These Are the Times That Try Men’s Blogging Souls
by Chuck DeVoreTHESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
– Thomas Paine, The Crisis, December 23, 1776
For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
– Esther 4:14
These are interesting times. Under President Obama and the most liberal Congress since 1965, the United States government is expected to borrow a trillion dollars per year for the next decade while the size and power of our federal government will grow at the expense of our liberties.
In this environment, Democrats in Congress are working on a bill to give President Obama emergency control of the Internet (S.773) which would permit the President to seize control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency. Meanwhile, the President has appointed Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law professor, to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Prof. Sunstein support controls on free speech on the Internet. He views the Web as a Wild Wild West that needs taming and wants new laws to corral wayward bloggers. His book, Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness (not to be confused with Noodge) urges employing the force of government to make us all better persons (“New Soviet Man” anyone?). In his latest work, On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done, the Harvard professor, now top Information apparatchik, worries about “…institutions (being) harmed by the rapid spread of damaging falsehoods via the Internet.”
Of course, one man’s “falsehoods” might be another man’s facts. Czar Sunstein’s extreme concern likely grows out of his acute understanding that our postmodern President simply speaks reality into existence; words are reality in the Obama White House.
Into this breach come the bloggers. There are about 120 million blogs today. Many of them are political, most are not.
America’s political bloggers trace their heritage, their place in the body politic, to the Colonial era. Most of today’s political bloggers would have been quite comfortable defying the British Stamp Act of 1765, were they around 244 years ago. The Stamp Act was designed to impose government content control on the then 23 newspapers which served about two million Colonialists. Not one Colonial newspaper bought the properly stamped paper. In fact, the political content of the papers increased, to the alarm of the British authorities. On the eve of the Revolution, there were 31 papers in the Colonies, by the time of the Constitution’s ratification, there were 92, and by 1835, there were 1,200 newspapers serving 15 million Americans.
Political bloggers became a force to be reckoned with in 2002 with Sen. Trent Lott’s comments on Sen. Strom Thurmond and again in 2004, when Little Green Footballs took down Dan Rather and Mary Mapes (ironically, Mapes writes for the Huffington Post now) over CBS’ airing of forged Air National Guard documents purporting to show that President George W. Bush avoided service in Vietnam.
With many blogs attracting more readers than daily newspapers while newspaper circulation plummets and experienced journalists are being laid off, we can see why Professor Czar Sunstein is worried – no longer do like-minded liberals in the major media have a lock on what passes for truth in the news. (This brings to mind the cynical critique of the former Soviet Union’s main papers, Tass (News) and Pravda (Truth) “Ni pravda Tass. Ni tass Pravda.” “There is no truth in Tass and there is no news in Pravda.”)
There’s a certain urgency in today’s blogosphere – an understanding that we are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history. Conservative bloggers, mostly unpaid – concerned moms, talented lawyers, activist students – are acting as a potent counterforce against the attempted rapid remaking of America under Pres. Obama’s direction. As such, today’s bloggers are the most visible manifestation of the Conservative Movement. And this, as the Republican Party largely tracks aimlessly in opposition to President Obama, but without any apparent objective, other than to regain power for power’s sake in numb repetition of the errors of 2006 and 2008.
Were Thomas Paine and Alexander Hamilton (Publius) around today, they would surely be blogging right alongside the likes of the paid and unpaid authors of NRO’s The Corner, Michelle Malkin, RedState, Hot Air, Big Government, Big Hollywood, Flopping Aces, Infidels are Cool, Riehl World View, Red County, Ace of Spades HQ, Flashreport, Right Wing News, and many others.
Let the blogs bloom, for they have come for such a time as this.
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37 Comments
Great Title headline. Great article.
"Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less."
~ Robert E. Lee ~
Your article states:
"There’s a certain urgency in today’s blogosphere – an understanding that we are at a critical juncture in our nation’s history. Conservative bloggers, mostly unpaid – concerned moms, talented lawyers, activist students – are acting as a potent counterforce against the attempted rapid remaking of America under Pres. Obama’s direction. As such, today’s bloggers are the most visible manifestation of the Conservative Movement."
Quite frankly, I am one person who spends too much time here,(fortunately, I have the luxury of time) and am passionate about this cause. For free. Unpaid. I couldn't comprehend taking money to do this. That would make me fall into Congressman Alan Graysons second definition of a K Street whore. There are some thing money caint buy. My opinions, and my freedom aren't for sale………
Cowboy,
~ Robert E. Lee ~ was a "southern white devil" fighting to keep the black man down and you sir are a racist for even posting his filthy name here.
Signed,
Mark Lloyd
Federal Communications Commission Associate General Counsel/Chief Diversity Officer.
All Hail Obama, praise be His name.
Not Over.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by greychampion, Juli . Juli said: These Are the Times That Try Men’s Blogging Souls http://is.gd/4I9C3 [...]
With all due respect, I disagree.
If you know any history, then you would know different.
As to your comment about me being a racist, I'd have to respectfully disagree, and I don't beat my wife and kids anymore either………
In keeping with Muslim tradition, and recognizing his receipt of the Nobel prize, your signature should read
"All Hail Obama, Peace Be Upon Him." Could be shortened to PBUH.
I understand that Rocco Landesman's analysis of Obama's writings derives from a belief in power flowing from the barrel of a gun (hence St. John, St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Teresa de Avila and so on don't get a look in). Given the Riefenstahlization of both the "artistic community" and lamestream media, I offer the following: in 1940 after the fall of France, Herr Hitler was labelled "Der Größter Feldherr aller Zeiten" by the sycophant Keitel; it means, "the greatest military commander of all time". It didn't take long (i.e. Stalingrad) for this title to appear in ironic acronymic form as "Gröfaz".
Someone make an acronym from "the most powerful writer since Julius Caesar" (Landesman's words). BTW, I thought someone else wrote Obama's books…
The bloggers out there on both sides of the spectrum scare the hell out of politicians. Probably more so than talk radio does. Bloggers can be much more passionate with words as well as having their words stick around for quite awhile unlike in talk radio where you ultimately end up with just sound bites after the show is over. Bloggers can get into much more detail as well and that detail is what scares the politicians.
Obama would like nothing more than to control the blogosphere if he could only find a viable method to do it. Leftist blogs can turn on him at a moments notice if he does something they don't like. The Right-wing blogs are already against him. If he could only control what is being said and have it all be one big love-fest about him…
…And that's precisely why I think "like minded" folk need to practice use of alternative ways of communication like the old land line phones of yester-year to keep in touch once in a while just in case the internet gets yanked out from under us ~ so we still know how to keep each other up-to-date. Just sayin'….
Cowboy, I believe 1GooDDaDDy was pointing out what Mark Lloyd said.
The leftists politicians are going to try and shut up dissenters. You know it coming. But by its very nature, the Internet is an unwieldy beast that is hard to control. They have their work cut out for them.
Even the thugs in Iran had a hard time suppressing news leaks about the post election protests. We have to remember that when they try it here, we have to fight it viciously! This electronic highway is the only tool left for free people to communicate with one another. People who wish to suppress free speech like Pelosi, Obama, Reid and others, would shut it down this very second if they could.
People who lie and cheat to get what they want MUST control information in order to survive politically. We can't let them have this medium now or ever.
All Hail Obama, praise be His name = /sarc tag
With something like that so over the top, I didn't think a /sarc tag was necessary, sorry.
Not Over.
Well call me a racist or any other thing but you need to see your liberties are being taken away one at a time and soon you will have the “brown shirts” every time you mention you disagree with the people in power. SEE THE LIGHT FOLKS YOU ARE LOOSING YOUR FREEDOMS AND YOU NEED TO STOP IT. How you ask, do as they do…..DIVIDE AND CONCURE, remove some of them from office make sure you put the right people in there if not have a special election and remove them and put some else there. Then you will control the president instead of him controlling you, and then they can’t take your freedoms from you.
Bill Ayers?! Those silly little goofs went and gave credit to the wrong sicko socialist. Then again, sicko socialism is all about giving credit where none is deserved.
That whole not getting paid thing defies all socialist logic. Why would anyone do something the government doesn't tell them to, especially with no special 'perks'. These are the people that profess altruism, but demand undeserved payment.
Retard…
Really, the whole lot of you. Just completely daft… Obama could fix the health care system and reverse the national debt, and y'all would still beating your bibles, yelping for his impeachment, because he's a black liberal. Grow the fuck up; this is the best president in the most important of this nation's history.
If you work against Obama, you hate America, plain and simple.
Now shut your fucking fox news factoid spurting throatholes. And in conclusion: y'all are retarded.
Should things become so dire, we will find ways of communicating. Passionate dissenters have always found a way to communicate, even under the most primative circumstances.
obama fix health care? …reverse the national debt?
He can't and he won't. It ain't in his genetic make-up.
And some little pimply-faced kid typing in his parent's basement and disparaging red necks is not going to change that.
Harlan – anotherstupidredneck is just parodying your typical lobotomized leftie.
"Obama could fix the health care system and reverse the national debt"
Really? There is no indication that Beloved Leader could run a lemonade stand without passing legislation to force you to buy his substandard product.
"this is the best president in the most important of this nation's history. "
in the most important what of this nation's history?
"If you work against Obama, you hate America, plain and simple."
Working against Beloved Leader's plans isn't hate against America, or even Beloved Leader. It's the duty of EVERY American to defend her against enemies foreign or domestic. (Guess which your guy is)
All of the ugly truth about Sunstein (what's reported here and more) (though I'm sure it's not "all" of the ugly truth about Sunstein, in total) was shared by me and a few other lone bloggers before Sunstein was appointed — not even so much as a bump in Congress, no protests, nothing.
He is an exceptionally aberrated mind. I do not care if Harvard U. thinks well enough of his lack of stability to allow him to instruct law students there — it just speaks very, very badly of Harvard — but Sunstein is not a well person.
His ideas and goals and attitudes are entirely, absolutely counter to reason. I would not so much as trust the guy with an internet connection, much less regulatory power over the internet.
Typical liberal response, sadly. No facts. No reasoned reply. Just spewing hate and calling names. It's really very sad.
You must be what all of thirteen since I'm sure you don't have a mind of your own, and think for yourself. You are just ranting all the dribble that the Left has been putting out, you must love Bill Ares and is booming and killings. The American way is for debate and conversation not calling names and not having any facts to support your ranting.
Fact: there are more people that are not collecting unemployment than are listed because they ran out of benefits, the stimulus has not worked because a lot of the money has gone into pockets of people that already have jobs, and the cash for clunkers cost the American people more then $24,000. per car, and health care is going to raise taxes for everyone and only those who are on well-fare and living on the government will get it free.
I say drug test everyone on well-fare, and government hand outs and if they test positive then remove them from receiving any benefits, or let the liberals support them I don’t want to.
This is a great post!!! 1200 blogs is phenomenal and impressive. I'm starting my own shortly so make it 1201.
And yes, whatever we must do to keep this "Freedom Information Highway" open is critical and must be protected at all costs.
Sunstein is an individual with some serious problems. Then again, I think anyone remotely associated w/this administration has some serious mental challenges.
The strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire
Chuck, great post, good luck on the road! Gotta start with Boxer!
The strongest steel is forged in the hottest fire.
Bye Bye Boxer…
Californian's are supporting Chuck DeVore in 2010!
I agree with you. Pitiful. I, for one, am proud to live in "Redneck Flyover Country"!
ASSEMBLYMAN ChuckD –
EXACTLY
Rave on, John Donne… This war is wanting won !
You hit a home run with this one. I liked your parallel with the book of Esther. I hope NY District 23 sends a real message to the Republican Establishment.
What is tea bagger logic? It seems that everyone but the tea baggers are allowed to answer that question. But as far as I am concerned, I am a concerned citizen, and I have the absolute right to express my God Given rights, to hold all of you elected leaders accountable to us. Your rights stem from the people. We have the absolute right to demand that you be answerable to us. That is our unalienable right. For example, It can be said that the president has presidential privilege. What we must all remember and never forget, is that this privilege is given to the president, from We the People,that privilige belongs to We the People. That power belongs to we the People. Simply put, we are the boss.
Like it or not, we demand that you be answerable to us. We want to know the true burden of debt that is being placed upon the backs of We the People. This is not a debate. We demand to know what is happening to our money, and the effect your policies are having upon the lives of all of us. We simply demand a transparent and honest accounting of the governance of all of you who are in elective office. Do not marginalize us. Do not make fun of us. For We are the People. We have the abosulte right to make you answerable to us, and to rightly protest if we feel that our rights and liberties are being threatened, and our concerns go unanswered. In other words, We are the People, and we will not be made stupid by false twitterings, snide innuendos, nazified remarks made by some democratic shill, failing to answer questions while trying to marginalize us as if We the People, were somehouw the enemy. How very ugly. How very arrogant. How very insulting. By the powers of the constitution, all of you elected leaders are directly answerable to us.
So we already have the absolute right to protest, to confront, and fairly demand that our concerns as Americans be addressed. Simply put, Its the money stupid. And lots of it. What in the name of God is being done with it? What exactly are we paying for? And most importanly, not when will it end, but how all of this vast burden of debt is to be paid for.
Nowhere does the constitution grant to the government the absolute power to place upon We the People, the continuing burden of unstainable debt. This very debt is already becoming an ever increasing burden upon those who inherint this Country for us, and this will happen for many generations to come.
Its a very simple demand, not a question, but a demand: SHOW ME THE MONEY. WHO GET ITS, WHO HAS IT, WHERE IT WENT, WHAT IT PAID FOR. We have the absolute to an open and TRANSPARENT accounting of every penny of this money, and honestly have answered to us is this has been a good deal for “We the People.” We the People get to pay for your terrible mistakes. My God! What arrogance. Does the constitution really allow for this to have happened? We think not. No one, no government has the right to encumber We the People, to this extent and in this way.
Now, getting down off my stump, I don’t know if this is tea bagger logic or not. But tea bagger or not, I believe that many, many, people belive that there is something very wrong going on. This is not a conspiracy theory. All that money, and our government will not let you know where it went, or where it is going. Massive transfers of wealth paid for by the American People, and we demand to know where it is going. Again, this is not a debate. This is a demand that you must answer. We are paying attention. Do not be dismissive of our concerns. Just in case, We are not here to to titillate anyone. Lets not be distracted. Its all about the money.
Obama could fix the health care system and reverse the national debt, and y'all would still beating your bibles, yelping for his impeachment, because he's a black liberal.
More like we could praise Obama if he did something we actually agreed with and you'd still be pulling the race card for not going along with everything the does.
Grow the fuck up; this is the best president in the most important of this nation's history.
You know you guys keep whingeing about "he's only been in office x months" and then you pull this crap. Make up your minds.
Chuck could we prevail upon you to write a ballot proposition to repeal AB 32?
We need someone with your legislative experience. From what I understand the bill is intertwined with other noxious legislation making it a bigger trick then just saying “AB 32 is hearby repealed”. Just give us the language, perhaps in a post on Chuck Devore dot com. Get us a draft, and we’ll do the rest.
I know Dan Logue worked on a bill to do the job, but that’s a pipe dream with people like Tom Ammiano in the assembly to block it. We have to go around the gridlock and even Arnold’s desk.
As you can see I believe in putting the pressure on Boxer where she can’t do anything about it. Let her worry over her flank here in Cali, while she is carrying the water for Al Gore’s bank account in Washington.
Right now she’s busy selling the federal AB 32 as a jobs bill. What a joke. Just look what Al Gores’ phantasm has done for California’s job picture.
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