I dream of living in ... a World Without Dictators! I'm a Libertarian Paternalist in Slovakia - Freedom with Responsibility - 10% of income into your own Pension; Tax Loans for education, health, housing; now supporting Employment Maximizing Companies!

The Press is dying -- Long live News!

<em>"intelligently filter the flood of cheap production online, assemble the best parts, package it for sale or distribution in print."</em>

Jay Rosen on PressThink has great thoughts on the evolution of the Press.

Yes.  This is the right model for a new startup, and it's also mostly what I think I want.

However, for the key Newspaper Killer App, I fully agree with Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit):
accurate investigative journalism.

The problem seems to be, at least in large part, that when the skills to do a good job go with the passion to do the deep investigation, the reporter can't be objective. 

Well, Jay's been saying this for many years now.

For CapTimes, I think they can essentially catch up with Dane101 with a couple of good hires, and then move into the lead on deep journalism with their professional reporters.

Jay, you haven't mentioned pro-am editors much, but I suspect one of the experiments that is likely to be successful is to allow lots of various am editors giving their suggestions, and a few pro-editors choosing among the many ams.
The pros get paid a bit (or a lot?), the ams get "fame".

The NewsTrust experiment might be a step towards this, with readers rating stories.

Another experiment I have yet to see is a good dual-biased site -- with fierce anti-Rep facts and analysis facing fierce anti-Dem facts and analysis on the same page.  Perhaps you know of some?

Neither TPM nor PajamasMedia nor TownHall yet does it, for me.  On the top line quote, my daily reading of Instapundit says he does it for my tastes well.

Could a newspaper have multiple Front Pages, which are set by the reader, but always includes some of the stronger counter-views?

I hope that as Huckabee goes around with his HuckPac to try to energize his evangelical base (to support McCain), he consider trying to support more pro-Christian, pro-patriotism, pro-personal responsibility (less gov't) news content providers.

Just as Catholic Churches get a partial teacher subsidy by devout teachers willing to work for less, news reporters "with a mission" will be working for less to subsidize their own chosen news biases.

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/30/08 15:53 | link | comments

Ron Paul for President 2008?

I'm glad Ron Paul ran, and even generated a good amount of interest.  He is the only consistent "smaller government" politician.

But I am certain that, for America and the future, he has the wrong idea about Iraq.  The Killing Fields of Cambodia, fully expected (tho not so bad???) after the Dem Party decided to lose the Vietnam Peace after 1974, was the worst event in my lifetime.  I won't support any "principle" that seems to support such an outcome.

On the gold standard, Ron Paul is not wrong, but being right doesn't matter so much.  On being in favor of tax-cuts, and tax simplification, and almost all other economic issues, Ron Paul is great.

Ron Paul is, and has been, strongly pro-life; something I was much less so in 1988, when I voted for him for President as a Libertarian.   So, pro-tax cuts, pro-life, but not pro-Iraqi Freedom thru US military.  McCain will be a better president.

I sure hope he wins his seat again, even if he doesn't become President.

(Thanks to Krazy for inspiration -- 3 weeks later!)

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/30/08 15:52 | link | comments

Human Rights Games needed

Dear Steven Spielberg,

Please sponsor an alternate, competing Human Rights Games.  Perhaps in LA or some other of the last 10 Summer Olympic cities.


All athletes should boycott the Chinese "genocide" Olympics.
1) Because of China's continued support for Sudan and the genocide in Darfur.
(What is it now, some 300 000 - 400 000 dead, 2 million left their homes?)

2) Because of China's continued occupation of Tibet

3) Because of China's lack of human rights protection.

China should be compared to the USA and Europe, and all countries should have the same standard. 
Universal Human Rights should be universal -- the same standard.

China's violations of human rights should have disqualified them in the IOC's consideration.


Rich Human Rights activists should be attempting to set up a competing "Human Rights" Games, so those athletes that choose to boycott still have a chance to compete and win somewhere.

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/24/08 00:47 | link | comments
darfur