Thanks for your comment. I think I am still overly-rigid in how I see this landscape. Journalism is a mature industry, while blogging is an evolving, and disruptive one. While there is overlap, it's not good to conflate the two.

At the same time, I tend to see blogging as moving towards journalism, as it moves into more established venues. Even relative upstarts like Salon. Just my impression.

Again regarding the slippery-slope, I do think you are on it, but I'm not suggesting you are slipping down it. And I have to believe that many of those who have slipped far down the slope--if you asked them when they started slipping, and why they slipped, would not be able to give an answer.

your excellent comment using Franklin and fire departments full of pyromaniacs has an added irony in it--Franklin founded the "Union Fire Company" in 1736. It was the first volunteer fire department in the US.

To continue using your analogy, if Ben Franklin could set up a good, honest, functioning fire department in the first place, then other good leaders can ressurect them now. But we have to start picking Ben Franklins for our leaders (or as close as we can come to him...).

"Don't you want Blackwater to put out your fires?"

If my place catches fire, a VFD (much like what Franklin put together, I suppose) will come put it out. That's how it works out in the rural hinterlands. They're damn good too.

I really struggle with this format, but I've chosen to put the mouse wheel to good use and just whip through to his specific comments.

I have trouble with it also. They utilize that same format when Blue America candidates drop by for a 'conversation'. These things have all the feel of a juicy ham dropped into a pool full of hungry piranha. Or a cocktail party in which everyone is yelling at once.

But it seems to work for them. What I've done in the past is to hit control f and search for the author's (or candidates) name. It's faster than scrolling, and you are guaranteed to hit every response by the guest.

Today I'm making adobo, which I learned to love in a Pilipino café at the end of a pier in the industrial backwaters of South San Francisco Bay.

I identify, brother Bill. On friday I had the chance to resample the enchiladas de mole poblano at a real good place in San Antonio. When the black mole is good, it too tastes like it had a thousand ingredients, (and it also tastes like they took their time adding them to the pan). chocolate, sesame, roasted chiles, nuts,...

Sorry to hear about your state Democratic meeting. I don't go to that particular church, but I admire and respect your efforts to work that congregation from the inside.

I think Dick Durbin should be made majority leader. Sooner the better.

mixedcontent,

interesting idea, but would like to know more about his argument. One could easily argue, I think, that any type of government that has existed must be "natural"--that simply by existing, they meet the definition. Also maybe worth noting that style of government is not the only, or perhaps even most important, means of "organizing society".

Can't get in. That's a good thing.

Good on ya GG.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6bMDaX14PQ

"One can make a case that the civilized techniques of PO Box 1142 worked because their [Nazi] detainees also believed themselves civilized members of the Western culture."

I had no idea that there was a special election for congress rep. in Mass. Tsongas, wife of the late Paul Tsongas, won narrowly. Democratic turnout was light--apparently GOP was better at getting their people to the polls.

It is dangerous to draw too much from this vote, but one can't help looking for implications. Tsongas' opponent was a republican who ran on change in washington, amazing as that seems. He seems to have at least partially captured general public dissatisfaction with Congress and Washington culture. It seems clear that the public wants change. But it is also clear that both parties can run on that message. And if GOP can make a pretty good run at a house seat in Mass., how many other seats can they be very competitive in? And here the Democratic leadership is openly criticising their own base?

Wake up, Rahm. Wake up, Nancy.

Pelosi read a good statement from the floor this morning regarding the House FISA bill. It was a good statement, could find nothing to disagree with. It was all constitution, rule of law, and other wholesome ingredients. Was it all Kabuki?

The man from Connecticut with the largest nutmegs in the Senate.

I have not been able to follow the past few days events closely, but the little I saw of the senate hearings for Mukasey replayed last night on CSPAN indicated that he is very clearly informing the judiciary committee that the president's article II powers trump FISA, trump anything the congress might do regarding torture (slight chance of that actually happening, with this congress). While he is willing to admit that the constitution still does somewhat constrain the president, it too can be worked around by playing absurd semantic games with words such as "torture".

It seems to me that Congress is being told, fairly clearly, that the "first branch" is now a second-class arm of government. And, imo, they are buying into this concept.

Mukasey should not be confirmed.