No Trip to DC For Jane
The Washington Post has cancelled the trip to DC.
I guess they felt the whole thing was getting a little uncontrollable, what with Atrios swinging for the fences this morning, Jim Brady's excuses crumbling in the light of the superb research done by jukeboxgrad over at DKos, and Paul Lukasiak and Mark Schmidt picking apart the so-called "proof" Deborah Howell offered up in defense of the paper's lame attempts to tar the Democrats with an indisputably Republican scandal.
Instead, I've been informed that they want to have a "moderated online chat" this Wednesday, something they think they will better be able to control, no doubt. If they don't like a comment that I make or a question that I ask, they can just "moderate" it out.
All along I've been lobbying for people like Kos, Atrios, MyDD or C&L to be included due to their experience in dealing with a large volume of commenters. Unlike, say, Glenn Reynolds who has no comments, and who it appears has declined to participate in a discussion. They didn't seem to cotton to the idea. Well, now that they've shifted the dialog to our turf, these possibilities open up.
I'm going to be live blogging the event here and cross-posting shortly thereafter on the HuffPo. I'm arranging for some "special guests" to participate via IM and I will be able to offer up their questions and commentary by proxy. The Post will moderate their own site, but I'll be moderating this one. Any comment they do not deem suitable for their discussion will be posted here, and I'll be able to draw on a wide variety of expertise -- with the internet at my fingertips, through IM and the Comments section -- that I would not have had access to in a live meeting.
I'll be able to sit behind my computer with a cup of coffee in my hand, my dogs at my side and all of you at my back, so I invite everyone to show up and take part. Redd will be live blogging and moderating the comment section so we'll both be participating, which I'm really happy about. I type about 120 wpm so that shouldn't be a problem, the only issue will be whether my brain can effectively multi-task like that. Well it will be a grand experiment anyway and I could bollox the whole thing up but what the hell let's give it a go.
Oh and I pissed Malkin off, who thinks my "vulgarity" should preclude my participation in the event. Can I tell you that just made my day. I should probably mention here that I type that fast because I spent much of my 20's working my way through college and grad school as a temporary secretary with the help of my mother, an amazing businesswoman and an pioneering feminist who used to go and cry in the bathroom at lunch for all the indignities she had to suffer (and then go back to work and pretend like nothing had happened) in a really difficult work environment as she struggled to give her two daughters the benefit of higher education. Every scintilla of my being is personally offended by Kate O'Beirne, her book and all her attempts to exploit the opportunities made possible for her and Michelle "Love the War, Hate the Soldier" Malkin by people like my mom (whose boots they are not fit to lick) and to whose dignity and inspiration I dedicate the torpedoing of Kato's book.
That one's for you, Mom.
And I could not be happier that the Crazy-Ass Racist Bitch is doing her part to spread the moniker "sandpaper snatch." Whenever Kate O'Beirne walks into a room for the rest of her life it tickles me to no end know that everyone is privately sniggering about that one to themselves, and my heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who participates in its dissemination (it was actually Digby who urged me to go with it, and I'm kinda proud of it myself. I think it's some of my best work.)
Anyway, we're drawing some blood here. And we've just begun. I hope everyone shows up at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT and participates in the WaPo "moderated" chat. Should be some good times.
posted by Jane Hamsher @ 1/23/2006 12:22:00 PM
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