July 05, 2004
FUNDRAISER
I have a relatively small blog. I won't kid myself that I can make a big difference, but I'd like to try something, with your help of course.
I just recently got a currency adjustment for my salary. Since the dollar is so weak and many people live on the German economy, we got an extra 4% of what we made last year. I didn't make that much -- since I only started working in September and I'm woefully underpaid -- and I don't spend much money on the economy. Thus the money is waiting for a good cause, and I think I've found it. I want to buy one of these:

When I read at Spirit of America that the 1st Marine Division is trying to raise money to buy sewing machines for women in Ramadi, I thought that this would be a good cause. I enjoy my sewing machine and have been learning to quilt, so it seemed fitting that I could use my currency adjustment check to help Iraqi women start earning money and making clothes.
However, I don't have the full amount. One industrial sewing machine costs $475, so I was thinking that maybe my readers could help make up the difference? I get about 100 page views each day, which means if everyone kicked in five bucks we'd have a whole machine. I know many of you have already donated to Spirit of America, and I'm already amazed at how giving you all are, but maybe you could spare another $5? Like I said, I don't have any illusions that I can generate thousands of dollars like other bloggers did, but I'd be thrilled to get anything I could.
If you would like to donate, visit the Spirit of America site. You can use PayPal, VeriSign, or personal checks. And if you do donate something, comment on this post and let us know how much you've given, so we can all see when we've made it to a full sewing machine. I'll make up the difference.
I hope I generate at least some interest with this project. I'll donate regardless, but I thought it would be cool to say that we here at trying to grok bought a sewing machine for the sewing center in Ramadi.
MORE TO GROK:
Yay for the participation! I just got an email from a reader who suggested that some might feel funny about putting an amount in the comments section. Feel free to email me and I'll put an "anonymous" comment like I did for the first person. And like I said, $5 is plenty...and no one has to feel bad if they already gave at the office!
Posted by: Sarah at
05:49 AM
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1
I got an email with info from an anonymous $50 donation. Great start!
Posted by: Sarah at July 05, 2004 10:27 AM (TcRJG)
2
You know you can count on me. I just paid bills and need to figure out how much I can spare!
Posted by: Mike at July 05, 2004 04:48 PM (PaVgz)
Posted by: Amy at July 05, 2004 10:54 PM (aJ30v)
Posted by: Ron - WI at July 05, 2004 10:59 PM (CwrQg)
5
Sarah,
I just sent $15 to Spirit of America for a sewing machine. (However, there wasn't a way to make a comment on the Pay Pal transaction to mention "Trying to Grok". Sorry.)
Robin in Ohio, reader
Posted by: Robin in Ohio at July 07, 2004 06:54 PM (FQRd6)
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June 30, 2004
COMMENTS
My comments section has been growing and taking on a life of its own since the Atrios incident. Yes, I still read all of the comments. No, I don't eagerly look forward to them the way I did six months ago. I've got arguments and insults -- plus headaches and sleepless nights, believe it or not -- because of the comments section. Reader cjstevens wrote a long and interesting comment
here, and Sander
wondered why I even bother to have a comments section.
Sometimes I wonder myself.
I read this post on Instapundit today about comments, and I certainly understood. When I first started my blog and all those readers came over from USS Clueless, I couldn't keep my eyes off the comments section. When I started playing with my templates and thought I had deleted my first week's comments, I broke into tears (ask my husband; he thought I was nuts). I thought I needed to cherish every comment I had, because I certainly didn't think anyone would want to read my blog once the novelty of Den Beste's link wore off.
Eight months and 55,000 hits later, the comments section has begun to weigh on my heart. What was once a spot for Carla or Mike or Tammi to shoot me an encouraging word has turned into gnawing dread in my stomach whenever I see the numbers climb higher. Every time someone comments, I feel the need to think about his words for hours. I try to understand where he's coming from, what he's thinking, why he thinks I might agree with him, and what I could possibly say to get my point across and make him see what I see.
A friend advised me to blog for myself alone, not for the adoring (or loathing) public. But every challenge that I leave unanswered haunts me. Every comment I disagree with is hours of my thoughts diverted elsewhere, when I'm sure someone else has already had the same argument elsewhere.
I've thought about shutting the comments off and just doing this for myself. I've thought about leaving them and letting them take on a life of their own without my involvement. I've thought about giving blogging up altogether because sleepless nights and stinging wounds are really the last thing I need when half of my heart is in Iraq.
I'm just stressed. And beaten down. I'm struggling to remember what the point of all of this is...
MORE TO GROK:
cjstevens, it appears the director of Gunner Palace will be on CNN News Night with Aaron Brown tonight (30 Jun). See if you can check it out.
MORE TO GROK:
Please keep in mind that I'm not necessarily talking about "abuse" here. Yeah, the comments were pretty nasty there for a while, but mostly now it's civil. It's just so much for one brain to handle.
My alarm goes off at 0630. Lately I've been dragging it out until 0700. I read for an hour, get ready, go to work until 1600, come home, shovel some food in my mouth, and go to the neighboring post to teach for three hours. (On nights that I don't teach, I'm watching Band of Brothers, which isn't exactly light entertainment.) I return around 2145 and then read and blog some more. I rarely make it into bed by 2300 and I'm lying there thinking about Michael Moore and Iraq and elections until midnight or 0100. I just can't shut it off.
Writing my own posts keeps me occupied; thinking of how I would respond to five different people who all have different ideas about Moore and Iraq and elections is making me insane.
So I apologize if you're a commenter and I don't give you a direct answer to your comment. It doesn't mean I'm not losing sleep over it.
Posted by: Sarah at
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1
I shut down comments some time ago (it may be close to a year now). My feeling is that the people whose opinions I value know how to get in touch with me. People whose opinions I don't value are free to get their own blog(s) and disagree with me.
Posted by: Nathan at June 30, 2004 10:57 AM (1vqm6)
2
You do what is right for YOU. I was just reading thru the latest batch of comments and found myself getting angry for you.
Don't you worry - if we want to get an encouraging word to you, or agree with any of the wonderful things you say, we will find a way!
Posted by: Tammi at June 30, 2004 12:08 PM (Kw/tP)
3
Oh, dear. Well, I always like it when a blog has open comments, as they're often fun or interesting to read. On the other hand, I read the blogs that I do because of the blog's author, not because of the comments--and if the comments are causing you too much pain, then get rid of them! Blogging without comments is much better than not blogging (or less, or resentful, or whatever blogging) with comments.
Also, you could always open comments on those posts you really want feedback on (with strict rules about staying OT), and since you post a way to contact you by email, it's not like you're entirely unreachable.
Regardless of what you decide, I'll still be reading ya!
Posted by: Carla at June 30, 2004 02:40 PM (r5M6F)
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It just sucks when mean people come to your house and harasss you! Maybe you can turn off comments for a week or so and see how it goes. I'm not sure how long I would take the abuse.
Just don't let it stop you from blogging altogether - that would really suck!
Posted by: Beth at June 30, 2004 03:30 PM (Atb1y)
5
Noam Chomsky turned off comments after three posts. He has since turned them back on, but you pay for the privilege.
Could be a good fund-raiser!
Posted by: Mike at June 30, 2004 04:37 PM (MqNKC)
6
Wow. I am sorry if my comments have contributed to your problems. I am not really used to this single POV blog stuff. I am a more used to free-for-alls like USENET,
kuro5hin.org and
slashdot.org. I have always thought that posting a topic for discussion was just the beginning...that the comments were alway where the interesting stuff was.
I would encourage you to make people sign-up for account and verify their email. Consider comment moderation as a way of controlling the trolls and keeping the signal to noise ratio high. I don't know if MT supports that kind of stuff, but it is worth checking out.
I am sorry if I ruffled any feathers along the way...I don't want to cause any problems. I, for one, will be moving along.
Best wishes to you and your loved ones.
Posted by: rfidtag at June 30, 2004 04:46 PM (nO9sv)
7
The Democrats ideas died with Clinton --- They now have nothing to believe in, nothing to be for, nothing to promote --- They only have resentment, hate, anger, and attacks --- They have focused their lack of ideas into an attack on Bush.
I always ask them what their for, what they beleive in -- they always answer with an attack on Bush --- I then ask if Bush was gone would everything be changed and everything be "milk and honey"
-- It is at this point they curse and call me names
This is why you hear nothing about Kerry -- This election is all about Bush --- ANYONE could be running from the Democrats and the result would be the same ---- The Democrat Party has died --- it is now the anti-Republican Party --- anything the Republicians are for, the Deomcrats are against -- this is why they can say and do anything as the have no principles, no ideas, they are only anti-Bush
The death of their ideas policy and future leaves only hate and anger
AND this is why they write as they do to you --- it is they way they respond to anyone they disagree with --- as proof,,, do they offer any suggestions for improvement or a different couse of action?
Retreat and do nothing never solves any problem but it was the policy of Clinton --- and it is their policy too
Posted by: Mikeee at June 30, 2004 04:54 PM (HM88F)
8
Wowsa, quite a schedule, and here I am sleeping most of my days away and tending to ignore my blog on work days.
Very impressive young Sarah.
Kal
Posted by: Kalroy at June 30, 2004 06:03 PM (VU2TV)
9
Just found this about "hate posters" at Andrew Sullivans site
EMAIL OF THE DAY: "Your article about William Raspberry's review of Moore's movie is right on target. Unfortunately, as I can tell you as a black person, Raspberry's irrational views are shared by many black people. I've never seen so many people who I always respected and always considered to be intelligent say so many crazy things, "Bush is the same as Saddam." "Saddam was not as bad as Bush." "The U.S. is the worst country in the world to live in." I kid you not. In the meantime, not one liberal or black person has anything to say about what Arabs are doing to black people in North and East African. The whole thing is very disturbing. Objections to Bush and the U.S. as a whole have gone way beyond any realistic criticsm of anything that is wrong. It's just hatred and a wish for destruction, after which I guess we will all live in brotherhood under Muslim rule! I just listen to people. I've given up trying to discuss it. People become enraged and start telling me I'm a self hating black, Uncle Tom, etc." - more feedback on the Letters Page.
Seems alot of people are being attacked like you---
don't give up then they win
Posted by: Mikeee at June 30, 2004 06:23 PM (HM88F)
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Sarah,
Thanks for your acknowledgement. The Internet is a wild and wooly place, and "ruffly" subjects like politics tend to bring all sorts of characters out of the woodwork. The blogging atmosphere is particularly confusing. Blogging is a way of reaching out to a readership because it is so public. For this reason, it's natural to feel that any comment made on an entry is directed toward you. I commented this way at first, but then started commenting more in general terms toward commenters and yourself without necessarily expecting a response. But I'll be totally honest: I can't say I know how you feel, as I've never been in your shoes. Maybe that should be a sign to me to take it easy. I apologize. I can somewhat-understand your mention about the "numbers climbing higher," though... here, when the number of comments on an entry bumps into the tens and twenties, one can bet there's a fire raging within.
I would actually recommend the idea of turning off comments entirely, or having them on only for certain posts. The latter option may or may not be possible depending on what you're using to run your comments. Or, perhaps you can make an account on a bulletin board site and link to it from your blog, directing commenters to that bulletin board. In terms of writing just for yourself alone, a journal/diary/whatever-you-want-to-call-it may be a good idea if you don't have one. At least, it seems helpful for me (yes, I admit to having a "diary").
Thanks for your information on Gunner Palace. The CNN NewsNight page (for some reason, I can't make a link to it) states that the show comes on at 10pm eastern time. Unfortunately, I won't be around at that time, but it looks like a transcript should be up some time afterward. I'm looking forward to it. Take care, Sarah... thank you for your patience with us.
Posted by: cjstevens at June 30, 2004 08:14 PM (FdYMc)
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Better than Gunner Place but not a movie is the new book Generation Kill. The embedded author spent serious time with the forward Humvees, an interview with him is at the link below. He tells things in the interview that are not in the book, apparently, so it is a must-read. It is great because he thoroughly respects the soldiers personally, and reports only what they went through, but in the end it is an indictment on the horrible mess there. No wonder only 2percent of Iraqis view the US as liberators.
http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/30/books-donnelly.php
Posted by: bos at July 01, 2004 05:18 AM (hgLPQ)
12
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June 19, 2004
LOVE
10 Things I Love About Others' Weblogs
1. the rotating photos of the universe at U.S.S. Clueless
2. The Dissident Frogman's movies
3. the disclaimer that pops up when you comment over at Bunker Mulligan
4. Kim du Toit's skin pics
5. Allah's t-shirt
6. the picture of the ever-cheerful CPT Patti
7. The Gobbler Motel
8. South Park Pixy
9. Amritas' blogroll
10. The propaganda posters on The Mudville Gazette
Posted by: Sarah at
04:38 PM
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Wow, then I'm liked by proxy (through #9).
Posted by: David at June 19, 2004 05:32 PM (HaakM)
2
You've mentioned before that both your mother and your first-grade teacher read this blog.
I presume that you'd like this to be a respectable forum for discussion of events you find worth mentioning.
How in the world do you expect reasonable discourse to happen when you include links to T-shirts that read "Six days, b****"? Or is this merely an attempt to offend anyone who might disagree with your views into disappearing into the black hole of the internet?
Do you have deep-rooted hostilities towards Arabs and the Islamic faith? Given your recurring predilection toward tarring one-fifth of the world's people with the same "terrorist"-"troublemaker" brush, I wonder how I am supposed to take the rest of your judgments and pronouncements seriously.
I think there is about one thing I agree with the current occupier of the White House about--the war on terror must not be a war on faith--or a war of faith, for that matter. You would seem to want to conflate the two. I'd love to be proven wrong about this--and if so, please feel free to correct me.
Posted by: Can't win at June 19, 2004 05:43 PM (aQOKC)
3
Given that the six days war was Israel defending itself against invaders, I don't see how it should offend the Arabs and those of Islamic faith, as "Can't Win" says, unless he/she is saying that all Arabs and all those of Islamic faith believe it's right to eradicate the Jews. Now *that* would be a truly offensive attitude.
Posted by: chris at June 19, 2004 07:16 PM (pDL6x)
4
"I don't see how it should offend the Arabs and those of Islamic faith, as "Can't Win" says, unless he/she is saying that all Arabs and all those of Islamic faith believe it's right to eradicate the Jews. Now *that* would be a truly offensive attitude."
Two (long) points:
[1] I don't see how you could possibly come up with that interpretation based on what I said.
As for how Arabs can find it offensive, I know people who have fought in or lived through the Six Days' War--on
both. Not one of them looks back on those days fondly. It doesn't matter whether you were an Arab or an Israeli; the only sentiment common to both sides that I've heard was relief that the war was over, and that casualties weren't worse than they were. [Unfortunately, because of propaganda spread on both sides, I don't know many people of that generation on either side who can comfortably deal with the other. The resulting enmity has been passed down to the succeeding generations, which has been the greatest crime of all.]
Now, there are appropriate ways and inappropriate ways of commemorating wars. Note the (relative) decorum shown on Memorial Day and Veterans' Day in the U.S. We remember the sacrifices made--we neither glorify the war, nor make light of our opponents.
This T-shirt does both. And, given the unlikelihood that whoever designed it actually served in the war, this individual is trying to turn a major conflict into a punchline, and a rude one at that. Such behavior is reprehensible; promoting such behavior through a website--and this is what our host has done here--is similarly irresponsible.
If you feel comfortable that you could wear that shirt in front of a roomful of veterans and survivors of that war, great. But I think you'd probably rile most of the room--which is why this is so offensive.
[2] The reason that I asked about any sentiment against Arabs and/or Muslims is the cumulative weight of statements such as "It's no lie that everywhere in the world that there's conflict, Muslims are somehow involved," and her support for sentiments like this.
Posted by: Can't win at June 19, 2004 10:24 PM (aQOKC)
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June 15, 2004
MANNERS
I read Sanders' comment
here and then sat down to write and saw that Lyana had beat me to my point. But I'll say it anyway. I appreciate Sanders' point, but I think it's sad:
Nah, you worry too much. What's more, you take things said on the internet personal, which is kind of cute in a very naive sort of way.
Internet is just not comparable to everyday life, it's more anonymous, sharper and sometimes uglier. No one in the comments would ever call you clueless fucktard dumb to your face, even more so if they have any personal knowledge of you, but on the internet discussion often end with rude ad hominems. On the other hand, by dispensing with courteousness the arguments are more direct and perhaps more honest.
It may be scary at first, but you get used to it, after realizing they're not talking to you personally, but some anonymous schmoe saying silly things. Live and learn.
If the attacks are not meant to be personal, then what are they? They're not constructive. They're not educational. They're just insults, and insults are personal. Yes, I do take these things personally because I believe in decency and manners. I'm absolutely appalled that those 90 people don't.
I have never called anyone a name in a comments section. Only very rarely have I argued back with someone, and it's only ever been with another commenter and never with the blog host. I have never linked to what someone else has written and made fun of them or pointed out how wrong I think they are, even though the blogger who started this atrios-lanche has done this to me repeatedly. Once I wrote about some silly posts I read elsewhere, but I didn't provide a link to the site because I didn't want to send hateful comments his way. I don't think that's right. I can discuss the other person's ideas without linking because it's the ideas that need discussing, not whether the person is dumb as a hammer.
Yes, the internet allows us to be more open. I talk about things here on my blog that I can't talk about with many of my peers because they either vehemently disagree with me or they don't read the news very often. I'm very grateful that the internet has given me that opportunity, but it's come at a price. If we're losing all sense of courtesy and respect for other people's views and "space" (as in it's my blog and you've come to my space to call me names), then I think that's sad.
Many of those commenters from the weekend probably have kids. What if I printed out their comments and showed them to their kids. Look, Timmy, your daddy called me clueless fucktard dumb. And then I explained to little Timmy that his daddy called me that simply because he disagreed with what I had to say. That's a bad lesson to teach your kids.
My mother reads my blog. So does my first grade teacher. I try to conduct myself in a way that would make both of them proud because they taught me that showing others respect is important. It's a shame others weren't taught the same.
Posted by: Sarah at
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1
Absolutely correct.
I don't agree that it is okay to insult people just because of the anonymity. I write for the same reason you do--to say what I believe, make my opinion known, and offer readers the opportunity to convince me I'm wrong. Nobody has, because the comments section fills with insults or other opinion passed off as fact. If you have a different opinion, feel free to share it. But at least explain why you hold that view. I try to do that, please try in return.
You do the same, and probably better.
Posted by: Mike at June 15, 2004 11:57 AM (cFRpq)
Posted by: Madfish Willie at June 15, 2004 01:18 PM (Ri5Z0)
3
Did you see Drudge's post about an LA Times poll?
Posted by: Beth at June 15, 2004 01:20 PM (Y/dYM)
4
Sarah,
I expressed my critical opinion in a polite way and you responded "Please, Paul, you're talking out of your ass here." (See "Flag Day" post.) Do you think that reflected good manners on your part?
Posted by: Paul Stone at June 15, 2004 03:58 PM (pvoJ9)
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You said: "I talk about things here on my blog that I can't talk about with many of my peers because they either vehemently disagree with me or they don't read the news very often."
Does it worry you that, by your own admission, the people you know that keep themselves informed all completely disagree with you? Might that make you reconsider your opinions?
Just a thought,
=tkk
Posted by: Hiredman at June 15, 2004 04:30 PM (1kQor)
6
Paul -- You were extremely condescending and jumped to a very wrong conclusion. It had been a very long weekend, and my patience was thin. I realized after I wrote it that it sounded rude, and I apologize.
Hiredman -- You're right; I didn't phrase that well. No one I know reads the news as much as I do (except for my good friend Oda Mae). I can talk to those who have the same set of values without talking about current events in detail, or I can talk to the ones who don't have the same set of values and are "too busy in academia" to learn about current events. I don't have any friends that I haven't made via blogging who read blogs.
Posted by: Sarah at June 15, 2004 04:40 PM (Jejou)
7
How hypocritical of you then to link to Little Green Footballs. I guess their behavior doesn't count, because it's not directed against you.
Posted by: Marei at June 15, 2004 06:11 PM (woLiy)
8
I agree with Marei.
LGF has some of the vilest discourse in the blogosphere, for instance expressing glee with the death of Rachel Corrie, every single Palestinian and also the bombing of the UN headquarters in Iraq. Charles Johnson himself included. What's more, he does not moderate those vile comments (he does sometiems ban opposing views).
It's not something you would want to show your kids. On that point, most blogs aren't meant to be for kids, LGF isn't and Atrios isn't.
That said, I do believe that your blog is your blog and banning rude people is your prerogative, as well as demanding a civil discourse in your comments section.
I personally like manners in discussion (and have found that courteousness is often reciprocated) and don't often engage in a shoutfest, but as I tried to make clear earlier, it's a matter of perception. When people get to know you (virtually or otherwise) their manner changes (unless they really hate what you stand for or who they associate you with, see for instance LGF), because the anonymity diminishes. If they don't: it's your blog.
Posted by: Sander at June 15, 2004 07:46 PM (9v8mw)
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And here I am thinking I was "nice" wishing you a happy anniversary. I did not get all that insulting in the comments of the "poll" thread, while I did suggest that you might be up for termination hearings if you worked for my friend, here in NJ, I refrained from using the cheap ad-hominem attacks. Sarah, I don't know whether or not I should be insulted by your including me in the general populace of those 90 comments. As you might note I still am using a fake e-mail, but my comments are nothing to be ashamed of. I learned a loooooooong time ago that name calling is the first sign you are losing the argument. Sarah fyi I was 18 the year you were born (that is if you are 28 as I have read) so I am prolly around your fathers age give or take a few years, most likely I'd say your dad might be 10-12 years older than me. Unless of course you were his first born and he began having children early. Any way, while I might disagree with many of your positions, I am respectful enough to give you a listen, which it appears you aren't willing to reciprocate.
Posted by: Bubba Bo Bob Brain at June 16, 2004 12:09 AM (4pVZJ)
10
First off, Sarah, I wanted to let you know that I reponded via comments to your update in which you quoted me. (I don't know if you're one of those way cool bloggers who gets automatic updates when a new comment is posted to a particular discussion.) On to what I was originally going to say:
Well, now that the two of us have had what I think of as an amazingly substantive dicussion (for the blogosphere), I'm confused by your saying,
Only very rarely have I argued back with someone, and it's only ever been with another commenter and never with the blog host. Are you saying that you feel/felt that comments disagreeing with you are/were out of bounds? If so, I certainly apologize - it is, as just about all of the above commenters say, your blog, your perogative. I just assumed that a blogger who makes a claim in a post on a public blog (with comments enabled) is at least implicitly inviting comments on that claim.
On the topic of manners: once again, no one will fault you for deleting posts which you find objectionable. Manners are important, and helpful; I'd like to think the exchange that we've had has been due to keeping a civil tone, even with me disagreeing with you.
On the Atrios-lanche: I think, but am not certain, that Atrios was not the first (or even second) blog to link to you. The dates on the first icky comments on your blog predate mention of your blog on Atrios. I'm guessing you could check your referrer logs to see just where people were coming from.
On LGF: What Sander said. LGF is not the pinnacle of civil discourse on the 'net. In additon to the I/P incivility, I'd add the tendency of posters there to refer to any criticicism of the Iraq war, mild as it may be, as coming from 'traitors.' Particularly now, given the recent indictments for the Ohio shopping mall bomb quasi-plan, don't we have enough true 'domestic enemies' to worry about without including, for instance, Michael Moore? (A man, who, even if he were a 'domestic enemy', could easily be neutralized through the strategic placement of all-you-can-eat buffets.)
On the positive value of disagreements: I hope, for your sake, that you're able to ignore the trolls that have been infesting your comments recently. I also hope that you've been able to read the non-trolly posts and appreciate the arguments advanced in them, regardless of whether they're agreeing with you or not, regardless of whether they're coming from liberals or conservatives. I was disappointed to see you write that you were inclined to not consider points of view from "the Left" due to your treatment by some of the trolls; I urge you to critically examine both the arguments of those you disagree with and the views that you currently hold. Whatever decisions you come to on whatever issues, I'd be happier knowing your views were based on thinking, not emotion.
Posted by: Darkwater at June 16, 2004 01:25 AM (XYkvR)
11
Being critical of someone's intellectual ignorance becomes tantamount to character assassinations only when the original opinion is backed up by uninformed rhetoric in a serious manner. Read through your post, read a statistics book, and you will see how willfully misinformed your comments were, and how your lack of curiosity was morphed to accomodate your political views.
Posted by: Neil at June 16, 2004 01:32 AM (q/4gY)
12
Bubba Bo Bob Brain:
I was one of those 90 commenters, too, and I know Sarah wasn't insulted by what I said. Despite your fake email address : ) you're clearly not a troll, so I wouldn't worry about it.
Posted by: Carla at June 16, 2004 12:05 PM (r5M6F)
13
Hi Sarah,
I found this blog no doubt the same way many others did to your June 11 polls post: "Cruel Site of the Day" (www.cruel.com). Your polls post was linked on there recently.
Anyway, I disagree with all of the name calling, it does absolutely nothing and its bizarre to me that people get so angry about one person's blog - angry enough to make a post with insults in it.
I read your polls post and all of the replies.
I have a PhD in astrophysics (I am not kidding) and I use statistics often. My aunt works in the Bureau of Statistics creating the wording for various surveys and polls. Polls are often flawed in their wording and demographics. However if a poll of ~1000 people is truly random and much care has been taken to ensure that the question wording is clear and as unbiased as possible, then the results should be meaningful. Whether a poll has really been conducted randomly is only known by the people who conducted the polls themselves. Often polls are not presented in the media with enough information to allow a reader to guage how random the poll truly was or even how carefully the questions were worded.
Your polls post makes it sound like you don't care what other countries think and that you don't think we need to rally certain former allies. I think this is one of the reasons why a number of the people responding to your polls post seemed so outraged. Do you really believe this or were you referring specifically to the fact that these items should not necessarily be important for every poll participant when judging Bush's credibility?
In my opinion, it is very important to be informed of current events in the rest of the world. We should care about what the world thinks of the US and more importantly, why the rest of the world thinks the way they do. The rest of the world wouldn't matter if the US was
1. Entirely self-sufficient: a) If the US did not depend on the world climate, trees, oil, natural gas, and other natural resources found predominantly in other countries. b) If the Did not outsource employment to other countries, rely on foreign workers, or import manufactured products.
2. Did not need to defend itself against terrorists in other countries, and other hostile organisations or country leaders.
Unfortunately, we are not and never will be self-sufficient and security of Americans is a problem, so it is in the interests of the US to care about how other countries perceive us in order to keep the trade flowing, and help maintain the security of all Americans, not just the Americans here in the US, but the Americans in war zones, and American tourists in other countries. If the Iraqis liked the US, they would not be bombing American troops. If the US was well-liked around the world, the terrorist organizations would have a much harder time recruiting more terrorists. I think it is worth spending the time trying to find out why other countries and organisations dislike the US. What US foreign policies have caused these problems? Perhaps if we all knew why, then we might be able to really do something about it.
Ok that's all. I have enjoyed reading your posts and all of the responses.
Lhiannee
Posted by: Lhiannee at June 16, 2004 02:44 PM (MNGnB)
14
For all the talk about how rude some of the posters were, has it ever occurred to you that some of the things you said in the post about polls were not just poorly phrased, as you acknowledged later, but simply downright completely and utterly wrong? That pretending that polling was the equivalent of pulling numbers out of the air so as to keep your partisan blinkers intact (which is what you did with that unworthy "only 615 people said this" paragraph) was way out of line, and very transparently so?
Posted by: MasterJohnson at June 16, 2004 06:00 PM (AKgpm)
15
I try to conduct myself in a way that would make both of them proud because they taught me that showing others respect is important. It's a shame others weren't taught the same.
Trying to Grok,
March 21, 2004: "To quote James Lileks: Fuck you."
Thanks for the respect. You do better with statistics than manners.
Posted by: Mithras at June 20, 2004 12:27 AM (XcNgF)
16
Funny how those who criticise the manners of a blogger on their site usually do so in the rudest of manners, sifting back through many, many comments to find one place you slipped, and then dragging it up and trying to represent it as the norm on your site. (Which, BTW, seems exemplary to me in thought and analysis.)
It's been my experience that when you show politeness to an abusive commenter, all you get is more abuse. You never gain their respect - often what they're looking for is an argument and and an excuse to be obnoxious.
I'll do my best to keep my posts within your desired bounds of propriety and courtesy...
J.
Posted by: JLawson at January 23, 2005 10:39 PM (NI8wV)
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June 01, 2004
BREAK
I don't know how Andrew Sullivan takes a break every year; the hardest thing for me to do is not to blog. Everything I read, every encounter I have in the day, everything turns into a post; for the past eight months I've looked at everything in my life through the lens of a blogger. However, I think I need to take a couple of days off. I have a lot of thinking to do. I'll be back in a few days with a long post about my thoughts. In the meantime, read about
The Soldiers You Never Hear About.
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May 30, 2004
BUNKER
My congrats to
Bunker, who just got denbestelanched. When I first started reading his stuff, I thought for sure he must have a popular blog; I was shocked to find out he was just starting out and still had low traffic. He has such an interesting perspective -- prior service, both enlisted and officer, well-read, the golf angle, deployed sons, etc -- that I think he has something for everyone. I hope that Den Beste's readers agree and stick around for more than one post to hear what Bunker has to say.
And if you haven't read it, read Den Beste's post on heroes and Bunker's addendum.
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It was interesting to see how the traffic came in. Some 200+ visited from SDB's site yesterday. I was pleased to see that a dozen or so spent some time perusing. On weekends, I usually get about 100 visits a day, so this was a big surprise.
It certainly isn't why I began the blog, but it does the ego good.
Posted by: Mike at May 30, 2004 01:59 PM (NZ4lg)
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May 18, 2004
May 15, 2004
BALM II
In addition to Tenacious D, I have found another soothing balm for my anger at the world. Two of my married students just got a new puppy, and they sent me a photo of him. I opened it this morning, and then left the window open -- that way I can read
stuff like this, and when steam starts to come out of my ears, I quickly switch over to the puppy window and look at this little piece of heaven.

He works wonders for bringing my rage to a manageable level.
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They are all so cute when they're puppies... even ugly dogs. This one is a winner!!
Posted by: Madfish Willie at May 15, 2004 03:57 AM (LbKVB)
2
Oh. My. God. You weren't joking Sarah--he is the cutest thing ever!!!
Posted by: Erin at May 15, 2004 10:00 AM (Ar+iq)
3
I needed this photo after Nick Berg. It's been a horrible week, though I should keep my mouth shut. I don't know what suffering really is. I shouldn't have felt down, but I did. Note the past tense. A few thousand pixels above worked their magic on me. But don't worry, my laser beam's still on.
I wonder if the puppy acts as cute as it looks.
Posted by: Amritas at May 15, 2004 12:19 PM (swvuX)
4
Oh, that is cute! I just chuckled when I saw it. I'm glad it's cheering you up. I can just see a little grin each time you look at it.
Posted by: Ruth H at May 15, 2004 03:40 PM (fqxIZ)
5
How adorable, he looks like Winston Churchill!
Posted by: annika at May 20, 2004 03:18 PM (zAOEU)
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May 14, 2004
COMMENT
Sorry, I ran out of time this morning. I was too busy responding to grokless comments on
Anders' and
Bunker's posts.
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Well, sorry to have wasted your morning. I've tried to clear the air a little over on that thread of Bunker's... Enjoy the weekend.
Posted by: Bogey Mulligan at May 15, 2004 12:00 AM (m+0PJ)
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May 13, 2004
GEEK
There's a funny meme starting where you make a
Geek List. It's the top ten things you know way too much about to be considered cool.
Rocket Jones did one, so now it's my turn. For whatever reason, I know a fair amount about these oddball topics.
10. LDS
9. Alias
8. statistics (the fun stuff like the Monty Hall problem or the Birthday problem)
7. Yukio Mishima
6. Armyspeak
5. Swedish language
4. rap music
3. Chief Illiniwek
2. knitting
1. the Karate Kid Trilogy
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The link to #7 - Yukio Mishima is fascinating. I'm going to have to track down some of his work now. Thanks!
Posted by: Ted at May 13, 2004 11:44 AM (ZjSa7)
2
The Karate Kid trilogy?
Ralph Macchio is an underrated genius.
Posted by: Steve the Llamabutcher at May 13, 2004 12:01 PM (aCWY/)
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Alias and rap are oddball?
How did you learn about the LDS church?
Did your interest in statistical problems predate your reading of Huff's How to Lie with Statistics?
Posted by: Amritas at May 13, 2004 12:08 PM (0Q2h3)
4
Ted,
I found Mishima the man far more interesting than his work which I found barely readable in English or Japanese. I recommend you read a biography of Mishima first before trying his fiction so you have some idea of where he's coming from. Then try his autobiographical Confessions of a Mask. If you don't have the patience for that, try his short story "Patriotism." Be warned: He is not representative of Japanese people as a whole. He's a one-man phenomenon.
Sarah, how did you get into Mishima? Forgot to put that among my questions in my last comment.
Posted by: Amritas at May 13, 2004 12:14 PM (0Q2h3)
5
I am always so excited when I find out that someone I know likes Alias. I love that show! Are able to get the current (Season 3) episodes over there?
By the way, I'm still around, reading your site every day, but I'm slowly being swallowed...by...finals...ack!
Posted by: Carla at May 13, 2004 01:15 PM (r5M6F)
6
Hey, are you a Mormon, too?
Posted by: House of Payne at May 14, 2004 02:56 PM (aK+4m)
7
Thanks for the leads, Amritas.
Posted by: Ted at May 16, 2004 09:57 AM (ZjSa7)
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May 10, 2004
PROBLEMS
Tim from CPT Patti in Baghdad is experiencing technical difficulties today.
You'll just have to wait until he's back up and running to read his gems.
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May 06, 2004
GOOGLE
I've never explored my hits from google searches before.
It's hilarious.
How did I get a hit for "taco bell complaints" and "headband store in Russia"?
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Heh heh, that's always one of the highlights of checking my stats!
Posted by: Jeremiah at May 06, 2004 08:48 PM (3Tkkq)
2
I had "child molestors" in mine. I wonder who's been telling stories on me!
Posted by: Mike at May 07, 2004 04:49 PM (kbqMz)
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April 27, 2004
PLEDGE
I think this morning I'm going to limit myself to writing about uplifting things. And, man, have I found something that makes my heart sing:
the running totals for money donated by bloggers to Spirit of America. Three groups of bloggers, headed by
Castle Argghhh!,
Dean Esmay, and
A Small Victory, are raising money for alternate media sources in Iraq. So far they've raised over $30,000! And bloggers are starting to auction things: an original Cox & Forkum, a picture from Saddam's palace that Chief Wiggles took, plane tickets, bayonets, everything!
I didn't join up with any specific "team" for the competition, and it's probably too late to join in since it ends Thursday. If I had been paying more attention to getting in on this, I would've knitted a sweater for the reader who pledged the most. Instead I will just have to encourage you to go pledge through someone else...
And now that I see how much money everyone else is giving, I have to go donate more! $30,000! Look at the impact we bloggers can have.
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It's pretty amazing - in just a short time, over 1/3 of the cost of the entire project has been raised by bloggers!
Posted by: Lyana at April 28, 2004 03:42 PM (ps81A)
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April 26, 2004
LILEKS
The only blog I read where I can remember precisely the first entry I ever read is Lileks'. It was
his post on Ed Harris. Ed Harris, you say, Mr. Link on Andrew Sullivan? I like him. Let's go see what this so-called Lileks character has to say about him. How's that, Harris said something moronic? And this Lileks guy writes about this kind of stuff every day? I'm hooked.
That was January 2003. I've followed Lileks ever since; he holds a sweet spot in my heart, though he'll never know it. I listen to all the crappy music he makes. I look at all his regrettable food. And I feel a certain connection with him today when he apologizes for not making more time for his readers. And he means it, you can tell he really means it.
He makes me smile.
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After seeing bits of it on his web site, I was forced -- forced! -- to buy Lileks' book version of
The Gallery of Regrettable Food. Then I was forced to buy more copies for friends. It's just too funny -- and to horrible -- for words, isn't it?
Posted by: CavalierX at April 26, 2004 04:41 AM (sA6XT)
2
I agree with his definition of a man. I always own at least one pink shirt. Because I can.
Posted by: Mike at April 26, 2004 10:08 AM (cFRpq)
3
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Posted by: casino at September 03, 2005 02:56 AM (8ZQwj)
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April 25, 2004
RESULTS
The moment you've all been waiting for: the
before and
after of my trip to visit Tim.
You can also read Tim's infuriating
before on his blog.
I've had some extra thoughts since I got home. The funniest one is that my mother encouraged me to go meet a total stranger from the internet. I think we look at blogging in a different way than we look at internet dating...
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Excellent! I'm happy to hear everything went well (not that there was any doubt).
Posted by: Larry at April 25, 2004 09:03 AM (6TcYT)
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I am so gald to hear you went and visited with Tim. I admire both of you so much and it is wonderful that you were able to spend some time together.
There are many of us out here praying for you and the ones you love. But sometimes you just need a hug from someone who really understands.
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3
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Posted by: casino at September 03, 2005 03:09 AM (7+3Q2)
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April 23, 2004
BLOG TRIP
Remember when
Roger Simon went to Paris and met The Dissident Frogman, Merde in France, and Nelson Ascher? Man was I jealous. I wanted to make a blog trip too. I want to meet these people whose lives I follow every day, more closely than I follow any of my friends' lives.
So I bought a train ticket yesterday.
That scenario could lead me off in a whole different direction, by the way. I could talk about how I tried to put to use the German I've been studying and say Ich möchte am Samstag nach Frankfurt fahren bitte, and how the girl behind the counter gave me this exasperated look when my German wasn't as fast as she would've liked, and how finally I just gave up and let her do it all in English, and how I walked out of the train station fuming and wondering why I even bother to study German in the first place. But that's a diatribe for another day; we need to stay on track.
Last week I decided that I needed some support. When my friend remarked that my house is entirely too quiet and that she doesn't know how I can stand to be alone like this, I started to think that I'd like to spend some time with someone who knows exactly what I've been thinking since day one.
So the grokkingest girl on the planet is going to Frankfurt...to meet Tim.
We had planned to meet once CPT Patti returned, but after last week's extension and missions, I figured there was no time like the present to just make it happen. So I'm going tomorrow to meet my first fellow blogger.
I'm a little nervous, to be honest. First of all, I have no idea what Tim looks like! I referred him back to my sweater photo and told him to be on the lookout for me at the train station. He also promised me a big hug -- something I have not had in two months -- and I'm honestly afraid that I might break down weeping there in the Hauptbahnhof. But it might be the best thing for me.
The hardest part about making this trip is explaining to people around here where I'm going. Do you want to come over on Saturday? Actually, I'm going to Frankfurt. What are you doing there? Visiting a friend. Are you staying the night? No, just a day trip. That's eight hours on the train -- why not spend the night? Because it's probably not appropriate to get a hotel with someone else's husband and a man I've never met before. Wait, who are you going to visit?
Just joking on that last part; I haven't said that because I know how odd it sounds. I've circumvented the whole thing really, just saying that I'm going to visit a friend. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Blogging resumes on Sunday, starting with what Tim looks like...
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Cool!
Ask Tim if he'd like a real blog
Posted by: Pixy Misa at April 23, 2004 02:41 AM (kOqZ6)
2
Your opening line led me to think you were going to France.

Your experience so far reminds me of my trip to Germany to meet a friend I had only known online. Neither of us had any scanned pictures handy, so we had to guess each other's identity at the train station.
I did manage to get the ticket using Dutch for most of the transaction - the counter person and I broke down and resorted to English briefly, then switched back.
I'd like to read your linguistic diatribe, but I do realize that's only a footnote compared to what awaits you. Looking forward to your report.
Pixy,
Your generosity knows no bounds. Thanks for helping David with Rishon Rishon.
Posted by: Amritas at April 23, 2004 04:01 AM (h6KqA)
3
Language...everyone
wants to speak English. I tried the same in Panama, and finally gave up. In Costa Rica, in a tiny town, I finally put my Spanish to use.
Have fun on the trip.
Posted by: Mike at April 23, 2004 07:21 AM (cFRpq)
4
Hello, could you all tell me your opinion of a few of my military heroes, Smedley Butler, Scott Ritter, and USAF lieutenant-colonel Karen Kwiatkowski?
Click on my name if you need to know more about the latter.
Posted by: florian at April 23, 2004 08:28 AM (hgLPQ)
5
Funny...I'm heading to Germany to welcome my very lucky daughter from the 1/4 ADA, 1AD back to Germany...I thought about trying to look Tim up as well! He's kept me going this long last year, as have you. Hope your visit is wonderful! And please post a picture of this wonderful guy.
Keep on blogging, it keeps us going.
Posted by: beckie at April 23, 2004 03:35 PM (AaBEz)
6
http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/index.php
Link to it. You're the one with the military husband.
Posted by: Taron W at April 24, 2004 09:18 PM (s915e)
7
I remember the first time that the woman at the ticket counter answered me in German... It only took 6 months of buying monthly tickets, too!
Posted by: Dominic at April 27, 2004 07:26 AM (0h0BM)
8
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Posted by: casino at September 03, 2005 03:09 AM (7+3Q2)
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April 05, 2004
DINNER
I didn't check my email until it was too late, so I didn't get to participate in the
Right-Of-Center Bloggers Select Their Favorite Contemporary Dinner Guests over at RWN. The list sounds pretty good to me -- I wouldn't mind eating dinner with most of these people -- though my list would have leaned more towards bloggers. I can safely say I'd feel more honored to meet Victor Davis Hanson than Condoleezza Rice, more excited to eat dinner with James Lileks than Mel Gibson, and more nervous to meet Steven Den Beste than just about anyone in the world.
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I think Condi would be an interesting dinner companion, but Mel Gibson?
And no Munuvians on that list of blogs? Piffle!
Posted by: Pixy Misa at April 05, 2004 11:31 PM (+S1Ft)
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April 03, 2004
March 29, 2004
March 27, 2004
MU.NU
Pixy Misa from
Ambient Irony helped me move over from
my old Blogspot blog to my new mu.nu one. I simply mentioned in a blog post that I wanted to explore other options, and abracadabra he set everything up for me and welcomed me on over. Mu.nu has been great, and it's been easier for me than Blogger (e.g. comments included, search engine for site, uploading photos, etc). So if anyone is interested in moving his blog or starting up a brand new blog, Pixy has
made an open invitation to mu.nu! There's always room for one more, and then maybe you can see
your name in lights!
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Yes, well, open to people who aren't complete barking moonbats anyway.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at March 27, 2004 07:31 AM (+S1Ft)
2
Can I be "the prettiest blog", or are you speaking of the site?
Posted by: Mike at March 27, 2004 08:07 AM (00IUf)
3
Prettiest BLOG, Bunker, not BLOGGER...
Posted by: Sarah at March 27, 2004 08:08 AM (wxLfh)
4
Then you have to remove all pictures or it isn't fair!
Posted by: Mike at March 27, 2004 03:39 PM (00IUf)
5
hey guys glad to see so much interest in ths great blog
Posted by: viagra at September 12, 2005 10:42 AM (SHclP)
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