Tag: Bloggers

A Christmas Note

The year is quickly coming to an end and there are a few things I would like to say….one….it has been a great year for Info Ink…….we have found many new friends and readers and hopefully that will continue in the coming year….

I would like to send a heart filled thank you to all those that have come to learn and debate…..I would also like to send a special thanx to my most prolific commenters and readers…….Terrant of  “My Corner To Vent” and Quin of  “Quintessential Havoc” (please visit these two sites for they are thoughtful and informative….the blogroll will get you there)…….I sincerely hope that their time here was equally enjoyable and that I will see them in the coming year.

I would like to remind my readers the the nominees for the Assie Award for the best 2009 anal-ocity are posted and would appreciate taking the time to vote for the most anal statement of the year….

I hope that everyone will enjoy all the fun, food and family of the day and the season…..

On this special day I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and hope that all the joy of the season will be yours….for me?…yet another day of ZEN and lots of food…..Thanx for everything…you guys are the best….

Obama Calls On Bloggers

The president is calling on bloggers to help keep the health care issue on the minds of Americans.

As reported by Sam Stein in the Huffington Post:

“It is important just to keep the pressure on members of Congress because what happens is there is a default position of inertia here in Washington,” the president said during an invitation-only conference call. “And pushing against that, making sure that people feel that the desperation that ordinary families are feeling all across the country, every single day, when they are worrying about whether they can pay their premiums or not… People have to feel that in a visceral way. And you guys can help deliver that better than just about anybody.”

In a roughly 25-minute session with a handful of prominent progressive bloggers, the president also asked for help combating disinformation about his health care plan.

“I know the blogs are best at debunking myths that can slip through a lot of the traditional media outlets,” he said. “And that is why you are going to play such an important role in our success in the weeks to come.”

This is a great idea from a Prez with a wealth of great ideas…..but there is a problem, IMO.  Bloggers like myself and many others have been doing just what the president is asking bloggers to do.  But we are not cheerleaders, while we do make sure that the “whole” story on the issue is examined….but what Obama is doing is asking his bloggers the cheerleader like Daily Kos and reporters with their little blogs.

Sad part is that many bloggers have been doing this type of thing since the beginning of Obama’s rise to power, but since they are not in the right “corner” they are ignored.  While I think that his attempt should be applauded…he should expand his field of bloggers to include those that may not be on the “A” list……for they have been pointing out the BS for a lot longer than some of the mainstream bloggers.

Why Does Sen. John Kerry Hate Bloggers?

Good question and why do I ask it?  He recently called us bloggers as,  “a crass crowd of brash, disrespectful online journalists attracting millions of readers.”  Now my feelings are hurt….that is sarcasm, in case you may have missed it.

He, Kerry, is basically concerned with the state of newspapers in this country.  Why, you ask?  First he use to deliver a now defunct paper, the Washington Star, but beyond that he is the head of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet (SCSOCTATI).

Kerry recently held hearings for SCSOCTATI and the LA Times has an excellent piece on how the hearings went.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah time we examine the future of journalism in the digital Information Age blah blah and what it means to our Republic and to our democracy.Blah blah blah blah blah newspapers blah entertained us; they enraged us, but always, they have informed us.

Blah blah blah to keep the Boston Globe from closing. Blah blah The New York Times bought the Boston Globe for $1.1 billion in 1993, but the value of all Times stock is less than $800 million now. Blah blah blah whistling past the graveyard blah blah the path that lies ahead for news delivery, and how during a time of great creative destruction within the market for news delivery we might preserve the core societal function that is served by an independent and diverse news media.

Now that was a snooze and a yawn.

Kerry’s disdain for bloggers comes from his presidential bid of five years ago.  During his campaign he was attacked by friends and foes alike and he seems to want to blame bloggers for his loss.  I did not realize that we had that much power.  Cool!

But what he seems to miss is that bloggers are not constrained by corporate BS…..we do not have to fall pray to the sensationalism that invades the MSM…..the starlet nudity, the virus that infected about 15 people a state or extra marital exploits of  Washington wannabes.  Bloggers are opinion writers, like them or not, agree with them or not, makes no difference, they are at lest honesty in their writings and do not have to watch what they say.  MSM is nothing but the purveyor of gossip and sensationalism and misinformation in some cases.

Kerry has said that there are 70,000,000 bloggers…..a bit of a stretch by anyone’s imagination.  Bloggers and the internet is killing the daily paper…..yeah right….Aunt Franny’s blog on quliting is the culprit, she is destroying everything the dailys have worked for years.  (sarcasm)

Funny that the a/holes in Washington are blaming everybody but the corporations that own the papers.  Once they buy a paper they commence to downsize to make it profitable and that is what is killing the dailys…not the bloggers or the internet.  Corporations do not care about the reporting part of the paper, their concern is the bottom line.

I am pretty tired of the do nothings in Washington blaming everybody but themselves when things go in the crapper. Bloggers are not to blame and the internet is not to blame. So to Kerry and the like I say “BITE ME” try fixing the blame where blame belongs….corporate greed and mismanagement.

Info Ink’s Top Posts Of 2008

All in all it has been a particularly great year for Info Ink.  Readership has steadily gone up until mid-December when the reads went down, but that was expected because of the holiday season.  I wish to thank all my readers and commenters for help make Info Ink a success.  Hope to see you guys in the coming year.

These were the top hits on Info Ink

1–Post on the American Axel strike got a total of over 2000 hits.

2–Next was “What the Bailout Means” with a total of  566 hits

3–The next one was a post about the fighting for the delegates from Michigan entitled, “Is The Michigan Question Settled?” with 558 hits.

4–This one surprised the hell outta me, “Watermelon makes You Horny” with a total of 522 hits.

5–And lastly, the post about “Palin’s Alaskan Rape Kit Policy” received 460 hits.

That is my five most popular destinations for my readers.  I am looking forward to the posts for 2009 and hope they are as popular as those of 2008.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my visitors a very Happy New Years–enjoy the fun, family and football and I will see all on the 2nd.  Peace.  Out.

I Am Weary: Info Ink Op-Ed

Yes, I said weary!  The economy is in a tailspin with the ground rushing up to meet it quickly.  And yet the media has all these partisan surrogates on to talk the talking points.  It is nothing short of political bullshit.  They, regardless of which camp is speaking, is blaming the other.  Repubs say that Wall Street reform was brought to the Congress for 8 years and not one Dem was signed on.  Dems say that it is the disastrous policies of the Repubs that have lead to this crash.

So who do you believe?  A suggestion–NEITHER.  Only when they start talking specifics and stop the obfuscation of the issue will the “real” story be known.  Maybe the media should ask “real” economists what caused the burn and how to fix it.  These people the media are interviewing, the surrogates, get a cheat sheet on the talking points and that is what you get.  Not the “whole” truth, not necessarily a lie and not clarity just what each camp wants the media to hear and report.

Yes, the media is playing a large roll in this election.  They, journalists, are unhappy with bloggers, why?  Bloggers are not controlled by some media corporation and most likely are telling the truth, whereas the media is allowing the camps to dictate the message to the voter.

So yes, I am VERY weary of the media and their complacency in the obfuscation of the issues, especially the economic crash and burn we are experiencing right now.

What Have You Learned Politically?

In the last week in politics, what have you learned about the issues facing the country? MSM has done an excellent job keeping “real” issues out of the stories they are reporting.

Let us see now:

You have learned that McCain had a skin cancer thing and the he thinks Obama is vacuous. Obama does not look like other presidents and that he is black and he had a birthday. McCain has changed his campaign slogan to “Country First” and he wears $500 shoes.

If one is truly watching the news for their info then you have learned that the MSM is a bunch of douche bags, that focus on gossip and fluff instead of real political info,

I realize that “professional” journalist, that is an oxymoron, by the way, dislike bloggers; they call them the “Cheet-oh Brigade”. Because they are defined as a group sitting around in their underwear in the Mother’s basement, eating Cheet-ohs and typing. Jealousy does not become them. What they are really angered at is that bloggers may say and analyze in whatever form they choose. While the “Pros” are told by their corporate masters who, what, when and where. Commentators show the same arrogance of our congressional people and in some cases they are one in the same.

I guess I could have made this a shorter piece by simply saying, Hey MSM–Bite Me!

Why Do They Hate?

NO not Clinton or Obama or McCain or Dems or Repubs, what I am talking about is the hatred that “journalist” have for bloggers. Those who consider themselves “journalist” have this burning disdain, yes hatred, for bloggers, especially successful bloggers. IMO, journalist seem to have this idea that the blogger is somehow stealing their thunder. That is a very good possibility! But why is this?

Journalist have this undeniable arrogance that since they went to college that they somehow have this corner on the truth and that few others opinions have little merit, if any at all. But the simple truth is that some bloggers are a bit sharper and more open than some journalists. Especially those peope who have worked at the grassroots level and that these people have a better grasp of the actual reality of a campaign and avoid the entrapments of the corporate media.

There is another problem–the average American reader has an attention span of about 500 words–anything beyond that and their eyes glaze over and they are lost. Most journalist attempt to impress the reader with massive amounts of stats and history and that they, the journalist, have this command of the English language. They use words like misogyny–now you go to a local pub and ask patrons what that word means and they will buy you a drink and change the subject. Absolutely no one will carry about the use of words that have no meaning to them.

Joe Sixpack wants his info condensed down so that the point is easily understood. But no, the journalist will brattle on and on if facts and figures that mean nothing to “real” people. Joe Sixpack does not care what gas cost in 1976–he wants to know what it will cost tomorrow.

Sanctimonious BS is NOT the way to inform the public. To the point and in as few words as possible is the only way the average person will pay attention. The only thing that a 1500 word essay on the economy will collect is bird droppings at the bottom of the cage.

There has always been a simple rule–K.I.S.S.