Blogiversary: SIX Years!

As I type this, we are in the waning moments of June 2, 2013. That means this is the end of the first day of my seventh year blogging at Greenlee Gazette. I started this blog--as I've often said--in frustration. Picture it: it was 6.5 years into the Bush era. Democrats, liberals and/or progressives were not just frustrated. We were the mush squeezed out of the end of a steam-rollered tube of left-wing ideology. The Karl Rove/Frank Luntz alternate reality machine had clobbered us pretty severely. We were standing up shouting "reality doesn't match what we're being told!," but we were largely ignored.

Feel free to scroll back in my archives, they're all there. It was a  vastly different time. We're now in a similar era for the opposing party, a second term (though not as deeply in), with a kinda lame-ducky vibe, and some "scandal," though nothing nearly so subversive as the Bush era crap. Nothing came of those, so that may have something to do with why Democrats aren't worked up over Obama scandal-ettes. But that's just the political backdrop. My mission as a blogger just got rooted in that fertile ground. That's not all there was to it.

An early dream, still unrealized.

Mostly, what the blog solved for me, was my a solution to my vast introspection. I'm a notorious "self talker," talking to myself to such an extent that it can be embarrassing when someone overhears. It comes from living until my early 30s on my own. It also comes from the discovery that if I say things out loud, I tend to remember them better. But once I had a blog? All of those spoken-to-no one thoughts were typed down, and--oddly enough--read by others! Woo hoo! I'm not crazy, I have readers!

Well, maybe you all are crazy too. But that's okay, we have each other. Over these last six years, the blog has been alternatively a catharsis, a burden, a diary, a platform, a creative outlet, an argument practice-zone, a lighting rod for controversy and a pet project. I have no plans of giving it up, though I often wonder if there's a way to have my cake and eat it too: keep the platform, but not be so shackled to it.

Who knows if blogging will still be "a thing" six more years down the line, or if it will be absorbed by something.  In the NewsFlesh series of zombie apocalypse books, blogging replaces journalism. I'd argue that we've already merged to a degree, possibly to the detriment of journalism. But it's also opened a world of discovery to people who needed an outlet, and helped inspire people who may not have sought out traditional journalism. I think on the whole it has been a positive development. I know that I'm inspired to carry on. And I'm sure I'll be here next year with another update.

In the meantime, thank you for reading, and please come back and bring your friends!

Michelle Bachmann Continues to Bring the Crazy

It's interesting that the man introducing Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-Crazy) in this clip starts out by claiming that "moonbat bloggers" will misquote and demonize the loony lady. There is no need to do so. All you have to do is quote her, with references to "orgies" and "wad-shooting," why would we need to make anything up?

[Excerpt]

Michele Bachmann: Obama Led Spending "Orgy," Government "Spent Its Wad"



Rep. Michele Bachmann is on a roll. Less than a week after suggesting a link between the swine flu outbreak and Democratic control of the U.S. government, the Minnesota Republican penetrated a heretofore unseen zone of weirdness and accused the Obama administration of premature fiscal ejaculation. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Ari Fleischer Forgets About Jeff Gannon

Image of Jeff Gannon from Democratic Underground

From the unintentionally hilarious department: Former Bush era White House Spokesman, Ari Fleischer, criticised Barack Obama for calling on a blogger during his press conference. Ari claimed that Bush wouldn't have done such a thing. Which is bananas, when you consider one Jeff Gannon.

[Excerpt]

Fleischer And O’Reilly: Bush Didn’t Call On ‘Dot Coms And Other Oddballs’ Like The Huffington Post

If Bush was relying on Fleischer to screen the “dotcoms and oddballs,” he was poorly served. Take, for example, case of Jeff Gannon, the male escort-turned-right-wing news outlet Talon News. The White House press office granted Gannon access to the White House under an assumed name and with no background check. Once Gannon got in the door under Fleischer’s watch in 2003, he was called on by Bush at a press conference in January 2005. Gannon

Sarah Palin Still Whining; Lashes Out at Bloggers

Photo from source, Huffington Post

Maybe there's something to what Sarah Palin has to say. But then again, maybe not. Who can tell? She talks in circles, after all. I do know that I'm not bored, and I'm not anonymous. Whether or not I'm pathetic is someone else's call.

What I do know, is that the whole "Sarah's not the mother of Trig" was an initial flame out of a blog topic, one not covered much here, or on most of the blogs I read. And I also know that though this issue has about as much legitimacy as the "Barack Obama isn't a natural born citizen" buzz on conservative blogs, that Palin is playing it up like it was the whole story.

It's classic Republican deflection, if a little inartfully delivered by Palin. Pretend that all of the negative press heaped upon her was out-of-bounds unsubstantiated rumor. Forget the dismal Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson interviews. Forget the many ethical questions. Forget the heated campaign rhetoric ("Pallin' around with terrorists") that incited her crowds into a fury. Nothing is her fault, apparently, and it all boils down to bloggers like me, who were obsessed with her bizarre birth story. Or something.

[Excerpt]

Palin Lashes Out At "Bored, Anonymous, Pathetic Bloggers"

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin recently made waves again by criticizing the media in a nine-minute long interview. One of her beefs was with rumors about the true origins of her youngest son, Trig Palin. "When did we start accepting as hard news sources bloggers, anonymous bloggers, especially," she asked. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Political Blogs' Traffic Way Up

Image from BusinessConsulting.com

This is the blog post I read a couple of days ago that got me bummed about this blog's traffic. My hits are up right now, but just slightly. I'm getting about 120 hits per day, give or take, and that has me pretty happy. But I've always gotten an average of 60-100 per day, pretty much since I started. Where is the love, people? Aren't I good enough, smart enough? And why don't people like me? Heh.

Seriously, good for these bloggers. And good for Americans in general, for showing an interest in politics for a change. Apathy is our biggest enemy.

[Excerpt]

Political blog traffic up an average of 48% for first of half of 2008

Major political blogs saw an average increase in page views of 48% during the first six months of 2008, compared to the last six months of 2007. Major liberal blogs saw the largest average increase with 63%, while conservative blogs experienced a 34% increase. Part of the reason the liberal blog average is higher is because two blogs had increases well above 100%, a fact that skewed results somewhat. . .

Read more at: Bloggasm

The Very Strange Story of Brat Boy School

Photo from source, The Hanged Man

What is a beefcake photo doing on Greenlee Gazette? Well, as I always say, this blog is a collection of things that interest me. And not always for the obvious reasons.

Brat Boy School, was a blog that I checked in on every couple of weeks for several reasons. The first--believe it or not--was simply because it was from Las Vegas, the same location I blog from. Second, of course, were the pretty pictures. And third, it was a fascination I have with gay people who are Republican/Conservative. I simply don't get it. I try--I even have a few gay friends who are "Log Cabinettes," but I still don't get it.

Anyway, I clicked the favorites link yesterday, and found that the site was gone. Curious, I looked into it. And the story is rather fascinating. If you don't think so, scroll on past. If you are intrigued, read on. . .

Incidentally, I think I should be commended for going 1000+ posts before posting something overtly titillating in "the gay" category, don't you? Heh.

[Excerpt]

The sh** hits the Brat Boy fans

I’ve followed Brat Boy School, the home page of model/blogger/underwear spokesman Ethan Reynolds for quite some time. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a “fan” of Ethan’s, but he was pretty and I checked in fairly often to read posts about his love life, skin care regimen, workouts, recipes, and political views. Ethan was a pretty high-profile figure in the online gay community. I say was, because Brat Boy School crashed, dramatically this week with a revelation: Ethan’s not real. . .

Read more at: The Hanged Man