April 13, 2011

"And of course I run a veritable forced labor camp here...

"... where the authors of our million comments are (doubtless to their shock and horror) entirely unpaid, even though they drive up our page views and thus our income stream. And remember: Every comment you write in response to this post is just further oppression of you. Have you no self-respect?"

Says Eugene Volokh at the end of a post pooh-poohing the lawsuit against the Huffington Post, which made lots of money without paying its writers.

101 comments:

DADvocate said...

Funny how those lefties who continuously complain about greed get to caught up in being greedy. Huffing n Puff should be more than happing to spread the wealth though. Isn't that what being a leftie is all about?

Scott M said...

A chill wind blows through the blogosphere...

gerry said...

Can I get money for posting here? Or am I to remain oppressed?

chickelit said...

Regarding commenting: one thing I regret/resent was going to a blog and & telling a fairly good story only to have the entire blog later disappear for apparently unrelated reasons. This has happened a couple times to me. Perhaps it's just bad luck.

Triangle Man said...

Oh hell, I am behind on my quota.

Tully said...

Just think how much Glenn Reynolds would be on the hook for if he allowed comments ...

KCFleming said...

The Althouse sweatshop is most remembered for the fire that ravaged the breastblogging floor back in ought-8.

Frequent commenters and anonymous avatars leaped to their death on the sidewalks below.

This led to famous revisions in blog rules and internet safety codes, in memory of which Wisconsin teachers recently struck.

The Drill SGT said...

I'm shocked that somebody posting on a place called the Huffington Post, didn't understand that the one doing the exploiting was Huffington....

duhh.

Lefty activists using lame share the wealth arguments against other lefty activists is just a popcorn event to me :)

I wish I had the concession on Virtual Popcorn for the lawsuit.

Ann Althouse said...

First, I would need to make a lot of money for writing here...

Triangle Man said...

I wish I had the concession on Virtual Popcorn for the lawsuit.

I wish I had a piece of the action on the legal fees.

paul a'barge said...

And remember: Every comment you write in response to this post is just further oppression of you. Have you no self-respect?

No. Well, not a lot. Obviously, or else I'd be suing Althouse for reaping the immeasurable benefit of my astute and singularly unique comments without paying me ... diddly squat.

Greg Hlatky said...

Pay me, Althouse, or I'll wear shorts.

lemondog said...

When writers agreed to blog their articles wasn't there some sort of upfront verbal or otherwise agreement?

Do they guest column articles in the NYT without any agreement?

Scott M said...

How many "Holy Grail" Python quotes do you think are being hurled about over at HR Huff'n'Stuff?

Conservative Libertine said...

It is very funny. I love irony. The people writing about and promoting the share the wealth ideology can't come to terms on redistribution of revenue. Ha!

Duh! Losing!

It reminds me of of all the democrats in the Government who don't pay their taxes (Geitner, Rangle, etc) but want everyone else to pay higher taxes.

Paddy O said...

Not being paid to comment here at Althouse is more than made up for by the timeshare in the Caribbean and the use of the corporate jet.

TosaGuy said...

Mr. Labor Activist,

You entered into an arrangment to get eyeballs looking at your content. You got a rent-free platform and support structure; they got your content.

It is possible on the internet to get lots of eyeballs looking at your words without a PuffHo-like platform and you can even make a bit of cash in the process. However, you must be interesting and be interesting every day. If you are, people will voluntarily give you money. However, since you are a labor activist, I suspect your mind is geared to doing as little as possible for the maximum amount possible.
_______

Thank you to our gracious hostess and the folks I've read here and who have tolerated my posts. There are some things in life that are better because you don't get paid.

KCFleming said...

I am also still not being paid when I talk to friends.

The bastards!!!

chickelit said...

@pogo: LOL!

bagoh20 said...

Yea, you guys are such suckas. Thanks for the weekly checks, Althouse. I'm going shopping with Titus today and we plan on spending our entire checks just on us and our whimsy.

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
First, I would need to make a lot of money for writing here.

Come on Althouse, you miserly Capitalist EXPLOITER! You benefit by exploiting the toiling masses of commenters and expropriating the surplus value of our labours…true the surplus value of J or Ritmo’s postings is pretty low, well non-existent, but then there’s the Trooper’s work…and mine own of course!

Womon, you shall be hearing from my LAWYER and Union Rep…be careful or you may have your Madison “Privileges” revoked!

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
Althouse. I'm going shopping with Titus today and we plan on spending our entire checks just on us and our whimsy.

Nothing for the Rare Clumbers? Bastiges……

I'm Full of Soup said...

Damn! Right when we were about to form Althouse Almagamated Commenters Union Local #107.

bagoh20 said...

I got nothing to say, but here is a comment just for the quota. I'm plagiarizing of course, but it still counts.

Duh!

KCFleming said...

I am on strike, but will continue to post.

ALTHOUSE UNFAIR
TO COMMENTER LABOR

(Please imagine the following:
* a drum circle
* Jesse Jackson saying blah blah blah
* a giant papier-mâché breast
* a massive invisible parade of me, multiplied by the photoshop stamping tool

Scott M said...

I got nothing to say, but here is a comment just for the quota. I'm plagiarizing of course, but it still counts.

Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I thought that, according to the new Union rules, any comment made in the first-person regarding purely personal details, is supposed to be footnoted because it pays at a different rate than ad-hominem attacks, thread reaction comments, and both on-topic and off-topic comments.

Did I miss a meeting or memo?

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
Althouse Almagamated Commenters Union Local #107.

What are the Union Dues, what’s is “Strike Pay”, what are the Health Benefits, and is the Pension Plan a defined benefits or defined contribution plan? And who’s the Union Rep/Shop Steward?

KCFleming said...

1. Write comments on the internet
2. ???
3. Profit!!

KCFleming said...

I'm still ons strike.



The strike pay is worse than Althouse pay.

Peter V. Bella said...

Typical lefties- gimme mine. They knew they would not be paid before they wanted to be paid.

Jim said...

Sigh . . . I'm revealed to be a useful idiot yet again.

Ron said...

I think Althouse has been saving up all her Amazon credits to give all us commenters Credity Treats!

Well...I like to think that.

John henry said...

I've published a fair amount in print over the past 10-15 years. 30 or so articles plus I had a monthly column in Food & Beverage Packaging magazine for 3 years.

Most of this I did not get paid for. Some of it I got paid for in free display ads in the magazine. The columns I got check for.

Most of the writing has been to get my name out there and give potential clients the impression I knew what I was doing. For me the important thing was to include company name, e-mail and phone in the article.

The first article I ever got paid for, in Food Engineering, they sent me a nice check. Then the article had my name and nothing else.

When I complained, they told me that their policy was that if the article was unpaid, they put contact info. If they paid for it, only author name.

I was OK with taking the cash and letting the credit run.

John Henry

bagoh20 said...

Look, I work for Althouse, she's a fair employer, and Meade lets me lick the spoons after dinner, so I got no reason to strike or join a union.

Hold on, someone's at the door............................


WV: fishes

Scott M said...

I think Althouse has been saving up all her Amazon credits to give all us commenters Credity Treats!

I hang out here because I assume she's going full metal Oprah on us and will post an article telling us to look under our chairs for the new Lincoln Continental keys.

DADvocate said...

Radio stattions have a service named Premiere on Call that pays people to call in and pretend to be actual, spontaneous callers. I propse we set up a similar service for blogs and charge by the word for our scintillating commentary.

TosaGuy said...

A union for blog commentors, well that is...... (Sorry, I will have to finish this after my mandatory break.)

Peter V. Bella said...

My qualifications for union organizer:

1.) I own a Louieville Slugger

2.) I believe you can get more with a smile and a gun, instead of just a smile.

3.) Kneecaps are for breaking not kneeling.

4.) Union dues are to be used for everything but the members.

5.) Chartreuse shirts for everyone!!!!

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)




I think the whole idea of pay word or comment type is wrong! It’s “Piece Work.” INSTEAD, each of us DESERVES $25 per hour and health benefits….whether we post or not. It’s only fair!

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)

5.) Chartreuse shirts for everyone!!!!



Really, I look ATROCIOUS in chartreuse.

hoyden said...

I like this response:

http://theothermccain.com/2011/04/12/this-reminds-me-of-stalingrad/

MadisonMan said...

I am lazy.

Automatic_Wing said...

This joint is like a virtual Triangle Shirtwaist factory. I'm calling Jesse Jackson now.

Patrick said...

I'm thinking maybe I could get paid to NOT comment. Nice little blog you've got here. Be a shame if something bad happened in the comments...

WV: cries The cries from the HufPo writers could scarcely be heard above the click clack of their keyboards.

Anonymous said...

I'm going shopping with Titus today and we plan on spending our entire checks just on us and our whimsy.

Wait, you mean Althouse gave you and Titus a whimsy???

NO FAIR! Annnnnn, I wanna whimsy too!!

Tank said...

I heard AA cut $38 billion from our pension plan.

Oh wait, it was only $20 billion.

Maybe.

Squirrel.

?????????

Ron said...

Unless appropriately compensated...I will commence singing on this blog...while wearing shorts!

Tank said...

Oh geeez.

No singing Ron.

They played Carl Lewis "singing" the national anthem today on the radio. I have not recovered yet.

Quilly_Mammoth said...

I wish the Koch brothers really were sending money to bloggers like some claim. It would be nice to be paid like, say, Oliver Willis.

Lincolntf said...

" I had a monthly column in Food & Beverage Packaging magazine for 3 years. "

Wait a minute, you're not the same John who wrote the earth-shattering expos'e "Juicebox: All Sharp Edges" back in May of '97 are you? Changed my life.

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)

This joint is like a virtual Triangle Shirtwaist factory.



I tried logging off, but Blogger won’t let me until I post another 37 comments!

tim maguire said...

Prof., you don't have to make a lot, it would be enough to sell it for a lot. But, to add insult to injury, you greedily hang on to your blog, denying us our hard-earned sales proceeds.

Sell, baby, sell!

Why do you hate us so?

Tank said...

Althouse sold the Blog two years ago for $6.5M and Crack, Pogo and Titus have secretly been writing it since then.

traditionalguy said...

A lawsuit for a % ownership in Althouse Blog will be filed as soon as we can find the e-mails where she said that tags were redeemable for shares, or was that a secret decoder ring?

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)

Althouse sold the Blog two years ago for $6.5M and Crack, Pogo and Titus have secretly been writing it since then.



I doubt that, there’s little enough about bowel movements or clumbers…..and Crack write ANONYMOUSLY, I don’t think so….

AllenS said...

I have no idea why anybody would pay me for the stupid crap that I post. Not only that, I hit the tipjar and use the Amazon link to give The Althouse Woman money. I must be dumber than the Puffington Host writers.

The Drill SGT said...

PETER V. BELLA said...
My qualifications for union organizer:


You forgot:

- All the best organizers have names that end in a vowel

You are going to need to get a nickname though. Bugsie might work with Bella. Bug-eye also might be good.

ah,

Batter Bella or

Breaker Bella :)

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)

I must be dumber than the Puffington Host writers.



Not necessarily, have you filed a lawsuit:
1) That has NO chance of success; and
2) Which exposes your idiocy and the hypocrisy of the Progressive Community?
If the answer is, No, then you haven’t plumbed those depths yet.

KCFleming said...

"Althouse sold the Blog two years ago for $6.5M and Crack, Pogo and Titus have secretly been writing it since then."

I'm only here for the food.

James said...

Reading the comments over at VC I noticed that Debrah the Diva, who practically stalked KC Johsnon during the Lacrosse Hoax, has found a new place to hang out.

Cedarford said...

This is not a clear cut thing, as with the situation with Facebook. You have a startup effort with no pre-existing agreement about sharing in value created....and one greedy capitalist seizes all the wealth from the team effort. (Seems that Ms. "Huff and Puff" demonstrates that greed and selfishness is as strong on the Left as on the Right)

Suing depends on what agreements were formally made, what blandishments and assertions about the purpose and long-term fate of the startup accompanied the effort to bring team members in. Who if anyone "owned" the intellectual or creative property or the measure of value added contributions.

Obviously the investors that staked "Huff and Puff" to launch the venture get a cut. She should get a cut. But perhaps others are well entitled to a piece of her reward - depending on the inducements and blandishments she gave.

It's an interesting area of litigation. Band breaks up, reforms and gets a huge hit album that rests on former band members that sue to get compense for their relative contribution. Nations now suing Big Pharma for sending field people into an area and asking the local people to help them locate new plants, marine wildlife with interesting toxins, etc. All indigenous to their lands, only located through 'intellectual contributions' of locals, to "Help all Humanity"...Then years later, word filters back to the nation that the Pharma people patented a local plant's enzymes and are making 350 million a year off it and the nation and locals (part of the Help all Humanity group??) don't get a cent.

Carol_Herman said...

If you were on a subway train, surrounded by people, no one would talk to each other.

What has proven to be so nice at this site, is that you bring in stuff from others that you find entertaining.

For me, it's like a trip to State Street every day of the week.

We got a story the main stream media didn't want to touch.

As to going after Ariana now, it has nothing to do with the principal of "getting paid." It's all about lawyers (alas), searching around for "deep pockets."

Both sets of lawyers get paid. And, for Huff Po? Where's the downside? Isn't publicity still publicity?

Richard Dolan said...

Most here are content just to make fun of Tasini's claim, and it certainly merits the skewering. No point in my adding to that.

But there's another way to look at it. Volokh says that the basic bargain at HuffPo was content-for-eyeballs, and that is undoubtedly true. That approach offers a simple, economically primitive model of blog-dom as a kind of barter exchange: the driver is "eyeballs", which amounts to advertising. The blog proprietor wants eyeballs now, and the point of a blogger like Tasini contributing "content" to help achieve that goal is that it sets him up to run a (potential) operation of his own once he's got enough eyeballs following him.

Reducing blogging to a business proposition, I suppose that model is right. But blog-dom didn't start and really hasn't evolved as a business proposition. The real driving force was a desire to participate, perhaps to lead, a public conversation, coupled with the entertainment-cum-celebrity value that the most successful bloggers got out of it. Eyeballs were always the point -- readership is always the point of writing in the public domain -- but not because of ad revenue. It's grown and become quite influential. Along the way, advertisers got into the act, but the business aspect of blogging is still peripheral at best. I doubt that any blogger could possibly succeed if he started out overtly trying to build a blog-business, and except for a very few, the ad revenue probably amounts to less than minimum wage compensation for the hours they put in. Financial success may come in time for a very few, but if it does, it was never really the point. The fate of HuffPo as a blog may well show whether a successful blog can survive once the business model becomes the driver.

There is a comparison that could be drawn to commercial publishing -- newspapers, mags, pop books. As it happens, that's a business sector that is having lots of problems today. I'm skeptical whether a blog that becomes overtly commercial can keep the eyeballs.

bagoh20 said...

"the Pharma people patented a local plant's enzymes and are making 350 million a year off it and the nation and locals (part of the Help all Humanity group??) don't get a cent."

The pharma could have easily produced the drug without those particular people at very low cost. The Natives had the material for ever and did not. Who made it happen and who just happened to be? It's the pharma who is "helping all humanity". The fact that they make a profit does not change that. It only changes who we lazily choose as villain. The lives still get saved, and the natives still had very little to do with it.

bagoh20 said...

Now a blog, at least this one, is the product mostly of commenters. I love Ann, and she does write some great posts, but I mostly come here for the commenters. That's the meat. I'm more interested in what various people have to say about the subject than the post itself. Blog hosts know this, and they mostly just try to get the ball rolling and then sit back and watch with a box of wine. Sorry Ann, couldn't resist.

Why is "commenters" not in the spelling dictionary? Am I actually spelling it wrong? Is it not a word?

Unknown said...

Not only doesn't she pay us, she didn't even invite us to the wedding.

(bet they had a swell cake, too...)

And her, a law professor.

PS Why do I think the Lefty wingnuts (and they're the only kind, after all) just loved having a forum to post their drivel about Chimpy Bushitler and the Eeeevil Darth Cheney and would have done it for free, anyway? They're just mad Arianna made so much selling it.

Scott M said...

Why is "commenters" not in the spelling dictionary? Am I actually spelling it wrong? Is it not a word?

I've wondered this myself. Apparently, they only had enough funds to get "D'oh" into the dictionary that year.

KCFleming said...

I am still on strike.

It's a hunger strike, but I take meal breaks to keep up my energy.

Unknown said...

Pay for commenters! I like it. A good medical/dental plan would be nice too.

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)

It's a hunger strike, but I take meal breaks to keep up my energy.



I would refer you to Mother Sheehan’s “Hunger Strike” manual as explained by Michelle Malkin. If you aren’t careful you’ll have to go on a diet, under that fasting plan.

Also, as you are on a Hunger Strike, your meal vouchers for blogging over 10 hours, can you just have them converted into cash?

KCFleming said...

Snacks, too.

Hunger strikes make me grouchy, and a few candy bars between meal breaks really helps.

John henry said...

Lincoln TF,

No, the Juicebox article was not mine. I am more on the machinery side of things.

I wrote a series of articles on troubleshooting various types of machinery such as 5 common labeler problems and how to solve them.

My column was titled "Machinery Matters" and covered such things as pros and cons of new and used machinery, Clean-In-Place systems, Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE)

Lots of articles related to changeover/SMED which is my professional speciality.

Laugh at the juicebox if you will. But take one apart and you will find that it is a pretty high tech package with about 10 layers, each with a different function.

Lots of companies have tried but so far only TetraPak has been successful in making the materials and the machines.

John Henry

TosaGuy said...

(Back from my union coffee break)....is just peachy.

Dustin said...

What's amusing is that the Huffpo authors could go on strike or start their own website.

But they know damn well that they would be easily replaced, since most of them provide very little.

Yeah, they are suckers, they kinda got the short end, but that was no secret. It's no different than asking people to whitewash your fence for fun.

The Drill SGT said...

Joe said...
(The Crypto Jew)
I would refer you to Mother Sheehan’s “Hunger Strike” manual


Is that the one that says that if you let Haggendaz get warm enough to be soft ice cream it counts as part of your liquid intake, thus off the books?

SGT Ted said...

hey what happened to doing things for the greater good? Or is that only for Other Peoples Money?

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
Is that the one that says that if you let Haggendaz get warm enough to be soft ice cream it counts as part of your liquid intake, thus off the books?.


Possibly, it certainly involved MULTIPLE visits to Orange Julius….

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
hey what happened to doing things for the greater good? Or is that only for Other Peoples Money?


Short answer: Yes.

Kirk Parker said...

"a giant papier-mâché breast"

That doesn't sound very. . . caresseable.

Trooper York said...

I hate to admit it to my conservative brethren but I have been a member in good standing of Local 12 of the Villains, Thieves and Scoundrels Union for many years.

If we intend to go forward with unionizing the comment section I will contact our shop steward Boris who will be happy to talk to us about organizing.

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
I hate to admit it to my conservative brethren but I have been a member in good standing of Local 12 of the Villains, Thieves and Scoundrels Union for many years.

If we intend to go forward with unionizing the comment section I will contact our shop steward Boris who will be happy to talk to us about organizing.

What would be the “synergy” between the VTSU and the AACU? Will we be required to wear mustaches? Speak with foreign or Slavic accents? Will cat ownership become mandatory? For the womyn, will slinky “Natasha” dresses be required? Will we be required to participate in a set number of plots to “rule the world?” I don’t know about unionizing under “Boris?”

Uncle Frank said...

Pardon my confession that I listened to NPR this morning, but our local station is right now doing its quarterly beg-a-thon. So today I said to my wife that I find it odd how the lead beggar is a well-paid employee who amasses a team of volunteers to aid in the begging. These volunteers are apparently unaware that this station in this modest sized market (pop. just over 500G) has 6 staffers with incomes of 100K+. The volunteers think they support the non-profit enterprise, but they probably just sustain the well-paid lifestyle of the non-profit's management.

Trooper York said...

"I don’t know about unionizing under “Boris?”

Pretty much all unions are organized by a Boris. So to speak.

Trooper York said...

Plus we know that blogger lady hates the Stupid Moose lady (Palin) and squirrels.

If you count up her threads the greatest number about the Moose Lady and squirrels. Just sayn'

Cedarford said...

bagoh20 said...
"the Pharma people patented a local plant's enzymes and are making 350 million a year off it and the nation and locals (part of the Help all Humanity group??) don't get a cent."

The pharma could have easily produced the drug without those particular people at very low cost. The Natives had the material for ever and did not. Who made it happen and who just happened to be? It's the pharma who is "helping all humanity". The fact that they make a profit does not change that. It only changes who we lazily choose as villain. The lives still get saved, and the natives still had very little to do with it
===============
The argument is similar to that argued for centuries by colonialists and grower/mining companies.

Dumb natives sitting on top of gold and oil deposits to ignorant to get it, lolling about in New World jungles not put to good use until we brought in sugar cane and coffee from Africa...

"Ergo, the resources are ours, not the natives...for they shouldn't own what they were unable to exploit themselves."
[That argument pretty much ended in viability by the 1950s in decolonialization.]

Your defense of Big Pharma helping themselves to local resources without comp to the people there on grounds "hey, the locals weren't using it and after a healthy profit...it benefits humanity??

No different really than a gold mining company or oil company's argument before about 50-70 years ago that if locals couldn't develop a resource, it really didn't belong to them...and ultimately, after the very healthy profit..the gold and oil grabbed "benefited all humanity". Women and men had extra gold to pleasingly drape themselves in, bullion in distant bank vaults added currency stability. Oil taken uplifted all humanity....

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
Plus we know that blogger lady hates the Stupid Moose lady (Palin) and squirrels.


Does she really hate “Moose?” I vunder…she has many, many threads on “Moose”…I tink she like “Moose” or at least de eyeballs da Moose brinks to da site…….Ees only my opinion, doe…..

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
No different really than a gold mining company or oil company's argument before about 50-70 years ago that if locals couldn't develop a resource, it really didn't belong to them...and ultimately, after the very healthy profit..the gold and oil grabbed "benefited all humanity". Women and men had extra gold to pleasingly drape themselves in, bullion in distant bank vaults added currency stability. Oil taken uplifted all humanity....


This is bad, how…other than the Jooos, probably profited from it somehow? You may see it as a D@mning indictment, I sure don’t.

Anonymous said...

Volokh's statement does ring true. When I log on here, I read as little of the Althouse drivel as possible and, instead, go immediately to the comments.

If the comments indicate that Althouse said something that made sense, I go back and read it.

Mostly I visit to see if anyone's managed to open garage's eyes and if Crack's getting under Ann's skin.

Lance said...

I wonder how much Crack makes off his comments here?

Kirk Parker said...

"Mostly I visit to see if anyone's managed to open garage's eyes..."

Man, that's one weird fetish you have!

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
Man, that's one weird fetish you have!


At least this fetish doesn’t involve kittens or homeless men….

KCFleming said...

Still on strike here.

Hellooooooooooooooooooooo.

Geez.

This ain't no Madison rotunda, I tell ya. Didn't anyone from Spain donate to Ian's Pizza for us?
Criminey.

Joe said...

The Crypto Jew)
Still on strike here.

Hellooooooooooooooooooooo.

Geez.



How are we to know UNLESS there’s drumming and giant Papier Mache puppet?

Scott M said...

Still on strike here.

Hellooooooooooooooooooooo.


How much virtual marble have you damaged? Are the bottoms of your feet black?

KCFleming said...

I am chanting and drumming, but silently, because I am at work and people tend to look askance at that sort of thing.

I also queued up the Althouse videos from Madison and replay those over and over again.

My hunger strike is also going well, thank you.

After a noon hamburger and banana, I am ready for 5 straight hours of hunger.
Then a little dinner, then hunger again.

I could do this for years.

Bruce Hayden said...

On a personal note, I can thank/condemn EV for my introduction to blogging. I got to know him a bit at some cyber law conferences in Austin in the mid-1990s. He was a regular speaker, and I spoke, I think, once. After that, I would just show up in the lobby after the speaker's dinner, and go out on the town with a bunch of them. The best minds in cyber law at the time, and I would have several hours to pick their brains. Much better than actually attending the CLEs.

We were both on a listserve group (CYBERIA-L) together, and at one point, he sent me email suggesting that I was a bit intemperate in some of my remarks. He had a link to volokh.com in his .sig, I followed it back, and discovered blogging. That was a bit over a decade ago, and his site is still one of the few that I visit daily (and Ann's is one of the others).

What I really like about volokh.com is that there are a lot of very bright people there, with a large percentage of them being lawyers. And they cross the political spectrum. The result is that you can get some of the best legal discussions going there about relevant topics of the day. If you haven't done your research, your arguments are quickly demolished. As mine have been on numerous occasions.

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)
After a noon hamburger and banana, I am ready for 5 straight hours of hunger.
Then a little dinner, then hunger again.

I could do this for years.



You may have to, man…Althouse is tough, tough, TOUGH and she’s got that Meade-dude Enforcer-type, this could be a long Industrial action.

Unknown said...

"Hunger strikes make me grouchy, and a few candy bars between meal breaks really helps."

Pogo,
Sorry. We have to eat what they serve in the cafeteria. Healthy stuff. Eeuw. It's supplied by the government for us union people.

KCFleming said...

What a rip.

You need to sew some Butterfingers and Mallow Cups into your suit, and hide Cheesy Poofs in the acoustical tile celing panels.

bagoh20 said...

Cedarford: "Oil taken uplifted all humanity...."

Well yes, yes it did, and I bet that neither the "exploiters" nor the "exploited" would choose to go back to the halcyon days when both were poorer, sicker, and lived shorter, less prosperous lives.

Now if you have a way of making everyone come out equal and still getting that progress to happen, I'm listening. Because until it comes out perfectly equal for all involved, your position is not satisfied.

bagoh20 said...

Cedarford, Back more on point though is that the creation of new drugs - lifesaving drugs - from life forms found in remote regions is not a resource like oil, gold and most especially land. Generally they are inventions created in labs far removed from the source of the discovery and often not requiring anything further from the natives or their resources. The key and the thing acquired there is simply information about life on the planet. The pharma just uses it to create something that did not exist before or at least not in a form that could benefit humanity. So why is pharma hated for saving lives like this? They make money, while the rest of us use our lives solely for charity and the good of mankind.