Links For The Day
A bit on the meta side this morning…
It looks like journos have been reading the progressive blogs’ archives, if this Rolling Stone article about a possible return of the draft is any proof. Still, the fact that it’s now being openly discussed as a mainstream issue shows how far things have gone.
I have draft-age sons. A forever war? Over my dead body.
The Independent has an interesting piece that attempts to justify the continued existence of a tightly-knit, class-based, paid political commentariat, which touches condescendingly in passing on the role of bloggers:
[…]
Of course, political bloggers are becoming a threat, but there will still be a place for the professionally crafted column, for the “balanced observer and explainer” (Parris). Indeed, Rees-Mogg, affectionately known by fellow journalists as “Mystic Mogg”, predicts a vast expansion in the demand for well-researched, accurate comment.While cynics might reply, well, you highly-paid columnists would say that, such forecasts are in fact very much in keeping with academic opinion on the growth of the “information society”. Research indicates that as the quantity of data, statistics and news explodes, there will be a corresponding need for “information professionals” who can find patterns, navigate and make sense of it all
And while we’re on the subject, Poputanian at Digby notes a new online enterprise by beltway types, who aim to co-opt the blogosphere for financial and political gain, a sort of safe Anti-Kos for the previously-mentioned, professional, self-promoting commentariat, if you like. The comments are the best part of the post: Paul Lukasiak takes down the organisation behind it for the snake-oil salesmen they are and another commenter discovers the etymology of the new site’s name, HotSoup ( and this is the only definition that’s worksafe)
4.hot soup
(adj) feeling superior or higher than everyone else.
After Bubba drained a 3-point jump shot, he strutted back down the court like he was hot soup.
Heh.
In more rarified fare the Voltaire Lecture for the British Humanist Association is now available online and addresses some of the most perplexing current conflicts between faith and science in terms of relativism versus scepticism. I don’t agree with all of his conclusions but it’s a lucid and readable overview of the humanist position.
