Columnist compares blogs to the Reformation.

December 31, 2001 1:46 PM

Columnist compares blogs to the Reformation...
posted by owillis to General Weblog-Related at 1:46 PM (16 comments total)

Er,pardon me for being a bit dull,but what the hell is the anglosphere?
posted by Fat Buddha at 2:39 PM on December 31, 2001

"Anglosphere: The Future of the English Speaking People Beyond the Internet Era...despite repeated predictions of the demise of America & other English-speaking nations as the world's predominant culture, James C. Bennett [President and Director of Internet Transactions Transnational, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia] believes that the gap between these nations & others will only widen in the coming decades. The term 'anglosphere' describes a loose coalition of nations based on a common language & heritage. Bennett asserts the traits common to these countries--a strong & independent civil society; openness & receptivity to the world, its people & ideas; & a dynamic economy--have uniquely positioned them to prosper in a time of dramatic technological & scientific change."

Chattering classes, "the social group consisting of those people who are educated, articulate, and opinionated."

Fat Buddha: Hurrah! There was a point to my digging up all the above. (Appallingly bad writer, isn't he?)
posted by Carol Anne at 2:45 PM on December 31, 2001

He is very bad,his piece was on something I find enthralling,and I have a post degree level education,but I lost interest very quickly..his fault not mine. The anglosphere seems to indicate those of the English speaking world that would agree with him.
Blogs according to him,present a way of countering left wing propaganda.In the U.S and Britain I would say the Christian right enjoys almoast total hegemony.The central point is good though.Not sure about a reformation but bloggers do remind me of 17 C pamphleteers and radicals such as the ranters ; struggling to make their point and provide an alternative voice.I love them.
posted by Fat Buddha at 3:35 PM on December 31, 2001

In the U.S and Britain I would say the Christian right enjoys almoast total hegemony

Don't know how you get this.

And all the bloggers he mentions definitely lean if not overwhlemingly tilt right. There are a few more aggresive blogs that lean left (Ken Layne is one) but I fear the left wing is letting their inherent namby-pambyism get the best of them. Again.
posted by owillis at 5:16 PM on December 31, 2001

In the U.S and Britain I would say the Christian right enjoys almoast total hegemony

Don't know how you get this.
It's late,but I shall try.
The us has a president who lost an election,but carries blithely on the uk has a prime minister who might as well be a president
The right wing press love him.
Neither of these candidate were able to say just count the votes its a shoe in.But the christian right won on both counts.And a goodamm good thing too!
Nevert mind the press.
The worlds biggest superpower and its most obedient client state behave like cops on new years eve.
happy new year,honestly.
posted by Fat Buddha at 6:33 PM on December 31, 2001

In the U.S and Britain I would say the Christian right enjoys almoast total hegemony

That would explain, I suppose, why Britain is considered the least religious nation in the world
posted by kindall at 6:51 PM on December 31, 2001

Total hegemony? If the Christian right had total hegemony, Bush would not be president. To the Christian right, he is a moderate, to be sure. If the Christian right had total hegemony, Clinton would never have been president, Hillary would never have become a Senator, and "socks" would still just be something you wear on your feet (or a firewall transversal protocal). If the Christian right had total hegemony, the media would not be controlled by their counterparts on the left (In 1992, 93% of journalists voted for WJ Clinton). Just because a large number of Americans consider Christianity their religion, does not mean that they all vote the same. Catholics, for example, fairly evenly split their vote between Bush and Gore.
posted by insomnyuk at 11:16 PM on December 31, 2001

I'm not sure that the media is controlled by journalists, any more than the building industry is controlled by bricklayers.
posted by Grangousier at 1:37 AM on January 1, 2002

In the U.S and Britain I would say the Christian right enjoys almoast total hegemony.

As far as the the US is concerned, that statement fails to take into account the pure independent obstinacy of most people I know. They are Christian and mostly right leaning, but they still do not follow blindly the Christian Right path.
posted by bjgeiger at 3:55 AM on January 1, 2002

"A guide to the dot.commies and dot.reactionaries on the web," by David Turim of the Chicago Tribune. I particularly like his comments on my fellow red-diaper baby (never my political 'comrade'!): "...frontpage.com, edited by David Horowitz, whose personal political evolution has taken him from one extreme to the other, seemingly without ever having strayed into the vast middle. Thankfully, not everything on frontpage.com conveys the same degree of vehemence as generally characterizes Horowitz's writings."
posted by Carol Anne at 5:36 AM on January 1, 2002

"chatteratti"..."Anti-Americanism, the more fashionable modern analogue of anti-Semitism"...This guy cracks me up!
And Carol Anne, I want to thank you for your contributions to this community. Any link with your name below it has proved on topic and educational. Happy New Year.
posted by Mack Twain at 11:16 AM on January 1, 2002

Wow. K5 voters would have thown that right out on it's ear. What a load of smug blather. UPI must be fairly desperate for material.

So, were we supposed to think blogs are good or bad?
posted by rusty at 12:40 PM on January 1, 2002

UPI must be fairly desperate for material. UPI isn't what it used to be.

Unification Press International?: "UPI, a 93-year-old agency, has been a financially troubled operation for the better part of the past three decades, with multiple ownership changes during the past 18 years...When the sale to [Rev. Sun Myung] Moon was announced [in 2000], veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas, UPI's most revered and honored employee, handed in her resignation rather than pick up her paycheck from Moon."
posted by Carol Anne at 1:30 PM on January 1, 2002

Ah, the Moonies - owner of the crappy newspaper in Washington... (see just one example of the Times' journalistic distinction)
posted by owillis at 5:52 PM on January 1, 2002

I hope this guy won the "how many times can you use the word 'anglosphere' in an article" contest!
posted by yourpalbill at 10:19 PM on January 1, 2002

Mmmm. Ordinarily I'd do the smart thing and keep my mouth shut, but I gotta stand up for my employer. (Which is to say, for UPI---the Times, the Anglosphere guy, and the reverend Moon are all on their own.)

So yeah. Not to out-Carol-Anne Carol Anne, but I'm pretty fond of this article about UPI and its owners that was in Brill's last spring; I think it's pretty even-handed. Beyond that I'll say only that if I thought UPI was a mouthpiece for the vast right-wing conspiracy, I wouldn't be working there.

Thanks for directing some traffic to our new site, owillis. I'll have the good reverend put your check in the mail ASAP. ;)
posted by Sapphireblue at 9:20 AM on January 2, 2002