend School Board. He reported on their use of tax dollars to finance ‘team building’ dinners, wrote about internal disputes between board members, predicted the Board’s push for sweeping new tax hikes and filed an open records request for data to back up the School District’s claim that it “has experienced 15 years of consecutive budget reductions.”

In accepting the prize, Robinson said there is more to come.

“While I certainly did not expect any recognition or compensation for my continued coverage of the West Bend School District, between pending tax hikes and Christmas, it certainly comes in handy,” said Robinson. “I hope, in some way, this will encourage other bloggers, student journalists and everyday citizens to demand their local elected officials be held accountable. For example, I know that I will have a lot more to report, and to say, about the West Bend School District in the months ahead.”

I would note that roughly half of my prize will go to pay the 2009 increase in property taxes on my home. 

If you see other folks out there digging up the truth on their government, let the MacIver Institute know.  Perhaps they could be next.

Searching In the Wrong Place

Whoever the nine folks who googled “texas a&m big screen boob shot” and ended up here, sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for.

Eh

Well, it was bound to happen at some point.  I have absolutely zero motivation to blog.  I have things to say, but I have no inclination to share with the world. 

Ah well…