I think I've been marginalized. And by a major media outlet no less. Okay, the blog component of a daily newspaper (which seem to get less readership than the contract bridge column), but still, it's something.
Angela Gunn is running a war blog for USA Today. It seems to be in the linking model of blogs, like Instapundit or Powerline, instead of opinion-based, like Fraters Libertas or Andrew Sullivan (which I think are clearly the two most prominent examples of this style).
She was gracious enough to link to my Peter Arnett post of Monday (which I suspect she found via Instapundit, who was supremely gracious in linking to us on Monday and thus bringing down 40,000 hits on our collective head over the past two days).
Yet I suspect Ms. Gunn isn't all that fond of my opinions. In her round-up on the Arnett imbroglio, she casually refers to the respect she has for "the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist's tenacity and fearlessness," describes his interview on Iraqi television as his "giving his candid opinions on the war's progress" and his firing as a result of "the White House kicking up a fuss."
And then she turns it over to yours truly as an example of the "Net folk" who have a different opinion. Yet before I'm allowed to deliver my eloquent and even-handed analysis on the motivations of Peter Arnett, she slaps a one-word characterization on my comments, which almost convinced ME that I had nothing substantive to say.
To quote: "Grouses blog writer "Saint Paul" at fraterslibertas.com"(emphasis added)
Oh, this "Saint Paul" character is "grousing" is he?. Bitterly complaining and grumbling? Then forget him and his simplistic, angry suburban white male diatribe!!
Oh wait a minute, she wasn't linking to one of my Paul Wellstone screeds from last year (pre plane crash of course, may he rest in peace). Therefore I must object to this characterization. That was not a complaint piece. THIS is a complain piece. See the difference in tone, Angela? See the indulgent use of ALL CAPS, bolding, italics, and exclamation points!!! For future reference in your links to Fraters Libertas, these are all evidence of grousing.
But I do appreciate her linking to us and I don't want to alienate someone working for America's newspaper. Especially someone who might be kind of pretty. (It's hard to tell from her photo on her blog, with her head down and a shadow crossing her face. If only there hadn't been a total eclipse of the sun beginning just as the photo shoot was taking place, then I could be sure!).
Since she's got the economic muscle and expense account of USA Today behind her, I'd like to state for the record that I'd be willing to be flown out to New York City, put up at some swank digs in Midtown, and hash all of this out between the two of us this weekend. And for your planning information Angela, I do like Italian food, Cubist/Fauvist art exhibitions, and no, I haven’t yet seen "The Producers."
I'll be standing by.
