I admit it, I am a weblog free-rider. I have never left a “tip” at a weblog and don’t expect that
I ever will. My sentiments about fully-employed lawyers and law professors soliciting handouts
were expressed well earlier this year by MyShingle’s Carolyn Elefant, in this Comment:
“I don’t like the idea of law bloggers posting ads at their site. — (just like I don’t like
bloggers who pass the hat with “pay pal” requests). As a business matter, I don’t
know that I’d want to go to an attorney who didn’t have the resources to sustain
a blog site without collecting ad revenues.”
“A new way to support the blog.” Prof. B says (like it’s a real treat):
I’ve added a Paypal tip jar to the right side bar as a new way for loyal readers to
support the blog:
My thanks to readers who have supported this blog in the past through my Amazon
Associates programs or by clicking on the ads from my Blogads sponsors. (Please
don’t forget to click on one of my Blogads to encourage my sponsors!)
This new tip jar is at the very top of the righthand margin. I woulda thought conservatives and
libertarians had more pride than this — not to mention lovers of fancy cars, wines and cigars. I’d
like to assure Steve that his weblog visitors are smart enough to find him and ask directly how to
leave a tip — they don’t need constant reminders for “impulse charity.” Also, if law professors really
want to get extra credit for weblogging, they might want to lose the BillBlog [ BlogBoard? ] image.
You may have noticed that I frequently link to posts by Steven Bainbridge. I want to assure him
and my readers that I have nothing personal against Prof. B. I do have, however, a limited amount
of time and energy for surfing the weblawg universe, and stopping by his place is quite convenient
for me, as it gives me
- Lots of interesting material
- Lots of things I agree with
- Lots of things I disagree with
- Lots of self-righteous religiosity that I believe needs to be countered
- Quite a bit of inconsistent — “cafeteria” — application of ideologies and principles.
So, before the Thanksgiving weekend is through, I want to say that I am sincerely grateful that Prof.
Bainbridge’s “eclectic” weblog exists and I wish him well. [E.g., I love the irony that, just yesterday,
Prof. B insinuated that an author of a book on politics took a public position "to sell those books
and keep those speaking engagements coming." I couldn't pay some one to say this kind of stuff!]
You can find a selection of haiku by Kobayishi Issa featuring beggars here.
Here’s a sampling:
begging actors
play one more song!
spring snow
autumn wind–
a beggar looking
sizes me up
they have kids maybe
bridge beggars
calling fireflies
begging actors–
even the horse’s ass
gets a blessing
begging at my gate
the geese lose
weight
Thus, I had to cringe today, when I saw Steve Bainbridge’s post captioned
