September 23, 2010

Hey, what happened to Kausfiles?

I was complaining yesterday that in 3 days, there were only 2 paragraphs showing on the front page of the blog that got all us bloggers noticing that it went to Newsweek.

Today, I go there and not only is there no new post on this, the fourth day of the blog, the whole page is blank. The original 2 posts are gone!

I do see some sidebar links to other stuff in Newsweek, like "GOP 'Pledge to America' Looks Unlikely to Inspire." Ha. Well, to me, Newsweek looks unlikely to inspire. What ridiculous writing! How does one look unlikely to inspire? What a phrase. Could they hide their bias a little better? They can't report on something new that the other side does without getting the jump on it and assuring their brain-dead readers that it can't possibly be any good.

Jeez, the Kausfiles blank page looks likely to be the most readable thing over there.

UPDATE: Now, the page is back, with the original 2 posts, plus a new post, "Isn't Anybody Against Porn?"
Are we really such an advanced nation that even an extreme "staunch social conservative" has to deny opposing pornography? There's something depressing about that. If not Christine O'Donnell, who?
Not just "staunch," but "extreme 'staunch'"! What's that like?

"I tell you if there's anything worse than dealing with a staunch woman... S-T-A-U-N-C-H. There's nothing worse, I'm telling you. They don't weaken, no matter what."

Also, there's a difference between "opposing pornography" and wanting opposition to pornography enacted into legislation. Her old statement about pornography and adultery was her interpretation of religion. You can have a very high standard as a matter of religion and still leave people alone as a matter of law.

33 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Remind me not to irritate the Professor. This post finished off what was left of Newsweek. And to think that they got that for subverting the Blogosphere. Come home Mickey!

Phil 314 said...

I just went and there is a post for Sept 23:

Isn't Anybody Against Porn?

The Dude said...
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The Dude said...
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Phil 314 said...

PS I liked his piece on Star Parker's house candidacy. I wish he had pursued the its dangerous to a black conservative story line.

I'm not a big Star Parker fan but the Slate piece that Kaus linked to was just

so typical

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

looks likely is back.

sonicfrog said...

Kaus is an idiot to sign up with those leftists.

Hardly. He still gets to write what he wants, all in all has better on-line circulation, and will, I assume, be getting paid more than he did at Slate. Newsweek is replicating the model used by The Atlantic when they lured internet star Andrew Sullivan over to write for them. You may or may not like Sully, but he single handedly put The Atlantic back on the map.

Widmerpool said...

The best take on Newsweek

Ferguson on Newsweek

Unknown said...

What happened?

Eleanor Clift is Goebbels in drag.

test said...

I like Kaus. I don't agree with him often because he seems willing to accept the negative effects of government intrusion and regulation. But at least he's honest and knowledgable.

For example, from day one he called Orzag's claim that healthcare would reduce the budget both a lie and stupid. He was similarly honest about the likelihood of success and additional negative effects of the GM takeover. And further he campaigned relentlessy against the corruptive power of public unions. If he were representative of Democrats generally the country would be much better off.

Alex said...

I submit that Althouse is a right wing for calling Newsweak's readers "brain dead".

traditionalguy said...

My wife brings a Newsweek home from her college office once a week and shows me articles she things will broaden my perspective. She is a big believer in many points of view. Reading that stuff lets me know what others are thinking, which is the greatbenefit of free speech. I even like Fineman's style of argument. But the propaganda that Newsweek pushes would make Pravada blush.

Richard Dolan said...

Newsweek is an artifact of a world long dead -- my father used to subscribe in the '50s and '60s -- that holds a weird nostalgia-value for some. They will pay Kaus for a while, and when Newsweek finally folds (or unplugs), Kaus will move on to his next venture. Good for him. He's interesting because he's everything Newsweek is not -- candid, smart, disdainful of partisan hackery. At least by hiring him the Newsweek honchos seem to have figured out why their franchise has tanked. But it can't be fixed at the margins by bringing on a stray blogger or two. And the brand is so damaged at this point that it is probably beyond fixing.

Another bit of Americana about to fade from the scene. It will be missed about as much as Marlboro Man (fitting, since that's about as far from Kaus as you can get).

ndspinelli said...

Jon Meacham and the lemmings may be going down, but they're going down smugly. I would expect nothing else.

jungatheart said...

Leave Eleanor out of this.

FloridaSteve said...

"You can have a very high standard as a matter of religion and still leave people alone as a matter of law."

Stop it. you're being reasonable. Nobody is interested in reasonable anymore. It's all anger and strawmen now. Didn't you get the memo?

Bob Ellison said...

It's also possible to support pornography while still thinking there should be laws against it. When I was in high school band ("this one time--in band camp"), once at the very end of a loud rehearsal, just as the director still had his baton up and the players all had their instruments up, one of the drummers erupted with "I like naked girls!"

We did not ask for his positions on pornography law, but it's possible that they were in conflict with his fondness with the actual imagery.

Hmm...now I'm thinking I shouldn't have started using my real name in comment. I'll probably get a knock at the door soon, and I'll never find that drummer.

[Word verification: zoloth.]

former law student said...

Did O'Donnell know she was answering a question about pornography? Or did she just think the question was about masturbation; her opposition to which had filled the news for several days?

Anonymous said...

I think sonicfrog's analysis is sound.

Sullivan may be nuts, slowly petering out, and clinging to his "christianist" analysis, but he developed the blog form a la Drudge and made it a little more respectable...which is why they still don't dump him (come to think of it, the whole new crop, including journolist types are also unified in part on the new medium).

As for Newsweek, Meacham was pretty far left (preachy moralizing on womyn and the environment, so far up Obama's ass he's not sure where the light is coming from) and caught the tail end of excessive relativism and the death throes of print.

Now in comes Kaus, successful in the new medium, an anti immigration, anti union Cali democrat to see if they can be successful.

Maybe Althouse is getting offers from the Utne reader with her massive traffic. Ha!

Revenant said...

While Newsweek is both partisan and lame -- or at least I assume it still is, I quit reading it decades ago -- they're right about the Pledge.

It has good ideas in it, but they aren't new, and they aren't conveyed succinctly.

Known Unknown said...

I went to high school with Fred Staunch.

He was 6 feet 6 inches.


wv: doesings — what a female deer does in the shower?

Known Unknown said...

If Newsweek sold for a dollar, how much should they be able to charge for a subscription?

A halfpenny?

Phil 314 said...

Professor;
Why the continued ragging on Mr. Kaus since his arrival at Newsweek?

Christy said...

Anyone else remember a Newsweek issue back in the late 70s, maybe early 80s, with the cover story extolling the benefits of cocaine? This was before crack hit the streets.

Love Mickey; hate the new home. I avoid sites with minimal info per page view.

BJM said...

You can have a very high standard as a matter of religion and still leave people alone as a matter of law.

Not in the fever swamp where every issue is black or white (no pun intended)...unless it's to their advantage to point out nuance.

Joe Hogan said...

Regarding Mickey's dearth of posts at the new Newsweek site, it seems that the problem is partly in the way the site is organized.

The main link with three posts sited by Ann is some kind of "headline" site. Clicking on the "More" button takes one to a full page for that days postings, not simply to a full version of the initial paragraph. Each days page contains three or so discrete comments by the celebrated Mr. K., but only that one day's content.

Why anyone would organize a blog site that way is beyond me. And Mickey, three comments a day? That's Hitchens level output. Hope your health is good.

Now

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Your blog is intellectual pornography. Mind-porn.

Revenant said...

Your blog is intellectual pornography.

Its true. When I'm looking for some quick intellectual gratification with no emotional strings attached, this is where I, er... I was going to say "come" but suddenly it seems inappropriate. This is where I browse to.

Tari said...

"You can have a very high standard as a matter of religion and still leave people alone as a matter of law."

Thank you! How is it that my 10 year old could write an essay explaining how this is so, but so few people in the media understand the concept?

jungatheart said...

Revenant:
"Its true. When I'm looking for some quick intellectual gratification with no emotional strings attached..."

True. No tediously drawn out debates necessary, just wham-bam, thank you, ma'am. Coffee and Althouse and you're good to go.

jungatheart said...

Mickey needs some mojo...anyone know any good spells? Crack?

William said...
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William said...

I was sorry to see Ms. O'Donnell back down from her principled opposition to female masturbation. I thought that she had put her finger on a hot button issue that affects the lives of millions of American women. And not for the better. In a previous thread many long time commenters here told harrowing stories of their addiction to ben wah balls. Wrecked marriages, failed careers: all for a few moments of sensual gratification. Victimless crime? I think not. The old Chinese proverb that when the devil lost his marbles, women picked up ben wah balls is certainly true. It is long past time that the goverment took action to ban the importation, sale and use of these devices of debauchery.