Dowbrigade

The
Grey Lady has been eyeing the Blogosphere for a while, aware that something
significant was going on, and unure
if it should be interested, amused or bothered. Several Times writers,
like Nick Kristof, maintain true, uneditied blogs, where you can get
to know them as people.

An article in tomorrow’s paper profiles Josh
Marshall and TalkingPoints as an
example
of the
influence
of Blogs
on the presidential campaign.

 

 

 

Web journals like Joshua Marshall’s have
become indispensable this campaign season:
They
mobilize
supporters,
question
traditional
media coverage and feed the insatiable appetites of political junkies.

A powerful new networking tool for the politically plugged-in and hangers-on,
the constant online chatter broadens campaign discourse and accelerates
the news cycle.

Such journals, known as blogs, may not be doing much to sway
undecided voters, but analysts say they strongly impact the media, campaign
consultants and activists.

Blogs are collections of links and ideas, usually frequently updated.
Their most recent entries are on top, and readers can generally post
comments. Blogs are increasingly popular, and the software behind
them gets friendlier to use by the day.

His postings, at TalkingPointsMemo.com, are often written in real
time before the event he’s chronicling is even over. Readers get
a sense of
being there.

Dean campaign staffer Allison Stuntz filed frequent pro-Dean dispatches
from a press bus in Iowa, while Kerry’s blogmeister, Dick Bell, made
arrangements for staffers and volunteers in New Hampshire to submit
items — pro-Kerry, of course.

from
the New York Times

JANUARY
23–Amanda Rudder, 18, was arrested yesterday by Key West, Florida cops
and charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol (she was drinking
a Budweiser on the beach, according to the police report, which noted
the can and a clear yellow fluid were taken as evidence). While that is a run-of-the-mill
offense,
it’s
Rudder’s
booking
photo
that’s
so
special. With ink like that, young Amanda has left Mike Tyson on the canvas.

from
the Smoking Gun

Suspicion is increasing that the serial failures of the European
Beagle and the American
Rover interplanetary exploration vehicles recently placed
on the surface of Mars are not coincidental. These multi-million dollar
vehicles, seemingly in perfect working order, have both suddenly and
mysteriously gone silent, for all intents and purposes disappearing off
of the face of the Red Planet.

Although there has been no official word on the causes of these disappearances,
sources close to the space programs tell the Dowbrigade there is growing
concern that not only may there be life on Mars, but that it seems to
dislike being spied upon and may be in a position to do something about it.

So where is our fearless leader, our President and leader of the free
world, at this momentous moment possibly presaging the establishment
of mankind’s first official extra-terrestrial contact? According to Fox
News, President George Bush is today closeted with Homeland Security
advisors in ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO! That pretty much says it all, and reinforces
the seriousness of the situation. Stay tuned for continuing developments….