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The blog that ate real journalism - (what Huffington's crash-and-burn debut really means!)
TOWNHALL.COM ^ | MAY 11, 2005 | CAL THOMAS

Posted on 05/12/2005 7:56:54 PM PDT by CHARLITE

The Huffington Post, an Internet blog that debuted May 9 after a campaign that would have delighted P.T. Barnum, makes me nostalgic for the good old days of journalism.

It isn't that its founder, Arianna Huffington (who named it for herself in true Hollywood "enough about me, not what do YOU think about me" fashion) doesn't have every right to join the increasingly clogged blog superhighway. Rather, this blog has an agenda and speaks mostly to people who already believe what most of its writers say.

In The Huffington Post, the musical genius Quincy Jones explains that Michael Jackson's problem is too much fame and too little of God. But director Mike Nichols writes that the Bible is nothing but metaphors and is not to be taken seriously as "fundamentalists" do (Quincy, please call Mike).

Gary Hart(pence) continues his endless campaign to be taken seriously since his alliance on the deliciously named yacht, "Monkey Business." Hart contributes an essay that asks if the U.S. is building permanent military bases in Iraq. If so, he says, that means we do not intend to withdraw all our troops. Profound, Gary.

Other certified lefties, like Walter Cronkite, Larry David, Democrat Sen. John Corzine of New Jersey, and an occasional right-winger like John Fund of The Wall Street Journal and Joe Scarborough of the low-rated MSNBC, contribute, but most of the blog is leftist and secular.

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: accuracy; arianna; blog; blogsites; factchecking; future; huffington; journalism; news; pundits; writers

1 posted on 05/12/2005 7:56:55 PM PDT by CHARLITE
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To: CHARLITE

I love the smell of toasted ZsaZsa Huffington, as she crashes and burns. Let's see if she tries to reinvent herself into a conservative.


2 posted on 05/12/2005 8:02:27 PM PDT by Paul Atreides (FACT: More atrocities have been perpetrated with a hot glue gun, than with a hand gun)
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To: CHARLITE

Wow, talk about crash and burn.

She did not even make enough PR to be known enough to ignore.


3 posted on 05/12/2005 8:03:33 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE!)
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To: CHARLITE

I'm astonished at the multi-million dollar cost of creating a simple CSS page and putting it on the web.


4 posted on 05/12/2005 8:07:11 PM PDT by Brett66 (W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1 W1)
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To: CHARLITE

Sounds like Air America Redux to me. The amount of time it survives will be determined solely by how long they can sucker one of the big left-wing "not-for-profit" groups into funding it.

The real reason for failure is that it gives voice to the already-voiced elite.


5 posted on 05/12/2005 8:07:25 PM PDT by AZ_Cowboy ("Be ever vigilant, for you know not when the master is coming")
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To: longtermmemmory

She will be forever known for trying to upstage Ahnold, only to knock over a stand of microphones in the process.


6 posted on 05/12/2005 8:07:32 PM PDT by Paul Atreides (FACT: More atrocities have been perpetrated with a hot glue gun, than with a hand gun)
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To: CHARLITE

These big names are coming late to the party. They are showing the world they are less informed (and much less intelligent) than the average Freeper, and they don't realize this.


7 posted on 05/12/2005 8:08:49 PM PDT by Tribune7
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To: CHARLITE

You think being a beard would have been the high point of her life?


8 posted on 05/12/2005 8:16:18 PM PDT by dts32041 (Two words that shouldn't be used in the same sentence Grizzly bear and violate.)
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To: Paul Atreides
"I love the smell of toasted ZsaZsa Huffington, as she crashes and burns."

I'll never forget that fabulous "photo op" moment when Madame Puffington went barreling up the steps to barge in on one of Arnold & Maria's campaign appearances during the California recall Governor's campaign.

This graceless, presumptuous woman had sat in her Lincoln Town Car for an hour, waiting for the Schwarzeneggers to emerge from the event inside the municipal building where it had been held. She went artlessly crashing up the steps and managed to knock over the whole bank of microphones which had been set up for Arnold's use.

The look on Maria's face was priceless. Arianna's clumsy attempt to get some "face time" utterly failed. Maria was heard, on camera, informing the party crasher that it was NOT her party! Puffington ended up going nowhere with her effort to rain on Arnie's parade. She only made a fool of herself.

9 posted on 05/12/2005 8:32:43 PM PDT by CHARLITE (Not gonna be happy until the Hillster is sent packing.)
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To: CHARLITE
You know, I'll never be famous. I'll likely never be rich. But I do have the security of knowing that, no matter what happens to me in my life, I will never be the completely insignificant waste of oxygen that is known as Ariana Huffington. I may be common, but I'll never, ever be that useless. Somewhere, there are teats on a bull feeling sorry for her.
10 posted on 05/12/2005 8:44:00 PM PDT by Jokelahoma (Animal testing is a bad idea. They get all nervous and give wrong answers.)
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To: CHARLITE
The Big Media sometime are guilty of these same shortcomings, but at least with them there is a presumption in favor of accuracy and fairness, plus there's a way to shame them and occasionally force a correction if they mess up. Blogs have no checks and balances.

It suprises me to read that from Cal Thomas.

11 posted on 05/12/2005 8:44:07 PM PDT by perfect stranger (I need new glasses.)
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To: AZ_Cowboy

Everybody seems to be assuming these "celebraties", the Rob Reiners and other meatheads, are actually writing the blog pieces that appear with their name on it, rather than passing the job along to some like-minded factotum. Other than the inane logic and bad writing, is there any evidence these celebraties are actually doing the writing?


12 posted on 05/12/2005 8:47:22 PM PDT by CivilWarguy
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To: perfect stranger
"Blogs have no checks and balances."

"It suprises me to read that from Cal Thomas."

Good point. I agree with you about that. I felt the same, when I read it. If anything, it was Free Republic, Little Green footballs and other top blogs that had immense "checks and balances" throughout the campaign and especially with RatherGate. Bloggers (guys in pajamas!) kept the lying, disingenuous main stream media HONEST! Bloggers WERE the "checks and balances," and they will continue to be.

Cal is showing his age with that one mistaken perception on his part. He's "behind the times."

13 posted on 05/12/2005 8:49:01 PM PDT by CHARLITE (Not gonna be happy until the Hillster is sent packing.)
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To: Paul Atreides

She made her money the old fashioned feminist way: Divorce.


14 posted on 05/12/2005 8:50:54 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE!)
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To: Jokelahoma

She is the spokesman for the "Don't Let This Happen To You" club. Any reasonable person would be embarrassed to display such egotistical behavior.


15 posted on 05/12/2005 8:54:25 PM PDT by perfect stranger (I need new glasses.)
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To: Paul Atreides
For me, it's all about her riding in an SUV until one day her handler whispers to her that SUV's are bad.
16 posted on 05/12/2005 9:00:37 PM PDT by endthematrix (Declare 2005 as the year the battle for freedom from tax slavery!)
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To: CHARLITE

He's right to a certain extent. You still have to pay reporters to go places and write stories. Blogs just take those stories and dissect them.

The bigger problem is that we need more conservative press than just Fox and the Washington Times. We need a conservative wire service with foreign offices, and conservative newspapers in major cities like New York and Los Angeles.


17 posted on 05/12/2005 9:10:50 PM PDT by stinkerpot65
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To: CHARLITE
"Blogs have no checks and balances."

FreeRepublic and the blogs ARE the checks and balances!

18 posted on 05/12/2005 9:14:00 PM PDT by RJL
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To: RJL
See my Post # 13

Char :)

19 posted on 05/12/2005 10:33:29 PM PDT by CHARLITE (Not gonna be happy until the Hillster is sent packing.)
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