Yet Another Update

My wife is still in the hospital. Her condition is stable, but she's not really improving. The infection in her blood is no longer there, but the doctors believe she has an infection in her stomach, I will know more tomorrow.

I want to be clear about a few things. I don't spend all my time at the hospital, and the truth is, I can't. That doesn't mean I'm not allowed, because I don't doubt that if I was adamant enough about staying all the time, they would probably let me. I don't make a lot of noise, I don't pester the nurses, I don't act rudely, mostly I just sit with my wife and hold her hand while she sleeps (which is what she still mostly does). I remember the movie Good Will Hunting and when the psychiatrist in the film (Robin Williams) talks about how he spent all his time at the hospital when his wife had cancer and how the doctors could see that the term "visiting hours" didn't apply to him, and I feel badly about not being there 24/7. I love my wife as much as a man could possibly love anyone, it's the kind of love they write books about. Even with all the tubes sticking out of her she's still the most beautiful person in the world to me, and I make sure she knows that every time I am with her.

When my wife's sisters came to visit I told them this and they told me it was OK, that I didn't have to be there all the time: in fact the doctors have said that some days it's important that she doesn't have any company, because she always wants to talk and be active and she needs rest and to conserve her energy. I still feel bad about not being there for her every minute, but the important thing is for her to get better so she can come home again. And of course I can't sleep over there anyway, nor can I take a shower. And while I am grateful for those who have donated, there are still bills to be paid, and I can't pay them if I eat out all the time, so I have to cook at home as much as I can.

I always read my regular sites after I wake up; it's a routine for me just like it's a routine for someone to read the morning paper every day. I don't feel right if I don't do that. I also read them again in the evenings when I get home. Sometimes I feel the need to write something, but writing takes concentration and my mind is often elsewhere. The same goes for doing a show. I know you all understand this, obviously my wife takes precedent over the blog or the radio show. I'm just writing this to clear my head over a few matters and also to let you all know how things are going. It's like occupational therapy, getting it all off my chest.

When my wife is well again, I will have more time to write about the issues of the day, which I still keep up with because if I didn't distract myself with what's going on I'd probably get very, very depressed, and I need to be strong for Cathy. So for all my regular readers and listeners, just bear with me please. I will drop notes whenever I can.

Got Flag?

In the days after 9/11, we've been told that there is a great resurgence in "patriotism", and apparently we liberals just don't get it. Why don't we support the troops? Why don't we get behind the War On Terror^TM?

Corporatists and their apologists view everything in terms of the market, and patriotism is just another product to be sold, right there on the shelf alongside religion and the military. For them it's about making a profit, nothing else. For their followers, buying the product relieves them of the responsibilities of citizenship. Wave a flag, sing a song, chant a slogan, that's all you have to do. Nothing could be easier! And that's just fine with many Americans. Being a patriot, then, means never having to be a citizen.

We liberals outgrew that a long time ago. We know what patriotism means, and we're not buying what they're selling. And that scares them.

(via Digby)

Getting Better

I have time for another update before I head out to the hospital again. Cathy is still in intensive care, but is no longer in critical condition. Unfortunately, there's little that can be actively done to cure pancreatitis, all they can to is to provide fluids intravenously and wait for the swelling to go down on its own, and that takes time.

My wife's sisters have arrived from California, this will help lessen the burden on me a bit.

My thanks once again to all of you who have donated and to those who have written their support. As always I will try to keep everyone updated.

James Doohan, 1920 - 2005

I don't care what anyone says, I still love the old Star Trek, I even liked TNG after a fashion. Scotty was a good character, and Doohan embraced the role. My favorite bits with him were the fight with the Klingons in the tribble episode and the one where he got that alien from the Andromeda galaxy drunk. My favorite Star Trek parody bit is from Star Drek:

Kirk: "Engineering, what's going on down there?"

Scotty: "Well I tried puttin' a weiner in the warp drive but it dinna do a bit o' good...by the by, would ya happen to have a wee bit o' mustard up on the bridge?"

Kirk: "Spock?"

Spock: "No mustard, Captain."

Kirk: "Analysis, Mr. Spock?"

Spock: "It would appear that Mr. Scott is about to eat a weiner without mustard."

Kirk: "Your logic is flawless as always, Spock."

We'll miss ya, Scotty.

Ticking Like This

Another Update

When my wife went into the hospital last week, we both assumed that she would at least be home by now: pancreatitis mainly requires a lot of IV feeding and observation. But complications have set in and her condition has worsened, so right now we don't know how long she will be in there. I'll do my best to keep everyone updated.

Note: I got home this evening to find several very generous donations, and I'd like to take a moment to thank those who did. I also want to thank Digby, Avedon Carol, and Hellblazer for mentioning my wife's illness on their sites.

But I wanted to be clear that my wife's illness is not causing us any more financial difficulty than we already have: Grady Memorial specifically deals with people like us (broke), and if (well, when) she is approved for disability, then Medicaid will cover her costs.

So while any donations will as always be gratefully accepted (as my wife is fond of saying, who are we to deny someone the blessing of giving to others?), please don't do so under the impression that it's needed specifically for medical bills. Our financial situation has always been a little strained, her hospitalization just makes it more difficult for me to find work. Thanks again to those who donated, you will not be forgotten!

Cathy's condition has stabilized, and it's possible they may remove her from intensive care tomorrow. Two of her sisters have flown in from California to see her, their presence will do wonders for her morale. Thanks again to those who donated, and I will do my best to keep you all updated.

Updates And Notes

My wife is still in the hospital with pancreantitis. She's expected to be in the hospital for a few more days in the intensive care unit while they monitor her condition. I am home for the moment because I need to do laundry and some other household chores, as soon as they are done I will head out there. The truth is that at present she is more asleep than awake due to the sedation, but I like to be there for those few moments she is awake. Money is a problem however: the recent donations I recently received have been eaten up by rent, phone bill, and insurance bill. And going to the hospital every day means money for the train and to eat while I'm there. So if anyone wants to help out, you can do so here.

Being home for a few hours, and being awake and active myself after finally getting a decent night's sleep, also gives me a chance to do a little writing, so hopefully there will be some articles out today on the various things going on. I want to thank everyone for their concern and I will keep everyone updated on what's going on with my wife as soon as I know something.

FYI

There probably won't be a lot of posts in the near future, the wife is in the hospital again and I am spending a lot of time there.

[UPDATED] In Anger

You would think that after all these years, I would know better. Don't write a letter in anger you tell yourself. Wait a while before you post something: if you feel the same way about it an hour or longer after you have written it then you can feel free to send it, knowing that it's how you honestly feel about something and not just a reactionary response. But I guess I still have a lot to learn about controlling my temper.

I recently received a response from Albert Renteria, a response to this post which in turn was a response to this one about an organization whose stated purpose is to send items to GI's in Iraq. A noble sentiment at first glance, but Mr. Renteria was parading the idea at the recent Young Republicans convention, attended by able-bodied men and women who support the Iraq war yet refuse to go out and fight, and who see liberal bloggers like me as being as bad as Al-Qaeda. This is what he wrote me:

Mr. Vecchio,
Thank you for sharing the values and understanding of our freedoms.

I can tell you are a man of integrity and honesty and why I am compelled to send this email.

Sometimes our freedoms are clouded with misunderstandings and until some clarity is sought out, uncertainties are the result.

You make reference in this email and your online posting that you believe I have not served this great nation in uniform. Hence, uncertainties and misunderstandings are prevalent. I feel you are confusing me with someone else, for I have served you and our nation for 26 years. I don’t blame you for your right to post what you believe. You deserve to know the truth so you can validate what you believe.

Here is the truth. I retired April 1, 2000, after serving with the Marine Corps for 26 years. I enjoyed the benefit of the GI Bill and earned my masters. I hate waste and I believe in you and all those of this great nation.

I enjoy all of our civilians enjoying the freedoms given to them. It gives me honor to know that my many years of service was for not.

I witnessed waste during my tour in the Gulf War; waste that I am not sure you and many understand exists. I decided to do something about it and I am enlisting every American to join the effort without regard to political affiliation. I only see you as an American that appears to care for others and I suspect you want many to understand you and why you posted the email suggesting I made those comments.

My decision to attend all types of events of any type is important to me and I always welcome the invitation. Views are perceived, but having served under several presidents, it is always about the people of this great nation.

I don’t know if you ever served and if you did, I thank you. And if it was with the Marine Corps we just might have crossed paths.

Okay, now that you know a little about me, I am sure you will recognize that your comments and the truth of what you now know of me is certainly a conflict. Leaving your posting after you have this information suggest that you are not interested in the truth and you are willing to encourage others to ignore the truth. Is this what you want?

Your actions caught our attention and I applaud you for that. It should have and I am glad it did.

I have made many great friends all over the world and it is interesting how some of them started with misunderstandings. Who knows, this just might be one of those situations.

I welcome your thoughts and please do understand those deployed are our brothers, daughters, sisters, mothers, sons and fathers. They deserve to know we are thinking about them and I am willing to share with them they are not forgotten.

OI represents one nation crossing the line together and if you decide to cross that line with us, please do visit www.oidelivers.org to learn how simple that just might be.

Thank you for expressing yourself and wanting to learn facts and understanding them so the power of your written word has substance and truth. I would hate to see your words be untruthful and misunderstood. I am here to serve you 24/7 and if I can assist you with any details so you can differentiate from a parody with truth and a parody without truth just let me know.

Service never ends for a Marine! Semper Fi,

Albert R. Renteria, CWO4 USMC (Ret.)

Founder/CEO/President
Operation Interdependence®
A Civilian-to-Military Delivery System®
Powered by Interdependence™
www.oidelivers.org

This is my original response:

Mr. Renteria:
There was a time, not so very long ago, when I would have misinterpreted your letter as a polite response by someone who honestly wanted a free and open discussion on a particular issue. But I've been at this game long enough to recognize Republican insincerity when I see it.

It was Republican lies that sent your brother and sister Marines into Iraq in the first place; if you were really interested in the truth you'd look for it there. You may not like what I have to say but you can bet that if I DO say it, I MEAN it. If you really want to convince me I'm wrong about you, you'd better give me actions and not words. Republicans have proven time and time again that their word is meaningless; they can't be trusted to tell the truth, and they will say anything to gain an advantage. As a Republican, therefore, you have no credibility with me, so spare me your phony sense of outrage.

If you think what I'm saying to you is harsh and unfair, tough. Ten years of being called a traitor and a terrorist will do that to a person. I'll be civil when you and your ilk are removed from power and can no longer do any damage to this country.

Sincerely,
Joe Vecchio

PS: Yes I am a veteran

But after sending it, I immediately regretted it. I emailed Mr. Renteria expressing my regret and sent him the following:

Mr. Renteria:
I very much want to believe that you are a decent and honorable person, and that we live in a country where different points of view can be respected. But I'm afraid that it's no longer that easy. For the last ten years and more I and other liberals have been called traitors and terrorists, and many of us (including myself) fear that, given the opportunity, you would have us all imprisoned and perhaps even killed. Under such circumstances, it's not easy to accept what appears to be an open hand: all too often we have learned that a knife is held in the other, waiting to strike.

Marine you may be, but being a Republican I am afraid to say that your credibility is lacking: the GOP has spread many lies over the last four years and has also shown every compunction to shortchange our soldiers in favor of political and business friends and policies. The lies told about Iraq, the incompetent handling of the war, the demonizing of political opponents, the torturing of innocent civilians (and the celebration of torture: it was at the YR Convention where you could buy T-Shirts that said "I [heart] Gitmo"), all of it makes it very difficult to trust what a Republican has to say. So my skepticism is, unfortunately, well-founded. Loyalty has to exist not just from the soldier to the civilian leadership, but also from the civilian leadership to its soldiers. And this administration has betrayed your brother and sister Marines by needlessly putting them in harm's way.

I, too, am a veteran, a former Sergeant in the US Air Force, and I come from a family of soldiers going back to World War Two (my father is a Pearl Harbor Survivor), so I at least understand what duty and honor means, even if I occasionally behave dishonorably. I also share your concern at the massive waste that goes on in the military, having experienced it firsthand, but perhaps we could help our soldiers better by forcing our representatives to live up to their rhetoric and not just use the troops as photo ops. But it's the pro-war Republicans who are once more betraying their trust by cutting veterans benefits and not providing soldiers with the equipment that they need to do their jobs. If their deeds matched their words then organizations like yours wouldn't need to exist.

Since every bit of information I have found about you shows that you did indeed serve in the Marines, I will attach a note to the original post indicating such, but as long as the Young Republicans and College Republicans and every able-bodied person who supports this administration and its policies refuses to stand up and fight, I will call them out for the cowards that they are.

Sincerely,
Joe Vecchio

I know, it's not as tough-sounding as the original, though it says many of the same things. To Mr. Renteria, I offer a public apology, because there was nothing in the original post that indicated that Mr. Renteria is in any way involved directly with the Young Republicans, just that he would be attending, nor was there any indication on whether they invited him or he asked to come. As my friend Dave pointed out, groups like OI probably receive invitations to speak at numerous events, it doesn't necessarily mean they are affiliated with them.

I would hope that while he was there, Mr. Renteria took the time to remind the Young Republicans that while sending useful things to soldiers is a noble gesture, the best gesture they could do for their country, if they honestly believed in the war in Iraq, would be to enlist and go there themselves.

I really don't like writing nasty letters, you know. But I think my anger and frustration at what has happened to this country is justified, and I will continue to speak out in defense of American ideals.

Open Thread: Show 103

Special Commentary! Click Here To Listen!

Listen here. Comment below. I've been busy with personal issues but the book idea is still alive and kicking. Please feel free to toss some money in the tip jar.

Meantime, send me your Stupid Boss Tricks!

I Get Letters

Dear Mr. Vecchio:
During our routine internet searches, we have discovered a recent posting by you entitled Dear Soldier. While we respect your right to make commentary as you wish, the manner of this particular posting contains erroneous information about our organization. It also suggests that an OI® representative made the comments and approved the posting. This of course, is not the case.

We kindly ask that you remove the erroneous information and detail only facts you have uncovered while visiting our website. I am sure you can appreciate our concern and understand our desire for accuracy in postings. OI® provides a means for civilians to show their support for our deployed forces in a manner that does not impact military resources.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like additional information to clear up any confusion you may have about our organization. Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation in this matter.


Rebecca Forest
OI® Ambassador, Austin, TX
Operation Interdependence®
A Civilian-to-Military Delivery System®
Powered by Interdependence™
www.oidelivers.org

Ms. Forest:
No, I will not remove the post. It is an obvious parody protected by the First Amendment (you remember that, don't you? Oh sorry I forgot, you're a REPUBLICAN) which sums up what I believe to be Mr. Renteria's condescending attitude towards our soldiers.

If Mr. Renteria wants to send anything to Iraq, he should send himself. As far as I am concerned, anyone who is of age and physically fit who supports this President and his policies who hasn't already enlisted is a sniveling little coward who warrants the contempt of free people everywhere. That includes you, Ms. Forest.

Sincerely,
Joe Vecchio

BTW: look at all those copyrights and trademarks...what a bunch of assholes

Unwanted Hiatus

A couple of people have emailed me asking why I haven't done a new show in a while, truth is the wife has been ill and I haven't been able to concentrate on putting one together. She's feeling a bit better now so hopefully I will have a new show up this weekend. Sorry for the delay, but hey its still free!

London

The other blogs are dealing with this story much better than I ever can so I'll let them do it. Atrios in particular points out several instances where the notion that it's better to fight the terrorists in Iraq is somehow better than fighting them in our streets is shown to be the ridiculous idea that it is: particularly, as another blogger put it, because it means that our soldiers there are pretty much bait. And you can now bet that the American media is relieved that it doesn't have to talk about the Plame story for a while, anyway.

By the way, this is the second time a major terrorist attack has occurred when the US media starts talking about missing white women and shark attacks. If I were a crazy conspiracy nut I might think there was some connection...

A Georgia Veteran Needs Help

A friend in the local Democratic Party sent this to me asking me to pass it along. Always happy to lend a hand.

Background:
A friend, Eugenia Hanshaw, who volunteered tirelessly for all Democrats running for offices in 2004, has a daughter that is currently serving in the US Air Force. Her daughter, Amaya Hanshaw is a Senior Airmen (E-4) and will be honorably discharged from Goodfellow AFB, Texas, on July 24, 2005, after serving 4 years. Amaya is 22 years old and has a 2 year old son. Amanda is originally from Avondale Estates (DeKalb County) and graduated from Avondale High in 2001. Amaya has had no prior offenses and no criminal record. The father of her son is a recently discharged Navy serviceman named Chad.

The Situation:
On Feb. 19, 2004, Amaya purchased a gun from a pawn shop in San Angelo, Texas for basic protection. Sometime in June 2004, Chad (her son’s father) asked to borrow the gun because some guys had threatened him and he wanted to store the gun at his home. They lived in separate homes and Amaya was the sole provider for their child. Amaya made a terrible judgment call and agreed to let him store the gun at his home. The day after Chad completed his Navy duties and was discharged; he decided to rob a bank. Chad is 23 years old. Chad never made it out the bank before he was arrested by the police. Chad was convicted and is currently serving the first year of a nine year sentence. The FBI traced the gun back to Amaya and after completing a full report they decided that she used poor judgment and was not an accessory to the bank robbery. But, the government has decided to prosecute her on a technical violation.

The Charge:
The government is charging her with False Statement regarding Firearms records (violation of 18 U.S.C 924 (a) (1) (A)
They claim that because she checked “yes” on the form stating that she was the actual buyer at the time of purchase and the firearm was used to rob a bank then it is a Federal offense. They are contending that she purchased the gun for Chad; which she did not. Under the sentencing guidelines, for no prior offenses, no criminal record, the range is 6-12 months in Federal prison.

The Case:
Amaya started out by pleading not guilty. After she received a court appointed attorney, Randol Stout, he and the prosecutor, C.Richard Baker, forced/convinced her to plead guilty. They used different tactics, including telling her that if she switched from the court attorney then they would bring in new evidence, a videotape. One week before Chad’s discharge he asked Amaya to follow him around the base with a video camera so that he could keep the video as a memento. She videotaped him and this is the only evidence that they are using against her to plead guilty. With no family support, the threat of Federal prison, and an impassionate court appointed attorney, she changed her plea to “guilty”. Her arraignment for the “guilty” plea is on July 28, 2005 in Lubbock, Texas.

Legal support:
Amaya has no money to afford a criminal attorney and neither does her mother. Her mother, who lives in Georgia, is taking care of Amaya’s 2 year old son during the day and working as a cleaning lady in the evening. The case is being heard in Lubbock, Texas. Her court appointed attorney is Randol Stout, the prosecutor is C.Richard Baker, and the presiding judge is Sam R. Cummings. Amaya has received a character letter from her supervisor and will receive one from the Colonel at Goodfellow AFB. The military will not offer her an attorney because the crime is not a military matter.

What next?
The only thing that I can offer Amaya is my wide range of contacts. I do not know much about criminal cases nor the military. But, I do know that it is a shame that someone can go from serving their country honorably and in 4 days time can become a convicted felon because of one bad judgment decision. This young lady is only 22 years old and is sitting in Texas alone and in fear for her life and her son’s life. She needs someone down there that can yell “bullshit” to the court appointed attorney and prosecutor for trying to railroad her into something she is not guilty of. She has no one to yell. I ask for your support to help find a way to get this young lady cleared of these charges and/or to help her find the means to hire a criminal attorney that is in support of her welfare.

Amaya Hanshaw SrA 17 CS/SCBE
E-Mail her
She can use advice, support letters, prayers, and everything else.

Thank you for your time.

Punished For Being Poor, THE BOOK!

After the tremendous response I got to this post about my letter to the DeKalb County (GA) Dept. of Family and Children's Services, I was inspired to do something a little more. I thought about writing a book, and it's taken me a couple of days to go over in my head exactly what form I'd like the book to take.

I decided immediately against a book of numbers and statistics. Most people, myself included, tune the numbers out. What I want to do is to show the human side of poverty in this country: and not just unemployed people like myself, but the working poor and the middle class who are finding it more and more difficult to make ends meet even as they work longer hours. My inspiration is Jacob Riis' book How The Other Half Lives, which is what shamed many middle-class patrons of NYC to enact changes that would improve the lot of people in poverty. The book played an important part in the creation of the New Deal, and perhaps this one will help to show people that the poor aren't really that much different than they are.

The working title of the book is "Punished For Being Poor: Tales From The Other Half", and it will feature the life stories of people who are unemployed, on food stamps or welfare as well as people who work in dead-end jobs and who own small businesses across the country. At present I am working on a series of questions that I will ask people, questions about their history, their work experiences, and what kind of career they would like to have, etc.. Then I am going to travel around Atlanta (and maybe around rural Georgia as well, if I can) to interview them, record what they say, and transcribe it. The important thing, as I see it, is to counter the pointless and demeaning anger that's leveled at the poor. It's all in the embryonic stages right now, and I'm open to any and all suggestions.

I will need a little help, as well: I'd like to interview people across the country and not just in the Atlanta area, where I live. I can't do any real traveling, at least not out of the state, but if a few of you from different regions of the country would like to conduct interviews, that would be a great help. Maybe we could do one or two people from each state, though that seems to be asking a lot. A hundred interviews could make for a three-to-four hundred page book, and that may be a bit big, but who knows. If some of you here would like to go around your local towns and interview people, please feel free to e-mail me and we can discuss it in more detail.

And since one of the commenters in the original post chastised me (nicely, and via email) for not being more "blatant" in asking for donations, I will try to rectify that here. Since I have never written a book before, I doubt I will get any kind of advance from a publisher, which means I will need some financial help to get started. I figure that this book will take a minimum of about six months to write: travel, interviewing, transcribing, editing, etc. This will be full-time work and therefore I'll need some sort of income while I am writing it. I'll also need something to set up a website to sell the book from, and some technical equipment (like an MP3 recorder and a microphone if necessary, or maybe even a laptop), and some travel expense money. As I always ask when asking for donations, don't send the rent money, send what you can afford. This, by the way, would be a great way of showing what the blogosphere could do. We've already started to rock the political world, I think its time we showed what kind of impact we can have on people's every day lives. Oh of course if anyone has any used equipment along those lines that they want to donate in lieu of money, that would also be great.

If you want to donate, you can do so here. You can give a one-time donation or subscribe on a monthly basis in different amounts.

And just so everyone knows, the bulk of the money from this book, should it make a profit, would go towards the creation of some sort of foundation geared towards helping people out, the exact details of which are to be determined. Perhaps a few of us could bang our heads together and come up with some ideas. Anyone who donates their time and money towards this project will be compensated for their efforts, at the very least with a copy of the book, but again the details have yet to be determined. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I don't expect any money for myself above and beyond expenses, but I'm not looking to make a mint. If I can earn enough to justify the work I intend to put into it I will be more than happy, and a published book might lead to other things, especially if it sells.

Thanks again for all your support!

More On Blogging

I don't mean to beat this into the ground, but some issues were brought up in the comments section of the previous post that I think I need to address. For some reason, by the way, blogspot ate the original post, so I re-posted it.

For the record, I agree with Elayne on what the true strengths of bloggers are. I don't consider myself to be a "journalist", I'm just a guy with an opinion and a means to spread that opinion around. But, through the character Mark Slackmeyer, Trudeau just called all bloggers "angry, semi-employed losers who are too untalented or too lazy to get real jobs in journalism". He didn't qualify it with anything specific, he made that claim of all of us: me, Elayne, Dave, Atrios, Juan Cole, etc. That has nothing to do with legitimacy, that's a personal insult, and the only reason I didn't react stronger is my hope that what Slackmeyer was saying didn't necessarily reflect Trudeau's views. I wrote him to ask him just that, we'll see how and if he responds.

I do think that what Trudeau says is true of some bloggers, but not all of them; my complaint is that he is painting with a pretty wide brush, and also being pretty insulting: the implication that just having a blog makes you a "loser" is more than just "poking fun" at them. I imagine that nearly everyone who reads this or responds has a blog or livejournal of your own, do you think you're all losers just for having one?

I also take issue with the idea that only paid professionals are legitimate. My friend Dave is an artist, is your work any less legitimate because you don't work for Marvel or DC or some other company? Do you think you're as good as some of the artists who worked for them over the years? How would you feel if an artist you respected implied that you were a loser because no one hired you for your work? That's kind of how I feel.

I don't think bloggers are going to replace true journalists, or that blogs will replace professional news outlets. That doesn't mean that bloggers can't be journalists, however, and it doesn't mean that their opinion is worth less than a professional. And it certainly doesn't mean that the professionals are doing quality work themselves, or don't behave childishly. Anyone remember the spat between Berkeley Breathed and Pat Oliphant?

OK maybe I'm just taking this too seriously. I'm not going to stop writing this thing just because Trudeau said I was a loser, that's for sure. I don't even know if that's how he really feels. But if he honestly feels that anyone who writes a blog is a loser, then I think he has more issues than I do.

Blogging And Journamalism

There's been a lot of talk lately on the more prominent blogs about the difference between being a blog and being a magazine. This has come about mostly because of the recent hearings about whether blogs should be held to some sort of journalistic standards. Atrios in particular wonders why blogs are suddenly being taken to task for supposedly lacking these standards while others, specifically talk radio hosts, aren't. The paranoid part of me finds it interesting that these issues are being raised as the influence of left-wing bloggers has risen. But that's just me, I guess.

I think, and this is just my opinion mind you but hey I've been known to be right before, that bloggers really are a threat to the established powers that be. Until recently, the only way to communicate with large amounts of people was to have access to equipment and technology that was well beyond the financial resources of all but a very few people. The Internet is beginning to change all that. Computers and access to the Internet, while still expensive for many people, requires only a fraction of the money needed to print a newspaper. It's like standing on a soap box and shouting, only this is no ordinary street corner. The potential audience is huge, and can reach people all over the world. It's really something that's unprecedented in human history.

And it disturbs me when I see something like this:

I don't understand why Mr. Trudeau, who I normally have a lot of respect for, wrote this. Is he saying that only people who get paid, or who at least have the potential to get paid, deserve to be heard? I don't doubt that there's a lot of crackpots out there (myself included, though I try not to be), but looking at some of the things the so-called "professionals" have put out over the years, I don't see where there's much of a distinction.

I don't like speaking ill of Mr. Trudeau, a tremendously talented individual, a professional in every sense of the word, who started working while I was still in elementary school, but he's wrong to paint us all with such a wide brush. When he alleges that blogging is basically for "angry, semi-employed losers who are too untalented or too lazy to get real jobs in journalism", I would say that the statement says more about him than it does about me.

Lucky

When I posted this story on my diary at Daily Kos and on the message board at Smirking Chimp, the response I got was pretty overwhelming: not just comments but quite a bit of donations as well. it caught me off-guard because I wasn't really seeking out donations.

I'll try not to sound too maudlin about the whole affair, but it made me feel really lucky that there are so many perfect strangers willing to help out. As bad as things are for my wife and I, we both recognize that things could be a lot worse. Imagine the everyday life of a working class Iraqi, for example.

The response has inspired me to put actions to words. I've been a little busy in the last couple of days responding to emails, doing job search, and taking care of some personal business, but either this evening or over the weekend I'll be making an announcement as to what I plan on doing and how you can all help. Stay tuned!