I’ve been chugging along for nine months since Donald Trump was elected, trying to make some kind of contribution to the preservation of my country. I feel like, somehow, I’ve managed to do some of my best writing in this period despite the fact that the task no longer carries any joy. It’s been a slog and I’ve been uncharacteristically irritable and short-tempered most of the time. The president has now gone on vacation and Congress is in recess, so I’m bugging out for the wilderness for ten days. Maybe it will recharge my batteries and I’ll find the old love of combat that carried me along for the first decade of this blog. Maybe I’ll realize it’s time to move on and sell insurance or real estate. I really have no idea, which is part of the point of getting the hell away from this pathetic Shit Show for a while. I’m worn down to a nub.
I need some rest and some time to think about things. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices to do what I do, and I’ve got to figure out if it’s still worth it. I’m going to leave up this page for a while, and if you’d like to see me keep up this line of work, maybe you’ll consider making a donation. You can use the PayPal link or you can just send a letter to P.O. Box 2278, Malvern, PA 19355.
When I get back I’ll definitely take into consideration the level of support I have and what kind of support I think I might be able to rely on in the future. For now, I’m going to get as far away from the news cycle as I can get. The level of toxins I’ve taken in by living in this 24/7 cesspool for so long has finally gotten to me, and I’ve got to purge it somehow.
So, I apologize for my coming absence and I ask you to behave yourselves while I’m gone. As always, try not shoot anyone in the face.
Aloha, and thanks for all the fish.
Enjoy some much needed R & R. Not sure if you have any front pagers lined up in your absence (I’m not volunteering), but even if not, no worries. We’ll probably still be arguing in the margins when you get back. My budget is not great, but I’ve got some spare change in the meantime.
Dropped you some spare change. For what it’s worth, I suspect that a lot of folks are worn down from the last several months. The ACA repeal battle left me, well, drained and actually not well once the worst of that particular crisis passed. I’m not alone. Nor are you. Anyhoo, this blog has been especially therapeutic these last few months in particular. Obviously, I’d love to see you stick around and write once you get some rest. That’s probably just selfishness on my part. Hang in there. Catch you on the flip side.
I’ll sling you a few bucks on Thursday (REMIND ME IF I FORGET).
You’ve had far more stamina than me.
Logging in for the first time in ages to say thanks and I dropped a bit in the jar. You’re one of the best writers around with the best instincts and analysis IMHO. I would miss you if you have to leave permanently, but wouldn’t be surprised. What’s surprising is how long you’ve kept up your work and your spirits and your community here. Enjoy your time away, Martin, you’ve certainly earned it.
BooMan, take a break of course, but, please, you mustn’t quit.
I’ve hipped a dozen or so friends onto your site (and the Monthly). I don’t know how I’d get through all of this without your insights. Yours is among the very best voices in this difficult time, and we’d all be worse off without it.
Ditto here. I’ve been around here since (almost) the beginning, and your writing is definintely worth another contribution. I’d give monthly if I could figure that out. Cheers to you Booman. A respite is well-deserved and long overdue.
Just made a contribution. I hope you have a relaxing time away and I echo the appreciation shared by others above for your hard work and excellent writing.
Just sent $50 your way. Whether you stick around or do something else, I know you’ll continue to make contributions in one way or another. Thanks for giving so much of value to us.
Enjoy your vacation!
You have given your best Martin and time in mother nature is best medicine to define personal goals and value to your family.
Sustainability starts at a personal level, endurance is made possible by joy in choice of profession. Income has to be part of
what you do best and make use of all your talents. I know you’ll return with new vigor whatever will be life’s choice.
Take care, be safe and know of our appreciation for your initiative to start the Green Pond. All the best to Cabin Girl.
PS We’ll try not to break down the tent during your well deserved absence. 😉
Political news comes at us like sewage rushing through a pipeline these days. You filter it, clean it up, and present it in a tall tumbler of information and analysis. We are grateful and lucky to have you.
Could we survive withiut your work? Probably. But I hope you’ll come back refreshed and revigorated and ready to sift through the garbage and the lies to find the info that we need. That’s what you’re good at. That’s why we come here.
Peace!
Rest up Booman. We (I) need you. Between you and Josh Marshall I find a place of sanity and reason. I added to the tip jar in the hope that you remain the steadying and public voice of reason that you are. Enjoy your holiday, purge the toxins, and come back fresh and eager, please.
Good decision- self-care can only be neglected for so long. Enjoy your time off and thank you for all your contributions.
I have been feeling the same way. As a result I have started to back away from the whole scene…all of the Postfactual America news from all sides.
Being a freelance musician, I take my vacations where I can grab them…a day here, a few days there. In a couple of weeks I am doing a 9 day tour of the Northeast with one of the great large jazz ensembles of our time…the Dave Liebman Big Band …celebrating John Coltrane’s legacy. A real “vacation,” for me. Bathing in the ocean of real music.
I have been spending less and less time here as the groupthink has moved progressively centerward. I will reconsider everything after that tour.
Later…
AG
P.S. Watch out for the bears.
And the ticks.
And everything in between.
Please.
AG
Good Lord, AG, even in this thread you can’t stop yourself from slagging other readers with your “centrist” nonsense. Go, go, play your music.
I have been here a long while, JDW. Over the past couple of years or more this site has drifted so far towards the center that it is now almost unrecognizable. Under the guise of choosing “the lesser of two evils,” Trump’s candidacy put the finishing touches on that motion.
So it goes.
I am by no means a practicing Christian, but the following pretty well sums up what is happening.
Here, there and everywhere else as well.
If it is time for this site to move rightward, so be it.
That is not what “the time” brings for me.
So that goes as well.
Bet on it.
It will all come out in the wash.
Watch.
AG
AG, after having posted here for a while you rightly feel some sense of ownership. But all you have to offer lately is tangential content and unconstructive criticism.
I don’t mean to be rude, but your behavior here is bordering on trolling, and it may be one of the reasons Booman is feeling stressed out.
Perhaps it’s time for you to move on to greener pastures where you and your message can be more welcomed.
AG, you’re not the only one who’s been here for a long time, and from my POV the site hasn’t moved nearly as far as you personally have moved.
I remember the 2008 primaries, when you were one of the loudest pro-Hillary voices here, sure that once elected she’d reveal the long-hidden inner progressive. Your style hasn’t changed much, your attitudes have moved a lot.
Hope springs (almost) eternal, esquimaux. She neither won nor held on to many of the “progressive” attitudes she might have had. I was supporting her because i thought she was a pro who would be able to manipulate the levers of power better than the rookie Obama, and also because I thought she might go at the RatPubs with tooth and claw…the ones who attacked her husband. When Obama won the primary and later the election, I had a brief flutter of hope that he might turn out ok. He failed us all, and to tell you the truth, that’s the last time I will be fooled.
As our dear preznit Butch II once said:
Out of the mouths of fools…
AG
You all should lighten up on Arthur.
I’ve been reading this site since 2009-ish. I don’t comment much, but I read it several times a week. Martin’s analysis and the comments have kept me coming back because of the thoughtfulness, the differences of opinion, and the generally respectful engagement from all sides. Arthur has been a part of that conversation for a long time. His particular interaction style may rub some of you the wrong way, but from where I sit he is a valuable member of the community and if you see his writings as rude then you are missing where he is coming from. You don’t have to agree with him to benefit from his participation and analysis, and if the occasional comment of his strikes you as insulting then perhaps you could remember that this is a blog site, different people approach these conversations from different perspectives, and the stakes are such that passionate argument and conviction are strengths not flaws. I personally think the site would be lesser for his absence, and I find this ganging up sort of obnoxious. Just my 2 cents, from someone you don’t know. Peace.
“Obnoxious.”
Thank you.
I must admit that I am no longer sure how many of these consistently obnoxious posters are paid trolls, how many are simply stupid, clomp-clomp-clomping, knee-jerk centrist dupes and how many are AI bots sent by whatever interests to make sure that real “progressivism” gets a bum rap.
Nor do I particularly care.
They all serve the purpose of the Deep State in discrediting anything…leftish or rightish… that might resist the Imperial, Deep State agenda.
I refuse to be used by that agenda, thus the non-personing attacks continue.
Good luck, fellas, gals and whatever other of the seven sexes are donning their respective colors.
I ain’t moving.
Hustle on.
It’ll all come out in the wash eventually.
Watch.
AG
[Links added are mine – Oui]
What’s This Site All About?
This site is not affiliated with the Democratic Party. However, the Democratic Party is the only institution in this country that is capable of combatting the Bush administration’s agenda, or of offering a realistic alternative to the GOP’s control of both houses of Congress.
Therefore, this site is committed to building the Democratic Party, raising money for the Democratic Party and its candidates, finding and promoting promising candidates for state and local offices, helping to shape the Democratic Party’s agenda, and holding Democratic office holders to account for their votes and their ethics.
The site is also committed to doing some of the investigative work that is so desperately needed with the GOP in control of the oversight committees.
If I don’t consider myself a Democrat, am I welcome at the site?
Yes. You are. Everyone is welcome at the site regardless of political self-identification. I don’t care how you are registered to vote, who you have voted for in the past, or who you plan to vote for in the future.
The only restriction on non-Democrats is that they be respectful of the mission of this site, that they don’t post Bill O’Reilly-like talking points, and that they don’t engage in trollish behavior.
If you are pro-life or anti-gun control, no one should down-rate your posts or make you feel unwelcome at this site, or in the Democratic Party. This site is not for the enforcement of any orthodoxy on its members. Principled disagreement is always allowed. Just don’t act like Sean Hannity and be an idiot.
From BooMan’s sister blog …
The “Down” ratings
“Down” ratings should never be used to indicate that you disagree with the comment. If in doubt, wait and see what other members do. Remember that you or the commenter might be having a bad day, you or the commenter might have misinterpreted something or missed a joke (very easy on a forum in English where many don’t have English as first language). Use without thought may send the wrong signals and tends to produce overheated discussion.
Count to 10 and think before using. Or ignore. Also read the The ETiquette.
By the way … a pictute of the real Boo Man
Not any more.
LMAO! They are used for nothing else!
I don’t use them that way here, but I FIRMLY believe downratings SHOULD be used for disagreement.
That makes sense, when you want to indicate disagreement but not want or be able/have time/etc. to write out a response comment. I don’t use downrating, but instead of using a 2 for “Warning!” (whatever that means), using it for a disagreement (“I see what you’re arguing but I think you’re wrong”), leaving 3 and 4 for positives, and 1 and 0 for trolling, would make more sense to me.
Another blog I used to frequent had three buttons: Like, dislike, and “Meh”.
And, as always, making it all about himself.
It is “about” all of us, janicket.
All of us.
AG
ARTHUR GILROY>>>>DEFENDER OF US ALL!!!!!
Thank you Arthur for trying to save us from the evil that is reason and thoughtfulness. Without your efforts we would never have known about the virtues of shouting at people for not living up to our own ideals, being that nothing is true and we are all doomed if other people dont adhere to pure orthodoxy, an orthodoxy thats ever changing, and never need specifying.
Without you we would still be imprisoned by facts, and coherent thinking, by academical truths, rather than truths that you feel, in your gut, and in your ass. Without you we wouldnt know the joy of farting in an elevator and being proud of it. How would we know the pleasure of shitting all over people, out of love ofcourse, truth is not pretty, you taught us that.
So thank you so much Arthur for all that you have done for us all, how can we ever repay you?
How can you ever repay me?
By waking the fuck up.
But of course…that will not happen.
You been had.
From the rear.
Some of you seem to enjoy it.
Me?
Not so much.
So it goes.
All of you posters with demon-like names…”bazzz,” “nalbar,” “marduk.” etc.
Go rejoin your pharmaceutical controllers.
“Motrin,” “Incivek,” “Adcetris,” “Yervoy,” “Viibryd,” “Zytiga,” Xgev” and the rest.
“Beelzebub” got nuthin” on you!!!
Poisonous, all of you.
Go to back to the hell from whence you came.
The rest of us have work to do.
We gonna win, too.
It’ll just take longer because of your pullback act.
As Jesus said:
You disgust me.
AG
AG going off about all the bots teaming up against him is hilarious. Ironically so because if I were to create a bot for this comment section I’d pick AG’s style – it’d be a snap.
Double space.
The short sentences.
To pad out the posts.
With empty air.
Like this.
Insert largish pix that have nothing to do with anything – this and the double spacing make the posts extra irritating and difficult to ignore.
The AG bot would never have to be on topic, nor would it need to interact with anyone in a deep or meaningful way, so the AI could be quite simple. Random paranoid / confrontational / oracular ravings based on key words would probably do the trick.
GroupThink is NoThink.
AG
Eh, your nonsense response doesn’t pass my Turing test. I’m starting to think you really are a bot.
How can you have all the answers if you pay zero attention to others? Were you born knowing everything?
I stopped calling him out for exactly this reason.
For a while, I would attack him mercilessly every time he posted (and be greeted with another one of his witless responses) — until, one time, I praised him for a clever remark and he thanked me…and I asked, Arthur, you do realize I’m the guy who’s always attacking you, right? — only to have him guilelessly explain that he doesn’t bother to distinguish between any of us; he has no idea what our opinions are in the aggregate or individually. Like Trump, he just lashes out, prompted whomever spoke to him last.
I’m up against someone rather like this at another web site commenting section, but that person can actually be reasoned with to some degree and is obviously self-aware. He’s burned out but can’t seem to give up participating in the discussion, so his posts are basically content-free negativity and horn blowing laurels resting. An odd bird, but I think he actually means well.
Whereas (as you point out) AG is a lot like Trump – only listens to the voices in his head, if he listens to anything at all. I’ll stop now as it’s just pointless OT troll feeding.
With AG it’s also performance art — really bad performance art.
And i thought you didnt have a sense of humor, but you are a good sport.
Its fun to chat with you.
I donated in May, but I’ll donate again because I want you to take it as an incentive to keep chugging along. You’re the only person making sense since November, and we need your analysis. ok slight exaggeration of only one making sense, but one of few in a sea of idiots, and what you provide is unique.
But if you need to hang up your cleats, that’s ok, too.
Booman–I really appreciate your thoughtful analyses. Sometimes you turn out to be right, sometimes not, but since I don’t come here looking for the Oracle of Delphi, I’m not bothered by the “failures”.
Please know that you’ve done a great job of explaining the parliamentary arcana of reconciliation.
And above all, even though you feel yourself turning into a grouch, please know that in your writing you treat people on “our” side fairly and even-handedly, without promotion of factionalism and without ideological purity tests.
Thanks Booman for your sensible analysis, if it wasnt for this place i probably would have been turned off of US politics, or much less interested in it. It certainly gives me new insights daily and enriches my understanding of what is happening. I dont think there is anyones opinion i have more respect for or trust.
Enjoy your time away from the madness.
Hope the rest recharges your batteries. I cannot imagine what it must be like to slog through this crap every day as a required part of making a life for yourself. Still, as a junkie who needs his fix, I think you provide “the good stuff”.
I probably am farther right than most here in the comments, but I find your words cogent and even when you are wrong you have good reasons, which is more than can be said for many.
Have a great vacation!
Donated, and will likely toss more in the jar later when I’ve got it.
You’re my go-to every day, Martin, and my world would be a poorer place with out BT. But if you can’t take it any more, I won’t be shocked. Saddened, but totally not shocked that you’ve had it with swimming in sewage.
Enjoy your respite!
I can imagine how much work this is, and how draining it must be to have certain people / subjects nipping at your heels, even if you were seemingly made for the role and otherwise enjoy it. It takes a thin skin to know what’s going on, a high level of specific knowledge to interpret it, and a thick skin so as not to suffer the slings and arrows as the bearer of sometimes inconvenient news or informed opinion.
Hang in there man, do whatever you have to do to be content, and to feel effective at whatever you do do.
Keep up the good work boo (after your vacation, that is). Sent a bit of dosh your way.
Off topic, but I l enjoyed Leonhardts column today. It’s not anything we didn’t know already but I’m a sucker for graphs, especially animated ones.
Ps, several fixes for rising inequality were mentioned, and boo might take some satisfaction that tamping down corporate consolidation was featured prominently. (Also, changing the tax code, as I and others halve been saying).
I’m in. enjoy the wilderness. Maybe try the Appalachian trail around Roanoke, VA – McAfee’s Knob, nice hike and beautiful view. See you later.
enjoy your well-earned time off, BooMan. I’ll send a contribution. It would be a shame if you stopped doing this, you’re good at it. But i can see that it might not provide a very good living.
have a good vacation 🙂
Please recharge and remember
Easy Does It
It is truly one day at a time and you are a channel for many of us
Check to post office today
Everyone needs a chance to recharge, so take as much time as it requires to get yourself back to where this blog isn’t a chore for you. I’ve had to ration my own media diet as well, just like I had to do when I couldn’t take any more of the Bush administration.
See you on the flip side and enjoy the down time.
Booman you and Milt Shook are really the only 2 people I read. You do an enormous amount of good, but i can understand how it can wear on you.
I’m only doing this on my time off, I can’t imagine wading through it for a job.
Enjoy your time off, if anyone deserves it it is you
Will drop some money in later ob when I’m not at a work computer. I hope that you’ll remain here posting at the pond. I’ve really appreciated your insight for all these years.
Safe travels. Enjoy the rest, the west, and your family. Clean out your head from the dump that is Trump.
Go have some hot fun in what’s left of this summer time.
I just contributed. I hope you’ll keep up this blog no matter what else you’re doing. Your take is unique enough that I think you’ll feel compelled to keep contributing your richly informed and condensed insights, especially at such a unique moment in history.
This IS toxic. It is particularly debilitating for those of use who came of age, media and culture wise, in the late 1960s and were successively battered by war and assassinations, Nixon and Watergate, and then Reagan and GW Bush. One reason some of us old-timers were OK with Obama is that after all the toxicity we’d lived through and endured, it felt like the inexorable sliding of the ship of state was being slowed so that we could breathe just a bit, and that some day things might be turned around.
I’ve commented once here since the election, just before the inauguration, but I’ve been by regularly since I’m always interested in what you have to say. In the next 14 months we’re going to learn a lot about this country and what’s left of the tattered remains of our system of government, and at some point during that time I suspect we’ll all have a second and third wind. Even if it’s just lurking I’m going to want to know what you’re thinking, and my bet is you’ll be too engaged and full of insight not to share in some form.
And I read a lot of them. You’re not the guy to talk about collapse, or stuff way outside the status quo, but you are the absolute best when it comes to understanding the ins and outs of the current structure. I’ve been reading you religiously for (I’m guessing here) around ten years. Whatever you decide to do, just do it and don’t look back. You’ve enriched my life and made me smarter. If you ever want to come out to Bellingham, WA, I can put you up in my co-housing for free for at least a week (nice, private room, shower down the hall, in the Common House). Bring your family and take a vacation on the cheap. Come enjoy the ocean breezes, the green, and the left coast crunch.
“God speed little doodle.” ~ Ned Flanders
Man, I’ve been sitting here at work all day and my mind keeps wandering back to the prospect of losing this oasis of reason and sanity. Hard to believe I have been coming here almost every day for over ten years. My selfish side, which knows what a void would be created, keeps fighting with my empathetic side, which says you richly deserve all the peace and personal tranquility that might come with leaving, because you have earned it by giving so much of yourself for so long.
So I’m just going to drop something in the till, and hope that the wilderness gives you the epiphany you are seeking for what your future holds. I will be sad if you leave. If you decide to stay, my joy for that will be tempered by the knowledge of what a tremendous toll is taken by your doing this day in and day out for years and years. Either way, I am a better person for having stumbled across this place and these people. A lot of them have come and gone over the years, but the quality of the commentary, observations and discussion has remained unequaled in the blogsphere.
I hope you, CG and Finn have a great time in the wilderness. My wife and I are doing the same thing starting on August 28. I hope to find the same kind of rejuvenation and recharge you are seeking.
Peace, my friend.
“Aloha, and thanks for all the fish.”
Here’s to hoping you come back from your sojourn in the woods feeling ready to tackle the world again. Until then, here’s a song for your sentiment.
Booman–
Recharge, rest up. We appreciate you trying to bring sense and clarity to a shitcloud– and you do a better job than most. I’m sorry you have to be blatant for people like me to cough up, but hey holding out the tip can every 5 posts works for Josh Marshall…
Coherent political analysis is tough in this environment. Just know that it helps to keep people like me sane.
Here’s hoping after you get back home, sit down and patch your bones that you get back truckin’ on.
Peace out.
Don’t know where, don’t know when.
Made me think of this classic film ending:
You know things aren’t absolutely terrible either. True, the Real Merkins among us launched their Picket’s Charge of Racism and won the White House, but we now see that, like a dog that finally catches the car he’s chased for years, they have absolutely no idea what to do with it.
It’s about time we realize that Trump has no real plans outside of enriching himself and his family. In the meantime he can embolden the INS to “get rough” with immigrant families and protesters. But, this changes nothing. It permanently alienates every single person of colour from the GOP, but only the stupidest of the stupid really believe they will really “get rid” of any substantial number of “illegals” or that anything in America would really change if they did.
About the worst of it is that he’s appointed a S.Ct. justice who will screw things up for another 25 years. Long after he’s gone. Everything else he does is a passing fad.
By this time next year the GOP will not have passed any substantial legislation on healthcare or taxes, and they’ll be down to feuding with the executive agencies and passing new measures to open up federal lands for strip mining.
Basically, they’re not trying to govern. They’re still trying to prevent liberals and Democrats from governing. Only they’re in power now, and therefore take all the blame for everything. And there will be a metric ton of blame that they will have to swallow.
Bush Administration Part II – only a lot quicker to failure because they’re not nearly as competent as the Bushies – even including “Heck of a Good Job Brownie”, Cheney and Rumsfeld.
unwind nan unwind
Can’t blame you for wanting to get away. I’d take a break from the planet if it could be arranged temporarily.
I agree that your writing lately has been exceptional. I’d miss it, but I also can relate to working a job that demands much and offers no joy in return. I don’t think I’d specifically recommend selling insurance as an alternative, but hey, maybe you’d like it.
I get paid next week. I’ll drop a contribution in the bucket then. Enjoy the time off.
Sent a donation in appreciation for all you do. Enjoy your travels and hope you return rested and ready to take on the next chapter of this $hit show. With the way things are going, the final act may be approaching.
never really thought about those lyrics, but geez louise, I’ve been to Winnemucca, Nevada. Not exactly a garden spot.
I’m in a pissy and irritable mood.
I’m taking a step back myself.
Sorry to have been provocative.
I have never been more depressed about politics in my life – even the depths of the Reagan Administration weren’t this bad.
So you’ve been watching the latest Trump shit show with NK, I presume. What a fucking idiot.
Longtime lurker and seldom commenter here, writing to say THANKS to you, Booman, for continually creating the first-look blog I hit every day, and toggle back to as the day wears on, for updates and fresh commentary. Others have already said it better, but I value your work more than I can say. Just dropped off a contribution–though not nearly enough for the value I receive, it’s the best I can do right now.
I’d also like to shoutout to your regular commenters, too–it’s part of the climate you have curated here, Booman, to draw a bunch of damn smart commenters with deep knowledge and really valuable perspectives, with the consequence that I feel enriched by pretty much everything I read here.
I hope you get the recuperation you need, and (possibly selfishly) hope you come back stronger than ever. I hope you conclude that the impact you have (which is enormous, though not really measurable) is worth what it costs you. Best wishes and thanks!!
This right here. I rate more than I comment, but I’m here almost every day, sometimes more than once. I still read my local newspaper for state and local news/politics (oy, NC), but even when I get overwhelmed and cranky with the state of the country and internet/political commentary, and stop reading most online news/opinion outlets, Booman is the blog that remains constant for me.
I appreciate Martin and this blog so much. This blog and his writing is a much needed pool of sanity, or as Mike/Ohio said, an oasis. It’s not an escape, as I am sometimes tempted by, but rather a focusing of the mind, and evaluating of socio-political events and factors that is rare on the internet these days, much less in a readable form!
Not to say I agree with his or everyone’s opinions or perspective all the time, but that’s what conversation is for. So, come for the writing and analysis, stay for the conversation and community. I value all the voices that contribute. (As an aside, I discovered last year that I can now usually predict the identity of a poster is from their first few sentences or paragraphs.)
Please, Martin, take the time to recharge. Play music, play ball, hike in the wilderness, read/write a book, whatever helps you “float.” We’re all feeling burned out and need that time away. I hope you’ll come back refreshed and ready to continue with the pond if that’s what calls to you.
E.g., “I’m leaving everything here to float [the Sheenjek — or insert idyllic river of your choice here].”
Picturing booman in a canoe, kayak, drift boat, or raft on a pristine wilderness river is even a bit healing and restorative to me (if only momentarily), and I’m sure would be much more so for him.
So I’ll pretend that’s what he meant (even while recognizing it’s probably wrong) until refuted.
Well I’m not sure what this is all about (and maybe that’s the point.) I come here to read the Booman posts and post something snarky in my diary and that’s about it.
I get the feeling that there’s more here here but I don’t know what it is (call me “Mr. Jones”) I sense that there is/was a Grand Design to the Booman site–intending to be something of a community, perhaps. But I came in late and I’m old and confused by digital media and have little tolerance for getting lost in the funhouse.
Basically I come here to read Martin because he makes so much fucking sense. Of course, he makes just as much sense at WM.
Bottom line: I’m holding off sending money ’cause I don’t quite get what I’m supporting. I do contribute to WM, where I get Martin & Nancy and others. I guess the attraction of Booman for me is the whimsical, off-beat interface and, frankly, I’m not sure that’s worth spending money on.
>>I don’t quite get what I’m supporting
I think the answer is: you’re supporting Martin and this small attempt to be a community. Whatever Grand Design he hoped for when he started has come down to him and the few of us you see regularly. No wonder he’s thinking of bagging this and selling insurance.
His job at WM is relatively recent and I haven’t spent much time there. To me they seem smart but mainstream.
I’m an old-timer who feels an obligation to pay something back for 10+ years of membership, you might legitimately feel different.
I’m a bit of an old-timer, as well. Have been using my current pseudonym for the duration of this decade. Like you, I feel an obligation to pitch in from time to time, as maintaining a community blog ain’t cheap and one is not likely to keep one of these going to get rich. Glad to keep this going for as long as it lasts.
Yeah, it’s the “small attempt to be a community” part I sensed but don’t get. All I can say is that it has not been clear to me, as a late-comer, how to become a part of that community–or why.
In this light, Martin’s post makes more sense–overseeing an on-line community is labor intensive, not particularly remunerative and of uncertain value in terms of impact.
As to WM being mainstream, that’s fine with me: I want to be part of a mighty torrent which will wash the Trump administration from DC. In fact, I’m very concerned by the fragmentation on the left center: I get appeals from too many little groups organizations–all doing good work to be sure–but I feel a need for some focused coalescence and I don’t see how that’s going to happen.
Unfortunately the heyday of the BMT community was a few years ago. There was a thriving cafe for general chat and personal posts of interest, including gardening. DD has attempted to revive the foto flog recently. I see that he is having some success.
This I can agree with, there is a subset of posters that definitely have that but it’s not everyone. Then again, I’m rarely fully on board with what Booman has to say so perhaps the disagreement shades my view.
I always thought that closing the cafe/lounge was a mistake. There weren’t as many folks involved with it as in the beginning, but it did serve a purpose – namely a reminder that there is more to the folks who frequent here than mere pixels on a screen. Correctly or incorrectly, I’d come to a conclusion early in my life that one of the distinguishing features of liberals and leftists (those are distinct but somewhat overlapping categories) was empathy, and the cafes built that a bit. Just a thought. At the time the cafe/lounge closed, I was under the impression that this blog was being shuttered and migrated over to Progress Pond. In the meantime, I’ll persist with what I’ve got going.
I’ve been reading boomantribune for a long time, long enough to realize that your analysis and insight has been prescient. That’s why I keep coming back every day. Its hard to keep looking at the current situation without pulling your hair out, so I get where you’re coming from.
Hopefully we’ll be released soon.
Booman, while you’ve been away, we’ve learned that one of the former NSC staffers accused H. R. McMaster of being among other things of being a deep state/cultural Marxist/Maoist. McMaster got a hold of the memo, realized someone was putting meth in the Wheaties and fired him. Problem is, tRump loved the memo. Wish this could be made up. If nothing else, it will provide some cheap entertainment when you return – or convince you that a permanent residence in the woods is in order.
I’m going through progressive stages of serious BooMan withdrawal. He has to come back!
Like, cynically I could say that whatever point he might be trying to make with this “I’m taking my ball and going home” maneuver has been thoroughly made — his indispensability is vividly clear to all of us — except that 1) I’m not cynical and 2) he didn’t take the ball.
I know how I feel in this disastrous political climate, and I would assume it’s a hundred times worse for people who assess and evaluate it every day. I have never been so angry and frustrated with politics as I am right now.
I come here because I seek answers, and I want to be reassured that I’m not the only one hanging on by her fingernails. I don’t mind dissenting opinions, but I want to know the whys and hows of it all. That’s what Martin does. He sifts through all this crap and cleans it up and helps me understand the ins and outs of it.
I read an average of ten different blogs daily, and Booman’s is always the first on the list. It sets the tone for my thinking and offers me tidbits of information to go forward. He’s smart and funny and he isn’t afraid to admit when he is stumped.
So when he says he needs to step back, I know he is overwhelmed. I get overwhelmed by my work sometimes, and that means I have to walk away, shake it off, and chill. It means making myself reassess what I’m doing and asking if it matters.
What Martin does, matters. I will continue to support his efforts because he matters.
It is hard to overstate the impact that this blog has had on me in the 10-plus years I have been coming here. The early, sometimes timid, attempts I made at engaging in the conversations here were greeted with interest and engagement, and gave me a sense of confidence that my opinions were important. What I experienced here gave the me the courage to actually get involved in grassroots politics. I’m not sure I would have done that if I hadn’t had the experience in this community. This place gave me a true sense of the reality of political activism, and no shortage of knowledge that I carry with me every day, whether it be knocking on doors, making phone calls, getting petitions signed or just having discussions with strangers while standing in line at the BMV.
I am personally politically involved because of the efforts and work of Martin and everyone who has ever participated in this forum. So to Martin, and everyone, thank you for everything that you have given to me. This place has changed me for the better. Your work has not been in vain.
As a Trump supporter, I certainly hope that you don’t give up the ghost. We need you. The never ending hate speech and endless vitriol from folks like you played an important role in Trump’s victory, and we need you for the future. Maybe you still don’t realize that every time someone on the left called someone with different views a racist, or a sexist, or a fascist, or any of the hate speech terms you use, you really helped encourage them to support the good guys. We absolutely love it when you call us deplorables. Best motivation ever. So don’t give up. Your country needs you.
Thanks for 1) showing up to confirm that your gang bases its political views on primitive, childish high-school psychology and 2) that you freely admit it; you don’t even try to disguise it as something meaningful.
Keep following your “gut,” Trump supporters — the rest of us will follow our brains.
P. S. “Deplorable” is a great name for your type, and I’d be happy to say it to your face.
I love how we’re supposed to be the “snowflake”/”tree-huggers” and you guys are supposed to be the gun-carrying manly-men…when in reality it’s all about your hurt feelings (as you just explained) and your juvenile “revenge” for feeling insulted.
You must it.? Vladimir tells Trump: “755 Bitch!”. Donald says ” thank you sir” . What a hero he is.
Racism, bigotry, prejudice, lack of a sense of responsibility for others, the community and the world aren’t simply alternative views. Just as balance shouldn’t equate lies with the effort to find the truth. They come from a different place. A place with a very different moral code. Or perhaps no moral code except what promotes an individual’s own interests
Have no idea why you would leave a comment here other than to stir things up because you offered nothing substantive, informative or thoughtful.
I wiil grant you that much of the language which was often bandied about during the campaign, from either side of the political fence, was not constructive. That is not to say that there might not have often been times and circumstances in which the labels were perfectly justified. I have not chosen to engage at that level of conversation, though it is often tempting. I doubt that those who embraced Trump would have, in the end, decided any differently if the language during the campaign had been any more sedate or harmonious. I think it’s fairly evident that the reasons for one’s supporting of Trump did not hinge on offense at some particular general group label which they feel was unfairly applied to them.
The fact that so many people enthusiastically embraced a man whose words and actions they would not tolerate in any person who comes within miles of any person they love tells me that there was a much baser attraction for many people to candidate Trump than the vitriol would explain. Though one saying that pushing back against the vitriol was their reason for supporting him certainly could give them an inflated sense of moral cover and justification for their decision to support him. It seems to me, however, to be nothing more than a very convenient rationalization for accepting abhorrent words and behavior.
Yes, the whole “deplorable” thing was a tremendous tactical and political error during the campaign. But there is no evidence that this event was what motivated or continues to motivate the enthusiasm of Trump supporters. The onus now for Trump supporters is to square the daily comments and actions of their President to any sense of humanity, morality or plain human decency; not to mention his obvious lack of any intelligent and substantive thought processes. On an almost hourly basis he peddles in the most disgusting stereotypes, conspiracy theories, incoherent rantings and demeaning language that no one would tolerate in anyone they know or would associate with, much less the most powerful position on the face of the earth.
I’m drying up without the Pond. Does anyone have suggestions for other (lesser-known) blogs?
I’ve been reading http://nomoremister.blogspot.com for the first time, and v. much enjoying it. Though nothing compares to BoMa.
Any recommendations?
I was about to recommend NMMNB, but I see you’ve already found it. That’s been my go-to number 2 for quite a while now (BT being number 1, of course).
Mahablog is a classic.
My blog list includes: Booman, Balloon Juice, Crooks and Liars, Lawyers, Guns and Money, Kos, and Wonkette. There are a few others I check on, too, but those are my daily readers.
Oh, and the Rude Pundit and Charles Pierce at Esquire! 🙂
Ruby Etc for a seriously skewed look at the world:
http://rubyetc.tumblr.com/
Skewed works for me.
Those are all good ones.
Martin, I’ll just say simply that you provide the best political analysis I’ve ever read. Left you some green. Hope you come back.
Booman writews:
I feel his pain.
There is a simple solution, of course.
Get off the cycle.
After all…it’s not exactly going anywhere.
AG
As one who headed for the wilderness and the back-to-the-land movement after Nixon, I empathize. Interestingly, I’m now back in the political arena, helping two congressional newcomer candidates get campaigns off the ground for next year. Lucy, Charlie Brown and the football maybe? Who knows? We admitted we were powerless over politics and that our lives had become unmanageable?
Anyway, take a respite, recharge and enjoy each other’s company. Many thanks for the hangout and good company for all these years.
Who are you helping? Seems little chance in that state, but good luck.
Dan Canon and Liz Watson in the IN-9th. Lee Hamilton held the seat for a couple of decades and more recently Baron Hill until he was defeated by the kid who’s now Indiana’s junior senator. Some dude, dubbed Tennessee Trey by his GOP primary opponents, managed to buy the seat with daddy’s money in 2016 after moving here about 6 months before the primary. Its a tough fight, but doable. Can you tell I’m a hopeless optimist? Dan and Liz will face each other in the primary next spring, but I’d be happy with either of them. Fun fact about Dan, he says he once sued tRump. I gotta research that.
Here’s Dan – https:/canonforindiana.com
and Liz – https:/lizforindiana.com
Good on you. Looks like you’ve been quite busy. Keep it up.
Well good luck with it. I liked Dan’s web site.
Booman, you and Josh Marshall are my favorite bloggers, the ones I read every day and usually several times a day. I agree that your writing since the election has been some of the best, not just at your hand, but in the blogosphere, period. I sent a donation, and I hope you return, but if not, I can understand.
I applaud your effort to create a community on this site. If you do return, it is my fervent hope that you can guide the members of this community to more constructive discussion of positions, policies, strategies and potential legislation that will advance the goals that I think all the members of this community hold dear: life, liberty, equality, economic security, health, well-being and the pursuit of happiness for all inhabitants of the United States and for that matter, the world. I wish that members of the community would spend less time attacking our allies and potential allies with pejorative labels such as neoliberal, centrist and such and more time writing about the specific actions we can take — now and if Democrats regain more power in 2018 and 2020 — to realize the goals I think we all share.
I’m struck by this:
“it is my fervent hope that you can guide the members of this community to more constructive discussion of positions, policies, strategies and potential legislation that will advance the goals that I think all the members of this community hold dear: life, liberty, equality, economic security, health, well-being and the pursuit of happiness for all inhabitants of the United States and for that matter, the world.”
Longman is astute and articulate–but Moses?! Actually, I suspect that the Moses (Jim Jones?) thing is what’s bothering him. It brings to mind a James Brown performance.
TPM is also one of my go-to sites. I think the contrast between between Marshall’s enterprise and Longman’s community is worth pondering.
Enjoy your vacation. In light of Charlottesville though, I wish you were here to write a post titled “They were Nazis, dude?”
Hi,
I would certainly like you to continue your great work here and elsewhere. And while I can completely relate to your sense of being overwrought by the heavy and burdensome reality of a presidency so incredibly antithetical to the values of the majority of Americans, it is exactly at this time, more than ever, that we need your voice to help Americans understand their way through the complexity of what is now happening in our country.
Please keep up the great work!
Others on this thread have stated the value of Martin’s blog much better than I can. I’ll just say that if Booman needs to stop, I will understand, but as a result will comprehend what’s going on far less than I would if he continued. I hope Booman finds renewed energy and passion for keeping us all so well informed and clued in to the motivations and consequences of political actors.
And I wish I had enough money in my meager budget to donate. He certainly has earned it.
Good to see you around these parts. If one good thing has come out of Booman’s extended break it’s seeing some of the familiar names from what seems like a lifetime ago (yeah, the last few months have really skewed my perception on things!).
—Tom Sullivan at digby’s place
You’re my favorite analyst on the intertubes. I’ve learned a ton from you. I just threw you $50. And don’t quit now; this is just when you’re needed the most.
Hi Martin,
I can confirm it is good for the nerves to be offline:-) Since 10 days I am off the grid on a low tech camping place at the Atlantic coast of France (and currently in an internet cafe, where I saw your post). I hope you will refresh yourself like Antaeus and come back to fight the good fight. Your voice is rather unique IMHO, and you would be sorely missed by many.
All the best, Sophie.
Ps.: I also made a donation.
I hope your time off is helping. I absolutely understand what a load it must be to follow all the crazy shit that’s going on these days. Some days it just makes me sick to turn on the news.
I do hope you can find the strength to come back. You are one of the few sane voices I trust to make sense of things these days. I tossed some coins in the bucket, wish it could be more.
Thank you, Booman.
budr
ignorant bystander