How Much Is That Bloggie In The Window?

On a lark Mister Americano decided to calculate the financial value of his blog. At this "business opportunities" site he found through Technorati.com (here) he entered his site's URL in the handy calculator provided there and got the answer he expected. misteramericano is worth nothing. Zip, zilch, nada. Or to be precise, $0.00. Presumably that sum is the same in any currency.

Blogging is a hobby and Mister Americano seeks no financial reward for it. At least not yet. If he wanted money for it he'd put as much time into it as he puts into his job, which, for the record, in case his boss has found this site, is a lot. Hours and hours of time is spent on the job, which pays handsomely, and for which he is grateful. As are his cats, friends, family, creditors, and all the contractors being paid to upgrade his home this year.

If he ever leaves his job, which he hopes does not happen anytime soon. (For the record, in case the boss -- well, you know.) He has no intention of quitting the day job and there is no reason why he should be told to leave involuntarily. (For the record. Just in case the boss has found this site. You know. Just in case. And please note, boss. This post is written on a Sunday. Granted, it's on an office computer because Mister Americano has got something due tomorrow. For the record, he'll get right on that.)

So why blog? For personal satisfaction, mostly. Readers are nice and Mister Americano loves them. But the biggest thrill from blogging is finding an idea or coming up with one, researching it, thinking about it, writing it up, and then seeing it in print. It satisfies a creative urge that otherwise might not be fulfilled. There's a certain feeling of accomplishment that comes from pushing that "Publish Post" button.

The trick of course is to have something worth saying that adds value to the discussion of an issue or to a reader's knowledge. That's the hard part of doing a worthwhile blog. All Mister Americano can say to that is, "I'm workin' on it, okay!"

-tdr

Olbermann Misleads.

Tonight to open MSNBC's "news" show "Countdown" Keith Olbermann announced that President George Bush called the present majority of Americans who believe the President was dishonest about the war "deeply irresponsible." Let's see what the Presidnent actually said in today's speech. (Full text here.)

"And our debate at home must also be fair-minded. One of the hallmarks of a free society and what makes our country strong is that our political leaders can discuss their differences openly, even in times of war. When I made the decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, Congress approved it with strong bipartisan support. I also recognize that some of our fellow citizens and elected officials didn't support the liberation of Iraq. And that is their right, and I respect it. As President and Commander-in-Chief, I accept the responsibilities, and the criticisms, and the consequences that come with such a solemn decision

"While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began. Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war. These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments related to Iraq's weapons programs.

"They also know that intelligence agencies from around the world agreed with our assessment of Saddam Hussein. They know the United Nations passed more than a dozen resolutions citing his development and possession of weapons of mass destruction. And many of these critics supported my opponent during the last election, who explained his position to support the resolution in the Congress this way: "When I vote to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat, and a grave threat, to our security." That's why more than a hundred Democrats in the House and the Senate — who had access to the same intelligence — voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power.

"The stakes in the global war on terror are too high, and the national interest is too important, for politicians to throw out false charges. These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will. As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them. Our troops deserve to know that this support will remain firm when the going gets tough. And our troops deserve to know that whatever our differences in Washington, our will is strong, our nation is united, and we will settle for nothing less than victory."

It's clear from these four paragraphs that the "deeply irresponsible" "Democrats and anti-war critics" the President is talking about are "politicians ... throw[ing] out false charges." In fact the only reference the President makes to Americans in general who disagreed with his decision to liberate Iraq is the postivie statement that he respects the right of his "fellow citizens" who disagreed with his decision.

So why did Olbermann create the false impression that the President's Veteran's Day speech included an attack on the majority of the American people?

-tdr

The Governator Caves.

"Team Schwarzenegger" sent the following email to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's supporters after his electoral defeat on Tuesday. It's sad. The Terminator has gone from Kindergarten Cop to Kindergarten Kid. This is a politician humbled.

-tdr

Here's the governor's letter:

I want to thank the people of California.

Whether you voted for our reforms or against them, I thank you for your conscientious consideration. We have fought the good fight.

We did not lose anything we already had; we simply did not gain anything new except a lesson or two. The lesson of this campaign is that the people want us to reform government by fighting less and working together more.

The voters have said, Arnold, go back to Sacramento and solve the problems by working with the legislature. I hear you. So, that is what I intend to do. I will carry out the will of the people. Because the people of California have always been my partners. They are the reason I am here. And when they speak, I listen.

The campaign is now behind us. The Democratic and Republican leadership and I will meet together Thursday to find a common ground. We are going to talk about reforms and how to move the state forward. I ask them to bring to the meeting new ideas for making California better. As I always say the bigger, the more radical the idea the better I like it.

After the meeting I will leave for China on a trade mission. China is the largest growing market in the world, and I want to increase California's business with China, because it will mean jobs for our people and revenues for our state.

And when I return from Asia, we will get down to business. We have so much to do in rebuilding our infrastructure. We need more roads, more schools, more hospitals, more teachers, more police, more energy and more water.

And I recognize we also need more bipartisan cooperation to make it all happen. Californians believe the state is on the wrong track. They want reform. They want change. But it is clear they are tired of the fighting and the ads.

I feel the same today as that night two years ago when I was elected.

With all my heart, I want to do the right thing for the people of California. I feel so honored and privileged to be your governor. I feel so honored and privileged to serve you. I will continue to work as hard as I can to make you proud of me.

Thank you for your warm support.

Sincerely,


Arnold Schwarzenegger

Big Union Money Buys California Election

The election in California is not looking good for Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger. If these results hold up (website here) every one of the governor's propositions will go down to defeat. If it happens, it will be because the public employee unions who run this state successfully demonized the governor with a series of extremely negative television ads unanswered by the governor for months and paid for by money taken from their members regardless of their consent. (For an example of the coercive political fund raising practiced by unions, see this story here about employees who went to court and lost in an effort to have their dues returned to them because they objected to the union using their dues on politics.)

The election results prove that big money can buy an election for Democrats, that outrageous and false negative attack ads work, and that public employee unions are the most powerful special interest in California. It's a shame that the governor ran such an incompetent campaign in support of his reform agenda. The election results show that his reforms are necessary. But his weakened political position makes reform in California politics almost impossible.

-tdr